Chapter 58: Foolish child, do you think my followers are ordinary fans? (Please add to your favorites and vote for recommendations!)

"Mom! I'll explain to you later!"

Facing his mother's questioning, Chen Antang forced a smile, then turned his attention to Li Shixin.

"Mr. Li. As an industry insider, I want to know what qualifications you have to simultaneously play the leading male and the third male roles in Director Jiao Chendong's new film?"

Qualifications?

Li Shixin clasped his hands behind his back and looked up at the sky.

Why, that's... just a matter of luck, silly child!

Seeing he wouldn't answer, Chen Antang sneered, "Silent, are you? Old man, I just checked your resume at the Actors' Guild. Turns out you have no prior acting experience, and you only played a bit part in Rong Town less than two weeks ago. When I left home with my mom this morning, I thought, if you just wanted some attention, helping elderly folks experience a taste of stardom, I wouldn't say anything. But now, you're..."

"You actually followed me?"

Before Chen Antang could finish, Wu Ming's face darkened completely.

"Mom, how could that be following you? I was worried you'd be tricked!"

Seeing his mother's displeasure, Chen Antang quickly explained.

"Tricked?" Wu Ming's face grew even darker, her words nearly spat out, "You dare suspect Brother Shixin is a fraud?"

"Mom, listen to me! Your son is a manager—I see these types all the time! Think about it: a bit part actor, how could he make it in Rong Town in just over ten days? And now he's playing both male lead and male third in one film... Ouch! Mom, please listen—you're being duped, I'm trying to help you! Don't hit me, let's talk, don't hit!"

Wu Ming wouldn't hear his explanations.

Gritting her teeth, she seized her son's collar and unleashed the Chen family’s Five-Finger Yin-Yang Palm—the kind that alternates between slapping with the palm and the back of the hand.

"You little rascal, your mom is barely over fifty, and you think I'm senile, so muddled I can't tell right from wrong?!"

"Ouch! Mom, not the face!"

"I'll smack you! Ever since you divorced, I've been working like a horse, taking care of your child and your home while you fight for your career outside. Raised you, the big ungrateful one, and that smaller ungrateful one. Now the kid's grown up and out in the world, and your old mother just wants to be trendy and chase a star, but in your eyes, it’s being duped! Is that it?!"

"It hurts! Mom, please don’t pinch my neck!"

"I’ll pinch! You followed me! You say it's for my good? If you really cared for me, you’d quit your woman-chasing manager job and stay by my side to be filial! Always neglectful, and just when I want to live comfortably and feel young, you suddenly show your filial devotion! Is that it?!"

"Mom, mom! I was wrong, I was wrong! With so many people here, please, give me some dignity!"

Watching her son, ears twisted, grimacing and begging for mercy, Wu Ming glared with wide almond eyes, "Dignity? Ha! You caused trouble for me, the fan club president, in front of Brother Shixin and all my old friends—did you give me any dignity?"

Seeing himself defeated before he could even begin, Chen Antang writhed in pain, his face twisted. Li Shixin chuckled.

He knew it would end like this.

That's why he hadn't bothered answering Chen Antang's interrogation.

Seeing people coming and going at the Tianmeng Company entrance, whispering and pointing, Li Shixin gently placed his hand on Wu Ming's arm.

"Sister, the child is grown now, and with so many watching, don’t let others laugh at you."

At Li Shixin's intervention, Wu Ming's anger eased a bit, though she still held her son's ear tightly. "Brother Shixin, don't interfere! If I don't discipline this unfilial son properly today, how will I lead my team in the future?!"

"Right! Children need discipline! I missed making two meals for my family while attending fan club gatherings these days, and they complained that I’m too old to chase stars, told me not to be duped. Ha! They just don’t want us old bones to stop working for them. What nonsense!"

"Exactly! Why can't we, the older generation, chase stars? Young people live freely every day, but after a lifetime of toil, we can’t pursue a bit of happiness? Sister Wu, go on! Discipline him thoroughly!"

Watching a group of old ladies, frustrated with their own children, fueling her anger, Li Shixin laughed, "There's an old saying: teach your children in public, your wife in private. But sister, your child is grown, he has dignity!"

"Yes, yes! Uncle Li is right! Mom... I’m nearly forty, please let me keep some face." Chen Antang no longer cared about exposing Li Shixin; hearing the old man speak up for him, he quickly seized the opportunity.

He didn't realize Li Shixin wasn't finished.

