House Dad's Literary Life

Chapter 356: Papa Stinks

In the dark corridor, the sound of footsteps echoed. As the motion-sensor switch was triggered, the dim lights illuminated the faces of the pedestrians.

“We’re here, Big Brother Yang.” Ding Xiang took out her keys and prepared to open the door.

“Wait a moment.” Yang Yi raised his hand, stopping Ding Xiang’s action. He smiled slightly, stood by the door, and perked up his ears to listen.

In this old-style tube building, the sound insulation was very poor. Just now, Yang Yi, who had sharp ears, heard his daughter’s giggling laughter from inside the door. Now that Ding Xiang had quieted down, the sound inside became clearer.

“Her second Mama prevented Little Xin from wearing the shoe, but her sister couldn’t wear them. Her feet were too big. The glass slipper only fit Little Xin. Big feet couldn’t fit in. Later, it caused bleeding!” Xixi seemed to be telling a story.

Although he heard it somewhat vaguely, Yang Yi guessed that his daughter was telling the story of “Cinderella”.

It was unclear what Yang Huan was doing inside, but she could be heard shouting, and then Xixi’s laughter, like a string of silver bells, filled the air, sounding quite happy.

It seemed that they got along quite well!

The motion-sensor light went out. Yang Yi nodded at Ding Xiang. Realizing that Ding Xiang couldn’t see him, he said aloud, “Open the door!”

The door opened. Yang Yi followed Ding Xiang in and saw Xixi laughing back and forth on the sofa. Her wet hair from bathing was all messed up from her rolling back and forth.

Yang Huan was also sitting on the floor. There was no carpet, but she didn’t mind the cold on her bottom. Yang Huan was barefooted, wearing high heels that Mo Fei had bought for her before. She could clearly fit into them, but she pretended to grimace in pain.

“Huanhuan, what are you guys doing?” Ding Xiang asked amusingly.

Yang Huan only then saw her big brother and Ding Xiang come in. She hurriedly got up from the ground, her face red and ears crimson. She thought to herself, “Oh no, my image is ruined!”

“Papa! You’re back!” Xixi turned her head and saw her father. Her eyes lit up instantly. She quickly slid down from the sofa with a smile on her face and jumped over excitedly.

Yang Yi quickly bent down and picked up the little girl.

Every time he came back from going out, Xixi’s excited hug was what Yang Yi looked forward to most. The sweet and joyful smile of the little girl was definitely the most beautiful thing in this world. How could Yang Yi be willing to go out and play instead of coming home to see his daughter?

However, today when Xixi jumped over, she didn’t affectionately hug her father’s neck, kiss her father’s cheek, and then whisper sweetly in her father’s ear: “Papa, I miss you so much!”

Today, that didn’t happen…

The little girl was in her father’s arms, but she suddenly wrinkled her tiny eyebrows. She incredulously leaned in closer to sniff her father’s face. Then she quickly put her two little hands together and covered her mouth and nose.

“What’s wrong?” Yang Yi was puzzled by her behavior.

“Papa, you smell stinky!” Xixi said in a muffled voice.

“Huh?” Yang Yi held his daughter with one hand and used his other hand to sniff his clothes. He asked in confusion, “Do I smell strange?”

“Big Brother Yang, it might be because you had a drink,” Ding Xiang reminded him in a low voice.

Next to them, Yang Huan was sneakily hiding her high heels behind the sofa, pretending as if nothing had happened just now.

“Is that it? Is it because of the alcohol?” Yang Yi asked Xixi.

“Mouth stinks.” A whiff of alcohol came out, and Xixi hurriedly turned her little head and reached out to cover her father’s mouth. Her small, tender fingers accidentally poked into her dad’s nostrils.

“Okay, okay! Papa won’t talk to you directly,” Yang Yi turned his head and said with a smile.

Xixi pouted and said unhappily, “Papa, no drinking. Mama and I don’t like it.”

“Grandpa drinks, and Mama gets angry!” the little girl added as an example.

