CHAPTER 20
The theme of the nursery amusement park event, Qimingxing Nursery, was very meaningful.
The central playground of the kindergarten was arranged to resemble a small shopping mall, with each class having a designated activity area to sell various small items made by parents and children together.
In the end, all the profits would be donated to the Empire's charitable organizations on behalf of the entire kindergarten community.
Of course, there was also competition within the event.
Based on class units, the class with the highest net profit would be awarded the title of "Qimingxing Best Class."
"The teacher said that we're in a small class, so we usually can't win the Best Class title," Yunmiao said as she added decorative cream to the cookies, talking to Shu Yanyan. "But we still have to strive and try our best!"
Shu Yanyan nodded.
Certainly, older children would have better manual skills, and the "small items" they can create will likely be more valuable.
But she still encouraged them, saying, "We just need to do our best. Mommy thinks Yunmiao's cookies are super amazing."
Little Yunmiao looked down at the cookies she was working on.
Most of the credit for baking the cookies went to Shu Yanyan. Under her skillful hands, the cookies were uniform in size, with clear patterns and a rich aroma of milk that made Yunmiao secretly drool.
Because of this, Shu Yanyan no longer intervened in the decorating work. After filling small piping bags with different colors of cream, she let Yunmiao take charge.
Yunmiao had difficulty controlling her strength, resulting in some cookies having cream that was as big as a cherry, while others had cream the size of a soybean. Some had high mounds of cream, while others were lopsided. Individually, they might have been fine, but when the cookies were placed together, they didn't look very appealing.
Yunmiao pouted, "They look so ugly..."
Shu Yanyan smiled.
She deliberately picked the ugliest "failed piece" from the plate and tasted it, then widened her eyes and praised, "Wow, it tastes amazing!" She then offered a piece to Yunmiao, saying, "Try it quickly. Doesn't the cream make the cookies even more delicious?"
Yunmiao exclaimed, "Wow!"
Shu Yanyan gently wiped away the crumbs from her lips and said, "See, no matter what the cream looks like, as long as the cookies themselves taste good, it doesn't matter. Yunmiao's job is to make the cookies more delicious!"
Yunmiao's face immediately brightened upon hearing this, and she nodded vigorously, saying, "Yeah!"
Shu Yanyan checked the quantity of cookies and reminded them, "Alright, let's prepare this many for now."
"Take the rest inside the nursery for now. If someone buys them, we can continue decorating." Shu Yanyan instructed.
Decorated cookies couldn't be stacked together, as it would be difficult to transport the ones that hadn't been decorated yet.
Yunmiao obediently agreed and turned to help Shu Yanyan tidy up.
Once they finished cleaning up, Shu Yanyan was about to call a public hover car when she received a message on her wristband.
[Chu Yu: Are you ready? I'm at the usual spot.]
The usual spot?
Shu Yanyan's mind raced, and she looked out the window, where she indeed saw a car parked where Chu Yu had been before.
[Shu Yanyan: Why did you come... Yunmiao and I can go by ourselves. It's too much trouble for you.]
[Chu Yu: That's not acceptable.]
[Chu Yu: It's our agreement, isn't it?]
Shu Yanyan felt a bit troubled.
Yunmiao approached and asked, "Mommy, what's wrong?"
Shu Yanyan shook her head. "It's nothing."
If Yunmiao had been causing trouble for someone else, Shu Yanyan would have definitely taught her a lesson. But unfortunately...
Shu Yanyan crouched down and gently touched her precious daughter's face. "Does Yunmiao really like her big sister?"
Yunmiao's eyes lit up, already guessing what was happening. "Did big sister come?"
She jumped up in excitement and passionately declared, "Yes, Yunmiao really, really likes her big sister!"
Shu Yanyan then asked, "...But why?"
Yunmiao, although obedient, had never shown such strong affection for someone she had known for such a short time. While the Fang Suqing and her daughter had also recently met them, they had interacted through video calls long before, so they weren't considered strangers.
Yunmiao wrinkled her little nose and started to seriously ponder, taking a long time to come up with an answer.
"Because... because big sister is pretty."
Shu Yanyan felt helpless and lightly tapped her nose. "You little flirt! How can you, how can you just like someone because they're pretty..."
She couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence...
Suddenly, Shu Yanyan remembered that if she hadn't been captivated by Shu Qing's beauty back then, she wouldn't have this precious daughter now.
Indeed, nothing compares to one's biological child!
Shu Yanyan awkwardly stood up and changed the subject. "Ahem, big sister is here to pick you up. Let's get ready and go out."
Yunmiao grinned and cheered happily, then scurried off like a little hamster to find her small backpack.
