Diva Alpha Meets Her Biological Daughter on a Parenting Variety Show - Chapter 19

Ning Xueqing’s gaze was fixed on the concert tickets in Ming Nuo’s hand.

Ming Nuo hurriedly returned the collection binder to its place, closed the glass door of the bookcase, and apologized to Ning Xueqing: “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have touched your private belongings.”

Taking advantage of the moment Ming Nuo turned away, Ning Xueqing touched her slightly flushed cheek. “It’s alright. Don’t be so formal. This room was prepared for you; use whatever you like. Just let me know if you need anything.”

“Auntie Ning was very thoughtful; everything is ready, nothing is missing.”

“We rarely have guests at home. My mother talks a lot and loves dragging young people into long conversations. If you don’t want to listen to her nag, just say you have work or want to rest, and she won’t trap you anymore.”

Ming Nuo felt that Ning Zhixuan was very kind. In less than a day of meeting, the elder had shown her more concern than Ming Yan had in months. To put it simply, while a child is out struggling, Ming Yan is the type of parent who cares about how high the child flies, but Ning Zhixuan is the mother who cares about how tired the child gets.

Ning Zhixuan was warm and considerate, and Ming Nuo felt a genuine closeness to her. “I like Auntie Ning very much, and I enjoy listening to her talk.”

“Having you visit has made my mother’s day.”

Both of them laughed. The room fell silent again as they stood at a distance, the atmosphere becoming slightly subtle.

Ming Nuo suppressed the bold thoughts rising in her heart, yet she wasn’t willing to completely abandon her guess. She glanced at the bookcase filled with her albums and asked as if casually: “Is Auntie really a fan of mine?”

She wasn’t sure if these albums and concert tickets were collected by Ning Xueqing; to avoid being presumptuous, she tested the waters with a seemingly minor question.

“Hmm?” Ning Xueqing’s eyelashes fluttered slightly.

Soon, she caught Ming Nuo’s underlying meaning. She walked to the bookcase and pressed her palm against the glass. “My mother says you’re the best among the new generation of singers and that your style is excellent. Oh, and she follows your news, too. When you promised to visit that terminally ill fan at the Australian concert, my mother was moved to tears.”

“She’s always praising you.”

“Praising your drive, your sense of responsibility… basically, she says you’re good at this and good at that.”

Ning Xueqing turned to Ming Nuo. “Her two-word summary for you: Excellent.”

Hearing such high praise, Ming Nuo lowered her head humbly. Though her lips curled up, she felt a pang of disappointment. It seemed these things really were collected by Ning Zhixuan, not Ning Xueqing.

So, was Ning Xueqing’s closeness and care also because of Ning Zhixuan’s high opinion of her?

Sigh…

But at the very least, Ning Xueqing had personally attended the Australian concert.

Ming Nuo, oh Ming Nuo, she told herself, you shouldn’t be greedy. You’ve already received Sister Xueqing’s care, gained Auntie Ning’s favor, been invited to stay at the Ning home, and won little Mengmeng’s affection. How can you still have such unrealistic hopes?

Things were already very good as they were.

Ming Nuo quickly adjusted her mood and smiled. “Auntie Ning praises me too much. She’s actually the amazing one for raising such a truly outstanding daughter.”

Ning Xueqing looked surprised and let out a soft “tsk,” playfully poking Ming Nuo’s shoulder. “A double compliment. Alright, let’s end the mutual business flattery here for today.”

Ming Nuo looked back at the bookcase with a smile. She wondered if Ning Xueqing had ever actually opened and listened to the albums collected by Auntie Ning.

The twilight faded as the evening lights flickered on. Together, Ning Xueqing and Ming Nuo read a story to Mengmeng and coaxed her to sleep.

Ning Zhixuan was in the living room watching TV. Ning Xueqing went downstairs to remind her to take her cardiovascular medicine. Ming Nuo said goodnight to them and went into the guest room.

Ning Xueqing took the medicine from the small fridge. “I didn’t see you take it tonight, Mom. Don’t forget.”

Ning Zhixuan, wearing reading glasses and holding the remote, said: “I already took it. I took it while you two were upstairs chatting happily.”

She watched the TV with a wide smile; a 10 PM family sitcom was airing. Ning Xueqing let out a long sigh and stepped in front of her, blocking the screen.

“Hey, it’s getting to a critical plot point, don’t block me.”

“Don’t watch yet.” Ning Xueqing pulled the remote from her hand. “Mom, you were the one who put those albums in the guest room.”

Ning Zhixuan looked up. “Yes, I moved them one by one from your study to the guest room and specifically placed them in the most prominent glass cabinet.”

