Chapter 20.2

Sheng Zexi felt momentarily at a loss, suddenly realizing that he needed to simplify things for his three-year-old daughter. He had to find a way to explain that she could understand, breaking it down for her.

This meant he needed more patience than he would with an adult.

And Sheng Zexi… was already lacking in patience with adults.

Realizing that taking care of a child was more challenging than he had anticipated, Sheng Zexi felt a sense of helplessness.

He told Nuo Nuo, “Nutrition… is the various nutrients your body needs. Without nutrition, you won’t grow tall, you’ll become very thin, your hair will become sparse, your teeth will decay, and your skin won’t look good. You’ll look really, really ugly.”

Sheng Zexi looked at the little girl, wondering if she would understand this.

Of course, Nuo Nuo understood. In fact, she was so scared by what he said that she covered her mouth with her hands, touched her hair, and widened her eyes, unable to imagine what it would be like to become ugly one day.

Seeing her vivid expression, Sheng Zexi couldn’t help but smile a little, then continued his lesson: “So now do you understand why being picky is wrong? Because if you only eat meat, you won’t look as good as you do now.”

Nuo Nuo tried to reason with her dad, saying, “But I look great right now!”

Sheng Zexi knew this little one wouldn’t listen that easily. He asked her, “Do you usually eat vegetables?”

Nuo Nuo thought for a moment. Her mom often made her eat vegetables, and she didn’t like them; her mom would force her to.

Pouting, the little girl finally conceded, “Alright, Daddy, I understand what you’re saying. I’ll eat my vegetables next time.”

Sheng Zexi said seriously, “Eating vegetables is for your health, not just something we make you do.”

The little girl found her dad a bit annoying and glanced toward the door, saying, “Daddy, you said you’d take me out to play. Can we go now?”

The moment she mentioned going out, her eyes lit up.

Sheng Zexi didn’t indulge her. “If you don’t eat dinner on time tonight, I won’t take care of you, but it can’t happen again. If there’s a next time, I won’t take you out to play.”

Whether she could actually do it was another matter, but the little girl agreed readily, waving her small hands. “Okay, okay, Daddy! Can we go out now?”

This little one really knew how to change the subject when she didn’t want to listen. Sheng Zexi chuckled and took her downstairs.

The little girl grabbed her toys and asked her dad to help her carry them, then hopped excitedly to the door.

Sheng Zexi took her to the plaza outside, where there were many children. The moment Nuo Nuo spotted some kids she knew, she dashed over, bouncing and jumping alongside them. Although she had already bathed at home, seeing her so lively, it seemed she would need another bath later.

Pei Zhen came out after dinner, but since he wasn’t particularly good at making friends, he looked around and suddenly noticed Nuo Nuo. His eyes lit up, and he ran over, waving at her.

Nuo Nuo was busy playing in the sandpit, but upon hearing Pei Zhen’s call, she turned and smiled. “Pei Zhen, come over! Let’s play together!”

Excitedly, Pei Zhen ran over and began playing in the sand with the little girl. Some kids saw Pei Zhen for the first time and curiously asked Nuo Nuo, “Who is he?”

Nuo Nuo explained, “He’s Pei Zhen, our new neighbor!”

While playing with Nuo Nuo, Pei Zhen got up to drink some water. Unfortunately, another kid took the shovel he had been using, leaving him standing there, unsure of what to do.

Noticing that Pei Zhen had nothing in his hands, Nuo Nuo quickly offered him her shovel and then went to ask the other kids to give back his shovel.

Pei Zhen looked at the shovel in his hands and suddenly thought that maybe Nuo Nuo’s tendency to cry wasn’t such a bad thing. She noticed that he had no toys to play with and showed herself to be a good friend.

The kids played in the sandpit for a while before heading to the slide. After bouncing around for over an hour, Nuo Nuo finally felt a bit hungry. She patted her little tummy and rushed to find her dad. “Daddy, I’m hungry!”

With her cheeks puffed out, she looked a little pitiful.

Sheng Zexi glanced at her dirt-covered clothes and said, “If you’re hungry, let’s head home.”

