She set Little Lei down on the floor gently and pinched his puffy little hand. This little guy was fair and chubby, looking just like an adorable little meat bun. Sometimes, she could not help but think that if she ever had a kid with Lu Yi, then she would put everything else on hold. She would not take on any other acting jobs or advertisement modelling opportunities. Instead, she would stay by her son’s side, teaching him to speak and educating him on how to be a responsible member of society. Perhaps in the future, he would even follow in his father’s footsteps and become an outstanding prosecutor.
However, she did not have that kind of blessing.
It was possible that she had exhausted all her luck in this lifetime, and karma had responded by taking away Lu Yi, as well as their child that would never exist.
She tucked Little Lei’s hands into the blanket, and sat next to him on the bed to prevent him from rolling all over the place.
Although Little Lei was usually an active child, he was still an obedient kid. When he slept, he slept peacefully, barely moving a finger. His little lips were parted slightly, his breathing deep and even.
After a while, even Yan Huan had succumbed to her drowsiness and the tranquil atmosphere. She leaned to the side and started to nap with an arm supporting her face.
The curtains fluttered in the wind. The winter breeze was still cold.
Little Lei sat up and rubbed his eyes. At the start, when he did not see his mama or grandma around him, he pouted his lips and nearly burst into tears. However, when he saw Yan Huan resting at his side, his pout disappeared, and the tears that were threatening to fall from his eyes did not increase. He inched his little bottom closer to Yan Huan and reached out to tug at her hair.
Yan Huan was woken up by the stinging pain on her scalp. When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Little Lei, who was tugging at her hair joyfully while kicking his bare feet on the mattress.
She carefully tried to pull her hair out of this little fellow’s grasp, but his grip on them was unexpectedly tight. In the process of rescuing her hair, a few strands had been ripped right out of her scalp. Tears sprang into her eyes from the pain.
Little Lei tapped the tips of his fingers on each other. It seemed like he knew that he did something wrong.
Yan Huan rubbed his little head indulgently. Naturally, she could not be mad at him.
Little Lei must have sensed that Yan Huan was not mad, as he quickly tugged at her hands and said, “Auntie, poo poo.”
Yan Huan helped him put on his socks and shoes and brought him to the toilet. There was a kid-sized toilet bowl in there. As Little Lei would come over all the time, they had installed one in their house for his use.
Little Lei heaved himself onto his little toilet bowl and insisted that Yan Huan stay to talk to him. A child was indeed a child, who are usually needy and clingy.
When Little Lei was done with his business, Yan Huan helped him clean his bottom and brought him out into the living room. Upon stepping foot into the living room, Yan Huan immediately noticed a robot that was half the size of an adult standing in the middle of it. The people in the living room were crowded around it, trying to figure out how it worked.
Lu Jin extended his hand, which prompted the robot to take a step back in response. He stepped forward, and the robot backed off even more.
“This is rather interesting,” Lu Jin commented as he retreated to a couch at the side. He felt slightly puzzled at the robot’s reactions, wondering if it understood Chinese.
Well, robots were still robots, right? They were merely children’s toys, and was far from matching the intelligence of an actual human.
Little Lei scampered enthusiastically toward the robot that was about his size, and gave it a big hug. He liked it very much. The robot had an anti-collapse base built under it, so it would not fall over easily. Its entire body was covered with a sleek and shiny material that would not harm a child’s tiny hand. It was invented for the purpose of being a smart nanny for children. It will remind the children to drink water, to sleep on time, to study and behave and it can even sing lullabies to them. Of course, it will lock onto the child’s location and would follow them wherever they go.
“This is a fine thing indeed,” Lu Jin praised. He really liked this kind of advanced technology.
“Unfortunately, there’s no adult version yet,” lamented Yan Huan. She had wanted to buy one for Lu Jin as well, but this was a toy for children, not for adults.
“I was just kidding!” Lu Jin chuckled. If a highly respected commander like him walked around everywhere with a robot nanny rolling along at his side, he would become the laughing stock of the city. He could not afford to lose his reputation at this point, as he was already close to retiring. If he lost his reputation, then he would have to live out the rest of his life in shame.
Little Lei tugged at the robot’s hand and chattered on to it in his adorable toddler voice. The robot was smart enough to understand most of what Little Lei is saying, and it followed him wherever he went.
“You have to share your meals with the robot, or it will starve,” Madam Lei grabbed the chance to hoodwink her clueless grandchild.
In response, Little Lei thumped on his chest in determination.
“Grandma, Lei Lei will not eat that much,” Little Lei promised. He would not touch his snacks anymore, not even the desserts and cakes that came after his meals. He would leave all of them to the robot.
In reality, Madam Lei did not harbor too much hope that her little grandchild would honor his promise, but at least they were off to a good start. Hopefully, if things went well, then Little Lei could slim down and avoid the fate of obesity.
Little Lei spent the day playing with the robot at the Lu family’s house before leaving with Madam Lei. Of course, the robot nanny went home with them.
Lu Jin and Ye Shuyun left to visit Old Master Lu. After that, they had several other stops to make at various relatives’ houses. Since they had just returned from their trip, they had a haul of souvenirs and gifts to deliver to the elders of their families. First, they shall visit Old Master Lu, most likely getting a fresh scolding in the process, before continuing on to the Ye family.
Yan Huan was left alone in the house again. She placed her laptop on her lap and turned it on, navigating to a webpage that showed the box office performance of recent movies. The box office sales of Before the Beginning had continued to climb, slowly but surely. Right now, its box office sales had surpassed 5.2 billion, breaking the record of White Fox, and doubled that of The Aster Flower.
During the New Year, the fans of The Aster Flower and Before the Beginning were at war, tearing into each other and flaming the opposing movie. They used whatever they could get their hands on to throw shade on the movie that their opponents supported.
However, at this point, the box office performance and public opinion was firmly on Before the Beginning’s side. The Aster Flower was a fairly decent film, but it had went up against a tough opponent that it could not beat. Neither of the movies were inferior to the other, yet Before the Beginning had resonated more with the audience. It was unforgettable and the plot was readily embraced by the audience, thus its box office sales had continued to soar even now.
Of course, the fans of Before the Beginning had declared victory because of that.
You were arrogant and smug, claiming that your acting was phenomenal, that your plot was captivating and flawless, touching and bittersweet yet hilarious and comedic. But in the end? Look at the results at the box office.
Do you think 20 billion can compare to 50 billion? You claim that you are better, but can you achieve 50 billion box office sales? Although it is true that box office sales does not mean everything, but in the eyes of our fans, box office sales is everything. Not to mention that the best resources were invested into the production of The Aster Flower!
