The Heartless Omega: I Only Want My Daughter - Chapter 17

After the director finished explaining the criteria for assigning rooms, everyone looked down at the bowls and plates on the wooden table. In an instant, they understood why the portions had been so small.

It was so that they could finish everything.

Among the five families, Pei Zhiyun’s and Li Dai’s families had eaten every last bit. The remaining two families had leftovers on their plates and unfinished crucian carp, while Lu Zhou’s family had dropped their utensils, making it impossible to tell if they had finished or not.

Given the current situation, Pei Zhiyun and Li Dai were clearly safe from being assigned the worst house.

Pei Zhiyun breathed a sigh of relief.

The director took the script from a staff member, which listed the assigned house numbers based on the criteria. He read aloud: “House No. 5, Teacher Lu’s family; House No. 4, Teacher Gao’s family; House No. 3, Teacher Xu’s family; House No. 2, Teacher Pei’s family; House No. 1, Teacher Li’s family.”

Out of the five families, Li Dai’s family was the fastest to finish.

After all, Li Yan was the oldest child there; she was more obedient than the other children and behaved very well during the meal.

Pei Zhiyun missed out on first place because she ate too slowly, chewing her food thoroughly.

Once the assignments were finalized, the five families packed their things and left the courtyard. Led by the staff, they headed to their respective houses to rest.

The path at night was difficult to walk. Pei Zhiyun had been carrying Little Doubao the whole time, but a four-year-old child gets heavy after a while. She tilted her head to look at the little one, thinking of putting her down to walk for a bit, but seeing Little Doubao yawning from exhaustion, she gave up on the idea. Moments later, the child fell fast asleep against her shoulder.

“Let me carry her,” Wen Ying noticed her constantly switching arms, realizing she was exhausted.

Pei Zhiyun stubbornly replied, “It’s fine, we’re almost there.”

A camera crew member chimed in softly, “Um, Teacher Pei, it might take about ten more minutes to get there.”

Pei Zhiyun’s footsteps froze. Her eyes sparkled under the lights as she said guiltily, “Ten minutes? It’s that far?”

“Hahaha, yes.” The staff member couldn’t help but laugh.

“Let me carry her,” Wen Ying laughed along with the staff. She reached out to take Little Doubao from Pei Zhiyun’s arms, gently supporting her small body against her shoulder.

This time, Pei Zhiyun didn’t refuse. She stepped forward to take the heavy bags off Wen Ying and slung them over her own shoulders.

The two supported each other until they reached their destination.

House No. 2 was a single-story residential courtyard. A stone-paved path led to the house. On the right, a few small fruit trees were planted; on the left was a vegetable garden. Because the courtyard lights weren’t very bright, they could only vaguely make out water spinach and sweet potatoes.

They pushed open the creaking wooden door. The house was small, about a dozen square meters. A red wooden cabinet stood against the wall, holding a TV and various daily necessities. In the center was a mahogany coffee table flanked by mahogany chairs, all with red cushions and backrests.

“Where’s the bedroom?”

Pei Zhiyun set the bags on the sofa and instinctively turned right to push open a single door. There was a bed inside, but the quilts and covers were folded separately. She needed to put the cover on before she could lay Little Doubao down.

Turning to Wen Ying, Pei Zhiyun said, “Sit outside with Little Doubao for a while. I’ll get the bed ready.”

“Alright.”

Wen Ying sat on the sofa, cradling Little Doubao in her arms and gently patting her bottom. The child was sleeping soundly.

Pei Zhiyun busied herself in the bedroom for quite a while. Once the bed was made, she came out, tugged at her clothes, and said to Wen Ying, “Bring her in. The bed is ready.”

Wen Ying stood up and carried Little Doubao inside. Together, they took off the child’s shoes and outer clothes, placed her on the inner side of the bed by the window, and pulled up the covers.

After finishing all this, Pei Zhiyun stepped off the bed and suddenly realized there was only one quilt.

With Little Doubao sleeping on the far side, didn’t that mean she would have to sleep with Wen Ying tonight?

Since there were no cameras in the corner by the wall, Pei Zhiyun stole a glance at Wen Ying. Wen Ying was bending over to pull up the quilt at the foot of the bed. Straightening up, she said, “I’ll go see if I can boil some hot water for us to wash up. You sit and rest for a bit. I noticed you didn’t eat much earlier—are you hungry?”

“I’m not hungry,” Pei Zhiyun replied. She naturally had a small appetite. She looked away, feeling inexplicably flustered.

“Okay.” Wen Ying went to find the kitchen to boil water.

One tidied up clothes and cleaned the room, while the other busied herself in the kitchen. They each worked on their own tasks.

By the time they were familiar with the house, it was already past 11:00 PM. A staff member knocked on the door. Both turned around at the same time and asked, “What is it?”

The staff member said, “If you two aren’t too busy, there’s a behind-the-scenes interview that will be included in the final cut.”

“Alright.”

Pei Zhiyun hung her towel on the rack, wiped her hands, and went out with Wen Ying for the interview.

The production crew had placed two bamboo chairs in the courtyard. A spotlight nearby cast a bright glow over the area.

