Therefore, at this moment, she paid no attention to the gossip from the outside world, immersing herself entirely in the thought of discovering her idol.
Passing through the courtyard, they finally entered the main entrance.
The production team casually filmed the scenery, focusing their attention on Shen Zhiyu, who had yet to appear.
"Please have some tea, everyone. Our Madam will be down in a moment," Uncle Wang said with a broad smile, looking very kind and approachable.
The staff thanked Uncle Wang and conducted an impromptu interview with him.
For instance: What kind of person is Shen Zhiyu? Is Shen Zhiyu good to children? Are the husband and wife getting along well?
Easygoing as Uncle Wang appeared, he was actually dodging every question with diplomatic vagueness.
At this point, some viewers on the screen began making sarcastic remarks.
—She still hasn't come down after all this time. Could Shen Zhiyu still be sleeping?
—Putting on big airs? It's not the first time either, what's there to be surprised about?
—To the person above, if you don't know how to speak, shut your mouth. Go out and ask, which normal person gets up this early? Isn't it completely normal to still be sleeping right now?
—Exactly. By your logic, if your relatives came over and you weren't out of bed yet, that would mean you're putting on big airs for your relatives too? No wonder your relatives say you have no manners.
—Shen Zhiyu's fans are really something else. One sentence and they snap back with ten. Where was I wrong? Knowing full well the production team was coming today, couldn't she set an alarm? I'm going to say it: Shen Zhiyu is just putting on big airs. Putting on big airs...
Because of this remark, the livestream chat was instantly flooded with comments.
At this moment, Shen Zhiyu was completely unaware of all this. After getting dressed, she prepared to go downstairs, and it was right then that baby Zhouzhou woke up.
Having just woken up, baby Zhouzhou rubbed his eyes, a tiny tuft of hair sticking straight up on his head, and called out sleepily, "Mommy."
Her footsteps immediately turned back: "Awake? Mommy is right here."
Hearing his mother's voice, baby Zhouzhou held out his chubby arms for a hug, "Hug me."
How could Shen Zhiyu resist the temptation of this cute baby? Naturally, she reached out to pick him up, gave him a little bounce in her arms, and teased, "Does Zhouzhou have a tummy full of water sloshing around in there? Shall we go wash up, hmm?"
Being held by his mother sent Zhouzhou's sense of happiness soaring. He nodded his head happily in agreement, "Okay."
Shen Zhiyu carried Zhouzhou into the bathroom, hooked a small stool over with her long leg, and set him down, "Stand right here, Mommy will put the toothpaste on the brush for you."
Zhouzhou shook his head, "No, Zhouzhou can do it himself. Zhouzhou will do it."
"Also, Mommy, I—I need to pee," Zhouzhou lowered his head, his face blushing like a red apple, "Can you go outside?"
Shen Zhiyu still had a good sense of boundaries.
She didn't forcefully pull down his pants for him to go, but respected his choice.
"Then be careful not to fall. Mommy will wait for you outside. In a little while, we'll go downstairs together to see the uncles and aunts."
"I'll be very quick."
Last night, Mommy had told him that the production team would come over to livestream today, so Zhouzhou knew he would appear on television with his mother.
He couldn't let Mommy wait too long.
He had to be quicker.
A few minutes later, Zhouzhou appeared before Shen Zhiyu, freshly washed and brushed.
Shen Zhiyu was already dressed in a beige Han-element long dress, her long black hair falling loosely down her back.
When Zhouzhou saw the outfit she was wearing, his eyes lit up, "Mommy. Matchy-matchy."
Shen Zhiyu bent down to pick him up, "Mommy will take you back to your room to find your clothes right now."
She was more than happy to wear matching outfits with Zhouzhou.
"Does Zhouzhou feel uncomfortable anywhere else?" Shen Zhiyu asked while picking out clothes for him.
Even though she had received Elder Gu's assurance that he was "healed," she still couldn't fully relax and frequently asked Zhouzhou himself if anything felt wrong.
She worried too much that the sensible Zhouzhou would quietly endure it and refuse to tell her.
