Chapter 38

Sheng Zexi comforted the little one for a while, and soon, Xu Ai came downstairs. Seeing the little girl’s aggrieved expression, she asked with concern, “What’s wrong?”

Nuo Nuo then shared the terrifying dream she had with her mother. The little girl had expected some comfort from her mom, but Xu Ai asked curiously, “How did you compete with the stray cats for trash? Did you win or did the cats win?”

Nuo Nuo: “…”

She was a bit angry. If she could reach the ground, she probably would have stomped her feet in frustration, her voice tinged with reproach: “Mommy, how can you say that? You should say I’m your favorite baby and that you’ll never abandon me, just like Daddy does.”

Xu Ai: “Since your dad said that, what’s the point of me saying it? I thought you already knew that we love you.”

Nuo Nuo obviously knew this, but she was just a child. It wasn’t unreasonable for kids to want their parents to frequently remind them of their love.

Xu Ai had only meant to tease her little darling. However, noticing that Nuo Nuo seemed to be in a bit of a huff, she decided to stop teasing and, smiling, lifted her little girl from Sheng Zexi’s arms, comforting her: “Okay, Mommy was just joking. Don’t be angry.”

Initially, Nuo Nuo didn’t plan to be upset, but since her mom had said that, she had to be a little angry. Pouting her little face, she said sulkily, “No, Mommy. I’m angry.”

Nuo Nuo had a look that seemed to say, “You need to coax me or I won’t stop being angry.”

This little one was now starting to act cute, and Xu Ai found it amusing. She continued to ask, “So what can I do for you to forgive me?”

Nuo Nuo pointed to her cheek and told her, “Mommy, if you kiss me here, I won’t be angry anymore.”

Xu Ai happily complied and kissed her little cheek. Then, suddenly remembering something, Nuo Nuo’s eyes rolled around a few times, and she pointed to the other side of her face, saying to her dad, “Daddy, I want a kiss too. You kiss the other side.”

Sheng Zexi didn’t often kiss his daughter, but seeing her request, he also complied and gave her a kiss.

The little one received her stamp of approval, and her earlier sadness vanished. After getting down from her mother’s arms, she went off to play.

Xu Ai, recalling the scene of the two of them each getting a kiss, felt a bit flushed, even though she knew there was nothing to it. She thought Nuo Nuo had done it on purpose, but she couldn’t help but feel a bit embarrassed.

Not wanting Sheng Zexi to see her like this, she turned and went upstairs.

After resting for a few days, when Xu Ai returned to the company, work became busy, leaving her with no time to pick up her daughter. As a result, for the following week, it was Sheng Zexi who picked up Nuo Nuo.

Not only that, but Nuo Nuo also couldn’t have dinner with her mother. Xu Ai usually came back after they had finished eating, and sometimes Nuo Nuo wouldn’t even see her mother before going to bed.

This situation lasted for about half a month. After enduring for half a month, Nuo Nuo finally couldn’t take it anymore. One morning, she complained to Xu Ai, “Mommy, you haven’t had dinner with me for so many days.”

Her daughter’s little mouth was pouting like gourd, and her sweet, clean face was filled with grievances.

Xu Ai felt quite sorry for not being able to spend time with her daughter lately. She glanced at her schedule and told Nuo Nuo, “The day after tomorrow, Mommy won’t be so busy. I’ll pick you up from kindergarten, okay?”

Nuo Nuo nodded. “Okay.”

But she still felt a bit uneasy. “You have to remember that day, okay? No backtracking, or else you’ll grow a long nose.”

Xu Ai was an adult, so naturally, she wouldn’t be fooled by a little child’s tricks. However, she aimed to be a good mother who kept her promises, so since she had agreed, she made an effort to fulfill it.

“Okay.”

Before heading out, Nuo Nuo asked for a kiss from her mother again.

However, even though Xu Ai didn’t want to break her promise to her daughter, on the day in question, an unexpected situation arose at the studio, and she had no choice but to call Sheng Zexi to pick up the little one.

Nuo Nuo had been quite excited that day, telling her friends that her mommy was coming to pick her up. But when she saw only her dad at the end of the day, her face fell immediately.

Before Sheng Zexi could say anything, Nuo Nuo already had an expression that said she understood completely. She waved her hand and said, “I get it. Mommy must be too busy again to pick me up. You adults are really annoying. You clearly promised, but you can’t follow through. Adults are just so annoying.”

