Diva Alpha Meets Her Biological Daughter on a Parenting Variety Show - Chapter 51

“Annoying flies,” Ning Xueqing spat coldly, immediately turning her gaze toward the child.

Mengmeng was completely absorbed in the sachet materials. The craft room was quite a distance from the front desk, so she hadn’t heard the gossip.

Fortunately, she had successfully shielded the child from the filth of the entertainment news.

Ning Xueqing turned back and gave Ming Nuo a reassuring smile, then called out to her daughter, “Mengmeng, are you all packed up? We’re heading back to the inn.”

Mengmeng responded loudly, “All done, all done! I’m just packing one more bag of lavender.”

Ming Nuo only let out a sigh of relief when she saw that Ning Xueqing wasn’t affected by the gossip. There were still staff members inside the spa, so Ming Nuo maintained a calm, unbothered demeanor. Once Mengmeng finished packing her bags, she led Ning Xueqing and the child out together.

To grab eyeballs and drive traffic, the entertainment circle concocted all sorts of bizarre leaks.

Stories ranged from famous directors traveling to Southeast Asia every year to buy amulets, to interviews claiming a newly debuted starlet had dark magic jars hidden in her house, to popular young actors falling in love with forbidden figures on set and purchasing corpse oil to cast love spells…

These were all nonsense peddled by unscrupulous accounts. However, a culture of believing in metaphysics truly existed in the circle. There was an eighty-something feng shui master in Southern China whom many A-list actors went to consult for face readings.

A few seniors Ming Nuo knew had visited that master, and they claimed he was incredibly accurate. Reaching the later stages of their careers, they felt that while many people were talented and hardworking, luck and opportunity were ultimately the biggest variables for success. As for how one obtained that luck, it fell into the realm of the unexplained.

For most, it was simply about seeking psychological comfort.

Ming Nuo, however, didn’t believe in these things.

The only thing she used to believe in was that Ning Xueqing had changed her life, but Ning Xueqing had personally shattered that notion, teaching her to believe in herself instead.

Entertainment gossip was full of absolute fabrications, operating on the principle that the more bizarre a story was, the more attention it attracted.

Most netizens sneered at the narrative, choosing instead to rationally debate whether Ming Nuo’s response to the flash flood was appropriate.

They always say celebrities have a poor level of education. Have they never learned wilderness survival? Entering a forest on a rainy day? Where is her brain?

Just because a gossip account says it was a rainy day, it must be true? If it says Ming Nuo was performing a sacrifice, would you believe that too?

No, please bring a brain when surfing the web. Wasn’t the flash flood caused by a sudden downpour upstream?

I checked the weather forecast for Mount Xialing at that time. Even the meteorological department didn’t predict it. Are you seriously blaming Ming Nuo?!!

Ming Nuo couldn’t predict the weather, but she shouldn’t have run for her own life and abandoned the children to get hurt!

Are you a piece of mud from that flash flood? Did you see Ming Nuo abandon the kids and run? Natural disasters attack indiscriminately. Isn’t it perfectly normal that an adult Alpha, with a stronger physique, suffered less harm than four- or five-year-old children? =.=

At the end of the day, they aren’t her biological kids. Who knows what really happened? Ming Nuo once said in an old interview that she didn’t like children, yet she joined a parenting show. Emmm.

Can’t an artist participate in a variety show? Don’t you need to earn money? Stop with the ’emmm’ and the passive-aggressiveness.

Ming Nuo got her goddess’s kid injured. I bet Ning Xueqing won’t give her a good look for the rest of the show (laughs).

“…”

Ming Nuo felt immensely helpless as she looked at Cen Hong, who had rushed from Beijing to Xixue overnight. She hadn’t expected this minor piece of gossip to explode to the point of prompting the CEO herself to handle the public relations.

“It’s not that serious, is it?”

“Not that serious? Your trending topic has been plastered across major platforms for twenty-four hours, and I don’t even know which outlet to negotiate a hush-money fee with yet.”

Cen Hong was utterly overwhelmed. “Ming Nuo, there is a massive crackdown on cults and feudal superstitions right now. Muddy water like this wouldn’t be a huge issue at any other time, but running straight into this line of fire makes it a massive deal.”

Ming Nuo was startled. “When did that start?”

Entertainment gossip was just minor madness within their own circle, but touching a red line meant total ruin.

“Just the day before yesterday! Official directives have already been handed down, my dear Ancestor Ming!”

