Chapter 34: A Happy Family of Three  

That night, Zhao Yunxi, who was far away in another country, sent a message to Zhao Jiaying, asking how she had been recently and whether she had been obedient to Auntie Xiuhua.  

Zhao Yunxi sent a voice message, and since Ou Zichen was right beside Zhao Jiaying at the time, he naturally overheard her voice.  

She also sent Zhao Jiaying some photos of herself at work.  

The following was the conversation between Zhao Jiaying and Zhao Yunxi.  

Zhao Yunxi: “Yingbao, how have you been while Mommy has been away? Have you been listening to Auntie Xiuhua?”

Zhao Jiaying said: “Of course! Mommy, Yingbao has been very good. But Yingbao really misses Mommy!”

Zhao Yunxi responded: “Mommy misses Yingbao very much too. Mommy promises Yingbao that I will finish my work here as soon as possible and come back. After that, we will never be apart again!”

After going abroad, Zhao Yunxi regretted her decision. She had thought that leaving Yingbao in the care of Yang Xiuhua would allow her to focus on work and escape Yang Jianhua. However, she had underestimated her emotions. She missed Yingbao terribly, and seeing young children every day only made her miss Yingbao even more.

Zhao Jiaying said: “Hmm, when Mommy comes back, Yingbao has a surprise for Mommy!”

Zhao Yunxi asked: “What surprise? Can you tell Mommy now?”

Zhao Jiaying shook her head. “Not now! It’s called a surprise for a reason. Mommy has to come back first, or else it wouldn’t be a surprise!”

The surprise was Ou Zichen. But for now, she couldn’t tell Zhao Yunxi—otherwise, she might be scared.

Zhao Yunxi sighed. “Alright then, Mommy will finish work as soon as possible and come back.”

Just then, someone called for Zhao Yunxi—it was time for work.

Zhao Yunxi said: “Yingbao, Mommy has to go to work now. I’ll message you before I come back. Bye-bye, baby!”

Zhao Jiaying replied: “Okay, Mommy, bye-bye!”

Throughout their conversation, Ou Zichen had been listening from the side.

Not only was she beautiful, but her voice was also so pleasant. As he looked at Zhao Yunxi’s photos, he realized he was slowly becoming infatuated with her. He could hardly wait to meet her in person.

Zhao Jiaying once again looked through the photos Zhao Yunxi had sent her. As she did, she turned to Ou Zichen and asked: “Daddy, do you think Mommy is beautiful?”

“Beautiful, very beautiful!”

He was speaking from the heart, not just trying to make Zhao Jiaying happy. Seeing Zhao Yunxi so focused on her work was truly captivating.

“Then, do you like Mommy?” Zhao Jiaying continued to ask.

Ou Zichen fell into deep thought. He didn’t know how to answer this question. If he said he liked her, it would seem superficial since they had never met. But if he said he didn’t like her, it wouldn’t be true—deep down, he did.  

Seeing that he wasn’t answering, Zhao Jiaying tugged on his arm and playfully whined: “Daddy, say it! Do you like Mommy or not?”  

From the expectant look in Zhao Jiaying’s eyes, Ou Zichen could tell that she really wanted him to say the word “like.” In front of his daughter, why should he care about whether it was shallow or not? He might as well admit it boldly.  

“I like her!”  

Hearing his answer, Zhao Jiaying beamed with satisfaction, revealing two sweet dimples—just like Zhao Yunxi’s. That smile melted his heart completely.  

“That’s great! Since Daddy likes Mommy, when Mommy comes back, Daddy can marry her! Then Yingbao will have a Daddy and a Mommy, and we’ll be a happy family of three.”  

Ou Zichen could already picture it—a beautiful, sweet, and blissful scene.  

But then, another thought crossed his mind.  

“Yingbao, what if your Mommy doesn’t like Daddy?”  

This was what worried Ou Zichen the most. He liked Zhao Yunxi, but that didn’t mean she would like him in return.  

“Don’t worry, Daddy! Mommy will definitely like you!”  

Zhao Jiaying was so confident that she could guarantee it. There was no need for him to worry at all.  

“You’re so sure your Mommy will like Daddy?”  

