12. Who Is Brother Xie’s Biological Son?

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As expected, just as the shower ended here, “SK Boy Group Livestreams Their Shower” shot straight to the top of the trending searches there…

Their manager, Lei Fu, was away handling matters concerning the other three members of SK and was inspecting the meals prepared for his artists when his phone chimed. He glanced down and saw that his own boy group had made the trending list.

No need to ask—the top entry was “SK Boy Group Livestreams Their Shower.” But what on earth were the ones below it?

“Bai Yucheng Is So Fair and Tender—He Must Feel Wonderful to Touch!”

“I Want to Slide Down Xiao Zheren’s Mermaid Line!”

“Baby Jin Fei, Will You Let Mommy Kiss You?”

“Chu Yiming’s Maternal Love Has Gone Bad!”

…

What in the world were these?

If he had not seen his own artists’ names, Lei Fu would never have imagined that these searches had anything to do with them. He clicked on the first one and immediately found a fan recording of Challenge the Superstar. There, his four carefully pampered boys—whom he had raised for two whole years—were at a construction site in what looked like the middle of nowhere, washing themselves with a water hose…?

After watching the footage, Lei Fu’s forehead throbbed. It took him a while to realize that the boys had simply become stinky after sweating while carrying bricks, which was why they had resorted to such a method. He had not expected it to land them on the trending list as well.

“Heh heh. Looks like the ratings are going to be pretty good this time.”

Indeed, Challenge the Superstar was not merely an online program. It also aired during the evening prime-time slot on National Television, which was precisely why Lei Fu had sent the boys there to build up their achievements. The fact that they had taken off their shirts during the livestream without getting the broadcast shut down was proof enough of the show’s influence.

After watching those boring livestreams for a while, Lei Fu suddenly spotted a trending search concerning Chu Yiming:

“Chu Yiming Is Handsome and Kindhearted”?

What was this?

He clicked on it again and finally saw that Chu Yiming had enthusiastically helped a handsome stranger named Xie Yunze search for his son. The clip had been edited by one of the group’s major fan accounts, and Lei Fu immediately felt that this was an excellent opportunity. He called the company’s publicity department and instructed them to keep the topic trending until at least midnight. It would be a tremendous help to Chu Yiming’s public image.

More importantly, based on his understanding of the production team behind Challenge the Superstar, Xie Yunze would certainly find his son in the end, leading to a happy reunion. It was a complete and compelling storyline, and Yiming absolutely had to be part of it.

After that, Lei Fu opened the show’s livestream. He had been busy negotiating contracts all morning and finally had time to take a look. What he saw was a stone table beneath the shade of a tree beside the factory building, where several unfamiliar construction workers, Kang Bing, and the four boys from SK were sitting together for lunch.

As it turned out, the people from Golden Jade Hall had prepared enough food for more than ten people and had sent it over in packed containers with a waiter. After showering, Xie Yunze and the others needed somewhere to eat, so they had moved a great many discarded stones beneath the large tree outside the factory and piled them into a stone table two meters long. Every person had contributed to its construction.

As for chairs, the production crew naturally still had to keep filming. They arranged the cameras around the table while everyone else made do. Each person gathered several stones, covered them with their fluorescent safety vests, and sat down to eat. At a construction site, fussing over such details was utterly pointless.

“Wow! Fish is my favorite! This wine-cured fish is so delicious! It’s soft and fragrant, and there are barely any bones!”

As soon as the lunch boxes were opened, the spread was a feast for the eyes and the nose. Jin Fei, whose stomach had been empty for ages, immediately fixed his eyes on the fish closest to him, and they nearly turned red with hunger. For the sake of better filming, everyone had been seated according to their respective groups, allowing the ordinary participants sufficient screen time.

Chu Yiming sat on Xie Yunze’s left, though he was near the edge of the camera frame. To his right were Kong Miao and Jin Fei. Beside them sat Kang Bing and Li Dongfeng, followed by the remaining four people. Once everyone had busily opened their lunch boxes, the livestream camera swept across the table, reassuring countless fans. The food looked delicious.

Everyone else was starving too. They had worked for such a long time that morning and then taken showers, and now that they could finally eat, they were all delighted. After choosing the meals they liked, they began devouring them.

