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Chapter 32: Guarantee (1)
The father and daughter pair looked at each other.
“Dad, what’s that story you are telling me?”
“The Little Mermaid.”
“But… why are Aunt Zhao’s story and the story you are telling me different?
“What did Aunt Zhao say?”
“Aunt Zhao said that the little mermaid was very kind, selfless, and sacrifices herself for others… She’s a good mermaid.”
Huo Suicheng looked at her seriously and said, “Huo Xiaoxiao, the little mermaid is indeed kind and will selflessly sacrifice herself for others. Daddy also hopes that you will be a kind girl, but you should always remember to love yourself first before you love others. Daddy will not allow you to hurt yourself for another person, understand?”
Huo Xiaoxiao raised her head to look at him. She blinked and asked, “Is little mermaid wrong?”
“Daddy doesn’t like what she did.”
“If Daddy doesn’t like it… then, I’ll not learn from her.”
“Now, what story did you tell me?”
“…Cinderella.”
Huo Suicheng pinched her small face and inquired, “Did Grandpa tell you that?”
“Grandpa didn’t tell me.” Huo Xiaoxiao paused and looked at her father pitifully before continuing, “Daddy, will you find me a stepmother like Cinderella’s father did? Will my stepmother be nice to me? If she doesn’t like me and treats me badly, will Daddy still care for me? Or will Daddy bully me with my stepmother? Not giving me food, Not giving me milk, making me sleep in the kitchen, making me cook and wash clothes… Uhmmm, Daddy has already asked me to wash his shirt before. Then Daddy, will you abuse me with my stepmother?”
“…”
The more she said, the more pitiful she appeared. Huo Xiaoxiao counted her fingers and continued, “If stepmother gave birth to a little brother or little sister, will Daddy drive me out?”
“…”
“But Grandpa said that if Daddy wants to find a stepmother for me one day, he must get my permission first. Otherwise, Grandpa will not spare you!” With that, Huo Xiaoxiao sighed heavily. “I wish Grandpa could live for a thousand years since he will protect me and won’t let me do laundry and cooking.”
Huo Suicheng knocked her head and chided her. “What are you thinking about at such a young age? Did I say I’d find you a stepmother?”
Huo Xiaoxiao grimaced in pain and covered her head with her hands. She said pitifully, “You will find a stepmother someday. They all say that if there is a stepmother, there will be a stepfather. Just like Cinderella’s father.”
Huo Suicheng pinched the bridge of his nose.
He was so busy with the company; how could he even have the energy to look for one?
“Daddy, will you find me a stepmother? Do you like me? Will you still like me after finding a stepmother? Will you—”
Huo Suicheng listened to her rambling about this stepmother matter and couldn’t help feeling distressed. “Shut up. Go to sleep!”
“Is Daddy already impatient with me now?”
“If you don’t sleep, I’ll make you sleep in the kitchen just like Cinderella.”
“…”
Huo Xiaoxiao lay down and covered herself with a quilt. “Good night, Daddy.”
Huo Suicheng tucked in the quilt for her, turned off the light, and said, “Good night.”
Maybe she had thought about it so much during the day that she ended up dreaming about it at night.
Huo Xiaoxiao had a dream that night.
In the dream, Huo Suicheng married a stepmother for her.
The stepmother was Su Yuanqing, the woman she once saw in her dream that made Huo Suicheng infatuated.
Huo Suicheng liked her very much, and she was also obedient. Huo Xiaoxiao became the Cinderella in the story. She slept in the kitchen and was ordered by Su Yuanqing to serve tea, wash clothes, and cook food.
Not only that, but her father also turned a blind eye to her and let her stepmother bully her.
Huo Xiaoxiao was so angry that she packed her milk bottle and her school bag, ready to run away from home to make her daddy feel regretful and never find her again.
Before leaving, she went to see her daddy for one last time. However, she heard a voice from the crack of the door. It was her stepmother who was urging Huo Suicheng to drive her out.
She heard Huo Suicheng say to Su Yuanqing, “If you don’t like her, then kick her out.”
————
Huo Suicheng suddenly woke up.
Looking at Huo Xiaoxiao, who was sleeping by his side, he got up and had a sip of water.
————
When he thought about the absurd dream he had just now, he was speechless for a moment.
He found it hard to understand. How could he have a dream like that?
How could he dream of Su Yuanqing, who he had only met twice?
What was more, in his dream, he even married Su Yuanqing?
