Fated Love With the Billionaire
Chapter 76 Photo Album

Chapter 76: Chapter 76 Photo Album

Chen Ningxi’s eyes darted around, and before she could speak, Cheng Qiaobei leaned in behind her back, his husky voice whispering in her ear, "If you can’t make one up, I’ll help you."

Chen Ningxi stifled a laugh and turned around, her eyes and brows full of mirth. "This is a gift from a high school alum."

"High school alum?" Not even a classmate, just an alum gifting a doll for no reason—there’s got to be a story behind that.

"Ah, a high school alum," Chen Ningxi replied, trying to sound righteous, as she watched Cheng Qiaobei’s expression. "In the first year of high school during the sports meet, I was a volunteer responsible for helping the teachers with the awards. An alum took first place in the 4x200-meter relay, took his certificate, and left the doll behind, saying it was for me."

Cheng Qiaobei narrowed his eyes, "This kind-hearted classmate was a boy, wasn’t he?"

Chen Ningxi replied, "Yes. Boys definitely don’t like dolls, so it was only natural to give it to me."

Cheng Qiaobei maintained an expression of indifference, but his words dripped with sarcasm. "So many years have passed, and you still remember it was the 4x200-meter relay. Your memory is really impressive."

He walked to the other side of the bookshelf, eyeing the rows of books. "I’m envious, really. How come when I was competing, there wasn’t a pretty junior by my side? I could have given her all the awards, because you know, I’m generous."

Chen Ningxi exclaimed, and Cheng Qiaobei turned his face to hear her say, "Are you jealous or envious?"

Cheng Qiaobei flashed a wicked, charming smile. "What’s the difference between those words describing how I feel now?"

"What’s there to be jealous about? It’s all childhood stuff; holding a grudge really doesn’t suit your style."

Cheng Qiaobei said, "Fine, I accept your compliment. I’m not a petty person. After all, you don’t understand love when you’re young."

Chen Ningxi glanced at him with a smile and raised the photo album in her hand. "Aren’t you curious about what I looked like when I was a kid?"

Cheng Qiaobei pulled her over to the desk. "Curious, I want to see how cute my little Ningxi was."

Before opening the album, Chen Ningxi pressed her hands on it. "Promise me you won’t laugh."

Cheng Qiaobei wondered how funny she meant by "won’t laugh," but based on Chen Ningxi’s current demeanor, nothing in there should make him lose his composure.

"No problem."

Once Chen Ningxi got a firm answer, she slowly opened the first page.

At first, the photos were quite normal, featuring Chen Ningxi’s hundred-day-old pictures, mostly taken with her parents holding her. But as she started walking, the style took a dramatic turn.

"!"

If Cheng Qiaobei didn’t have good self-control, he would have burst out laughing.

Chen Ningxi looked up to gauge his expression. "Are you trying not to laugh?"

Cheng Qiaobei shook his head, barely suppressing his laughter that was harder to manage than an AK’s recoil. He feigned seriousness and asked, "No, I wasn’t laughing. How old were you here?"

Chen Ningxi replied, "Three years old."

Cheng Qiaobei took advantage of the moment when she bowed down to describe the photo, raising his hand to rub his aching cheek. "You’re brave, daring to take a photo holding a goose."

Chen Ningxi said, "This was taken the year my dad was sent to a rural area for grassroots work. We lived in a villager’s house that had chickens, ducks, geese, and dogs. As soon as I started walking steadily, I’d play in the courtyard with those poultry, so I wasn’t afraid anymore. But this goose would bully me, chasing and nipping my legs. You wouldn’t believe how painful a goose’s peck could be. That day, it bullied me again, so I used my arm to pin its head down and bit it to subdue it. My mom, who was working as a journalist at the time, heard the commotion and came out for a look. Instead of separating us, she went back in for her camera and took a picture of me and that goose. This photo even won some award when she submitted it to the newspaper."

Cheng Qiaobei looked at the picture of Chen Ningxi with her pigtail pulled sideways, a tuft of goose feathers near her mouth, eyebrows furrowed, her expression fierce yet adorable.

The other pictures were of Chen Ningxi and the courtyard’s poultry. There was one of her squatting in the chicken coop, watching a hen lay eggs. The hen, startled, leaped up, scaring Chen Ningxi, who covered her head. Even the dog had lipstick applied, eyebrows drawn, and a floral kerchief tied, looking like a landmine-stealing outlaw.

"Hahaha..." Cheng Qiaobei couldn’t help himself. His shoulders shook with laughter like a sieve, unable to stop.

In summary, judging from the photos, during those years in the countryside, she hadn’t spared an animal in that courtyard.

As she grew older, she moved with her father’s job transfer to the town. Their living situation changed as well, residing in a two-story tubular building behind the supply and marketing cooperative. She still managed to produce a variety of amusing photos, including one where her head was stuck between the railing bars, her face covered with tear-streaked snot bubbles, an expression both exasperating and amusing.

"Chen Ningxi," Cheng Qiaobei murmured, his hand tenderly smoothing the top of her head, "were you spanked a lot when you were this naughty?"

Chen Ningxi looked at the photos, her eyes filled with nostalgia, a serene smile on her lips as she shook her head. "No, from childhood until now, my parents never laid a finger on me. I always wondered, looking at these photos and all the trouble I caused, why they never spanked me. Later on, as I grew up, I asked my mom, ’Other kids get spanked when they act out, how come you never hit me?’

My mom said, ’You’re our only one. We don’t even have time to love you, let alone hit you. Even though you were young and mindless, when I explained things to you, you remembered and never made the same mistake twice. Besides, she and your dad felt it was hard enough on you to move around all the time with them. They felt sorry for you, let alone have the heart to hit you."

"What about uncle? Did he never think of spanking you?" Cheng Qiaobei asked.

Chen Ningxi’s smile faded. "He... he was always busy, never had the time for me. When I got into trouble, it was always my mom who cleaned up the mess. You see, now dad listens to mom at home. Whatever she says goes. Maybe he feels guilty for how much suffering my mom went through those years, caring for everything inside and outside the house."

As Cheng Qiaobei flipped through the photos, he listened to Chen Ningxi recounting each interesting memory. As he looked, he felt a growing inexplicable feeling inside.

The albums recording Chen Ningxi’s growth numbered over ten, yet the photos documenting his own childhood were scarce. Seeing the annual family pictures of Chen Ningxi’s family only made his heart heavy.

Due to the special status of him and his mother, they were always hidden by his father and often moved house. Not only did they never take a family photo together as a family of three, but there wasn’t even a single photo of him with his father. His memory held only images of his mother and himself, while his mother’s energy was drained by her machinations against his father’s first wife, neglecting his upbringing and nearly ignoring him altogether.

Cheng Qiaobei stared at the photo of Chen Ningxi on her first day in high school, her parents by her side, her smile vibrant like a blooming flower.

Some people’s lives are colorful, while others are a mess.