This actor has something

Chapter 389 Going to School?

He Daqi, who never works overtime, finally had to work overtime.

There's no other way; we have to follow Lao Zhang's schedule. Lao Zhang is currently juggling two things at once, so he can't stay on set all the time. He also needs to keep an eye on the opening ceremony preparations and program selections.

They filmed continuously for a week, without resting on Saturday and Sunday, but when Monday came, the three main actors got to rest instead.

Because Lao Zhang went back to Beijing to work, Lu Yang was left to lead the supporting actors in shooting supplementary scenes, while Lao Zhang himself was in charge of filming the main characters' scenes. So He Daqi, who had worked overtime for two days, got a break.

I've talked to Lao Zhang and know a bit about the selection process for the opening ceremony programs. They don't spend every day picking programs together. Instead, when they come across a good program that's recommended, they'll have the decision-makers take a look and decide whether to use it or not. Or, for programs that they've prepared themselves for the theme, they need to go over and check on them from time to time.

He Daqi originally wanted to take advantage of his free time today to ask if he could go watch the show with Lao Zhang, but Lao Zhang ignored him. So He Daqi had nowhere to go and decided to stay home to play games and keep the kids entertained.

"Daqi, let's go shopping! You haven't gone shopping with me in ages."

Seeing that He Daqi was about to turn on the computer, Zhou Huimin hooked his clothes with her nimble toes, smiling broadly, clearly in a very good mood.

Ever since her acting skills amazed everyone, she has been in a great mood, always smiling. At least she knows to respond when others greet her, unlike before. Before, when she was filming with He Daqi on set, she would just nod perfunctorily when others greeted her.

He Daqi's pants were almost ripped off by Zhou Huimin. He disgustedly slapped away her fair and tender foot and refused without thinking, "No way. I finally got a break. Why would I go out for a stroll?"

It's not like he hasn't gone shopping with Vivian Chow before. That woman always buys useless little trinkets. She thinks it's a good idea when she buys them, but then she just throws them away and they end up gathering dust in some corner.

After the two children found these little trinkets and put them in front of Vivian Chow, Vivian Chow herself had to think for a while about when she bought them.

The problem is that she not only buys things, but she also likes to have He Daqi carry her bags and follow behind her. This makes He Daqi quite unhappy. He's just wandering around aimlessly for half a day, and he hasn't even used the things he bought. It would be strange if He Daqi was willing to go shopping with her.

Hearing He Daqi's unequivocal refusal, Zhou Huimin's good mood was dampened. But she knew how to cheer herself up. She squirmed a couple of times and kicked He Daqi with her feet, immediately feeling much better.

He Daqi assumed she was just scratching an itch, so he didn't play along and turned to sit down at the computer.

As soon as the computer was turned on, while the startup program was still running, Zhou Huimin, who had jumped off the bed, grabbed He Daqi by the neck. It was clear that He Daqi didn't want to cause trouble, but Zhou Huimin did.

"Come with me!"

"Don't go!"

"Then I'll murder my husband!"

"You vile woman! You are despicable!"

Vivian Chow smiled and pressed her face against Ho Tai-kei's. You could tell from her voice that she was in a good mood, so Ho Tai-kei played along.

The couple were being affectionate when they heard the bedroom doorknob being turned twice. Because it was locked from the inside, the door couldn't be opened.

"Daddy! Open the door!" The little girl patted the door.

The reason for locking the door from the inside is to keep out the two kids. Ever since they learned to open the door, the two little ones will come over and peek in whenever the couple is home.

Hearing the knocking on the door and their daughter's shouts, the couple exchanged a surprised glance.

Because the two children were taken away by Grandpa He and Grandma He early in the morning, the couple thought the children would not be back until evening, but they were brought back at 10 a.m.

Zhou Huimin straightened up, released her arms from He Daqi's neck, turned around and walked briskly to open the door. The two little ones were standing outside the door with their little faces upturned, their faces beaming with bright smiles.

Behind them, on the living room sofa, Mr. and Mrs. He were sitting there with smiles on their faces.

He Daqi saw it through the crack, and his questions grew. He smiled, got up, patted the heads of the two mischievous kids who had rushed into the bedroom, didn't say much to them, and quickly walked out of the bedroom.

"Grandpa, Grandma, why did you bring them back so early today?"

