novelraw Chapter 66: Movie Star Dad (4)
Chapter 66: Movie Star Dad (4)
Before going to bed that night, Qi Sheng took away his son’s phone. So, the next day when they were at school, a few of his teammates had to come ask him about it.
“Where did you meet that gaming pro? You didn’t introduce us, aren’t we brothers anymore?”
“Yeah, Qi Xiaorui, you’re really not cool. You’ve got a pro on your team and didn’t even mention it. You got us killed so badly.”
…
Everyone chimed in, collectively scolding Qi Rui for not having their backs.
“Huh? You still haven’t said where you met him, hurry up and pull him into our group.”
Qi Rui watched their excited expressions and replied, “Forget it, he won’t play with you guys.”
“Damn, who is he? So full of himself!”
“No way, bring him out, we need to meet him properly!”
The group wasn’t happy. Although the pro had helped them, being so decisively rejected was a blow to their pride. Qi Rui shrugged. “I can’t even get him to play with me, what makes you think you guys have a chance?”
“Huh?”
Everyone was shocked. They hadn’t expected that the mysterious pro was actually Qi Rui’s dad — Qi Sheng.
The group immediately deflated. They were about to go their separate ways when one of them came up with an idea.
“Qi Xiaorui, isn’t your dad tutoring you? Why don’t you get him to teach you how to game while he’s taking a break from tutoring?”
Qi Rui stroked his chin, thinking seriously for a moment. It was a viable idea!
That evening, during his study session, Qi Rui performed especially well. Qi Sheng instinctively felt that something was off, and sure enough, before long, his son spoke up.
“Dad, I’ve been doing pretty well lately, haven’t I?”
Qi Sheng couldn’t figure out what his son was up to, so he reluctantly replied, “Yeah, not bad.”
Qi Rui wasn’t satisfied with that answer. “Not bad? I’ve been doing great!”
“Dad, nowadays, studying requires balancing work and rest. Spending all day studying isn’t good for my mental and physical health.”
“I think you’re doing just fine.”
“Well, maybe in a few days, I won’t be.”
“The high school entrance exam is just around the corner. Based on your current progress, I don’t think anything’s going to change before then.”
Qi Rui felt like the conversation was going nowhere. His dad wasn’t even engaging with him. Annoyed, but still pretending to be obedient, he said, “Dad, you need to follow scientific methods of education!”
Qi Sheng, realizing he’d teased his son enough, thought that if he pushed any further, the kid would rebel. So he responded, “You’re right, then how do you think it should be scientifically done?”
“Of course, we need to balance study and entertainment. Dad, I think gaming is a great intellectual activity!”
“So?”
“So, obviously, after studying, we should play some games. Dad, you’re so good at gaming, don’t you feel it’s a shame not to pass on this skill to your son?”
“Not at all.”
Qi Rui gritted his teeth and pushed on: “Dad, don’t you want to see your son getting beaten by others every day? Imagine how embarrassing that would be.”
Qi Sheng: “If you don’t play, no one will bully you.”
“If the others are playing and I’m not, I’ll be out of the loop.”
…
That night, Qi Rui used 300% of his negotiation skills, along with some soft persuasion, pouting, and acting spoiled. In the end, he finally got the stubborn guy to agree.
“Alright, as long as your grades improve, I’ll teach you every weekend.”
Finally hearing the answer he wanted, Qi Rui happily shared the good news with his friends, and they all cheered together.
So, under Qi Sheng’s tolerant gaze, the little squad of gaming noobs successfully leveled up their gaming skills, and Qi Sheng gained a few loyal fans in the gaming world.
A month before the high school entrance exam, Xu Yi suddenly came to find him. Qi Sheng was puzzled, thinking something was up.
“This is the reality show ‘Take Your Dad to Travel’ from Apple TV. The producers heard you’ve been home recently, so they want to invite you and Xiao Rui to join. The other four family groups are already set, including movie king Xu Congwen and his daughter, actor Zhao Jingyi and his son, and two child stars, Zhang Yu and Yu Fei. I think this program is quite innovative. Since you’re free, I just wanted to ask what you think.”
