Chapter 5
Edward Quan ·
15
On the show's final day, we watched the sunrise together and collected shells as souvenirs.
The four of us took plenty of photographs on the beach.
For the farewell, the crew arranged a special segment and asked Qi'an whether he had anything to say to me.
Only then did he realize that his father and I would go our separate ways once the show ended.
Panicking, he hugged my leg and cried.
“Mommy Wanning, I don't want to leave you. I wish you were really my mommy. I won't let you go.”
While I comforted him, the crew turned to ask Ningning what she wanted to say to Fu Yanzhou.
Crying was contagious among children. She began sobbing loudly too.
He held her, and she clung to his neck.
“Uncle Fu, can you be my daddy? Can you marry Mommy? I only want you for my daddy.”
“All right. I promise.”
He made the promise without avoiding the camera.
As filming drew to a close, even the fans who had always been vicious grew a little gentler.
“I'm crying so hard. I really wish this weren't just a child-swap show.”
“Poor children. They're so lovely. Why does one have no father and the other no mother?”
“Where's Ningning's dad?”
“Who is Qi'an's mother?”
“Could he be her dad, and could Ning Wanning be Qi'an's mom?”
“Ask them to take a DNA test. You never know.”
We ended the show with a group hug.
After the livestream, we had to head for the airport to fly home.
As expected, our family took over the top trending searches.
“Who is Qi'an's real mother?”
“Who is Ningning's biological father?”
“Fu Yanzhou and Ning Wanning ship sailing! Anyone coming aboard?”
“Does Fu Yanzhou suit Wen Tang or Ning Wanning better?”
The children were still crying. Fu Yanzhou and I exchanged a look and decided to tell them the truth.
“Ningning, be good. Don't cry. Shall Daddy tell you a secret?”
She wiped her tears, curiosity filling her dark eyes.
“What secret, Daddy? Tell me.”
At last he revealed what he had kept hidden.
“I'm your real daddy. Your full name is Fu Ningning.”
Through her tears, she burst into laughter.
“Really? You mustn't trick me!”
Qi'an looked bewildered, apparently unsure whether his father was telling the truth.
I hugged him.
“I have a secret for you too. You grew in my tummy. I'm your real mommy.”
“Mommy! Mommy! That's wonderful! I finally have a mommy!”
He shouted with happiness.
Once the children were soothed, Fu Yanzhou leaned close to my ear.
“Sweetheart, I have a secret for you too.”
“Go on.”
I was a little nervous. What could he have kept from me?
His lips curved.
“I invested in this show.”
“…”
So the child-swap reality show was really a win-back-my-ex-wife show, carefully planned by him.
16
We boarded the plane at three in the afternoon.
Before takeoff, I switched on my phone to check Weibo.
An explosive story had reached the trending searches.
I assumed the paparazzi had released their scoop early.
Instead, the headline was: “Fu Yanzhou and Ning Wanning remarry!”
Puzzled, I tapped it.
A fan had secretly filmed a short video on our flight here.
In it, he held my hand, his fingers locked around mine.
“Fu Yanzhou, do you know what you're doing?”
“Nothing. I just miss you.”
“I haven't agreed to marry you again.”
All of it had been recorded.
The news hit the viewers like a hammer.
The comments were livelier than ever.
“Remarry! Did everyone hear that? So they were married and divorced?”
“Then the children really are siblings?”
“No wonder they were born on the same day, month, and year!”
“If the kids can be brother and sister, I suppose I can reluctantly accept those two as a couple.”
“You'll allow it? Who asked for your permission?”
“From that video, he seems to be doing the pursuing.”
“Wait. You all said she wasn't good enough for him, but he's the one begging her to marry him again? I'm dying.”
…
Before I finished reading, a flight attendant came to remind me to switch off my phone.
I did. As the plane began to take off, Fu Yanzhou thoughtfully spread a blanket over me.
This time, the children weren't gazing up at the clouds.
They were whispering to one another.
We listened for a while.
“Big Brother,” Ningning said, “even though you're my big brother, I want to be your big sister.”
Qi'an was clever.
