The Alpha Daughter-in-Law's Whitewashing Journey in a Reality Show with Her Child (GL) - Chapter 9

Chu Siyun angrily pulled out her schedule. Today was the 6th, and her scenes were scheduled all the way until the 18th. Since she had taken some time off before, her schedule was now very tight. After this, she would also have to make time for the reality show and her new movie.

Most importantly, she couldn’t pack her schedule so tightly anymore. She had to spend time with her child. She had been so cold-blooded before, to have neglected her child. But that couldn’t happen anymore. Her maternal instincts had suddenly awakened, and she couldn’t bear it.

Speaking of reality shows, Chu Siyun had to tell Bi Qiujun about it right away. She had been in the industry for so many years and had never been a regular guest on a reality show. She needed to prepare. Chu Siyun’s involvement in the family was low. The heart of their family of three was Qin Shiyue. But it would be different on the show. Qin Shiyue and the child had no on-camera experience, so she would have to carry the whole burden. She had to be ready.

After quickly watching the last episode of a concluded parent-child reality show, Chu Siyun couldn’t stay awake any longer. Her hand went limp, and her phone fell onto the bed. Half a minute later, that same hand picked up the phone again.

She had only looked at her work schedule and forgotten to check her personal calendar. She was almost done with filming, so there shouldn’t be anything else, right? Chu Siyun mechanically scrolled through the days, one by one, until she suddenly stopped on one day.

Oh my god, is the 18th some kind of special day? Not only was it her last day of filming, but it was also Qin Shiyue’s birthday. Should she go back to celebrate her birthday with her?

No way. She was so flippant with her, why would she go out of her way to be nice to her?

But a birthday is a happy day, and a child would be happiest with cake.

Chu Siyun was so sleepy her eyes could barely stay open, but now she was in a state of conflict. Going back would make her look like she was fawning over her. But what if she didn’t go back?

As the saying goes, “Wife, child, and a warm home.” Who wouldn’t go home after work? She must be crazy.

She had already lost so much face in front of Qin Shiyue, so she might as well just go back.

If she went back, she would have to bring a gift. What should she get? They had been married for four years, and she didn’t think she had ever given Qin Shiyue anything.

Thinking about their four-year marriage, Chu Siyun remembered another headache. Their wedding anniversary was also coming up. They had gotten their marriage license the day after Qin Shiyue turned 20. The anniversary was the day after Qin Shiyue’s birthday.

Oh, heavens.

She wanted to be a better mother and return to her family. She definitely had to be better to the child’s mommy to create a warm family environment. Why did this realization have to come now? Couldn’t it have waited until after those two anniversaries had passed?

Chu Siyun threw her phone aside and buried herself in the covers. She was starting to regret this. Could she just ignore her family?

No, no, no. She might as well start planning what to get them instead of thinking about all these other useless things.

After hanging up the phone, Qin Shiyue smiled and put away her phone. It was so entertaining to see Chu Siyun flustered.

She double-checked the document on her computer and sent it to the client. A few seconds later, it was successfully sent. Qin Shiyue clapped her hands, put away her laptop, and turned on her bigger monitor.

Tonight was the final of the “Clash of Two Armies” World Championship. The two teams were the veteran team EU and the up-and-coming team CQ. Qin Shiyue had completely forgotten about this until the person in charge “bothered” her, which reminded her to check it out. She was bored anyway.

“Clash of Two Armies” had a huge following. EU was a very strong team that had won several championships. The team members were all very popular players, and they had a lot of buzz. CQ, on the other hand, had been a perennial punching bag for years, but this year they had been completely revamped with a new roster and were now several times stronger.

Most of the audience had bet on EU to win, but now many were wavering. CQ’s playstyle was a pleasant surprise. The new team members of CQ were charming, clean-cut, polite, and unpretentious, which brought in a lot of new fans.

The match had started at 6 p.m., and it was now past 9. The score was 3:2. This round would decide if CQ would have a chance at the championship. Qin Shiyue was familiar with this game and had played it herself. She went to the mini-fridge to grab a can of Coke. As soon as she sat back down, the screen showed that CQ had won, making the score 3:3. They were going to a tiebreaker.

