Diva Alpha Meets Her Biological Daughter on a Parenting Variety Show - Chapter 41

Why on earth was she smelling her?

Was Ming Nuo the type of woman to sniff an Omega’s pheromones in broad daylight?

“I haven’t taken a liking to anything else. I didn’t buy any.”

“My scent seems to have changed a little. I don’t know if it’s an imbalance again.”

“…”

In the position where Ning Xueqing was leaning against her shoulder, the tip of Ming Nuo’s nose brushed against her hair. This spot was very close to Ning Xueqing’s ear, allowing her to capture the Omega’s pheromones perfectly.

The scent hadn’t really changed—it was still that fresh, sweet fragrance—only the concentration had shifted slightly. Many factors can affect concentration, but Ming Nuo felt that within a reasonable range, it didn’t count as an imbalance.

After completing this little “check,” Ming Nuo realized that Ning Xueqing, leaning beside her, was secretly laughing at her serious expression.

Ming Nuo: “.”

She felt quite dorky. She had intended not to sniff, but one sentence from Ning Xueqing had made her comply obediently.

“Ahem.” Under the blanket, Ning Xueqing handed her something.

Ming Nuo felt it; it was a long, thin shape with a wrapper. She glanced at Ning Xueqing, who returned a soft, somewhat sweet gaze. Ming Nuo let her eyes linger on her beautiful face for a moment before looking down at the object in her hand.

A “Baby Autumn Pear Paste” lollipop.

She remembered Mengmeng had this snack but didn’t really like it. She wasn’t sure why, but the day they went to the supermarket, Mengmeng had put it back on the shelf, only for Ning Xueqing to put it back in the cart, saying it was good for kids and nourished the throat…

Mengmeng’s throat wasn’t uncomfortable; what was she nourishing?

Now, Ming Nuo suspected Ning Xueqing had an ulterior motive for buying these lollipops. Each pear candy had a different shape; the one in Ming Nuo’s hand was a little heart.

Ning Xueqing leaned close to her. “If you won’t eat gum, eat mine.”

This was personally authorized—a “different flavor.”

Ming Nuo looked left and right, unwrapped the long packaging, and took the heart into her mouth.

Ning Xueqing watched her quietly. The bright red bead of Ming Nuo’s lip slid over the moist candy paste, and then her two lips submerged it, leaving only the white stick outside.

The gaze made Ming Nuo feel a bit self-conscious. She was nearly thirty, yet she was eating a child’s snack in front of them—and a snack given by the child’s mother.

In the back, Mengmeng added the tail to the pony in her puzzle and looked up. However, she was still too small, and her height didn’t allow her to see over the seat back, so she didn’t know what was happening and went back to her puzzle.

Even if she had seen it, it wouldn’t have mattered. Mengmeng wasn’t a protective child when it came to food—especially since her mommy had helped her give the pear candy she didn’t like to the Nuo Nuo Mammy she did like.

In the front seat, Ning Xueqing saw Ming Nuo’s sneaky glances and whispered to her, “I like watching you eat, especially when your lips wrap around hard candy, and the way your throat moves when you tilt your head back to swallow water.”

Ming Nuo bit the candy between her teeth. She imagined the scene Ning Xueqing described and felt a bit… subtle.

“Why?”

Ning Xueqing rested her chin on her hand, eyes curving. “Because it fits my aesthetic for an Alpha perfectly.”

Ming Nuo tried to keep the corners of her mouth from turning up of their own accord. She turned her face to the side where Ning Xueqing couldn’t see; her eyes, reflected in the window, were shining brightly.

Ah…

Ning Xueqing was… praising her looks, right?

Ming Nuo was so happy. Although Ning Xueqing had praised her image both publicly and privately before, this felt very different. Ming Nuo was slow with words and couldn’t explain exactly how it was different; it just felt like hearing: I like an Alpha like you.

It was as if a wind had blown away the dark clouds over her head, and the sun had come out, hanging a rainbow over her.

Ming Nuo raised her hand to hold the candy stick. She felt she was holding something solid and reliable again. Her internal parachute had landed, sweeping away her previous restlessness.

