UCS Chapter 61

“Pipi.”

Pipi looked up, searching for the source of the voice, and finally saw Gao Shi.

Seeing a stranger, he hesitated, but because Gao Shi gave off an inexplicable sense of reliability—like the police officers his teacher had shown them—he couldn’t help but walk over.

Gao Shi got out of the car, crouched down, and looked at him eye to eye.

“Hello, Pipi, my name is Gao Shi.”

Pipi twisted his hands together. “Hello, Uncle Gao, my name is Qiu Pi, but you can call me Pipi.”

Gao Shi nodded and said, “Pipi, besides hitting your belly and back, does your mom ever hit your neck or the back of your head?”

As soon as Gao Shi said this, Pipi froze.

Gao Shi softened his tone and said gently, “The head and neck are very fragile, you know, and shouldn’t be hit. Does your mom ever hit you there?”

Pipi instinctively shook his head, glancing repeatedly toward the main entrance.

Seeing his nervousness, Gao Shi took out his police badge and showed it to Pipi. “I’m a police officer, little one, you don’t have to be afraid.”

The police identity clearly worked. Pipi visibly relaxed, looking a bit embarrassed as he whispered, “Uncle Police Officer.”

Looking at little Pipi, Gao Shi couldn’t help but think of Gao Gusheng as a child. He asked softly, “Does your mom hit you often?”

From what had just happened, it was clear that Pipi’s mom had a violent temper and hit hard—she’d hit Pipi twice just that day. Pipi’s dad was smoother and more shrewd, the type who usually wouldn’t hit personally.

So the marks on Pipi’s belly were most likely from his mom.

Pipi glanced at Gao Shi, then quickly lowered his head. “Not often, usually only when I do something wrong.”

Gao Shi looked at him seriously and told him, “Children shouldn’t be hit for no reason. The country has child protection laws. Even parents can’t just beat their kids however they want.”

Pipi hurried to explain, “But everyone’s like this. Xiao Guo’s mom hits her, and Pingping’s dad too. If you don’t do well in the commercial, you should be disciplined.”

Gao Shi was stunned, a surge of anger rushing to his head.

“What?”

“Uncle Police Officer, are you going to arrest my parents?” Maybe Gao Shi’s tone was too harsh, because Pipi suddenly shivered. He mustered his courage and looked up. “Uncle Police Officer, can you not arrest my parents? I can take pictures, do commercials, sing and dance, I can make a lot of money and give it all to you, just please don’t arrest my parents, okay?”

Gao Shi never agreed with the saying “spare the rod, spoil the child,” but it was undeniable that not all children were as well-behaved as Lele. Sometimes, to correct a naughty child, you really do have to let them feel some pain so they remember.

But the injuries on Pipi’s body had long since crossed the line from “discipline” to “abuse” and “venting.”

His case was actually very hard to judge—“even the wisest official can’t settle family disputes,” as the saying goes.

Gao Shi looked at this child. At an age when he should be in school, he was filming commercials and exposed to excessive attention. His social circle was broader than school kids’, but he had no peers his own age. The only two people close to him were his parents.

Even if the police were called, without solid evidence and considering Pipi’s own wishes, his parents might only be detained for a few days. When they got out, life for Pipi could become even harder.

Even if those two were really arrested, what then? Pipi was so dependent on them that suddenly losing the only two people close to him would hardly be a good thing.

Given Pipi’s behavior, he wouldn’t agree to change guardians, so when his parents got out, things would just go back to how they were.

The influence of parents on a child lasts a lifetime—there’s no real solution.

Gao Shi looked down at Pipi.

This was a prematurely mature child, exposed to society too early without the knowledge to match. He clumsily and awkwardly tried to please Gao Shi to protect his parents.

In the end, Gao Shi didn’t answer him. “Do you have a phone?”

“Yes.”

He fumbled to take out his phone, his eyes wet, like a little puppy desperately wagging its tail.

Gao Shi sighed inwardly. “This is my number. If you ever need anything, you can call me.”

Pipi nodded quickly.

Gao Shi stood up, and Pipi looked up at him. Away from the camera’s beautifying filter, it was clear his hair was a bit yellow—signs of long-term malnutrition.

He gently placed his hand on Pipi’s fluffy, yellowed hair and ruffled it softly.

 

“Hey! What are you doing?!”

 

Pipi’s mom saw Gao Shi and charged over aggressively, pulling Pipi behind her. After getting a clear look at Gao Shi, she paused, then put on a smile.

 

“Sorry, I got a bit nervous seeing an adult near my child.”

 

She smiled obsequiously, “Are you planning to hire our Pipi for a commercial? Our Pipi is really good at filming, he has millions of fans online—a little star!”

 

Gao Shi looked expressionlessly at her eyes, which were squeezed into a line, then at the man behind her.

 

Pipi’s dad put on the air of a family patriarch, politely extending his hand, “My son and wife have caused you trouble. May I ask your name?”

 

Gao Shi didn’t extend his hand.

 

The man in front of him wore a proper suit and, compared to his wife, looked younger and more composed.

 

This made Pipi’s mom look like a fawning underling.

 

Gao Shi didn’t bother with pleasantries and got straight to the point, “Child abuse is illegal.”

 

The smiles on both parents’ faces froze.

 

Pipi’s mom immediately changed her expression, more dramatically than a face-changing performance, “Who are you? What business is it of yours to meddle in our family affairs?!”

