T/N: ⚠️ Content warning – Child Abuse ⚠️
She Tingxie looked at the small bag, chuckled softly, and shook her head. “Children just don’t know better. There’s no need for Mr. Qiu to make a special trip to apologize.”
Pipi’s father quickly stepped forward, pressing the bag into She Tingxie’s hands. “Miss She, you’re being too kind. Pipi caused you trouble twice, and not only did you not blame him, but as a senior, you even took the time to guide him properly. As his father, I absolutely must thank you.”
Hearing Pipi’s father’s words, She Tingxie laughed softly. “Well then, thank you.”
Seeing She Tingxie accept the bag, barely concealed joy and satisfaction flashed in Pipi’s father’s eyes.
He casually ran his hand through his obviously carefully groomed hair and asked, “I’ve also booked a table at the Golden Hotel. Would Miss She be willing to join my Pipi and me for dinner? Don’t worry, the Golden Hotel has excellent privacy—I’ve done my research.”
She Tingxie shook her head, quickly glanced at her watch, and smiled apologetically. “Sorry, Mr. Qiu, I have another appointment later.”
Her toes pointed outward, looking urgent as if she was short on time. Seeing this, Pipi’s father couldn’t say much more and could only smile awkwardly. “Alright, goodbye, Miss She.”
After Pipi’s father parted ways with She Tingxie, Gao Shi thought he would surely go see Pipi now, and he could follow to check on Pipi’s condition.
But unexpectedly, Pipi’s father suddenly remembered something and hurried back toward where they had separated. When he arrived, She Tingxie—who had just claimed she had urgent business and needed to leave immediately—hadn’t left at all. Instead, she was casually examining the bag with an expression he’d never seen before, then snorted and shook her head.
When Pipi’s father arrived, he only heard her last words: “A cheap 150,000-yuan thing. The Golden Hotel is such a tacky place, how embarrassing to invite people to dinner there. Flowing Water Pavilion would be more like it.”
The bag that Pipi’s father had hesitated over for so long before gritting his teeth to buy was carelessly tossed onto the back seat of She Tingxie’s car.
Pipi’s father stood there stunned, watching She Tingxie’s car drive away. It took him a long time to react. His fists clenched tightly, veins bulging on the backs of his hands, his face full of suppressed rage.
He walked to where they had parted, bent down to search for a while, and found a string of glittering keys.
Pipi’s father walked back suppressing his anger. Pipi’s mother, who had been waiting in a corner with Pipi for a long time, was also full of rage.
“You dead man, where did you go? Gone for so long?!”
Pipi’s father impatiently waved his hand and snapped, “What do you know? What do women understand about business? If I didn’t bow and scrape to those people, would you mother and son have the life you have today?”
Pipi’s mother made sarcastic “oh my” sounds twice. “Right, right, it’s all your achievement, isn’t it? If Pipi couldn’t make money filming commercials, you’d still be working yourself to death in the factory.”
Pipi’s father’s face darkened, about to say something, when Gao Shi stepped out.
Faced with Gao Shi’s appearance, both Pipi’s parents became very alert.
They clearly remembered this excessively handsome man with that intimidating aura they feared.
“What are you here for again?”
Gao Shi crouched down and touched Pipi’s forehead, feeling a handful of cold sweat.
Pipi’s face was very pale, his little belly still unnaturally distended, even worse than yesterday.
Gao Shi was immediately both angry and amused.
“You two didn’t listen to a word I said yesterday.”
“You’re only focused on arguing—didn’t you notice that Pipi’s body is uncomfortable?”
Pipi’s mother exploded first. Probably no parent can stand hearing others say they don’t know how to raise their child. She yanked Pipi, making him stumble, his face growing even paler.
She gripped Pipi’s arm. “Where does it hurt? I’m his mother and I didn’t even notice…”
Her words cut off abruptly, because under the evening sun’s glow, Pipi’s face looked even more ghastly pale, with a layer of cold sweat on his forehead. No matter how you looked at it, he clearly wasn’t feeling well.
Pipi’s mother’s expression changed. “You little brat, if you’re not feeling well, why didn’t you say something!”
