Chapter 15.2

The scenery here was lovely, and with Nuo Nuo looking adorable, Xu Ai was beautiful as well. It was just that the man following Xu Ai was somewhat of an eyesore.

He approached and asked them, “Where are you going?”

Ignoring the eyesore beside her, he turned to Nuo Nuo and smiled.

Nuo Nuo responded eagerly, “We’re going to buy a gift for Mommy!”

Mu Ting immediately added, “Since you’re going shopping, we’ll go find some fun on our own.”

Zhao Lili nodded in agreement.

The others naturally stepped aside to give the family space, but Cheng Yao felt somewhat reluctant. However, he had no choice. Sheng Zexi was still Xu Ai’s husband in name. Although he was unwilling, he had to follow Wei Lai and the others as they left.

As they left, he cast a deep glance at Sheng Zexi.

The man also looked at him, a coldness and faint pressure in his gaze.

Though he didn’t want to admit it, Cheng Yao was indeed no match for Sheng Zexi. If not for his less favorable family background, he wouldn’t have let his fiancée marry another man like this.

The silent confrontation between the two men went unnoticed, as Xu Ai was busy thinking about what kind of gift her little Nuo Nuo would buy her.

Holding her daughter’s little hand, she asked, “Nuo Nuo, what do you want to buy for Mommy?”

Nuo Nuo wanted to keep the surprise a secret, shaking her little head and saying, “Mommy, I’ll tell you. When we buy the gift later, you can’t come in with us. Daddy and I will go in to buy it, and you wait outside. Once we’re done, we’ll give it to you. Of course, I know what to buy you, but you’ll find out later.”

“Sure, no problem.”

Since she had the day off, Xu Ai was happy to accompany the little girl.

Nuo Nuo held her father’s hand and entered the nearby jewelry store. Xu Ai guessed they were planning to buy her some jewelry, so she settled down on a stone bench by the roadside, pulled out a pair of sunglasses from her bag, and leisurely waited for the father and daughter to come out.

The little town was filled with flower beds, and the flowers were in full bloom around where Xu Ai sat. In her red dress, she looked stunning.

Sheng Zexi glanced at Xu Ai through the glass of the jewelry store, and seeing her beautiful appearance stirred something in his heart.

Meanwhile, Nuo Nuo was focused on finding a gift for her mother. They had been inside for a long time, and she still hadn’t found the right present.

Noticing that her father wasn’t helping her look for gifts, she turned around and frowned, “Daddy, weren’t you supposed to help me choose a gift for Mommy?”

Being shorter, various counters blocked Nuo Nuo’s view, so she couldn’t see her mother.

Sheng Zexi snapped out of his thoughts after being scolded by his daughter and began to help the little girl look at the jewelry.

When he spotted a pearl necklace displayed on the counter, he was taken aback. He looked back outside at Xu Ai, who was wearing a red dress but no jewelry.

After a moment of contemplation, Sheng Zexi lifted Nuo Nuo high so she could see the necklace and asked, “What do you think of this one?”

Nuo Nuo’s eyes lit up at the sight of the beautiful round pearls. She immediately nodded her head enthusiastically, pecking at the air like a little chick, fearing that if she hesitated for even a moment, her father wouldn’t want to buy it.

“Buy, buy, buy! This looks great.”

It really was beautiful; the large, full pearls clearly indicated high quality, so the price was naturally not cheap.

However, without a second thought, Sheng Zexi pulled out his card and bought it.

After picking out the gift for her mother, Nuo Nuo happily ran out to find Xu Ai. But as she reached the store entrance, instead of rushing to her mother, she noticed a nearby stall selling pastries and asked her dad to buy her one first. Only after satisfying her craving did she skip off to find her mom.

Xu Ai looked stunning in her red dress, so much so that a passing photographer couldn’t help but offer to take a picture of her for free. Xu Ai agreed and posed for a shot. After it was taken, she spotted Sheng Zexi and Nuo Nuo coming out. Seeing her daughter munching on a pastry with grease all over her face, Xu Ai couldn’t help but lightly glare at Nuo Nuo, saying, “Weren’t you supposed to buy a gift? How did you sneak off to eat instead?”

Nuo Nuo’s eyes were narrowed in delight as she beamed at her mother and held out the necklace, saying, “Mommy, look!”

Xu Ai opened the box to find a stunning pearl necklace that matched her dress perfectly.

And it looked like it must have cost a pretty penny.

Xu Ai smiled at her daughter, thinking that if the little one’s face wasn’t so smeared with grease, she would have definitely kissed her adorable face.

“Mommy, do you like it?”

Xu Ai nodded.

Nuo Nuo was so excited and said, “I picked it out with Daddy!”

Xu Ai glanced over at Sheng Zexi, who was also looking at her.

Their eyes met for a moment before Xu Ai looked away first.

In the afternoon, everyone went out to eat seafood.

Sheng Zexi left first, as something unexpected had come up at his company, and he might need to go on a business trip for the next two days.

When he informed Xu Ai about this, she reacted calmly, “Oh.”

Xu Ai showed little reaction to his trip, even secretly hoping he wouldn’t return.

Nuo Nuo felt a bit reluctant to see her father go. She feared he would be away for a long time like before, but since he was going for work, there was nothing she could do.

The little girl could only remind her father, “Daddy, remember to come back early, okay?”

Her eyes sparkled like a little deer’s, showing clear reluctance at the news of her father leaving.

The last time Sheng Zexi had gone abroad, Nuo Nuo was still too young to understand. Their relationship had been quite cold back then, but now, seeing her daughter’s pure gaze, Sheng Zexi felt his heart soften. He opened his mouth and asked, “What gift do you want? I’ll buy it for you when I come back.”

Nuo Nuo thought for a moment before shaking her head, “I think anything is fine because I don’t really know what I want.”

After chatting a little longer, Sheng Zexi went back to pack for his trip while Nuo Nuo stayed with Xu Ai and Mu Ting to enjoy seafood.

Nuo Nuo had eaten seafood before, but while they were eating, she suddenly started to itch.

When Xu Ai heard Nuo Nuo cry that she was itchy, her face changed instantly. She rolled up the little girl’s sleeve to take a look and found that the little one was having an allergic reaction.

She hurriedly took her child to the hospital.

When Sheng Zexi received the news that Nuo Nuo had been admitted to the hospital, he was just about to board the plane. It turned out the little girl’s allergy was mild. The doctor administered a shot and prescribed some medication, so there wasn’t much to worry about. However, she might need to avoid seafood in the future.

When the assistant mentioned this, Nuo Nuo was already fine and had returned home.

Since the family’s housekeeper had called to inform him, the assistant naturally relayed the message.

At that moment, Sheng Zexi was supposed to deal with more urgent matters for work, but he thought of the little girl’s tearful face and suddenly felt worried, not knowing if she was scared of the injection or if she would cry for a long time when she was sick.

Just as everyone expected him to leave for abroad as usual, he suddenly turned to his subordinates and said, “For the connections abroad, I’ll have someone else take over. My daughter is in the hospital, and I’ll go see her first.”

Although the work could be resolved a bit slower, it wouldn’t be impossible to transfer it.
The group watched in astonishment as the man who always prioritized work turned away and left the airport.