Diva Alpha Meets Her Biological Daughter on a Parenting Variety Show - Chapter 23

“Look, I told you—so many people have a secret crush on you, Teacher Nuo.”

Ning Xueqing’s lips curved into a smile, her bright, shimmering eyes as vivid and moving as a scene from a painting.

Xing Cai’s expression shifted rapidly through a storm of emotions. She shut her mouth tight and retreated behind Ming Nuo, her gaze screaming for help toward her senior.

Ming Nuo was the one who wanted to scream for help. Unfortunately, there was no one to save her.

“Xueqing, you’re here to buy outdoor gear too.” Ming Nuo managed a smile and pushed her selected shopping cart over. “I’ve picked these out. See if there’s anything else we need.”

Ning Xueqing glanced at the cart. “It’s very thorough. Thank you.”

She pointed to the pink knee pads with a Hello Kitty pattern. “Mengmeng really likes these.”

“Really? That’s great.” Ming Nuo secretly let out a sigh of relief. It seemed the previous topic had passed; from the look of things, Ning Xueqing hadn’t overheard her conversation with Xing Cai.

Ning Xueqing asked, “Which girl is the lucky one?”

Ming Nuo: “…”

Xing Cai: “…”

Ning Xueqing shifted her weight, pivoting slightly to face Ming Nuo directly. She pursed her vibrant red lips. “The one who makes you wonder if she likes you?”

Ming Nuo’s scalp went numb. She stood with her back straight as if she were standing at attention in military drills. “Oh, I—we were talking about an anti-fan.”

Ning Xueqing tilted her elegant jawline, her gaze searching. “An anti… fan?”

Ming Nuo rehearsed the words in her head before speaking. “Yes. Spreading rumors online.”

“Rumors about what?”

“Rumors…”

Xing Cai had a sudden flash of inspiration: “Rumoring that Mengmeng belongs to both of you!”

What?!

Ming Nuo whipped her head around to stare at Xing Cai. Her “dear” junior really dared to say anything!

Ning Xueqing paused. She didn’t look at Xing Cai, who was making up nonsense to save the situation; instead, she kept her eyes fixed on Ming Nuo, her gaze deep.

Amidst the shock and confusion, Ming Nuo quickly grabbed onto this “fatal straw” offered by Xing Cai. “Yes, people talk nonsense online without responsibility. Probably a toxic solo fan who was unhappy with me after seeing Miraculous Journey. They posted some extreme comments, but I’ve already reported them.”

The explanation sounded reasonable. Xing Cai and Ming Nuo exchanged a look. Mm, good teamwork.

As they expected, Ning Xueqing nodded understandingly. Then, she said to Ming Nuo, “Mengmeng is the daughter of you and me.”

A shiver raced up Ming Nuo’s spine.

Ning Xueqing asked, “Does anyone actually believe that?”

Ming Nuo’s brain hadn’t quite processed it yet. Ning Xueqing’s previous sentence felt like it had pulled her into an unbelievable dream.

Knowing her senior’s honest personality was no match for a veteran like Ning Xueqing, Xing Cai stepped in to help: “There’s all sorts of talk online. There are people with normal intelligence, and then there are idiots who believe anything. Sigh, Teacher Ning, you’re a senior in this industry; you’ve seen more of these anti-fan tactics than we have, right?”

Ning Xueqing gave a shallow, enchanting smile and shot a meaningful look at Xing Cai. It was a very charming glance, yet for some reason, it made Xing Cai feel strange.

Ning Xueqing replied, “True. And the little idiots always think they’re very clever.”

Xing Cai nodded in total agreement. “Exactly, exactly. Teacher Ning, you’re so right.”

Ning Xueqing smiled slightly and tucked the receipt she had been holding into her handbag. Then, she pulled an exquisite paper box from her tote bag.

The box was a drawer style. Pushing it open revealed a sleek, high-tech fitness tracker. It was the same model Ning Xueqing was wearing on her slender wrist, with one tiny difference: Ning Xueqing’s had a rose-shaped charm, while the one in the box had a star charm.

