"Wah, wah, wah, I don't want to, I don't want to." Xixi's sobbing was like the moonlight variation from the *Qin's Moon: Night Ends and Dawn Breaks* OST—a lingering melancholy mixed with a stubborn, just-woken-up defiance.
Yang Yi stood awkwardly by the bed, scratching his head in bewilderment.
The little one wasn't crying because of the *Frozen* story Daddy told last night—that story had a perfectly happy ending!
No, it was because she'd refused to sleep until she heard the whole tale, and after that, she'd been so excited she wriggled around in bed, keeping herself up until the middle of the night.
So, come morning, she couldn't wake up. Yang Yi tried to rouse her, but when she wouldn't stir, he let her sleep until the sun was high in the sky.
And now, Xixi was even more upset!
"Wah, wah, wah, I want to go play, play all day!" Fresh from sleep, her morning crankiness mixed with an obsession about going to the amusement park, turning into an indescribable sense of grievance. All she could do was cry!
Yang Yi was dumbfounded. How had this turned into tears?
In both his past life and this one, Yang Yi was a tough man who rarely shed a tear. He honestly couldn't figure out why Xixi was crying.
Was it because she felt there wasn't enough time to play at the amusement park?
But Yang Yi had explained that he couldn't wake her up, so he'd let her keep sleeping. Xixi wouldn't listen, though—she was lost in her own little world of hurt, crying so pitifully!
"Women are so hard to understand!" Yang Yi grumbled to himself in frustration. "No, girls—girls are even harder!"
His past life was better—any woman problem that could be solved with money wasn't a problem at all!
Maybe it was that Yang Yi wasn't great at soothing kids. He tried hard to dig through his predecessor's memories for a solution, but unfortunately, that original Yang Yi had been just as clueless, sitting there dumbly watching his daughter cry until Mo Fei scolded him.
Still, Yang Yi made a real effort to comfort his daughter. He crouched down by the bed, and because he was so tall, one knee ended up on the floor, bringing him to eye level with Xixi.
"Don't cry, okay? Daddy promises you today—you can play as long as you want, for as long as you like! How about that?" Yang Yi coaxed softly.
It didn't seem to have much effect. Xixi kept sniffling in a slow, drawn-out way, though she wasn't crying as hard—a slight improvement!
The little one let go of the hands she'd been rubbing her eyes with, and her two big, tear-filled eyes looked at Daddy with a wounded expression. Her face, streaked with tears like rain on pear blossoms, was so pitiful it tugged at the heart. She stretched out her little arms and, between sniffles, said in a soft, sticky voice, "Hug..."
How could Yang Yi refuse? He quickly swept her up in his arms, stood, and paced around, soothing her.
Though her mouth was still pouted in grievance, her actions betrayed her dependence on Daddy. As he lifted her, she immediately wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and pressed her little face against his chest, sniffling pitifully.
She was still sniffling, but Xixi had stopped crying—just the lingering aftershocks remained.
"There, there, no more crying. It's all Daddy's fault." Yang Yi's iron-hard heart felt like it was melting from his daughter's tears. He gently patted Xixi's back and spoke softly.
Listening to the sniffling against his left chest gradually fade, Yang Yi knew he'd finally calmed her down!
What a struggle!
"Huh!" Yang Yi, always eager to learn and improve, felt his mind racing. "Could it be that what you say to soothe them doesn't matter—it's *how* you soothe them?"
He remembered reading an article once that said women don't actually need you to find solutions to their problems. Most of the time, they just want a hug—a shoulder to lean on.
Back then, as a hitman who didn't understand love, he'd scoffed at it. But now, it seemed the article had a point!
Yang Yi felt like his parenting experience bar had jumped up a notch.
...
Jiangcheng, an ancient southern city in the Jiangzhe region, had been named one of the world's hundred most livable cities by a foreign publication. This honor came not only from its scenic location between mountains and water and its rich historical heritage but also from the massive investment in municipal projects!
From restoring historical sites to maintaining natural attractions and planning urban greenery, Jiangcheng's efforts were far beyond what most major cities in the country could match!
Leaving the urban village, the straight Jiangnan North Road was lined with lush camphor trees, a sea of green stretching into the distance. Along the sidewalks, flowers bloomed in profusion—white zephyranthes and purple irises creating a beautiful spring scene in Jiangcheng!
But the most beautiful sight of all was Xixi, skipping and singing ahead, dressed in a flower-like skirt like a little flower fairy. She was singing the song Daddy had taught her while telling the story yesterday.
"Let it go, let it go, can't hold it back anymore~" Though she only remembered and sang that one line over and over, the little one's pronunciation was spot-on, and her voice was as sweet as an oriole's, drawing admiring glances from passersby.
Mo Fei had lived abroad with her parents as a child, and after giving birth to Xixi in the US, she'd stayed there for nearly two years to escape media scrutiny. So she insisted on maintaining a bilingual education for Xixi, which was why the little one could pick up those two lines so quickly.
But this issue had once sparked a huge conflict between Mo Fei and Yang Yi!
The old Yang Yi was a staunch patriot, even a bit of a hothead. He believed Chinese culture was profound and vast, and he hated that Xixi wasn't learning her ancestral heritage, instead spouting foreign words he couldn't understand. This kind of education disgusted him!
Mo Fei had tried to explain, but she soon found him completely impossible to reason with. The rift between them had formed on the very first day they reunited.
Of course, the current Yang Yi didn't have that stubborn flaw anymore. In his past life, he'd mastered eight languages, so teaching Xixi to sing an English song was no burden at all.
"Xixi, wait, wait—have some water!" Yang Yi called out to the little one, who was running wild without Mo Fei's supervision. He pulled a child's water bottle from the bag slung over his shoulder, unscrewed the cap, and handed it to Xixi.
Xixi obediently took big gulps of water.
Yang Yi crouched down, took out a small towel, and wiped the fine sweat from her face. In his slightly cool, clear eyes, Xixi's lovely reflection shimmered—the little one blinked her big eyes at Daddy as she drank.
This scene was surprisingly heartwarming.
"We don't need to walk—we'll take a taxi." The bus stop was still far away, and Yang Yi silently counted the bills in his pocket before telling Xixi.
Today, he'd taken out all the money the old Yang Yi had saved by scrimping and hiding in a shoebox. Though his predecessor had saved it with difficulty, Yang Yi had no habit of being frugal.
Money was meant to be spent. If he ran out, he'd just "earn" it back, wouldn't he?