Interesting. Qin Shiyue opened her WeChat and found the contact information for the team’s manager.

Qin Shiyue: [If you win, everyone gets a bonus.]

It was the usual gaming trope. Qin Shiyue squinted, as if about to fall asleep.

Ten minutes later, she suddenly opened her eyes wide and sat up straight. Those kids were something else. Their thinking was clear, their strategies were sound, and their execution was top-notch. They weren’t intimidated by their seasoned opponents at all and played back and forth with them. The final game lasted for half an hour before it was over. CQ won by a narrow margin.

Qin Shiyue excitedly hit the table with her fist. She wasn’t paying attention and missed, punching her brand-new keyboard that she had just finished assembling yesterday.

…Well, that’s what you get for being too happy.

Her hand was fine. Qin Shiyue quickly picked up the keyboard to check. The keys seemed to be okay, too. Qin Shiyue wasn’t convinced, so she opened a testing program and tried it out.

Perfect. It really was fine. She was so relieved. It wasn’t that the keyboard was expensive, but it was so hard to get the parts. It had taken her several months to get everything together.

Qin Shiyue threw the empty can into the trash can. It was 10 p.m. Time to clean up, work out, and then shower and go to bed. She had a small home gym, and she liked to work out at night. In her student days, she would go for a night run, but after she had the child, she switched to running at home and doing other exercises.

Since Chu Siyun’s heat had just passed last weekend, Qin Shiyue had a lot more free time these past few weeks. On weekdays, she drove the child to and from school. When she felt like it, she’d drive herself. When she didn’t, she’d call the driver. The child was in school from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and during that time, Qin Shiyue could do whatever she wanted. She cooked when she felt like it; if not, there was a nanny. And as for housework, she couldn’t find anything to do unless she really wanted to. The nanny was too dedicated.

Chu Xiao was a good child. As long as Qin Shiyue gave her something to do, she would do it quietly without bothering anyone. And if Qin Shiyue spent an hour or so with her every day, Chu Xiao would be very happy.

And as for Chu Siyun, she had become much more dedicated. To the “mother” profession. Now, it was Chu Siyun’s job to tell Chu Xiao a story every night, and Qin Shiyue would listen in. If Chu Xiao really couldn’t fall asleep, Qin Shiyue would step in and pat her back.

A few days passed, and it was now Friday. Chu Siyun’s grandmother had been discharged from the hospital, but her health had deteriorated a lot. Qin Shiyue was planning to go with the child and Chu Siyun’s parents to see her on Saturday. Although she and Chu Siyun didn’t have much affection for each other, in the eyes of their family, they were a “respectful and loving” couple. It was only right that she helped with things Chu Siyun couldn’t attend to. They were a family; there was no need to make things too complicated.

She drove herself and Chu Xiao to the mall to buy a gift for the elderly woman. After parking the car, Qin Shiyue was about to carry Chu Xiao out of the back seat. But Chu Xiao didn’t let her. She reached into her small backpack and pulled out a thick red envelope.

Qin Shiyue asked, “What’s that?”

Chu Xiao held the red envelope with one hand and reached out her other for her mommy to carry her. “It’s the New Year money Grandpa Qin gave me.”

Qin Shiyue locked the car and asked, “What are you going to do with it?”

Chu Xiao carefully opened the envelope, peeked inside, and then carefully sealed it up again. “To buy you a birthday present! Grandma told me you were going to have a birthday soon.”

Qin Shiyue suddenly remembered where the envelope had come from. “So you’ve had this red envelope in your backpack for a whole day?”

Chu Xiao shook her head. “I put it in there the day before yesterday when Grandma told me about it.”

Qin Shiyue used her free hand to feel the thickness of the envelope. Wow. It must have been a few thousand or even ten thousand yuan. A three-year-old had been carrying a huge red envelope in her backpack for two or three days. How bossy. She probably didn’t even have that much money when she was in middle school.