Zhouzhou bounced up and down on the bed, "I can jump so high! There's no uncomfortable place at all, Mommy."
His mother cared for him and cherished him, and that made him extremely happy.
To make his mother feel at ease, he even linked pinkies with her and promised that the moment he felt any discomfort, he would tell her and absolutely never keep it from her.
Seeing his rosy complexion, which didn't look like he was merely putting on a brave face, she finally set her mind at ease.
As she was changing Zhouzhou's clothes, Xiao Bai said: [I have a Body-Strengthening Pill here. Put it in his milk later when he drinks it, and let him have it. It's good for his health.]
"So kind of you?" Shen Zhiyu asked suspiciously.
Being an actress, she had read her fair share of novels.
She knew about things like Systems, and she also knew that getting anything required exchanging an equivalent item in return.
Could Xiao Bai really be this kind? Why did she find it a bit hard to believe?
[We're currently in the same boat, you don't need to doubt my motives. My only motive is for the little villain to be well, and if you're well, I'm well,] Xiao Bai said quite sincerely.
"Hand the pill over to me." She would use herself as an experiment first; if there were no problems, she would give it to Zhouzhou.
Xiao Bai didn't object: [Fine by me. This thing strengthens the body and is also good for protecting your fetus, so you can eat it too.]
Looking at the pill in her hand, she could faintly make out a multicolored glow on its surface.
It vanished in a flash; had Shen Zhiyu not known the pill came from the System, she probably would have thought her eyes were playing tricks on her.
Taking advantage of the moment Zhouzhou was wiggling his little bottom off the bed, she tossed the pill into her mouth.
The pill melted the moment it touched her tongue; before she even had time to taste it, it was gone.
Very quickly, she felt a surge of warmth rise up through her limbs and bones, especially in her lower abdomen, which felt warm and thoroughly comfortable.
Moreover, her mind, which had felt drowsy just moments before, became much clearer.
Shen Zhiyu was astonished. It took effect this fast?
Xiao Bai said smugly: [Of course, anything produced by the System is guaranteed to be of the highest quality.]
She touched her lower abdomen and softly muttered an apology.
Sensing her psychological reaction, Xiao Bai reassured her: [This thing is completely safe for pregnant women, no need to worry.]
"Then do you have any other good things? Hand them all over to me."
Xiao Bai's mouth twitched, [I could give them to you, but if I give them to you too early, the medicinal effect will degrade. It's much more effective to exchange them for you only when you actually need them.]
"Mommy, Mommy, what are you thinking about? We can go downstairs now," Zhouzhou's voice rang out.
Shen Zhiyu told it that she would consider those items as owed to her, to be redeemed whenever she needed them.
The mother and son went downstairs hand in hand.
By this time, the livestream chat was already buzzing with lively activity.
The anti-fans were cursing Shen Zhiyu for putting on big airs, while her fans stood up for her and shot back in defense.
Looking at the high traffic in the livestream room, high though it was, the director's team was walking on eggshells.
This person was none other than the eldest daughter of the Shen Family, and also the wife of the Lu Family—these anti-fans cursing away truly had no sense of situational awareness at all.
And besides, what on earth was Shen Zhiyu's PR team doing? Weren't they going to control the comments section?
The director contacted Sister Yang personally.
Sister Yang replied that the show had only just begun, so they should let the bullets fly a little longer.
The director: "..."
When someone's manager put it that way, what else could he possibly do?
Just watch, of course.
After hanging up the phone, Sister Yang also looked at the gossip in the comment section and had her team take screenshots of the accounts that were hurling the most abuse at Shen Zhiyu.
Shen Zhiyu had told them not to worry about the insults directed at her, as long as they paid attention to the comments once Zhouzhou made his appearance.
But how could she do that? She and Zhouzhou were a single entity.
When one flourishes, both flourish; when one suffers, both suffer.
Both needed to be looked after.
Anyway, their team had nothing else on their hands right now, so they might as well just keep their eyes glued to this variety show.
Shen Zhiyu led her son downstairs, where the production team's camera was aimed straight at the dining table.