Diva Alpha Meets Her Biological Daughter on a Parenting Variety Show - Chapter 24

Ming Nuo was on a voice call, lying on a lounge chair on her rooftop terrace.

She had contacted a design team to renovate the terrace and convert it into a children’s play area, planning to invite Mengmeng over to play in a while.

Ming Nuo gazed up at the pitch-black night sky and spoke into her phone: “Mengmeng misses me? I miss baby Mengmeng too. Can I see her?”

Was it only Mengmeng who missed her?

Mengmeng’s “missing her” was incredibly timely; just as she had posted a Moments update about the star not lighting up, the little girl’s affection arrived via phone call.

But Ming Nuo remembered that Mengmeng didn’t have a WeChat account; only Mengmeng’s mother could see a post restricted to a specific group of one.

Ming Nuo leaned back, pulling out her long hair that was pressed under the cushion to drape it over one shoulder. she curled her legs to the side, lying in a more comfortable position.

Well, she would just assume that both Mengmeng’s mother and Mengmeng missed her.

She watched the WeChat audio interface as Ning Xueqing switched the call to video. Ming Nuo’s lips curled up instinctively. She reached for the remote on top of the cooler and pressed a button; a string of newly installed star lights on the terrace began to twinkle.

“Nuo Nuo Mammy! Wow, so many little stars!”

Ming Nuo propped up the camera. Mengmeng rushed forward excitedly, looking as if she were about to jump out of the screen.

“Mengmeng, what are you doing?”

Mengmeng was wearing a white tutu, smiling as she held up a handful of toys. “I was just giving my good friends a bath.”

Ming Nuo sat up, looking closely at the toys. “Wow, really! They’ve become so clean.”

Mengmeng put the toys back into the basket, lowered her head, and pouted her little lips. “But I made a mistake just now. I washed Mommy’s little rose until it broke. Mommy said the bracelet was waterproof and I could take it in the bath, but I didn’t know the little rose couldn’t soak in the tub.”

Only then did Ming Nuo realize that the star bracelet didn’t light up not because Ning Xueqing wasn’t thinking of her, but because Mengmeng had accidentally broken the rose bracelet while washing it.

Ming Nuo comforted the child, though she was also worried that their bracelets wouldn’t be able to interact anymore. “It can still be fixed, right?”

The image on the screen wobbled as Mengmeng turned around holding the phone. A milky call came through the speaker: “Mommy, Mommy!”

Ming Nuo watched the screen patiently. Soon, the camera focused on a pair of slender ankles, then flipped upward, passing a beige skirt. Ning Xueqing picked up the phone, revealing her bare, fresh face.

“Mommy, can the little rose be fixed?”

Ning Xueqing was organizing picture books and craft sets in the children’s room. She set a book down, sat on the cartoon sofa, and pulled her daughter into her lap so they both entered the frame.

“Yes, it can. Mommy’s little rose and Nuo Nuo Mammy’s little star have cast spells on each other. If Nuo Nuo Mammy is free tomorrow, we’ll go together to make the little rose better again.”

Ning Xueqing’s eyes curved toward the camera. Ming Nuo responded with a smile, the romantic star lights flickering all around her.

Ning Xueqing saw the shimmering starlight and spoke: “It lit up.”

Ming Nuo’s eyes were filled with Ning Xueqing’s image. “It lit up.”

Because you came, my planet lit up.

On the screen, Ning Xueqing looked down at the bracelet on her wrist. The family mode displayed the heart rate of “Your Partner.” That tiny heart-shaped arrow was fluctuating faster.

Longing had a physical form, too, wrapped around both their wrists.

Ning Xueqing gave a tender smile, looked up at Ming Nuo, and parted her lips slightly.

“I’m free tomorrow,” Ming Nuo answered immediately. Then she added, “I’m free anytime.”

Ning Xueqing put her arm around Mengmeng, hiding her face behind the girl and showing only her two bright, peach-blossom eyes. She laughed. “Then wake me up tomorrow morning.”

