VHBF – Chapter 60 Movie King Daddy (Part 19)

Zhang Daxi burst out laughing the moment he heard it, his mouth splitting wide in delight. Smugly, he said, “Since there are only so many viewers, if they’re losing people and we’re gaining them, isn’t it obvious? They must have all come to our show!”

The staff, who had been working overtime late into the night just to keep an eye on the numbers—afraid they’d wake up tomorrow morning unemployed—perked up the moment they heard the director’s words. Their eyes lit up and they erupted into cheers!

In contrast, the atmosphere in the studio of the neighboring dating variety show was utterly bleak. The director’s face was dark, and the rest of the staff hung their heads, not daring to make a sound.

At the start, Love on Day 30 had ridden on the popularity of its idol cast and the trendy dating-show format, drawing in a massive wave of fans.

But gradually, as the show went on, its viewership, after reaching a peak, plummeted sharply. Now that the series was nearing its finale, viewership had dropped to less than two million—fewer even than at the beginning!

From start to finish, the entire Love on Day 30 production team—everyone from the director to the props crew—had never once taken the neighboring parent-child reality show seriously. They didn’t even bother monitoring its numbers. Other than asking in the beginning, and hearing that the other side only had a few hundred thousand clicks, they’d simply waved it off and ignored them.

Now, though, their own show’s viewership was collapsing at an alarming rate, practically falling every second in exaggerated numbers. Director Zhao, who had been in the industry for many years, had never seen ratings drop this fast.

A bad premonition struck him. He paced back and forth in the backstage studio, eyes glued to the giant screen displaying the data, his face growing darker and darker.

His assistant spoke nervously: “Director Zhao, could it be that…”

“…that they’ve all gone next door to watch instead?”

Even as he said it, the assistant himself didn’t believe it. After all, their numbers at the start had been excellent—three million viewers watching simultaneously. Do you know how much traffic the entire video platform usually gets?

They alone had taken up three million concurrent viewers—and that was just at launch. Later, it even rose to seven million at its peak. The assistant had long since boasted about this achievement on the show’s official Weibo.

But now the data had collapsed to the point where it was unrecognizable, and the assistant suspected the only viewers left must be diehard fans of a few specific guests!

In other words, their program was an utter failure. Not only had they failed to retain viewers, they had driven away countless others.

He scratched his head, feeling it didn’t make sense. Before broadcast, the whole team had reviewed the edited version. Sure, the concept wasn’t new, but Director Zhang’s seasoned touch had ensured everything looked polished: the young idols, all good-looking and brimming with energy, had plenty of playful interactions, and the show was full of tension and chemistry that was very eye-catching.

Even a man like him, married for years, had felt a sweetness watching it. He’d even thought about surprising his wife when he got home, reliving the feeling of being in love again. So how could it possibly be that their show had “flopped” and failed to retain viewers?

And as for the neighboring show—its opening numbers had been abysmal. While they had over three million clicks, the other side had only a measly few hundred thousand. Most of that, they figured, was thanks to Banana Video’s recommendation slot. In other words, those were casual, “wild” viewers with low loyalty. Hardly anyone would have seriously chosen to watch that show.

So even as he suggested it, the assistant shook his head. Impossible. Maybe the backend numbers had glitched. He should check with the tech team.

But Director Zhao suddenly felt enlightened. His mind had been foggy, clouded by the fact he’d dismissed the neighboring show entirely, so he hadn’t even considered the possibility. Now, hearing the assistant’s words, his heart lurched. He spun on his heel and strode off.

Assistant: “?????”

The director stormed out of the studio, leaving the rest of the staff staring at each other in bewilderment.

Director Zhao headed straight for the backstage area of the neighboring production.

Zhang Daxi spotted him immediately and rushed forward with a grin, shaking his hand. “Well, well, what a rare guest! For a big shot like Director Zhao to grace our little corner—it truly makes our humble place shine!”

Director Zhao didn’t have time for his flippant remarks. Just seeing Zhang’s smug expression was enough to confirm his assistant’s suspicions—these people had pulled off a counterattack and stolen their viewers!

