When Chuyun was young, she had the quintessential sweet looks. Even as she aged, her appearance was still very likable.
She had mastered the art of crying just enough, and paired with her appealing face, it didn’t annoy anyone—instead, it evoked a sense of unconditional sympathy, almost like she had a magic power.
[Goddess Chu Yun, stop crying already. When she cries, it genuinely feels like you’d give her your life.]
[Sang Ning kind of crossed the line this time. Chuyun has always been gentle and soft-spoken. Seeing her daughter hurt would obviously upset her, but Sang Ning didn’t need to be so sarcastic about it.]
[Guys, chill out. Nobody’s saying mothers can’t care about their daughters, but seriously, making such a fuss over a tiny pinprick—acting like it’s a terminal illness—does that really make sense? Even Granny Huang is about to get PTSD.]
"Sister Yun, please don’t cry!" Sang Ning raised her hand, trying to wipe away Chuyun’s tears.
Chuyun sidestepped quickly, not wanting Sang Ning to touch her.
Having navigated her way through the entertainment industry for years, Chuyun had developed her own set of interpersonal rules:
When the opponent is weak, she is strong. When the opponent is strong, she plays weak. Sang Ning, however, is the type of person who gets tougher the harder you push her.
Knowing she couldn’t overpower Sang Ning, Chuyun resorted to feigning weakness. Whether Sang Ning bought it or not didn’t matter—what mattered was that the netizens would. Soon enough, the trending topic on Weibo would be #SangNingBullyingChuyunAndHerDaughter#.
This way, she and her daughter could garner some sympathy points—a win-win!
Sang Ning reached out again to wipe the tears from Chuyun’s left side. Chuyun raised her right hand to block. Sang Ning moved to the right; she blocked with the left.
The entire routine boiled down to one simple principle: wherever Sang Ning pointed, Chuyun would block. She resolutely refused to let her touch even one tear.
[I’m dead from laughing—what’s this extreme back-and-forth?]
[Sang Ning: I just wanted to wipe your tears. Chuyun: Dream on! No way am I letting you touch even a drop of my tears.]
[I had sympathy for Chuyun earlier, but now I suddenly feel like she’s over-acting. It’s as if she’s crying on purpose for an audience.]
Sang Ning was patient, as if determined to wipe away Chuyun’s tears no matter what.
After nearly ten attempts, it wasn’t Sang Ning but Chuyun who finally lost her patience. Unable to bear it anymore, she burst out, "Are you done already? Yes, I’m crying intentionally! Why are you trying to wipe my tears?!"
That moment, Sang Ning’s eyes glinted with mischief, causing Chuyun’s heart to skip a beat.
Oh no, this brat got me.
When someone’s patience is worn thin and they’re at the verge of snapping, they often lose reason momentarily.
"Sister Yun, why’d you stop crying? If you think you haven’t cried enough, I can help you out. My needlework skills might be decent enough to make you scream with every poke—shouldn’t be an issue."
This time, Sang Ning’s fingers brushed against Chuyun’s face. Her thumb and index finger pressed gently but firmly on either side of Chuyun’s cheeks, sliding down and wiping away her tears forcefully.
Chuyun was livid, her temples throbbing.
Is Sang Ning planning on quitting the entertainment industry? Where’s her sense of respect for seniors?
Every junior she’d encountered before was respectful toward her. Sang Ning, however, was the first exception—a brash, unapologetic junior with zero regard for the rules.
[This is probably the most speechless moment of Chuyun’s life—running into someone like Sang Ning, who has a bit of a wild streak and doesn’t care whether you’re her senior or not. She’ll fight back no matter what. Chuyun must be feeling so helpless right now.]
[Looks like Sang Ning is planning to quit showbiz after this program—she’s offended everyone she shouldn’t offend. In the future, they’ll cross paths again and again, but her career’s as good as over.]
