The Heartless Omega: I Only Want My Daughter - Chapter 20

They waited for about twenty minutes before the rest of the families arrived one by one. With over a dozen people gathered, the scene was massive. Combined with the voices of the children, the atmosphere grew lively and bustling.

Pei Zhiyun set Little Doubao down. The little girl squatted on the ground, picking up a blade of foxtail grass to play with, and her mood improved significantly.

Once everyone was accounted for, formal filming began. The director picked up his microphone and asked, “How did everyone sleep last night? Are you satisfied with your rooms?”

“Not satisfied!” Xu Yi raised her hand in protest.

Her family was staying in House No. 4, and it was in terrible condition. Aside from not leaking rain, it had nothing; going to the bathroom at night required groping around in the dark. To her, it simply wasn’t a place meant for humans to live.

As bad as House No. 4 was, House No. 5 was even worse; it was the bare minimum for shelter. There weren’t even cups for drinking water; they had to drink from bowls. Cooking required burning firewood as there was no gas, let alone an induction cooker. It was as dilapidated as a house could get.

Last night, when Sheng Feng and Lu Ming saw the house, they endured it for thirty minutes before Sheng Feng picked up the child and walked out, refusing to film.

The production crew didn’t stop them; they simply sent a camera operator and staff to follow them, providing flashlights to light the way. The village had no streetlights at night, making it easy to slip.

After Sheng Feng left with Lu Ming, a staff member interviewed Lu Zhou, asking, “Teacher Lu, what do you think of this house?”

“It’s okay,” Lu Zhou replied. “It’s a bit broken down and lacks daily necessities, but as long as we can stay here, it’s fine.”

The staff member asked again, “Now that Teacher Sheng and your child have left, aren’t you going to go after them?”

Lu Zhou was silent for a long moment before saying, “I can accept this house, but the two of them can’t. I’ll go persuade them in a little while; they won’t listen right now.”

“You have quite a good mindset,” the staff member remarked.

Lu Zhou sighed. “I’m someone who takes things as they come. This is within my limit of endurance.”

Because of Sheng Feng and Lu Ming’s sudden departure, the crew followed them until the middle of the night. It wasn’t until two or three in the morning that Lu Zhou found the father and son and gently persuaded them to come back.

While Lu Zhou was talking to them, the crew stood by with cameras. After half an hour of coaxing, there was still no progress.

Lu Zhou eventually turned to the crew and asked, “Could you give me ten minutes alone to talk to them? We can resume filming after ten minutes.”

The crew agreed and moved the cameras away. Ten minutes later, Sheng Feng obediently returned carrying Lu Ming. Lu Zhou smiled at the crew and said, “They’re convinced. Thank you for running around with us in the middle of the night.”

The staff nodded. They originally wanted to ask how she had swayed them in just ten minutes, but considering her spouse and child were present, they decided to save it for a private interview later today.

The director responded to Xu Yi, “The houses were arranged in advance. As we mentioned during dinner last night, they won’t be changed for any reason. If Teacher Xu is dissatisfied, you can win prizes through subsequent competitions to gradually decorate your home. We have already cleared this with the original owners; you are free to decorate and add supplies as you wish.”

Xu Yi’s expression was sour, but she couldn’t say anything more. She had assumed it would be a random draw like in the first season and had even told Xu Jianghao to prepare to cheat. She hadn’t expected the houses to be assigned on the spot this time, leaving her no chance to rig the results.

Next, the director asked the children if they slept well. Most said they did, but Little Doubao suddenly stood up, pointing at her arm. “There was a big mosquito bite yesterday!”

The director smiled and said, “A mosquito bite? Oh dear.”

Wen Ying and Pei Zhiyun both looked down at the red bump on her arm. It was a nasty bite, swollen and red. Pei Zhiyun stepped back, unzipped the backpack on Wen Ying’s shoulders, and took out some mosquito repellent. She knelt down to spray it on Little Doubao.

It felt cool, and the scent was pleasant.

Once the children settled down, the director made the official announcement, “Alright, children, quiet down. I’ve called you all here this morning because we are going to have three competitions to earn ingredients for the next two days. You must win, or you might not be able to get the delicious food!”

The children weren’t really listening, but the adults perked up. One by one, they asked, “What are the competitions? What are the rules?”

The director explained, “The first competition is for the mothers of each family. It’s a ‘Three-Legged Race.’ A balloon will be tied to the leg that each person can move freely. Whoever stomps on and pops their opponent’s balloon first wins. Since Teacher Xu and Teacher Sheng are men, Teacher Xu’s family will compete against Teacher Lu’s family. Teacher Pei’s family will compete against Teacher Li’s and Teacher Gao’s families. The winners from both sides won’t have to race again; the final ranking will be decided based on the fastest time.”

“That sounds fair,” Gao Nianke said, glancing at Pei Zhiyun and Li Dai. “Not having to race against the families with men makes it a level playing field for the three of us.”

“Mm-hmm,” Pei Zhiyun responded. She was visibly tense, her mind clearly elsewhere.

