Peng Ling answered, “She might be having a dream.” She sang a lullaby softly, and gradually the child’s crying ceased.

Peng Ling said, “Honey, today Ruifang told me she saw someone begging at Liangma Bridge yesterday afternoon with a child who looked just like Yaya. It’s making me uneasy.”

Her husband mumbled, “What nonsense are you talking about? Isn’t Xiao Yu taking good care of the child?”

“But…”

The stage went completely dark and silent, signaling the end of the first act.

The audience below was bewildered, discussing among themselves.

“Is the husband having an affair with the nanny?” People’s first thoughts went to scandal.

“Even if he’s having an affair with the nanny, even tigers don’t eat their cubs.”

“What are we supposed to be watching here? Social news? A family drama?”

An audience member shouted, “Hey! What’s this all about? Has today’s show turned into watching skits?”

The host’s tense voice came through the speakers: “Please remain quiet! There will be surprises ahead!”

The studio finally quieted down.

You Mingxu watched with confusion. She had thought that with the Punishers’ carefully arranged evening, even if they meant to satirize society through theater, it would be something evil, dark, and heavy. Or perhaps a showcase of their “great achievements” over the years. She hadn’t expected such a seemingly unrelated opening.

It was too “small.”

Why would the Punishers focus on something so “small”?

But Yin Feng watched with intense focus. These skit or drama actors found by the Punishers appeared very natural—they didn’t know what was happening, thinking they were just performing at the TV station. Otherwise, they would have been as terrified as the host.

Whatever this case on stage was meant to express, the content was too specific. It suggested this was likely something that had happened. And this incident must hold deep meaning for the Punishers.

Two words flashed in Yin Feng’s mind: The origin story.

Just then, the host’s voice rang out again over the studio: “Now, we come to our first interactive segment. Please Choose:

A. Peng Ling and her husband pretend nothing happened.

B. Peng Ling and her husband investigate their friend’s claims the next day.

There’s a selector under each audience member’s seat. Please make your choice within 30 seconds. If you choose A, the story will proceed along path A; if you choose B, it will develop along path B. So the characters’ fates and story direction will all be decided by you.”

You Mingxu indeed found a remote control with a connection wire under her seat, as did Yin Feng. They exchanged glances, and Yin Feng whispered, “Follow the crowd.”

You Mingxu nodded.

They both pressed B.

This was a common segment in TV shows, and this program had similar interactions in previous episodes. None of the audience members felt anything strange about it and all made their choices.

On the giant LCD screen behind the stage, the two options appeared as the host described. Option A was in red, and Option B was in blue.

Soon, the screen changed to show a map of all seats in the venue, with almost every seat showing blue.

Finally, the screen displayed Option B’s content again.

This was the audience’s collective choice.

Host: “The game continues.”

The stage lit up again, but this time the set had changed. No longer at home, but outdoors, with bus stops and store signs. In one corner of the stage sat three ragged men, the middle one holding a doll. He had ordinary features but his furrowed brows gave him a fierce look.

A passerby dropped coins into their begging bowl, making a clear ringing sound.

At the other end of the stage, Peng Ling and her husband appeared.

For some reason, the audience broke into applause—not thunderous, but encouraging.

The husband’s expression showed reluctance and impatience, while Peng Ling appeared nervous, holding his arm while looking around, muttering, “She said she saw Yaya around here…”

The husband remained displeased: “I’ve told you, it’s impossible. We pay Xiao Yu 6,000 yuan a month and treat her so well, how could she do something like this?”

Peng Ling: “I won’t be at ease until I see for myself.”

The husband snorted coldly.

As they walked closer to the three men with the child, Peng Ling suddenly stopped, her voice trembling from several meters away: “Zhang Wei, Zhang Wei… look, is that… is that Yaya they’re holding…”

Presumably, for any mother, this scene would be like a nightmare in broad daylight.

Her husband Zhang Wei also froze, staring at the child in the beggar’s arms, his expression changing rapidly.

“It does look like her…” His face suddenly changed drastically, “That IS our Yaya!”

He started to charge toward the beggars, though still completely unclear about what had happened or why their child was there. Peng Ling, thinking of something, grabbed Zhang Wei: “Wait! Don’t—don’t rush over there, what if they harm the child…”

Zhang Wei raged, “They wouldn’t dare!”

Peng Ling’s tears fell instantly: “But Yaya is in their hands, even a cornered dog will jump over a wall!”

Zhang Wei froze.

The couple stared at the beggars in the distance, hesitating.

The stage lights suddenly went dark, and this time, without the host’s commentary, the screen directly displayed two choices:

“A. Snatch the child.

B. Don’t snatch, go home first.”

As soon as the text appeared, someone in the audience shouted, “Snatch her, of course! Who could stand seeing their child like that?”

But some female audience members said, “You can’t snatch her! The child’s safety comes first, that mother is right—a cornered dog will jump over a wall.”

The discussions erupted again.

You Mingxu took out her selector and chose B, looking over to see Yin Feng had chosen the same.

Never mind the audience, even though they were making genuine choices based on instinct. Moreover, they were even more eager to know what would happen next.

However, the next result surprised You Mingxu.

The majority of the audience had chosen A.

You Mingxu and Yin Feng exchanged glances.

The stage lit up again.

The audience was noticeably more excited now, as their choices completely controlled the fate of the characters on stage. Moreover, this was an intriguing mystery story.

In one corner of the stage, another person appeared—the nanny Xiao Yu, wearing earphones, eyes closed, swaying to music.

Peng Ling suddenly said to her husband, “Call Xiao Yu! Call her!”

Zhang Wei gave his wife a complex look and took out his phone.

The sound of a connection came through the voice-over.

Xiao Yu removed her earphones, walked a few quick steps, then answered: “Hello, Brother Zhang, what is it?”