Chapter 35. Another day of being disliked by my daughter.
The two weeks he spent in Beijing were the most relaxed and leisurely time Pei Yiyan had had since becoming a father. When Zhou Yi first invited him to stay, he was reluctant and felt uncomfortable, but he changed his mind in less than half a day.
The Chen family has many servants, surveillance cameras everywhere, and other children of similar age to play with Xixi, so he hardly needs to take care of the child.
Therefore, when Zhou Yi suggested that he stay a little longer, he readily agreed without hesitation. Sure enough, once a person has a child, they have to put their pride aside.
At the end of July, Pei Yiyan received an admission notice from Beijing University of Science and Technology. The semester would start on August 17th, half a month earlier than he had expected.
Before the start of the semester, he hurriedly took Xixi on a week-long trip to another city, and then came back to prepare for the start of the semester.
As a single father, Pei Yiyan did not plan to live in the school dormitory. Fortunately, because Zhou Yi had a property certificate in the city, the school allowed him to apply for commuting.
He rented a studio apartment near the school and helped Xixi get into a new kindergarten, so the father and daughter could go to school together just like they did in Baicao County.
On the second day after the new students enrolled, the school organized a 20-day military training. In the sweltering summer heat, after being exposed to the sun, Pei Yiyan's entire body became tanned, his fair skin turning into a wheat color, and his neck and chest looked like two different layers at first glance.
Xi Xi stared in disbelief, then silently ran to the kitchen, grabbed a shiny steel wool ball, and handed it to him.
"Dad, take a bath."
Pei Yiyan gave a toothy, sarcastic look. "What? You're disgusted with me? Trying to make Daddy into a candied sweet potato?"
"Daddy's neck is all black and dirty. This brush will clean it up," Xixi explained earnestly.
The three-hundred-year-old ginseng spirit was unaware that there were differences in skin color between people, nor did it know that racial differences existed in the world.
Until one day, she saw a group of wailing black people at an amusement park in Beijing. The little old man was so scared that he screamed and cried as he burrowed into his father's arms.
The child cried out in a trembling voice, "Daddy, run! There are so many black sesame-seed people!"
Upon seeing this scene, everyone around burst into laughter. Coincidentally, the group of black people were exchange students studying in Beijing and could understand Chinese.
A group of burly, dark-skinned Black men surrounded them from all sides. The one with the whitest teeth spoke in a thick Beijing accent:
"Oh dear, did you scare the little one? Don't be afraid, little one. I may be a bit dark-skinned, but I'm a good person. If you don't believe me, turn around and smell if you smell sesame seeds."
"That's right, that's right. Little friend, open your eyes and look at us. We don't have a fever, not at all."
"My name is Daniel. Hello, what's your name?"
Five or six large white teeth floated in mid-air, opening and closing, like gaping maws. Xi Xi almost fainted and cried even more uncontrollably.
"Dad, run! They're going to eat the children!"
The people behind them were all trying to suppress their laughter. Pei Yiyan was also struggling to hold it in. He patted his daughter's back to comfort her, said goodbye to a few black men, and then led his daughter away.
Later, when Pei Yiyan had free time, he would often take Xixi to watch foreign movies and teach her to recognize foreigners of different races.
The 300-year-old ginseng baby suddenly realized that he had made a fool of himself last time, and felt a little embarrassed, so he wanted to apologize to those black guys.
But Xi Xi didn't know them at all, and neither did Pei Yiyan. Where could they find them in this vast sea of people?
In their eyes, all foreigners look the same. Standing among a group of foreigners, the father and daughter both suffered from face blindness.
Ask the all-knowing flowers and plants, and they're just as baffled, chattering and discussing for ages without reaching a conclusion.
[Hua Hua doesn't like humans who paint their clothes. They always smell strange, and their chest hair is so long. There's one human who likes to use his hair to tickle Hua Hua. Humph!]
Cao Cao couldn't understand what they were saying; their language was too strange.
[Of course you local plants won't understand, but I do. I'm a sycamore tree imported from abroad.]
Xi Xi was overjoyed: "Wutong, you must know where they are. Tell Xi Xi quickly!"
Wutong: [Um, I don't know.]
"Why?"
Wutong stammered.
Pei Yiyan chuckled and glanced at him casually: "Because it's a French tree, and people in France don't speak English."
The punctured sycamore tree: qaq
In the end, the matter was dropped.
Pei Yiyan undergoes military training for five days a week, starting at 8 a.m. and ending at 5 p.m. During the training, the father and daughter continue to live at the Chen family's house.
He leaves early and returns late every day, greatly reducing the time he and his daughter can spend together. He once happily imagined that his clingy daughter would be saddened by not being able to see her father.
It turned out he was overthinking it; the little girl happily became the queen at home.
During the day, Chen Yihuan brought a group of children to play with Xixi. No one knew what benefits the little girl had given them, but the group of children willingly became Xixi's lackeys.
When there are delicious foods or fun things to do, everyone thinks of Xixi first and they line up to offer them as tribute.
Pei Yiyan pondered for a while and then found it strange. He remembered that Xi Xi and Chen Yihuan had never gotten along well. That little brat Chen Yihuan treated Xi Xi like a thief. How could they suddenly become so close?
The worried father had pressed his daughter for answers.
Facing her father's deep eyes that seemed to see through everything, Xixi, worried about being exposed, stubbornly kept quiet and even lectured her father instead.
"Dad, everyone has little secrets. Please don't ask. Kids need to keep their promises too. You don't want me to be looked down upon by the other kids, do you?"
“”
"Who dares to do that?" Pei Yiyan frowned unhappily, pondered for a few seconds, and reluctantly gave up asking further questions.