As they entered the mall, Qin Shiyue’s phone rang. It was her dad, and it was a video call. Qin Shiyue answered and walked to an ice cream shop to sit down, carrying Chu Xiao. The man in the video looked older, with a face full of hardship. Qin Shiyue felt nothing. She simply called out, “Dad,” and turned the phone to face the child. “Xiaoxiao is here. You talk to her first.” Qin Shiyue got up to buy ice cream.

Chu Xiao, who greeted everyone with a smile, said, “Grandpa Qin.”

Qin Hao corrected her again. “Xiaoxiao, you can just call me Grandpa. You don’t need to add the surname.”

Chu Xiao didn’t listen. Mommy had told her that her grandparents were named Chu Dongnan and Meng Ruolan. No one else was. As for Grandpa Qin, Mommy told her to call him that. What Mommy said was definitely right. Chu Xiao was on Mommy’s side. Her grandparents were great. They always cooked her delicious food and were very good to Mommy. Grandma even took care of Mommy when she was sick once.

Grandpa Qin was different. Although he was pretty nice most of the time, there were times he wanted her to do things she didn’t like, like calling him “Grandpa” when she only had one grandpa. Grandpa Qin wasn’t nice to Mommy. Mommy never smiled when she was with Grandpa Qin. Chu Xiao answered Grandpa Qin’s questions while keeping an eye on Mommy. Mommy was in line and was almost at the front. The line was so slow. She would have to talk to Grandpa Qin for a long time. For the sake of the New Year’s money, she would just have to make do and chat with him.

Qin Shiyue only bought one ice cream. She handed it to Chu Xiao and took her phone back. Qin Hao was unhappy. “Didn’t I tell you that I’m the child’s grandfather? What’s wrong with you, an alpha?”

Qin Shiyue didn’t look at him and said nonchalantly, “You weren’t saying that when I got married. Everyone knows I married into the Chu family. The child’s surname is Chu. Is there a problem with calling the Chu family mom and dad grandparents?”

Qin Hao couldn’t argue with her and went straight to the point of his call. “Your sister is getting engaged tomorrow.”

Qin Shiyue pretended not to understand the underlying message. “Okay.”

Qin Hao was unhappy with her attitude. “What do you mean ‘okay’?”

Qin Shiyue gave him an expression that said “you’re an idiot” and said slowly and clearly, “Okay, I, heard, you, I, know.”

Qin Hao was so angry he slammed the table, knocking over his phone. “What is this attitude?”

Qin Shiyue didn’t care. “Does it matter to me if Qin Xingyue gets engaged or married? Didn’t you sell me to the Chu family?”

Qin Hao gritted his teeth. “Are you coming tomorrow or not?”

Qin Shiyue raised an eyebrow slightly. “No.”

Qin Hao couldn’t believe his ears. “What did you say?”

Qin Shiyue gave him a dismissive excuse. “Chu Siyun’s grandmother is sick. I have to go see her. It would be a disgrace to you if I don’t act like a good daughter-in-law of the Chu family.”

Qin Hao was fuming. He didn’t know what to say. He invited Chu Dongnan to his daughter’s engagement party, but he politely declined, saying his mother-in-law was sick. And now this. Not a single person from the Chu family was coming. He was going to lose face.

Qin Shiyue said calmly, “I’m hanging up, Dad. I have to take good care of the Chu family’s child, or it’ll be a disgrace to you.” Then she hung up without a hint of mercy.

Even though Chu Xiao didn’t understand, she knew Mommy had been yelled at by Grandpa Qin again. Grandpa Qin always yelled at Mommy. He never yelled at Aunt Xingyue or Uncle Yangyang.

Chu Xiao handed over the ice cream that she had barely licked the tip of. “Mommy, don’t be mad. Have a bite.”

Qin Shiyue took the ice cream and finished it in three bites. The coldness helped put out the fire in her stomach. She looked up and saw her daughter on the verge of tears.

Qin Shiyue suddenly realized what she had done and immediately picked up her daughter. She said in a coaxing voice, “It’s too cold outside, and little kids can’t eat so many cold things. Mommy will go buy you something else.”

Chu Xiao pouted, her expression seemingly saying, “You’d better be telling the truth.”

Author’s Note:

Note [1] is a game I made up.

I hope you’re all having a great life!