The Salted Fish Transmigrates as a Wealthy Stepdad and Goes Viral on a Parenting Variety Show - Chapter 3

“Ul-tra-man is fake.”

Gu Wancheng: “Wait.”

“Why aren’t you talking anymore?”

Gu Wancheng let out a cold laugh. He reached out, grabbed the boy’s face with both hands, and began kneading it back and forth.

Chaochao: (皿)3.

After a few seconds, he let go of the boy’s face and stood up, crossing his arms over his chest. “No My Little Pony for you today.”

“On what grounds?”

“On the grounds that I am your dad. If you do not finish the homework your father assigned you today, do not even think about watching it tomorrow either.”

Chaochao was in utter disbelief. “You are threatening me just because you are embarrassed and angry?”

“What do you mean ’embarrassed and angry’? Do not just throw around words you have only recently learned. I will let it slide this time, but do not let it happen again, okay?”

After a moment’s thought, he added, “Do your homework obediently, or I will tell your father.”

With that, he gave the boy an encouraging gesture.

Watching Gu Wancheng’s receding figure, Chaochao stood there dumbstruck. He turned his head stiffly. “Grandpa Butler, he is threatening me!”

Butler Chen gave a faint smile. “Young Master, please get back to your homework.” There is nothing I can do to help you either.

Chaochao stomped his foot and ran back to his room, leaving behind a single cry: “You are all bullying me!”

Back in his room, Gu Wancheng had nothing to do, so he simply lay on the bed to play on his phone.

This was the life!

Speaking of which, the original owner was an illustrator. Luckily, Gu Wancheng had also studied art; otherwise, he would have been exposed in a heartbeat.

He opened the original owner’s Weibo and clicked on the homepage. The username was “Orange is Not a Tangerine.” He saw that there were over a hundred thousand followers.

He scrolled through the original owner’s artwork. While the style was vastly different from his own, it was a minor issue because he was a genius and could master any style.

The decision to go on the parenting variety show had been made by his cheap husband’s parents, who claimed it was to cultivate feelings.

The broadcast was starting soon. Although he had enough money to pay the penalty for breach of contract, money should not be wasted like that. He would just have to bite the bullet and go.

Noticing a private message, Gu Wancheng clicked in.

[Orange Teacher, are you still taking commissions? (。ω。)ノ]

Gu Wancheng thought for a moment, tapped his fingers, and decided to take the job.

[I am still taking them. (ˉˉ)”]

[That is great! I would like to commission a Long-tailed Tit, but in a Cthulhu style. Can you do that, Teacher?]

[No problem, dear. Are there any specific requirements?]

[I will leave the creative freedom to you, Teacher.]

[Alright, but there is only one chance for revisions. Are you sure?]

[Confirmed.]

[Okay, I will send the initial draft to you the day after tomorrow.]

[Yes, thank you, Teacher!]

Having successfully landed a commission, Gu Wancheng threw off the covers and happily opened his laptop to start drawing.

Unlike Gu Wancheng, in another room, the successfully threatened Chaochao was doing his homework while wiping away tears.

Sniffing, he muttered under his breath, “Hateful. Everyone bullies me. All they know is how to threaten people.”

His eyes were misty, blurring his vision. Heartbroken, Chaochao reached his breaking point. “Why does homework even exist in this world!”

Gu Wancheng searched for the bird online. The Long-tailed Tit was an adorable little “glutinous rice ball” of a bird. He wondered how its tiny wings managed to support its flight, or if it was just fluffy and fat.

After carefully considering how to approach the piece, he organized his thoughts and sketched a simple draft.

It looked good. He wanted to keep drawing, but he did not really feel like moving anymore.

Looking at the fresh draft, he saved it and decided to check on Chaochao’s progress. It definitely was not because his procrastination was acting up again.

Suddenly, his phone rang. Gu Wancheng looked at the screen and saw the caller ID said “Mom.” Since the original owner was an orphan, this could only be Wen Shuyu, the mother of his cheap husband and his current mother-in-law.

In the original owner’s memory, Wen Shuyu was a very gentle and elegant woman. She did not look down on the original owner’s background. Instead, she pitied his orphan status. When he first arrived at the Bo family home, she worried he would not adjust and often chatted with him, even personally cooking nutritious meals for him.

With that in mind, Gu Wancheng answered the phone.

“Hello, Mom.” The word “Mom” rolled off Gu Wancheng’s tongue quite naturally.

“Chengcheng, the parenting show starts the day after tomorrow. Are you two ready?” An elegant voice came through the phone.

“Butler Chen has prepared everything for us.”

“That is good. Once you are on the show, if you are unhappy or if someone bullies you, tell Mom immediately. Mom will deal with them.”

Gu Wancheng felt a warmth in his heart. “Do not worry, Mom. I am not the shrinking violet type. I will protect myself and Chaochao.”

“Mom believes in you. Do we need to go public with your identity? I want to ensure some blind fools do not cross you.”

“There is no need for now.”

“Alright then. You and Chaochao have fun.”

“Okay, Mom.”

“That is all for now. Mom will be watching you every day once the broadcast starts.”

“Thank you, Mom. Goodbye.”

“Goodbye, Chengcheng.”

Putting down the phone, Gu Wancheng felt a bit sentimental. She really was a wonderful person. Why did good people always end up poorly? He thought about her ending in the book.

Because of the original owner’s death and Chaochao’s depression, she felt it was all her fault. She believed that if it were not for her, the original owner and Chaochao would have been fine. She spent her days washed in tears, her mental state deteriorating.

He let out a sigh. They would all be fine. It definitely would not end like it did in the book.

On the show, he would not try to steal the spotlight from the protagonists because he and Chaochao did not need it. They were just there to play. But if anyone was blind enough to look for trouble, he was not a pushover, and the Bo family certainly was not a soft target.

Closing his laptop, Gu Wancheng went to check on Chaochao.

Knock, knock.

“Can I come in?” Gu Wancheng asked, knocking on Chaochao’s door.

Chaochao reached out to wipe his tears. “You can.”

Hearing the slight sob in Chaochao’s voice, Gu Wancheng panicked. He hurried inside to see a teary-eyed Chaochao sitting in his chair, sniffing.

He pulled out a couple of tissues to help wipe the boy’s face. “What is wrong? Who upset you? You have cried yourself into a little messy-faced kitten.”

“You bullied me!”

Gu Wancheng immediately denied it. “How did I bully you?”

Chaochao shoved his homework right in front of Gu Wancheng’s eyes. “You made me do homework! I do not know how to do it, and you still wanted me to finish it today!”

Gu Wancheng blinked. “But I did not assign this homework. Your father did.”

Chaochao froze. That seemed true; the culprit was actually his father. But something still felt slightly off.

Seeing Chaochao dazed, Gu Wancheng struck while the iron was hot. “Your father is too much. You are still so small, how could he give you so much homework? Tell me what you do not know and I will teach you. Next time your father comes back, I will make him reduce the workload.”

Chaochao nodded blankly, tears trembling on the verge of falling. He looked at Gu Wancheng with a face full of emotion, gave a heavy sniff, and nodded emphatically.

Gu Wancheng breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness he managed to coax him.

He looked at Chaochao with pity. Poor kid, having no childhood. Who has to do this much homework at four years old? When Gu Wancheng was four, he was still playing in the mud.

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