Chapter 106: It's Not That I'm Forcing You!

A loud “wa” cry suddenly rang out in the room, the baby’s clear and bright sobbing filling the air.

“You see! You’ve made our daughter cry!”

Qin Haiyu gave her husband a helpless pat on the arm.

Yu Zhi Le was equally dazed. Then he had a sudden flash of inspiration, grabbing the baby’s arm again and declaring, “Not tasty! Pff, baby, look! Daddy spit it out—your hand is fine now!”

The baby instantly stopped crying, her big eyes brimming once more with confusion. She stared at the little arm, confirming it was intact, and only then forgave her father, clutching the small steamed bun her mother offered to soothe her and beginning to gnaw on it.

Yu Zhi Le wiped the sweat from his forehead and sighed in relief. “I’ve suffered so much!”

His mother chided him helplessly, “Who told you to play such an immature joke for no reason?”

Yu Zhi Le was quite helpless. “Back then she would swallow her little fist whole in one bite, and she was clearly grinning so happily!”

Qin Haiyu interjected, “Husband, are you out of your mind? At that time the baby knew nothing! Now she realizes being bitten hurts and is painful, so you scared her into tears!”

Yu Zhi Le quickly apologized to the baby, “Okay, Daddy knows he’s wrong. From now on I won’t eat the baby’s little hand anymore!”

Qin Haiyu smiled. “Not even the little finger or the little face!”

“Understood!”

Yu Zhi Le hurriedly tried to cheer up the baby. Thankfully, after finishing the steamed bun the baby was still clinging to her daddy, or else Yu Zhi Le would truly have been miserable.

...

The next day the mother-in-law returned.

At eight o’clock in the evening, I Am a Singer was broadcast on schedule.

The program had already reached the qualifying rounds, and after the qualifiers would come the grand finals.

Since it began airing, I Am a Singer has maintained consistently high ratings, and its topic heat is currently the highest among all variety show productions.

As the saying goes, without comparison there is no harm. With I Am a Singer as a precedent, other similar music programs appear far duller and more uninteresting.

Especially The Brilliant Songstars, which followed last year’s I Am a Singer and invited several new popular traffic singers, is now being heavily criticized by the audience netizens.

The traffic singers who participated in this program have thus been implicated as well!

Many people are saying that the entertainment circle has become distorted because of these traffic stars. Talented artists long for a stage to showcase their skills, while those without talent find that even a fart draws many listeners, with schedules so packed one can’t finish them and appearance fees are absurdly high.

This phenomenon isn’t unique to the music industry; in fact, the performing arts world is where it is most prevalent.

And now, with I Am a Singer ratings exploding, many have begun to boycott those talentless traffic celebrities.

Yu Zhi Le doesn’t pay much attention to these matters, for he knows that the so-called traffic celebrities, especially those who skyrocketed in popularity right after debut without any outstanding representative works, their fame and traffic are mostly fabricated through careful operations.

Popularity can indeed make one popular temporarily.

But they will fade after just a few years!

In his impression there were quite a few such traffic celebrities, yet none truly stood their ground in the entertainment industry in the end!

Many have passed after three to five years because most fans of these traffic stars are minors, and when they reach adulthood they will see how absurd this behavior is and naturally turn from fans to passersby to haters.

Watching I Am a Singer, Qin Haiyu began to anticipate The Masked King of Singers that would begin recording in half a month.

She spoke up, “Husband, do you think The Masked King of Singers will have such good ratings when it airs?”

“Of course it will!”

Yu Zhi Le said, “Not only will it have such good ratings as I Am a Singer, but barring any accidents this program’s ratings will absolutely surpass I Am a Singer! It’s possible the ratings could even exceed 4%!”

“Huh?”

Qin Haiyu was utterly dumbfounded. “Husband, you’re exaggerating too much! What does 4% ratings even mean? Current variety shows can’t even achieve 3% ratings, and there isn’t even one! Even recent blockbuster dramas haven’t had ratings break 4%!”

Yu Zhi Le explained, “If the production team carefully produces this show, I believe breaking 3% in ratings isn’t a problem, and breaking 4% isn’t impossible!”

Qin Haiyu looked puzzled. “Husband, why do you have so much confidence in this show?”

Yu Zhi Le pulled his wife close and said, “Because this show features my dear, beautiful wife! Relying on my wife’s popularity and charm, this program’s ratings can easily break 3%!”

“Pfft!”

Qin Haiyu laughed. “I love hearing you say such straightforward truths!”

Yu Zhi Le stroked the smooth, fair skin of his wife’s thighs beneath the shorts, teasing, “Wife, you’ve started showing off your beauty now! Still talking big, saying it out won’t make you embarrassed!”

Qin Haiyu giggled, “No need! Because you said it first!”

Yu Zhi Le said, “With ten days left, you must practice singing and dancing well. Otherwise the audience and judges will definitely guess who you are!”

Qin Haiyu looked expectant. “Hehe, I think no one will guess it’s me! In the past I sang in a gentle ballad style, but if I change it now no one will associate it with me!”

Yu Zhi Le continued, “This program eliminates after three failures in the first round, with an elimination rate nearly 50%. If the singers are all strong, I’m afraid you won’t even reach the semifinals.”

Qin Haiyu huffed, “Husband, you have no confidence in me!”

Yu Zhi Le quickly reassured, “No, of course I have confidence in you! Otherwise why would I have bought you so many outfits to wear during the performances!”

Qin Haiyu pinched his waist and pouted, “Pfft, you bought these clothes with obvious ulterior motives!”

Yu Zhi Le said seriously, “Qin Haiyu! Don’t slander me like that! A husband buying clothes for his wife is only natural! How can you say I have ulterior motives!”

“Shameless!”

Qin Haiyu burst into laughter. The sight of her shameless husband earnestly explaining himself was too entertaining.

Yu Zhi Le cleared his throat and said, “By the way, wife, I composed a song in ancient style. Tonight you can wear a Hanfu to experience it!”

Qin Haiyu turned her head. “I won’t wear it! You’re trying to have bad ideas again!”

Yu Zhi Le immediately pinned her down on the sofa, tickling her little waist and asking, “Wear or not?”

“Hahaha, stop! I’ll wear it, hahaha…”

Qin Haiyu couldn’t endure being tickled by her husband this way, laughing so hard her tears nearly burst out.

Yu Zhi Le showed a triumphant smile, pulled her up to sit, and said solemnly, “Wife, this is entirely your own choice. I’m not forcing you!”

“Hmph, I’ll bite you to death!”

Once released, Qin Haiyu pounced on Yu Zhi Le, sinking her teeth into his shoulder with a fierce “ow!”