Gao Shi ignored the stubborn woman, gently pressing Pipi’s little belly and softening his voice to ask, “Does it feel bloated? Does it hurt?”
Pipi pressed his lips together and nodded, his voice tiny. “My tummy hurts, I feel sick.”
As he spoke, he let out a small burp, and an unpleasant smell wafted from his mouth.
Gao Shi immediately frowned.
When Lele was little, he had been greedy and crawled out of his room in the middle of the night to secretly eat half a box of fried chicken and down half a can of cola. Eating greasy food so late at night was impossible to digest.
To avoid being found out by the Gao family, he stubbornly insisted he was fine, but before long, he was in such stomach pain that his face turned pale, and they had to call a private doctor.
Pipi’s condition was the same as Lele’s back then—both had indigestion, but Pipi’s case looked more severe.
Gao Shi looked up at the two adults. “Pipi needs to go to the hospital immediately.”
He simply stood up and picked Pipi up. “What kind of parents are you? The child’s face is this pale and you don’t take him to see a doctor. Did you completely ignore what I said yesterday, or are you just too eager to make money?”
Pipi’s parents’ faces immediately changed. Perhaps the more people lack something, the more they want to show off—they had clearly gotten rich off Pipi, but now they wouldn’t allow anyone to call them bloodsucking parents.
Pipi’s mother immediately tried to snatch Pipi from Gao Shi’s arms.
Gao Shi lightly touched her wrist, easily deflecting her movement.
Honestly, he wasn’t a good-tempered person at all—in fact, he could be said to have a very bad temper—but facing a situation like Pipi’s, he really couldn’t be completely forceful, since Pipi was someone else’s child.
Same as before, to control someone you had to target what was most important to them. So Gao Shi lifted Pipi’s bangs to show them—the makeup on that little face was all smeared by cold sweat.
“Pipi’s condition is very serious right now. He must be taken to the hospital. This is severe indigestion. Such a small child eating so much hard-to-digest food and being overstimulated could even trigger acute gastritis and cause a low fever.”
Gao Shi added meaningfully, “—At that point, it might take ten days to half a month to recover. Even if he forces himself to get better to support you parents, if his stomach is damaged, he won’t be able to do food commercials anymore.”
This statement hit right at their lifeline. Pipi’s mother’s face changed again and again as she snatched Pipi away. This time Gao Shi didn’t resist, and Pipi was easily pulled into her arms.
“You little brat, if you’re not feeling well, why can’t you say so? Your mouth is so useless! Don’t know who you learned that from.”
Having said his piece, Gao Shi smoothed the wrinkles in his clothes and stood up.
He looked down and made eye contact with Pipi. The child’s complexion was terrible—Gao Shi even felt he was so uncomfortable he could barely make sense of what was happening around him—but when he looked at Gao Shi, he still instinctively tried to smile.
Gao Shi was reminded of Lele as a child.
Honestly, the talent scout’s decision had been quite good—any parent with children would find it very hard to be heartless toward Pipi.
He casually flashed his phone in front of Pipi. His well-defined fingers lightly tapped the phone case, then he looked at Pipi. This clever child understood Gao Shi’s meaning.
Whether out of genuine concern for the child, worry about Pipi, or fear of losing advertising fees due to illness, Pipi’s mother somewhat impatiently dragged Pipi toward the hospital, not even bothering with Gao Shi behind her or her husband she’d been arguing with.
Gao Shi straightened up and looked at the man who hadn’t said a word from beginning to end—Pipi’s father.
Perhaps due to natural male rivalry, when Gao Shi looked at him, a flash of wariness crossed Pipi’s father’s eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a smile. He nodded at him, then said with quite official politeness, “Thank you, sir. Although we had already noticed Pipi’s condition before, we still appreciate you reminding us again.”
This statement was clearly meant to save face. Gao Shi couldn’t be bothered to spare people’s feelings and said with a half-smile, “You noticed long ago but still had the heart to let the child suffer like this? Is Pipi really your biological son?”
Ignoring Pipi’s father’s slightly changing expression, Gao Shi walked toward his car.
Compared to the opportunistic Pipi’s mother, Pipi’s father was someone Gao Shi found even more repulsive and didn’t want to deal with.