“I see. In that case, Papa won’t drink anymore. Xixi will supervise Papa, okay?” Yang Yi smiled and rubbed his daughter’s little head, “Did you have a good time playing with little aunt tonight?”

Xixi’s little emotions come and go quickly, and she immediately said happily, “Yes! Little Aunt played acting with me, just like Papa, but she played as Little Xin, and it was so much fun!”

Xixi’s logic was a bit scattered, but Yang Yi understood and translated with a smile, “You mean she played the same way you did with Papa last Christmas when you acted out the story of the Turtle and the Rabbit? You tell a story, and then she acts it out.”

“Yes, but it wasn’t Turtle and the Rabbit! It was Little Xin’s story,” Xixi corrected with a serious expression.

“That’s right, Cinderella! Papa understands. Did you take a bath…”

“I did!”

After a brief chat, Yang Yi said goodbye to Yang Huan and Ding Xiang, preparing to take Xixi with him.

“Big Brother, wait. You have to let Xixi finish telling the ending of the story!” Yang Huan said with a hesitant expression as Yang Yi was helping Xixi put on her shoes.

Yang Huan originally intended to avoid mentioning what had just happened to maintain her image. But Xixi’s story was left unfinished, with only a bit more to go. She was really itching and couldn’t bear it.

Yang Yi couldn’t help but laugh. He gently tapped Xixi’s back and said, “Go ahead and finish telling your story to your little aunt.”

“Alright!” Xixi hopped up and down in her little shoes, her excitement evident as she said, “So, so Little Xin wore the shoe, and didn’t bleed. Then, then the prince knew that Little Xin was, was…”

“That she was the girl he danced with at the ball that night,” Yang Yi helped his daughter find the right words.

“Yes, yes!” Xixi opened her arms and said with some exaggeration, “Then the prince liked Little Xin, they got married, and even had a little baby.”

After Xixi finished speaking, she turned her head to her father with a happy expression, clearly wanting him to praise her!

“That’s right! Xixi, you did great!” Yang Yi clapped his hands and gave his daughter a thumbs up with a smile.

Xixi happily waves her arms, and her long down jacket, not fully buttoned up, covered her little hands and her little bottom.

“Is that all?” Yang Huan still seemed a bit unsatisfied.

“That’s all!” Xixi nodded naturally.

Yang Huan’s heart felt like it was being scratched by a cat¹. She asked anxiously, “What about Little Xin’s stepmother and her two wicked stepsisters?”

Xixi blinked her big eyes. In her memory, her father hadn’t talked about those things, so the little girl had to look to her father for help.

“As for them, why bother about them? As long as Little Xin is happy, that’s all that matters!” Yang Yi smiled slightly and resolved the issue for Xixi.

In the original story, the stepmother and the two stepsisters had a rather tragic fate, but Yang Yi didn’t know about it, and he would not make up plots that highlighted the dark side of human nature to tell Xixi.

“Little Xin is very happy. She has a baby, just like Mama,” Xixi explained to Yang Huan with a serious expression.

Although Yang Huan was still somewhat reluctant, she could only nod helplessly.

On the way home, due to the sparse surroundings and the proximity to the Grand Canal, the night wind was particularly piercing, like knives, making Xixi’s little face sting.

So, Yang Yi unbuttoned his own coat, allowing Xixi to bury her head in his warm embrace. He then wrapped her in his coat, like a kangaroo, except that he had a bulging chest, emitting muffled laughter from Xixi as she had enjoyed the warmth and a strong sense of security.

“Why are you so happy?” Yang Yi, a martial artist who has martial arts skills to protect his body, wasn’t afraid of the cold and had the leisure to tease his daughter. He asked with a smile, “Weren’t you just saying that Papa smelled stinky?”

Xixi, like a little squirrel, stuck her furry head out of her father’s coat. She blinked her eyes and then hid again, giggling, “Still stinky.”

“Alright…” Yang Yi laughed in surprise.

In the future, he probably shouldn’t drink anymore.