Diva Alpha Meets Her Biological Daughter on a Parenting Variety Show - Chapter 42

Ning Xueqing leaned in close to Ming Nuo and whispered, “If you can pick me up, carrying me on your back should be no problem at all.”

In the first session at Wonder Town, Ming Nuo had indeed carried Ning Xueqing to bed.

The one who was more worried was Ning Xueqing. As an actress, she had strict requirements for her appearance, and her weight was technically “under-standard” (very light). When Mengmeng was a toddler, Ning Xueqing could still carry her, but now that Mengmeng was five, carrying her was no simple task. Walking around is one thing, but a running race is another.

What child doesn’t want to take first place?

Mengmeng had just tugged on Ning Xueqing’s sleeve and said she wanted to stay in the wooden cabin; she didn’t want to live in a tent again.

Ming Nuo had worked and exercised since she was young, so her constitution had always been excellent. Carrying or lifting was completely within her capabilities. She nodded; compared to the other Alpha guests, she was confident about winning the first leg of the relay.

However, she soon realized the reason for Ning Xueqing’s worried expression. While Ming Nuo could take first, Ning Xueqing would have a harder time.

Ji Lang was an Omega, but it was no exaggeration to say her physical fitness was the strongest among the eight guests. Xing Cai, an idol drama actress, followed a “vibrant and cute” brand, so her weight was at the standard beauty level. Xiao Qian was a bit more curvaceous, while four-year-old Pineapple Cake was the lightest—in short, they all had an advantage over Ning Xueqing.

The heavy responsibility of winning the wooden cabin fell on Ming Nuo. She had to buy Ning Xueqing as much extra time as possible.

Ten minutes later, the race began. The guide led the guests to the relay track. The four families stood in their respective lanes. When the signal was given, the Alpha guests crouched down to let their partners climb onto their backs.

Ming Nuo was in a semi-squat. Ning Xueqing pressed her chest against Ming Nuo’s back, wrapping her arms tightly around Ming Nuo’s neck. As Ming Nuo prepared to stand, she said, “I’m going to lift you up now.”

Ning Xueqing murmured an “okay,” but before she could even react, Ming Nuo’s hands hooked under the crooks of her knees. With a sudden surge of strength, Ming Nuo used the inside of her forearms to press against the edge of Ning Xueqing’s knees and hoisted her up.

Ning Xueqing swallowed a soft gasp and quickly hugged Ming Nuo tighter. Her breath, puffing against the back of Ming Nuo’s neck, became a few beats faster.

This was the first time they were being openly intimate under the lens of the cameras. Ning Xueqing was bold in her actions, but when the moment actually came, she still felt a bit nervous. Ming Nuo carried her, but since the other guests were doing the same, it didn’t stand out too much on camera, and Ning Xueqing’s nerves quickly dissipated.

At the midpoint a hundred meters away, the four children were jumping with joy, cheering for their mammies and mamas: “Go! Go!”

“Run faster!”

“I want to live in the most luxurious house! Mammy, make me proud!”

Chi Shu’s face fell: “I got it!”

The surrounding nomadic locals also joined in the cheering; the scene was incredibly lively. The referee blew a shepherd’s whistle: “Go!”

The four Alpha guests carrying their partners burst forward, sprinting at top speed. A gap formed over the hundred meters. Ming Nuo led by a slight margin, with Du Heng following closely behind, then Ouyang Yu. Chi Shu, who was slender and suffering from a bit of altitude sickness, trailed at the end.

Ming Nuo hit the midpoint line and hurriedly crouched down. Ning Xueqing held her with her left hand while extending her right to high-five Mengmeng. She then slid off Ming Nuo’s back and, with Ming Nuo’s help, hoisted Mengmeng onto her own back and sprinted forward.

Because the gap Ming Nuo created wasn’t huge and Ning Xueqing wasn’t as fast as Xing Cai, they lost to Xing Cai by a margin of 0.0something seconds. Ji Lang, carrying Little Pea, caught up rapidly, overtaking Xiao Qian to tie for second place with Ning Xueqing.