Ten minutes later, Shu Yanyan, Yunmiao, and Little Guan Guan climbed into Chu Yu's car.
Chu Yu had thought it through carefully. Shu Yanyan wasn't familiar with cars, but this one looked relatively ordinary from the outside, even a bit old-fashioned, so it wouldn't give off an impression of being "super-duper expensive" at first glance. And Chu Yu himself wore a plain mechanical mask.
Once Yunmiao was seated and settled, she looked at Chu Yu with great joy.
Chu Yu switched the hover car to autopilot mode and turned to tease her. "Why are you so happy? What are you smiling about?"
Yunmiao covered her mouth and imitated Chu Yu wearing a mask. "Big sister, why do you, wear a mask?"
Chu Yu felt a bit guilty and touched the top of her head. "That's my secret, for now. I can't let anyone figure out my true identity for now."
Chu Yu had intentionally included the word "for now" in her statement, indicating that if their relationship became more stable, there would be no need to be so cautious and secretive.
Yunmiao nodded. "I know, big sister!"
She continued, "Because big sister is the emperor, right? That's why you can't let others know, isn't it?"
Chu Yu smiled. "Exactly, Yunmiao is really smart."
Yunmiao proudly puffed out her chest. "The emperor still needs to find an empress and then go together to pick up the little princess!"
Upon hearing this, Shu Yanyan, who had been quietly sitting on the side, almost couldn't contain herself!
The talk of empresses and princesses was just playful banter at their dining table. How could she have known that this little troublemaker would say it in front of Chu Yu, the person involved?
But now it was too late to stop it. Chu Yu smiled, glancing at Shu Yanyan before lowering her head to ask Yunmiao, "Is that so? Who said that?"
Yunmiao replied, "Mommy said it."
Shu Yanyan couldn't hold back anymore. "N-No, that's not true."
She felt like she should explain something, but she couldn't find the right words. All she could do was speak softly, "I...I was just teasing the child."
Chu Yu tilted her head and focused on the key point. "So, does Yanyan usually pay attention to the news about me?"
Shu Yanyan quickly grabbed the little chubby bird who was watching the scene beside her. "This little one, this little one watches sometimes."
Little Guan Guan blinked in confusion. "?"
Chu Yu smiled knowingly, then lowered her head and started playing with little Yunmiao again. Seeing this, Shu Yanyan sighed in relief, glad that she had managed to divert the topic.
The hover car was speeding, and after about ten minutes, they arrived at the entrance of the kindergarten, where it was even more lively than usual due to the park day event. The crowded scene was filled with people. Chu Yu helped carry the box of cookies, and Shu Yanyan freed up her hand to call Fang Suqing and confirm her location.
While she was busy, Yunmiao pulled Chu Yu aside to speak in a hushed voice.
"Big sister, do you still remember, remember what I told you before?" The little girl seemed a bit shy, and her cheeks blushed slightly as she spoke.
Chu Yu nodded.
She tapped her mask. "You see, with the mask, no one can see my appearance. So when the time comes, you can tell that questioning little friend of yours that I am your mother."
She said this because she wasn't sure if others knew the true appearance of Yunmiao's mother.
To her surprise, Yunmiao paused for a moment and then spoke up, "Actually... you look even more like her without the mask."
This time, it was Chu Yu who was taken aback.
It wasn't the first time she had heard Yunmiao say this, but she hadn't taken her words seriously before. However, now, based on her feelings towards Shu Yanyan, she couldn't simply dismiss this piece of information—
After all, she needed to make sure that Shu Yanyan's fondness for her wasn't due to some "replacement" effect.
So she asked earnestly, "Do I look very similar to your mother? Do you have any pictures or videos of her?"
Yunmiao pouted. "No, I don't."
She looked towards Shu Yanyan, not far away. "Mommy has some pictures, and there's... um, half of her face in them."
Chu Yu felt puzzled.
Is there anyone in this era who doesn't leave visual data of their partner?
Yunmiao pulled up her trouser leg and volunteered, "I'll let Mommy show it to you!"
Chu Yu nodded.
She bent down and picked up Yunmiao, intending to return to Shu Yanyan's side. However, she suddenly saw Shu Yanyan raise her hand and wave in another direction, calling out to a tall woman who was also holding a child.
Chu Yu paused her steps.
She asked little Yunmiao for information, "Who is that?"
"It's Tian Tian! It's Tian Tian!" Little Yunmiao exclaimed excitedly, "And Aunt Fang too!"
"Aunt Fang..." Chu Yu mumbled the name as she processed it. She then composed herself and confidently walked towards that direction.
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