Chapter 3
At last, a crew member turned to me.
“And your luggage?”
I pointed behind me.
One twenty-two-inch suitcase.
One canvas bag washed almost pale.
That was it.
There was a noticeable lull in the comments.
[…And suddenly the wealth gap has a physical form.]
[The first two: Mommy doesn’t want you to suffer. This one: Come home alive.]
[Honestly, isn’t that a normal amount of luggage for seven days?]
[But this is a family show. The other elders practically dismantled their houses to bring them along. Isn’t her grandma a bit…]
Just then, my grandma slowly got out of the car.
Shen Fan went straight over.
“Easy, Grandma. Take your time.”
Lu Ling tilted her parasol toward her too.
“It’s sunny here. Walk on the inside.”
Flanked by two major stars, Grandma was entirely composed.
Utterly calm.
She even had time to turn around and criticize me.
“What are you standing there for?
“Don’t you know to lend a hand?”
Me?
Excuse me.
Weren’t you the one they were already helping?
Suppressing a grin, the crew member picked up my canvas bag.
“Grandma, did you pack this for her too?”
“Yes.”
“May we look?”
“Go ahead.”
The zipper opened.
Everyone leaned in.
Two packs of disposable underwear.
A box of adhesive bandages.
A bottle of medicated oil.
Three pairs of socks.
A thermos.
That was it.
The director waited a moment.
“Anything else?”
“No.”
He wasn’t giving up.
“Nothing… particularly special?”
“What do you mean, special?”
How to put this?
Lu Ling’s mother had packed cash.
Shen Fan’s mother had packed half the Northeast.
The livestream audience was clearly getting its hopes up too.
[Here we go! Ordinary families can make you cry with their love too!]
[Maybe Grandma packed a handwritten letter.]
[Or childhood photos?]
[Tissues ready.]
The director coaxed her along.
“For instance, is there anything you really want to give your granddaughter?”
Grandma thought seriously for a moment.
“Yes.”
My brow gave a violent twitch.
For some reason.
I suddenly had a very bad feeling.
The next second.
Grandma looked into the camera.
“I want her to quit showbiz.”
Silence.
I had nothing to say.
Of course.
Even the director was taken aback.
“Why?”
Grandma frowned.
As if stating the obvious, she said:
“Girls should stay home. They shouldn’t work.”
Lu Ling blinked.
Shen Fan stopped moving the suitcase.
The livestream went completely blank for three whole seconds.
Then.
The comments exploded.
[??????]
[Uh, hello? It’s the twenty-first century.]
[Lu’s mom: Here’s money. Shen’s mom: Here’s love. Her grandma: Here, let me bind your feet.]
[Who said ordinary families would make us cry? Get out here and take your beating.]
[I hate elders like this. Every sentence starts with “Girls should…”]
[No wonder she’s the least famous of the three. How could anyone get ahead with a family like that?]
The director smelled a trending topic.
He immediately pressed on.
“Grandma, do you believe women shouldn’t have careers of their own?”
Grandma opened her mouth.
“No, what I mean is—”
Before she could finish.
The director had already signaled the crew to move things along.
I looked at the camera.
Then at Grandma, still earnestly trying to put her thoughts into words.
I suddenly wanted to warn everyone watching.
Hold the insults.
My grandma did have some rather extreme ideas.
But the direction those ideas took—
Might not be quite what you thought.