With the two families tied, the production team decided to add a “Baby Dash” tie-breaker: a hundred-meter sprint between Mengmeng and Little Pea.

Little Pea had been pampered since she was small; getting her to go for a walk was a chore, so she was naturally no match for the energetic Mengmeng. Mengmeng won happily. However, when it came time to choose the cabin she’d had her heart set on, Nora, who had taken first place, picked the wooden cabin first.

“Sigh, eight or nine times out of ten, life doesn’t go your way,” Mengmeng sighed, hanging her head.

A tiny girl giving such a world-weary lament. Ming Nuo stroked the top of her head and leaned down. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t help you get first place.”

Mengmeng shook her head. “No, Nuo Nuo Mammy. This race was a race for our whole family. All three of us were participants. The fact that we worked together and didn’t get first isn’t just on you.”

Ming Nuo was slightly stunned. We. Family. This was a reward far more sacred than a first-place trophy.

Ming Nuo took Mengmeng’s small hand and squatted down so their eyes were level. “But if I had run faster, Mommy would have had more time, and you could have chosen the cabin you liked. If I work harder, you’ll be happier.”

Mengmeng’s cheeks were rosy and plump under the sun. “If you work harder, it’s more tiring for you. If Nuo Nuo Mammy is happy, I’ll be happy too. We don’t need the wooden cabin; living in the stone house is fun too.”

“Nuo Nuo Mammy, you shouldn’t exhaust yourself just to make me happy. Mommy told me that love for a person doesn’t spoil because of changes in the outside world, and it certainly won’t disappear because of bad things people say.”

Mengmeng spread her arms and hugged her “Trainee Mammy,” her eyes curving into little crescents. “No matter what, I will follow my heart and like Nuo Nuo Mammy.”

A child’s mind is pure. It’s possible for someone to tell her not to play with someone, and she might listen. If they say it’s like this, it’s like this. If they forbid that, she obeys. It’s like when a child likes a toy, but an elder says there’s already one at home—”How about we buy a different one instead?”

But does the child actually like the other one? If she only likes this toy, she’d be happy even with many duplicates. Why must she listen to the elder and buy something she doesn’t like?

Ming Nuo realized she now knew what Ning Xueqing had said to Mengmeng on the bus that she hadn’t overheard. What Ning Xueqing had told the child made Ming Nuo feel more at peace than simply telling Mengmeng to trust or be close to her again.

She had taught Mengmeng to affirm herself at this age. I have my own judgment about whom I like; it doesn’t shift based on the words of others. The path I choose and the decisions I make will follow my own heart.

Ming Nuo understood the importance of self-affirmation better than anyone. If Ming Yan had given her more affirmation and encouragement when she was young, she would have learned self-confidence much earlier and expressed her feelings frankly, rather than waiting for Ning Xueqing to tell her she hoped she’d be an unrestrained wild rose.

Ming Nuo hugged Mengmeng and asked in a low voice, “Baby, can I give you a kiss?”

Mengmeng tilted her face up and nodded, even pointing to her cheek. “Kiss here. Mommy says my face smells so good.”

Ming Nuo leaned down and pressed her lips gently against Mengmeng’s fragrant cheek. Mengmeng giggled and waved at Ning Xueqing. “Mommy, Nuo Nuo Mammy kissed me!” As if it were a matter of great pride!

Ning Xueqing and Xing Cai were gathered around the guide to collect their keys. Ning Xueqing raised her arm and waved at them. “Oh! We’re going to live in the stone house now!” Mengmeng ran over excitedly to compare houses with the other children.

Pineapple Cake didn’t care for stone or wood; she was perfectly satisfied with the ordinary concrete house. Only Little Pea, who had wanted the luxury house, pouted at the nomadic tent until she burst into tears. Even the photographer tried to coax her: “Little Pea, don’t be sad. This tent is different from the small ones before. It’s huge, there’s a bed and a table inside, it’s beautiful, and there’s even a little shepherd puppy.”

