Chapter 36

The following month, Xu Ai took Nuo Nuo to visit Mrs. Zheng again. This time accompanied by Sheng Zexi. Although he didn’t react much and didn’t communicate a lot with Mrs. Zheng, the atmosphere between the two had indeed changed compared to before.

One day, after returning from kindergarten, Nuo Nuo put down her backpack and said to her parents, “Mommy, Daddy, my kindergarten assigned us a project today.”

The little girl had rosy cheeks and a chubby face, and her serious expression was inexplicably cute.

Xu Ai was just about to head upstairs when she turned around and asked, “What project?”

Nuo Nuo pulled out a sheet of A3 white paper from her backpack and said, “It’s to draw a picture together as a family!”

Xu Ai: …

Although it was called a family project, it was essentially a task for the parents.

Xu Ai actually didn’t like this kind of homework, but…

Nuo Nuo excitedly told her mom, “The teacher said that the best drawing can earn a little red flower!”

The little red flower was like a carrot dangled in front of the children.

With the little red flower, Nuo Nuo could proudly show off to uncles, aunts, and neighbors in the community about how great she was at kindergarten.

Xu Ai wasn’t too keen on drawing, but…

She said to Sheng Zexi, “I’ll go upstairs to change into something more comfortable. This outfit isn’t suitable.”

Sheng Zexi had no objections. “Okay.”

A little while later, Xu Ai came back down, changed into comfortable clothes, and tied her long hair up.

Nuo Nuo went to her toy room to get her pencils and various colored pens, her little face beaming with excitement.

“Let’s draw together!”

Once all the art supplies were ready, the little one began to ponder.

“What should we draw?” Nuo Nuo tilted her head and stared at the blank paper for a while, then said, “I want to draw a big tiger.”

Then she looked at her dad and let out a playful “Roar!” asking, “Daddy, are you scared?”

Xu Ai: …

Sheng Zexi smiled calmly, “Scared.”

Xu Ai asked, “Wait, is that how tigers sound?”

Nuo Nuo lowered her head and said, “It doesn’t matter how tigers sound. I just want to draw a tiger.”

She then took out her fairy tale book and pointed to the forest animals, saying, “Mommy, Daddy, I want to draw this.”

Children should draw whatever they want, and Sheng Zexi had no objections. He took the book from Nuo Nuo, set up a large table in the living room, and began to sketch the outline.

While Sheng Zexi was drawing the outline, Nuo Nuo watched with wide eyes, holding her pen, feeling a bit anxious as she wondered how she could contribute.

Not feeling involved, the little girl asked her dad, “Daddy, you’re drawing, so where can I draw?”

Sheng Zexi looked down as he sketched the outline. His drawing skills were quite good. With just a few strokes, his skill level was already evident.

Looking at his excited daughter, Sheng Zexi said, “Daddy will finish the outline first, then you can draw.”

“Okay!”

Nuo Nuo waited for her dad to finish the outline, and following his instructions, she began to color.

As they started coloring, both parents helped Nuo Nuo with the coloring areas, and they all filled in the colors together.

Before they knew it, it was time for dinner. After finishing their meal, they continued working on the drawing.

They drew until nearly eleven o’clock, and after finally completing the picture, Nuo Nuo admired her beautiful work for a while before asking her dad to put it away.

Seeing Xu Ai yawn beside him, Sheng Zexi asked with concern, “Are you tired?”

Xu Ai turned her head to look at him and replied, “It’s fine.”

“Then you should go rest.”

Sheng Zexi rolled up the child’s drawing and secured it with a rubber band. He then helped Nuo Nuo tidy up the scattered colored pens on the table. Some had fallen to the floor, and Nuo Nuo bent down to pick them up and handed them to her dad.

Xu Ai thought she might need to help, but she felt too lazy to move, so she just stood there watching the two of them clean up for quite a while before heading upstairs.

The next day, Nuo Nuo excitedly took her drawing to kindergarten.

The teacher asked the children to display their drawings on the table and encouraged them to admire each other’s work. Some children had drawn ugly pictures, while others were clearly made by adults.

Nuo Nuo’s drawing was very neat and beautiful, so when some classmates saw how nice Nuo Nuo’s work was, they immediately asked, “Nuo Nuo, did your mom and dad help you draw this?”

Nuo Nuo nodded. “Yes, my Mommy and Daddy drew it, and then I colored it.”

Nuo Nuo could clearly point out to them where she had added her own colors.

When the teacher came to take a look, she recognized the subtle flaws based on where Nuo Nuo pointed, confirming that the little girl had indeed contributed.

While Nuo Nuo received her little red flower at kindergarten, Xu Ai and her sister Xu Ying finally caught evidence of Lin Xuan’s infidelity.

The sisters were waiting by the entrance of the community where Lin Xuan would meet with another woman, and Xu Ai managed to capture a photo of him hugging another woman and kissing her as they entered the community.

After Xu Ai took the picture, she adjusted her sunglasses and was just about to leave when she noticed a strong man standing behind her.

The man was muscular, and his gaze on Xu Ai was cold as he said, “Miss Xu, please hand over the video in your hand.”

Xu Ai recognized this person; he was a friend of Lin Xuan.

It seemed that their frequent investigations over the past few days had drawn Lin Xuan’s attention.

I must say, this person had a bit of sense.

Xu Ai smirked and pretended to hand over her phone. Just as he relaxed his guard, she jumped onto the nearby flower bed and ran away with her phone.

The moment the strong man saw Xu Ai running away, his expression twisted, and he hurriedly chased after her.

As he dashed forward, he knocked down a bike parked on the side of the road, but he didn’t stop and continued his pursuit.

Xu Ai, who usually didn’t exercise much, was soon caught up to. She quickly quickened her pace, but ultimately, she collided with a man.

Her phone dropped.

“Sorry…”

She reached out to pick up her phone, but the man in front of her was quicker. He glanced down, saw that the phone was still functioning, and said, “The phone is fine.”

The man’s voice was clear and melodious, like celestial music.

Xu Ai was momentarily stunned and asked, “Sheng Zexi, what are you doing here?”

Just as she was about to stand up, she realized she had twisted her ankle. Moving it caused a sharp pain.

Xu Ai gasped.

Sheng Zexi supported her and saw her frowning in discomfort. Frowning in concern, he asked, “Are you okay?”

Xu Ai clutched his shirt. “I’m fine. Someone is chasing me…”

As she spoke, her voice suddenly lowered.

She noticed that the man didn’t seem to be pursuing her anymore.

She turned to look back and saw that he had been captured a short distance behind her by a few bodyguards.

Xu Ai: “…!”

She asked in confusion, “How did you know I was here?”

Sheng Zexi replied, “If Lin Xuan could discover you, what could I possibly not know?”

Xu Ai sighed, “We’ve startled the snake.”

But thankfully, it all hadn’t been in vain.

“You could have asked me for help…” There was a hint of helplessness in Sheng Zexi’s voice.

Sheng Zexi returned her phone to her pocket, then helped her sit on the flowerbed nearby, taking off her sports shoes gently. He pressed on her ankle and asked, “Does it hurt?”

Xu Ai frowned and nodded.

“It hurts.”

He picked her up princess style, and amid her surprised protests, Sheng Zexi said, “I’ll take you to the hospital.”