The next day, a dejected Guo Xiaopang went home. Before leaving, he stood at the entrance of Jiangchuan University and confidently tossed out a line that only villains usually say: "I'll be back!"
"Coming back isn't hard—you just live in Binhai District..." Yang Yi said, ruining the mood.
The cool and aloof Yang Yi wasn't as sentimental as Guo Xiaopang. He was just planning to take Xixi out to play and dropped the chubby kid off along the way. It happened that his Bawang had been picked up, so driving a bit farther would help break in the car.
After seeing off Guo Xiaopang, Yang Yi drove his daughter to the mall. The Haihong Grand Mall, which specialized in children's products—specifically high-quality imported goods—was also in Binhai District, as Murphy had told him.
"Daddy, where are we going to play?" Xixi asked curiously, sitting obediently in her child safety seat in the back.
Today, Xixi wasn't wearing a skirt. Yang Yi had dressed her in a white chiffon short-sleeved top paired with blue cotton-linen shorts. At first, she wasn't happy about it! But after looking in the mirror and seeing the fresh, pretty little girl staring back, she thought she looked adorable and shyly couldn't believe it was her!
"I'm buying you clothes, formula, and toys," Yang Yi said with a smile.
This time, Xixi was staying at home for two weeks, so the things Murphy had brought weren't enough!
Not to mention the formula Xixi drank every day—Murphy had carelessly forgotten to bring it. As for clothes and toys, even though Murphy had stuffed a whole suitcase full, how could that be enough? Wearing the same skirts every day would make them lose their novelty!
Besides, Yang Yi felt Murphy's taste was pretty average—skirts and more skirts. It was high time to switch up the little girl's style!
"Really? Daddy is taking Xixi shopping?" Xixi's big eyes sparkled as she cheered in delight.
The Haihong Grand Mall truly specialized in children's goods. The entire mall was decorated with childlike whimsy—cartoon posters, pink-toned staircases, and even a giant bubble ball playground set up in the first-floor plaza, tempting many kids to pester their parents to go in.
Xixi really wanted to play too!
But the allure of buying clothes was stronger. Soon, she couldn't help breaking free from her father's arms and happily ran ahead, calling out, "Daddy, look at this, this one! It's so pretty!"
Yang Yi looked up. Oh great, how had they ended up at a dress shop again?
What Xixi had her eye on was a pure white pleated gauze dress, sleeveless, with a blue-purple floral sash at the waist. It looked a bit like the dress worn by the priestesses in the Olympic flame-lighting ceremony—pure and clean.
"What a cute little girl! You have great taste!" A female salesperson in the shop immediately approached, flattering her with a smile. "This dress is perfect for you! Want to try it on?"
Xixi felt a bit shy and ran back to her father's side, grabbing his hand.
"Sir, come on in and take a look!" The saleswoman quickly shifted her target, smiling at Yang Yi. "Your daughter is very tall and slender—this dress would suit her perfectly! Plus, we have a promotion today: 12% off everything in the store. If this one doesn't fit, we have plenty of others!"
Yang Yi looked down at Xixi. Though she was shy, her little eyes were still fixed longingly on the dress. He smiled slightly and said, "Alright, let's go in and try it on."
Over twenty minutes later, Yang Yi and Xixi walked out carrying bags, while the shop assistants behind them beamed even brighter than Xixi, who was thrilled with her new dress.
Shopping with Xixi gave Yang Yi his first taste of the frenzy of female shopping. Almost every store had something Xixi liked, and she wanted to go into every single one. Soon, she was practically dragging her father along.
Thankfully, Yang Yi had a physique like iron, allowing him to accompany the little one floor after floor. And thankfully, he was the kind of father willing to spend money on his daughter, supporting round after round of buying!
Princess dresses, sundresses, T-shirt dresses, halter dresses, jeans, shorts, skirts, overalls, sweatpants—plus all kinds of cute cartoon tops and sets. Not to mention the endless variety of hats and accessories...
Buying so many clothes she loved made Xixi feel incredibly happy!
At one point, Yang Yi couldn't carry all the bags and had to make two trips down to the parking lot. Almost every store they passed eyed them with dollar signs.
In the end, it was the little one's energy that gave out, finally putting a stop to the crazy shopping spree.
Even so, Xixi, tired and sitting on her father's shoulders, still wanted more. She whined, "Daddy, can we come buy clothes again tomorrow?"
Yang Yi shuddered and coughed twice. "Not tomorrow. Tomorrow, Daddy is taking you to the amusement park."
Xixi thought about it and nodded contentedly. "Then Xixi wants to go to the amusement park wearing the prettiest clothes. But which one is the prettiest? Ah, it's so hard to choose!"
The little one was still buzzing with energy, muttering to herself.
But Yang Yi still had shopping to do, so he let her sit on his shoulders as he went to the formula store. He bought the brand Xixi usually drank, along with some fish liver oil and vitamin supplements that Murphy had texted him to get.
"Honestly, you don't need all this. When I was little, my family was poor, and I grew up on sweet potatoes. I turned out fine," Yang Yi remarked as he shopped, lamenting how good kids had it these days.
"I don't like them," Xixi pouted. "I like Daddy's cooking. These don't taste good!"
But Yang Yi still had to buy them. Murphy had warned him over the phone: if he didn't, she wouldn't let Xixi play with him next time.
After finishing the shopping, night had fallen. Yang Yi was about to head home when he passed a bookstore—one that, of course, sold children's books.
His heart stirred. Carrying his bags and holding Xixi, who had fallen asleep on his shoulder, he walked inside.
"Sir, can I help you with anything?" A shop assistant approached, noticing his predicament, and proactively picked up a shopping basket to help him carry books.
"I need some children's storybooks—fairy tales—and some books on parenting and child education," Yang Yi said in a low voice.
With the assistant's help, Yang Yi launched into another round of frantic shopping.
Books like *One Hundred Children's Fairy Tales*, *Selected Foreign Fairy Tales*, *Bedtime Stories for Babies*, along with *The Complete Guide to Parenting*, *A Good Mother Is Better Than a Good Teacher*, *How to Talk So Kids Will Listen*, *Loving Your Child Means Speaking Kindly*... In the end, two assistants had to help him carry the heavy stack of over twenty books to the parking lot.
Yang Yi had bought enough books to study his way into becoming a parenting expert!
Regardless, since Xixi was staying with her father for an extended period, Yang Yi had to take responsibility and seriously learn how to be a good dad!