Chapter 20.1

After returning home in the evening, Sheng Zexi had someone take care of the matter Xu Ai had entrusted to him. Due to Lin Xuan’s cautious nature, it took some effort, but the results were obtained fairly quickly.

When Sheng Zexi handed over the findings to Xu Ai, she was utterly shocked. For a moment, she didn’t know whether to feel sympathy for her own family or for Xu Yu.

Lin Xuan actually had a child who was even older than Nuo Nuo! Marrying Xu Yu had long been a premeditated plan of his. He had hidden the woman he loved and their child while scheming to acquire the Xu family fortune.

Xu Ai forwarded the information she received from Sheng Zexi to Xu Ying, who was equally incredulous.

In the end, she could only sigh and say, “Sure enough, a ‘phoenix man’ is full of tricks.”

The two then discussed their next steps.

Xu Ai had to deal with family matters and couldn’t focus on Nuo Nuo. However, Nuo Nuo understood that her mother was busy and didn’t disturb her. Instead, she followed her father around. Occasionally, she would play in her father’s room and fall asleep there at night.

With Nuo Nuo around, Sheng Zexi’s sleep quality improved significantly. As a result, his work efficiency soared in the following days, and the happiness of his subordinates also increased considerably.

Everyone could sense that the boss was in a particularly good mood lately. With the boss feeling good, they faced fewer scoldings, and the overall work atmosphere became much more pleasant.

After spending a few days playing in the company with her father, Nuo Nuo lost interest in going to the office and instead stayed home to watch TV or occasionally played in the garden or kicked a ball outside.

This afternoon, while returning from the plaza, Nuo Nuo was kicking her ball along the way when, in a moment of inattention, the ball rolled away and ended up in the neighbor’s yard. As it rolled away, it disappeared, and Nuo Nuo peeked through the gate but couldn’t see it anywhere.

The ball had ended up at someone else’s house. Nuo Nuo scratched her head, glancing at Auntie Lu with a hint of grievance.

Auntie Lu thought for a moment and pressed the doorbell.

Soon, a little boy appeared from behind the flowerbed inside.

The boy was very handsome, dressed in black and white clothes, with beautiful almond-shaped eyes. His skin was very fair, resembling a porcelain doll.

Seeing Nuo Nuo, he handed her the ball and asked, “Is this your ball?”

Nuo Nuo was surprised to see a boy since the house next door had always seemed empty. Usually, she only saw the cleaning lady there. She curiously asked, “Did you just move in?”

The boy was slightly taller than Nuo Nuo, probably a year or a year and a half older. He had short, jet-black hair. Hearing Nuo Nuo’s question, he shook his head and replied, “This is my dad’s house. We didn’t live here before, but now we’re moving in.”

“Oh, okay.” The little girl introduced herself, pointing to the house next door. “I live next door. You can come over to play whenever you’re free.”

“My name is Nuo Nuo. I’m a bit hungry now, so I have to go home. Bye, see you next time.” Nuo Nuo said, hugging her ball and running off happily, like a cheerful little bird.

The boy felt a bit disappointed watching her bounce away. She had run off too quickly, he hadn’t even had a chance to tell her his name.

Just then, he heard a voice behind him.

“Zhenzhen, who are you talking to?” The boy turned around to see his mother, who was looking a bit surprised.

He explained, “It’s a little sister from next door. Her ball rolled into our yard, and I just returned it to her.”

Pei Zhen’s mother was a little taken aback. She hadn’t expected that her son, who had just returned, would already have made a new friend. She had worried that he wouldn’t adapt well to the new environment after moving to a different city, but it seemed she had over-thought it.

Mother Pei smiled and said, “Later, let’s pay a visit to our neighbors.”

Pei Zhen recalled the cute appearance of the pretty little girl and nodded in agreement.

“Okay, Mommy.”

Later that evening, guests arrived at the Sheng family’s house.

As her parents hadn’t returned yet, Nuo Nuo was home alone. She had just indulged in a box of cookies, and her belly was full. When she saw the boy who had returned her ball come over, she was surprised and asked, “What are you doing here?”

The little boy felt a bit shy, trying to figure out how to explain when Mother Pei spoke up. “We just moved in and came to visit your family.”

As she spoke, she glanced around the Sheng family’s living room, which appeared quite luxurious. However, it seemed that there was only a small child at home, along with the housekeeper.

Mother Pei looked a little surprised. “Little girl, are your parents not home?”

Nuo Nuo shook her head and explained, “No, my mommy and daddy went to work. I don’t have to shoot any videos these days, and I don’t want to go to my daddy’s office, so I’m just home alone.”

Well, then.

Mother Pei handed the gift she brought from home to Auntie Lu. Nuo Nuo took a quick glance and noticed it was food. She touched her round belly and shyly explained, “I’m already full.”

With no adults around, Mother Pei felt a bit bored after sitting for a while.

She looked at her son, who was already running around and playing with Nuo Nuo in the living room. Nuo Nuo was very generous, sharing her toys with her new friend without hesitation.

Seeing her son having so much fun, Mother Pei let the housekeeper keep an eye on him and decided to head back home.

Pei Zhen didn’t mind his mother leaving; he happily continued playing with Nuo Nuo. The two kids quickly moved their game from the living room to the garden outside, where Nuo Nuo challenged Pei Zhen to a bike race. Since Pei Zhen had more boy friends, he rode very fast and didn’t wait for Nuo Nuo. When Nuo Nuo saw that this older boy had left her far behind, she burst into loud tears.

