Just as Murphy was inwardly marveling that Yang Yi actually knew how to play the guitar, Yang Yi had already begun his performance.
"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you..."
When the first line came out, Murphy was a bit surprised. This world also had a birthday song, but it wasn't sung like this, and the expression was more subtle, somewhat like the old Cantonese song style of "May your fortune and longevity rival the heavens." How could it be as straightforward as Yang Yi's?
But hearing the second and third lines, Murphy couldn't help but laugh: This Yang Yi, really, why was he repeating the same lyrics?
That's right, the birthday song was that simple—just one line of lyrics repeated over and over, with only slight variations in melody.
However, Xixi loved this kind of simple repetition. Simplicity suited her age and comprehension level. For example, with "Let It Go," Xixi had been learning it from her dad for so long, but she could only sing the "Let It Go" part.
After just a few repetitions of "...happy birthday," Xixi was already clapping her little hands and humming along with a beaming smile.
Yang Yi got into the spirit, and during one repetition, he switched to English lyrics: "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you..."
Murphy was stunned. This was truly the first time she'd heard Yang Yi speak English. Even though it was just a simple repetition, his pronunciation was very clear.
Especially "birthday"—the "θ" sound in the middle was something many learners couldn't pronounce correctly!
"He knows English?" Murphy felt her understanding of Yang Yi was being completely overturned today.
It wasn't that she doubted Yang Yi had never studied English. After all, he had dropped out of high school before finishing his first year to join the military, and at least he must have taken English classes in middle school, right?
But Murphy knew that given Yang Yi's dismissive attitude toward English and foreigners, after all this time, he had probably forgotten how to speak it!
Yet now, Yang Yi was singing an English song with perfect enunciation, leaving Murphy utterly confused.
This string of surprises even made Murphy forget to wonder who wrote this song—she had never heard it before!
But sometimes, women tend to overthink things, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. Just like now, Murphy found an answer for herself: "Could he have changed for me?"
She naturally felt too shy to ask this out loud, but thinking back to how Yang Yi's personality had improved over the past two months and how much easier he was to get along with, Murphy's heart—no longer that of a young girl—began to race like a startled deer.
By this point, Yang Yi had finished singing, and Xixi happily clapped her little hands, cheering, "So good! So good!"
Yang Yi smiled and reached out to high-five his daughter in celebration.
Then he handed the guitar to Murphy. Although she shyly avoided his gaze, Yang Yi didn't mind and said with a laugh, "Your turn!"
When it was Murphy's turn to sing, she didn't hold back. She gracefully took the guitar, walked briskly to the microphone, and sat down.
"I'll sing a birthday song too!" Murphy said, smiling at Xixi. "This is the song Grandma used to sing on Mommy's birthdays! Now Mommy is going to sing it for Xixi!"
Murphy's string of "Mommy" sounded like a tongue twister, suddenly reminding Yang Yi of a cross-talk routine from his past life: "From the east came a lama, from the west came a mute, the lama carried five pounds of butter in his hand..."
He was instantly pulled out of the moment!
"I love listening to Mommy sing!" Xixi said with a sweet smile. Today was absolutely wonderful—both her parents were doting on her, like stars surrounding the moon!
After a beautiful melody, Murphy began to hum softly:
{Note: The lyrics below are partially adapted from a song "Birthday Gift" by Jimmy Lin. Just focus on the lyrics~}
"There's a bouquet in my heart / Dedicated to my beloved child / Watered with tears, blooming with a smile as you slowly grow..."
Yang Yi's ears were sharp. He glanced at Murphy in surprise, who was strumming the guitar and singing to Xixi with a smile.
Murphy's singing was truly beautiful, but it was very different from her usual style. She wasn't relying on technique to convey emotion anymore; instead, she was genuinely heartfelt, singing naturally!
"Through sunshine and light rain with you / Through sorrow and sweetness with you / Now I'll plant it forever in your heart..."
This tender birthday song was nothing like Yang Yi's straightforward version. Yang Yi even believed the lyrics were so subtle that Xixi probably couldn't fully understand them!
But the melody was lovely. The little girl sat on her chair, grinning foolishly, swaying her head and clapping along to the rhythm.
"Everyone has blessings / Every birthday has gifts / My most beloved child / I'll give you the most beautiful blessings, the best gifts..."
"No matter how many wishes you have / No matter how many dreams you hold / My gift is my heart, growing with you..."
As the song ended, Xixi jumped up from her chair in excitement. She had only caught the word "gift" throughout, so she cheered, "Then, then where's my birthday gift?"
Yang Yi was still lost in Murphy's sweet singing—this was one of her rare tender performances—until he saw Murphy pull out the gift she had prepared for Xixi.
"Wait! Don't open the gift yet!" Yang Yi quickly stopped her.
Sure enough, Yang Yi caught Murphy's disappointed look. He shot her a meaningful glance: We have a bet going, and you're trying to jump the gun!
Murphy turned her head away in a huff.
"Why not?" Xixi asked, her face full of joy as she reached out to take the gift, only to be stopped. "Why can't I open the gift?"
"Because we still have cake to eat!" Yang Yi responded quickly.
"There's cake too?" Xixi immediately forgot about the gift. Her eyes lit up as she ran over to her dad, tugging at his hand. "Where is it? Xixi wants to eat cake!"
"Dad will bring it right over!" Yang Yi soothed the little girl, then said to Murphy, "Murphy, go turn off the lights."
"Can we not turn off the lights? Xixi is scared," the little girl immediately said.
Murphy nodded vigorously. She was scared too!
Yang Yi sighed helplessly and reassured them, "I'm not turning off all the lights, just the main ones. These colorful lights will stay on!"
Murphy still shook her head... Fine, he'd do it himself. Yang Yi walked to the shop entrance and turned off the fluorescent light, then disappeared into the darkness.
Although the area in front of the counter was lit by flickering colorful lights, like twinkling stars in a night sky—beautiful and multicolored—Murphy and Xixi had no mind to appreciate it.
"I'm scared. Where's Daddy?" Xixi squeezed into her mother's arms and asked.
Murphy wasn't too frightened, but she was still waiting for Yang Yi to reappear. When Xixi asked where her dad had gone, Murphy didn't know. She had no idea where Yang Yi was getting the cake from, so all she could do was wait.
Suddenly, a few flickering candle flames appeared in the darkness ahead. Gradually, in the dim glow of the colorful lights, Murphy and Xixi saw a large cake being wheeled in on a cart.