Sheng Zexi: “…”

He couldn’t help but feel that his daughter seemed a bit too mature for her age while in kindergarten.

However, wanting to help Xu Ai explain, he wasn’t quite sure how to do so.

After thinking for a moment, he asked, “How about Daddy buys you a toy as compensation?”

Nuo Nuo shook her head. “But I want to see Mommy now.”

The little girl’s eyes sparkled as she added, “Daddy, can you take me to see Mommy?”

“I want to have dinner with Mommy tonight.”

Sheng Zexi took out his phone. “Okay, Daddy will call Mommy.”

But he was interrupted by his daughter, who looked at him with an expression that said, “How could you be so silly?”

“Daddy, it’s no fun to call Mommy. Let’s sneak up and surprise her instead, okay?”

A surprise?

This was something Sheng Zexi hadn’t considered. The key was that he actually found his daughter’s suggestion quite good.

He quickly nodded in agreement. “Okay.”

“Then let’s go find Mommy.”

At first, Nuo Nuo had been a bit disappointed that her mother hadn’t come to pick her up. But now that she heard they were going to see Mommy, her spirits lifted immediately, and she looked all excited. As they got into the car, Sheng Zexi glanced at his little girl’s happy expression through the rearview mirror, and a smile couldn’t help but appear on his lips.

This wasn’t Sheng Zexi’s first time visiting the company. The staff already knew he was the boss’s husband, so he wasn’t stopped at the entrance. Not only that, but the receptionist also gave Nuo Nuo some candy, praising the little girl: “Nuo Nuo looks even prettier recently. It seems you’ve grown taller too.”

Nuo Nuo beamed at the compliment and generously replied, “Sister Zhen Zhen, you look very pretty today too.”

As she spoke, she unwrapped the candy and popped it into her mouth.

Xu Ai had a client inside. When she heard that Sheng Zexi had brought their child over, she excused herself to the client and stepped out. Upon seeing Nuo Nuo, she smiled and asked, “Why did you two come over?”

And they hadn’t even given her a heads-up?

As soon as Nuo Nuo heard her mother’s question, she immediately began to complain, sounding like a little grievance: “Mommy, you clearly promised me, but you didn’t come to pick me up today. You’ve become even busier than Daddy!”

Xu Ai could only apologize to her daughter. “I’m sorry, baby. Mommy has been very busy with work lately.”

Nuo Nuo waved her hand, acting all grown-up: “Mommy, you work hard to earn money for me. I won’t blame you. You go ahead and busy yourself. We’ll wait here for you. Once you’re done, we can go eat together and then buy toys.”

Beside them, Sheng Zexi raised an eyebrow. When he had mentioned buying toys to the little one, she hadn’t reacted at all. He thought she wasn’t interested, but it turned out she was just waiting here.

Xu Ai felt guilty for not spending time with her daughter and naturally wouldn’t refuse: “Okay, Mommy will be quick. If you get hungry, just let Daddy take you to eat something.”

After saying this, Xu Ai continued to discuss matters with her client. Sheng Zexi stood by the sofa outside, fiddling with his phone as he waited.

As the evening progressed, many people from the studio started to finish work and leave.

There were mostly women in the studio, and as they saw Sheng Zexi standing there, they couldn’t help but glance at him a few more times. Once they walked past, they began to whisper among themselves, “The boss’s husband is so handsome. Where do you find such a rich and handsome man?”

“I heard before that they seemed to be getting a divorce, but why do I feel their relationship is still fine? The boss’s husband came to pick her up. If it were my husband, he wouldn’t even bother waiting here. The boss’s husband doesn’t seem impatient at all.”

Sheng Zexi was used to being the center of attention since childhood, so he didn’t care about others’ discussions or gazes. After replying to a few work messages, he noticed a magazine nearby and casually flipped through it.

Inside, there were model photos of Nuo Nuo. When Nuo Nuo saw them, she pointed to the person in the magazine and told her dad, “Daddy, that’s me! Am I pretty?”

“Pretty.”

After being praised by her father, Nuo Nuo was delighted and picked up another magazine to show him her photos.

“Daddy, this is me.”

“Daddy, this one too! Isn’t it pretty?”