"How about this, sister, since I passed the audition today and everyone is here, I'll treat. Let's find a restaurant and gather together. Once we're there, behind closed doors, you can educate him as you wish, and none of us will interfere, alright?"

Li Shixin’s smiling eyes flashed with sharpness, and looking at the crowd of stern-faced aunties, eager to join Wu Ming, Chen Antang’s mouth fell open.

That old man, you’re setting me up!

Chen Antang was desperate, "Mom... I'll confess! It wasn’t my idea to follow you. It was all Boshi..."

Realizing he couldn’t endure this alone, Chen Antang steeled himself.

Daughter, don’t blame your father for lacking loyalty...

...

At Shenglong Hotel, Li Shixin spent most of his savings to book a small banquet hall.

In the center of the hall, a grand scene of filial discipline unfolded.

Tricked by her father into coming, Chen Boshi had hoped to see the old man embarrassed, but now she clung to a chair, her large watery eyes filled with tears.

Beside her, Wu Ming wielded a flyswatter she’d found in the hall, gasping as she looked at her kneeling son.

Seeing her granddaughter stop her self-reflection, she barked, "Why did you stop? Keep reciting!"

"Grandma, I’ve finished the Three Character Classic twenty times..."

"Finished? Then pick another and keep going!" Wu Ming panted, glaring at the little traitor in her fan club.

"But, grandma, what should I recite?"

Wu Ming paused, caught her breath, and rolled up her sleeves again, "Recite what you’ve learned—those ancient admonitions urging respect for parents and elders, warning against being unfilial. Recite them all!"

"Okay... Two swallows on the beam, fluttering male and female. Carrying mud between two rafters, a nest with four chicks. Four chicks grow daily, begging for food with ceaseless cries..."

As Chen Boshi sobbed through her poetry, Wu Ming turned her attention back to Chen Antang.

Taking a deep breath, she raised the rolling pin, "What’s the use of raising you?! Always making me angry!"

"Green worms are hard to catch, young mouths never satisfied. Though beaks and claws tire, mother’s heart never rests. Constant round trips, fearing hunger in the nest. Thirty days of toil, mother grows thin, chicks grow fat. Teaching speech, brushing feathers..."

Smack!

"You hardly ever come home, and when you do, all you do is upset your mother! Today I’ll beat you—maybe if I never see you again, I’ll have less anger and live a few more years!"

"Mom, mom, I'm sorry! I’ll never make you angry again!" Chen Antang's eyes were lifeless, surrounded by elders sipping tea and watching his misery with amusement. He was utterly hopeless.

Looking at the old man, legs crossed and calmly ordering dishes with the waiter, he regretted deeply.

Why provoke that old man with barely days left from his stroke?

"Once wings grow, they perch on the courtyard tree. Spreading wings, never looking back, scattered by the wind. Males and females cry in the sky, voices fade, never return. Into the empty nest, chirping all night in sorrow. Swallow, don’t grieve, reflect on yourself. Recall your days as a chick, soaring away from your mother. The thoughts of parents then, you should know now..."

In a symphony of flyswatter smacks, Wu Ming’s scolding, and Chen Boshi’s tearful recitations, Li Shixin finished ordering with ease.

He smiled as he looked at the suffering father and daughter, and called out, "Sister Wu Ming, are your tools handy? If not, shall we switch?"

!!!

Chen Antang, still kneeling, stared wide-eyed.

Wu Ming, catching her breath, replied, "No need, Brother Shixin, the flyswatter feels much like our old feather duster. I’m comfortable with it! Watch this!"

Smack!

The bamboo handle of the flyswatter landed squarely on Chen Antang’s backside, eliciting a cry of pain.

"See, it’s perfect. No need to worry about breaking it, and he still knows pain!"

Watching Wu Ming’s practiced movements, Li Shixin chuckled, "Then take a break. You’ve been at it for ages—don’t tire yourself! Maybe wait until after dinner?"

Smack!

Wu Ming delivered another blow and, amidst Chen Antang’s screams, smiled at Li Shixin, "No need, Brother Shixin, I’m not tired. It's good exercise—I'll eat more later."

She glanced at Chen Boshi, "There’s more work after dinner. While the dishes aren’t here, better finish with this unfilial son. The little traitor can digest her meal after!"

"A loving mother’s stick, strikes the wayward child. Before departure, buff applied, every blow a critical hit..."

Hearing her grandmother hadn’t forgotten her, the twin-tailed little girl burst into tears.

"Chen Antang, you useless ally! I’ll never trust you again!"