Diva Alpha Meets Her Biological Daughter on a Parenting Variety Show - Chapter 47

At this moment, Ming Nuo’s earlobes were a deep, vivid red.

Full and flush, they looked even more like delicious, tempting cherries than they had during the milk commercial shoot.

The ear is connected to a layer of sensitive skin covering the gland; being lightly taken into someone’s mouth sent a numbing tremor through her entire body.

Ming Nuo arched her back, panting. She pressed her damp knees together, and her trembling eyelashes were beaded with fine, crystalline droplets. She slowly raised her hands, crossing her arms to hold herself, like a stray deer that had wandered into a predator’s territory.

“Sis… Sister…”

Ming Nuo let out a low whimper. To Ning Xueqing’s ears, that suppressed, husky voice was more beautiful than her singing on any stage.

“Do you… want it again?” Ming Nuo murmured helplessly. A sense of déjà vu struck her brain, hooking into that fire-like memory from the bamboo sea, threatening to burst forth like a flood or a savage beast.

Ning Xueqing’s lips hovered right by her ear, opening and closing: “Want… what?”

Ming Nuo hesitated, her cheeks flushing crimson before she finally whispered: “You bit my ear.”

During the puberty of pheromone differentiation, physiology class teaches that besides general private areas, the ears and necks of Alphas and Omegas are equally off-limits to touch. Because it involves the sexual act of marking.

Adults all know that between an Alpha and an Omega, biting the ear is a signal of “invitation.”

Ming Nuo’s heart hammered wildly. She was already enduring a painful level of restraint; because she didn’t want to ruin the friendship they had worked so hard to build, she didn’t dare cross the line. But if Ning Xueqing wanted to “use” her, Ming Nuo would listen to her and do whatever she wished. She just had to mind the volume—Mengmeng was sleeping outside, and there was a camera in the living room covered with a black cloth; it wouldn’t record visuals, but it could capture sound.

Ning Xueqing denied it: “I did not.”

Ming Nuo suddenly tilted her head, meeting Ning Xueqing’s eyes as she leaned by her ear.

Ning Xueqing’s gaze was shimmering and seductive. While her mouth denied it, her eyes were like silken red threads, winding and hooking: “I was just craving your beet-red earlobe. It looks like a juicy cherry. I just held it in my mouth; I didn’t even touch it with my teeth, and I didn’t lick it with my tongue.”

Some Omegas say “no, no, no” with every word.

Some Alphas hear the imagination in every word: a mouth opening to swallow the ear, teeth hovering a hair’s breadth away in a light bite, then a tender pink tongue darting out to swirl in the ear canal, licking back and forth, teasing the vivid red lobe, pursing and sucking…

Ming Nuo’s smooth back was covered in dense foam. She felt wet skin press tightly against her. Ning Xueqing relaxed her body, resting her chin on Ming Nuo’s shoulder: “When we were filming the milk ad, I already wanted to taste it.”

Ming Nuo lowered her gaze. The ear is closest to the gland, and the scent of pheromones is richest there. No wonder she felt Ning Xueqing wasn’t focused during the promotional shoot; it turned out Ning Xueqing really did want to take it into her mouth. It wasn’t just Ming Nuo’s imagination.

Ning Xueqing’s slender, lily-white hand reached over. Her soft fingers, stained with white foam, stroked Ming Nuo’s lower lip line. She moved her pinky to slightly tilt Ming Nuo’s chin up, leading her to look forward. The vanity mirror above the sink was half-fogged with white mist, hazily reflecting their posture as they leaned against each other.

Ming Nuo could only see a blurry silhouette, so she bit her lip and closed her eyes.

Ning Xueqing half-squinted her reddened peach-blossom eyes and whispered in a husky voice: “You still haven’t said… what do I want again?”

Ming Nuo breathed heavily, feeling sticky and damp inside and out. The hand holding her own shoulder unconsciously climbed up Ning Xueqing’s arm, circling her loosely as if seeking support.

“Want… want…”

She pushed out half a word, leaving the other half of the syllable caught in her mouth.

