When Yang Yi and Mo Fei returned to the living room, Xixi had also finished her homework. The little girl, like presenting a treasure, held up her notebook and ran over for her father to check.
"I finished it all, super seriously!" Xixi looked at her father expectantly, hoping for his praise.
Yang Yi took the notebook and "appreciated" with Mo Fei the page full of strokes their daughter had written. The little girl had indeed been very diligent, not only trying hard to imitate the examples her father had taught her but also producing a few small squares that looked quite decent—not just a half-hearted effort.
Since it was just strokes, Mo Fei couldn't fully appreciate it, but she was very pleased with her daughter's performance. She immediately bent down, picked Xixi up, and kissed her on the cheek, laughing, "Right, this kind of serious attitude makes Mommy very happy!"
"Excellent work. Daddy will come upstairs later and draw you a picture, okay?" Yang Yi also kissed Xixi on the other cheek.
Having been kissed by both parents on each side, Xixi cupped her kissed cheeks, feeling a surge of happiness. The little girl giggled with joy, completely forgetting about the drawing.
Xixi wrapped her arms around her mother's neck, bouncing slightly as they went downstairs, and asked curiously, "Where are we going?"
"We're going to the coffee shop!" Mo Fei said.
"Huh? I don't want to go to the coffee shop. I don't like drinking coffee," the little one pouted. She actually wanted to watch TV—she had been working on her homework for quite a while!
"We're not making you drink coffee. Mommy just wants to see that Ding Xiang sister you mentioned," Mo Fei said with a smile.
"Oh, oh, then I want to go play! Sister Ding Xiang is super nice. Last time, last time I took Xiao Guai down, she even helped me catch him," Xixi giggled.
Yang Yi guessed correctly—Ding Xiang was still cleaning. To save electricity, she had turned off the rows of large light tubes, leaving only dim little yellow lights on.
"Brother Yang, Xixi, and this is..." Ding Xiang heard the noise at the door and came out holding a mop. When she saw Mo Fei, she was momentarily stunned, but she didn't dare voice her guess, afraid of making a mistake.
"Sister Ding Xiang, this is my mommy!" Xixi introduced her first.
"Yeah, that's right, my wife, Mo Fei," Yang Yi nodded straightforwardly.
Mo Fei glanced at Yang Yi, a bit unaccustomed to that form of address, but she didn't argue. Instead, she smiled gently and nodded at Ding Xiang, "Hello, Ding Xiang. I've heard Yang Yi mention you many times before."
So this was the boss's wife. Ding Xiang quickly greeted Mo Fei, cautiously calling her "boss's wife."
The girl wasn't clueless either; she felt a bit anxious that Mo Fei might resent her for being female, potentially costing her this well-paying job!
But her worry was unnecessary. Seeing Ding Xiang's small, thin frame and somewhat ordinary appearance, Mo Fei's already low guard completely dropped.
"You call Yang Yi 'Brother Yang,' but you call me 'boss's wife'?" Based on the stories Yang Yi had told before, Mo Fei already had a good impression of Ding Xiang. She smiled softly and said gently, "Just call me Sister Fei."
"Okay, hello, Sister Fei!" Ding Xiang nodded.
She still hadn't recognized Mo Fei, as she had virtually no concept of entertainment celebrities.
Mo Fei let the restless Xixi down to play on her own, then took Ding Xiang's hand and said warmly, "Ding Xiang, give the mop to Yang Yi. You've worked hard all day—take a break!"
Yang Yi didn't mind. He used to clean every day himself. He took the mop from Ding Xiang, who was reluctant to let go, and headed to the back restroom to change the water.
"Daddy, I'll help you!" Xixi hopped along, her cheerful voice echoing through the empty coffee shop.
"What can you help Daddy with?"
"Um... help Daddy get water!"
"Carry the bucket? Alright, then Daddy will carry it with you."
...
Mo Fei withdrew her gaze from her daughter and looked at Ding Xiang, asking curiously, "Ding Xiang, your name sounds just like the 'ding xiang' of the lilac flower! If Yang Yi hadn't told me you're from Xiangxi, I wouldn't have guessed."
"Yeah, a lot of people think it's the lilac flower when they first hear my name," Ding Xiang said shyly, "And then they ask if I like lilacs."
"Do you like lilacs?" Mo Fei asked with interest.
"Before, I had no idea what lilacs looked like. Now I know, but I don't really like them—I think their colors are too bright," Ding Xiang said.
"Actually, there are many types of lilacs. The brightly colored ones are probably red and blue. From what I know, the Beijing lilac is very pretty—its flowers are a medicinal yellow, like baby's breath. And the lilacs from Caiyun Province, along with a white variety called Buddha's Hand Lilac, are both beautiful!" Mo Fei spoke about flowers with great enthusiasm.
The two stood hand in hand by the piano, chatting for quite a while.
Ding Xiang had already diligently wiped the tables, and before long, with Xixi's "help" (and mischief), Yang Yi finished mopping the rest of the floor.
After making Xixi wash her hands too, Yang Yi took her hand and walked out. "What are you two talking about?"
"About Ding Xiang's major. Their electronic media program is pretty interesting—not only do they study media courses, but they also learn programming. It's different from what the media students we hire at our company study," Mo Fei said.
"Electronic media—that's the big trend of the future," Yang Yi inadvertently revealed a bit of foresight, but Ding Xiang didn't grasp it, and Mo Fei wasn't interested.
"Oh, by the way!" Yang Yi suddenly thought of Mo Fei's future plan to start her own studio, and an idea popped into his head. He asked, "Ding Xiang, are there any students in your major who are good at programming or have worked on website design?"
"There should be, right? I haven't studied the advanced stuff yet, but I think some seniors are pretty skilled," Ding Xiang said.
"What are you planning to do?" Mo Fei asked curiously.
"I have an idea. If there's talent like that, I'd like to invest some money and start a project," Yang Yi said to Mo Fei with a slight smile.
Mo Fei immediately lost interest and didn't interfere with Yang Yi's spending plans.
"Then I'll ask around for you, Brother Yang, when I get back. I have a senior sister in the student union who knows a lot of people—she'll definitely help find the talent you're looking for," Ding Xiang promised earnestly.
"That's fine. Just do your best. If not, I can go to a comprehensive university in Modu and put up a recruitment notice," Yang Yi said casually, waving his hand.
"Alright, we can't keep chatting. It's too late for Ding Xiang to go back safely. Don't stay too late from now on—close up the shop around the right time. Yang Yi doesn't need that little bit of money," Mo Fei said to Ding Xiang with concern.
"It's okay, really. The campus is actually pretty safe," Ding Xiang said gratefully to Mo Fei.