Chapter 17.1

Nuo Nuo eagerly followed her dad to play. Worried that she might get bored, Sheng Zexi stuffed a few extra toys into her bag before they left.

So, Nuo Nuo went to the office with her dad.

On the way, Nuo Nuo pointed to the pretty butterfly hairpin she was wearing and asked, “Daddy, does my hairpin look nice today?”

Usually, Sheng Zexi wouldn’t pay much attention to a little girl’s hairpin. He might have given a casual response, but today, he took a serious look at the butterfly hairpin. It was pink, adorned with a flower, a butterfly, and a few pretty pearls. It looked very cute, almost magical.

He nodded and said, “It looks nice.”

Nuo Nuo’s eyes sparkled with joy as she replied, “Mommy bought this for me! I have lots of pretty hairpins.”

Sheng Zexi thought about how adorable she looked with different hairpins. She was already very pretty, and dressing her up just made her even more so. Xu Ai was great at dressing their daughter.

Once they arrived at the company, Sheng Zexi had to attend a meeting first.

While he was in the meeting, he worried that Nuo Nuo might get bored. He thought about giving her a tablet to watch something, but he remembered that too much screen time isn’t good for her eyes, so he decided against it. However, he also felt she didn’t have enough toys to play with, so he sent someone to buy more toys and snacks for her. He even called for the tech guy who had played with Nuo Nuo last time to come and keep her company.

The tech guy had been worried about being punished for sneaking into the president’s office to play with the little princess last time, especially since Sheng Zexi’s expression hadn’t been very pleasant that day. He hadn’t expected to be called in again so soon! However, he still had plenty of work to do and hesitated, saying, “President Sheng, I have a lot of work on my plate. What will happen to my tasks if I go over there?”

Sheng Zexi glanced at him and waved him off, saying, “Go ahead! You can submit your work a couple of days later.”

A couple of days’ delay? That sounded great! He happily went to play with the little princess.

Unlike the time when the little princess played with building blocks all alone in the office, the tech guy arrived to find a completely different scene this time.

On the marble coffee table in front of Nuo Nuo were not only toys but also plenty of snacks for her—cheese sticks, steamed buns, cookies, jellies, various types of milk, fruits, and more. Additionally, there were building blocks and toys, and the office had even set up a rocking horse that Nuo Nuo liked. It was completely different from the one he had seen last time and clearly brand new. He remembered the purple rocking horse from when he had gone to the supermarket with his niece, and how she had insisted on having it. His sister-in-law had nearly turned green at the sight of the price, unable to understand why a child’s toy could be so expensive.

The tech guy couldn’t help but marvel at the extravagance of the wealthy. After buying so many toys last time, they were all taken away as soon as Nuo Nuo left. Now, another batch has been purchased. He thought to himself that he couldn’t afford even one of these disposable toys with his monthly salary.

Nuo Nuo’s dad was in a meeting, and when she saw the familiar big brother arrive, she immediately waved her little hand and asked, “Big brother, why are you here?”

“Are you here to play with me?” she added.

The tech guy nodded, “Yes.”

Nuo Nuo eagerly pushed her building blocks towards him, saying, “Come on, let’s play together!”

Then she looked at the snacks on the table and generously said, “You can eat any of these.”

She complained a bit about how her dad had bought too much: “I don’t know what happened to Daddy. He had people buy so much.”

The tech guy didn’t question it; he just felt envious. Since the meeting was a bit lengthy, he ended up playing with Nuo Nuo for two hours. During that time, they received various delicious pastries and cakes, making the happy tech guy already look forward to Nuo Nuo’s next visit.

When the meeting ended, footsteps and voices could be heard outside. The tech guy, leisurely munching on a cheese stick, immediately stood up, ready for action.

As Sheng Zexi and his superior entered, they saw the tech guy with cream around his mouth. “You’re lucky! We were in a meeting, and you’re here enjoying the child’s snacks.”

Nuo Nuo immediately defended him, saying, “I gave him those!”

The tech guy had eaten quite a bit already, and while he had been enjoying some cake, he hadn’t wiped his mouth clean. With a smile, he wiped his mouth with a tissue and said, “Well, President, I should be heading back now.”

After the tech guy left, Sheng Zexi discussed some matters with his staff, and finally, it was just the two of them left in the office.

Sheng Zexi walked over and looked down at Nuo Nuo, asking, “So, did you have fun playing here?”

Nuo Nuo shook her head and held up the palace she had built with the big brother, saying, “Daddy, look at this! Isn’t it great? Big brother helped me build it.”

Sheng Zexi glanced at the not-yet-complete palace and said, “It’s wonderful.”

But Nuo Nuo looked a bit disappointed. “Big brother went back, and I can’t finish it alone. There are still a lot of hard parts.”

“Then Daddy will help you finish it tonight.”

As he said this, Sheng Zexi picked her up.

Upon hearing that her dad would help her later, Nuo Nuo’s eyes sparkled with excitement. She noticed that her dad was carrying her towards the door and asked, “Daddy, where are we going?”

“Daddy needs to meet with a client, so I’ll be back a bit later.”