Ahem.

Sister said: everything is hard in the beginning. This “cherry,” when unripe, is yellow and shriveled, sour and astringent. But after patient cultivation, once fully ripe, it is very sweet.

It was just that Auntie Ning didn’t like her Mammy, but Auntie Ning’s impression of her was still quite good. What did that mean? It meant that as far as the Ming family was concerned, Auntie Ning approved of one-half. One-half—50%. That wasn’t a small probability.

Besides, the person in her heart was Ning Xueqing. As long as Ning Xueqing was by her side, everything was enough.

Looking up again, she saw Ning Xueqing watching her in the glass of the window. From this angle, it was clear she had seen the entire range of Ming Nuo’s emotional reactions just now.

A hint of surprise appeared in Ming Nuo’s eyes. Ning Xueqing couldn’t read her mind, could she?

Ning Xueqing wasn’t a mind-reader. She didn’t know about Ming Nuo’s “one-half” or “50%.” She only knew that her Teacher Nuo had been unhappy a moment ago and was finally smiling again.

In the mirror, the two people—one looking down, one with eyebrows raised. Ning Xueqing’s eyes teased her; even when her mood improved, she tried to hide it—shy and adorable.

She would help her. “Shyness desensitization.”

Ning Xueqing leaned her head from Ming Nuo’s shoulder into the crook of her neck. Her fluffy hair brushed against Ming Nuo’s sensitive skin. Ming Nuo felt a tingle and looked up, blinking.

“I haven’t tried this brand of candy yet.” As she spoke, Ning Xueqing reached out from Ming Nuo’s half-embrace. Her lustrous fingertips brushed over Ming Nuo’s clean nails and tapped the candy stick between her fingers.

“Is it good?” Ning Xueqing asked, her lashes fluttering.

From her downward angle, Ming Nuo could see clearly. Through those curled lashes, Ning Xueqing’s clear gaze filtered through. That light was like a thread that curved, wrapping around Ming Nuo over and over.

Ming Nuo meant to say “pretty,” but quickly caught herself and said, “It’s good.” She liked pear water and autumn pear paste.

Ming Nuo wanted to reach for her bag behind the seat to unwrap one for Ning Xueqing to taste. Ning Xueqing, leaning her back into Ming Nuo’s half-embrace, used one hand to grasp Ming Nuo’s wrist and gently pulled her closer.

Ming Nuo looked back, and Ning Xueqing’s pink tongue-tip licked the heart that was half-melted in her hand.

Ming Nuo’s heart rate expanded along with her pupils.

Ni-Ni-Ning Xueqing licked the candy she had already eaten half of?!

How could this be? How could she let Sister eat her leftovers? If anyone was going to eat, it should be Ning Xueqing eating half and giving it to her. And besides, things like this are only done by…

Ming Nuo stole a look at Ning Xueqing, shifted her eyes, and pursed her lips. Only people who were very intimate would eat something the other had already eaten. This “model couple” act by Ning Xueqing was too realistic.

“Mmph!” Ning Xueqing suddenly sat up straight. Ming Nuo thought she was choking and hurriedly patted her back.

“What is it? Have some water—”

Ning Xueqing laughed and waved her off. “I just realized—the camera didn’t catch that just now, did it?”

Ming Nuo turned her head after the fact and looked around. Since they were still at the rest stop, the photographers had put away the equipment for maintenance, so there was no recording at the moment.

“No,” Ming Nuo told Ning Xueqing after confirming.

The staff member in the front turned around excitedly. “What? What? What did I miss?!”

Ming Nuo and Ning Xueqing looked at the half-heart in her hand and smiled in unison.

“You didn’t miss anything,” Ning Xueqing said to the staff member, her eyes fixed on Ming Nuo.

The happy you, the frowning you, the brave you, the shy you—they all live here in me. Here. And here.

Under the blazing sun, during the cicada-song of midsummer, the Miraculous Journey group landed at Xixue Xialingshan Airport. The guide held a small flag at the airport, calling for the guests to gather.