Ming Nuo: “Sure. What time?”

“What time do you want to sleep until?”

“I’m fine whenever.”

She was fine now, but the mall was closed. The shops on Tiannanxing Road all opened at ten. Ming Nuo wondered: Meet at nine? But she wanted to be earlier, to have breakfast with the two of them.

Ning Xueqing stroked Mengmeng’s bangs and said to the camera: “My wake-up ringtone is your song.”

Under the shimmering starlight, Ming Nuo sat surrounded by a cluster of brilliance, a warm current slowly flowing through her heart.

“Which one?”

“‘Starting to Miss You at 7:00 AM.’ Come and wake me at seven, okay?”

“Okay.”

Ming Nuo propped up her chin, feeling the refreshing night breeze on the terrace.

Tomorrow morning at seven—will it be me or my song that reaches your side first?

The day before the second session of Miraculous Journey began filming, Ming Nuo and Ning Xueqing reset the sports bracelets and integrated their luggage, keeping it all at the Ning house. Because the single-parent family consisted of Ning Xueqing and Mengmeng, the tour bus went directly to the Ning residence to pick up the guests.

“I didn’t expect you to actually stand under my window and sing. When I heard it, I thought my alarm was going off, but when I checked the time, it was 6:50—ten minutes before the alarm. And your voice sounds much better than an electronic recording.”

“It’s a good thing Auntie Ning helped me open your bedroom window, otherwise the sound wouldn’t have gotten in.”

“Since when did you team up with my mom?”

“During my first visit, while you were helping Mengmeng find her storybooks. I was in the living room with Auntie, and she gave me her WeChat code, telling me to scan it over and over.”

Ning Xueqing laughed until she leaned against the car window, reaching up to brush her bangs. “Really? I can’t imagine my mom doing that. She sounds like those people at the square promoting gym memberships and swimming lessons.”

“Auntie Ning stopped me so suddenly, I was actually stunned.” Ming Nuo chatted while holding a drawing board, letting Mengmeng use a small spatula to create a textured painting on the canvas.

“My mom can be quite eccentric sometimes, popping up with weird ideas.”

“An artist’s mind is full of wild imagination.”

They talked and laughed along the way. The staff on the bus were astonished—they had only recorded one session; how did their relationship become this close?

The destination for the second session was quite far, outside the vicinity of Shenjiang City. The bus first gathered all the guests at Shenjiang Airport for a flight to the southwest region. Upon landing, a Miraculous Journey bus picked them up, and after a three-hour drive, they arrived at a scenic, evergreen nature reserve—Mount Guan-yun.

The four families arrived at the foot of the mountain as dusk approached. Under the production team’s arrangement, they checked into a guesthouse in an ancient town at the base of the mountain to rest for the night.

The next morning, the mountain climb began.

The eight adults and four children were all geared up in hiking equipment. The moms and mammies carried tents and cooking utensils, while the children carried their own small water bottles and backpacks.

One person in the group stood out particularly.

Ming Nuo saw the exaggeratedly large backpack behind Chi Shu’s head and asked her: “Chi Shu, is that an extra-large?”

Even if they weren’t reaching the summit in one day, carrying that while climbing for several days would be a struggle even for an Alpha with average stamina. Ming Nuo had bought a medium-sized tent, which was very lightweight.

Chi Shu smiled, her handsome face full of helplessness: “This is my life.” She had a sense of calm “letting herself go.”

Little Pea’s hiking outfit had a frilled edge that looked like a skirt when she moved—trendy and novel. After showing it off to the other kids, she ran over to show the aunties, looking up at Ming Nuo. “Auntie Ming, I’m a little princess. A princess has to stay in the biggest tent.”

Ming Nuo suppressed a smile and glanced at the sighing Chi Shu, then leaned down to Little Pea. “Okay, a little princess stays in a big tent.”