Qi Sheng took the program details Xu Yi handed him, looked it over carefully, and said, “I’ll ask Xiao Rui when he gets back. If he’s interested, I have no objections.”
Qi Sheng was actually pretty eager to travel with his son. Even though joining the program might mean they’d have to follow a script for some of the tasks, the idea of recording their travel experiences together was appealing.
He had glanced through the details earlier—filming would take almost two months, from early July to the end of August, so he didn’t have to worry about school.
When his son returned, Qi Sheng handed him the program plan. “Take a look and see if you’re interested. If you are, you can join after the entrance exam.”
Qi Rui took the beautifully designed plan with a confused expression. When he saw it was the plan for a reality show, his interest was piqued.
“If I join, does that mean I’ll be on camera all the time?”
Qi Sheng nodded and said, “Basically, yeah. But I’ve never been on a reality show, so I’m not sure. You can check out similar programs currently airing.”
“Two months, four locations… sounds pretty good.”
“Dad, I really like it. Can I join?”
Qi Rui was excited, especially curious about what life under the spotlight would be like. His parents were public figures, and he often saw them on TV when he was younger. Now, he was eager to find out what it would be like for him.
“As long as you want to, you can join,” Qi Sheng said, rubbing his son’s head before pulling out his phone to call Xu Yi.
One week after the entrance exam, Qi Rui’s results came in. Seeing his dad’s stern face, Qi Rui couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. His grades had improved a lot compared to six months ago, so why wasn’t his dad happy? Wasn’t the standard a bit too high?
He grumbled in his mind, but on the outside, he obediently stood still, afraid that his dad might kick him like a ball if something was off.
Qi Sheng already had an idea of the results, but he deliberately put on a stern face and asked, “Can you focus on studying properly after high school?”
“Yes, yes, yes!” Qi Rui thought to himself, I’m not stupid. Of course I know how to answer this question.
Qi Sheng saw that his son’s response lacked sincerity but wasn’t angry. He nodded and said, “Alright, I’ll take that as a promise. Remember what you said today.”
A few days later, the filming officially began.
The program team had invested heavily in the reality show and was hoping for good broadcasting results. Besides, this was Qi Sheng’s first reality show, and just the publicity surrounding that was enough to draw a large audience.
On the first day of filming, Qi Sheng had the crew go to another one of his properties—the spacious city apartment he usually stayed in while his son was at school.
The program team arrived at the apartment complex and handed Qi Sheng the itinerary for the first location.
“Mr. Qi, here’s the program plan for the first stop.”
Qi Sheng took the plan, reviewed it carefully, then passed it to his son. “Here you go, your curiosity is about to be satisfied.”
Qi Rui eagerly opened it, but as soon as he saw the program locations, he wasn’t too happy. “XX Province, XX City…”
“Dad, I’ve heard of the first two places, but what about the rest?”
Qi Sheng smiled, opened the map, and looked at it. He then pointed to the theme: “Appreciate the unrefined natural beauty, experience the local unique folk customs. Son, didn’t the topic already tell you? What do you think, where do you think you can go?”
Qi Rui looked defeated, suddenly remembering something and asked in shock, “Please don’t tell me there’s no internet café there!”
He looked expectantly at Qi Sheng, but unfortunately, Qi Sheng wasn’t sure either, and looked at the program crew with curiosity. However, the crew remained tight-lipped, simply smiling without saying anything.
Qi Sheng chuckled and urged his son, “Go pack your things.”
Although Qi Rui complained, he was still full of curiosity about these places he’d never been to. Of course, it would be even better if there was internet.
After trying on several outfits he liked, he heard his dad’s reminder from the side: “Although it’s summer, some places can be cooler, especially in the mornings and evenings, so prepare a few thicker clothes.”
