House Dad's Literary Life

Chapter 451: The Two-Pillow Slip-Up

A secret? This little girl had a secret of her own?

Yang Yi immediately became curious and asked, “All right, tell Papa about it. What’s the secret?”

“Mama was crying just now!” Xixi asked her father to turn his head, leaned in close to his ear, covered her mouth with her little hand, and whispered.

“Mama was crying?” Yang Yi understood. Xixi was talking about what had just happened.

“Mhm, but Mama said she wasn’t crying. She said she just got some sand in her eyes.” Xixi leaned close again and whispered, “Mama wasn’t telling the truth. I know.”

“You even know that?” Yang Yi asked with some surprise.

The little girl nodded seriously. “Mama, Mama didn’t get sand in her eyes. I blew on Mama’s eyes, but I didn’t see any sand.”

Yang Yi chuckled and said, “Maybe you just missed it. The sand might have been really, really tiny.”

Xixi paused for a moment, but after thinking about it for a while, she shook her head and said, “No, that’s not it! When Xixi gets sand in her eyes, it hurts really, really badly, and I can’t open my eyes. But Mama could!”

She had experienced getting sand in her eyes before, but what Yang Yi hadn’t expected was that the little girl, who was only four and a half years old, could observe things so carefully that she was able to connect these two things together.

Of course, Yang Yi was still very proud in his heart. He smiled and rubbed the little girl’s head, saying, “Our Xixi is really smart! You’re even better than Papa.”

Xixi, however, worriedly grabbed her father’s hand and said, “Papa, was Grandpa mean to Mama? Is that why Mama cried? Grandpa is bad. Grandpa, Grandpa, I don’t like Grandpa anymore!”

Yang Yi was silent for a moment. He whispered into Xixi’s ear, “You can’t say that about Grandpa. Although Grandpa sometimes has a bad temper, his intentions are good! Think about it, Papa gets angry sometimes too, but that’s also because he wants what’s best for you. It’s because Papa loves you and hopes you’ll listen and not be naughty, right?”

Xixi nodded reluctantly, then quickly added, “But, but I don’t like it when Papa gets angry.”

“Hmm, Papa doesn’t get angry for no reason. Papa just wants Xixi to understand. Although Grandpa was harsh with Mama, he loves her too and wants what’s best for her. Because to Grandpa, Mama is just like Xixi is to Papa. You’re both his precious treasures! It’s just that Grandpa’s way of handling things may not have been the best. As the younger generation, we should learn to understand and be tolerant, right?” Yang Yi said.

Xixi nodded as if she understood, but didn’t quite.

……

After comforting Xixi, Yang Yi carried the boiled water to the study, where a tea set had already been prepared.

Mo Fei was right. Mo Henian enjoyed drinking tea, and he was especially fond of Dongding Oolong. When Yang Yi brewed the premium Dongding Oolong he had gotten from Lan Zhoukai with water that had been boiled and left to sit for a while, the amber-yellow tea liquor gave off an osmanthus-like fragrance, and Mo Henian could hardly sit still.

“Uncle, I bought this premium Dongding Oolong from someone, but I don’t know if it’s genuine. You’re an expert, why don’t you give it a try? If it’s fake, I won’t buy from him again!” Yang Yi deliberately threw Lan Zhoukai under the bus, giving Mo Henian an easy way to back down.

“Yeah, Dad, why don’t you have a cup and give it a try?” Mo Fei had discussed this with Yang Yi beforehand. The two had divided up their roles clearly. She held the purple clay teacup in both hands and brought it over to her father.

Mo Henian hesitated for a while. He still wanted to keep a stern face and not give Yang Yi a pleasant look. But the aroma of the Dongding Oolong, which he hadn’t had for so many years, especially such a premium variety, was simply too tempting. He couldn’t resist, so he reached out, took the cup, and took a sip.

“The tea is pretty good!” Mo Henian smacked his lips, carefully savoring the tea’s rich sweetness. Then he snorted and said, “But the person brewing it isn’t any good. He doesn’t know how to brew tea!”

Sure enough, he still had to get a jab in. His tone was harsh, but Yang Yi was already used to it.

“Uncle, I’d appreciate your guidance,” Yang Yi said with a smile. “I’m also afraid of ruining this fine tea.”

Mo Henian seemed to have opened the floodgates. He sat down on the sofa in front of the tea set and said disdainfully, “First of all, the water you used to brew the tea isn’t right. Tea should be brewed with spring water!”