Food for ten people did not mean merely ten dishes. In addition to ten ordinary meat-and-vegetable dishes, there were ten servings of rice, ten rice bowls topped with dishes, ten portions of porridge, matching desserts, and even chilled drinks for afterward. Everything had been prepared in full.

The moment Chu Yiming saw the spread, he knew that it could not have cost only a hundred or two hundred yuan. Still, he was willing to trust Xie Yunze, so he picked up his rice bowl topped with minced pork and eggplant and began to eat.

The minced pork and eggplant was sweet, tender, and so soft that it melted in the mouth. It was exceptionally good with rice.

“Try the fried chicken. Young people all seem to like fried chicken.”

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A pair of communal chopsticks reached over from the side and placed a small fried chicken leg into Chu Yiming’s lunch box. When he turned his head, he saw Xie Yunze smiling at him, his eyes inexplicably filled with warmth and tenderness.

“Thank you,” he said.

He picked up the chicken leg and took a bite. The crisp, richly flavored meat burst across his tongue. It was unbelievably delicious!

Seeing how happily he ate, with his eyes practically glowing, Xie Yunze felt even better. He sampled the dishes while continuing to place food in Chu Yiming’s bowl.

It was lunchtime for the viewers as well. Watching the people who had spent the morning carrying bricks sit with their heads bowed over their food, too busy even to speak, the audience somehow found themselves enjoying their own meals more.

Kang Bing, Jin Fei, Xiao Zheren, and Bai Yucheng were no different. This time, they held nothing back. With fish and meat on the table, they completely forgot about maintaining their figures and simply shoveled food into their mouths.

“This braised beef brisket is incredible. Everyone, try some.” Kang Bing enthusiastically recommended it, and everyone took a portion.

There was no need to mention Li Dongfeng and the others. They did manual labor for a living and naturally had hearty appetites. Even Kong Miao finished one rice bowl topped with a dish, then picked up another container of plain rice and began eating. Fortunately, there was still plenty of food. Everyone was enjoying themselves too much to bother talking.

Chu Yiming sat in a corner, originally quite far from the dishes. Unexpectedly, after tasting the delicious food, the other construction workers began imitating Xie Yunze. Using the communal chopsticks, they placed food into Chu Yiming’s separate rice container. Before long, he had been fed so much that his stomach was round and full. Under ordinary circumstances, he would never have eaten so much.

By the time he finished, Xie Yunze had already opened a little dessert box and handed it to him.

“What flavor would you like? This one is strawberry, and this one is matcha.”

He was practically being cared for like a child, which left Chu Yiming—who was accustomed to taking care of others—with a strange feeling.

“Strawberry, I suppose.”

He chose the strawberry dessert and opened the small box. Inside was an extraordinarily adorable pink strawberry rabbit jelly. A grown man could finish it in two or three bites, but it was so cute that Chu Yiming called over the cameraman and had him take several photographs. He even pulled Xie Yunze over for a few pictures together.

The intimate interaction between the two left Li Dongfeng and the others looking deeply satisfied. A real father and son were bound by blood in a way that could not be severed. Look at them—after spending only one morning together, they were already so familiar with each other. Kong Miao likewise hoped that Brother Xie and his son would recognize one another properly, and his heart was full of blessings for them.

Their gazes were hardly subtle. Kang Bing, an old fox, naturally saw that something was amiss, and even the remaining three members of SK noticed it. Throughout the meal, everyone seemed unusually close to Chu Yiming, caring for him as though he were a younger member of the family.

Still, no one asked directly. They were merely left with a measure of curiosity.

After the sumptuous lunch, everyone cleaned the stone table until not a scrap of rubbish remained. Each person then held a cup of chilled drink with a little already sipped away and rested beneath the tree. Only then did they feel comfortable again, both physically and mentally.

Do not ask why they did not eat or rest inside the factory building.

The ground temperature at the construction site had already climbed to nearly forty degrees Celsius. The factory was made of ordinary corrugated metal, and entering it at noon would be like stepping into a steamer. Beneath the large tree beside the building, however, they could occasionally feel a breath of wind. With cold drinks in their hands, the heat seemed somewhat more bearable.

