This happened when Little Shuying was four years old. That year, she exploded into popularity.
Cheng exploded into fame as well. Within just one week, his short video's likes exceeded 3 million, setting another record, and seventeen singers reposted it.
At the same time, nearly every registered user was drawn into the discussion. Soon after, the platform's hottest trending topic became: "Insect Fly."
The second hottest search: "The Girl Destined to Become a Star."
The image attached to the trending topic showed a tiny figure singing passionately, Little Shuying.
Then, the timeline accelerated. Ye rushed home after receiving an emergency notification on his phone, and he returned in panic. Only after seeing his daughter unharmed did the tension in his body finally loosen.
But only a few days later, Cheng received what he considered the biggest opportunity of his life. His mission: Sign that little girl into an entertainment company.
So he returned. Before visiting, he learned about the Yu family's situation from the local people, and then he entered the household. Without hesitation, he placed 500,000 in cash onto the table. Stacks upon stacks.
"Mr. Yu Ye. As long as your daughter signs with Sumei Entertainment, the one million signing advance will immediately belong to you. After that, your daughter will develop under the company's guidance. You won't have to live in this slum anymore; instead, you can live in a villa, drive sports cars, and live a better life."
Cheng's eyes were sincere. He genuinely believed he was helping. A child this talented should not grow up in a place like this.
But Ye simply opened the door, held his daughter's hand, and then coldly said, "Please leave. My daughter should study and grow up properly. She will not become a child actress, and she will not sign with any entertainment company."
Cheng froze. "You're crazy. Think about the child!"
"Please leave." The money remained untouched, and Cheng walked out sluggishly. Then, the door closed. In the instant before it shut completely, Cheng caught a glimpse of Little Shuying. Confusion, anger, and disappointment.
He could almost imagine what the little girl was thinking. She wanted a better life, she wanted to become famous, and she wanted to help bring her mother back. But her father stopped everything. In his eyes, the child hated him.
"What kind of father does that..." Cheng cursed under his breath, then left.
In the present, at Cheng's filming studio, the assistant and cameraman, etc, thought the same thing. Their Boss had done the right thing. Well done. Absolutely right. Then, why cry?
At this moment, on the stage, Shuying spoke calmly: "This... Was the beginning. The beginning of me breaking away from him. He blocked my dreams."
Now, she no longer called him "Dad," only "He." In her eyes, ever since she was four years old, he no longer deserved that title.
The audience erupted.
"I knew it! He's jealous of his daughter's talent!"
"Shuying should've followed her mother!"
"This was where everything broke between father and daughter..."
But the next second, no one expected the final scene of the first act. The young Shuying sat in her bedroom, clutching her lyrics tightly and crying. At that age, she believed her father had destroyed everything. Destroyed her chance to bring her mother back. Destroyed her chance to leave the slum. Destroyed her future.
Outside the housing block, Ye tightly wrapped a thin rope around his head. One of the lingering effects of relieving the pain caused by brain cancer. The cold wind blew. He stared at Cheng. Silent. Then, he threw the entertainment contract into Chen Cheng's hands.
"This..." Cheng lowered his head and read it, then he froze.
In that era, entertainment companies signed children for ten-year contracts. The penalties for breach were astronomical. Every schedule, every performance, and every appearance was controlled, directed, and restricted. Even worse, there were clauses demanding social obligations. Forced attendance. Unreasonable arrangements. Endless exploitation.
Ye also handed over newspaper clippings. Stories of child stars who had lost their childhood. Children crushed by money. Exhausted and emotionally broken. Parents are squeezing their children dry, and children are being beaten. Used and discarded.
Ye looked at Cheng, and his voice was calm but cold. "Do you believe it? If my daughter never joins this kind of trash entertainment company, she will still rise. She will rise higher than anyone."
Cheng gripped the contract tightly, and his expression darkened. He had never read these details before, so he never realized how cruel those contracts could be.
But even then, he shook his head and said firmly. "Impossible. Without an entertainment company, your daughter won't make it."
Ye's expression never changed. "Then watch. I won't trade my child's future for temporary money. My daughter... Is not a temporary genius. She... Will become a genius recognized by the entire world."
That winter cold wind roared through the urban village.
Cheng stared at the man standing before him, then silently turned around. He stepped over the discarded contracts and walked away, leaving behind the chance to change his fate overnight. And Ye returned to that rundown neighborhood everyone despised.
At the present day, in Cheng's Studio.
The Assistant stood frozen, and the cameramen stared at their boss, watching him cry, unable to stop.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I understand now... You were right... You were right..."
Only then did everyone understand why he cried. The little girl's father was right. Because today, Shuying stood high enough that no entertainment company could define her future. Not one.
At this moment, silence filled everything.