This man was ambitious, face-conscious, and most importantly, he so easily used money earned from his sick child’s work to buy a bag to please another woman.
They were both men—who couldn’t see through whose intentions?
Looking at Pipi’s father’s seemingly composed expression, Gao Shi felt particularly disgusted. He would definitely tell Pipi’s mother and Pipi about this.
Gao Shi never believed that when encountering such situations, one should pretend not to know in order to maintain false peace and patch up a broken marriage.
Not even talking about emotions, just speaking in terms of pure interests, Pipi’s father’s behavior already constituted using marital joint property[mfn]In Chinese/East Asian legal systems, marital joint property laws are typically stricter than Western jurisdictions. The text highlights that Pipi’s father’s unauthorized spending of 150,000 yuan (approximately $20,000+ USD) on a gift for another woman constitutes illegal misuse of family assets. This is particularly egregious because: (1) the money came from their minor child’s earnings, (2) it was spent secretly for romantic purposes outside the marriage, and (3) the amount was substantial enough to require spousal consent. The legal framework treats this as both financial infidelity and potential grounds for divorce proceedings, especially since the child’s welfare funds were diverted for the father’s personal romantic pursuits.[/mfn].
Not to mention that the 150,000 yuan came from Pipi’s commercial fees.
Actually, for these two people, as long as Pipi’s custody wasn’t determined, they couldn’t divorce for even a day. So he had to tell Pipi—he needed to let Pipi know what situation he was facing. He couldn’t just watch this pair of parents drag Pipi down for his entire life.
He never believed that things like divorce should be hidden from children.
Gao Shi knew that just because children are young doesn’t mean they don’t understand anything. In fact, children understand a lot.
He also had to let Pipi know what Pipi’s father had done with the advertising fees he had worked so hard to earn.
There’s a fundamental difference between filial piety and blind filial piety.
***
The family of three went to the hospital. After Gao Shi confirmed they had gone to the hospital, he quietly drove back. It was then that he learned from passersby what had actually happened today.
After hearing this, Gao Shi was so angry at this blood-sucking pair of parents that he almost laughed.
So they hadn’t listened to a word he said yesterday?
Yesterday, Pipi had just eaten so many tough beef jerky sticks, which were already hard enough to digest. Today, they actually had him work back-to-back commercial shoots, starting at 5:30 AM and filming until dusk, with She Tingxie as his co-star again.
Whether She Tingxie’s acting was really that terrible, or whether she and Pipi were just naturally incompatible, when she filmed with Pipi this time, yesterday’s beef jerky commercial situation repeated itself.
The only difference was that today Pipi was eating quail eggs.
Quail eggs are high-protein foods that are not easy for children to digest. Today Pipi ate quail eggs all day long—you can imagine how uncomfortable that would be, especially with the beef jerky still not fully digested in his stomach, and the wounds in his mouth probably still bleeding.
After hearing the whole story, Gao Shi silently cursed these scumbags.
He really couldn’t feel at ease leaving Pipi with such irresponsible parents. After thinking it over, he still drove to the hospital.
Pipi’s mother was getting medicine with Pipi, holding the medicine while blaming Pipi for causing her more trouble. Pipi hung his head without arguing, only occasionally trying to hold his mother’s hand in a pleasing, careful way.
Although Pipi’s mother’s tone wasn’t good, she had at least registered him and bought medicine.
“You little debt collector, you’re just here to collect debts! Sigh, come here!”
Pipi’s mother pulled Pipi onto her lap and gently rubbed his belly. Pipi curled up against his mother’s chest and closed his eyes. His brow was furrowed, but the corners of his mouth were slightly upturned.
Gao Shi watched for a while but ultimately didn’t disturb them further.
But only Pipi’s mother and Pipi were here—Pipi’s father was nowhere to be seen.
***
Near the film studio, shortly after Gao Shi left, Pipi’s father received a phone call from a drinking buddy he often hung out with.
“Hey, Old Qiu, have you gotten rich again recently? How about the brothers get together today?”
Pipi’s father always felt that a person’s success needed others to set it off. Therefore, though he felt his status was much higher than before, he still always accepted drinking invitations from his fair-weather friends. He loved the way they looked at him with envy and jealousy.