Ning Xueqing held the box out to Ming Nuo. Lowering her watery, peach-blossom eyes, she murmured, “Then… would it be inconvenient for me to wear a ‘couple’s version’ with you?”

Her voice was soft and melodic, like a white kitten stretching lazily on a cloud. Ming Nuo’s ears felt tingly; looking at Ning Xueqing’s downcast gaze, she felt a surge of tenderness and didn’t know what to say for a moment.

“This is…?” Ming Nuo took the box first.

“A family health tracker,” Ning Xueqing reached into the box with both hands, her fingertips pressing against the sides of the band as she slowly pulled it out. “One for you, one for Mengmeng, and one for me. I was thinking that when the cameras are filming, if we’re all wearing them, the audience across the country will see and know we’re the best temporary family.”

Ming Nuo looked at her, then at the tracker. Her brain had only one thought: Agree to it. Put it on.

“How could it be inconvenient? I’m Mengmeng’s Trainee Mammy after all,” Ming Nuo said, unable to suppress the upward curve of her lips.

Standing ignored to the side, Xing Cai watched with her jaw dropped. Xing Cai, who only knew how to stare blankly in idol dramas, was now utterly impressed by Ning Xueqing. Brilliant. As expected of a Best Actress.

Xing Cai’s eyes suddenly twitched. Ning Xueqing cast a seemingly casual glance her way, and as their eyes met, the corners of Ning Xueqing’s eyes lifted slightly.

“…” Xing Cai stood obediently and silently picked up a product, pretending to read the instructions. She had a premonition: her senior was definitely a goner.

Ning Xueqing unclasped the band and moved closer to Ming Nuo. Ming Nuo extended her hand. Ning Xueqing adjusted the size and carefully fastened it onto Ming Nuo’s wrist.

As her fingertips slowly left Ming Nuo’s wrist, Ning Xueqing flicked her index finger, catching the star charm beneath the band. She raised her own left wrist and pressed a button on the back of the rose charm.

Ming Nuo looked down. The golden star emitted a light, rotating slowly in the air and twinkling.

Ning Xueqing tucked her hands behind her back and stood on her tiptoes, leaning in. “The sales assistant said that when the star flashes once, it means I’m thinking of you.”

Caught off guard, Ming Nuo looked into her eyes and became lost in the shimmering light within them.

Her heels hit the floor as Ning Xueqing smiled and pulled back slightly, explaining, “The assistant put it so romantically. I think she just meant that when the charm lights up, it means the person wearing the tracker is calling their paired partner.”

She showed Ming Nuo the button behind the charm. “Just press here. Want to try?”

“Mm, I see it.” Ming Nuo did as told, pressing the dot on the back of the little star. The rose charm on Ning Xueqing’s wrist lit up and flickered slightly.

Ning Xueqing asked, “Is the size okay?”

Ming Nuo touched the band affectionately. “It’s perfect. And it’s adjustable.”

“Yes. Then, take the gift box too; it has the charger and accessories inside.”

“Got it.”

Ning Xueqing’s assistant walked over with some bags. “Sister Qing, the shipping is all arranged. Are we heading back now?”

Ning Xueqing waved her over. “Give me the set with the kitten pattern.”

The assistant handed her a bag. “This happens to be the one we didn’t check in.”

Ning Xueqing brought a set of children’s picnic gear over to Xing Cai. “A gift for Nora. The pattern is her favorite kitten.”

“Thank you, Teacher Ning.” Xing Cai looked surprised and quickly accepted it, giving a gift for Mengmeng in return.

“I’m going home for lunch now. You two carry on,” Ning Xueqing said, waving goodbye.

As she passed by Ming Nuo, Ning Xueqing leaned in slightly, her lips moving slowly: “If an anti-fan says anything questionable again, you can just come and ask me directly.”

Ming Nuo’s heart hammered like a drum; her throat felt dry. “Okay.”

Ning Xueqing jiggled the rose charm. “Before the production team comes to get us, I’ll bring Mengmeng to find you first.”

Ming Nuo saw her to the elevator. “Okay. Let’s stay in touch.”

