Life is just too wonderful!
At home, there’s Daddy, Mommy, and the three new little friends. Xixi feels like her heart is soaked in honey every day—always so sweet!
Before the three kittens arrived, Xixi’s happiest moment each day was waiting for Daddy to tell her the story of that monkey at night, and maybe even play with the golden cudgel for a bit!
Oh, right! After hearing the story of Sun Wukong, Xixi asked Daddy curiously one morning: “Daddy, why can’t Xixi learn the golden cudgel like Sun Wukong?”
Yang Yi answered her like this: “Sticks are for boys to play with—how rough! Xixi’s learning the sword, a girl’s sword. Daddy named it the Jade Maiden Sword Technique, learned from a master called Little Dragon Girl. Once Xixi masters it, it’ll be even more beautiful than the golden cudgel! Gentle and lively, graceful and elegant, just like a little fairy!”
“So, Xixi, do you want to be a little fairy or a little monkey?”
“I want to be a little fairy!” Xixi chose the former without a second thought.
That’s a bit off-topic. After the three kittens arrived, the appeal of Daddy’s stories seemed to drop a notch. Though Xixi still insisted on hearing a story before bed to settle down, she no longer pestered Daddy for tales during the day. Instead, she’d seize every chance to sidle up to the kittens.
“Little Sweetie, you’ve got to grab it this time!” Xixi muttered, lowering her voice as if only her Little Sweetie could hear.
She raised the cat teaser high—too high for the kittens to reach. They all craned their little heads, staring up. The biggest one, Little Gray, even tried standing on its hind legs, reaching with its front paws, but of course, it couldn’t. The kitten’s limbs weren’t strong enough yet; after a brief struggle, it gave up and crouched with the others.
“One, two, three…” Xixi’s voice rang out crisp and clear, as if the kittens could understand, counting down until three, when she dropped the teaser she’d been swinging side to side.
She just tossed the whole teaser to the ground… Though Xixi had gotten used to being around the kittens, seeing their sharp little teeth still made her a bit timid.
Little Gray, being the strongest, was the first to straighten up, pouncing with both paws to pin the mouse-shaped cloth bag to the floor, then gnawing at it with its small mouth.
Duoduo was slower, but using its body advantage, it hopped over and squeezed into a spot beside Little Gray, baring its tiny teeth to bite the fluffy feathers.
Little Sweetie was the slowest. It couldn’t snatch a spot or push past its “big brother” and “big sister” kittens, so it just paced anxiously nearby, finally resorting to pawing at the long plastic stick.
But the plastic stick clearly couldn’t compete with the feathers and cloth bag—Little Sweetie didn’t even try to bite it.
The kind-hearted little girl worried her Little Sweetie might feel discouraged. She reached out, scooped the kitten into her arms, scratched behind its ears, and comforted it: “Okay, Little Sweetie, it’s no big deal!”
But Little Sweetie wasn’t having it. It squirmed in Xixi’s arms, letting out two soft “meow, meow” cries.
“You want to try again? Then you’ve got to work hard!” Xixi barely managed to wrestle the teaser back from Little Gray and Duoduo’s mouths—it was like a tug-of-war.
Don’t underestimate those delicate little kittens—they’ve got some bite strength!
“Let’s have another competition!” Xixi said, playing house-style, reaching out to tap each kitten’s head as if they could understand.
“Xixi’s starting now!” The little girl gently waved the teaser, kindly “warning” the kittens.
The kittens stared at the teaser with longing eyes, even Little Sweetie fidgeting, paws twitching, ready to spring.
If they could talk, they’d surely tell Xixi: “Stop dawdling, just start already!”
Xixi “dropped” the teaser again, but this time, she clearly favored a spot! Little Sweetie didn’t even have to try—it spun around and pounced on the cloth bag. But it was more interested in the feathers, hugging the bag with both front paws and gnawing at the feathers.
“Yay, Little Sweetie wins!” Xixi clapped her hands joyfully.
She happily scooped up Little Sweetie again, nuzzling her cheek against the kitten’s forehead: “My Little Sweetie is the best!”
“Little Gray and Duoduo are great too!” Xixi worried the other two kittens might feel left out, so she gave them a thumbs-up.
But Little Gray and Duoduo couldn’t care less about Xixi right then! They noticed the “treasure” Little Sweetie had grabbed was free again and pounced on it without hesitation. The two cats even started fighting over it!
Little Sweetie had it worst. It had barely gotten a taste of the toy it fought so hard to snatch from the bigger kittens before its little owner picked it up! The poor kitten could only whimper “meow, meow” in frustration.
Just then, Xixi suddenly heard Mommy’s tearful shout: “Yang Yi, you jerk!”
The little girl blinked her big, confused eyes. As she turned her head, she saw Mommy wiping tears from the corners of her eyes, running past her.
Mo Fei dashed into the master bedroom and slammed the door shut with a loud “bang.”
Yang Yi, who had been sitting on the sofa discussing kindergarten with Mo Fei enthusiastically, stood up but eventually sat back down with a furrowed brow.
Though Xixi was still young, she sensed something was off between her parents. She quickly hugged Little Sweetie and walked over to Daddy.
Little Sweetie’s helpless, conflicted meows snapped Yang Yi out of his thoughts. He looked at his daughter, who was staring at him timidly, and his gaze gradually softened.
“Don’t worry, go play with Little Sweetie and the others!” Yang Yi reached out, ruffled his daughter’s hair, and said gently.
“Daddy, why is Mommy crying?” Xixi felt less tense once she sensed Daddy’s calm aura again, and she leaned against him, asking.
Yang Yi was silent for a moment before answering vaguely: “Because… because there are some things Daddy and Mommy need to talk through… Maybe, maybe it’s a misunderstanding?”
Little Sweetie squirmed impatiently, so Xixi had to set it down to play with its siblings.
But she couldn’t focus on playing with Little Sweetie! Xixi’s little mind was working hard, trying to make sense of this sudden argument in her own way. The little girl always thought Daddy had the best temper—he’d never yelled at Xixi—but Mommy would…
It must be that Mommy wasn’t being good and made Daddy angry!
But Xixi really didn’t want her parents to fight. They’d argued before, terribly, and then Mommy wouldn’t talk to Daddy. Xixi was scared—she didn’t want to go back to how things were, didn’t want them to live apart, where she could only ever see one of them…
That wouldn’t be happy at all!
The little girl grabbed Daddy’s hand and pleaded in a begging tone: “Daddy, please don’t be mad at Mommy, okay? Mommy will be good like Xixi, and she’ll listen from now on!”