Pei Zhen was almost at the finish line when he heard her crying from behind. He stopped in his tracks, rode back, and asked, “Why are you crying?”

The little boy looked confused, scratching his head.

Nuo Nuo was crying hard, accusing him between sobs, “You rode too fast! Wait for me!”

“Okay, okay.”

Pei Zhen actually waited for her and even let her cross the finish line first.

After a while, they stopped riding their bikes and started playing other games. Pei Zhen soon discovered that his new friend was quite a crybaby. She often cried over the smallest things, and when she did, she looked incredibly pitiful, which left Pei Zhen feeling a bit down when he returned home that night.

When Mother Pei saw her son come back with a frown, she asked with concern, “What’s wrong? Didn’t you go to play at Nuo Nuo’s house today? Why are you back and not happy?”

Her son was fair and handsome, and his serious expression didn’t convey any sense of authority. Rather, it made him look quite adorable. Mother Pei enjoyed pinching his cheeks for fun.

However, Pei Zhen didn’t like his mother casually pinching his face. After swatting her annoying hand away, he shared his troubles with her: “Mommy, um, I found out that Nuo Nuo next door cries a lot. Today, when she couldn’t keep up with me on her bike, she cried. Auntie Lu doesn’t let her watch too much TV, and she cried then, too, and…”

Pei Zhen quickly listed several instances of Nuo Nuo crying. Mother Pei was somewhat stunned. The cute and pretty little girl from the Sheng family turned out to be such a crybaby.

Most little boys don’t usually like such girls, and Mother Pei understood her son’s feelings well. “If you don’t like her, then we won’t go to their house anymore. We can find other kids in the neighborhood to play with another day.”

But Pei Zhen didn’t mean that. He shook his head and said, “It’s not that I don’t want to play with her, I just find it a bit strange. When she’s not crying, she’s very nice. She shares her snacks and toys with me. Before I came back, she even told me that since her mom and dad weren’t home and she didn’t know what to give me, she gave me one of her Barbie dolls.”

Mother Pei found it amusing.

No wonder her son came back with a Barbie doll tonight. It turned out to be a “thank you gift” from the little girl.

She told her son that if he didn’t dislike her, he could continue playing with her. “Nuo Nuo is a girl, so you can let her have her way. Crying isn’t a big deal. After all, she’s still a little sister. As long as her character is good, you can play together.”

Pei Zhen nodded to indicate that he understood.

Recently, Xu Ai had been busy with her studio work. After finishing work, she had to go meet Xu Ying, so she naturally came home late.

Sheng Zexi, thinking about his daughter being home alone, decided to leave work early. When he returned home, he was greeted by a dirty little Nuo Nuo. He couldn’t help but frown and asked Auntie Lu, “What happened?”

Auntie Lu had just been trying to convince Nuo Nuo to take a bath and eat dinner, but Nuo Nuo had eaten too many snacks and didn’t want dinner. When Auntie Lu scolded her, she had rolled on the ground, resulting in her current dirty state.

Nuo Nuo had been behaving quite well lately, to the extent that Sheng Zexi forgot that this little one was a crybaby. He didn’t mind her being dirty and picked her up.

Before he tossed her into the bathroom, Nuo Nuo tried to reason with him. “Daddy, I’m already full! Can I skip dinner?”

The little girl’s eyes were red, looking extremely pitiful. Sheng Zexi felt a bit reluctant but knew that skipping dinner was not an option.

Since she wasn’t hungry yet, he thought for a moment and decided to take her out later to expend some energy, agreeing, “Okay, you can skip dinner, but only if you wash up first. Daddy will take you to play afterward.”

Nuo Nuo was overjoyed at her father’s promise to take her out to play. She quickly cooperated with Auntie Lu to take a bath. After her bath, she excitedly shared with her father, “Daddy, today I met a little friend! He just moved in next door!”

The little girl’s eyes sparkled as she talked about her new friend. Sheng Zexi contemplated that since Nuo Nuo hadn’t been going to the office much lately, perhaps he should send her to kindergarten early.

Of course, that was just a passing thought. He would need to discuss it with Xu Ai since it wasn’t a decision he could make alone.

Auntie Lu quickly finished bathing the little girl, and soon Nuo Nuo emerged smelling fresh and clean. With her hair dried and styled into a cute little ponytail, she transformed back into a lovely little girl.

Sheng Zexi brought a mirror over for Nuo Nuo to look at herself.

Nuo Nuo wondered what her dad wanted her to do with the mirror.

But the little girl in the mirror was playful and adorable, her cheeks rosy like peaches. With a touch of self-awareness, Nuo Nuo struck a playful pose and made a funny face.

Seeing his daughter’s mischievousness, Sheng Zexi asked, “Don’t you look great all clean after your bath?”

Nuo Nuo nodded enthusiastically, pointing to her hairpin. “Daddy, my hairpin is so pretty!”

Sheng Zexi’s gaze fell on the red butterfly hairpin and asked, “So, if you refuse to eat next time, will you still roll on the ground?”

Nuo Nuo hesitated for a moment, her voice a bit low as she explained, “Daddy, I just… I’m just not hungry. I ate a lot this afternoon.”

“Do you think those things are nutritious?” Sheng Zexi questioned.

Nuo Nuo shook her head, then nodded again, looking puzzled. “Daddy, what’s nutrition?”

The little girl’s eyes reflected her confusion.