As viewers of the past two episodes knew, Little Pea was a crybaby. Fortunately, she was very easy to coax—as soon as you told her crying made her look less pretty, she stopped immediately.

Little Pea sat in the reception hall, sulking. “I don’t like puppies either!”

Mengmeng, who loved puppies, asked her, “Little Pea, you don’t like this, you don’t like that… what do you like?”

Little Pea rested her chin on both hands. “I like pink cakes and gemstones.”

Mengmeng had eaten pink cakes and played with her mommy’s gemstone jewelry. She thought they were just “pretty,” but nowhere near as cute as a puppy. Playing with Sister Nora was more interesting anyway; she would teach the puppy to shake hands with Mengmeng.

The guests retired to their respective pasture houses. Each was decorated with Xixue Plateau folk characteristics—wool rugs, copper-plated vessels, ox-horn trumpets, and so on. Ming Nuo and Ning Xueqing tidied up the room, with Mengmeng helping along.

The houses were randomly assigned, so unlike previous episodes, the beds weren’t set up according to family members. The single-parent family was assigned a room with only one bed—a test of how well the two guests had “synced” after the first two sessions. On the other hand, the three-person families were given two beds, to see whom the child preferred to sleep with.

With Ming Nuo and Ning Xueqing, seeing them amicably discuss who would sleep on which side of the bed made the audience grin like “shipping aunties,” analyzing how well they had “meshed.” In contrast, seeing Chi Shu kicked off the bed by her daughter to sleep on a rug while the girl slept with Ji Lang made viewers shake their heads—pitying Chi Shu on one hand and criticizing Little Pea and Ji Lang for being “heartless” on the other. Xiao Qian’s family was lucky enough to get one large bed. Nora’s side chose to sleep with her “Mammy,” leaving Xing Cai tossing and turning all night, unable to fathom why the daughter she had raised would always side with the “Mammy” who was never home…

The summer plateau was cool, and by nightfall, there was a noticeable chill. The side Ning Xueqing was sleeping on was near a window, which was left half-open for ventilation. When they picked spots, Ming Nuo hadn’t expected it to be so cold at night. She’d thought the air would be fresher by the window, but the night wind blew in, and Ning Xueqing sneezed three times in a row.

Aside from the discomfort of a cold, the show still had many physical challenges that would be hard to endure while sick. Ming Nuo got out of bed, closed the window, and leaned over the bed, whispering softly, “Xueqing, you sleep on the inside.”

Ning Xueqing poked her head out from the quilt, whispering back for fear of waking Mengmeng: “It’s fine, I—achoo!“

Ming Nuo frowned. “That won’t do. Go lie down on the inside first. I’ll brew a packet of medicine.”

“It’s okay, it’s so late… Ming Nuo, did I wake you up?” Ning Xueqing asked guiltily, the tip of her nose slightly red.

“Wake me up?” Ming Nuo turned back, her hand still on the button of the dimmed nightlight. “Are you worried about waking me up?”

Ning Xueqing clutched the edge of the quilt, not understanding why Ming Nuo asked that. It felt a bit strange. “I am worried. No one likes being woken up.”

Ming Nuo withdrew her hand, the soft light illuminating her defined features. “I don’t mind,” Ming Nuo said gently. “And this shouldn’t be described as ‘waking me up.'”

Ning Xueqing’s smile was shy. “Then… what is it?”

Ming Nuo lowered her eyes, skillfully tearing open the medicine packet and pouring hot water into a cup.

“Mengmeng told me that when you were sick abroad before, no one took care of you. She said it would be good if there were someone to look after you.”

“Mengmeng was so little then, she actually remembers… Why does she tell you these things?” But did that have anything to do with Ning Xueqing’s question?

Ming Nuo touched the cup; it was too hot. She continued to add cool water to adjust the temperature. She sat down beside Ning Xueqing, handed her the cup handle, and reached out to brush away Ning Xueqing’s bangs, gently feeling her forehead.

Ming Nuo didn’t say the rest out loud.

Mengmeng said she hoped that next time Mommy was sick, she’d have a wife by her side.

“—So, this is a reward.”