“Little Sister, there's only one way you can be a big sister. Mommy and Daddy have to give us another little brother or sister.”
She gave him a thumbs-up.
“You're amazing!”
Then she poked her head over to ask us, “Mommy, Daddy, can you give us a little brother or sister?”
Fu Yanzhou patiently explained.
“Ningning, it hurt Mommy a lot to have you and your brother. Another baby would mean more pain. Would you want Mommy to hurt?”
Both children shook their heads.
“Then I don't want another baby,” Qi'an said. “I don't want Mommy to hurt.”
Ningning reasoned with herself.
“I don't want that either. I won't be a big sister. Being the little sister is fine. My big brother can protect me.”
Fu Yanzhou and I smiled at each other.
He took my hand.
I squeezed his in return, not wanting to let go.
17
After we landed, the driver collected us.
In the car, calls kept coming from both our agencies.
How did we intend to handle the crisis?
We had agreed on the plane: rather than manage the story behind the scenes, we would make an official announcement.
Fu Yanzhou now had the final say. His agency could no longer force him to do anything he didn't want to do.
As for me, plenty of people already hated me. A few more wouldn't matter.
After hanging up, he posted on Weibo.
“Qi'an's mommy, when can we get married again? @Ning Wanning”
I shared his post.
“Ningning's daddy, how does tomorrow sound? @Fu Yanzhou”
It wasn't only an announcement. It answered everyone's questions too.
I was Qi'an's mother. Fu Yanzhou was Ningning's father.
The children were brother and sister.
Reactions varied. Some cursed us; others wished us well.
The paparazzi who planned to expose us had grown so impatient they'd moved their livestream to eight that very evening.
Who could have expected us to announce everything ourselves at seven?
They had to start at the advertised time.
Two masked paparazzi put on a double act.
“The A-list actor we're exposing tonight has a surname beginning with P. He's won Best Actor twice, with cumulative box-office takings above twenty billion.”
The commenters complained.
“Yes, we know. Can't you just say Fu Yanzhou?”
“They don't dare. They're afraid he'll send a lawyer's letter.”
“Now you're going to tell us he and Ning Wanning got married, aren't you? And that they have twins?”
“We know all that. Give us something new. You're wasting our time.”
Humiliated by the audience, they tried to regain a little dignity.
“Just wait. There's more.”
They brought out a prepared stack of photographs, making a show of mystery.
“At a hundred thousand likes, we'll reveal Fu and Ning's first date.
“At two hundred thousand, we'll reveal their secret meetings.
“At three hundred thousand, photos of them feeding each other at dinner.
“At four hundred thousand, Ning at a prenatal checkup, five months pregnant.”
…
Fans and other viewers were enthusiastic. The likes rose quickly.
The paparazzi grew so excited they were practically spitting into the screen, exposing every sort of private detail about us.
We had been stripped of every scrap of privacy.
The viewers still couldn't get enough.
“So sweet. I get this ship now!”
“Give us all the lovey-dovey couple content!”
Where had all these shipping fans suddenly come from?
Fu Yanzhou personally sent the pair a lawyer's letter.
Halfway through their broadcast, the livestream was reported and blocked.
Before bed, he posted a few old photographs on Weibo.
Our wedding pictures. Me during pregnancy. The children's tiny feet when they were newborn.
The caption read, “At last, I can tell the whole world my wife is Ning Wanning!”
A little later, Wen Tang called.
He put her on speaker. I could hear reluctance in her voice.
“Are you really going to remarry Wanning? Have you thought it through?”
He was rather cool.
“What is there to think through? I'm the one who begged her to marry me again.”
“Oh…”
She was silent for a few seconds, then sighed.
“Well, I wish you both the best.”
After hanging up, she posted on Weibo.
“Fu Yanzhou and I are only colleagues. Wishing him and Wanning all the best. While we're here, a little promotion for our film too, hehe. Here's hoping for a wonderful box office!”
That night, Ningning and Qi'an slept soundly.
Fu Yanzhou and I stayed awake until morning.
There was so much we wanted to say to each other.
The End.