In the photo, there's a little girl in a floral cotton coat, looking up at the camera with round eyes, yet her eyes are rimmed with red.
It seems she just cried, and she's still tightly holding a lollipop in her hand.
Han Liheng couldn't help but laugh when he saw it: "Pfft, Gu Zhi, could this be you when you were little?"
Gu Zhi rolled his eyes at him speechlessly.
[Ah! Is it really Gu Zhi? He was so cute when he was little!]
[Damn, this photo is so adorable that it's stolen my heart, I'm a fan now.]
Mrs. Qin looked at the photo, then at Gu Zhi, as if it had drawn out some long-lost memories.
She explained: "This photo was taken when Zhi Zhi was four years old. At that time, our family was poor, we didn't have a camera, and we saved up money for a long time to take her to town for a photo. The clothes she's wearing were borrowed from the photo studio. That day, when I took her to have her photo taken, she wanted a lollipop from the store. Children, you know, are curious about new things, but we only had enough money for the photo. I coaxed her and said I'd make her one when we got home, but she didn't want that, she only wanted that lollipop, so she started crying on the spot. She had never cried like that with us before. In the end, we couldn't bear it, so we bought it on credit from the store, and that was our Zhi Zhi's first time eating a lollipop."
Mrs. Qin's voice choked up toward the end.
Because the family was poor, there was no video recording, just this one photo.
Because of poverty, even buying a lollipop had to be on credit.
Everyone was extremely shocked after hearing this.
[My god, having her first lollipop at age four, it's unimaginable.]
[Oh, my poor wife, pat pat, now you can have all the lollipops in the world!]
Han Liheng was so astonished he didn't know what to say, he just looked at Gu Zhidao: "If I had known you earlier, I would have definitely treated you to a lot of lollipops!"
Jiang Xiangwan was not to be outdone: "Zhi Zhi, I'll treat you later!"
Gu Zhi: "..." There's really no need.
The original owner's experience, though not exactly hers, was quite similar.
During her childhood at the orphanage, even wanting a candy was a luxury.
Then came the VCR of the original 'Gu Zhi', showing her time as a trainee, practicing dance in the studio with other trainees, every girl full of confidence. They all more or less had dance backgrounds. Only Gu Zhi was clumsy, learning the slowest, and nine times out of ten she would be scolded by the instructors and told to leave the classroom. 'Gu Zhi' stubbornly held back tears, acting as if she hadn't heard, and continued to practice.
A teammate would mock her: Gu Zhi, didn't you say your dad is a chairman?
'Gu Zhi' affirmed with certainty: Yes!
Teammate: Then why don't you just have your dad pay for you to debut, why are you here competing for spots with us?
In the footage, 'Gu Zhi' lowered her head and said nothing.
After being eliminated in the first competition, 'Gu Zhi' cried, but after crying she continued to practice for the second round revival.
Teammates, unable to bear it any longer, questioned her why she must take this path. 'Gu Zhi' gritted her teeth and said: Because, I need money.
[Oh my, after watching this, I feel even more sympathy for Gu Zhi. Combined with the photo from Mrs. Qin, I finally understand why Gu Zhi wants to be famous so badly.]
[But that's still not a reason for her marketing and hype, right? Why take advantage of the Gu Family like this?]
[Maybe it's the only way she could debut? Honestly, given Gu Zhi's performance in the group, it's hard for her to debut. Her fundamentals are really lacking, but she makes up for it with effort.]
[The biggest mistake Gu Zhi made was hyping the Gu Family. It not only failed to bring her popularity, but brought slander and insults. Plus, Chairman Gu's attitude towards Gu Zhi on the show was so harsh that I have to wonder if there's some other reason behind it.]
In the comments, many people expressed sympathy for Gu Zhi's plight.
But some also raised doubts:
[So why is Gu Zhi so short on money? Isn't Mr. Qin and Mrs. Qin both alive?]
[Emmmm I heard from a cousin of mine, who was in the same year as Gu Zhi, that Gu Zhi's family has three older brothers and one younger brother...]
[What the hell? A family that values boys over girls?? My good impression of Mr. Qin and Mrs. Qin is plummeting immediately!]
Gu Zhi watched the VCR on the screen silently, as if she saw a reflection of herself.
She had a similar experience to the original owner. When she was just debuting, she only thought about becoming famous and making a name for herself. There was only this one path in front of her.
But when she became the youngest to win an acting award, reaching out to her were countless hands of sin.
During that time, she didn't even dare to close her eyes while sleeping.
Gu Yiyi's face was somber, thankful that it wasn't her growing up in the Qin Family, or else it would have been she who went through all this! She couldn't even imagine it.
Father Qin and Mrs. Qin, however, felt even more heartbroken, they didn't know that Zhi Zhi had suffered so much.
After the director finished showing the VCR, they asked everyone to write down what they wanted to say.
Qi Yunlin simply said: "Mom, you've worked hard all these years, from now on, I will take care of you."
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Qi, who had always had a stern and cold face, showed a bit of emotion.
She reached out and hugged Qi Yunlin, saying: "Mom will support your dreams too, you can do whatever you want in the future."
Qi Yunlin hugged her tightly as well.
[Wuwuwu so touching, Mrs. Qi, such a career-focused strong woman, can also have delicate love.]
Sun Chaohua also looked at Sun's father and Sun's mother, reading aloud what he wrote: "Dad, Mom, I can now buy you a TV and a computer, and in the future, I'll buy you even more things, so you won't lack anything!"
As he said this, his voice choked up a bit.
Sun's father and Sun's mother smiled, but their eyes were moist, as they responded together: "Son, we'll always support your movies and TV shows, you're the best in our hearts!"
[Wow, the Sun Family has such good feelings, so warm.]
Perhaps resonating emotionally, everyone couldn't help but secretly wipe their tears.
Han Liheng didn't write anything, but directly said to Father Han and Han Mu: "Dad, Mom, I'm already an adult, stop keeping such a tight watch on me! Wouldn't it be nice for you to enjoy your twosome world!"
The mood abruptly changed, Father Han and Han Mu were almost infuriated by him.
The two glared at him fiercely, saying in unison: "With your unreliable appearance, if we didn't keep an eye on you, you wouldn't have survived till now."
[Hahahahahahaha Father Han and Han Ma indeed have a bit of tacit understanding.]
[Brother Burger, you... never disappoint me.]
[My tears were just halfway down when I was forced to take them back, get him out!]
Han Liheng felt very embarrassed and snorted.
Jiang Xiangwan leaned into Mrs. Jiang's arms, hugging her tightly and said: "Mom, I always thought you were a strict mother, when I was young and learned anything, you'd always keep me to a high standard, making sure I did everything to the best. If I hadn't seen this VCR, I wouldn't have known, you would do such things for me. In short, in short, you're the best person in the world, along with Dad."
She hadn't finished talking when she started crying terribly, burying her face in Mrs. Jiang's embrace, unwilling to lift it.
Mrs. Jiang gently stroked the top of her head, "We just hope you can do whatever you want to do at any time."
"I will!" Jiang Xiangwan sniffled, "With you two, I have everything I want!"
[Ahhh I really envy Jiang Xiangwan for having such parents who are so kind to her, so pampering!]
[Wanwan really grew up in love, her character is so good, I really don't understand how people can scold someone like this.]
Director Chen saw Jiang Xiangwan crying like a tearful mess, and felt quite happy.
He opened the mobile screen again and said: "Even though Mr. Gu and Mrs. Gu aren't here, they also recorded a message for their beloved daughter, let's all listen to it together."
Gu Yiyi's lips immediately curved into a smile upon hearing this, looking at the screen.