Chapter 4 — The Child You Never Knew

Early the next morning, the producer - Mr. Ton - sure enough came to find Khuong Niem to talk. The talking location was the producer's office, the door was closed, the blinds were half-drawn. Mr. Ton is in his forties, has been working in the variety industry for more than ten years, is clever but not necessarily a bad person, the type of person who covers up his standards in every direction.

“Khuong Niem, there is something I want to discuss with you.” Mr. Ton brought a glass of water and smiled enthusiastically, "The past two days, your baby Tieu Chau's data has been very good, the audience has exploded. The station wants to add a special plan, create a story line for Tieu Chau."

Khuong Niem received the glass of water but did not drink it. “What story line?”

"Simply put, arrange a star guide for the boy. You know, currently children's shows favor this model, a senior in the industry leads an ordinary child to complete a task." Mr. Ton rubbed his hands, "The character the station plans to choose is Wen Tam Duyet."

Khuong Niem's fingers stopped on the edge of the cup.

"Wen Tam Duyet recently signed a representative contract for our next season. The brand's idea is to warm up a bit this season, letting her join the team as a special guest for a few days. Coincidentally, Tieu Chau is hot, and when the two combine, the discussion will be very high." Mr. Ton observed Khuong Niem's expression, "Of course, if you have any concerns, just say so."

“I refuse.” Khuong Niem's response was concise and decisive.

Mr. Ton's smile stiffened. "Khuong Niem, don't rush to refuse. I can't decide this plan alone, it's the idea of a senior investor."

“Which investor?”

Mr. Ton did not directly answer this question, but his eyes said it very clearly.

“My son doesn't need any guidance.” Khuong Niem put the glass of water on the table and stood up, "The audience can clearly see the boy's performance. There is no need to rely on pairing with anyone to create a topic. If the show insists on arranging it, I will withdraw from the show."

“Think carefully.” Mr. Ton's tone changed subtly, from enthusiastic to a bit of a warning, "In your current situation, being able to appear on this program is already an exception. If you throw away this opportunity, if you want to get resources like this again in the future, I'm afraid it will be difficult."

“No need for you to worry for me.” Khuong Niem pushed the door and walked out.

In the hallway, two people came. Ms. Luu and Trieu Hang, who had just come out of the makeup room, saw Khuong Niem coming out of the producer's office and looked at each other. Ms. Luu smiled and stopped her: "Niem Niem, I heard that Wen Tam Duyet is about to join the program team? That's great, she's very kind, especially fond of children. Last time at a charity event I saw her interacting with the children, extremely gentle." Trieu Hang next to her chimed in: "Even though people have innate defects, getting to that step is not easy. Everyone in this world respects her." Khuong Niem looked at the expressions of the two of them and suddenly felt tired.

“It's up to you.” She passed between the two of them, without stopping.

Ms. Liu said something to her. She didn't hear it clearly and didn't want to hear it clearly either. Back at the rest area, Tieu Chau was sitting in front of a folding table using crayons to draw. The boy drew a star house, there are only two people in the house, one big and one small, holding hands. There is no third person. Khuong Niem sat down next to her child. The phone vibrated, a call from La Dong.

“Niem Niem, Wen Tam Duyet is going to be on your program?” La Dong's voice carried anger, "Is she mentally ill? Where does she have the face to appear in front of you?"

“You grasp information really quickly.”

"Don't play tai chi with me. Khuong Niem, you listen to me, if you encounter Wen Tam Duyet on that show, with your current situation, public opinion will 100% lean towards her. If she cries, you'll be in pity, if you open your mouth to justify it, you'll be scolded. Haven't you endured enough about what happened three years ago?"

"So what are you going to do? Retreat?"

Khuong Niem looked at her son's picture and was silent for a few seconds. “No withdrawal.”

“Are you crazy?”

"If she retreats, she wins. I've retreated eighteen times already, I won't retreat anymore."

The other end of the line was silent for a long while. La Dong took a deep breath: "Okay. Then I will have your back. If you are bullied over there, call me immediately." Hanging up the phone, Tieu Chau did not raise his head and said: "Mom, is that person named On Tam Duyet a bad person?" Khuong Niem did not answer. Tieu Chau raised his head to look at her, the crayon in his hand floating in mid-air. "Mom not saying anything means 'yes'. In the past, whenever I didn't want to tell you bad news, I didn't say anything." Khuong Niem reached out and rubbed her child's head. “Why are you so smart?”

“Naturally gifted.” Tieu Chau lowered his head and continued drawing. Outside the house there were only two people. He drew another high fence.

The day Wen Tam Duyet joined the group, there was great fanfare. Three nanny cars parked in front of the filming base gate, her management team cleared the way. When On Tam Duyet got out of the car, she was wearing a white dress, her hair hung softly on her shoulders, her face carried a harmless and slightly bewildered smile. In the eyes of the public, Wen Tam Duyet is an inspirational actress, "born with intellectual defects but always trying to improve". Three years ago when she first debuted, a video of "being bullied by her seniors until she cried" made her famous overnight. The whole network felt sorry for this girl with not a very sharp brain but extremely honest, scolding the "evil senior" who bullied her - Khuong Niem. From then on, Wen Tam Duyet, always protected, rose to the position of an A-list star, while Khuong Niem fell into the abyss.

“Sister Niem Niem!” As soon as Wen Tam Duyet entered the lobby to rest, he saw Khuong Niem in the corner. She quickly walked over, as if meeting a close friend she hadn't seen for a long time, "It's been a long time since I've seen you, are you okay? I heard that you also participated in this program, I'm very happy."

Her voice is sweet and soft, and when she speaks, she has a habit of tilting her head slightly, giving people a feeling of innocence and purity. The eyes of the other parents all turned to this direction. Ms. Luu stood next to her, looking worriedly at Wen Tam Duyet: "Tam Duyet, are you sure it's okay? She used to..."

“It's okay.” On Tam Duyet smiled and waved his hand, "Sister Niem Niem was probably in a bad mood at that time, I don't mind."

Khuong Niem sat on the chair without moving. She watched Wen Tam Duyet approach, looking at his innocent face that was carefully cared for There, look at her smile with the exact curvature of the corners of her mouth down to every millimeter. Three years ago, the appearance of this woman crying pitifully in front of the camera, she will never forget for the rest of her life.

“What's the matter here?” Khuong Niem opened her mouth, her tone was calm.

Wen Tam Duyet sat down opposite her, reaching out to hold her hand: "Sister Niem Niem, I really don't take the past to heart. This time I came to play with the children. I heard that your baby is especially smart?" Her eyes passed Khuong Niem and fell on Tieu Chau who was reading a book next to her. Tieu Chau felt the gaze and immediately raised her head. On Tam Duyet smiled at the boy: "Hello, my name is On Tam Duyet. What is your name?" Tieu Chau looked at her for three seconds. Then, the boy turned to Khuong Niem: "Mom, when this girl smiles, her eyes are not smiling."