Ou Zichen wasn’t as confident. As the saying goes: “A gentleman admires a fair lady.” A woman as beautiful as Zhao Yunxi was bound to attract many admirers and pursuers. Moreover, there was already a formidable rival—Yang Jianhua. With so many great choices, Zhao Yunxi might not choose him in the end.

“Of course! Daddy is so handsome, so outstanding, and even a big boss. What woman wouldn’t like you?”  

Hearing Zhao Jiaying’s words, Ou Zichen regained a bit of confidence. It seemed he did have some advantages. More importantly, he had overlooked the most crucial factor—Zhao Jiaying herself. He and Zhao Yunxi had a daughter, and she was the best bridge connecting them.  

“By the way, Yingbao, you mentioned earlier that when Mommy comes back, you’ll give her a surprise. Can you tell Daddy what the surprise is?”  

Ou Zichen was very curious. What exactly was this surprise?  

Zhao Jiaying held up one finger and pointed at Ou Zichen. “You!”  

“Me?” Ou Zichen pointed at himself in confusion.  

“That’s right! The surprise is Daddy!”  

“Why am I the surprise?”  

The usually sharp-witted Ou Zichen was completely puzzled. He couldn’t understand what Zhao Jiaying meant at all.  

He realized that ever since spending time with Zhao Jiaying, his brain had become noticeably slower. He often struggled to decipher her words.  

Zhao Jiaying, on the other hand, thought he was being quite dense. How could he not figure out something so obvious?  

Poor little girl! She had to worry so much about her Daddy and Mommy’s relationship. But what choice did she have? They were her parents, after all!  

In her sweet, childish voice, she explained: “Yingbao found Mommy a handsome, rich CEO husband. Isn’t that a great surprise?”  

Ou Zichen immediately understood—he had been teased by his own daughter.  

He reached out and playfully tapped her nose, his voice soft. “You little troublemaker!”  

Zhao Jiaying giggled mischievously. Without her, how would Mommy end up with such a handsome husband? And how would Daddy marry such a beautiful wife? In the end, wasn’t she the one who made it all happen?  

Time flew by, and soon, Zhao Jiaying had been attending St. Petersburg Elementary School for almost a month. She had recently taken her first unit exams, and her results had made her famous throughout the school.  

She scored a perfect 100 in Chinese, Math, and English, ranking first in her entire grade. She even outperformed older students, successfully becoming the youngest academic prodigy in St. Petersburg Elementary School.  

Everyone praised her as a little genius. In no time, she became the most talked-about student in the school. Not a single teacher or student was unaware of her name.  

At home, Lin Zhenzhu and Ou Zilong showered her with compliments, feeling immensely proud of her. She was truly bringing honor to the Ou family. She even carried the same brilliance that her Daddy had as a child. After all, when Ou Zichen was young, he was also a school legend—everyone used to call him “Ou the Academic Genius.”  

However, Ou Zichen was the only one who didn’t praise her. Instead, he simply told her: “Stay humble. Don’t get arrogant.”  

Zhao Jiaying took his words to heart and didn’t let her achievements make her complacent. She continued to study diligently.  

That day, during recess, Zhao Jiaying suddenly felt an urgent need to use the restroom. She rushed toward the bathroom, but for some reason, the girls’ restroom was completely packed. A long line of students was waiting to use it.

Zhao Jiaying had no choice but to run up to the fourth-floor girls’ restroom.

In St. Petersburg, the restrooms were distributed like this: even-numbered floors had girls’ restrooms, while odd-numbered floors had boys’ restrooms.

Fortunately, the fourth-floor girls’ restroom wasn’t crowded. Otherwise, Zhao Jiaying might not have been able to hold it in and would have peed herself right then and there.

Even though she was just a four-year-old little girl and occasionally wetting her pants would have been normal, she was already an elementary school student. If she really wet her pants and the news got out, it would be an embarrassment big enough to reach the Pacific Ocean.

After coming out of the restroom, Zhao Jiaying prepared to return to her classroom. Walking along the hallway, she saw an incredibly handsome boy coming toward her.

She and her Mommy had one thing in common—they both loved looking at handsome guys. Whenever they watched variety shows together and saw good-looking male celebrities on TV, they would both fangirl over them.

But there was one difference between the mother and daughter. When Zhao Yunxi saw a handsome guy, she would only admire him from afar. However, Zhao Jiaying preferred to take the initiative—because only by taking action could a handsome guy become hers.