Xixi’s name—the “Yang” in “Yang Xi” was easy enough; the little girl picked it up quickly. But when it came to the character “Xi,” she ran into trouble.
Under her father’s patient, hands-on guidance, the clever and nimble-fingered girl grasped it with just a hint. Yet because “Xi” was so complex, she’d always forget a detail here or there as she wrote.
“The turning part here in the ‘Kao’ section shouldn’t be written directly as an ‘S.’ You need to take it stroke by stroke, watch Daddy…” Yang Yi was incredibly patient, tirelessly guiding Xixi to correct the details.
Even so, the two characters took Xixi nearly an hour to learn—longer than her daily homework time these past few days.
“Come on, try it yourself now.” Yang Yi let go of his daughter’s hand, encouraging her.
Without her father’s hand guiding hers, Xixi was awkward at first. Though she could still write by copying the example above, the strokes came out crooked and uneven.
But progress was clearly visible. Before long, she gradually grew more practiced, and the childish “Yang Xi” began to take shape quite decently.
That was good enough. For a child this small, could you really expect her to write like a calligrapher?
Yang Yi gently rubbed the top of Xixi’s head as she sat upright at the children’s desk writing, and said softly, “That’s enough, Xixi. You’ve written it wonderfully. Go play for a bit! Look, Xiao Guai has come to call you!”
Xiao Guai, the closest to Xixi, was curious why her little owner hadn’t come to play with her for so long. With its tail held high, it paced back and forth nearby, occasionally lifting its head to peer at the little girl.
Earlier, it had tried to rub against Xixi’s little feet, but the awful poop-scooper had shooed it away a few times. Now, Xiao Guai could only express its longing this way, as if to say, “Little owner, do you see me? I’m right here! Right here!”
But today, Xixi had no intention of playing with it. The little girl, who had been preoccupied all along, was finally freed and immediately pestered her father for a story: “Daddy, Daddy, hurry up and tell me the story about the little demon kid! Is it fierce or not?”
Since Xixi had done so well today, Yang Yi decided to give her a reward. He leaped over to an empty spot in the living room, startling Duoduo, who was playing there, into a meow as it jumped onto the sofa.
“So, Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie found the Fire Cloud Cave, beat up the little demons until they ran back crying, and went to that little demon kid. That kid had a fair face with red lips, hair tied in a bun, and a red cinnabar dot between his brows…”
Yang Yi gestured vividly as he narrated, making Xixi hold her breath, her sparkling eyes fixed on her father, completely absorbed in the story.
Nearby, Xiao Guai tilted its head to glance at the awful poop-scooper, noticed he wasn’t paying it any attention, and stealthily crept closer to its little owner, sidling up to her.
But today, Xiao Guai had no chance of stealing the little owner’s affection away from “Red Boy”!
…
The next day.
“It looks like everyone has finished writing. Teacher Mu has seen all your hard work, but I still want to praise a few children: Nan Zhaoyu, your handwriting is very beautiful, and Yang Luoqi, you can write your own name independently—very good!”
“Finally, Teacher Mu wants to give a special shout-out to Yang Xi, who will receive a little red flower today. Yang Xi has made tremendous progress. She can write such a complex name completely and beautifully. Shouldn’t we give her a round of applause?”
Amid the uneven clapping and the envious glances of her classmates—especially Lan Xin, who still couldn’t write the character “Xin”—Xixi puffed out her little chest and stepped forward to receive a little red flower from Teacher Mu.
This was Xixi’s first little red flower. Before, when learning to dance, even though Xixi danced well, the flower had gone to Yang Luoqi.
This honor was something Xixi had long yearned for. Wearing the little red flower, the girl’s joyful smile barely faded all day.
Even during her afternoon nap, she slept with the corners of her mouth turned up, as if dreaming of something happy.
But joy turned to sorrow. Xixi insisted on wearing the little red flower while napping, and when she woke up in the afternoon, it was crushed flat… Compounded by her post-nap crankiness, the little girl cried her heart out.
“Wah…” Maybe it was regret, maybe it was unwillingness, but it all coalesced into an unbearable sadness that turned Xixi into a tearful mess in Teacher Shen’s arms.
No matter how Teacher Shen tried to soothe her, it was useless. Xixi’s eyes were swollen from crying, her tear-streaked face pitiful to behold.
Fortunately, Teacher Shen carried Xixi outside to the shade of a tree to comfort her; otherwise, the sight of her crying so miserably might have made Lan Xin and Yang Luoqi shed their own sentimental tears.
It wasn’t until Teacher Mu cut some leftover red paper and made a new little red flower on the spot for Xixi that the girl finally stopped crying and broke into a smile. After experiencing the painful “loss,” Xixi became even more careful, guarding the little red flower pinned to her chest, not letting anyone touch it.
In the afternoon, when Yang Yi came to pick up Xixi, the little girl, long past her tears, was all smiles. She ran over with a patter of footsteps, eager to show off her little red flower to her father.
“Daddy, look! Come down and look! There’s Xixi’s name here, hehe. Teacher Mu had Xixi write it. Only Xixi’s flower has a name!” Xixi tugged at her father’s hand, making him crouch down to see the little red flower on her chest.
“Let me see!” Yang Yi took his daughter’s first reward very seriously and reached out.
“Mmm, don’t touch it—it’ll break.” Xixi pouted, quickly shielding the little red flower and stepping back.
“Alright, Daddy won’t touch it. Just let me take a look, see our Xixi’s name.” Yang Yi said hastily.
Only then did Xixi agree.
But Xixi’s name was partly hidden by the petals in the middle; you couldn’t see it without lifting them.
Still, Daddy was special, treated differently from others. After some inner struggle, the little girl hesitantly said, “Then Daddy can touch it once, just once, okay? Don’t break it!”
Seeing how precious the little girl was about it, Yang Yi knew he’d have to get her a little glass box to store it in when they got home. Otherwise, if it got damaged at home, Xixi would be heartbroken.
But even if Xixi didn’t mind, Yang Yi would still keep it—after all, it was his daughter’s first little prize!
“Daddy, when we get home, you have to take a picture of me and send it to Mommy!” Sitting in the car, Xixi couldn’t stop, gently fiddling with the creases of the little red flower as she spoke.
“Alright, alright. Such a big happy event, of course your mom needs to know.” Yang Yi turned the steering wheel, smiling softly.