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Chapter 5
Sheng Zexi went to work around seven o’clock. While having breakfast, he happened to see Xu Ai coming down from upstairs. After hesitating for a moment, he asked while eating a fried egg, “Is Nuo Nuo still not up?”
It was the first time Xu Ai heard him express concern for her. Could it be that he and their daughter had developed some feelings for each other overnight?
How could that be? Nuo Nuo had been born for quite some time, if they were going to bond, it would have happened by now.
Seeing him, Xu Ai suddenly lost her appetite for breakfast. She picked up a fried dough stick and said irritably as she headed out, “She didn’t sleep well last night, she’s still sleeping.”
Didn’t sleep well? He slept very soundly last night.
As Xu Ai was about to leave, Sheng Zexi reminded her, “Nuo Nuo’s shoes are still in my room.”
“I know,” she replied.
The little girl had a lot of shoes, but her favorite pair was the one she currently wore. Even without Sheng Zexi’s reminder, Nuo Nuo would go look for them eventually.
Xu Ai thought his reminder was unnecessary.
After she left, Sheng Zexi was left alone in the dining room to finish his breakfast. For some reason, that morning, he felt a little anticipation for Nuo Nuo to wake up, but the little one continued to sleep soundly in her mother’s bed, dreaming sweet dreams.
Once he arrived at the office, Sheng Zexi started handling his work. His efficiency that day was indeed very high. Tasks that usually took an hour were completed in less than half an hour.
With half an hour left before the meeting, he suddenly felt a bit unaccustomed to having free time. His mind couldn’t help but drift to that little girl.
He wondered if she would come and sleep with him again tonight.
When he returned home in the evening, Nuo Nuo was picky about her food again, refusing to eat this and that.
Sheng Zexi thought that such spoiled behavior should not be indulged, so he said, “Nuo Nuo, eat your vegetables.”
Nuo Nuo was unwilling to eat. The little girl didn’t understand why adults insisted she eat such unappetizing vegetables.
Seeing her father being stern, Nuo Nuo’s eyes turned red, and she looked like she was about to cry.
Sheng Zexi felt a headache coming on again. How could this little girl be so sensitive? He had only said one thing, and she was already crying.
At that moment, Xu Ai walked in, and Nuo Nuo immediately turned to her mother to complain, “Mommy, Daddy is being mean.”
Upon hearing that Sheng Zexi was being mean to Nuo Nuo, Xu Ai shot him an angry glare. “Why are you being mean to her?”
Looking at her angry eyes and the pitiful crying child next to her, Sheng Zexi suddenly didn’t know what to say.
After that, Nuo Nuo didn’t come to find Sheng Zexi anymore. He felt a headache returning and couldn’t sleep at night. Even medication didn’t help, and he suddenly missed the little girl running to sleep with him.
But the little girl would sleep so soundly with her fragrant mother every night that she completely forgot about her father.
Sheng Zexi thought that whether it was to discipline Nuo Nuo or to relieve his headache, he needed to change the situation between them.
During the meeting that day, Sheng Zexi seemed no different from usual. However, his assistant sensed a slight difference. It felt like the president was a bit off today, though he couldn’t tell if it was just his imagination.
Sheng Zexi was indeed a little distracted. He was a man of action, and when he decided to do something, he focused on figuring out how to handle it.
But in his twenty-eight years of life, he was more skilled at dealing with academic and work-related problems than he was with children. He had never had a happy childhood and hadn’t interacted much with little girls, and that little one was always crying…
He couldn’t be stern with her. If he was, she would just shed tears, looking as if she had suffered a great injustice.
Figuring out how to make her accept him became a worrying issue for Sheng Zexi. After all, he didn’t have the patience to deal with her while listening to her cry.
During the meeting, he rarely lost focus. He felt he should ask someone for advice.
He couldn’t consult Diretor Tang, who had just had a daughter; he was also in the exploration stage.
What about Director Song, whose daughter was already a teenager?
After the meeting, he asked Director Song to stay behind.
With a serious expression, Sheng Zexi made Direcotr Song shudder slightly. He started replaying the meeting in his mind, wondering what had gone wrong or if there were issues with their project.
Just as he was nervously contemplating this, he heard Sheng Zexi ask, “Your daughter is already in her teens, right?”
“Huh?”
Not a work-related question? Director Song felt relieved and replied, “Yes, my eldest daughter is fifteen, and my youngest daughter is six.”
With both children that old, he should have quite a bit of experience.
Sheng Zexi asked, “How do you usually get along with your daughters?”
How to get along?
Director Song didn’t know what aspect Sheng Zexi was referring to, so he answered based on his judgment. “Oh, it’s just normal. My youngest daughter is quite obedient, while my eldest daughter is a bit rebellious in her teenage years, but she still listens to her mother.”
Director Song’s words didn’t provide any helpful insights.
However, it seemed there was no one better to ask, so he continued, “What about you? How do you get along with your daughters?”
When Director Song spoke about this, he seemed a bit embarrassed. “I’m quite busy, you know that. I haven’t really spent much time with them. It’s mostly their mother who takes care of them.”
Chatting with him felt like a waste of time. Sheng Zexi lost interest in the conversation and quickly dismissed him, saying, “Alright, you can go now.”
Director Song could clearly feel the drop in the atmosphere around Sheng Zexi, though he didn’t understand why. After all, his lack of attention to his daughters was his own business. Sheng Zexi shouldn’t be so idle as to meddle in his employees’ family matters.
Director Song was completely baffled.
Asking someone wasn’t as useful as going online, so when lunchtime came around, Sheng Zexi didn’t rush to eat. Instead, he searched online for ways to discipline children.
If he wanted to discipline her, building a good relationship was the first step.
After the assistant finished lunch and returned to the office, he noticed that Sheng Zexi was still there. He thought to himself that it didn’t seem like Sheng Zexi had many tasks today, yet he appeared very busy.
Moreover, he was taking notes.
The president was indeed the president. Even outside of his scheduled tasks, he had plenty of work to do. After reminding him to have lunch, the assistant went off for a nap.
In the afternoon, as Sheng Zexi was about to leave his desk to meet a client, he discovered that the notebook on his desk wasn’t filled with work-related content but with notes on how to make a little girl happy.
For example, gifting Barbie dolls, toys, and various building blocks, all tailored to her preferences to create a good impression.
Surely, Madam wouldn’t play with these, right?
Thus, it was evident that the only one who could make the president go to such lengths was his little princess at home.
***
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Ayalee[Translator]
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