Ning Xueqing was silent for a moment before asking: “Why did you do that?”

Ning Zhixuan looked at her daughter with a “disappointed by her lack of initiative” expression. “Then ask yourself why you dare to think but don’t dare to act?”

“I… what do I dare to think but not act on?”

Ning Zhixuan sighed and leaned back into the sofa. “Qingqing, I wonder if my failed relationship and your other mother’s terrible character left a shadow on you, causing you to always feel resistant toward Alphas?”

Ning Xueqing started to argue, but the words died in her mouth. She wasn’t good at lying, nor did she like to. Her mother knew her best; nothing could be hidden from her—not hidden feelings, not a wavering mindset, and certainly not uncontrollable psychological trauma.

Ning Zhixuan pointed a finger. “I’m right, aren’t I?”

She pulled her daughter down to sit beside her, her voice softening. “Your other mother was a terrible woman. I was too foolish and impulsive back then, tricked by her. I failed to give you a safe and happy childhood, and that is my fault. But Qingqing, you must understand—that woman was terrible because she was a hypocritical and snobbish person, not because she was an Alpha.”

“There are bad people among Alphas, Betas, and Omegas. Correspondingly, there are excellent and kind people in all of them, too.”

“If you’ve been observing Ming Nuo, it’s been at least five years since I first noticed you had feelings. I met her today, and I think she’s wonderful. At first, I was worried she might have prejudices against us, and I didn’t want to hold her back, so I told you to send her home. What did you say then? You insisted on bringing her home. And after bringing her back? You aren’t even as enthusiastic toward her as Mengmeng is.”

Ning Xueqing covered her burning face. “…”

Ning Zhixuan pulled her hands away. “Did you see at dinner today? Ming Nuo gave the soup to Mengmeng first. She is truly good to Mengmeng! The internet says she’s your fan, but I wasn’t even confident she would be interested in my daughter. Ning Xueqing, listen to me: if you have feelings, put in the effort to pursue her. Do you hear me?”

“Oh, Mom, it’s not what you think—”

“I won’t listen to your excuses. As soon as you act spoiled, I know you’re trying to escape. If you stay this afraid of making mistakes or getting hurt, you’ll likely regret it for the rest of your life. Think about it.”

Ning Zhixuan waved her away, refusing to let her come closer, and took her phone to the first-floor elder’s room. “I’m going to sleep. I’m wearing earplugs tonight; even if the sky falls, I won’t come out to look. It’ll be perfectly quiet.”

Ning Xueqing didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Mom, what are you even saying?”

Ms. Ning Zhixuan elegantly shut the door, decisively locking her daughter out.

Ning Xueqing stood outside for a moment, reflecting deeply on her mother’s words. After a while, she looked upstairs with a blank expression, sat down on the sofa, and absentmindedly flipped through TV channels.

The 10 PM dramas had finished. As midnight approached, many stations were re-running old shows or airing low-rating programs. Ning Xueqing randomly stopped on a nature documentary, staring blankly at the forests and animals on screen.

Perhaps because her mother had mentioned her other parent and her childhood, dark memories began to surface uncontrollably.

Her other mother was an exceptionally attractive Alpha, highly educated with an impressive resume. Ning Zhixuan had said she was very romantic when young; her only flaw was her poverty and lack of family resources.

It was this Alpha—viewed as excellent and diligent by the public—who successfully married Ning Zhixuan, the only daughter of a scholarly family. After inheriting the Ning family property, she began courting a wealthier socialite Omega while Ning Zhixuan was pregnant. She secretly transferred the Ning family assets and, regardless of her wife’s weak health or her young daughter, heartlessly kicked them out with nothing.

Ning Xueqing still remembered her mother’s cruel back as a group of strangers came to seize their house. She was so small then, her steps unsteady as she ran, crying “Mommy, Mommy.”

That woman had looked at her like one looks at a fly and told the nanny to take her away, saying: “I’ve divorced your mother. My current girlfriend doesn’t like you; don’t get in my way. It was your mother who insisted on giving birth to you; if you want to hate someone, hate her.”

The mere shadow of that woman in her mind caused Ning Xueqing a headache and heart palpitations.

Then one day, Ning Xueqing saw the mother who had given her nothing but a cold shoulder holding a girl younger than her, tenderly feeding her milk while accompanied by an Omega auntie who was younger and prettier than her own mother. In that moment, Ning Xueqing felt an unprecedented rage and confusion.

Why did Mommy leave Mother but keep another auntie? Why didn’t Mommy love her, but could love another child?

So when Ning Xueqing had her own child, she told Mengmeng this:

—It’s not because someone is your “Mommy” that they love you. It’s because someone loves you that they are qualified to be your Mommy.