He frowned and asked bluntly, “What’s your current click count?”

Zhang Daxi snapped his fingers. His assistant immediately stepped forward with a tablet, reporting with precision: “As of 8:55:49, the total clicks have reached 16 million, with 15 million currently watching live, excluding the remainder.”

Director Zhao: “……”

He stepped closer, his eyes falling on the giant screen where the show was still playing. The episode was already at its tail end—only five minutes left before it finished.

The final game segment had just concluded, and in the last five minutes, the show was awarding a prize to the winning guests of the first episode: actor Zhu Ji and his daughter.

The little dumpling stood on the temporary red podium, holding her father’s hand in one chubby fist, and clutching an oversized “check” in the other. On it was written: “Prize Money: 100,000 yuan.”

When the host asked her to give a speech, she wiggled her daddy’s hand, smiling contentedly. Her round, chubby face glowed with joy.

“Yinyin is very happy.”

The host brought the microphone a little closer and asked, “How happy are you?”

Yinyin’s soft milky voice rang out. She said excitedly, “Yinyin has lots and lots of money now to raise Daddy! I can buy lots and lots of veggies, lots and lots of meat, and I can…”

She started counting on her fingers but got lost in the middle, and in the end, she spun herself into confusion. So she simply concluded, “Anyway, I can raise Daddy for a long, long time!”

The host chuckled and asked, “Then do you have anything you want to say to Daddy?”

Yinyin turned her head, lifted her little face to look at her father, and said seriously, “Daddy, Yinyin has money now, so don’t go carrying bricks anymore. Carrying bricks is really hard, it takes lots and lots of strength, and you also have to be burned by the sun…”

She held up the big cheque in her tiny hands like a treasure and said proudly, “Look, so much money! Uncle Director said this can be exchanged for a lot of money!”

The little girl was like a carved jade doll, showing off proudly, and countless viewers were instantly won over. The live comments exploded with waves of “auntie cooing noises.”

“Don’t ask me why a single dog like me suddenly feels maternal! I had an auntie smile plastered on my face the whole time. From today on, I declare this little bun is my daughter! (Who’s that Movie King? I don’t know him!)”

“Can I admit as a guy… I was also smiling like an auntie? My roommate is staring at me, hesitating to ask. Should I explain? Urgent!”

“Baby, Mommy’s here! You don’t need to raise me, Mommy will raise you!”

“Little Yinyin, are you the reincarnation of an ice cream cone? So sweet!”

“Envying Movie King Zhu so hard right now!”

“+1! Totally jealous!”

The host, a warm-hearted young lady, felt her heart melting as she listened. What a well-behaved, clever child. How did Movie King Zhu raise her like this?

She stood up and passed the microphone to him. “Movie King Zhu, after hearing your daughter’s words, what do you want to say?”

The refined man lowered his gaze to his daughter. His tea-brown eyes rippled with a faint smile, his expression soft, his gaze full of affection. He said gently, “Yinyin is very obedient, but as her father, my greatest wish is to spoil her so much that she becomes lawless.”

Audience comments instantly burst out:

“Yinyin! From now on, we moms will spoil you lawless!”

“Hmph, Zhu Ji, now you finally said something decent! Zhu Ji, I order you to go carry bricks to raise the baby right now, or else I’ll beat you up!”

“This isn’t fair at all! Watching this show shattered my heart—why do other people get such a sweet daughter while I don’t? Rejected! Lemon jealousy!”

Zhu Ji made no mention of the brick-carrying part his daughter had mentioned. The host glanced at him oddly… she couldn’t help but recall the rumors surrounding him recently, and a trace of sympathy welled up. A great Movie King, reduced to carrying bricks—how pitiful.

Meanwhile, in the living room, a young man in trendy streetwear with blue-dyed hair jumped three feet high when he saw this part.

Just a moment ago, he had been sitting close to Yinyin, almost wishing he could snatch her into his arms. But now, facing the gaze of father and daughter turning his way, Yang Bingbing’s face stiffened. “N-no worries, no worries, urgent business, urgent business—I’ll just run to the restroom!”

