The Cycle of the World
Wanwan was still running a fever, but apart from her pale complexion, she seemed fine, albeit less lively than usual. Compared to the children in the pediatric ward who were crying loudly like in a relay race, Wanwan was undoubtedly the most adorable in the world.
Xu Wei found a spot and held Wanwan in his arms as they waited for the nurse to come and administer the injection in the pediatric infusion room.
Wanwan turned her head to look at the little boy beside her.
He was a young boy, probably around two or three years old, even smaller than her, with a head full of fluffy curly hair, looking around in all directions.
The little boy was fine initially, but as soon as the nurse in a white uniform approached, he widened his eyes and tears immediately welled up, turning to his father’s embrace.
The man, dressed in a suit, looked somewhat flustered as he clumsily held the little boy, trying to console him in an unfamiliar manner, “Dingding, be good, let the nurse give you the injection…”
“No injection!” The little boy, in a childish voice, refused, his eyes instantly turning red as he accused, “Daddy is bad, Dingding doesn’t want an injection…”
As he spoke, tears the size of beans streamed down the little boy’s face as he wiped them away with the back of his hand.
The man, who didn’t seem accustomed to taking care of children, wiped away the tears with his large hand, holding the child on his lap, and awkwardly reassured, “After the injection, Daddy will buy you a toy car, all right?”
“Wuwaa—”
The little boy’s hand got caught in the rubber band, and it seemed like a signal as tears immediately started flowing again.
Wanwan watched him cry miserably and secretly glanced at the nurse holding his chubby hand. The thin needle of the IV slowly approached the little boy’s tiny fist, looking… slightly terrifying.
“Big brother… Do I have to go through that too?”
Wanwan shrank her neck, tugging at Xu Wei’s clothes, wanting to run away with a train overnight.
Xu Wei, seeing her fearful expression, sympathetically said, “Yes, Wanwan, are you scared?”
“If I’m scared, can I avoid the injection?” Wanwan asked in a childish voice.
At this moment, Xu Wei, like an emotionless robot, smiled and said something quite terrifying, “It’s impossible not to get the injection, you know.”
Wanwan felt like crying, “…Big brother, don’t you like me anymore?”
Xu Wei wanted to laugh but restrained himself. He maintained his expression, speaking gently and concerned, “How could I not like Wanwan? You’re the best.”
“Wanwan doesn’t want to be a good girl anymore.”
Listening to the boy’s wailing beside her, Wanwan felt sorry for human children. Well, she was also super pitiful.
Xu Wei looked at the small expression on Wanwan’s face, clearly showing her desire to escape but not daring to do so.
He held back his laughter, his tone gentle, and caring, “Why would I not like Wanwan? Wanwan is the most well-behaved.”
“Wanwan doesn’t want to be well-behaved anymore.”
As Wanwan listened to the heart-wrenching cries beside her, she quietly reached out her right hand and held the left hand of the little boy, who was being held by his father.
The little boy’s crying momentarily stopped, he hiccuped, and turned his tearful eyes toward her.
“Don’t cry, the nurse hasn’t even started yet…”
Wanwan blinked her big eyes, looking extremely adorable.
The little boy was stunned for a few seconds, “…”
“If you don’t keep still, the needle will go in crooked, and the nurse will have to take it out and do it again…”
“If you don’t keep still, the nurse will keep poking you, and by then… well, it’ll definitely be very miserable.”
The little boy’s teary eyes widened, and a tear splashed onto his father’s arm, leaving him dumbfounded.
The nurse couldn’t help but suppress a smile, covering her mouth.
Wanwan gently touched the little boy’s head full of curly hair, speaking like a little adult, “If you don’t cry or move, it’ll only hurt a little, and it’ll be fine soon.”
Xu Wei watched Wanwan’s hand resting on the little boy’s curly hair and heard her words. He couldn’t help but reflect. What kind of devilish comfort was this?
Wanwan was so cute, why did her way of comforting her little brother seem so wicked?
Perhaps frightened by Wanwan’s description, the little boy continued to sob, but he dared not wail anymore.
He stared blankly at Wanwan, probably questioning the meaning of life.
Seizing the opportunity, the nurse slowly inserted the needle into the subcutaneous vein.
After a child cries, there’s always a delayed reaction. Only after the nurse secured the needle did the little boy finally react.
He lowered his head to look at the medical adhesive tape on the back of his right hand, bewildered, then looked up at the nurse encouraging him, broke free from Wanwan’s hand, covered his face, and cried in sadness.
There was no more love in this world!
…
The father still held the little boy’s arm, preventing him from moving and removing the needle.
The man turned his head curiously and couldn’t help but praise, “Little baby is amazing. Our Dingding cries a lot every time he gets a shot. His mother refused to come today, so I had to bring him.”
Xu Wei gently touched Dingding’s head, exchanged a few pleasantries with the man, and then looked down at Dingding’s round back of the head.
Wanwan probably hadn’t heard a saying – “How the world goes in circles, sparing no one!”
After all, she was too young.
Three minutes later, Dingding’s wrist was caught by the nurse, just like a little chick caught by the neck by the hand of fate.
She buried her face in Xu Wei’s arms, crying sadly. Xu Wei held her left hand, and by her ear, the little boy’s nasal voice taunted, “Daddy, look, sister is crying so miserably from the shot.”
The father covered his own baby’s mouth, and smiled awkwardly at Xu Wei, but his heart was filled with a barrage of emotions.
Are all babies like this nowadays?
…
After the infusion, Dingding lay completely flat, like a soulless little fish.
Xu Wei still had work to attend to and didn’t feel at ease leaving her alone at home, so he took her directly to the talent agency - Xingchen Entertainment.
Xingchen Entertainment was a company founded by Xu Wei and the prince in the entertainment circle, Gong Tingyan.
The company had over thirty artists, with Xia Zhihuai being the highest-ranking celebrity, followed by Huo Zhe.
In recent years, the profits brought in by Xia Zhihuai alone could support the entire Xingchen Entertainment.
Xia Zhihuai was the pillar of Xingchen Entertainment and was personally nurtured by Xu Wei.
In addition to Xia Zhihuai’s good character and personality, Xu Wei had always taken care of him. He even helped him with most of the social events, such as banquets with investors, that he could avoid.
Xia Zhihuai was grateful to Xu Wei and always regarded him as his mentor.
It can be said that without Xu Wei, there would be no Xia Zhihuai today.
…
However, as the company grew larger, Xu Wei and his former partner Gong Tingyan began to have differences.
Gong Tingyan held 67% of the shares, while Xu Wei only held 18%, and the remaining shares were held by other directors.
Although Xu Wei held the title of General Manager of Xingchen Entertainment, he still had to listen to Gong Tingyan on many matters.
Gong Tingyan, who was currently pursuing a graduate degree, had started to intervene in the internal decisions of Xingchen Entertainment in the past two years, and many decisions were no longer solely up to Xu Wei.
Recently, Gong Tingyan was somewhat dissatisfied with Xia Zhihuai. The cause was that Gong Tingyan wanted Xia Zhihuai to mentor a newcomer, who happened to be Gong Tingyan’s lover, Song Yuanxin.
Song Yuanxin was a newcomer who had just graduated from film school, while Xia Zhihuai was already a top-tier star. The gap between the two was too wide.
Xia Zhihuai was in his prime, and most of his fans were his girlfriend’s fans. If he were to be involved in a publicity stunt with a low-level actress, that would be foolish.
Xu Wei was the first to disagree with letting Xia Zhihuai use his fame to promote a newcomer. This led to a tense relationship between Xu Wei and Gong Tingyan recently.