Chapter 6 – Doll
Camera followed Qiao Huaiyao’s gaze and turned to one side, faithfully recording the price sign of the ice cream in the live streaming room.
Bullet comments:
[“Ah ah ah, so the one yuan difference is here!”]
[“That’s right, these little details really hit me hard.”]
[“He’s only been live streaming for a short while, and I can’t even keep up with all the sugar. I watch cute kids in Ji Zhengyi’s live room, food in Zuo Tai’s live room, and now I’m shipping CP in Bai Jinyan’s live room. Ahhh, this family variety show is so worth watching!”]
[“Insulin has been ordered.”]
…
The weather was too hot, and the ice cream was melting quickly.
Fortunately, the ice cream cones were served in small bowls instead of just wrapped in napkins, which prevented their hands from being covered in ice cream.
For convenience, they were given small spoons too.
When they entered the working venue, they had just finished the last bite.
The staff arranged by the program greeted them with a smile, “Welcome to the children’s area. Your job today is to dress up as dolls and distribute balloons to the kids. The working location is the lobby where you just walked in.”
Dress up as dolls?
Qiao Huaiyao looked at the doll heads on the table. They didn’t seem very thick, but wearing something that big wouldn’t be comfortable, even with the air conditioning on.
He thought for a moment and asked, “Is the pay for this job based on the number of people or the time worked?”
The staff replied, “It’s based on time. You’ll need to work for five hours in total, and after completing the job, each person will receive fifty yuan as payment.”
Qiao Huaiyao paused for a moment, somewhat incredulous, “Fifty yuan? Is this the standard pay for the staff who distribute balloons here normally?”
It seemed too little.
The staff shook their head, “No, this is the rate set by the director.”
Qiao Huaiyao sighed. It seemed that variety show directors always underpaid the guests. He had underestimated this program.
Nevertheless, the decision had been made, and there was no time for regrets.
Clearly, the director had already informed the staff in advance. Still wearing a smile, the director asked, “Apart from the two of you, are there any others? How many people do you plan to have for this job?”
“One person.”
“One person.”
…
Both of them spoke simultaneously, and their voices overlapped.
Qiao Huaiyao suddenly raised his eyes and saw Bai Jinyan looking at him. He cleared his throat and said, “I think fifty yuan will be enough.”
If it were other guests who drew this job, there might be many people doing it together. After all, with more people working, they could earn more money and split the dinner expenses among more individuals. But with just two of them, buying groceries and cooking wouldn’t cost much.
The staff had their answer and didn’t say much. They handed over an envelope, saying, “Here’s fifty yuan each. Please take it.”
Qiao Huaiyao took the advance payment and handed it to Bai Jinyan, saying, “You still have some script left to read, right? You can go read the script while I handle this. I don’t have anything else to do anyway.”
Bai Jinyan didn’t take it. Instead, he said, “This costume is too heavy, and it’s not suitable for you to wear.”
Pausing for a moment, he continued, “There’s a café on the left side of the lobby. You can go have afternoon tea, and when the time comes, I’ll come find you.”
Bullet comments:
[“That doll costume looks like it makes it hard to breathe. It must be uncomfortable to wear it for five hours.”]
[“I’ll take on the hard work; you just enjoy your afternoon tea and the view.”]
[“Qiao Qiao must be thinking the same way, that’s why they both said one person without coordinating. They don’t want the other to be too tired. They are such great brothers.”]
[“Wuwuwu, this is what real brotherhood looks like! If my brother took care of me like this, I’d wake up laughing from my dreams. But he won’t. If something like this happened to me, he would probably chase me with the doll head to put it on me.”]
Seeing his determination, Qiao Huaiyao said, “Then let’s work together.”
If Bai Jinyan insisted on working, then he would accompany him.
As he spoke, he chose a doll costume that was close to him, resembling a cartoon character, somewhat like a wolf, and quite cute upon closer inspection.
This doll costume had a certain weight to it, especially the head, which had a frame inside.
Qiao Huaiyao lifted it to put it on when he noticed a hand reaching out from beside. He thought Bai Jinyan was helping him, but the next moment, Bai Jinyan took the doll’s head and wore it himself.
“Listen to me,” Bai Jinyan said, his voice slightly muffled by the costume.
Qiao Huaiyao wanted to say something, but the staff had already come forward and said, “Come this way, follow me to the back to get the balloons.”
Watching them walk towards the adjacent room, Qiao Huaiyao decided not to go to the café and instead picked up another doll costume to put on.
The doll’s head was quite large, and once he wore it, he could only see through the mouth of the doll. Although the interior of the costume allowed him to see outside, there was still a layer of obstruction around the mouth, making it impossible for people outside to see the person inside.
As a result, wearing the head became even more stuffy, and Qiao Huaiyao moved his hands, unable to feel the air conditioning inside.
After wearing the costume, he went inside to find Bai Jinyan and also picked up a few balloons.
However, he quickly realized that he could only look straight ahead by raising his head, and he couldn’t see the ground in front of him at all due to the large size of the doll’s head blocking his view.
