Chapter 33

Shen Mingyou held her daughter, who looked like a little clay figure, and felt a wetness on her shoulders.

Nian Nian cried quietly, with her head buried in her mother’s arms. Each soft sob was heartbreaking.

“Nian Nian, shouldn’t you be happy that Mom is back? Why are you crying?” Shen Mingyou tried to lift her daughter’s face, but Nian Nian stayed hidden in her arms.

Shen Mingyou gently wiped the mud from her daughter’s face and noticed her hair was wet, likely from being caught in the rain.

“Nian Nian, stop crying and take a bath first, okay?” Shen Mingyou wanted to avoid her catching a cold, so she carried Nian Nian into the room for a hot bath.

“I don’t want to take a shower.” Nian Nian clung to her mother.

“You’ll catch a cold if you don’t.” Shen Mingyou coaxed, “Mom brought you a gift. After your shower, let’s open it together, okay?”

“I don’t want any gifts.” The response was muffled.

“…” Shen Mingyou asked, “What does Nian Nian want?”

Nian Nian looked at her mother with tearful eyes and said, “I want you to never leave me again and stay with me every night.”

She missed her mother while sleeping and waking up and feared that her mother might never return or stop loving her.

Shen Mingyou wiped away Nian Nian’s tears and said, “Nian Nian, Mom promises to tell you if I have to leave. If I can’t come back, I’ll contact you every day, okay?”

Shen Mingyou understood her daughter’s anxiety. Since birth, Nian Nian had never been apart from her mother. However, as Nian Nian grows and Shen Mingyou’s work becomes busier, they will have to adjust.

Nian Nian needs to grow up, and so does Shen Mingyou.

Seeing her mother’s reluctance, Nian Nian asked softly, “Mom, don’t you love me anymore?”

Nian Nian didn’t understand why things had changed. She feared it was because her mother no longer loved her.

Shen Mingyou was taken aback and felt sad. She said seriously, “Nian Nian, remember, Mom loves you very much, and that will never change.”

Nian Nian felt better hearing this.

Shen Mingyou continued, “Just as you love me, my love for you will always be the same.”

Nian Nian’s eyes brightened. She realized her mother loved her just as much as she loved her mother, easing her fears.

Feeling comforted, Nian Nian hid shyly in her mother’s arms, snuggling close.

Shen Mingyou noticed her clothes were now covered in yellow mud, just like Nian Nian’s, making them both look dirty.

[Nian Nian cries so pitifully. Sister Youzi, please promise her first. We can address future concerns later. As Nian Nian grows up, she will understand why her mother can’t be with her every day. For now, it’s okay to comfort her.]

[In fact, Shen Mingyou’s approach is quite good. She won’t make promises about things she can’t do, but she also clearly told Nian Nian that her mother loves her very much. This is really rare.]

It has been so long since mom left. All the kids cried to some extent, but Nian Nian held back her tears until mom came back. Finally, she couldn’t hold back her tears and now she’s afraid that mom doesn’t love her anymore. It shows that Nian Nian is actually quite sensitive.

[Hahaha, am I the only one focusing on Mr. Jiang who can’t get a word in? Don’t be scared, brother-in-law Youzi, your lovely wife and children are by your side. At such a warm moment, all you need to do is give her a bear hug and say “I will always love you, too.” Wouldn’t the scene be even warmer? Hahaha!]

Shen Mingyou took her daughter to bathe, dried her hair, dressed her in clean clothes, and tied her hair into two cute little pigtails. The clean and refreshed Xiao Niannian was finally back.

When Nian Nian sat on the sofa, she covered her mouth and sneezed. At this time, Jiang Chen finally came in handy. He came over and handed a blanket to Shen Mingyou.

“Hurry up and put it on Nian Nian, don’t let her catch a cold.”

Shen Mingyou then paid some attention to him: “Why did you let Nian Nian get wet in the rain and get yourself covered in mud? Now you’re worried that your daughter might catch a cold. What were you doing before?”

Jiang Chen explained: “…It was Nian Nian who was rebellious.”

He tried to stop his daughter from stepping into the mud but couldn’t control his rebellious daughter.

Nian Nian, who had been crying the whole time and forgot to tell her mother, heard her father complain first. She looked at her father with wide eyes, as if saying: How could Dad do this!

Nian Nian also wanted to file a complaint.

She drowned herself in her mother’s arms, put her mouth close to her mother’s ear, and whispered to her mother so that her father wouldn’t hear.

“Mom, Dad is so stupid!” Nian Nian first gave a conclusion, and then threw out the evidence one by one, “Dad forgot Nian Nian’s handkerchief and kettle when he went out, stepped on Nian Nian’s small fan and broke it, and knocked over the watermelon juice and spilled it all over Nian Nian, and also, the dishes Dad cooked are really bad and unpalatable…”

Finally, Nian Nian emphasized her conclusion again and wanted to get her mother’s approval: “Mom, do you think Dad is stupid?”