Qi Rui nodded and flipped through his wardrobe again, finally picking out two outfits more suitable for early autumn. After finishing the clothes, he turned his attention to electronics: phone, tablet, laptop, game console, mouse, network card, mechanical keyboard, and so on. Qi Sheng couldn’t help but laugh.
“Are you planning to play games all day? Besides your phone, you don’t need to bring the rest.”
Qi Rui wasn’t pleased, but Qi Sheng’s attitude was firm. He reluctantly took out all the other gadgets. The crew was surprised to see how well the father and son communicated, especially since Qi Rui was rumored to be a rebellious kid.
Not wanting to deal with his dad, Qi Rui quietly asked the cameraman, “You guys aren’t going to follow the usual routine and take our phones, right? The audience’s used to that by now.”
Unfortunately, the cameraman only smiled at him, not answering.
Nervously, Qi Rui grabbed some snacks and small trinkets.
The day before, Qi Sheng had taught his son how to fold clothes and pack a suitcase. But when he saw the still somewhat messy suitcase, he didn’t say much. He went to his own room and packed his things methodically. Meanwhile, a crew member asked, “Mr. Qi, you seem really good at packing.”
Qi Sheng smiled. “I used to go to the set often.”
Xia Li also helped Qi Sheng by handing him clothes. Looking at the other room where her son was packing alone, she couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.
Thankfully, Xia Li wasn’t too worried about her son. When he was almost done, she reminded him again.
The backstage director was pleased, watching Xia Li, dressed in cute homewear with almost no makeup, thinking he could ride on her popularity as a goddess.
With three large suitcases packed, the father and son set off for their unknown journey.
The other families also started by packing their luggage.
Xu Congwen, 45 years old, had won the Best Actor award for a literary film in his early years. However, for some reason, he’d been quite lazy and had not been filming much in recent years. He agreed to join the reality show because his daughter Xu Mingyan wanted to enter the entertainment industry, and Xu Congwen, unable to refuse, decided to help her debut through the show.
Although they had practiced packing earlier, Xu Mingyan, who had a tendency to be forgetful, still kept misplacing things. Xu Congwen, with a headache, looked at her and said, “Didn’t you make a list? Pack according to that.”
Xu Mingyan searched around, then said in distress, “I don’t know where the list went…”
Xu Congwen: “…”
With no choice, Xu Congwen had to ask and check everything one by one. It took them over two hours to finish packing.
Zhao Jingyi, having played several villain roles in recent years, gained popularity for his unique charm. Now 42, he was finally seeing some success in his acting career. He was also a humorous person, cheerfully reminding his son to pack his things.
His son, Zhao Shuo, was 14 years old and in the second year of junior high school. When he heard he could go on this trip, he begged his father to take him along. Zhao Jingyi, seeing how much his son wanted to go, agreed, especially since he also saw this as an opportunity to advance his career.
The father and son worked together, chatting and laughing while quickly packing their things.
As for the two child stars, Zhang Yu and Yu Fei, both had good popularity at a young age. Zhang Yu, now 16, was in his first year of high school. He had been a guest on another variety show the previous year and was happy to be a regular guest this time.
His father, Zhang Yunzhi, was a screenwriter in the film and television industry. Qi Sheng had worked with him before, and they occasionally kept in touch.
Being behind the scenes for so long, this was the first time Zhang Yunzhi had agreed to appear on a show for his son. However, he was a man of few words, so during the packing, it was mostly Zhang Yu doing the talking.
Yu Fei, a pretty girl, was well-known for playing the daughter in many TV dramas. Before the crew arrived, she had already made herself look beautiful and set up a pink room, giving off a princess vibe.
Her father, Yu Yang, was also her manager. Though he wasn’t often in front of the camera, he was no stranger to it. Among the five fathers, only Zhang Yunzhi wasn’t used to the spotlight.
Yu Yang pampered his only daughter a lot. Besides the personal items, he even helped her pack her clothes while Yu Fei just sweetly coaxed him, playing the role of his “little lover” from a past life.
With five very different father-child pairs, the program team was excited to see what sparks they would create, especially with Qi Sheng’s first reality show.