Wen Ying had never even heard of this game. Worried about what to do, she looked up at Pei Zhiyun with a face full of concern.

The director then announced the prizes, “First place gets to choose ten types of ingredients for their two-day supply. Second place gets eight, third gets six, fourth gets four, and fifth gets two. To ensure the last-place family can last two days, we will provide larger quantities of those two ingredients. If a family wants to add more dishes mid-way, they can draw a task card from the crew and complete it to earn more food.”

Looking at Xu Jianghao and Sheng Feng, the director continued, “After the first place is decided, the remaining father-led family isn’t automatically second. Everyone besides the winner will be ranked second through fifth based on their fastest times.”

Gao Nianke stepped forward and raised her hand. “Director, let me clarify. Once a winner is decided on both sides, the rest of us are ranked by our times, right?”

“Correct. Those are the rules,” the director said.

Gao Nianke sighed. “I see. So it’s all about speed. Suddenly, I’m getting a bit nervous.”

She wasn’t the only one. All five families were feeling the pressure. Five staff members in green uniforms stepped forward with ropes, kneeling before each family to tie their legs together. Then, they tied two balloons to their free legs.

Once the staff finished and left, the five families were ready, unable to resist leaning on each other to test their walking.

With their legs tied, Pei Zhiyun had to lean on Wen Ying for support. With a nervous face, she asked, “Did you understand the rules? Do you want me to repeat them for you?”

Pei Zhiyun had already explained the rules to Wen Ying five or six times, fearing she hadn’t understood. Wen Ying didn’t find it annoying; she looked down at Pei Zhiyun, wrapped her right arm around her waist, and nodded. “I understand. Don’t worry, I’m here. We’ll win.”

Pei Zhiyun didn’t feel any sense of reassurance from those words; she didn’t trust Wen Ying, and she certainly didn’t trust herself.

Seeing the other families practicing, Wen Ying tightened her grip on Pei Zhiyun’s waist and whispered, “Let’s try it too. We need to build some chemistry so we’re ready when the race starts.”

“Okay.” The two of them tried to walk forward slowly.

Pei Zhiyun looked down at their feet, chanting “One, two” in her head. “One” was their tied legs, and “two” was their separate outer legs. Surprisingly, they moved quite smoothly.

After a few minutes of practice, the director picked up the megaphone. “Alright, now that you’ve practiced, the competition officially begins! Teacher Pei, Teacher Li, and Teacher Gao, the three of you will play Rock-Paper-Scissors. The winner goes straight to the final round, and the remaining two groups will compete first.”

“Okay.” The three families gathered. The children stood to the side, cheering for their mothers.

The six women from the three families formed a circle. Once the camera was in place, they discussed who to send out for the game.

Zhang Yiwan said directly, “You do it.” Li Dai didn’t object. “Sure, I’ll do it.”

On Gao Nianke’s side, she looked at Song Mu with visible nerves. “Wife, you do it.” Song Mu didn’t refuse but took a deep breath. “Got it.”

The two families finished picking and turned to look at Pei Zhiyun and Wen Ying. The couple shared a synchronized look, one looking up, one looking down, as their eyes met.

Wen Ying asked softly, “Should I do it?”

Pei Zhiyun thought for a moment and said, “Go ahead. Win or lose, it doesn’t matter. Don’t be nervous.”

With the representatives chosen, they hid their hands behind their backs and shouted in unison, “Rock, Paper, Scissors!”

They all threw their hands out. The cameraman zoomed in: one Rock, one Paper, one Scissors. A tie.

“That scared me!” Seeing the result, Gao Nianke almost lost her breath. She turned and hugged Song Mu tightly, her body actually trembling. Song Mu was also incredibly nervous, her palms slick with sweat. Pei Zhiyun and Zhang Yiwan remained relatively calm.

The first round ended, and the second round began immediately.

“Rock, Paper, Scissors!”

This time, there was a result: one Rock and two Scissors. Rock won.

“Ah, we lost!” Gao Nianke wailed, throwing her head back.

Song Mu slapped a hand over her mouth. “Be quiet! We lost Rock-Paper-Scissors, not the actual race.” Gao Nianke fell silent immediately.

Zhang Yiwan smiled and patted Li Dai’s waist. “It’s fine. It’s the taking part that counts.” Li Dai didn’t seem to mind much and just smiled.

Wen Ying pulled her hand back and looked at Pei Zhiyun with a smile. Pei Zhiyun pressed her lips together and let out a quiet sigh of relief. Leaning on Wen Ying, she said, “Let’s wait on the side then.”

“Okay.” The two turned and moved away from the starting line.

Once they stopped at the edge of the field, Wen Ying asked Pei Zhiyun, “If I lose, will you be mean to me?”

Pei Zhiyun, “No.”

Wen Ying asked again, “Then why are you so nervous?”

During the Rock-Paper-Scissors game, Pei Zhiyun had been gripping the back of Wen Ying’s clothes so tightly that it pulled at her collar, nearly choking her.

Pei Zhiyun, “I’m just nervous.”

Wen Ying didn’t ask anything else.

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