Chapter 164: See You Next Time

Chapter 164: Chapter 164: See You Next Time

Nan Zhi didn’t answer right away. She pondered for a moment before saying,

"I’m afraid tomorrow won’t work. Auntie has something to do. How about the day after tomorrow?"

Qing Xi’s little face fell with disappointment.

"But I have to go to kindergarten the day after tomorrow."

"Kindergarten?"

That word awakened some of Nan Zhi’s memories.

’That’s right!’

’Nan Yi hasn’t started kindergarten yet!’

Normally, children should be sent to kindergarten at age three.

But Nan Yi was already four and a half!

The Tactician who had previously occupied Nan Zhi’s body had shown a sliver of conscience just by keeping Nan Yi from starving. How could she have possibly sent him to kindergarten?

And Nan Zhi had only been back for a little over a month.

’There were no kindergartens in the Otherworld. Plus, I’ve been so busy with all sorts of things since I got back—filming, making money, going back to my hometown to pay respects at the graves, and cleaning up the mess the Tactician left behind...’

Nan Zhi only just remembered, and she was instantly filled with regret.

She wasn’t familiar with this process. ’It’s almost April,’ she thought. ’The school enrollment season is already over. It probably won’t be easy to get him into a kindergarten now.’

So, she asked Fu Chao about it.

Fu Chao found it strange as well.

But he was convinced Nan Zhi wasn’t the type to neglect her child, so he figured there must be another reason.

He didn’t press the issue, instead promising in a relaxed and confident tone,

"Leave this to me. I’ll arrange for Yiyi to go to Xiao Xi’s kindergarten. That way, they can play together happily again!"

Qing Xi only understood the last half of the sentence and immediately cheered!

Nan Yi, however, understood everything.

His first reaction was to clutch the corner of Nan Zhi’s shirt, a hint of panic on his face.

"I don’t want to go to kindergarten! I don’t want to leave Mom!"

Nan Yi wished he could stick to Nan Zhi 24 hours a day.

And in fact, he did.

Now, to be suddenly told that he had to go to kindergarten and leave his mom...

How could Nan Yi possibly accept that?

He looked as if he was about to be abandoned, his little face filled with terror as he gazed helplessly at Nan Zhi.

It was as if his mother’s words alone could decide his fate.

Nan Zhi’s heart was about to break.

However, she knew Nan Yi needed to socialize.

The various issues she had noticed during this recent shoot all pointed to Nan Yi’s lack of interaction with his peers, which would certainly be detrimental in the long run.

But she didn’t just dismiss Nan Yi’s feelings. Instead, she knelt and patiently comforted him.

It took quite a while.

Just as she finally managed to pull Nan Yi out of his premature separation anxiety, the others arrived.

Nan Zhi had no choice but to put the kindergarten matter aside for now, shooting Fu Chao a look.

"Let’s talk after filming."

Fu Chao nodded.

Xie Yu’s gaze drifted over unintentionally.

Nan Zhi was completely unaware.

She led a remarkably quiet Nan Yi to a seat and sat down.

The others did the same.

Everyone was relaxed. Sitting in their little restaurant like friends casually chatting, they began the final shoot for the second phase of the show.

Xu Lin began by announcing the task results.

Although they had opened the restaurant together, each person’s task had subtle differences—

First was Nan Zhi.

She was the owner of a bankrupt shop, and her task was to turn the business profitable and pay off the 3,000 yuan in back rent.

As for her current progress, calling it "turning a profit" was an understatement—it was more like turning stone into gold!

Not only did she easily achieve her goal on the first day, but the money she earned was several times the 3,000 yuan target!

Task completed with ease!

Next was Fu Chao.

The role he had drawn was a real estate agent, but he had since switched careers to become the restaurant’s front-of-house manager.

It seemed he was doing a great job, as he easily completed his task of "saving money to buy his mother a phone" thanks to his share of the profits from Nan Family’s Small Restaurant.

Then came Qi Pei’er.

She was supposed to be the owner of a dessert shop. Now that the dessert shop had merged into Nan Family’s Small Restaurant, in a way, she was still running it.

Her task was to find out what was troubling her child, which she had completed early on in her spare time from running the shop, finishing right after Nan Zhi!

Finally, there was Xie Yu.

As a breakfast stall owner, he had now been promoted to sous chef of a wildly popular internet-famous restaurant. No matter how you looked at it, it was a major step up.

His task was even simpler: "spend quality time with his child." Just looking at Xie An’an’s constant smiling face, you could tell he had completed this task exceptionally well!

...And so, all four participants had successfully completed their tasks!

Behind the camera, Xu Lin gave a symbolic round of applause before announcing solemnly,

"Based on a multi-dimensional calculation including livestream popularity, audience votes, live polling, and task completion, I declare that the final winner of this phase is—Nan Zhi!"

CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!

Everyone burst into applause!

Not just Fu Chao and the other participants, but the entire crew behind the cameras as well!

Everyone sincerely congratulated Nan Zhi and Nan Yi. They couldn’t agree more with the result!

Nan Family’s Small Restaurant existed because of Nan Zhi.

Who else was more qualified to be number one?

At that moment, Xu Lin announced the prize:

"Next, the show’s production team will donate a Hope Elementary School to a poverty-stricken mountainous region in Nan Zhi and Nan Yi’s name!"

This time, everyone was stunned.

Including Nan Zhi!

Nan Yi and the other kids didn’t understand the significance of a Hope Elementary School, so they listened in a daze.

Only Fu Chao exclaimed in surprise,

"Looks like our show is making a lot of money!"

He had been the winner of the last phase, and in terms of prize money, this was on a completely different level!

But Fu Chao didn’t feel it was unfair. On the contrary, he was quite happy for Nan Zhi and Nan Yi.

He was worried it might cause controversy later, so he made a point to add,

"This is a great thing! In the end, it’s the children in the mountains who benefit!"

This was a sentiment that would have been awkward coming from anyone else, but it was most effective coming from Fu Chao.

Sure enough, when the episode aired later, his words silenced many people who were about to complain that the show was biased.

Nan Yi had been lost in his own emotions.

When everyone suddenly started congratulating them, he didn’t quite process it and dazedly asked his mom what was happening.

"It means the aunties and uncles from the show did a good deed in our name. When Yiyi is able, you have to remember to do good deeds too, okay?"

Nan Yi seemed to only half-understand.

But that didn’t stop him from nodding emphatically.

Seeing Nan Yi’s adorable reaction, everyone broke into good-natured laughter.

Qing Xi shot his hand high into the air.

"Me too! I want to do it with my little brother Yiyi!"

Fu Chao put a hand to his forehead, both amused and exasperated.

"Did you even understand what Auntie Nan Zhi said, you little rascal?"

Qing Xi shook his head honestly.

"Nope."

Fu Chao felt the urge to send his little nephew home.

Meanwhile, everyone else roared with laughter.

Little Qi Zhang didn’t understand either.

But he didn’t care about that. He puffed out his chest with the loyalty of a sworn brother and declared,

"I’ll join too! An’an, you join too!"

Xie An’an smiled, holding back a giggle, and replied in her soft voice,

"Okay."

At that, everyone laughed even harder.

In this joyful atmosphere, the recording drew to a close.

"That’s a wrap on the second phase of filming! We’ll see you all again in half a month!"