They sat down side by side. The chairs were close together; Pei Zhiyun was almost pressed against Wen Ying, her arm likely to brush against her with the slightest movement.

A staff member holding a script asked, “It’s the first day of filming. What are your thoughts, Mums?”

After the question was asked, Wen Ying didn’t even think about answering. She immediately turned to look at Pei Zhiyun, fearing she might say the wrong thing and make her angry again.

Noticing this, the staff member couldn’t help but remark, “Teacher Wen seems a bit afraid of Teacher Pei. Every time someone speaks, she looks at you.”

“No, no,” Wen Ying waved her hands in denial, her hands resting properly on her knees. She explained, “It’s mainly that I’m afraid of giving the wrong answer, so it’s better if Zhiyun answers.”

She immediately checked Pei Zhiyun’s expression.

Zhiyun?

This was the first time Pei Zhiyun had heard Wen Ying call her that. At home, Wen Ying always called her “Miss Pei,” though she was occasionally coaxed by Little Doubao into calling her “Wife.”

Pei Zhiyun dithered for a moment before answering, “At home, whether it’s with Little Doubao or my spouse, I am a rather strict parent. So, during today’s filming, I instinctively tried to discipline them. I don’t know if that’s right or wrong, so I’m looking forward to seeing the audience’s feedback. If there are areas for improvement, I want to change—that’s one of my reasons for joining this show. At home, you can’t always see your own flaws; you need a third party to point them out.”

The staff member addressed the second question to Wen Ying: “Teacher Wen, how do you feel about marrying the ‘Goddess of Millions’? Do you feel incredibly lucky?”

Pei Zhiyun’s eyes widened in confusion.

This kind of question belonged on a “couple’s” variety show. Why was it being asked here?

“Goddess of Millions?”

Wen Ying found the term unfamiliar and instinctively turned to look at Pei Zhiyun again, her worry about misspeaking written all over her face.

The staff thought to themselves: Note taken. Next time, we must interview them separately. One holds all the power, and the other is severely henpecked—we won’t get anything out of them this way.

Pei Zhiyun wanted to help, but since the question was so direct and asked in front of so many people, she could only pivot: “When we first got married, what were you thinking? What was your opinion of me?”

Wen Ying finally understood the question. She looked up at Pei Zhiyun, her eyes either bright from the light or brimming with unshed tears. “When we married and I learned it was you, my only thought was: How fortunate I am.”

This was a truth Wen Ying had never spoken before.

In her past life, no one cared for her; she walked her path alone and expected to drift through life in a daze.

That was until the eighth day of the second month in the twelfth year of the Taichu era. Her parents called her over and said someone had proposed a marriage, but she would have to marry into the bride’s family as a live-in son-in-law.

At the time, she had just failed the imperial examinations and was in low spirits. She didn’t care who it was and felt that being a live-in son-in-law didn’t matter. Without even asking who the lady was, she nodded in agreement.

Two days later, as she walked despondently down the street, someone approached her with cupped hands to congratulate her: “Miss Wen, congratulations on your union with the Pei family! Though they are merchants, the young mistress of the Pei family is a well-known ‘Di Kun’ in the capital—beautiful enough to cause the fall of cities, and highly educated too. Many high-ranking officials and noble ladies sought her hand. Who would have thought she would take the initiative to ask for you? Congratulations!”

It was only after those words that Wen Ying realized she was joining the Pei family and marrying their eldest daughter, Pei Zhiyun.

She had stood there dazed for a long time—so long that the sun had set. The phrase “the seas changing into mulberry fields” could hardly describe her emotions at that moment.

Although Pei Zhiyun had often been cold to her after the wedding, never showing a hint of warmth, Wen Ying never minded. She felt that as long as she could be by her side day and night, it was enough.

Compared to her life in ancient times, Wen Ying preferred the present. She didn’t have to worry about the Wen family or the schemes of the imperial court, nor did she have to navigate the conspiracies of a large manor. Her current happiness was more than enough.

After the interview, the staff removed the cameras and left to rest. They announced that there would be a mission at 8:00 AM the next morning, and the families who arrived first would have an advantage.

Pei Zhiyun used some clothes to cover the cameras, then quietly changed into her pajamas and lay on the bed. Propping herself up on her elbow, she looked at Little Doubao, who was sleeping spread-eagled and drooling.

Pei Zhiyun grabbed a tissue to wipe the drool. Holding the tissue, she turned to throw it into the trash can by the bed, only to bump straight into Wen Ying, who was climbing onto the bed. Her forehead hit Wen Ying’s chin.

Wen Ying let out a muffled groan. The next second, she reached out to touch Pei Zhiyun’s forehead, her thumb gently rubbing the spot to soothe it. “Does it hurt?”

“No, I’m fine.”

Pei Zhiyun retreated slightly to create some distance.

They were so close that Pei Zhiyun didn’t know where to look. Finally, she turned over to lie down, setting the tissue aside for a moment.

Wen Ying paused for a second, then reached out to turn off the light.

Click. The room fell into darkness. Wen Ying slowly lay down beside Pei Zhiyun and soon drifted into a peaceful sleep.

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