He guessed that the two elderly people had something on their minds, but he didn't ask them directly what it was.

"Bingzi said he plans to send Charlie to kindergarten this summer, saying he wants the child to learn things early, so we came to ask if you want Huanhuan and Lele to go together."

The old lady didn't say whether she wanted her child to go to kindergarten, but judging from her tone and expression, she probably didn't. She probably thought He Bing was just making trouble for no reason. She and Grandpa He weren't unable to walk, so why should they send their child to kindergarten to be coaxed by others?

"They're accepting three-year-olds into kindergarten now?" He Daqi asked, somewhat surprised.

"Three or four years old is the small class, four or five years old is the middle class, and five or six years old is the big class. Back when your grandma and I hadn't retired, that was the rule for kindergartens in Beijing."

Grandpa He and Grandma He were both elementary school teachers, so they knew quite a bit about kindergartens. When they heard He Daqi's question, Grandpa He casually gave him a brief explanation.

He Daqi turned around and exchanged a glance with Zhou Huimin. The couple were quite surprised. They had always felt that it was too early to talk about their child's education and had never paid much attention to it. Now that they had suddenly encountered this issue, they were a little confused.

Zhou Huimin led the two little rascals out of the bedroom, her gaze sweeping over He Daqi, the old man, and the old lady, before looking down at her own two children. After a moment's thought, she said, "Didn't you say they were three or four years old? Wouldn't it be the same to send them next year? This year... let's just skip it this year."

“Exactly! Going next year won’t make a difference!” The old lady chuckled in agreement, then added with a hint of disdain, “Bingzi is just making a fuss over nothing. He even said he found a good kindergarten. Do you really need to go to such lengths to find a kindergarten?”

“It’s kindergarten, it’s been like this for years, you just can’t get it right.” Old Master He pursed his lips and corrected him in a hesitant tone.

The old lady glanced at him sideways, too lazy to pay attention to him and didn't reply.

"Found a good kindergarten? Public or private?" He Daqi asked with a smile as he walked to the sofa and sat down next to the old lady.

Sitting so close made it harder to see clearly. The old lady had been teaching all her life and had some presbyopia. She wanted to take out her reading glasses to examine her eldest grandson more closely. She noticed that He Daqi seemed to have gotten a bit tanned.

A smile returned to her face as she straightened He Daqi's collar and said, "Bingzi didn't say anything. He just mentioned it casually when he was going to work this morning. Neither your grandfather nor I asked him about it."

"Grandma, do you want them to go this year?" He Daqi then asked.

"Of course I don't want to. If I want my child to learn to read, I can teach him at home. Maybe the kindergarten teachers can teach him as well as I can." The old lady finally spoke her mind.

"What do you know? Good kindergartens teach English now, so kids can learn from a young age. It'll make learning much easier later on." Under the old lady's intimidating gaze, Grandpa He's mutterings grew quieter.

He Daqi didn't care about this. It didn't matter whether the two children did well in school or not. He didn't expect them to become scientists. He could choose whether to study or not. He himself wasn't a good student, so how could he place his hopes on the next generation?

Besides, the biggest hurdle my two kids will face in the future will probably be when they step into a Maybach. What good will it do if they study well?
He didn't seem to care, just chuckling to himself. Zhou Huimin, on the other hand, was quite attentive. She led the children over, and the two children were pulled to their sides by Grandpa He and Grandma He. Zhou Huimin shook He Daqi's shoulder and asked with concern, "What's the difference between public and private schools?"

"It's just a matter of how much money you have," He Daqi replied dismissively.

With the two elderly people present, Zhou Huimin couldn't very well beat He Daqi in front of everyone. Hearing him give her a perfunctory answer, she wrinkled her nose angrily, reached out of sight, and pinched He Daqi's arm.

He Daqi was deep in thought when he felt the pain. He turned to look at Zhou Huimin, who was sitting next to him with a pout, but didn't bother arguing with her. He then turned back to chat with the old lady and Mr. He for a while.

When Zhou's mother returned from grocery shopping, she stood up and offered her seat so that Zhou's mother could come over and chat with Grandpa He and Grandma He.

The two children were wandering around the sofa. He Daqi glanced at them with a smile, then turned and went into the bedroom.