Ming Nuo took the tablet from Cen Hong and frowned deeply as she read the official document displayed on the government website.

With this context, the fabricated smear campaign became highly targeted and aggressive.

“Ming Nuo, have you offended anyone recently?”

“Me? No. I’ve been recording this variety show the entire month.”

Cen Hong stroked her chin. “Strange. You’re usually amiable, and I didn’t think you had any enemies… regardless, I’ll find a way to get those trending topics taken down first.”

Ming Nuo wasn’t skilled in public relations, so she deferred entirely to Cen Hong’s judgment. “Alright. I’m sorry for causing everyone trouble again.”

“Don’t talk about trouble. You’re the star singer I brought up, and so many people in our company rely on you to put food on the table. Don’t be too anxious, Ming Nuo. I’ll handle this as quickly as possible.”

When Cen Hong walked out, Ning Xueqing was standing outside with a very worried expression. Cen Hong turned around and almost bumped right into her, greeting her in surprise. Even after walking a few paces away, Cen Hong couldn’t help but look back.

If Ming Nuo hadn’t been barred from having her phone during filming, Cen Hong would have immediately sent her a message asking: Ning Xueqing seems incredibly concerned about you. What exactly did you do to her this month??

Could it be that a ten-year-old stubborn tree is finally going to bear lemons?

After Cen Hong left, Ning Xueqing returned to the inn room. Ming Nuo was standing on the balcony, lost in thought. She was wearing a hat; a portion of her hair had been shaved during medical treatment, leaving the back of her head currently bare.

Ning Xueqing gently touched her hat.

Ming Nuo turned around, and Ning Xueqing embraced her from behind, wrapping her arms around her front waist. Ming Nuo’s heart stirred slightly. Remembering their desensitization agreement, she submissively accepted her embrace.

“Did Manager Cen scold you?”

“No. She can’t bring herself to scold me.”

Ning Xueqing tilted her head up slightly. “Oh?”

Ming Nuo smiled. “She said I’m the company’s meal ticket.”

Ning Xueqing couldn’t help but laugh along with her.

Their silhouettes were faintly reflected in the glass window. Ning Xueqing reached up, smoothing out Ming Nuo’s instinctively furrowed brow.

“What are you brooding over all by yourself out here?”

Ming Nuo let out a long exhale. “Cen Hong asked me if I’ve offended anyone recently, and I can’t think of anyone. But it makes no sense unless an enemy is deliberately targeting me.”

Ning Xueqing slowly pulled back from her back, blinking her eyelashes, her voice very soft. “I don’t think you offended anyone. I think I offended someone.”

Startled, Ming Nuo spun around. “Why? Why do you say that?”

Ning Xueqing looked deeply apologetic. “I suspect it’s Qiao Jing.”

“Qiao Jing? You maintain a decent surface relationship, don’t you? Didn’t you run into each other the day before yesterday?”

“Yes, which is exactly why I kept pestering her to ask who beat her up.”

Ming Nuo: “…”

“Xueqing… you know she’s a petty person. Why provoke a venomous snake?”

Ning Xueqing replied righteously, “Oh, since when did you know Qiao Jing was petty? Have you been researching her? She shouldn’t have spoken ill of you.”

Ming Nuo instantly lost the argument. No amount of logic could override the fact that Ning Xueqing cared about her.

“I didn’t research her.” Ming Nuo turned her face away, her ears burning slightly. “Wasn’t it just that back then, when Qiao Jing posted the poster for The Water-Dropping Goddess of Mercy and tagged me to help forward it, I didn’t? After that, she unfollowed me.”

Ning Xueqing narrowed her eyes, stepping closer to carefully study Ming Nuo’s dodging expression. “You didn’t forward a poster for my movie? How strange.”

“I forwarded the Weibo posts you made.”

“Then why didn’t you forward the one Qiao Jing posted—wait, you said a poster. Which poster?”

Ming Nuo hesitated. Did she really have to get to the bottom of this question? “The movie poster.”

“There were over a dozen of them shot.”

“The ones with just you and Qiao Jing together.”

Ning Xueqing thought for a moment, her gaze searching Ming Nuo’s eyes. “The one where the policewoman handcuffs the main suspect to the bed?”

“I can’t remember clearly.” Ming Nuo decided it was best to play dumb at a time like this.

An amused glint flashed in Ning Xueqing’s eyes, and she held Ming Nuo tightly, refusing to let it go. “Why didn’t you forward the posters of the two of us?”