Jiang Chen: “…”

In order to prevent her father from hearing, Nian Nian spoke in a very low voice, but Jiang Chen was sitting at the other end of the sofa, very close to the mother and daughter. No matter how softly his daughter spoke, every word still reached his ears.

Shen Mingyou looked at Nian Nian’s lively appearance. She smiled and leaned close to her daughter’s ear and whispered, “Well, Daddy is stupid. Thanks to our smart Nian Nian for taking care of Daddy.”

“Hehe.” When Nian Nian heard her mother affirm her words and praise her for being smart, she covered her mouth and laughed so hard that she fell into her mother’s arms.

Jiang Chen, who was called stupid by his daughter and wife at the same time: “…”

[Hahaha, stupid CEO Jiang is not convinced. If you have the guts, just speak out loud. Why are you whispering? It’s fine if you whisper alone, but why do you have to let me hear it!]

[Nian Nian complaining: Baby is really working so hard to take care of stupid daddy.]

[The sweet-smelling Nian Nian drowned in her mother’s arms, snuggling with her and whispering to her, while our President Jiang could only sit at the other end of the sofa. It was as if there was a clear line separating him from the warm scene here. On one side were laughter and joy, while on the other side were misery and sadness. Hahaha, forgive me for laughing so unkindly again!]

When Shen Mingyou came back, the other mothers also saw their babies.

When Zhong Yao arrived, Zhao Yiyang happily threw himself into his mother’s arms, and Zhao Heng also happily hugged his wife. The family of three shared what had happened in the past two days, and the scene was very warm.

On Fang Tang’s side, the situation was chaotic.

When Fang Tang got home, her son Jiang Xu was being chased all over the house by his father, Jiang Yuan.

Then he accidentally jumped onto his mother. Fang Tang, who pushed the door open, was hit by a small mud figure. Her newly bought clothes and a white bag that she had paid a lot of money for were immediately covered with mud marks.

“Mom, you’re finally back, please save me!” Jiang Xu grabbed his mother’s bag with one hand and her sleeve with the other. “Dad is going to hit me, please stop him, please save me, Mom!”

Jiang Yuan was very tired after chasing his son. When he saw his wife coming back, he sat down on the sofa, panting. He decided to leave the matter of punishing the child to his wife for the time being.

Fang Tang looked at the five muddy fingerprints on the bag, and then at Jiang Xu, who looked like he had rolled in the mud, with mud all over his face, hair, hands, body, and feet. Her heart sank, and she angrily grabbed the bag and hit the naughty kid on the butt.

“Jiang Xiaoxu, you are dead today!” Fang Tang, who had amazing lung capacity, roared and shocked Jiang Xu so much that he jumped several meters away.

“Mom, it’s not my fault. It was Dad who insisted on chasing me that caused me to fall into the mud. It’s all Dad’s fault. If you want to hit someone, hit Dad, not me!” Jiang Xu didn’t run away or shout.

Jiang Xu was like a slippery little loach. Fang Tang was chasing him from behind while he was running away from the front. No one could catch him except throwing mud all over the room.

In the end, Fang Tang was as tired as her husband and sat down on the sofa, gasping for breath.

[Hahahaha Jiang Xiaoxu, do you want to make me laugh to death? It’s not your fault that you’re naughty, but it’s your fault that you’re naughty and funny, haha!]

[I have already captured the picture of Jiang Xu falling into a mud pit after being chased by his father. His face was covered in mud, like a mud doll. It really made me laugh to death!]

[The scenes of other families reuniting with their mothers are all warm and touching, but Fang Tang’s scene is full of chaos. It’s so joyful to watch!]

On the other side, when Gu Aifei arrived home, she was also warmly welcomed by the children.

Zhou Ziyu and Zhou Ziai hugged their mother’s thighs on the left and right. Zhou Jingxing was also very happy to see his wife. At the beginning, the family reunion scene was also very warm.

However, Gu Aifei actually came back with a lot of anger.

When Zhou Jingxing appeared on the show this time, Gu Aifei noticed his attitude towards their two children was different from usual. He was unusually strict with their son, Zi Yu, and overly lenient with their daughter, Zi Ai.

At home, Zhou Jingxing is normally fair to both children, but his behavior on the show seemed strange. Gu Aifei was so focused on winning over Shen Mingyou that she didn’t pay much attention to Zhou Jingxing’s odd behavior at the time.

However, after reviewing the show’s footage, Gu Aifei realized that Zhou Jingxing was using their daughter to create a “daughter slave”^[1]means a parent, usually a father, who spoils and does anything for his daughter out of love. persona to boost his popularity.

Gu Aifei was very upset. She felt hurt that Zhou Jingxing was exploiting their well-behaved children for personal gain.

Over the past few years, both she and Zhou Jingxing had focused on their careers and spent little time with their children. Thankfully, their children were well-behaved and welcomed them warmly when they returned home.

Due to their secret marriage, the couple had to be cautious when going out with their children and often had to avoid crowded places.

Gu Aifei felt guilty for not spending enough time with her children and hoped that bringing them on the show would show a positive family image and allow them to be seen openly. It was also a chance to start planning for their children’s future in the public eye.