Zhou Huimin finally seized the opportunity and hurriedly followed in. Before she could even speak, He Daqi stopped her with a gesture, and then she saw He Daqi take out his phone and start making a call.

"Hey, Uncle, are you busy?"

Upon hearing just one greeting, Zhou Huimin knew that He Daqi was calling He Bing. So her original intention to cause trouble while he was on the phone faded away. She leaned closer to listen to what He Daqi was going to talk about with his uncle, especially about which kindergarten he should attend.

He Bing dragged a chair to sit by the window in the corridor outside the rehearsal room to enjoy the breeze. Several other people, both men and women, were around him, chatting or leisurely smoking.

Seeing that He Daqi was calling, I guessed what it was about, so I just gave a casual reply.

"I'm not busy. I just finished rehearsal and am about to take a break and have lunch."

"Uncle, could you please not send Charlie to kindergarten for now?"

He Daqi's words left He Bing completely bewildered. What was going on? Wasn't he here to inquire about the kindergarten?
"why?"

He Bing reached into the actress's pocket next to him, took out a pack of cigarettes, and lit one for himself.

Seeing this, Pu Cunxi couldn't help but chirp, "Bingzi, now you even have to borrow cigarettes from others?"

He Bing pointed to the phone, indicating that he didn't have time to chat. He listened to He Daqi's response on the phone, slowly frowned, and took a deep drag on his cigarette.

"Uncle, I'm planning to do a variety show next fall or at the end of next year. I'd like you to bring Charlie to the show, and I'll bring my two kids too. We'll also invite a few people from our industry to join us."

“Recording a show? What kind of show is this? Tell me what you were thinking.”

“I can’t hide my child forever. Instead of hiding from reporters every day, I might as well just reveal it myself. That way, the outside world won’t be so curious, and I can openly take my child out to play.” He Daqi gave his reasoning without hesitation.

This reason surprised both He Bing and Zhou Huimin, who was eavesdropping on the phone.

Thinking about it carefully, it's not entirely impossible...

"Tell me more about this variety show, I'll think about it." He Bing got up, a cigarette dangling from his lips, and walked to a corner.

"I'm planning to do a variety show to test the waters. Unlike the current variety shows in China, this one will be an outdoor variety show, a travel show, and also a parent-child show. It will involve several fathers taking their children to the countryside for a while, where there are mountains and rivers, and the adults and children will interact through some simple tasks."

After listening, He Bing remained silent for a moment, then asked slowly, "We two... um... Charlie and Huanhuan are about the same age, so it's fine. Have you decided on the other people yet?"

"So far, besides you, I've only found one other guest."

"Who?" He Bing was taken aback; there was someone who had arrived before him!
“Zhang Yimou, he has the same problem as me.”

He Bing almost choked on his cigarette when He Daqi mentioned the guest's name. He suddenly grinned and laughed for a while before replying, "Hmm... I need to think about this carefully. I'll come over to talk to you after get off work tonight."

"Bring me two braised pork knuckles from Tianfuhao."

"You even ordered food! Okay, I got it."

After hanging up the phone, before He Daqi could even put his phone back in his pocket, Zhou Huimin grabbed him by the collar.

Zhou Huimin has so many questions now. She grabbed He Daqi's collar tightly with both hands and didn't know where to start asking them.

"Are you really going to murder your husband?"

He Daqi gently patted Zhou Huimin's hand, pointed to his own neck, and gestured for her to let go.

"If you don't give me a straight answer today, I'll really kill my husband!"

"Just ask what you want to hear, and I'll tell you everything I know." He Daqi smiled and looked into her eyes, while Zhou Huimin's eyes were full of confusion.

"Is this the solution you mentioned last time regarding the exposure of the children?"

"Yes!"

"Why are there a group of fathers leading their children to play, and not a group of mothers?"

"Because it's more interesting for dads to take care of kids, and I've already thought of a name for the show: Where Are We Going, Dad?"

Vivian Chow was getting anxious. The show sounded very interesting, and she could already imagine how amazing it would be when it aired. Just thinking about He Daqi appearing on TV with his children, but without her, made Vivian Chow extremely nervous.

"Why should I!" she muttered under her breath, then glared fiercely at He Daqi and pouted, asking, "Does that mean I won't appear on this variety show at all?"

"No, you have shots at the beginning when the show starts and at the end when the show ends when the show returns home."

(End of this chapter)