 

“I gave birth to him, I can do whatever I want with him. Mind your own business—can’t even handle your own family affairs but you’re sticking your nose into ours…”

 

To deal with this type of person, you had to hit their weak spot. Gao Shi waved his phone, “If I put a video of you hitting Pipi online, netizens will boycott the commercials he films. Over time, do you think advertisers will still hire Pipi?”

 

Both their faces changed. Pipi’s mom reached out to grab the phone, but Gao Shi stepped back and dodged, “I didn’t film anything, but that doesn’t mean others won’t.”

 

The more truthful Gao Shi was, the less they believed him. Pipi’s dad’s face darkened, “How much do you want?”

 

Gao Shi thought this kind of person who thought they were clever was the most stupid. Pipi’s dad gave him an even worse impression than Pipi’s mom—a perfect template of those men who never do anything at home but still act superior and criticize their wives and children.

 

“I told you, I didn’t film anything, but you should know that even if Pipi is your child, child abuse is still illegal.”

 

Gao Shi opened the car door and got in. He looked down at Pipi, who gazed back at him with some nervousness but also hidden anticipation and joy, as if seeing a superhero who punished evil and rewarded good.

 

“Also, tonight you’d better have Pipi exercise and drink some hawthorn juice or something to aid digestion. He ate too much beef jerky today.”

 

Gao Shi took one last look at Pipi, started the car, and drove away.

 

With his “intimidation” today, Pipi’s life would surely improve. At least those money-grubbing parents wouldn’t hit Pipi again for a while.

 

Gao Shi didn’t go far. He circled around the filming base once, then turned back. He heard Pipi’s mom angrily scolding, “I’m your mother! What’s wrong with me hitting you? Which child hasn’t been hit? The old saying goes ‘spare the rod, spoil the child’—we don’t need some outsider meddling.”

 

“Don’t talk to strangers in the future, you hear? One day you’ll get kidnapped and sold to some mountain village.”

 

Pipi’s mom scolded all the way, but at least she didn’t hit Pipi again.

 

Wanxing Entertainment had good tactics—convincing the children’s parents to become their managers. This way, when children were “disciplined” by their parents, whether it was beating them under the guise of discipline or reducing their daily food intake to keep them malnourished and small to maintain their childlike appearance longer, all these things became reasonable under the cover of the “parent-child relationship.”

 

Gao Shi sighed in relief, started the car to go home, but suddenly felt a chill. Through the car window, he saw several people surrounding a man as they walked out.

 

The man wore sunglasses, the curve of his mouth quite gentle. His every gesture had a special charm, like a gentleman from the last century—elegant and courteous.

 

“Senior Xiao, thank you so much today. If you hadn’t helped me get into character, I probably would have struggled to find the feeling for a long time.”

 

“Is Senior Xiao’s company’s charity film about to start shooting? It’s been so long since we’ve seen you act, we’re really looking forward to it!”

 

The man answered questions with ease, taking care of everyone’s emotions, like a fish in water.

 

“…You’re improving quickly, you have talent, you just lack some technique. Don’t underestimate yourself.”

 

“Yes, we found the female lead, but we haven’t settled on the important male supporting role yet.”

 

“…Mm, that’s right, Gao Gusheng. I think this young man is very suitable for this role, I’d like to try to convince him again.”

 

As if sensing something, when he mentioned “Gao Gusheng,” the man looked up and met Gao Shi’s gaze.

 

The car window was one-way glass. The man seemed to casually look away, but Gao Shi’s eyes remained locked on him.

 

“Xingxing, help me look up information about Xiao Yusheng.”

 

A smiley face popped up on his watch, “Xingxing has received the request!” (〃＇▽＇〃)

 

***

 

When Gao Shi reached the front gate, he happened to run into Ying Bujie, who had just returned, along with a mighty fleet of delivery riders on electric bikes.

 

The delivery team surrounded Ying Bujie. Through the yellow and blue delivery vehicles and swaying kangaroo ears, Gao Shi and Ying Bujie looked at each other like the Cowherd and Weaver Girl separated by the Milky Way.

 

Gao Shi felt he must have been driven silly by Pipi’s parents—otherwise, how could he have such strange associations?

 

Gao Shi pressed his temples, feeling a headache from anger.

 

But the next second, he saw Ying Bujie’s eyes widen as he rushed toward him.

 

Huh? What?

 

Gao Shi wanted to look back, but instead saw the sky above. Intense pain pulled him into a dark dream. His last sight was Ying Bujie’s face—he didn’t speak, but anxiety seemed ready to overflow from his eyes.

 

…

 

A door with a sign reading “Screening Room” hanging on it.

 

Gao Shi was very clearly aware that this was a dream.

 

He stood in front of the screening room door, following behind the young man like a ghost observing the world from a bystander’s perspective.

 

Gao Gusheng knocked on the door. “Senior Xiao?”

 

He pushed the door open.

 

The lights weren’t on inside the screening room. Light and shadow flickered, and the dark doorway was like the gaping maw of a giant beast, inexplicably chilling.

 

Xiao Yusheng, the youngest Grand Slam Best Actor, sat right in the center of the viewing area.

 

Seeing Gao Gusheng approach, he smiled. The flickering light made his smile—praised by fans as a treasure—look rather terrifying.

 

“Student Gao, I’ve discovered something interesting. I’d like to show it to you.”

 

The video on screen had just finished playing and automatically went to the waiting page for the next video.

 

As Gao Gusheng’s face gradually lost color, Xiao Yusheng pressed play.

 

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