Chapter 86 Jealousy

“Could it be that Tian Boyu has fallen for Su Wan’ning? But there’s a six-year age gap between them!”

“As the saying goes, ‘A woman three years older is a golden treasure’—and here we have two treasures. What young man wouldn’t be tempted?”

“Come on, don’t be ridiculous. Obviously, he’s helping her because she bought the most. Who else should he be helping?”

Behind the scenes at that moment, Qin Jingchen watched the barrage of comments flooding the livestream, his eyes narrowing with a dangerous glint.

Standing beside him, Han Xiu spoke up in defense of his boss. “President Qin, why did you suddenly revoke the decision to switch participants? That fellow Tian really doesn’t know his place. Should I go and—”

Qin Jingchen silenced him with a single look. Han Xiu immediately shut his mouth, not daring to utter another word.

Only then did Qin Jingchen turn his gaze back to the screen. The moment Su Wan’ning appeared, his expression softened.

“What do you know? I’m helping my wife.”

Han Xiu muttered inwardly, “Helping? I fear if she sold you off, you’d still help her count the money!”

After her intense shopping spree at the market, Su Wan’ning was comfortably full and deeply satisfied. On the ride back, she glanced at the lively comments scrolling past in the livestream and responded with a smile.

“I actually stumbled across this by accident. It’s not just in this city—every city has markets like this. You just need to look for them. Oh, and some rural morning markets too…”

She chatted animatedly all the way back, her popularity in the livestream quickly surpassing everyone else’s. Sitting in the back, Yin Shanshan’s gaze darkened.

Once they returned to the grasslands, the adults pitched in to cook while the children gathered to play.

Mingming, naturally mischievous and full of energy, had discovered a ladder behind one of the yurts, left there by a worker. Excitedly, he called his friends over.

“Look! If we climb up here, we’ll definitely see whether the grasslands really stretch on forever!”

He pointed at the ladder beside the yurt.

These city kids had seldom experienced such vast, open spaces. Mingming, especially, had been curious from the moment they arrived—did the grasslands ever end, and what would the edge look like?

Yangyang, worried, frowned. “We’d better not. It’s dangerous. My mom says I—”

“Oh, come on, Yangyang! Why are you always so timid? If your mom tells you not to do something, do you never do it?” Mingming interrupted impatiently.

Yangyang nodded obediently. “Yes, the teacher says we have to listen to our moms.”

Mingming rolled his eyes, unwilling to argue further, and turned to the others.

Daxi, a girl, was too timid to join in and shook her head repeatedly. Suisui and Niannian stayed silent. Mingming simply waved his small hand. “Fine, I’ll go up first and see for you. If the view’s good, you can come up too!”

With that, he grabbed the ladder and bravely took the first step, wobbling as he climbed.

“Come help me hold the ladder!”

At the same time, Yin Shanshan slipped away to the production team’s yurt, avoiding the cameras, and sought out Wang Zan.

“Shanshan, is something the matter?” Wang Zan greeted her with respect; after all, her standing in the entertainment industry was different.

Her face expressionless, none of the usual warmth she showed on-camera, Yin Shanshan spoke coolly. “Director, we’ve been on the grasslands for so long, and everyone’s still living in the same yurt. Is the production team short on funds?”

Wang Zan chuckled. “Of course not! We just thought it would be a good chance for everyone to bond on this trip, so we arranged for a big yurt. It wasn’t easy to find, you know.”

But Yin Shanshan had no patience for his explanations. She frowned and said, “If that’s the case, we should stay separately. It’s inconvenient for everyone to be together all the time.”

This suggestion would disrupt all the production team’s plans, but since it came from Yin Shanshan, Wang Zan didn’t dare argue.

“All right. The production team just got a new investment. I’ll see what I can do,” Wang Zan replied, looking troubled.

Just then, Chen Rui burst into the tent, his face anxious. “There’s trouble—Mingming fell off the ladder and landed on Yangyang!”

“What?” At the mention of her son, Yin Shanshan’s brow knitted, and she dashed out without another word.

“What happened?” Wang Zan followed, a few steps behind.

“The kids were just playing, but Mingming insisted on climbing on the yurt. He got scared halfway up, and Yangyang tried to help him. Mingming slipped and fell, landing on Yangyang. It’s chaos out there now.”

When Yin Shanshan arrived, Yangyang had already stopped crying.

“Where did Yin Shanshan go? Why did the real mother arrive so late?”

“Who knows? She was nowhere to be seen when they were cooking earlier.”

The viewers in the livestream were critical. Yin Shanshan pushed past the workers to Yangyang’s side, checked him over thoroughly, and, finding only some scrapes, finally sighed in relief—before her expression turned stern.

“What’s wrong with you? Why weren’t you more careful?”

“Oh my, she doesn’t comfort him, just scolds him?”

“Yangyang was trying to help! He’s such a good boy—why is she so harsh?”

But Yangyang was used to it. He hung his head and mumbled an apology. “Sorry, Mom. I made you worry.”

Just then, Mingming, who had been left unattended, piped up loudly. “Auntie Shanshan, don’t blame Yangyang. He only got hurt because he was trying to save me. It wasn’t his fault!”

“Brotherhood at its finest! I’m tearing up!”

“Mingming is such a good kid—he never lies!”

Yin Shanshan’s expression didn’t change, though her face remained dark. At that moment, Su Wan’ning pulled Mingming aside, dusting him off as she spoke gently. “Mingming, you were naughty. Wanting to climb the roof is one thing, but you got Yangyang caught up too. What do you think should happen?”

Feng Rui stood nearby, watching the drama unfold, clearly unwilling to get involved.

“I…”

“You need to lose some weight! You’re so heavy—imagine if you’d fallen on Niannian instead. Can you imagine how serious that would be?”

Mingming lowered his head. “I understand, Aunt Su. I’ll listen to you.”

At lunch, Su Wan’ning cooked a special low-fat meal for Mingming herself—a balanced dish with carbohydrates, vitamins, and healthy fats, all in perfect proportion.

“That looks so tasty for a diet meal! The colors are beautiful!”

“But Mingming looks like he’s about to burst, poor kid!”