He felt a little melancholy. His daughter had secrets at the age of three. Would she be unwilling to share her joys and sorrows with him when she grew a few more years?
What if she becomes rebellious? After all, his rebellious genes are there.
After much deliberation, the boy's father came up with what he considered a perfect solution in the middle of the night: perhaps letting Xixi interact more with girls and talk less with boys could reduce the possibility of future rebellion.
After a day of military training, Pei Yiyan walked home briskly. Due to his regular fitness routine and his leg disability, he received special care from the instructors and received half the training load of his classmates, so he did not feel tired.
As soon as he entered the living room, he saw his daughter acting like a queen, casually sticking her little feet up. Chen Yihuan was peeling grapes with his head down. As soon as the little girl opened her mouth, Chen Yihuan turned into a feeding machine. They had never had such tacit understanding in ten years of working together.
Pei Yiyan's face twisted slightly: "Xixi, what are you doing?"
The two kids looked over in unison.
Pei Yiyan strode forward, intending to give her landlady-like daughter a good interrogation.
The boys, fresh from military training, were covered in sweat and stench. It was alright from a distance, but up close, the stench was overwhelming. The two boys turned green, covered their noses, and retreated in unison.
Pei Yiyan found it hard to believe.
Chen Yihuan's cheap younger brother is one thing, but what's with his daughter looking down on her?
Pei Yiyan sternly stared at Xixi: "Why did you run so far away? Don't you want your father anymore?"
The little girl showed no mercy, ruthlessly hurting her father's feelings. She pinched his nose and fanned it, saying, "Daddy stinks."
"It doesn't smell bad, your nose is broken," Pei Yiyan tried to entice him. "If you don't believe me, come over and smell it carefully."
The little girl shook her head repeatedly. She wasn't stupid; she wasn't going to go and let her nose suffer.
Pei Yiyan looked down at her and suddenly smiled. Xi Xi immediately ran back, but it was too late.
With a swift movement of the boy's strong, long arm, Xi Xi fell into his hard chest, her sweat-soaked shirt clinging to her skin.
Xixi was in agony from her father's armpit odor. The little girl kicked her legs in anger and screamed, "Ugh, it stinks!"
Zhou Yi, who had just arrived from the greenhouse, was both amused and exasperated by the scene. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen her eldest son so carefree and childish. Overwhelmed with emotion, she couldn't help but feel tears welling up in her eyes.
"Xiaoyan, Mom has prepared hot water for you. Go take a bath, and then we can eat."
Pei Yiyan responded, put Xixi down, tapped her on the head, and snorted, "You heartless little thing."
After her father walked away, Xixi lowered her head and sniffed herself, her face scrunched up like a little old lady: "Grandma, Xixi wants to take a bath too."
Zhou Yi's eyes were full of doting: "Okay, Grandma will help you wash."
A little head popped up, and Chen Yihuan rolled up his sleeves and said solicitously, "Xixi, your brother can help you wash too."
Zhou Yi's expression changed faster than flipping through a book: "What are you washing for? Why are you meddling in this? Have you finished your math problems today? Bring them here for me to check!"
Chen Yihuan fell silent, like a chicken with its neck caught in its throat.
His eyes darted around nervously, and he hopped away like a rabbit, glancing back every few steps.
"Xixi, I'll help you wash next time. I'm going to do my homework now."
Zhou Yi's eyebrows twitched, and she raised her voice: "Chen Yihuan, I'll say it again, you're a boy and Xixi is a girl. Do you know that there's a difference between boys and girls? If you say those things, people will think you're being a pervert. If the police arrest you, there's nothing I can do."
What? You can get arrested for being helpful?
Chen Yihuan stared wide-eyed in bewilderment, and said fearfully, "Mom, I was wrong, I will never do it again, please don't call the police to arrest me."
"Go do your homework. You need to do an extra page today."
"Okay, I understand."
During their time living in Baicao County, Xixi always bathed by herself, while Pei Yiyan would drag a stool and stand guard outside the bathroom, listening for any sounds and ready to help at any time.
When a child bathes himself, there are bound to be areas he can't take care of, such as the cleft of his bottom and the armpits. Pei Yiyan is considered quite meticulous and responsible compared to the average father, but that doesn't stop him from still missing some details.
After Zhou Yi arrived, Xi Xi finally learned how to take a bath properly.
The little girl sat in her special bathtub, carefully scrubbing between each toe, armpit, and bottom, while Zhou Yi squatted behind her to scrub her back. Finally, they washed her hair.
Xi Xi's hair is as fine as silk, with a shimmering beauty in the water, and her hair roots are exceptionally strong. Zhou Yi has washed her hair many times, and she has never seen a single hair fall out.
Zhou Yi couldn't help but sigh, "It's so much better to be a child; you don't have to worry about hair loss."
When she was young, her hair was thick and fluffy. As she got older, her hair fell out more and more, and the growth rate was slower year by year. Especially after experiencing two births, she was greatly weakened, and she had to mentally prepare herself every time she washed her hair.
Zhou Yi's hair washing technique was very gentle, and Xi Xi was so comfortable that she was almost falling asleep. When she heard this, she opened her eyes and asked, "Grandma, do you lose a lot of hair?"
“She loses a little bit every day. It adds up. When Grandma was young, she had a lot of hair and only needed to tie it with a hair tie twice. Now she needs to tie it with three or four hair ties.”
Having never experienced hair loss, Xixi finds it hard to empathize with the struggles of those who are bald.
She stared at the worry in Zhou Yi's eyes, and a thought suddenly struck her: "Grandma, do you want to grow lots of new hair?"
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