Ming Nuo stared at the sky. “I think I was busy with something at the time and didn’t get around to it. By the time I remembered, it was too late.”

Ning Xueqing glanced at her reddened ears, already obtaining the answer she wanted in the silence.

—Because she was the actor Ming Nuo liked.

She didn’t like shipping an on-screen couple; she only wanted to keep her idol’s beautiful photos to herself. Ning Xueqing understood the psychology of a solo fan perfectly.

Returning to the main topic, Qiao Jing’s act of unfollowing her was truly petty.

“Today’s desensitization ends here.” Ning Xueqing slowly loosened her grip around Ming Nuo, whispering in her ear, “Actually, I’m very petty, too.”

Ming Nuo turned her eyes. “In what way?”

Ning Xueqing took two steps back, tilting her head up proudly. “When I get home tomorrow, I’m going to block Qiao Jing.”

Not just unfollow, but block. Furthermore, she was going to post a screenshot of the block on Weibo.

@NingXueqingLemon: 【The third session of “Miraculous Journey” is complete! Thank you all so much for your concern. Both Mengmeng and Nuo Nuo Mammy are recovering very well [heart]~ During the recording of the third session, I ran into my old friend @ActorQiaoJing and her fiancée Leng Ling at the hospital. They were extremely concerned about Mengmeng and misunderstood Ming Nuo in their panic. Fortunately, the misunderstanding was quickly resolved—I hope this misunderstanding is truly resolved, rather than simply transferred ^_^】

The moment this post and the screenshot of Ning Xueqing blocking Qiao Jing went live, public opinion erupted into absolute chaos.

Holy cow, Qiao Jing hasn’t acted in a year, and she actually hooked up with a rich lady?!

Brilliant, absolutely brilliant. It turns out Qiao Jing clung to a wealthy family and wanted to orchestrate a massive smear campaign, preparing the competitive trending topics in advance.

Wow, could it be that Qiao Jing was planning to milk the ‘Twin Stars of Cinema’ couple hype again, kicking Ming Nuo aside to ride my Qing’s coat-tails?

The person above guessed right. Lately, there have been way more explanations and recommendations for “The Water-Dropping Goddess of Mercy.” That’s the only work Qiao Jing can actually show off, so she milks it over and over (rolls eyes).

Ning Xueqing’s Weibo post was published on the day the recording concluded. By the second day after Ming Nuo returned home, all the articles slandering her across the internet had been completely erased.

Ming Nuo breathed a sigh of relief. Thanks to Ning Xueqing tearing open a rift in the narrative, Cen Hong had finally found leverage for public relations.

“Thank you, Manager Cen. I’ll treat you to dinner another day.” Ming Nuo thanked her boss first, before preparing to thank Ning Xueqing in person.

Cen Hong’s background audio was incredibly noisy. “Thank me for what? Before I could even make a move, the news slandering you was completely pulled—spotless. I actually wanted to ask you, what exactly is Ning Xueqing’s background to possess such massive capability? I heard from the IT department that it seems someone from the Ministry of Information helped out.”

The Ministry of Information? That’s official… Even during its peak, the Ning family didn’t possess connections in that sphere.

Aside from Ning Xueqing, the person who knew about this matter, had the connection, and possessed the background to help them was…

Realization dawned on Ming Nuo. After a moment of thought, she pulled up her contacts and initiated a voice call to Chi Shu. “Help me thank your family’s Fourth Young Lady.”

Chi Shu was currently picking out dresses with Little Pea. “Don’t say that, she’s not mine. You can’t just speak carelessly! She is truly the queen of the Ji family.” Chi Shu held the phone between her shoulder and ear. “If you want to say thank you, why don’t you thank her yourself?”

Ming Nuo smiled and said, “It’s more appropriate for you to thank her on my behalf.”

“Why?”

“I think Queen Ji would be much happier hearing your voice.”

“Save me, don’t scare me like that…”

Midway through their chat, another call beeped in on Ming Nuo’s phone. She said goodbye to Chi Shu and hung up to answer it.

Ming Nuo glanced at the caller ID; it was her personal assistant, Xiao Zhu. Before heading to Xixue, she had left Xiao Zhu in Shenjiang to look after Ming Yan.

“Xiao Zhu, what’s wrong?”

“Teacher Nuo! Auntie Ming’s nanny came to find me this morning. She said Auntie Ming isn’t at home, and she hasn’t been able to contact her all day!”