Nuo Nuo looked back at the other kids with reluctance. “But I want to play a bit longer.”

After taking the water cup from her dad, she gulped down a lot and ran off to play again.

Sheng Zexi felt helpless against her. Worried that she might get hungry, he called home to have someone bring food to the plaza.

While Nuo Nuo played, she also munched on her food.

Sheng Zexi was concerned that she might eat too much and end up with a stomach ache, so he controlled the portion size.

While Nuo Nuo was eating, Pei Zhen came over. Feeling a bit hungry, Nuo Nuo didn’t even check if there were vegetables in her food. Her mouth was full as she said, “Pei Zhen, wait a moment! I didn’t eat dinner, and I’m really hungry, so I need to eat a bit first.”

Then she introduced Pei Zhen to her dad. “Daddy, this is my new friend, Pei Zhen.”

Pei Zhen politely greeted Sheng Zexi, “Hello, uncle.”

The little boy was fair-skinned and slightly taller than Nuo Nuo.

Sheng Zexi, though not as averse to children as before, still didn’t particularly like them. He nodded slightly and said, “Hello.”

Unlike Nuo Nuo’s cheerful demeanor, Sheng Zexi came off as somewhat cold, making Pei Zhen feel a bit scared. Instinctively, he wanted to keep his distance. Since Nuo Nuo probably wouldn’t finish eating quickly, he waved goodbye to her and walked away, watching from afar, not daring to approach the slightly intimidating uncle.

In comparison, he thought Nuo Nuo was indeed an adorable little angel.

When Xu Ai returned home that night, she learned from Auntie Lu about Nuo Nuo not wanting to eat dinner and that Sheng Zexi had even ordered food to be delivered to the plaza. Xu Ai felt a bit speechless. After thinking it over, she went to find Sheng Zexi and said sternly, “Sheng Zexi, if Nuo Nuo doesn’t want to eat, let her be. She’ll learn to behave after a couple of missed meals. Don’t spoil her too much.”

Xu Ai’s words left Sheng Zexi momentarily stunned. He had previously thought that Nuo Nuo was a bit too pampered, and now Xu Ai was saying he was spoiling her. Reflecting on it, he wondered if he had indeed been too indulgent with Nuo Nuo. But thinking of her usual understanding nature, he felt that a little bit of cuteness was harmless—Nuo Nuo was still lovable.

Realizing this mindset wasn’t good, Sheng Zexi quickly stopped his thoughts and messaged the housekeeper to send over the menu.

He noticed that Nuo Nuo refused to eat at home but ate well outside, indicating there was something wrong with the menu. He decided it was necessary to adjust it; otherwise, the same problem would repeat itself.

Soon, the housekeeper sent over the organized menu, which indeed had many dishes that Nuo Nuo didn’t particularly like. He asked the housekeeper if they could change some things.

The housekeeper, not very knowledgeable about menus, suggested, “Why don’t you discuss it with the chef?”

Sheng Zexi added the chef on WeChat and discussed the matter with him.

The chef believed the current menu was already very nutritionally balanced, and if Sheng Zexi wanted him to change it, he didn’t know how to do it to make the little girl eat. Looking troubled, he said, “If we only make dishes according to what the young lady likes, the nutrition might not be comprehensive.”

Sheng Zexi recalled a previous method he had tried, where he successfully tricked Nuo Nuo into eating vegetables a few times by modifying the dishes. He shared this method with the chef.

The chef seemed to underestimate how clever the little girl was. If it worked, he would have used that method already. He said, “It might work for a while, but over time, if the young lady finds out, she might refuse to cooperate.”

Sheng Zexi replied, “We can adjust it again when the time comes.”

The menu was adjusted as Sheng Zexi suggested, but the chef was right. After a few days of sneaking vegetables into her meals, Nuo Nuo caught on and refused to eat those dishes, ignoring her earlier promise to her dad.

Sheng Zexi found himself outsmarted by the little girl and suddenly had a thought: if all else fails, should he learn to cook himself?