Ning Xueqing closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. She heard soft footsteps on the stairs. She snapped back to reality and looked up to see the handsome Alpha with flowing black hair, wearing loose cotton-linen short sleeves, standing halfway down the stairs.

Ning Xueqing caught a faint, sweet cherry scent. She leaned her head back against the sofa cushion and lazily narrowed her eyes. “Not asleep yet?”

Ming Nuo gripped the handrail. “I… I saw your room was empty and wanted to see if you or Auntie Ning needed any help…”

Ning Xueqing smiled and shook her head. The documentary on TV had ended, and commercials were playing. She picked up the remote to change the channel. Suddenly, an endless sea of green bamboo appeared on the screen. The camera zoomed in slowly, showing a dusk at the end of spring/start of summer, at a small shop next to a rural primary school.

The sun had not yet set, and the summer night had not yet arrived. A vintage light bulb flickered weakly outside the concrete house. Behind a half-drawn curtain, snacks and stationery were scattered all over the floor. Two pale legs rested on a counter, and a deep blue skirt was pulled up high, bunched messily around a woman’s waist.

The TV volume was very low, but in the quiet living room, the gasping breaths of the two women in the film were clearly audible. The camera panned up past the messy clothes, revealing Ning Xueqing’s moist eyes and red lips. A hand cupped her jaw, and further up was Ming Nuo’s youthful face. Ming Nuo lowered her head, staring at her with eyes full of desire for a moment before pulling her head close and kissing her deeply.

“Listening to the Waves in the Bamboo Sea.”

Ning Xueqing watched the film playing on the on-demand channel. It was the one she had starred in six years ago. This kiss scene had used camera angles to fake it.

Ming Nuo had gone to the set to teach her the theme song. The producer was unhappy with the actor playing the protagonist’s first love and couldn’t find a suitable replacement. They happened to see Ming Nuo watching Ning Xueqing act from the sidelines and were immediately struck by the immersion in Ming Nuo’s gaze. They cast her on the spot for this minor role with only a few scenes.

Listening to the Waves was a story about the “Down to the Countryside Movement” of the last century—the memories of a highly educated female teacher working in a primary school in a mountain village. Ning Xueqing played the lead, Teacher Xue, and Ming Nuo played Ye Zi, a young woman who had dropped out of school due to poverty and ran the village shop to support her family.

In the story, Teacher Xue is drawn to Ye Zi’s sincerity. In the strange and dangerous mountains, she treats her as a spiritual solace, falling for her step by step until they taste the forbidden fruit on a sweltering evening.

This was the very scene playing on TV. Ye Zi stood behind the counter, sweat drenching her flushed skin. Teacher Xue lay on the counter, reaching her arms out to wrap around her neck.

Teacher Xue asked: “When my teaching term ends and I go back to the city, will you come with me?”

Ye Zi gave a cynical laugh: “If I leave, what happens to my parents and siblings? Who will support them?”

Teacher Xue looked at her for a while, sat up as her clothes slipped down, and the light in her eyes dimmed. She said: “You should have said you loved me before; then you’d come with me.”

Ye Zi tilted her head back, lit a cigarette, and blew a puff of smoke. “Teacher Xue, I’m staying here to mind the shop, but my heart goes with you to the ends of the earth.”

The film, naturally, ended in tragedy.

In the living room, the two who had acted out the scene watched their intoxicated performance from six years ago in silence. The TV continued; a heavy rain began in the bamboo forest. Teacher Xue and Ye Zi shoved and pulled at each other in an argument. Rainwater flowed down the stone steps. Ye Zi suddenly grabbed Teacher Xue by the waist and, doused in the downpour, kissed her neck and ears.

In the room, a breathing sound grew heavy. Ning Xueqing heard it clearly—it wasn’t from the TV, but from the real Ming Nuo.

The same season, the same people; the only difference was that six years had passed.

Ning Xueqing’s ears grew hot. She abruptly pressed the remote to turn off the TV. The light source vanished, leaving the living room in the dim glow of the ambient light strips.

There was a plot point in this play that Ning Xueqing had never understood.

She stood up gently and walked up the stairs, her expression becoming as innocent and bewildered as Teacher Xue’s in the film. She looked up and wrapped her arms around Ming Nuo’s neck: “You should have said you loved me… will you come with me?”

The Alpha’s face was lost in the shadows, away from the light. Ning Xueqing felt her pheromones shift from a sweet cherry scent into the intoxicating aroma of wine.

“I have to take it first.” Ming Nuo gripped her waist forcefully and lowered her head.