Although the baby’s gender doesn’t match President Zhan’s preference, since the baby is already born, what can be done but to pamper him?

Since Ning Qiuxiu was eating rice beans when he was born, the little one was simply and bluntly named Mi Duo.

When Mi Duo was young, he was no different from other children.

He didn’t have any remarkable talent or come with a divine aura or emperor-like appearance.

Apart from being a bit more good-looking, he didn’t stand out in any special way.

He was also quite mischievous.

One day, Jingjing brought her daughter to Ning Qiuxiu’s home to play.

The fact that Zhou Yang had a daughter made President Zhan envious, especially seeing his own son grow more troublesome.

He envied the well-behaved and cute little daughter of others even more.

Jingjing’s daughter is named Tuan Tuan, because she looked like a glutinous rice dumpling when she was born.

Tuan Tuan wore a pretty princess dress with her hair in little braids, looking cute and beautiful.

She saw Ning Qiuxiu and sweetly said, “Good morning, Aunt Qiuxiu.”

“Hello, little Tuan Tuan,” Ning Qiuxiu picked her up and rubbed her cute little face, feeling her own youthful heart being stirred by Tuan Tuan’s cuteness. “So cute, Tuan Tuan has grown taller again.”

Tuan Tuan shyly nodded, “I want to be as tall as Aunt Qiuxiu.”

“And as beautiful as Aunt Qiuxiu, forever youthful,” Jingjing added.

Regarding Jingjing’s long-standing habit of flattering, Ning Qiuxiu could only smile helplessly and say, “Tuan Tuan is learning quickly now. Don’t turn her into a flatterer too.”

“What’s wrong with being a flatterer?” Jingjing argued. “Compliments are a form of art. As long as you flatter without belittling yourself, it’s good for everyone.”

Ning Qiuxiu: “……”

She found herself at a loss for words.

“By the way, where’s Mi Duo?” Jingjing asked as she didn’t see Rice Bean in the room. “Did he go out?”

“He was just in the living room,” Ning Qiuxiu looked around and was about to ask the housekeeper to check when Mi Dou ran out from the kitchen.

With his hands behind his back, he walked over and greeted Jingjing: “Sister Jingjing.”

“Mi Dou is so well-behaved,” Jingjing patted his head.

Mi Dou was at an age where he wasn’t easily carried, so Jingjing squatted down to be at his level and asked, “Why are you calling me sister today? You used to call me aunt.”

“Because,” Mi Dou said with a reasonable tone, “Sister Jingjing is young and beautiful, how can I call you aunt?”

Aunt Qiuxiu: “……”

When did Mi Dou become such a flatterer?

“Wow, Mi Dou, did you eat honey? Your words are so sweet. Aunt feels ten years younger, like she’s back to 18.”

Mi Dou grinned and took out a fresh flower from behind his back. With a smile, he said, “Fresh flowers and beautiful people go well together.”

Ning Qiuqiu and Jingjing: “???”

“Is it my flower that isn’t beautiful, or am I not handsome enough, making you hesitate?” Mi Dou continued, stumbling over his words as Jingjing didn’t respond.

Jingjing: “……”

Young man, you’re so slick!

Tuan Tuan saw the flowers in his hand and reached out his little hand: “Papa, Tuan Tuan wants some flowers too.”

Jing Jing took the flowers from Mi Dou and handed them to Tuan Tuan.

Ning Qiuxiu put Tuan Tuan down and turned to Mi Dou, saying sternly, “Mi Dou, where did you learn these nonsense things?”

Mi Dou wasn’t afraid of Ning Qiuxiu at all and confidently said, “On TV, Uncle Wang Fan said this to you.”

TV?

Ning Qiuxiu remembered that this was from a crime drama she had filmed at the end of the year.

There was a supporting character who was a flirtatious and sweet-talking rich kid who flirted with Ning Qiuxiu in the show.

The drama aired recently, and Mi Dou must have learned it from there.

Ning Qiuxiu couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time. “Don’t watch it anymore. You only learn bad things and ignore the good ones. If your dad finds out, he’ll definitely give you a lesson.”

“Oh.” As soon as Mi Dou heard “dad,” he immediately quieted down.

This kid was fearless except when it came to his dad.

But Mi Dou only picked up bad habits from the TV shows; essentially, he was still just a little kid who would forget things after a while.

Ning Qiuxiu had no real intention of reporting him and let him play with his sister.

Tuan Tuan, who was only 3 years old this year and a year younger than Mi Dou, was much more well-behaved compared to the mischievous Mi Dou.

She especially liked to stick close to Mi Dou.

Mi Dou, inheriting his dad’s trait of trickery, often played pranks on Tuan Tuan.

Tuan Tuan, unaware of the tricks, loved her older brother even more.

While Ning Qiuxiu and Jing Jing were chatting in the living room, Mi Dou insisted on taking Tuan Tuan upstairs to play.

Ning Qiuxiu let the maid keep an eye on them.

After a while, Ning Qiuxiu received a call from the maid saying that Mi Dou and Tuan Tuan had locked themselves in their bedroom and wouldn’t let her in, and she wasn’t sure what they were doing.

Ning Qiuxiu suspected Mi Dou might be up to no good and told Jing Jing, “Let’s go upstairs and check.”

They went upstairs, and indeed, the bedroom door was locked from the inside.

Ning Qiuxiu used the key to open the door and was met with a sight that made her exasperated—Mi Dou was using her makeup to give Tuan Tuan a hideous makeover.

When he heard the door open, he tried to hide Tuan Tuan, but wasn’t quick enough and was caught red-handed.

