Chapter 157: Online Voting

The fifth day of the Lunar New Year.

The sky was overcast, and pristine snowflakes laid a silver blanket across the earth.

Just like when they had arrived, Lin Chuan took his son and quietly slipped away.

Why slip away quietly? There was no other choice. The old man refused to let him leave, and that scoundrel Yuan Ye wouldn't let him go either. They called it letting Lin Chuan stay through the fifteenth of the first lunar month before returning, but in reality—cough, cough.

Stay through the damn fifteenth, my foot! In just these few days of the New Year, well-wishers came in endless waves, day after day, practically wearing out the threshold.

That wasn't even the worst part; the real issue was the mental exhaustion.

Ever since Wang Jiaxue and the others' visit last time, Yuan Ye had been holding a grudge. Whenever anyone came by, regardless of the matter, he forced Lin Chuan to make the decisions personally. Once or twice would have been fine, but who could endure this day after day?

Most importantly, whether it was playing the good cop or the bad cop, every single role was dumped onto Lin Chuan alone. If this continued, as the chairman, he would genuinely offend every single person in existence.

If he didn't leave now, what was he waiting for? If he really waited until after the fifteenth to return, he wouldn't even need to guess—Lin Chuan's popularity and goodwill among people would undoubtedly shatter into pieces all over the floor.

……

Upon returning to Beijing, Lin Chuan hid out at home. Not a single soul knew of his return, not even Gao Mingyuan.

He was genuinely terrified. This was the first time in his life he had ever feared the New Year so much.

The endless stream of visitors and New Year greetings had completely worn him out, and having to play psychological games and second-guess their intentions left him mentally drained.

Five consecutive days passed relatively peacefully. He wasn't disturbed by anyone, nor did he hear that curse-like phrase "Happy New Year." Even Yuan Ye had vanished completely without a trace, not making a single phone call, acting as though he had no idea Lin Chuan had already left Quan Cheng.

Lin Chuan found it strange, but it was still a blessing in disguise—far better than listening to a mountain of his nonsense.

It wasn't until the sixth day, just after Lin Chuan finished making breakfast and was about to go wake his son up, that his phone suddenly rang.

He picked it up and took a look. It was actually Uncle Gao.

Lin Chuan frowned slightly and answered the call.

Before he could even speak, he heard Uncle Gao blurt out anxiously, "Chuan, you're back in Beijing? Oh, never mind that, let me ask you—are you planning to participate in that reality show called *Where Are We Going, Dad*?"

"Huh? No, I don't think so." Lin Chuan was completely baffled.

"You aren't? The news is already all over the internet, and now everyone knows you're taking Yangyang to participate in that dad show... Chuan, be honest with your uncle. Even if you want to join the show, it's fine—though I'm the company boss, I'm also your manager. If there are any schedule arrangements, you should at least give me a heads-up, right?" Uncle Gao started off frantic, but his tone softened instantly.

It wasn't because Uncle Gao was afraid of offending Lin Chuan or worried he would get angry.

The primary reason was that Lin Chuan could clearly hear Aunt Gao loudly nagging in the background: "Watch your tone! Don't lose your temper with the child. Whatever the issue is, talk it out calmly. Chuan is in Beijing, right? Ask him if he's eaten, or tell him to bring Yangyang over to our place—we're making dumplings today..."

Hearing this, Lin Chuan smiled, though it was a wry one. "Uncle Gao, you've misunderstood. If I were going to participate in this show, I certainly would have informed you in advance."

"You aren't? Then what is this all about? The internet is buzzing with discussions about it. You're not the only one scheduled to participate; Jiang Tao is in it too, you've heard of him, right? He's a huge name, a Best Actor winner! And who else... Qiao Yuankai, the reigning king of urban dramas and a veteran actor, plus..."

Name after name was read out by Uncle Gao.

Without a doubt, these individuals were the most sensational and prominent A-list stars of the present moment. Some were Best Actor awardees, others had won Golden Giant accolades, and some were venerated seniors in the music industry.

Regardless of who it was, any one of them randomly plucked from the list possessed achievements and awards far surpassing Lin Chuan's.

Among these people, the youngest was thirty-six or thirty-seven years old, while the older ones were pushing fifty. Yet, their children were only a few years old.

There was no help for it. Being a star and an idol might look glamorous on the surface, earning plenty of money, but the restrictions imposed upon them were equally severe.

Take getting married and having children, for instance; it had practically become a lingering heartache for everyone in the industry.

If you got married, you feared breaking your fans' hearts and that they wouldn't be able to accept it overnight. But if you didn't get married, you broke your own heart and your parents' hearts.

Day after day, year after year passed. Watching themselves grow older, who didn't want to settle down early? Who didn't want to have a child sooner?

Could they actually do that, though? If they truly took such a step, the company wouldn't agree in the first place, followed by the fans, and then...

Fortunately, Lin Chuan had debuted relatively late and already had a son. Otherwise, he would be facing the exact same predicament: unable to have a girlfriend, unable to marry, and even less able to have children.

Of course... right now, he didn't have a girlfriend either.

After hanging up with Uncle Gao, Lin Chuan walked straight back to his bedroom and turned on the computer.

Sure enough, just as Uncle Gao had said, major websites were currently holding a voting poll, and the event was indeed related to him.

There were seven individuals in total, all celebrity celebrity-dads. Among them, Lin Chuan was the youngest, least experienced, and least famous.

Scrolling down, he saw the voting results and comments from netizens.

To Lin Chuan's astonishment, his vote count had actually surged to second place, leading the third-place contender by a full three thousand votes, and trailing the top-ranked dad by less than a thousand votes.

In particular, the comments section below showed many fans actively canvassing for votes.

"Brothers and sisters, what are you still waiting for? Hurry up and cast your precious vote in your hands for our Brother Chuan!"

"That's right, Chuan's fans, take action immediately! I want to see the adorable Yangyang and Brother Chuan on television. Everyone, hurry up and vote!"

"There are only a few hours left until the voting closes! I urge everyone to call all your friends and vote for our beloved idol... Cough, cough, I'm going to cast my vote for Uncle Jiang first."

Everyone had their own fan bases campaigning wholeheartedly, especially Lin Chuan. Despite his fame not matching the others, his fan count was genuinely massive.

As for why, Lin Chuan wasn't entirely sure. Perhaps the songs he sang resonated better with young people, or maybe his advertisements and parkour appealed more to the younger demographic.

Regardless, Lin Chuan's vote count continued to rise steadily. If things kept progressing at this rate, it wouldn't be long before he surpassed the current front-runner, Jiang Tao.

Seeing this, Lin Chuan couldn't sit still any longer. He picked up the nearby phone and dialed Yuan Ye. He intended to ask him what kind of stunt this was—how could he make a unilateral decision without even discussing it with him?

The ringing tone played for about three or four times before the call connected just as Lin Chuan was beginning to grow impatient.

Before he could speak, Yuan Ye cut in eagerly, "Hehe, Chuan, you must have gone online, right? Don't get mad, listen to me explain slowly..." (To be continued.)