Ning Xueqing’s patience seemed to be nearing its end. Why couldn’t she say a few simple words? Her gaze darkened, and she made a move as if to eat the Alpha’s ear again. A jolt shot through Ming Nuo’s spine, and she groaned through closed eyes: “Want me.”

Trembling breath hit Ming Nuo’s neck. Her chest rose and fell with her breathing as the hot water sprayed down, flowing over both of them.

The clash between the residual cold air in the bathroom and the steam from the hot water suddenly made Ning Xueqing’s nose itch. She turned away and let out a loud sneeze.

“Xueqing? Your cold got worse!” Ming Nuo’s hand, which had been circling Ning Xueqing’s wrist, slid up to her forearm. The skin a bit further up was slightly chilly.

Ning Xueqing was only warm where she was close to Ming Nuo or under the hot water; her back and legs were cold.

At this point, Ming Nuo ignored her internal agitation and formal propriety. She turned on the large overhead rain shower as well. Both showers released hot water simultaneously, instantly soaking them both to drive away Ning Xueqing’s chill.

“Achoo! A—choo!”

Ning Xueqing sneezed several more times in a row, couldn’t help coughing twice, and an unnatural flush rose to her cheeks.

Ming Nuo pulled a tissue to wipe her nose, not daring to use force, rubbing gently to avoid reddening her delicate skin. The sneezing and coughing stimulated Ning Xueqing’s physiological tears, and her eyes turned red. She looked at Ming Nuo; the provocative aura from moments ago was gone, replaced by watery eyes full of bashfulness and grievance.

The next second, Ming Nuo’s pained reproach followed: “See? You just had to push until you felt miserable.”

Ning Xueqing’s eyes darted around as she silently accepted the criticism. Her head began to spin, her strength faded, and she lowered her head to bury her face in the crook of Ming Nuo’s neck.

Ming Nuo reached back to wrap an arm around her waist, holding the showerhead to rinse her until her skin was warm all over. Then she took a clean bath towel from the cabinet to wrap her up, helped blow-dry her hair, and only then felt safe letting her get into bed.

Ning Xueqing covered her mouth and coughed for a while, obediently changing into long-sleeved pajamas.

Ming Nuo brewed the medicine, adding the antibiotics prescribed by the doctor and some loquat syrup. She carried the cup and the medicine back to the bedroom, looking at Ning Xueqing on the bed and quietly letting out a sigh of relief.

If it hadn’t been for those two sneezes, heaven knows what kind of chaotic development would have followed. Now that she was an Alpha, recording a show away from home without any birth control prepared—if something happened, it would be a disaster…

“Cough, cough, cough!”

Ming Nuo quickly set down the cup and patted Ning Xueqing’s back: “Slow down. Where else do you feel uncomfortable?”

Ning Xueqing held the cup and drank some water, shaking her head: “Just a sore throat and a runny nose. A bit sleepy, nothing else.”

Ming Nuo felt her forehead. The temperature difference wasn’t obvious, so she pressed her own forehead against Ning Xueqing’s brow. Confirming she didn’t have a fever, she breathed a sigh of relief.

With their foreheads touching, Ning Xueqing’s eyes darted around, staring at her.

Ming Nuo’s heart stirred. Selfishness took the high ground, and she didn’t pull away immediately.

Ning Xueqing curled the corners of her mouth, her voice teasing: “Being this close to me, aren’t you afraid I’ll catch it?”

Ming Nuo’s eyelashes flickered: “Good Heavens, please let me catch it from you.”

“Why? Who goes looking to get sick… silly girl.”

“Let me feel the pain in your throat, the sting in your nose, and you’ll get better very soon.”

Ning Xueqing’s brows knitted: “Then what about you?”

“I have a strong immune system; I get over sickness quickly.”

“So, you have the heart to let me watch you suffer?” As she spoke, Ning Xueqing gave Ming Nuo’s lip a reproachful tap. Her finger pad moved from the peak of her lip downward, stroking the fullest part of her lower lip before lingering on her delicate chin.

Ming Nuo’s gaze followed her fingertip: “I don’t have the heart. But it’s still better than me watching you suffer.”