“Mi—Dou!” Ning Qiuxiu was furious seeing her makeup in disarray, gritting her teeth as she called his name, “Look at the mess you’ve made!”

Seeing that he had been caught, Mi Dou immediately put on a wronged expression: “Mom said girls look prettier with makeup, so I wanted Tuan Tuan to be prettier.”

Ning Qiuxiu: “……”

You actually have a point!

Tuan Tuan nodded in agreement: “Tuan Tuan is pretty.”

Jing Jing saw her daughter looking like a panda and was both amused and helpless.

She asked Mi Dou, “Do you think Tuan Tuan is prettier now?”

Mi Dou, with a serious face, nodded and said, “Bad kids think it’s ugly, good kids think it’s pretty.”

Tuan Tuan tilted her little face in agreement: “Tuan Tuan is a good child, Tuan Tuan is pretty.”

Jingjing: “……”

“Mi Dou, can you share some of your intelligence with my silly sweetie?”

Ning Qiuxiu really wanted to give this tricky little kid a good talking-to.

She felt like he had become unruly after a few days without being disciplined and said, “Good child, huh? I think you’re just itching for a beating!”

Mi Dou tilted his head back: “Hitting children is illegal; you can’t hit me!”

“You really are…” Ning Qiuxiu didn’t know how to educate Mi Dou at the moment.

Although he was a bit mischievous, he was generally curious and not usually so troublesome.

He even got a little shy around strangers when playing outside.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Jingjing used a makeup remover pad with some cleansing water to gently wipe off the makeup from Tuan Tuan’s face. “Children are curious, and Mi Dou is impressive for being able to do makeup at such a young age.”

Mi Dou’s little chest puffed up a bit.

Seeing his unrepentant and smug expression, Ning Qiuxiu helplessly told him, “Tuan Tuan is still young and shouldn’t be wearing makeup. Plus, you ruined Mommy’s makeup, which cost a lot of money. Didn’t Mommy teach you not to touch adults’ things?”

“I’m sorry,” Mi Dou lowered his head and apologized in a cute, childish voice, “Mommy, I’m sorry.”

This kid knew Ning Qiuxiu’s weak spot too well. With his pitiful look, Ning Qiuxiu’s heart softened instantly.

However, she didn’t show it and instead asked, “What did you do wrong?”

Mi Dou obediently replied, “I shouldn’t have touched Mommy’s things or done makeup on my little sister.”

He did know where he went wrong.

Ning Qiuxiu gave Mi Dou a few more words of advice, had a servant clean up her room, and then took them downstairs.

However, the incident still reached Zhan Qingyue’s ears.

Zhan Qingyue wasn’t so easily swayed as Ning Qiuxiu.

Knowing that Mi Dou had done something wrong, he believed the child needed a proper lesson.

If even Miao Miao, the family’s silly dog, could be trained to behave, a little kid with Mi Dou’s intellect was no match for Zhan Qingyue.

He could guess what was on the kid’s mind in an instant.

However, he didn’t believe in corporal punishment or scolding. He preferred to use quality education methods.

After learning about the incident, he printed out a list of the damaged cosmetics, including their prices, and placed it in front of Mi Dou.

“What’s this?” Mi Dou scratched his head, as he couldn’t read yet.

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand. Just know that you’ve ruined nearly 50,000 yuan worth of makeup for your mom.”

Mi Dou continued scratching his head, not really understanding money.

But he did know how to apologize. With a pitiful expression, he said, “Dad, I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”

Then he looked at Ning Qiuxiu with a pleading look, sending out an SOS signal.

Ning Qiuxiu quietly looked down at her phone, pretending not to see.

Mi Dou had indeed gone too far this time. It was important to teach him a lesson so he would understand his mistake.

Unfortunately, Ning Qiuxiu’s heart softened easily.

A little bit of Mi Dou’s acting and she couldn’t bear to stay stern. Such matters needed to be handled by Zhan Qingyue.

Zhan Qingyue said, “From today on, you will need to pay for the cost of the makeup with your own labor.”

“……” Mi Dou said softly, “But I’m a kid. I don’t know how to make money!”

“It’s okay,” Zhan Qingyue smiled, “You’ll do tasks for Mom and Dad and Grandpa, like helping to fetch things, taking out the trash, and organizing your messy toys. All of these will count as work, and Dad will pay you for it. You’ll save up the money and give it back to Mom.”

Mi Dou: “……”

He hated working!

“But…”

“No buts,” Zhan Qingyue said firmly, pulling out the ultimate weapon, “If you don’t work, you’ll have to sleep alone tonight.”

Mi Dou: “……”

“Okay.” Mi Dou, who was most afraid of sleeping alone, reluctantly agreed, then turned to Ning Qiuxiu and buried his face in her arms, trembling, “Mommy.”

He was so wronged.

Ning Qiuxiu was trying hard not to laugh.

This method was just too effective. Mi Dou wasn’t a very diligent kid, and this punishment was likely to teach him a big lesson.

Indeed, only Zhan Qingyue could handle him.

She smiled and hugged Mi Dou, then said to Zhan Qingyue, “You’re like hiring child laborers. Mi Dou said today that hitting him is against the law. When he grows up, he’ll probably complain about you.”

Hearing Ning Qiuxiu’s words, Mi Dou, who was feeling wronged in her arms, immediately perked up his ears, wondering what “complain” meant.

Maybe he could use it to avoid working and punish his dad instead.

“Complain?” Zhan Qingyue chuckled, “Mi Dou, do you want to complain about Dad?”

“……” Mi Dou was too intimidated by his dad to say a word, even saying reluctantly, “No, Mi Dou loves Dad the most. Dad is mighty.”

Ning Qiuxiu: “……”

That tone sounded familiar.