Chapter 14 — "Adorable Babies" Maternity and Baby Store

Bright and warm tones filled the room, with shelves neatly arranged and spotless; even the air seemed to carry a sweet and pure fragrance.

"Monday, business is slow!"

It seemed to be a universal rule across all trades, so every Monday Xu Ningning would tidy up early, ready to close shop, just waiting for Lin Xiaowen to pick up Ranran from kindergarten. Afterwards, she would drive them both home before heading back herself.

But today was an exception...

Standing behind the counter, Xu Ningning gnawed at her pen cap, her expression grave as she scrutinized Cheng Yishu, who sat on the sofa in the lounge area—her demeanor entirely reminiscent of a detective piecing together a case.

The man, bundled up so tightly that not a trace of him was visible, had entered and immediately asked whether Lin Xiaowen was in. Xu Ningning had replied, “Xiaowen has gone to pick up Ranran; they’ll be back soon…” After that, he hadn’t uttered another word.

Wearing a fisherman hat and a black mask, he sat alone, fiddling with his phone. He hadn’t even touched the water she’d brought him.

At first, Xu Ningning couldn’t help but wonder if this fellow liked Xiaowen, but she dismissed the thought almost immediately. After all, had anyone ever looked so cold—and even a little angry—when visiting someone they fancied?

“Auntie Ningning, we’re back! Xiaowen said we don’t have to work tonight—can we go have hamburgers together?”

The moment the door opened, Ranran’s cheerful, childlike voice rang out like a little magpie just freed from its cage.

“Oh, my sweet Ranran…”

Xu Ningning tossed aside the mangled pen and hurried out from behind the counter, scooping Ranran up with a broad smile.

“What did you have for lunch at kindergarten today? Did you take a good nap?”

“Hehe…”

Ranran wrapped her arms around Xu Ningning’s neck, grinning with pursed lips. “You and Xiaowen ask the same questions every day!”

“Well, of course! Xiaowen’s your real mom, and I’m your second mom. Both moms love you, so of course we both care about you!”

Unable to resist, Xu Ningning planted a kiss on Ranran’s cheek, then rubbed their noses together, utterly unwilling to let go.

Xu Ningning wasn’t wrong—aside from Lin Xiaowen, she was probably the one who cared most for Ranran, having watched her grow up from infancy.

“Ranran, come down now… Don’t get Second Mom’s clothes dirty. I told you not to run, but you never listen! I can’t keep up!”

Lin Xiaowen, just in the door, complained as she gently detached Ranran from Xu Ningning.

“I keep telling you, but you never listen—you’re going to be the death of me!” She tapped Ranran’s forehead with a soft sigh.

“Xiaowen, someone’s here to see you.”

Xu Ningning gestured toward the lounge, where Cheng Yishu had already risen and was walking over.

Lin Xiaowen was taken aback. How did he find this place?

“Big Brother!”

Ranran, on the other hand, was delighted. She darted over, hugged Cheng Yishu’s hand, and looked up at him. “How come you’re here, Big Brother?”

Cheng Yishu’s tense expression instantly softened. He patted her fluffy head and replied, “I came… to see you.”

Seeing the joy in the child’s eyes, Cheng Yishu swallowed down the words he’d nearly spoken—“I came to settle accounts with your mother.”

“How did you find this place?” Lin Xiaowen didn’t recall ever telling him about it.

“Your social media, of course!” Cheng Yishu answered matter-of-factly. “Did you know you don’t have geotagging blocked on your posts?”

“Why are you looking at my posts anyway?” Lin Xiaowen retorted. “Since you’re here, pay me back!”

“Pay you back?” The mention made Cheng Yishu snort with indignation.

“Lin Xiaowen, you shouldn’t be called ‘Little Mosquito’; ‘Vampire’ would suit you better! Just look at your messages—I didn’t check my phone for a single afternoon and there were over ten debt collection texts from you. And the interest just kept piling up… Not even loan sharks charge interest by the hour!”

“I warned you in advance, but you didn’t believe me! Who told you to refuse to pay when you clearly had the money, then claim you forgot…” Lin Xiaowen scoffed coldly. “Didn’t you say you were in Hunan? Yet here you are in Shanghai the next day—what, do you have a ‘return-to-city’ voucher or something?”

“If it weren’t for your barrage of texts, would I have rushed straight here from the airport?”

“So you have the money but refuse to pay, and now you’re blaming me for chasing you? When you bought that wine, did you even consider whether you had money in your pocket?”

Lin Xiaowen began to doubt if the Cheng Yishu that Xu Ningning had described was really the same man standing before her. Perhaps stardom was just a façade—not only was he not as glamorous as he seemed, but he was downright poor. No, extremely poor.

“I have no money?” Cheng Yishu gritted his teeth, exhaling sharply. “Even if I did, you think I’d let you swindle me like this?”

“I don’t care. You’re not leaving this shop until you pay me!” Lin Xiaowen planted herself in front of Cheng Yishu, arms akimbo, daring him to try.

“Can you two please not start fighting the minute you see each other?” Xu Ningning timidly interjected, glancing between their faces, already feeling a headache coming on.

“Big Brother…”

Ranran looked up at him seriously. “Why is Xiaowen asking you for money? Did you buy something? Do you have a baby at home too?”

In Ranran’s mind, Cheng Yishu’s presence in a maternity and baby store could only mean he had come to buy baby products—so naturally her mother was asking him to pay.

“No, no… Big Brother doesn’t… have a baby…” Cheng Yishu flushed, stammering.

“Exactly!” Lin Xiaowen grabbed her daughter’s hand and moved a little further away from Cheng Yishu.

“Someone as unreliable as him could never find a wife, let alone have a baby…” She shot him a glare, swallowing the last, unseemly word—she couldn’t curse in front of a child.

“How am I unreliable? I wanted to pay you in person—who knows if a money-grubber like you would accept the money and then claim you never got it?” In his agitation, Cheng Yishu began spouting nonsense, caring little for logic.

“Money-grubber, am I?”

Lin Xiaowen rolled up her sleeves, her indignant glare making Cheng Yishu’s scalp tingle.

“What, hey—no getting physical, remember?”

Sensing danger, Cheng Yishu took two cautious steps back, keeping his guard up.

“Relax, I won’t lay a hand on you.”

But when Lin Xiaowen smiled through clenched teeth, Xu Ningning shivered, feeling a sense of déjà vu. She quickly reached out and pulled Ranran to her side.

“I’ll use my foot!”

The words had barely left her lips when Lin Xiaowen lifted her sneakered left foot and aimed a kick at Cheng Yishu’s backside. Quick on his feet, Cheng Yishu dodged, but her shoe just grazed his black pants, leaving a faint gray streak.

Undeterred by the failed attempt, she kicked again—only for Cheng Yishu to grab her ankle in midair.

And so, the tableau froze in this ridiculous scene—

Xu Ningning stared, dumbfounded, with Ranran in her arms. Ranran herself gazed in awe, mouth agape, admiring her mother’s exceptional martial prowess.

Lin Xiaowen, both startled and embarrassed, tried to pull back her leg from Cheng Yishu’s grasp, while he, with a mischievous glint in his eye, looked at her flushed face…