The pleasant languor after lunch made the guests feel as if they had been given a new lease on life. They sat beneath the tree, enjoying the shade and resting.

Li Dongfeng seemed to think of something and called out to Kong Miao.

“We’ll have to get back to work in another hour. You all stay here and rest. Little Miao, come on—let’s go to the bathroom.”

Kong Miao had not really needed to go, but when he saw Brother Li wink at him, he immediately nodded.

The two rose and walked toward the toilets behind the factory. They were called toilets, though in truth they were only temporary facilities. The construction site had installed some originally, and after the production crew arrived, they added several portable units behind the building. After all, it was not only the guests who needed to use them; the staff had to be accommodated as well.

The moment Jin Fei saw the two leave, he gave Bai Yucheng a knowing wink. Then he quietly announced that he needed to use the bathroom too and slipped out of the livestream’s frame.

At the toilets behind the factory, however, Li Dongfeng and Kong Miao were not there to relieve themselves. Li Dongfeng took out a cigarette and held it between his lips. Smoking could not appear on camera, after all.

As he smoked, he questioned Kong Miao.

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“Little Miao, you have the best relationship with Little Xie. Tell me honestly—is that handsome Chu Yiming actually Brother Xie’s biological son?”

Li Dongfeng could see how much affection Xie Yunze had for Chu Yiming, but until Xie Yunze said it himself, no one could be certain.

Kong Miao stared blankly for a moment, then shook his head with complete frankness.

“I don’t know.”

Even though Xie Yunze had chosen Chu Yiming and shown him special favor, Kong Miao was still not certain which of the four was truly Brother Xie’s son.

Jin Fei had quietly come over to use the bathroom without giving the matter much thought. But then he heard this earth-shattering secret and froze in shock, unable to move.

What were they talking about?

Was the captain really the son Xie Yunze had been searching for over eighteen years?

That could not be right…

The captain’s parents were both alive and well, and he even had a pair of younger twin siblings. How could he suddenly have anything to do with Xie Yunze?

Li Dongfeng and Kong Miao did not realize that Jin Fei had overheard them. They were genuinely concerned about Xie Yunze’s search for his son.

“That’s true. Little Xie isn’t one to say much. We only found out after he had been carrying bricks at the construction site for two months that he had come here to look for his son. His son has been missing for eighteen years. He must have suffered terribly. Since he says his son is one of the four handsome young men who came to participate in the show, we should take good care of him and save him some worry. Once he’s ready to acknowledge his family, he’ll tell us which one of them is his real son.”

Li Dongfeng and the others had never doubted Xie Yunze’s words. With his looks, he could genuinely have been a celebrity, and the four young men who had come that day were all as beautiful as dolls in a shop window. It was entirely believable that one of them could be Xie Yunze’s son.

Kong Miao obediently nodded.

“Mhm. Brother Xie will definitely tell us in the end.”

He was still so foolishly earnest that Li Dongfeng could not help reaching out to rub his bristly head.

“You really are a little fool. Your Brother Xie came to the construction site to look for his child. Now that the child has been found—and is one of those four celebrities—he’ll leave the site once they formally acknowledge each other. Won’t you be sad?”

Only then did Kong Miao pause and understand what Li Dongfeng meant. His dark eyes immediately filled with a trace of sorrow.

“Brother Xie is good to me. I hope he’ll be happy too.”

No wonder Little Xie liked this child. Li Dongfeng felt both helpless and fond of Kong Miao, so he comforted him.

“All right, I was only teasing you. Your Brother Xie likes you very much. Even if he finds his biological son, he won’t forget you. Besides, I think Jin Fei, the one paired with you, is quite a good match. He’s lively and cheerful. If he turns out to be your Brother Xie’s son, the two of you will surely get along wonderfully.”

Although everyone had been busy carrying bricks that morning, Li Dongfeng had noticed the way Kong Miao and Jin Fei interacted. He knew that a quiet child like Kong Miao would benefit from having a clever, lively companion. He simply had no idea which of the four youngsters was Little Xie’s biological son.

At that moment, hearing himself mentioned, Jin Fei felt as though he had been struck by lightning.

Wait—why was he involved too?

Could it be that he was not actually his parents’ biological child? They had never said anything…