Xia Chengye gritted his teeth. Although he didn't believe her, the snake seemed remarkably sentient. When Xia Weiliang mentioned it liked listening to music, its head actually swayed twice.
He’d rather sing than apologize to a snake!
But…
But…
Su Hui was on the verge of tears. "Chengye, please sing."
Xia Yiran, however, chimed in, "Mom, are you confused? Singing to a snake! If this gets out, how will Dad ever show his face again?" Su Dan Novel Network.
Su Hui took a deep breath. "Is there any other way? We have to try anything, even if it seems hopeless."
"Call the police! Dial 119, have the firefighters figure it out!"
Hearing her detached tone, Su Hui became furious.
"We can wait! Can the snake wait? What if it suddenly goes berserk and bites your father? Yiran, this is your father!"
Xia Yiran pouted, a hint of grievance in her voice. "I'm thinking of Dad too! Besides, maybe this snake isn't venomous, maybe they're just trying to scare us..."
"What if it is venomous?!"
"Then... then there's nothing we can do..."
*Slap—*
A resounding slap landed hard on her face.
Xia Yiran was stunned, clutching her cheek and looking at Su Hui in disbelief. "You, you hit me?"
Su Hui trembled with anger. "I never imagined you could be so heartless!"
This slap also startled Xia Weiliang. She was about to try and mediate when her hand was suddenly grasped.
She looked up, and Xiao Yi spoke unhurriedly, "This is their family matter, you shouldn't interfere."
She thought for a moment. "Yes, you're right."
Xia Yiran seemed deeply humiliated and turned to run. As she passed Xia Weiliang, she gritted her teeth and hissed, "Are you happy now!"
Xia Weiliang paused, then nodded. "Hmm, it's alright, I guess."
Su Hui wasted no more time and quickly urged Xia Chengye, "Why don't you... just sing."
Xia Chengye gritted his teeth. "Sweet Honey/You smile so sweet/Like a flower blooming in the spring breeze..."
Xiao Lan watched him motionlessly.
After finishing the song, Xia Chengye asked weakly, "Is, is that good enough?"
Xia Weiliang sat on the steps, resting her head on her hands. "Xiao Lan will come down when it's happy."
Xia Chengye closed his eyes forcefully and reopened them. "The great river flows east/The stars in the sky point to the Big Dipper... I really want to live five hundred more years!!"
Xia Weiliang quietly took out her phone and opened the camera...
Yan Zhi entered and whispered something into Xiao Yi's ear. He frowned, looking impatient, but finally nodded after a moment's hesitation. "Tell him I'll be there shortly."
Then he instructed, "Arrange a car to take her back."
"Got it!"
Xiao Yi leaned down and whispered into Xia Weiliang's ear, "I have something to attend to, so I have to leave first. Someone will be here to pick you up."
Xia Weiliang was engrossed in filming and waved dismissively, "Oh, go ahead!"
He curved his lips, leaned in and kissed her cheek before turning and leaving.
Xia Weiliang froze, touching her cheek, her face instantly flushing.
Without exaggeration, Xia Chengye stood there and sang for a good half hour before Xiao Lan's temper was finally appeased.
The moment the pressure on his neck released, Xia Chengye felt like crying, as if he had sung all the songs he would ever sing in his life today!
Xia Weiliang quickly went over, respectfully extending her hand. Xiao Lan slowly crawled from Xia Chengye's arm and coiled itself onto her wrist, its tail covering its head, remaining motionless.
This sight stunned both Xia Chengye and Su Hui.
Xia Chengye even suspected it was AI, specifically designed by Xia Weiliang to fool him!
"Alright, I'm leaving."
As she was about to go, Su Hui couldn't help but call out to her.
She walked over, looked at her carefully, then lowered her head and said softly, "Xiao Yi... I think this child is quite good. His eyes haven't left you since he came in, and it's clear you feel differently about him. So, get along well. If... if he ever wrongs you, you come back, and Mom will stand up for you."
Xia Weiliang took a deep, steadying breath to force back the sting in her eyes.
"Mm."
She responded, and left without saying anything else.
Su Hui stood watching, until Xia Weiliang was no longer in sight.
Upstairs, Xia Xiaoqiu was about to die laughing.
"Auntie... Second Uncle finished singing... Hahaha! My cousin is amazing, making Second Uncle sing so obediently... I don't know where she got a fake snake, but look how scared Second Uncle was... Hahaha... That was so satisfying!"
Xie Wanfei was listening to Peking Opera, her eyes closed, leaning in her rocking chair, tapping her fingers to the rhythm. She pursed her lips and said slowly, "Silly girl, that was a real one."
—
Regardless, Xiao Lan certainly gave Xia Weiliang a good outlet for her frustrations today. Every time Xia Weiliang thought of Xia Chengye's sullen face as he sang, she couldn't help but smile.
When she was little, he wouldn't even sing a nursery rhyme to coax her to sleep. Fine, today she would let him sing his fill!
Alright, she admitted, she was a little vengeful, but who didn't have a noble tradition?
Back home, she formally introduced the new member to Xiao Nuomi.
Having been frightened by a snake before, Xiao Nuomi was still a little scared. However, in this era where looks were paramount, Xiao Lan won her over with its charm.
"Wei Wei, we've received interview requests from several mainstream media outlets today. Huanjie wants you to make the decision."
"Which ones?"
After reviewing them, Xia Weiliang selected only one media outlet that frequently reported on charity events.
"Also, Director Du said the filming date for the program has been finalized. We're competing with an interview program; they're filming during the day, and we start at six in the evening the day after tomorrow. He said the guests are all big stars, and he needs you to communicate with them."
"So late?" Xia Weiliang frowned.
The contestants of "The Great Elders" were all over 50, and couldn't stay up late.
The filming of a program, especially this kind of talent show, involved various factors like camera and lighting setup, audience entry, guest script rehearsals, and numerous unpredictable elements.
These elders seemed to have quite distinct personalities. Who knew if one of them might suddenly throw a tantrum and go home to sleep...
Xiao Nuomi also sighed. "There's nothing we can do. Our budget is insufficient. If the studio rental fees and team costs aren't managed well initially, it's questionable whether we can even sustain it. I heard Director Du has even mortgaged his property."
"No way! Little Du is that committed?"
Xia Weiliang found it hard to imagine. The former Director Du was someone who would grab every opportunity and pinch every penny. What was happening this time?
"Everyone says Director Du is spurred on by Director Ma, but I don't think so," Xiao Nuomi said earnestly. "I've been with the company for a long time, and this is the first time I've seen him work so hard on something. Perhaps he doesn't want his efforts to go to waste."
Xia Weiliang listened quietly, then suddenly said, "Who is the person in charge of the studio? Give me his phone number."
Nuomi looked wary. "Wei Wei, what do you want to do?"
She smiled kindly. "Nothing much, I just want to have a heart-to-heart talk with him."