Qinghe Village was beautiful in the way places chosen by variety shows were always beautiful. It was not too remote and not too modern, old enough to have charm, clean enough to satisfy camera lenses, and arranged with enough natural scenery that even a tired parent standing beneath the sun with a crying child could be filmed like a healing scene.

A narrow river curved around the village entrance, while low houses with grey tiles and white walls sat quietly beneath old trees on both sides of the stone path. Red lanterns hung beneath the eaves, not because of any festival, but because the production team had clearly decided that a little colour would look better on camera. Farther away, vegetable fields stretched toward the hills, and a few villagers stood at their doorways, watching the arriving guests with open curiosity.

At the entrance, the production team had set up a long wooden sign.

Our Little Home — Qinghe Village

Below it, smaller words had been painted in a soft, round font.

Three days, two nights. Parents and children will live together, complete tasks together, cook together, and experience ordinary village life.

The words sounded gentle, although the cameras waiting behind the sign were not gentle at all. There were fixed cameras, handheld cameras, drone cameras, livestream equipment, sound staff, directors, assistant directors, child-safety staff, and several emergency personnel standing out of frame.

The show had not officially begun its main tasks yet, but the arrival livestream was already open. Every guest entering the village would be filmed, and every greeting, every smile, every child’s reaction, and every pause between sentences would be seen by millions of viewers who had already formed opinions before anyone even stepped into the frame.

For most families, this was pressure. For Shen Qingyu, it was familiar.

The camera had once loved him. Then the internet had used edited clips to carve him into something unrecognisable. Five years later, he stood in front of the camera again with Xiao Chen in his arms and the twins beside him.

The wind lifted the edge of his coat, while his expression remained calm.

Xiao Chen had just woken up and was still soft with sleep. The baby’s small face pressed against Shen Qingyu’s shoulder, and one hand gripped the fabric near his collar as if he was afraid Shen Qingyu might disappear.

Xiao Heng stood to Shen Qingyu’s left with his back straight and his eyes already moving over the filming equipment. Xiao Nian stood to his right, looking at the village sign with bright eyes and a sweet smile.

The three children were too eye-catching, and the camera operator closest to them instinctively zoomed in.

On the livestream, the comments rolled rapidly.

【He’s really here.】
【This face… I hate to admit it, but Shen Qingyu still looks insane.】
【Don’t be fooled by the face.】
【The baby is so cute. Why is he clinging to Shen Qingyu like that?】
【Babies cling to whoever holds them. What does that prove?】
【The cold twin is scanning the equipment hahaha.】
【The smiling twin looks like he’s about to do something bad.】
【Don’t joke. These are children.】
【Shen Qingyu looks calm. Too calm. Pretending?】
【If he looked nervous, you’d say he was guilty. If he looks calm, you say he’s pretending. Anti-fans are amazing.】
【I’m waiting for him to show his real temper.】

Director Zhou stood beside the main monitor and watched the family enter the frame. The assistant director beside him murmured, “His camera sense is still too strong.”

Director Zhou nodded.

Shen Qingyu had not done anything special. He did not deliberately find the light, pose, or look toward the camera. However, some people were born to be captured, and the camera found him naturally.

Even standing quietly with a baby in his arms, he did not fade into the background. His face was still the kind of beauty that made the lens pause: pale skin beneath daylight, cold brows, naturally red lips, clear eyes, and an elegance that looked delicate only until he raised his gaze.

Director Zhou looked at the screen for a while, then said, “Remind Camera Three not to keep pushing close-ups.”

The assistant director was confused. “Why?”

“He is not here to shoot a beauty documentary.”

The assistant director looked back at the monitor, and then he silently understood. If the camera kept lingering on Shen Qingyu’s face, half the audience would forget they had come to scold him.

Fang Yao walked beside Shen Qingyu until they reached the guest waiting area. It was a small open courtyard prepared by the production team, with long wooden benches placed under a large tree. A water station stood nearby, and several staff members were waiting with clipboards, microphones, child name tags, and emergency snacks.

“Main livestream starts in fifteen minutes,” Fang Yao said quietly. “The arrival section is already live. Don’t look at comments.”

Shen Qingyu glanced at her. “You’ve said that six times.”

