Chapter 13: Too Many Words Lead to Trouble
The sound of water running over vegetables came from the kitchen...
Yu Zhile glanced at his phone for a while, then when his gaze shifted away, he suddenly made a puzzled noise.
Where was the baby?
Oh no!
How did she crawl all the way over there!
Yu Zhile was startled by the little one—so young but already so good at crawling? Was she born under the sign of the turtle?
He hurried over, scooping up the baby who was almost at the kitchen doorway, and let out a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness Qin Haiyu hadn’t noticed!
If she found out he had been on his phone instead of watching the baby, he’d probably be in for a lecture...
What a useless excuse for a father!
He simply carried the baby into the kitchen, watching as Qin Haiyu, apron on, stood washing vegetables. He asked, “Honey, do you need any help?”
Qin Haiyu replied gently, “You just keep an eye on the baby. Don’t bring her in here to make trouble!”
With that, she leaned over to kiss her daughter’s little cheek, her gaze brimming with motherly love.
“Honey, I want a kiss too!”
Yu Zhile shamelessly pleaded. Qin Haiyu rolled her eyes at him but still planted a quick kiss on his cheek, then said, “The baby’s still little, so it’s fine for now. But when she’s older and understands, we can’t do embarrassing things like this in front of her!”
Yu Zhile laughed, “Then when she’s grown, we’ll just do embarrassing things in secret!”
“Shameless!”
Qin Haiyu’s laughter was gentle and beautiful, and Yu Zhile suddenly thought of a song, singing out on a whim:
“Honey, your smile is so lovely,
Like flowers blooming in spring,
Blowing away all my worries and cares!”
He only sang a short section—he didn’t know the rest, because the short videos he’d watched only ever used that snippet, and after hearing it so often, he’d automatically learned it.
Qin Haiyu paused in surprise. “Honey, did you write this one too?”
Yu Zhile replied without missing a beat, “Just got inspired suddenly and improvised a few lines. To make it a full song would take a lot more brainpower!”
“Hee hee, it’s beautiful!”
Qin Haiyu’s smile grew even more radiant—her husband had said her smile could blow away all his troubles and worries!
So she decided, from now on, she’d smile often enough to banish every last one of his worries.
She picked through the vegetables, then suddenly exclaimed, “Why’s the baby drooling so much again? Honey, go change her bib, will you? Just leave the old one in the sink—I’ll wash it after dinner.”
“Okay.”
Yu Zhile carried his daughter out.
Bib?
Where was it?
He walked around with the little one and finally remembered their laundry was hanging out in the front yard. He opened the door and found a clean bib airing outside.
He thought about bringing in the rest of the laundry, but then wondered where he’d put it. Better not!
Less talk, less work—otherwise, he’d be lost about what to do next.
With the new bib in hand, he easily swapped it onto the baby.
Since Qin Haiyu had only just started cooking, it would be at least an hour before dinner. He found the remote and turned on the TV.
Variety shows!
He browsed the variety section and found season nine of “I Am a Star Singer,” which aired Saturdays at 8 p.m. They were already on episode five, meaning in two days, on episode six, it would be Qin Haiyu’s turn as the challenger!
He opened the latest episode to watch. Hearing the familiar theme music, Qin Haiyu called out curiously, “Honey, why are you watching ‘I Am a Star Singer’?”
Yu Zhile replied, “Know your enemy and know yourself, and you’ll never lose! I’m checking out the competition to give you advice!”
“You’re the best!” Qin Haiyu called sweetly from the kitchen.
Yu Zhile asked, “Honey, who did you lose to in the challenge?”
“Huh?” Qin Haiyu answered, “No one in particular! I lost because my votes didn’t make the top four, so I failed the challenge.”
Well then...
Truly, the more you say, the more mistakes you make.
Next time, I shouldn’t speak before I understand the rules.
It turned out the challenger didn’t duel another contestant, but after all performances, if the challenger’s votes didn’t make the top four, they failed the first round.
The second round’s votes would be combined with the first; if the total still didn’t make the top four, they’d be eliminated.
After understanding the challenge rules, Yu Zhile asked, “Honey, what was your rank in the first round?”
“Eighth place!” Qin Haiyu replied without hesitation.
Yu Zhile almost spat blood onto the TV screen!
There were only seven regular singers on the show! With her, eight contestants in all, so she’d come in last!
And she sounded so matter-of-fact about it...
Didn’t she feel even a little embarrassed or discouraged? She seemed almost proud of her eighth-place finish!
Yu Zhile could only sigh and finally praised, “You’re amazing, honey!”
Qin Haiyu snorted, “You’re laughing at me, aren’t you! What’s wrong with eighth place? I sang really well! It’s just the others are more popular right now, so my votes couldn’t keep up with theirs!”
“Ahem, you’re absolutely right!”
Yu Zhile looked at the TV, not recognizing a single star, and pondered how to help Qin Haiyu turn things around in this nearly impossible challenge.
But the harder the challenge, the more hope remained!
Now that he’d announced, as the author “The Fish Outside the Pond,” that he was Qin Haiyu’s husband, her online following and popularity would surely rebound.
Readers who liked “The Fish Outside the Pond” would likely take an interest in Qin Haiyu.
So failing the first round didn’t matter much—she finished last, but to make the top four in round two, she’d need to place at least third.
Not an easy feat!
But not impossible either!
The song “Little Happiness” suited Qin Haiyu’s voice and style perfectly. In this world, it would be his original composition, and Qin Haiyu would debut as the first performer. Though it’s tough for a new song to resonate with an audience right away, as long as she sang it well, it would move listeners as much as any classic.
There were still six days left!
Yu Zhile made up his mind—over the next six days, he would train Qin Haiyu diligently, so that in the second round, she would astonish everyone with her performance!