“I didn’t burn any ‘sunny-boosting incense’—stop talking nonsense in front of the child!” she said, then rummaged through the wardrobe and tossed a set of clothes to Ling Hanyu. “Change into these.”

Ling Hanyu gave Song Qingtian a puzzled look, but the burning heat inside him was impossible to suppress any longer. He took the clothes, shot her a glare, and walked away.

Song Qingtian let out a deep sigh of relief. This was too difficult—she had to get out of here as soon as possible.

This time, she hadn’t even brought a suitcase; after all, she couldn’t possibly wear those seductive outfits. Instead, she grabbed a backpack, stuffed in her jewelry box and bank card, added some milk powder and baby bottles, then scooped up Nuonuo and headed downstairs.

“Nuonuo, shall we play hide-and-seek with Daddy?”
“Sure, sure!”
After soothing Nuonuo, Song Qingtian hurried off. Thinking about how Ling Hanyu had looked just moments before, full of unfulfilled desire, she even sent a text to Song Yinyin, calculating that if they were to have a little love baby, the story would take a completely different turn—and she wouldn’t have to die after all!

She was feeling quite smug, but just as she reached the villa’s entrance, she ran into a flustered Secretary.

Seeing Song Qingtian, he breathed a sigh of relief—but when he noticed the outfit she was wearing, his suspicion grew. If it weren’t for the fact that he knew just how relentlessly Song Qingtian pursued Ling Hanyu, he’d have suspected she was running away with the child! Still, as a proper secretary, he felt obliged to ask when something seemed suspicious.

“Miss Song, where are you headed?”
“To the amusement park.”
“We’re going to play hide-and-seek with Daddy!”
The starkly contrasting answers—one from an adult, the other from a child—only heightened the Secretary’s doubts. He knew full well that Song Qingtian was completely indifferent to Mr. Ling, but when it came to this daughter, Mr. Ling was very protective.

“If you’re going to the amusement park, I can drive you there,” the Secretary offered.
“Haha!”
Song Qingtian forced a sheepish smile. “I suddenly think the weather isn’t good today—let’s go tomorrow instead.”
With that, she turned around, clutching Nuonuo, and headed straight back into the villa. Thinking about how foolishly she’d just sent a message to Song Yinyin, she wanted to smack herself silly!

Back at the villa, Song Qingtian quickly stashed her backpack away and was just about to do something to pass the time when little Nuonuo nuzzled her face.

“Mommy, I’m hungry.”
The Song Qingtian in the book couldn’t cook, but the 21st-century Song Qingtian sure could! As a foodie and homebody, she watched cooking shows and tried her hand at recipes every day. Not only was she great at taking care of her own stomach, but when she got bored, she also studied lots of recipes for kids’ meals.

“Alright, let’s make something delicious.”
Song Qingtian fetched a high chair and wheeled it into the kitchen, then helped Nuonuo sit down properly.

“Nuonuo, Mommy’s going to make you something yummy—be good and don’t move around, okay?”
“Okay, Mommy!”
Ling Nuonuo’s dark, grape-like eyes locked onto Song Qingtian. This time, Mommy seemed different—before, she’d always been stern with her and never cooked for her at all, but now she was treating her so well.

Song Qingtian opened the fridge and found all kinds of ingredients neatly arranged inside. Remembering that Nuonuo loved shrimp, she pulled out a box of large green shrimp.

She boiled some water, then quickly peeled the shrimp, removed the veins, rinsed them clean, and blended them into a shrimp paste using the food processor.

Next, she swiftly shaped the paste into small meatballs.

By this time, the water in the pot had come to a boil, so she dropped the meatballs in. When the shrimp balls were almost cooked through, she added noodles and greens, seasoned with salt and soy sauce, and fried a heart-shaped poached egg in another pan.

Keeping a close eye on the timing, she served the fresh shrimp-ball vegetable noodles and the poached egg together on the dining table, then scooted Nuonuo over to join them.

“Wow!”
Ling Nuonuo’s eyes lit up. She hurried over to Song Qingtian, gently sniffed her face, and planted a kiss right on Song Qingtian’s cheek.

“Mommy, you’re amazing!”
After the kiss, she felt a bit nervous—after all, whenever she’d kissed Mommy before, Mommy had always complained about having saliva on her face.

End of Chapter 5: What a Little Schemer!