Yang Yi actually enjoyed drinking tea himself, so of course he knew that. But he had deliberately left himself open to criticism, giving Mo Henian a way to vent his frustration.

“Papa, I’m scared…”

Mo Xiaojuan had gone home, and Xixi couldn’t sit still alone in the living room. The little girl poked her little head out, holding onto the doorframe of the open study, and said timidly.

“Come here, Xixi. Come sit with Grandpa and Papa.” Yang Yi quickly waved her over, calling the little girl over.

Xixi happily ran over and snuggled into her Papa’s arms.

However, seeing this scene made Mo Henian feel displeased again.

Mo Henian had watched his granddaughter grow up and doted on her in every possible way. Yet three years of that couldn’t compare to just one call from this guy. Although he was Xixi’s father, how long had he actually taken care of Xixi?

If it had been before, Xixi would have run over to her Grandpa and clung to him, asking for delicious candy, right?

Now that this rascal had appeared, he had not only stolen his own daughter from him, but also his granddaughter. Thinking of this, Mo Henian’s heart was filled with anger.

Of course, with his granddaughter there, looking at her innocent, big eyes, Mo Henian no longer had as much resentment as he did at the beginning, so he naturally couldn’t bring himself to lose his temper.

“Uncle, you’re right. I completely forgot that I should use spring water. I’ll buy some tomorrow and brew it for you again.” Yang Yi continued brewing tea for Mo Henian as he smiled. “But we should finish this pot today. It’d be such a waste to throw away good tea.”

“Such good tea is wasted in your hands!” Mo Henian said, but he still drank it, and it was even Yang Yi who brought it to him.

“You’re right. I don’t really know much about appreciating tea. Please give me more guidance.” Yang Yi continued pouring tea for Mo Henian.

“Since you want me to tell you, I won’t hold back. Your technique isn’t right. You’re missing a step when brewing the tea, rinsing the teapot…”

……

On the surface, although Mo Henian’s attitude hadn’t improved any further, as his exchange with Yang Yi about tea became increasingly in-depth, the relationship between the two of them also seemed not to be as stiff as before.

It was getting quite late. Not only was Xixi yawning repeatedly, but Mo Henian was also starting to feel tired. After all, the old man was nearly sixty, and his physical condition couldn’t compare to Yang Chonggui’s.

Yang Yi quickly arranged for Mo Henian to rest in the bedroom. The room had been prepared long ago, though he didn’t know whether Mo Henian would be comfortable there.

“Who sleeps in this room?” Mo Henian pointed to the second bedroom across the hall from the master bedroom where Xixi slept and asked.

“This is where I sleep,” Yang Yi quickly replied, and he even opened the door to let the old man take a look. “Uncle, if you like this room better, I’ll switch rooms with you right now. It’s just that the room you have is better. Like Xixi’s, it faces south with the back to the north, so the feng shui is good and the air is good.”

He didn’t believe in such things. The reason he had always slept in the second bedroom was because it was separated from the master bedroom by a hallway, making it less likely to disturb Xixi.

However, Mo Henian had sharp eyes and noticed the two pillows on the bed. He frowned, turned to Mo Fei, who had returned after coaxing Xixi to sleep, and asked, “You sleep here too?”

Yang Yi and Mo Fei froze for a moment. They exchanged a glance before looking toward where Mo Henian had just been looking, and immediately realized what they had overlooked.

During their preparations earlier, they had already moved all of Mo Fei’s personal belongings back into the master bedroom, but they had both overlooked the fact that there were still two pillows in Yang Yi’s room.

“Ahem, Uncle, Mo Fei basically sleeps in the master bedroom,” Yang Yi said awkwardly.

“Basically sleeps in the master bedroom? So that means she sometimes sleeps here too?” Mo Henian looked displeased.

Mo Fei muttered somewhat discontentedly, “I’m already married to Yang Yi. What’s wrong with me sleeping here?”

“Ahem, Mo Fei, don’t talk to your dad like that.” Yang Yi quickly spoke up before Mo Henian could get angry. Although his tone was admonishing, he kept giving Mo Fei meaningful looks.

Things had finally started to ease up a little. They couldn’t provoke the old man again!

Mo Henian, however, didn’t make a big issue out of it. He had spent a long time abroad and wasn’t so old-fashioned as to be bothered by something like this. He merely gave an unhappy snort, shot Yang Yi a warning glance, and turned to walk toward his bedroom.