Chapter 45

After the aquarium trip, Nuo Nuo returned to kindergarten and discussed with her classmates whether mermaids really existed. Aside from a few who believed mermaids didn’t exist, most of her friends thought that mermaids truly existed in the world.

When she returned home in the evening, Nuo Nuo told her mom about the results of their discussion.

Xu Ai didn’t expect that several days later, the little one was still thinking about this. She felt that it was a good thing for children to have some childlike innocence at this age. Eventually, they would naturally realize that there are no mermaids in the world, so she agreed with her daughter: “Yes, yes, there are mermaids in this world.”

After receiving her mom’s affirmation, Nuo Nuo was very happy. However, her mom’s tone was too perfunctory, which made Nuo Nuo a little dissatisfied. So she seriously told her mom, “Mommy, I’m telling you, it’s not just in fairy tales that there are mermaids. My good friends told me that books say there are really mermaids in this world. It’s just that no one has seen a live mermaid.”

Xu Ai was quite surprised to hear Nuo Nuo’s words. Their little girl actually had some scientific knowledge.

Time flew by, and this semester was coming to an end. Before the kindergarten break, the children would have a cultural performance.

Nuo Nuo’s class would have a big chorus and a dance.

Xu Ai saw the teacher mention the cultural performance in the parent group, so she thought Nuo Nuo would be dancing. But when she asked that evening, she was surprised to hear the little girl say, “Mommy, my role isn’t to dance. I’m going to be a sunflower on stage.”

Xu Ai, who was looking forward to seeing her daughter dance, was speechless: “…”

She was puzzled: “Why aren’t you dancing with the other kids?”

“Because my deskmate chose to be a flower, and I thought we should do it together. So I chose to be a flower too. Plus, I don’t want to dance. I think dancing is a bit too tiring.”

At first, the teacher was worried that there wouldn’t be any kids willing to play background flowers, but unexpectedly, Nuo Nuo and her deskmate volunteered, so the teacher happily assigned them the role of flowers.

Xu Ai could understand that the little one wanted to perform as a little flower on stage, but she couldn’t understand why Nuo Nuo, being so young, had such a laid-back attitude. So she went to Sheng Zexi to discuss their daughter’s issue.

“Nuo Nuo is so young, and she thinks dancing is tiring. Doesn’t that mean our little girl is… lacking ambition?”

Sheng Zexi was busy in his study when Xu Ai suddenly came to find him. He thought it was something important, but it turned out to be about Nuo Nuo’s too-lackadaisical attitude.

In kindergarten, other kids eagerly participated, while their little girl thought dancing was tiring. This made Xu Ai feel a bit worried about her daughter.

Sheng Zexi was quite easygoing about it. “It’s okay. Nuo Nuo just doesn’t want to dance. If she doesn’t like dancing, she can learn other hobbies. There’s no rule saying she must dance.”

Xu Ai was not worried about the dancing itself but rather believed that children should have a positive and proactive attitude towards life. However, Sheng Zexi might not understand her perspective.

So Xu Ai decided to discuss the issue of her daughter’s laziness with Nuo Nuo.

When Nuo Nuo heard her mom’s words, she thought for a moment and said, “Mommy, if you think I’m too lazy, you can take me out to play, and you’ll see a not-lazy version of me.”

After going out, the not-lazy Nuo Nuo—

Xu Ai thought about it and decided it was better to let the child be lazy. At least it meant she wasn’t overexerting herself.

Time flew by, and soon it was the day of Nuo Nuo’s kindergarten performance. After this performance, the little one would begin her wonderful winter vacation.

Since this was the first time the child would perform on stage, even though she would only be a little flower, Xu Ai felt that both she and Sheng Zexi should be there to encourage their child. So, that day, they both pushed aside their work and went to the kindergarten together.

When they arrived, they saw Nuo Nuo already dressed in her performance costume, and she immediately ran over joyfully when she saw them.

The parents of her classmates noticed that Nuo Nuo’s outfit was different and initiated a conversation with Xu Ai, asking, “Why is Nuo Nuo’s costume different? What is she performing?”

Nuo Nuo immediately smiled and told the classmate’s mother, “I’m going to be a little flower.”

“A dancing flower?”

Nuo Nuo didn’t mind telling others that she was just a background flower: “No, I’m a flower that doesn’t move.”

The parent was taken aback for a moment before laughing, “Your Nuo Nuo is so pretty. It’s a shame she’s not dancing.”

Xu Ai forced a smile and replied, “Every role needs someone to play it well. There will be plenty of opportunities to dance on stage in the future, so there’s no need to rush.”

Xu Ai felt like she was just trying to save face.

The classmate’s parents agreed with her and said, “Yes, yes, yes.”

While Xu Ai was smiling and chatting with the parents, her smile vanished as soon as she turned around.

However, when the kids started performing, she made an effort to find her daughter on stage.

Initially, she thought her child wouldn’t do anything, but it turned out that even the background flowers had to perform a little bit. Xu Ai even heard parents behind her praising, “The little flowers at the back did quite well. They looked adorable.”

After arranging for Sheng Zexi to take photos of the little one, Xu Ai started watching her daughter’s performance seriously. Before she realized it, she was captivated and thought their performance time was too short.

After the performance, Nuo Nuo returned, looking delighted as a little flower. With a radiant smile, she asked her parents, “Mommy, Daddy, did I do well?”

Initially thinking her daughter wouldn’t have many chances to shine, Xu Ai felt pretty good at this moment and gave her a big thumbs up: “You performed wonderfully! Mommy wants to praise you!”

Feeling shy after getting praised by her mom, Nuo Nuo said, “Mommy, you don’t have to praise me. You can reward me instead.”

“A reward?”

Xu Ai certainly thought that was fine and asked, “What reward do you want?”

“I want to watch a movie.”

Xu Ai agreed, and that evening, she and Sheng Zexi took their daughter to the movies.

After coming out of the cinema, the little one had a big smile on her face, looking especially happy.

Seeing a flower vendor nearby, Sheng Zexi decided to buy a bouquet.

Xu Ai noticed his action but didn’t think it was for her until Sheng Zexi handed the flowers to her.

Xu Ai said, “Aren’t these flowers for your daughter?”

Sheng Zexi replied, “If I buy her flowers, I might as well get her a toy. Why give her flowers?”

Nuo Nuo felt her dad’s reasoning was flawed: “Daddy, I also need flowers, okay?”

Sheng Zexi replied, “Then I will buy you flowers and not toys?”

Upon hearing her dad’s words, Nuo Nuo immediately changed her mind: “Forget it, forget it! Daddy, you should just buy me toys. I like toys more. You should buy flowers for Mommy.”

Then Nuo Nuo asked her dad to buy her toys. However, after buying the toys, she discovered that Mommy not only had flowers but also other gifts.

The little one was dissatisfied: “Daddy, that’s not fair! Why does Mommy get flowers and gifts?”

Sheng Zexi explained, “Because Mommy is Mommy.”

Nuo Nuo pouted: “I also want someone to give me flowers.”

Realizing something was off, Sheng Zexi promptly bought her flowers.

It was better for him to give flowers to his daughter than for some other boy to do it.

What seemed like an ordinary occurrence turned out to be quite sweet.

That night, watching the father and daughter bicker, Xu Ai felt a warm sweetness and hoped such days could last a little longer.