Who told them they weren’t capable enough to give birth to a money-making son like he had?
He was in a bad mood today anyway.
He glanced at Pipi and agreed, “Alright, you guys get ready, I’ll be there soon.”
Pipi’s mother immediately frowned. “Where are you running off to fool around now? The child is still sick, where do you think you’re going?”
Pipi’s father waved impatiently. “Going to socialize. Women shouldn’t meddle in men’s business.”
“If I don’t socialize, where would Pipi’s commercials come from?”
Pipi’s mother pursed her lips but ultimately said nothing.
Pipi’s father drove his new car—bought with Pipi’s commercial fees—to a small restaurant where they often met for drinks.
When he arrived, the small restaurant was already full, and everyone stood up when they saw him.
“Hey, Old Qiu, now that your son’s a big star, you’ve become a big shot. We haven’t seen you for ages.”
“You’re late, you’re late! Shouldn’t you be penalized with a drink for this?”
“I’ll punish myself with three cups, three cups!”
Pipi’s father generously raised his wine cup and drained it in one gulp.
After his arrival, the drinking table took on an atmosphere of everyone surrounding the moon—he was the moon being surrounded, and this situation made him feel very satisfied.
The humiliation he’d suffered at She Tingxie’s hands seemed to have found an outlet and was released all at once.
The group drank and made noise until late into the night.
Because of his bad mood today, Pipi’s father was drinking everything offered to him, accepting every drop of wine people sent his way.
When this group got together, they only talked about certain things. With the alcohol taking effect, someone asked:
“Hey, Old Qiu! Now that your son’s a big star, you must be able to meet a lot of female celebrities, right? How do they look? Are they the same as on TV? And those chests, those legs… hehe, are they real or fake?”
Dirty jokes are always the best conversation starters among drinking buddies. Pipi’s father puffed out his chest somewhat proudly. He was half-drunk now, but could still feel his “brothers'” admiring and expectant gazes.
“Of course! I’ve met quite a few of those stars. Who do you want to know about?”
“That famous one recently? Her? Nice figure, but that face—makeup nowadays is too powerful. She looks nothing like she does on TV. When the makeup comes off, she looks like a ghost.”
“And what about so-and-so? Her, well…”
As they chatted, someone suddenly raised their voice and asked, “Hey, Old Qiu, I heard your son’s been filming commercials with that big star She Tingxie lately? Have you met the big star?”
At the mention of She Tingxie, Pipi’s dad’s good mood plummeted like it had been slashed with a knife, dropping down a whole level.
“Met her? Of course I’ve met her!”
“Is She Tingxie really as pure as they say?”
Someone immediately put on a very knowledgeable air and countered, “How could that be possible? Which star in the entertainment industry is truly pure? She’s probably been xx’d by who knows how many people.”
“Exactly, who knows how many sugar daddies she has behind the scenes? Just look at that figure of hers…”
Someone laughed with ill intent and looked toward Pipi’s dad, “Old Qiu, you’re the head of your household. Your son’s really making it now, earning you big money. Those stars in the entertainment industry—think you could get with any of them?”
Someone waved dismissively, using reverse psychology: “Ah, come on now—flattering him is one thing, but you’re putting Old Qiu on too high a pedestal. That’s just setting him up for a fall.”
“Pipi is indeed quite famous as a little star, but Old Qiu isn’t a star himself. How could he possibly connect with those celebrities?”
Pipi’s dad felt his blood boiling as he listened, and he recalled that sentence he’d overheard.
She Tingxie had so carelessly tossed the little bag he’d gritted his teeth to afford into the back seat of her car, as if it were some worthless trinket, ruthlessly trampling on the self-respect he’d worked so hard to build up.
…
By the time Pipi’s mom and Pipi got home, it was already quite late.
Pipi had taken some medicine, but he felt like his condition hadn’t improved at all. Maybe it was because he’d caught wind on the way home—he felt his head was foggy and dizzy, with some aching too.
Pipi’s mom was heating up takeout food in the kitchen while Pipi curled up on the sofa, feeling like it had been ages since he’d eaten a meal his mother had cooked herself.