“…”

The host clearly wasn’t done asking questions. After all, this was a rare chance—this was Zhu Ji’s first appearance on a program since being heavily slandered online. If she didn’t dig deeper now, she’d be a fool!

The director had assured her: with his daughter present, Movie King Zhu wouldn’t lose his temper.

“Movie King Zhu, we all know you’ve been facing… a lot of trouble online recently. May I ask, when news of you having a daughter was exposed under such circumstances, what were you thinking at the time?”

Zhu Ji replied, “I don’t mind the fact of my daughter being exposed. I’m proud of her. What I dislike is that some people would use this to attack a three-year-old child. If you’ve never been a parent, maybe you don’t understand. But when you are one day, perhaps you will.”

He lifted his gaze toward the camera. “All the accounts that spread rumors and slander about my daughter have been identified, and we have preserved the evidence. In the next couple of days, you will likely be receiving a lawyer’s letter. Thank you.”

Normally, he was known for being courteous, humble, gentle—the most approachable, and also the most handsome, Movie King in the industry.

But right now, with his face set in cold seriousness, his gaze steady on the camera, the audience instinctively shuddered. They didn’t dare look him in the eye.

After a moment, the barrage of comments turned into howls:

“Let those haters go die! Baby’s dad is great too! Baby wants to raise Dad, and Dad wants to protect Baby—they’re heavenly father and daughter!”

“Who would ever want to hurt such a sweet child! Zhu Ji suddenly looks like he’s 2.8 meters tall! He quietly gathered evidence to sue them, hahahaha, 666!”

“Sisters, assemble! Let’s roast those haters to ashes! Movie King sues, we curse!”

At the end of the show, all the dads and babies went on stage together, forming a circle. They cheered for the program and sang a song together.

Yinyin didn’t know how to sing, so she just mouthed along clumsily. Every now and then she glanced around in confusion. Seeing that no one noticed she couldn’t sing, she secretly let out a sigh of relief.

The final shot froze on Yinyin patting her little chest in relief, her small face full of expression, leaving the reluctant audience laughing in delight.

“Pffft hahaha, I screenshotted it! I can laugh at this picture for a whole year!”

“Baby: Everyone else can sing, only I can’t. But it’s fine, since no one noticed, that means I can sing too!”

“Waaah, the first episode is over. I’m already looking forward to the second!”

“Bro in front, this show is only a pilot. I heard it’s competing with that dating show. If we want to see Baby again, we have to vote!”

“What are you waiting for?! Charge! Brothers, sisters—if you want more Baby, hurry up and vote!”

After finishing the show, Li Da also picked up his phone and opened Fruit TV’s official account. By then, the voting channel was already open. He tapped and cast his vote.

Li Mom, seeing her son glued to his phone again, slapped him lightly in annoyance. “Go back to your room, don’t be such an eyesore.”

“Mom, I’m doing something serious right now!”

She gave him a sideways glance. “What serious thing? You can’t even focus watching a show.”

Li Da shoved his phone toward her, pointing at the screen. “See? If you want to keep watching this show in the future, you need to vote. The more votes it gets, the more chance it has to win against the other program, so it can continue filming.”

The moment she heard this, Li Mom immediately handed him her own phone. “Then what are you waiting for? Hurry up and register me one of those… what’s it called, Weibo accounts? I’ll cast a vote for our little girl. And get your dad’s phone too! Tomorrow I’ll tell your aunties to rally up—your cousins, nephews, nieces, everyone will vote! You young folks love this stuff anyway, right? Just a little thing!”

Li Da: “…”

After the show aired, there were plenty of people like Li Mom. Especially older uncles and aunties—the more they watched, the more they adored that pink, well-behaved, sensible child.

One after another, they said, That’s our little girl! How could such a sweet child be eliminated? We must vote!

And it wasn’t enough to vote themselves. They rallied their sons, daughters, grandkids, and every relative they could think of. The more people, the stronger the power!