Early in the morning, by the flower garden where butterflies fluttered, Murphy leaned against the lush banyan tree, watching Yang Yi and his daughter practicing martial arts with a faint smile. Calling it martial arts practice was a bit of a stretch—it was more like Yang Yi teaching Xixi how to wield a sword!
As usual, Yang Yi had Xixi do a few sets of lunge combinations to warm up her body. He had once planned to gradually increase Xixi’s exercise load, but Murphy, worried their daughter might turn into a tomboy, strictly forbade Yang Yi from making Xixi build muscle...
Still, during practice, Xixi kept a serious little face. The little girl, dressed in a pink short-sleeved shirt and shorts, looked pretty cool with her focused expression!
"Today, Daddy will teach you a flashy move. It’s not very practical, but it looks great!" Yang Yi said. "Watch Daddy demonstrate first."
Xixi watched intently, and Murphy also widened her eyes with interest.
Yang Yi held the sword with a relaxed wrist, took a small step forward, and, using the momentum of his waist, swung it around. The stainless steel blade, though not yet sharpened, gleamed brightly. As he swung it, the light seemed to form lines, and the lines merged into surfaces, like blooming sword flowers.
"Amazing!" Murphy couldn’t help but exclaim.
She couldn’t articulate why it was amazing, but from an aesthetic standpoint, this flashy move was captivating!
Xixi felt the same—she had a hard time resisting beautiful things. Though still wearing a serious expression, she couldn’t hold back, clenching her little fists and whispering, "I want to learn, Daddy, I want to learn this!"
Yang Yi stopped, set the sword aside with a smile, and twisted his wrist as he said, "Come on, Xixi, let’s warm up our wrists together first."
Though Xixi was eager to produce sword flowers like her father, her patience had improved after days of practice. She obediently followed along, moving her wrists with him.
Meanwhile, Murphy playfully clasped her hands behind her back, took big strides over, and sneakily picked up Yang Yi’s sword like a thief. She tried to wave it herself, but as soon as she lifted it, she felt its heavy weight.
"Wow! So heavy!" Murphy exclaimed. She couldn’t hold it with one hand and had to grip it with both.
Xixi looked over, puffing out her chest proudly, and said, "That’s because Daddy is super strong, just like Sun Wukong! He needs a heavy weapon to feel comfortable!"
Yang Yi took the iron sword from a disappointed Murphy, smiled slightly, and said, "If you want to play with it, I’ll have someone make a lighter one for you later."
"No, no!" Murphy shook her head. "I don’t have time to play with it anyway. I’ll be starting to record songs again soon!"
Right, she was about to head back to the company to prepare for a new album. For convenience, she’d naturally stay at the Binhai District house. Yang Yi felt a lot of reluctance, but he had to understand Murphy’s hard work and didn’t try to persuade her to stay.
Yang Yi shook his head, gathered his thoughts, and continued explaining to Xixi: "This move is called ‘sword flower twirling.’ It has two types: one is the ‘wrist-cut flower,’ and the other is the ‘wrist-lift flower.’"
Yang Yi and Xixi stood facing each other, each holding a sword. Xixi mimicked her father, raising her wooden sword.
"For both, you need to pay attention to your hand position. Like this, keep two fingers tight, but not too tight, so your wrist and sword can move flexibly."
"But Xixi doesn’t know how to twirl it," the little girl pouted, saying to her father.
Yang Yi transferred the sword to his left hand and used his right to guide Xixi’s small hand. "Come on, follow Daddy’s movements slowly. For the wrist-cut flower, the sword turns from outward to downward, inward, and then outward again."
With her father’s hands-on guidance, Xixi quickly developed some muscle memory and managed to produce a bit of a sword flower.
"So tiring! My hand is sore," Xixi said after a while, unable to keep going since she was still a child.
Murphy finally found her purpose. She quickly grabbed Xixi’s bottle from the bag nearby and said, "Rest if you’re tired. Girls shouldn’t rush to learn such rough things. Take it slow. Have some soy milk first."
With Murphy doting on her, Yang Yi could only stand by helplessly, holding his sword. He spoiled his daughter too, but when Xixi practiced with him alone, she wasn’t nearly as delicate!
After less than five minutes of learning, the break was longer. It was only when Xixi felt she’d rested enough that the little girl grabbed her wooden sword and bounced over to her father to continue learning.
"The reason your hand got sore earlier is that you weren’t using the right force. You need to fully engage your waist to reduce the strain on your wrist," Yang Yi said, patting his waist with his left hand as a demonstration while twirling the sword.
He stopped and gestured to Xixi. "Try it yourself. Find the rhythm and feel of twisting your waist."
The little girl had some talent. She remembered the wrist-cut flower move and, without needing her father’s detailed instructions, twisted her slender waist left and right, gradually finding a bit of the feeling.
"Not bad. You can speed up a little," Yang Yi said with an approving look.
Praise from her father lit up the little girl’s face with joy, and her enthusiasm grew.
"Let’s try the wrist-lift flower. It’s the opposite of the wrist-cut flower—it goes from inward to outward," Yang Yi said, demonstrating first and then guiding his daughter’s hand as before.
Xixi learned quickly, and soon she was smoothly performing both moves.
"Alright, it’s about time to go back for breakfast!" Murphy said, still protective of her daughter and not letting Yang Yi teach any further.
"Okay, we’ll practice the continuous moves tomorrow," Yang Yi said, putting the sword away and cupping his fist to Xixi.
"Yes!" Xixi mimicked him, holding the sword handle upside down and cupping her fist in return.
Xixi was taller than other kids her age, and her mature demeanor now made her look not just cool but like a beautiful young girl!
Murphy couldn’t help but chuckle. She took Xixi’s hand and said softly, "Our Xixi is so smart, isn’t she? Your daddy told mommy that Xixi learns things really fast! Mommy is so happy!"
"Hehe!" The little girl, now acting like a four-year-old, snuggled into her mother’s arms, smiling shyly.
"But mommy doesn’t want Xixi to become as stern as daddy. Xixi should be a good girl, okay? Learn piano and sing with mommy!" Murphy seized the opportunity.
Yang Yi, following behind, smiled helplessly.
He wasn’t that stern—he’d only lost his temper once, snapping at Murphy. Usually, though not a smooth talker, he was at least a gentle and refined good man, right?
"Mm-hmm, Xixi likes playing the piano too," Xixi replied.
The three of them, bathed in the morning sun, walked along the flower-scented path toward home.