C2 She Met an Old Friend

In her sleep, the little pink bundle had two braids atop her head that had been tousled. Her chubby little face was slightly puffed, and she grinned occasionally, as if she were dreaming of something amusing.

Xiong Miao watched sixth baby sleep soundly and shook her head with a smile. Bear was such a sleepyhead, able to doze off anywhere.

She crouched down and gently tapped sixth baby's face to rouse her.

"Baby, are you hungry? Time for some milk."

The little one stirred and furrowed her brow, clearly displeased at being woken up, but at the mention of milk, she slowly opened her eyes. Seeing her most trusted person, she lifted her plump little hand: "Mommy, hug."

Xiong Miao picked her up and brought the bottle to her lips.

The little one began to suckle contentedly.

Four years ago, Xiong Miao had been betrayed and found herself pregnant. She was only twenty, and the news of her pregnancy brought both fear and panic. She had been accepted to the Paris School of Design and couldn't imagine having a child at that point in her life. But at the hospital, just as she was about to have an abortion, the doctor informed her she was carrying sextuplets—six precious lives.

It was an incredibly rare occurrence, and the doctor warned her that due to her unusually thin uterine wall, a procedure might prevent her from conceiving in the future. Despite the tough circumstances, she chose to keep the babies.

As the pregnancy progressed, she felt the children's movements daily and found joy in it, never regretting her decision. Juggling school and work, she had no time to dwell on past grievances.

The children were born during her summer break. The first day, she had five boys, leaving her bedridden from shock. The following day, she welcomed a girl, whom she named Bear.

Six little miracles in one birth: five boys and just one girl. True to her name, Bear was the family's most cherished treasure.

Each of the six children had their distinct personalities, all adorable and endearing.

It seems the kids took after their father's genes, as none of them resembled her.

People who met her children would often remark on her good fortune, having found such excellent genes and having such beautiful, delicate little ones.

Xiong Miao would simply offer a faint smile, choosing not to respond.

That ridiculous night was a chapter of her past she preferred not to revisit.

"Xiong Miao, the director wants you to stop by the property office to talk about the ad fees," said Su Mumu, her makeup impeccable, as she took Bear into her arms.

Su Mumu was more than just Xiong Miao's best friend; she was also the agent for the six little darlings' advertising gigs.

"There's no way around it, you need to handle these matters in person."

"Alright, just watch the little ones for me, I'll be right there," Xiong Miao replied, her greatest concern when away from home being the well-being of her children.

"Leave it to me, go on now," Su Mumu reassured her, patting her chest confidently.

Upon arriving at the office, Xiong Miao encountered a man seated at the desk. With his neatly trimmed short hair, crisp white shirt, and black trousers, he had a warm, sunny demeanor reminiscent of a boy from bygone days.

A twinge of pain gripped Xiong Miao's heart.

"Xiong Miao, it's you!" Su Hongyi turned, catching sight of her. The sight of the stunning woman before him took him aback. He was about to delve into nostalgia when a thought struck him, and a scornful smile played on his lips. "So, you're the mother of the six kids. Just four years, and you've had six."

Xiong Miao pushed down the swell of emotions within her. When she raised her eyes again, they were cool and detached. "The contract?" she asked, approaching the other side of the desk.

Su Hongyi handed her the document, "We may have dated for three years, but we never even kissed. Looking back, I feel shortchanged."

Xiong Miao's hand paused abruptly as she flipped through the contract. What was he implying?

"I married your sister, Xiong Jingxi. But she's willful and domineering, and I've been miserable for years. Why don't we get back together? Look at your six kids—each one earns 60,000 yuan for a single ad. With me around, I'll make sure they become stars. I promise you'll never have to worry about your livelihood again," Su Hongyi said, his voice urgent as he grasped her hand.

Nobody could know the hell he'd been through these past four years.

Revulsion surged through Xiong Miao. "Let go of me, you scum!"

"Xiong Miao, here's your chance to be my lover. Why won't you take it?" Su Hongyi looked down at her as if he were a god bestowing a tremendous favor upon a mere mortal.

Xiong Miao couldn't help but laugh bitterly. "Four years, and you're still garbage!"

Su Hongyi's face twisted with anger. "You've already had six children. Stop acting so high and mighty. You're with everyone else; why not with me?"

He had once loved Xiong Miao, but his judgment had been clouded by greed, leading him to conspire with Xiong Jingxi to push her aside.

Years of torment at the hands of Xiong Jingxi had left him longing for the comfort and joy he'd once found with Xiong Miao.

Seeing her now, as radiant and vivacious as ever, he yearned for her.

"Shut your mouth! Su Hongyi, I want nothing to do with you. I've signed the contract. Our relationship is strictly professional, and this collaboration is a one-time deal!" Xiong Miao fought to keep her revulsion and fury at bay.

She quickly scanned the document, flipped to the last page, and signed her name. With a flick of her pen, Xiong Miao stormed out.

"If you don't agree to my terms, you won't see a dime, and those brats' advertisement will never see the light of day!"

Years of being crushed under his wife's thumb had left Su Hongyi desperate for a breath of freedom.

His threatening words floated in from behind.

Xiong Miao's heart skipped a beat.

It wasn't the lost opportunity to earn money or the inability to make the six little ones famous that saddened Xiong Miao. She was heartbroken for her babies.

Since taking on the advertisement, her babies had been practicing their movements and memorizing lines for a month.

Today was the first day of shooting, and they had risen before the sun. As a result, the sixth baby had a restless night and cried all the way to the set. After wrapping up the shoot, the sixth baby was too exhausted to even drink milk and fell asleep right there in the studio.

They were so young, just three and a half years old, and these demands were incredibly tough on them.

Now, after enduring so much, they were left without the deserved compensation!

Xiong Miao was furious, heartbroken, and resentful.

"This Director Su is worse than an animal! I'm going to confront him right now!" Su Mumu rolled up her sleeves, ready to storm out in a rage.

"Don't bother. He's too powerful; confronting him would be futile."

Xiong Miao's words halted Su Mumu in her tracks. She didn't want Su Mumu to realize that Director Su was Su Hongyi from four years ago, the man of great ambition and no humanity.

Yet, he was supposed to be the CEO of the Su Corporation, so why was he working as a mere ad director?

"Meow Meow, I'm sorry. I should never have taken on this advertisement without consulting you first. It's led to the little ones suffering, and now they're not even getting paid." Su Mumu said, her shoulders slumped in apology.

Feeling helpless in the face of adversity was the plight of those at the bottom of the social ladder.

"You're not to blame. You were just trying to make the children's dreams come true. Haven't Xiong Qianqian and Xiong Junjun always dreamed of being little stars? It's odd, isn't it? How can such young children already have dreams of stardom?

It was to make those dreams a reality for our two treasures that I agreed to bring the children back to the country for the advertisement.

Su Mumu had fought hard to secure the filming rights for this ad. She pitched the idea of featuring all six treasures to make it appealing, and that's how she landed the gig, giving Qianqian and Junjun their chance to be on TV.

That's why the rest of the treasures had to put in so much effort.

"So, what's our next move?"

"The ones footing the bill are definitely the advertisers, and for the director, it's just a job. I've got it all figured out—the advertiser is the advertising department of the Rich Group. I'll head over to the advertising company tomorrow, lay everything out for them, and reclaim what's rightfully ours!" Xiong Miao already had a plan in mind.