“Because you have a history of not listening.”

“I listened this morning.”

“You were watched by your husband.”

Shen Qingyu’s expression remained calm. “Teacher Fang, are you criticising my self-control?”

“I am criticising your curiosity.”

Before Shen Qingyu could answer, Xiao Nian raised his head.

“Auntie Fang, curiosity is a learning ability.”

Fang Yao lowered her head and looked at him. Xiao Nian’s small face was innocent, far too innocent.

Fang Yao had been in the entertainment industry for over twenty years. She had seen actors pretend to be pure, idols pretend to be stupid, and investors pretend to understand art. Yet, facing a four-year-old child smiling like this, she still paused.

Then she said, “Curiosity also needs boundaries.”

Xiao Nian nodded obediently. “Yes. For example, I am curious about the snack bag, but Dad said I cannot open it.”

Xiao Heng said from the side, “You already opened it twice in the car.”

Xiao Nian turned to him. “Brother, that was inspection.”

“You inspected the rice crackers with your mouth.”

“I needed full data.”

Shen Qingyu lowered his eyes. “Lu Yinian.”

Xiao Nian immediately held his small backpack with both hands and stood properly. “I am done collecting data.”

Fang Yao looked at the two boys, then at Shen Qingyu, and finally at Xiao Chen, who was still half-asleep against Shen Qingyu’s shoulder. She suddenly felt that the production team’s child-safety staff might not be enough.

Not because the children were fragile, but because the adults around them were.

The first family arrived five minutes later. It was actress Jiang Meng and her six-year-old daughter, Tangtang.

Jiang Meng was a well-known Beta actress in her thirties. She had debuted in idol dramas, successfully transitioned into mainstream dramas, and built a reputation for being cheerful, hardworking, and blunt. Her husband was not in the industry, but he was said to be a university professor.

Tangtang was lively and round-faced, with two small braids tied with yellow ribbons. The moment she entered the courtyard and saw Xiao Chen in Shen Qingyu’s arms, her eyes lit up.

“Baby!”

Jiang Meng quickly held her back. “Tangtang, don’t rush over. Ask first.”

Tangtang stopped obediently, although her eyes remained fixed on Xiao Chen.

Shen Qingyu looked at Xiao Chen. The baby had opened his eyes and was staring at Tangtang with sleepy confusion.

Shen Qingyu asked softly, “Xiao Chen, do you want to say hello?”

Xiao Chen blinked, then turned his face into Shen Qingyu’s shoulder.

The decision was clear.

Xiao Nian immediately explained, “Xiao Chen has chosen temporary avoidance.”

Xiao Heng added, “Not rejection. He just woke up.”

Tangtang looked at the twins with wide eyes. “You talk like adults.”

Xiao Heng said, “We talk like ourselves.”

Tangtang thought about it, then nodded seriously. “Okay.”

Jiang Meng laughed. “Teacher Shen, your children are very interesting.”

The title “Teacher Shen” came out naturally. It was not “Shen Qingyu,” not “that film emperor,” and not “the one from the hot searches.”

Shen Qingyu looked at her and nodded politely. “Teacher Jiang, your daughter is very cute.”

Jiang Meng smiled, and the first greeting passed smoothly.

In the livestream, the comments shifted.

【Jiang Meng actually called him Teacher Shen.】
【Isn’t that normal? He won Best Actor.】
【Won Best Actor then collapsed.】
【Still won.】
【Tangtang is so cute.】
【Xiao Chen turned away hahaha.】
【The twins narrating the baby’s emotions is killing me.】
【Temporary avoidance, not rejection. I’m using that next time I don’t want to socialise.】
【Shen Qingyu looks surprisingly polite.】
【It’s the first ten minutes. Of course he’ll pretend.】

The second family arrived shortly after. It was singer Zhao Kai and his five-year-old Alpha son, Zhao Xiaoshi.

Zhao Kai was an Alpha singer famous for variety-show humour and poor cooking skills. The production team had invited him partly because he could enliven the atmosphere and partly because he had once gone viral for burning instant noodles.

His son Zhao Xiaoshi was energetic, loud, and fearless. He ran into the courtyard with a small dinosaur backpack and immediately stopped in front of Xiao Heng.