“Okay, should I send all my toys back home?”

“Send back whatever you want. Leave what you don’t want here.”

The assistant had also been curious, recalling how last time all the toys were sent back when Nuo Nuo left. He wondered if it would be the same this time, but it turned out it was not.

Nuo Nuo started thinking, “Hmm, I think I’ll take the building blocks back, but I won’t take the others. Maybe I’ll come back in a couple of days.”

The assistant agreed with her.

But when he looked back at the child’s toys, he suddenly thought it might be nice to send them home. After all, this was an office space, and having children’s toys here didn’t give off a serious vibe.

Sheng Zexi recalled the image of Nuo Nuo tugging at his clothes and couldn’t help but smile as he asked, “Are you planning to come back in a couple of days?”

Nuo Nuo shook her head, her eyelashes curling lightly as she smiled, “It’d be nice to come tomorrow too, but I’m not sure if it’ll affect your work.”

Well, it would have some impact, but since the little one was behaving well, Sheng Zexi decided to overlook that minor issue.

“Come whenever you want,” he said.

As they spoke, they entered the elevator, and Sheng Zexi took Nuo Nuo outside.

This was the first time Sheng Zexi brought his daughter to meet a client. Although they were familiar with each other, the client was still surprised and chuckled, asking, “President Sheng, have you started focusing on your little family?”

They were meeting at a restaurant. Originally, it had been planned for the evening, but he figured it would be quite boring for Nuo Nuo, so he decided to change it to lunchtime.

Despite having eaten a lot of snacks earlier, Nuo Nuo’s eyes brightened at the sight of the food. Seeing how eager she was to eat, Sheng Zexi didn’t rush to speak.Instead, he said, “Let’s order first, and then we can talk while we eat.”

This was a departure from his usual style. The two clients, seeing him ask the little girl what she wanted to eat, couldn’t help but shake their heads in resignation.

One day, he could become a devoted father. This stark contrast was quite amusing.

Nuo Nuo didn’t think much of it. The little girl felt that her dad seemed really nice today, which she found quite normal and reasonable. She didn’t care what others thought around her and focused on the menu.

Some items on the menu had pictures, while others did not. Nuo Nuo couldn’t read many of the words but could understand the pictures. When she saw something that caught her interest, she pointed to it and asked, “Daddt, what is this dish?”

Sheng Zexi glanced at the words below and replied, “Clear broth with pork ribs.”

“What about this one?” she asked again.

“Crispy fried small plum fish.”

“What’s this?”

“Braised lion’s head.”

Upon hearing the name, Nuo Nuo was a bit shocked. “Are we really eating the lion’s head?”

Sheng Zexi couldn’t help but laugh, explaining, “It’s not an actual lion’s head. It’s just the name of the dish.”

“Oh, oh, oh.” Nuo Nuo pointed to other dishes, and Sheng Zexi answered each one. As long as they weren’t on Nuo Nuo’s list of foods to avoid, he agreed to everything she wanted to order.

Soon, the dishes arrived. The clients began to eat, while Sheng Zexi helped Nuo Nuo pick food from her plate.

The little one quickly stuffed her cheeks full, looking adorable, like a little pufferfish.

Nuo Nuo loved eating meat, and Sheng Zexi didn’t force her to eat vegetables. Instead, he cut the meat and vegetables into small pieces and served them together in her bowl. Unknowingly, the little one ended up eating quite a bit of vegetables.

The two clients noticed Sheng Zexi smiling warmly at his daughter and couldn’t help but sigh, “It seems like President Sheng’s life is quite fulfilling these days. We’ve never seen you smile like this before.”

When the server walked in and saw Sheng Zexi smiling, she couldn’t help but blink in surprise.

Sheng Zexi hadn’t realized he was smiling so often today, but his mindset had indeed changed. In the past, he sometimes felt impatient with the various demands of his child. But now, when he took her out, he was more focused on whether she was being taken care of. The little one wanted mostly meat, so he found ways to sneak in more vegetables.

This was also a way of teaching her. He was just using a method that a child would more readily accept.

As for his own changes, Sheng Zexi felt it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

In the past, he hadn’t noticed Nuo Nuo’s charms. Now, however… no matter how he tried to make up for it, he always felt it was insufficient.

Since he was with his child, Sheng Zexi didn’t drink alcohol. Instead, he used tea in place of wine and clinked glasses with the clients, saying, “Smiling more isn’t a bad thing either.”

While Nuo Nuo was busy eating, she heard them and immediately nodded, “Yes, yes! It’s great to smile! I love to smile!”

Then she smiled, revealing two sweet dimples.

The little girl was already cute, and when she smiled, she was even more adorable. Both clients had daughters at home, and Nuo Nuo reminded them of their own children when they were younger. One of them raised his wine glass with a smile, saying, “Yes, yes, yes! Smiling is great.”

The other client added, “President Sheng, your daughter is so cute. Who wouldn’t want to pamper her? Haha.”

While Nuo Nuo enjoyed her meal, Sheng Zexi finished discussing business with the clients.