Chapter Ninety-One: A Subtle Contest of Wills

"Uh..." Wang Zan was clearly hesitant, his eyes flicking to the camera beside him.

Since filming began, he had always agreed to whatever requests Shan Shan Yin made, relying on her status and influence. But after all this time, she had brought him nothing like the benefits he’d expected; instead, her demands had grown increasingly unreasonable. Yet, with the cameras rolling and Shan Shan Yin using her child’s health as an excuse, it was difficult for Wang Zan to refuse.

Just as he was gritting his teeth, about to relent, Yang Yang spoke up from the side.

"There's no need, Director Uncle."

Wang Zan immediately looked at him.

Yang Yang’s little face was full of seriousness. "I chose this house myself. The teacher said you have to accept the consequences of your choices. Besides, my body’s already healed; I can stay here."

Wang Zan was relieved to hear this. "Good boy, that's right. We'll respect the outcome of the game!"

Shan Shan Yin's face turned ashen, but with the livestream ongoing, she couldn’t stop her child’s candid words. Her smile grew visibly stiffer.

After Yang Yang finished, the others couldn’t help but applaud him, praising his sensibility.

Su Wan Ning, noticing Shan Shan Yin’s expression, gave a mirthless chuckle and said, "Wasn’t Yang Yang’s illness ages ago? If you hadn’t mentioned it, we’d have forgotten by now. He looks fully recovered—ran off all on his own to look at houses. Shan Shan, it’s natural for a child to want a nice house. He did his best, so don’t make things difficult for him or the director."

When Su Wan Ning finished, Wang Zan nearly applauded her on the spot.

Shan Shan Yin’s face grew even uglier. The meaning was obvious: Yang Yang had long since recovered, and the reason he ended up with such a distant house was most likely her instructions. Now, she was trying to use her own son as a shield for her selfishness.

The atmosphere grew tense, but for the first time, neither Feng Rui nor Yu Xin stood up for Shan Shan Yin.

Inwardly, they were delighted. Shan Shan Yin had always acted high and mighty on the show, looking down on everyone. Yet now, everyone could sense a shift in the air—a feeling that Shan Shan Yin’s era was coming to an end.

After the house selection segment ended, everyone moved into their new homes, and a flood of viewers poured into Shan Shan Yin’s livestream.

"Let’s see how bad this house really is."

"The production team really has no conscience."

"It’s just for show—who really believes a big star would live somewhere like this?"

Amid the audience’s heated debate, Shan Shan Yin led Yang Yang into the dilapidated house.

Dust hung in the air, the furniture was battered and broken, the floor a mess... Shan Shan Yin inspected it all, her brows furrowed tight. The production crew had kindly replaced the mattress with a new one, but she didn’t thank them; instead, she immediately began cleaning with her son.

She worked in silence, and Yang Yang, sensing her mood, moved more and more cautiously. Soon, the audience in her livestream grew bored and left.

The next morning, Su Wan Ning was roused from sleep by the director and handed a mission card.

"This morning, the mothers have a mystery task to complete, and you’ll be the temporary guardian for all the children..."

Her voice was still husky with sleep as she read the card, only waking fully after finishing. "A task? What kind of task do they have?"

Su Wan Ning asked the camera curiously, but neither the director nor the cameraman would tell her a thing.

All the commotion woke Sui Sui and Nian Nian. The two children crawled out from under the covers on their own.

"Mommy, what are you doing?" Nian Nian asked softly, rubbing her eyes.

"Nian Nian, Sui Sui, today we need to take care of all the other kids and play together. Hurry and get up—we have to go pick them up!"

Su Wan Ning accepted the mission readily, showing no trace of reluctance. Meanwhile, the others were all "worried" for her.

"Who knows if someone with Su Wan Ning’s temperament can handle so many kids."

Finally freed from Ming Ming, Feng Rui’s delight was written all over her face.

Yu Xin chuckled, "Doesn’t she always have a way with things? But with so many kids, even if Su Wan Ning had three hands, she’d still be overwhelmed!"

Feng Rui laughed along. The three of them sat in the car, gleefully predicting Su Wan Ning’s chaos, emboldened by the absence of the cameras.

Meanwhile, Su Wan Ning quickly left the house with her two children, heading first to Ming Ming’s place, which was closest.

As for Feng Rui’s departure, the "little overlord" Ming Ming didn’t care at all; in fact, he was delighted to see Su Wan Ning and eagerly got up to join her.

When they reached Da Xi’s house, and heard Yu Xin wouldn’t be there today, a rare smile appeared on Da Xi’s young face.

"Auntie Su, will you be looking after me from now on?"

Su Wan Ning shook her head. "They’ll be back today."

"Oh," Da Xi replied quietly, rising to join the group. Su Wan Ning took note of his reaction.

Before long, Ming Ming and Nian Nian were already making a racket outside, and as Su Wan Ning and the others emerged, the children dashed ahead.

Su Wan Ning turned to the camera. "Look at them—don’t they seem like wild horses off the reins?"

[Laughter in the live chat] "If you talk about kids like that, does their dad know?"

"That’s classic you!"

"They look more like piglets let out of the pen."

Su Wan Ning ignored the comments and continued, "Want to know how to get them back?"

With a mysterious smile, she raised her hand to her lips and somehow let out a long, clear whistle.

Ming Ming, who was in the lead, was the first to be attracted, and soon the other children gathered around her.

"Auntie Su, how did you make that sound?"

"Yeah, yeah! That was amazing!"

The children chirped their questions, and Su Wan Ning replied, "When we meet Yang Yang, I’ll teach you all together."

All at once, the children became exceptionally well-behaved, lining up obediently behind Su Wan Ning as they made their way to Yang Yang’s house.

"Su Wan Ning really knows how to handle kids."

"She’s the real leader of the pack!"

"Auntie Su, I’m hungry—what are we going to eat?" As soon as he saw Yang Yang, Ming Ming clutched his stomach impatiently.

Su Wan Ning laughed, tapping his nose. "Remember what you promised me?"

The little fellow pulled a face. "I remember. I have to lose weight."

"Good boy, let’s go!"

With a wave of her hand, the rest of the children followed like little ducklings.

Elsewhere, those secretly watching the livestream were all grim-faced.