The adults greeted each other. The children, already well-acquainted, ran to each other for hugs as soon as they saw one another from afar, then held hands and spun in circles.

“Sister Nora!”

“Mengmeng! Let me show you the beetle amber on my new phone!”

“Little Pea, you’re actually wearing makeup! Wow!”

“Yes! This is all-natural children’s makeup my Mama Lang gave me! Pineapple Cake, want me to give you a ‘no-makeup’ look?~”

Good heavens, “no-makeup” looks at five years old? She’s going to rule the beauty world in the future.

“Little Pea, I went home and watched All Four Seniors Love Me that you recommended. Your Mommy is such a scumbag.”

“Shh! You can’t let her hear you. We talk about her character being a scumbag behind her back; we can’t say it to her face, because in reality, she’s the most piteous one.”

“Oh.” Pineapple Cake covered her mouth in sympathy.

Ming Nuo was even more shocked—Xiao Qian would let her daughter watch melodramas?! Ning Xueqing saw her confusion and whispered a reminder: “Didn’t you write a sweet little song? This drama even bought the rights to use it as an insert song. It was directed by Director Xiao. Director Xiao has done so many idol dramas; it’s not surprising Pineapple Cake has seen them.”

Only then did Ming Nuo remember that event from ages ago. That melodrama, All Four Seniors Love Me, was one of Director Xiao Qian’s works… Not only was Chi Shu the Alpha lead, but Xing Cai was also the Omega second lead. Melodramatic or not, it was insanely popular when it aired.

Come to think of it, all four families in Miraculous Journey were connected to that drama: Chi Shu and Xing Cai acted in it, Xiao Qian directed it, and Ming Nuo wrote an insert song. Truly, life is mixed with all sorts of irony. Ning Xueqing actually remembered those minor details better than Ming Nuo. Since Ming Nuo had only composed the insert song while the arrangement, lyrics, and singing were done by others, Ming Nuo didn’t have a deep impression of it. Ning Xueqing, however, had “collected” it like a superfan.

After the greetings and excitement, the director led the group onto the bus. Xialing City possesses the most magnificent snow-capped mountains and meadows in the country. Located on the Xixue Plateau—the second highest altitude—it is a popular summer resort every year. No wonder the staff said they were going somewhere very cool.

The green fields were vast and stretched as far as the eye could see. The summer meadows were filled with flowers, which swayed in the wind, a myriad of colors stretching to the horizon.

“Wow! It’s a diamond!” Mengmeng stood in front of Ning Xueqing, leaning forward to look ahead. “A diamond in jade!”

Ming Nuo looked in the direction she was pointing. Amidst the vast green grass, a clear, grand lake suddenly appeared! The water of the alpine lake was extremely transparent—a brilliant blue, like the tears of a celestial maiden. Legend has it that this lake was formed from the tears of Yaoji, the daughter of the Heavenly Emperor. Locals call it “Yao Chi,” sharing the name with the Jade Pool of the Queen Mother of the West, though they don’t mean the same thing.

The wind blew the grass low, revealing cattle, sheep, and steeds walking leisurely in the pasture. Locals wearing colorful folk hats held banners, raising milk tea pots and crisp cakes to welcome them.

After getting off the bus, the guide pointed to four residences in the pasture: a tent, a small wooden cabin, a stone house, and a modern concrete house.

“Welcome to our second travel destination, the Yao Chi Pasture! This time, each family’s residence will be chosen based on competition rankings.”

“The content of this competition is: The Relay of Love!”

“The relay race consists of two rounds. The Mammy will carry the Mama on her back to the midpoint, and then the Mama will carry the baby on her back to the finish line. You now have ten minutes to prepare. Mammies and Mamas, please decide on your carrying posture!”

Carry? Was this posture something that needed to be discussed? Wasn’t there only one posture?

As Ming Nuo was thinking, she sensed a gaze and turned around. Ning Xueqing was gathering her long curls and walking toward her with her snowy-white long legs.

Wait…

“Carry” meant putting her hands under those legs?