590. Three Years Old
“Mom! Mom!”
Leaning against the sofa at home, Ning Chu looked up from her typing chat with Lily as she heard the familiar voice coming from the direction of the bedroom.
The little one, dressed in shorts and a short-sleeved shirt, was waddling over with her chubby little legs, bouncing with excitement.
Just over three years old, this stage of young girls is the cutest. Her round face was filled with collagen, her big, bright eyes radiated innocence, and you could already see hints of her future beauty.
“Slow down, or don’t come crying to me if you fall.”
Ning Chu warned with a flat expression, but the next moment, the little girl tripped over her own feet and landed face-first on the ground with a loud “thud,” then immediately began to wail.
Ning Chu sighed, feeling her bl**d pressure rising.
She wondered if she’d lose a few years off her life…
Ignoring her rolling and crying daughter, Ning Chu returned to discussing this year’s class reunion with Lily.
In less than two minutes, with no one paying her any attention, the daughter’s cries began to quiet down. So, she dusted herself off, sat up, still with tear streaks on her cheeks, and scampered back over, “Mom~”
“What is it?”
“Where’s Dad? Isn’t he off today?”
Ning Chu couldn’t help but twitch her lips, “He went to your grandma’s house.”
Clearly, she’d raised her daughter all on her own! They spent every day together, yet the daughter still preferred to cling to Wen Yang!
Whenever Wen Yang was off from work, this little one would stick to him like glue.
It felt less like she had a daughter and more like she’d given birth to a rival.
Ning Chu glanced down at her daughter, still latched onto her, and asked, “I told you to slow down. Didn’t it hurt when you fell?”
“It didn’t hurt!” the daughter replied confidently, bubbles still coming from her nose.
“Then why are you crying?”
Her big eyes rolled around before she hesitantly responded, “Well, I fell…”
Lucky for her, she had indeed inherited Ning Chu’s stubbornness.
“You’re going to preschool tomorrow.” Ning Chu pinched her daughter’s chubby cheeks, “Aren’t you excited?”
“Excited!”
Just don’t cry when the time comes.
Ning Chu still vaguely remembered her own first day at preschool—screaming and throwing a fit, refusing to go to school, while her mother wielded a kn*fe to scare her!
“Go find Dad!”
“He’ll be back soon. We’re going shopping later to buy you a little backpack.”
Just as she mentioned Wen Yang, the sound of the elevator door opening echoed from outside.
Wen Yang stepped through the door, greeted by two little succubi standing at the threshold.
“Dad! Hug me~ Let’s go buy a backpack!”
He lifted the flying, sprinting daughter into his arms: “Sure, just wait for your mom to change clothes.”
“Do you really like your dad that much…”
A distant mumble came from Ning Chu. Wen Yang looked up and grinned, “Still jealous of our daughter, huh?”
“Of course not! I’m going to change my clothes now.”
He quickly set their daughter down and followed Ning Chu from behind, wrapping his arms around her waist: “Come on, let me give you a hug too.”
“Like I’m that precious to you?”
Ning Chu scoffed, pretending to struggle against his embrace, but then melted into it, resting her head on Wen Yang’s shoulder.
“How about we go to the hot springs sometime? It’s been ages since we’ve been to the one near Lily’s house. After that, we can go hang out with Lily.”
“But Shuqin…”
“Let Mom or Grandpa take care of her.”
Their daughter was tugging at Wen Yang’s pants leg, her eyes filled with tears as she looked up at her parents, who were discussing leaving her behind.
Ning Chu hesitated a bit at Wen Yang’s suggestion.
“She’s going to preschool tomorrow, right? We’ll drop her off in the morning and be back around ten at night. She’ll only be with Mom for a few hours anyway. What’s there to worry about?”
“Hmm… well, I guess that’s fair?”
Mentioning preschool made her start to complain: “Honey, the fees for preschool are outrageous; it nearly costs 100,000 a year.”
There are good public preschools out there—affordable with excellent teachers. But those spots are super competitive.
This 100,000-a-year preschool was the result of her running around for half a year, researching various options, and it still made her wince.
“Isn’t it a bit steep?”
“Very steep, thank you very much!” Ning Chu rolled her eyes, “Just because the big boss is rolling in dough now, huh?”
Wen Yang gave a wry smile and then slapped the little succubus’s behind, “Go change your clothes; Shuqin’s waiting anxiously.”
“Don’t you dare hit me!”
Ning Chu blew her top, leaping up to tackle Wen Yang, leading to a delightful chase around the living room.
“Take this! The Invisible Kick of Foshan!”
She kicked at him, but Wen Yang snatched her ankle just in time, leaving her standing on one foot, her balance all off.
“I swear! Let go of me!”
Wen Yang didn’t hold back, poking the sole of her foot: “You still want to mess with me? Have you had enough yet?”
As soon as her sensitive foot was poked, Ning Chu lost all her strength, collapsing to the ground, her tail straight as a spear, kicking and cursing, “Let go! I won’t give in! I won’t give in!”
Their daughter leaned against the wall, watching her parents bickering with wide, confused eyes. She scratched her head and muttered, “So childish…”
She felt like her parents’ relationship was different from other parents’.
Though she couldn’t quite put her finger on it, it seemed to resemble a friendship more than a traditional parent-child dynamic. Aside from the times she infuriated Mom, the atmosphere at home was largely cheerful.
Finally breaking free from Wen Yang’s grasp, Ning Chu was left laughing without energy, sprawled out on the floor, gasping for breath, her cheeks flushed.
After catching her breath, she defiantly declared, “Just wait until tonight; I’ll see if I can wear you out to d*ath…”
Wen Yang’s internal alarm bells went off, considering he might need to leverage some “hot spiral techniques” to deal with Ning Chu’s current fiery attitude.
Both he and Ning Chu had unusual family setups; they didn’t know how other parents maintained their love life after having kids.
Since their daughter arrived, they’d always played it safe at home. They had to lull her to sleep first, then sneak off to the guest room, making sure to keep it quiet enough not to wake her again.
Fortunately, their daughter was starting preschool now.
Ning Chu climbed back up from the floor, scampered to the bedroom, and when she emerged, she had transformed from a flustered mess into an image of grace and gentleness.
Almost thirty, even though her appearance still looked like a young girl, she had become more mature, intentionally putting on a long dress.
“Come over here, let me fix your hair.” Ning Chu greeted her daughter with a bright smile, “Look at that hair of yours, such a mess!”
She had learned a dozen hairstyles for little girls online, ready to try them all.
With a frown on her face, the daughter walked over obediently, turning her back to Ning Chu, “Mom, make it simple…”
“How about… a single ponytail? Wen Yang, you should have a single ponytail too! When we step out, people will know we’re a family.”
“People might think you’re my little sister.”
“Isn’t that even better!”
Ning Chu cheerfully looked up, “Look at you, you’ve got some wrinkles forming.”
“Really?”
“A little! I told you to use some skincare products, but you just refuse.”
“What do big men need skincare products for?”
“I thought the same back in the day~ and look how I ended up with the habit!”
The daughter looked up, bewildered, “Huh?”
——————
Here’s a shout-out to a new author friend’s story, “I Wanted to Get Revenge on My Rival, But Ended Up Falling Head Over Heels.” If you’re interested, go support this newcomer!