After taking a couple of steps, he accidentally kicked something, causing him to halt and move to the side.
Before he could reach the area, Bai Jinyan had already taken the balloons. Qiao Huaiyao waved to him, “Brother!”
Bai Jinyan: “…”
Furrowing his brow, he asked, “Why didn’t you go to the café?”
Qiao Huaiyao smiled and said, “It’s boring to distribute balloons alone. Let’s do it together.”
Seeing this, the staff asked, “Both of you together? Then here’s another fifty for you.”
“Thank you,” Qiao Huaiyao accepted the envelope, stacking it together with the previous one.
“Don’t mention it,” the staff pointed to a nearby cart, “There should be enough balloons inside. If not, just come back to me for more.”
“Okay.”
After the tasks were all assigned, the staff returned to their respective positions.
Qiao Huaiyao took a few steps forward and stood side by side with Bai Jinyan, “Let’s go, let’s distribute the balloons.”
Seeing that Qiao Huaiyao wasn’t willing to rest, Bai Jinyan could only helplessly say, “If you’re uncomfortable, take the head off.”
The orange cat doll in front of him nodded, looking obedient.
Qiao Huaiyao wanted to help push the cart, but he couldn’t find the handle. From his perspective, he could only see half of the cart.
Afraid of accidentally bumping into the cart, he walked more slowly, trying to keep his field of vision on the handle.
Bai Jinyan noticed something was off and asked, “Can’t see in front?”
“Well… it’s okay,” Qiao Huaiyao pointed to the head of the doll costume, “It’s too high here, but I can still see in front.”
Bai Jinyan said, “Give me your hand.”
Though unsure of what Bai Jinyan was doing, Qiao Huaiyao instinctively reached out his hand and felt something soft being placed in his hand.
Through the doll glove, he didn’t get a clear sense of the touch.
“Hold on and follow me.”
Qiao Huaiyao was momentarily stunned, looking at the person in front of the cart, as if he realized what he was holding.
The cameraman, at a certain distance away, was capturing the scene from the side.
The viewers in the live streaming room watched as Bai Jinyan, wearing the wolf doll costume, pushed the cart ahead, with Qiao Huaiyao, wearing the orange cat doll costume, holding onto the tail.
[“Oh my god! This is too cute!”]
[“Tsk tsk, I never expected this side of Bai Jinyan.”]
[“He’s just a little bit obstructed, do they really need to be so meticulous? They are both adults, is he afraid of not being able to walk on level ground?”]
[“Hey hey, who cares, I think everyone can see it. Bai Jinyan has been a fan for ten years, and I envy this scene so much. I also want to hold Brother Bai’s tail!”]
[“Wake up, everyone is a long-time fan, don’t you know Bai Jinyan’s personality? Don’t touch his tail; you might get a big slap in return.”]
…
Bai Jinyan was not walking too fast, seeming to accommodate Qiao Huaiyao.
There weren’t many people in the lobby of the kindergarten area, maybe it hadn’t reached the peak yet, and there were only a few parents with their children.
Seeing balloons, the children would run over, and as soon as Qiao Huaiyao entered the lobby, he gave away two balloons.
Inside the lobby, there was a fence area specifically reserved for the staff to stand. The doll costumes were bulky, and if the staff stood outside, they might accidentally bump into something with their heads, especially since some of the children were very active. It would be troublesome if they got knocked around like that.
After entering the fence area and parking the cart, making sure it was secured with the anti-slip buckles, Bai Jinyan took the balloons from the left side of the cart and tied them on the other side.
Qiao Huaiyao held the doll’s head, “Brother, what are you doing?”
The balloons were already tied up, so taking them off and retying them was quite troublesome.
Bai Jinyan made room on the cart’s side and patted it, “Come here.”
“Huh?” Qiao Huaiyao thought Bai Jinyan needed help, so he went over to untie one balloon, “Is this okay?”
Bai Jinyan held his hand and said, “Lean back.”
Qiao Huaiyao took a half step back, and his calves ended up leaning against the cart’s wheels.
“Sit.”
The cart wasn’t large, as it was meant for tying balloons, and its surface was flat, like a board with wheels, just higher. Besides that, it was no different from any other transport cart.
The space that Bai Jinyan cleared was just enough for Qiao Huaiyao to sit on.
“You sit, I’m not tired.” As soon as Qiao Huaiyao arrived, he didn’t feel tired at all and was about to get up.
Bai Jinyan firmly pressed his shoulder, “Sit, you can deliver the balloons while sitting. The doll costume is too heavy, and I’m afraid you can’t stand for too long.”
Qiao Huaiyao: “???”
Am I that weak?
Bullet comments:
[“This is too much! Bai Jinyan, how can you doubt Qiao Qiao’s stamina? I have no intention of causing discord, but if I were doubted like this, I wouldn’t be able to bear it.”]
[“It’s okay, it’s okay. If he can’t stand, he can sit in my lap. Sob sob, I’m buying a ticket to go over now!”]
[“Let me do it, how can I let all you sisters do the hard work? Wifey, come sit in my lap!”]