Watching the elevator doors close and the glass car rise until Ning Xueqing was out of sight, Ming Nuo opened the tracker box and flipped through the manual.

Smart Family Health & Sports Tracker

Treasured Commemorative Edition

Yours is the Star Tracker.

After putting it on, long-press the green button to activate; it displays your health metrics in real-time.

View the health metrics of your partner and child on the family interface.

Lightly touch the dot on the back of the star charm to remotely light up the rose charm on the Rose Tracker.

That is your rose, unlike the fox’s taming.

[You are the stars; the rose blooms on your planet.]

Ming Nuo hadn’t read the original The Little Prince, but she knew the story of the rose and the fox. She turned her wrist over; the more she looked at the star, the happier she felt.

Xing Cai, standing nearby, also saw it. “Tsk, tsk, tsk.”

Ming Nuo cleared her throat. “These sports products nowadays… the designs are so flashy.”

Xing Cai mimicked her in a high-pitched voice: “Fla~shy~”

In her view, someone was secretly over the moon.

Ming Nuo tucked the manual away and glanced at her. “Is your throat suddenly uncomfortable?”

Xing Cai crossed her arms and shook her head. “Sigh!”

Ming Nuo didn’t understand what she meant. “What is it?”

Xing Cai called the nanny over to push the cart to checkout. She turned back to Ming Nuo and said, “I just remembered: my wife told me not to meddle in other people’s relationships. Good luck, Nuo Nuo Mammy.”

“Right back at you, Nora’s Mama.”

Ming Nuo bid farewell to Xing Cai and handled the shipping with the assistant.

Ming Nuo felt that Ning Xueqing had heard her conversation with Xing Cai. She also felt that Ning Xueqing really did like her a little.

As for why Ning Xueqing hadn’t consulted her about specifying the guest in advance, Ming Nuo didn’t think as cynically as Xing Cai. Firstly, according to Xing Cai’s relative, the rule allowed single parents to specify a guest but kept that part confidential—Ning Xueqing’s approach was actually following the rules, whereas Chi Shu contacting Ji Lang beforehand was technically a violation.

Secondly… Ning Xueqing had chosen her.

If she wanted to provide a “complete family guarantee” for the child, why couldn’t that also involve romantic feelings? Furthermore, when Ning Xueqing was teaching Mengmeng, she had said: It’s not because someone is your “Mammy” that they love you; the person who loves you is the one qualified to be your Mammy.

Ning Xueqing was the one who cared most about emotional connection.

Ming Nuo walked along, unable to resist checking every few minutes to see if the star on the tracker was flashing. It didn’t flash during the day, nor at night.

Ming Nuo’s spirit suddenly deflated. She poked the star gloomily. “She said if it flashes once, it means she’s thinking of me.”

She isn’t thinking of me at all. Sister is a liar.

“I’m sorry, Mommy. I wanted to give the rose flower a bath; it’s so pretty.”

In the bathroom of the children’s room, decorated like a mermaid’s palace, Mengmeng fished the tracker out of the shell-shaped bathtub, covered in foam.

“It’s okay, but you can’t play with the tracker like that.”

Ning Xueqing wiped the tracker dry. The body itself was waterproof and worked fine once turned on, but the rose charm’s waterproofing wasn’t as good as the body’s. It could handle a shower but not being submerged for a long time. Now that Mengmeng had scrubbed the charm with detergent and soaked it in water for over an hour, the internal light and remote-sensing device had failed.

This kind of man-made damage wasn’t covered by the warranty; she would have to buy a new one and set up the pairing again.

Ning Xueqing opened her phone, hesitating whether to tell Ming Nuo now or wait until she was re-pairing it. Her Moments feed refreshed; at the top was Ming Nuo’s profile picture.

Ning Xueqing clicked on it. Ming Nuo had posted a photo of a starless night sky.

The caption: It’s not lighting up.

Ning Xueqing couldn’t help but laugh. She immediately dialed the number.

“Good evening, Teacher Nuo. Mengmeng says she misses you.”