Chu Wei was stunned. Sang Ning wasn’t even sparing her mom’s dignity! So what’s the point of all her mom’s years in showbiz?
"Sang—" Chu Wei barely managed to part her lips, intending to say something, when Sang Ning suddenly turned back toward her.
"You can either sit and continue practicing embroidery or go outside with Chu Xi to disinfect your wound—pick one." Sang Ning said leisurely.
Chu Wei pursed her lips. Her fingers didn’t hurt anymore. It seemed like disinfecting was unnecessary now.
As she hesitated in silence, Sang Ning added, "If you go, don’t come back. The embroidery needles don’t have eyes, so you’d better eliminate the threat altogether."
Chu Wei: "..." What a blatant threat.
"I’ll just stick to practicing embroidery then..." Torn between leaving and staying, Chu Wei ultimately chose to stay.
She returned to her seat and tugged gently on Chuyun, pulling her back to her nearby chair. "Mom, it’s fine—it’s just a tiny, tiny cut. It’s already healed now."
And with that, an awkward world remained solely reserved for Chu Xi. She felt furious—what was up with Chu Wei and Chuyun? Couldn’t they even spare a "thank you"?
Who had gone to get the medicine for them?
The Embroidery Room drama came to an end, and Granny Huang shot Sang Ning a grateful look. Sang Ning simply shook her head with a faint smile and returned to her embroidery station.
Granny Huang went to each person’s station, guiding them step-by-step on the techniques and then gave them twenty minutes to practice embroidery on their own.
Twenty minutes in, Chu Xi was the first to raise her hand, signaling that she was done.
Granny Huang walked over and inspected Chu Xi’s work. Not only had Chu Xi mastered all the techniques, but she even added creative touches by stitching a tiny flower into her fabric.
The stitches looked visibly amateurish and rough, but as a whole, they held undeniable charm.
"Young lady, have you practiced embroidery before?" Granny Huang casually asked.
Chu Xi quickly shook her head: "Not at all—this was my first time trying embroidery! The stitching isn’t great, so don’t laugh at me, Granny."
Despite the earlier friction with Chu Xi, Granny Huang praised her wholeheartedly: "You have talent, young lady. For a first-timer, your work is comparable to those who’ve practiced for half a year."
Compliments are supposed to make people happy, right? With the first half of the praise, Chu Xi was prepared to respond humbly with a polite smile.
But when the second half registered, the smile she’d just started to form immediately dropped.
Damn it, she’d secretly been practicing this stuff for two years, thank you very much!
Chu Xi couldn’t smile anymore, but Granny Huang didn’t notice the shift in her expression—she was already turning her attention to someone else who had raised their hand.
The next person was Grandma Song. Granny Huang couldn’t help but admire her. Grandma Song was ten years older than her and still managed to produce such excellent work while wearing reading glasses.
To be frank, Grandma Song’s embroidery was so good that, with a few finishing touches, it could be sold.
Granny Huang didn’t hold back her genuine praise, more heartfelt than her words to Chu Xi earlier.
Grandma Song merely smiled and waved her hand dismissively. "Back in our day, it was the norm to make our own clothes. Embroidery was a must-have skill. The embroidered shoes we used to wear were all handmade. Ever since I could afford to buy clothes, though, I haven’t done it myself in decades. It’s nostalgic to try embroidering again on this show."
When Grandma Song mentioned the past, Granny Huang couldn’t help but linger and chat with her for a while.
After finishing the conversation, she went on to inspect the others’ work. Nothing stellar, but it was what one would expect from beginners.
The last person she approached was Sang Ning. After Sang Ning stepped up earlier to smooth over an awkward situation, Granny Huang had developed a strong impression of her. Naturally, her hopes for Sang Ning’s embroidery were high.
A beautiful and kind girl like Sang Ning must have deft hands—surely, her embroidery would be exquisite.
But when she reached Sang Ning’s station, the smile on Granny Huang’s face froze instantly: "What... what is this that you’ve embroidered?"