Ming Nuo reminded Chi Shu: “Don’t worry, you have a partner. Ji Lang used to be a paragliding instructor; her stamina is great.”

At the mention of Ji Lang’s name, even Chi Shu’s forced bitter smile vanished. “Thanks for the reminder. Besides the little princess, I also have an ‘Auntie’ to deal with.”

“Chi Shu! I want watermelon, no seeds!”

In a riverside pavilion at the visitor center at the foot of the mountain, Ji Lang was dressed in luxury sports brands, a long string of cherry-blossom sugilite wrapped around her forearm. She sat with her legs crossed, chatting with Xing Cai while summoning her partner from afar.

Chi Shu shouted back: “Didn’t I already slice it? Spit the seeds out yourself! You want me to mouth-feed you too?!”

Ji Lang raised an eyelid and spoke tenderly to Little Pea: “Dou-dou, our princess eats watermelon with her Mammy removing the seeds for her, right?”

Little Pea ran over, sat beside her Trainee Mammy, and nodded vigorously. “Right!”

“Good girl. Anything you see on the road later, Mama Lang will buy it for you.” Ji Lang narrowed her fox-like eyes and flicked Little Pea’s nose. “Do you like the global limited-edition hiking gear Mama Lang bought for you? The prettiest little princess in the UAE wears the same style, but our Dou-dou is even prettier than her.”

“I love it! I love Mama Lang the most!” Little Pea hugged her, leaning in affectionately.

Ming Nuo watched, dazed. In just a few days, Chi Shu’s family had developed into… this?

“Nuo Nuo Mammy.”

Ming Nuo turned. Mengmeng was in a pink hiking outfit with a cartoon bandana, smiling and showing her pearl-like little teeth. Mengmeng stood on tiptoe and raised her hand. Ming Nuo asked, “What does baby want? Want a cod sausage?”

Mengmeng shook her head, her cheeks flushed red by the sun. “Nuo Nuo Mammy is carrying such a big bag, I want to help you carry things!”

Chi Shu, who was slumped in the shade picking out watermelon seeds, suddenly sat bolt upright. Her expression as she looked over was complex—a bit of disbelief, a bit of envy and jealousy.

Ming Nuo didn’t notice the gaze of resentment coming from the shade behind her at all. She crouched down and took Mengmeng’s small hand. “My backpack is for adults; a child can’t carry it. You have your own little backpack, right? Being a good baby and carrying your own bag is being the best.”

Mengmeng smacked her little lips and nodded reluctantly. “Mm~” Her bright eyes darted around Ming Nuo’s body, looking left and right, then she reached out her little arm to take the camera hanging around Ming Nuo’s neck. “Nuo Nuo Mammy, I’ll help you carry the ‘Pai-Pai-De’!”

“The Instax camera?” Ming Nuo looked at the camera on her chest—shaped like a little red and yellow lion, very light. She lowered her head to let Mengmeng take the camera. “This works. Thank you, baby. You have to take pretty pictures of Mommy and me on the road.”

Mengmeng held the little lion camera in both hands, her smile radiant. “Leave it to me! I’m going to take pictures of you and Mommy and turn you into big fairies!”

Ming Nuo happily stroked Mengmeng’s twin tails.

“Ming Nuo.”

Ming Nuo turned. Ning Xueqing had peeled a box of grapes and scooped one up with a small spoon, feeding it gently to her lips. “Ah.”

The grape rolled against her lips. Ming Nuo didn’t have time to say thank you; she opened her mouth with smiling eyes and took in the sweet and sour fruit. Her teeth lightly bit through the grape, and the refreshing juice burst in her mouth, dispelling the heat of the sun.

Ming Nuo squinted comfortably, the joy on her face beyond words. Sister Xueqing was feeding her grapes in front of so many people and cameras!

She was in bliss.

Under a nearby tree, Chi Shu turned away sadly, threw down her chopsticks for picking watermelon seeds, and muttered under her breath: “The gap between people is bigger than the gap between people and dogs!”