Ming Nuo wanted to ask a question and have someone judge the answer:

Is it harder to watch the person you love be anxious for you? Or is it harder to watch the one you love be in pain?

Ming Nuo wanted neither.

After supervising Ning Xueqing as she took her medicine, Ming Nuo also drank a packet of the herbal brew. They would definitely get better together.

After rinsing their mouths, they returned. Mengmeng had slept to one side of the bed, leaving more than half the bed open on the other side. Ming Nuo hesitated by the bedside. Usually, Mengmeng slept in the middle with her and Ning Xueqing on either side. Now Ning Xueqing’s cold was worse and Mengmeng had moved to the edge—should she move the child to the middle?

A warm palm pressed against her lower back. Ming Nuo turned; Ning Xueqing’s fluffy curls carried the warmth of the hair dryer and the scent of milk essential oil.

“You sleep in the middle,” Ning Xueqing said softly.

Ming Nuo figured that if she was next to Mengmeng, the chance of passing the cold to the child would be smaller, so she lay down in the middle. Ning Xueqing followed, turned off the nightlight, and lay on her side facing her.

Ming Nuo blinked. In the faint moonlight, she breathed face-to-face with Ning Xueqing.

The last time they had slept facing each other like this felt like a very distant memory. In the dead of night, the heat in her body receded and surged again, but the physical exhaustion left her mental excitement with nowhere to cause trouble. It was like waking with a start from a dream, knowing the dream is a dream and reality is reality, yet unable to shake the daze from her eyes, unable to tell them apart.

“Ming Nuo, sing a song to coax me to sleep, okay?” Ning Xueqing lowered her lashes, a few glimmers of light appearing in her eyes.

Ming Nuo couldn’t help but stroke her temple, tucking a stray hair behind her ear: “What do you want to hear?”

“When did you fall in love with me?”

The night was thick, and the quiet grassland was soaked in moonlight like water. Ming Nuo rested on the soft pillow, accompanied by the occasional neighing of a horse and the sound of insects, and gazed intently into Ning Xueqing’s eyes.

When Did You Fall in Love With Me?

The ending theme of another movie starring Ning Xueqing, The Water-Dropping Goddess of Mercy. This film was earlier than Listening to the Waves in the Bamboo Sea. When Ming Nuo produced the song, she hadn’t interacted with the cast. It was a song with a tragic undertone, much like the movie. It wasn’t particularly popular, and Ming Nuo rarely sang it at concerts.

She thought for a moment, skipped the chorus, and sang softly from the second verse.

“You pass by 519 Xiaoxiang Road, sending a red-stained letter, asking: When did you fall in love with me?”

“I questioned if your voice calling me was a hallucination.”

“I regretted not hunting for your traces from that first heartbeat.”

“The sky turned yellow, shattering into the textures you once called beautiful.”

“While you, in my arms, sleep eternally.”

“Owe me a lifetime, signed: Love Letter.”

This song is from the perspective of the protagonist, a policewoman, singing about her psychological struggle regarding the female antagonist/second lead. The Water-Dropping Goddess of Mercy tells the story of two clever women who meet, understand each other, admire each other, compete with each other, but finally have to hurt each other in a one-for-one exchange.

The overall ending is good; the truth comes to light, the criminal is brought to justice, and all victims are vindicated. As the case file is closed, the policewoman becomes the only new victim after the successful resolution of the major case. Ning Xueqing played the second lead, the “boss” behind the scenes—a “bad woman” with fiery red lips and a thousand charms.

As Ming Nuo finished the verse, Ning Xueqing moved her heavy eyelids. She couldn’t help but wonder: when Ming Nuo wrote this song, had she projected herself into the policewoman who loved but could not have? Otherwise, how could she sing the policewoman’s journey with such grief and gloom?

Ming Nuo felt the song was too desolate, still carrying the scent of blood from the movie. She wanted to change: “I’ll sing something lighthearted. What else do you want to hear?”

Ning Xueqing asked: “When did you fall in love with me?”

Ming Nuo: “?”

Did she want to hear it again?

Suddenly, she realized the intonation at the end of Ning Xueqing’s sentence had gone up.

It was a question.