Chapter 42

Seeing that she was willing to accept the gift he had given her, Sheng Zexi gently curled his lips.

The children’s gift was only given once to complete the kindergarten task, but he couldn’t just stop there. After all, pursuing a wife was a long-term affair, and Sheng Zexi had prepared for a long-term plan to woo Xu Ai.

After all, he had been a jerk in the past, so he needed to spend a lot of time courting her, but Sheng Zexi didn’t mind.

Thinking this, he arranged to bid on a highly sought-after sapphire necklace from an overseas auction.

A few days later, the necklace was secured, and Sheng Zexi gifted it to Xu Ai.

When Xu Ai received the gift, she looked at him in confusion, “Why are you sending me another gift?”

Sheng Zexi said, “Nuo Nuo giving you a gift was because of a kindergarten task, but mine is different. I wanted to give you a gift because I wanted to.”

Xu Ai: “…”

She had to admit, when this guy looked at her so seriously, she felt a flutter in her heart. A man who rarely said sweet words sounded even more charming when he spoke like this.

Clearing her throat, she tried to adjust her somewhat dazed expression.

Turning her face away, Xu Ai was reluctant to admit that she was indeed moved.

Nuo Nuo, who couldn’t assemble her Lego, excitedly came looking for her parents. Unexpectedly, she heard her father belittling her gift, and the little girl instantly became angry. She angrily protested to her mother, “Mommy, I didn’t give you a gift because of a kindergarten task! It’s because I really wanted to give you a gift!”

She glared at her father with fury. Her little eyes were turning red from anger, as if she might cry at any moment. “Daddy, don’t talk nonsense! If you say any more, I won’t play with you anymore!”

“No, I don’t want to play with you right now! I’m really, really angry!!”

The little girl seemed genuinely upset, her eyes red and watery, as if she could cry any second.

Sheng Zexi: “…”

He had thought this little one was busy playing with her toys in her room, but unexpectedly, she had come out all of a sudden, looking like she was about to cry.

Sheng Zexi felt a bit apologetic. “Did Daddy do something wrong?”

Nuo Nuo turned her head away. “I don’t want to talk to you anymore. I don’t want to talk to you from now on.”

Having been caught in his own words, Sheng Zexi felt a bit guilty. Xu Ai couldn’t help but feel a bit of schadenfreude, but since the little girl looked very sad, she could only comfort her. “Mommy really likes the gift you gave me. Mommy knows that it was very thoughtfully made by our little treasure.”

Nuo Nuo nodded seriously. “Daddy made the rabbit because I’m still a little kid and can’t do it, but I drew the pictures myself. Mommy, I really worked hard to prepare my gift.”

She said to her father, “Daddy, if you don’t like my gift, you can give it back to me.”

Now that she had mentioned giving it back, it was clear that she was very angry. Sheng Zexi’s mind raced as he thought of ways to appease his daughter.

“I really like your gift. Daddy apologizes for what he just said. Daddy shouldn’t have said those things in front of Mommy.”

Although it was embarrassing for an adult to apologize to a child, since he had indeed made a mistake, he needed to apologize. After all, Nuo Nuo was getting harder to fool.

Xu Ai raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Sheng Zexi actually apologized to Nuo Nuo?

It was rare for parents to apologize to their children when they made mistakes. Xu Ai’s own parents had never apologized to her when she was little. Sheng Zexi was really becoming a better father.

Nuo Nuo felt that the hurt she had suffered was significant, and it wouldn’t be easy to forgive her dad. She said aggrievedly, “Daddy, my gift was made by me, while your gift was bought. Your gift isn’t as good as mine. I put in effort, but yours was just bought without any thought.”

Sheng Zexi dared not retort his daughter’s words and could only admit softly, “Yes, yes, yes, Daddy’s gift isn’t as good as yours.”

Xu Ai felt it was time to express her stance. Otherwise, if Sheng Zexi took their daughter’s words seriously, she would lose her benefits in the future. The child’s gift certainly held sentimental value, but she also found Sheng Zexi’s gift very useful—yes, very practical.

“Mommy loves both Daddy’s and Nuo Nuo’s gifts very much.”

The little one clearly hadn’t calmed down yet, turning her head away from her father and deliberately snorting, as if to tell him she was still angry.

This was something Sheng Zexi had to handle on his own. Xu Ai felt she had done enough by speaking up for him.

When Nuo Nuo was mad, her cheeks puffed out adorably. And she wasn’t completely ignoring him; she would glance back at his reaction and then turn away.

Sheng Zexi found it amusing. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Today, Daddy made a mistake. To make it up to our little treasure, how about I take you to the aquarium this weekend?”

The aquarium? Nuo Nuo felt like she hadn’t been there in ages, and naturally, she was very tempted. However, she thought that she shouldn’t forgive her dad too quickly; otherwise, he might make the same mistake again.

After glancing at her father, Nuo Nuo said, “I won’t forgive you that easily.”

Sheng Zexi could clearly see that Nuo Nuo was tempted but managed to suppress his laughter and asked, “What else do you want Daddy to do?”

“I want to go to KFC, then go to the amusement park this weekend, have milk tea, buy toys, and I want both Daddy and Mommy to come with me!”

Sheng Zexi looked at Xu Ai, his eyes filled with amusement, as if to say, “Look how spoiled our daughter is.”

Sheng Zexi pretended to be troubled. “Can Mommy come too? Daddy isn’t sure, do you want to ask Mommy for her opinion?”

Nuo Nuo found her dad annoying for tossing the question back to her. But she didn’t want to help him out, so she immediately ran away. “I don’t care! You promised me, and you have to keep your promise!”

Then she zipped away.

The little one had somehow turned into a clever little negotiator. There was nothing Sheng Zexi could do but laugh and ask Xu Ai beside him, “Nuo Nuo’s mom, could you help me out this weekend and come with me to take our little treasure to play?”

Actually, Xu Ai wasn’t very keen on letting Nuo Nuo eat junk food, but if she completely forbade it, the child might want it even more.

Facing Sheng Zexi’s request, Xu Ai felt that, considering the gifts, she should agree. However, after agreeing, she felt a bit like she was losing out, so she asked Sheng Zexi, “If I help you, what’s in it for me?”

Sheng Zexi, seizing the opportunity to offer a gift said, “How about I buy you a few more bags?”

“Deal.”