Back when he was very young and the family wasn’t well-off, his dad worked at a factory outside. Every day was extremely hard. His mom tended to their little vegetable plot, and when the vegetables ripened, she couldn’t bear to eat even one herself—only keeping the ones that didn’t look good enough to sell. The beautiful, fresh, appealing ones were all taken to the street to sell at their stall, bringing in meager income for the family.
But back then, his mom would still specially make him meat dumplings on his birthday or during holidays, or save him the biggest, most beautiful, freshest, most sellable vegetable from their plot.
His favorite was carrots.
But after filming that carrot-pulling video, he’d never eaten such delicious carrots again.
His memory of carrots was forever frozen in that summer—the biggest one he’d pulled up, the freshest one, and the last one.
Pipi felt cold all over, and this chill spread quickly.
He was an obedient child who never caused trouble for his parents, so he just tried to pull the nearby blanket over to cover himself, not thinking to call for his mom’s help.
The sound of the front door opening rang out, and a wave of alcohol smell poured in.
Dad was home.
Pipi thought this groggily.
He was still trying hard to reach for that little blanket. But his vision was getting blurry—he didn’t see that there was a box of miscellaneous items his mom had sorted out but not put away sitting on top of the blanket. With just a slight effort, the whole box tumbled to the floor.
With a loud crash, both Pipi’s dad and mom suddenly looked toward him.
Pipi’s mom came running out cursing, wiping her hands on her apron, and immediately saw the disastrous mess on the floor.
Pipi’s mom’s temper flared instantly. She reached for a nearby clothes hanger, pulled Pipi over, and gave him two sharp smacks on his bottom.
“Why can’t you just behave? I must have committed sins in my past life to give birth to a curse like you. I’m already so exhausted and you still cause me trouble every day. Even when you’re sick you can’t just stay put.”
Pipi wanted to apologize, but he was shivering so badly from the cold that he couldn’t speak.
What they didn’t notice was that from the moment Pipi’s dad entered the house, he’d been staring fixedly at that clothes hanger striking Pipi again and again, his eyes gradually becoming bloodshot.
…
Pipi’s dad had always used those fair-weather friends as a channel for showing off, but he hadn’t expected today’s meal to become more and more infuriating. Not only was he being subtly mocked, but some of the more audacious ones were even openly and covertly calling him a man who lived off his child, a head of household who couldn’t support his family.
Did She Tingxie think the same thing?
Someone as proud and sensitive about his dignity as he was simply couldn’t accept being mocked by this group of fair-weather friends he’d always looked down upon, much less accept that his carefully chosen expensive gift was nothing more than a worthless trinket in his goddess’s eyes.
Nothing but a xx’d whore.
Pipi’s dad frantically consoled himself mentally, but that anger, doused with alcohol, only grew more intense.
He desperately needed an outlet for his rage, until he got home and saw that clothes hanger striking the child’s skin again and again.
Because Pipi had deliberately been kept from eating properly to control his body shape and extend his childhood period, he was very thin.
He was so small, so fragile, and his own son—he could control him with one hand, could even strangle him to death and the boy wouldn’t have the strength to resist.
He’d never personally punished Pipi before. He knew more than Pipi’s mom did, and had even thought about using this fact to fight for Pipi’s custody after a divorce.
But now, the dull sound of the hanger striking skin and clothes stimulated Pipi’s dad’s eardrums. His eyes turned red, and the alcohol finally completely ignited his fury, spreading it throughout his entire brain.
He unbuckled his leather belt and strode forward with large steps. Under Pipi’s mom’s gaze that gradually shifted from anger to terror, he lashed down hard on Pipi’s body.
***
Today the Anomaly Management Bureau was handling an urgent task, so Gao Shi couldn’t get off work. He turned around and went back to the bureau to work overtime. Halfway through his overtime shift, he heard his phone ring. Looking down, he saw it was an unfamiliar number.
“Hello?”
The call connected but there was no response. All he heard was loud striking sounds.
Mixed in with the whipping sounds were faint struggling cries for help from a child.
Gao Shi’s heart sank, and he grabbed a nearby criminal police officer who had come for task coordination.
“Let’s go! Emergency mission!”
##
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