“Well… Just go away!” Huo Xiaoxiao, who was asleep on the bed, sobbed and said in her dream, “You don’t have to throw me out; I’ll go by myself!”
Huo Suicheng touched Huo Xiaoxiao’s forehead and suddenly laughed.
Indeed, what you thought about in the day, you would dream of it at night. This little devil was not even that old but had a temper bigger than anyone. If he had bullied her like he did in his dream, she really would have run away from home.
“Little devil, no one will drive you away.”
Seemingly having heard his promise, Huo Xiaoxiao stopped mumbling. Her eyebrows relaxed, and she quietly fell asleep.
————
Maybe it was because of the nightmare, but the next day, Huo Xiaoxiao felt so listless that she couldn’t lift her spirits. She was dispirited in the kindergarten while listening to the children telling bedtime stories that their parents had told them.
Her mind was full of her father’s little mermaid story.
The next day, Huo Xiaoxiao still couldn’t get away from the fairy tale her father had told her.
Her dad was too pretentious!
Instilling this kind of adult thought into her so early, did her father really believe that a two-year-old could understand “Don’t hurt yourself for anyone, especially a man”?
“Excellent. Just now, little Huang Yueqi told us her father’s story. So, are there any other children who would like to share the stories told by their parents?”
“Me!”
“I, I, I!”
“I want to share!”
Several children raised their hands enthusiastically.
The teacher looked around, and her eyes fell on Huo Xiaoxiao on the side.
“Xiaoxiao, do you want to share the stories told by your parents with your classmates?”
Huo Xiaoxiao’s mind was wandering elsewhere, not paying attention to the teacher at all. Zhouzhou, who was sitting next to her, poked her elbow, and she suddenly returned to her senses and answered blankly.
“Alright! Children, let’s clap for Huo Xiaoxiao, who’s sharing a story with us.”
There was loud applause in the class.
“…” Huo Xiaoxiao wanted to say something but then hesitated.
Fine, she’d just say it.
Without any embarrassment, she went to the middle of the classroom to tell the story of “Little Mermaid” that Huo Suicheng had told her last night.
“Once upon a time, in a deep, deep sea, there was a castle where six mermaid princesses lived. The youngest princess fell in love with a prince. In order to be with the prince, she asked the witch to turn her fishtail into legs…
“…Later, the little mermaid became a bubble and sank to the bottom of the sea.”
With that, Huo Xiaoxiao looked up at the teacher. “Teacher, I’m finished.”
“Was the story told by Huo Xiaoxiao good?”
“Yes!”
“Then, Huo Xiaoxiao, can Teacher ask you, what does this story tell us?”
“The story tells us…” Huo Xiaoxaio paused, recalling the adult ideas her father had instilled in her and the dream she had last night. She was still feeling a little angry.
“This story tells us that the little mermaid lost her voice and her fishtail for the sake of the prince. She eventually lost her life and became a bubble that disappeared into the sea forever, so we must not hurt ourselves for anyone, especially a man. We have to love ourselves first, and then love someone else.”
These three- or four-year-old children in the classroom were all confused, but the teacher was speechless.
“Xiaoxiao, this is…”
“That’s what my father told me.”
“Your father?”
Huo Xiaoxiao nodded.
The teacher smiled reluctantly. “Teacher knows. Xiaoxiao’s father told a great story. Go back to your seat now.”
Huo Xiaoxiao returned to her seat and sat down.
Zhouzhou came over and whispered in her ear, “Xaioxiao, don’t worry. I’m not that kind of man. I won’t hurt you.”
Huo Xiaoxiao glanced at him. “…Oh.”
“All right, children, that’s all for today’s story session. In the afternoon, some of you will share their story again. For now, let Teacher Xu sing a song for you. I’ll go first.”
“Goodbye, Teacher.”
The teacher smiled and walked out of the classroom. She returned to the office and found the homeroom teacher of the kindergarten.
“Teacher Zhou, could you please give me the contact number of Huo Xiaoxiao’s parents?”
“Teacher Sun, what’s wrong with Huo Xiaoxiao?”
“Didn’t I give the children an assignment yesterday? To have them listen to their parents tell stories when they go home. Huo Xiaoxiao is only two years old, but her parents’ story is too… advanced.”
Teacher Sun repeated Huo Xiaoxiao’s short story.
Teacher Zhou was surprised and could not believe it. She asked, “Really?”
“Will I lie to you? Although it’s okay to tell a story like that… but this won’t do. I still need to call and ask.”
“OK, I’ll give you the contact information.”
Teacher Zhou found the phone number of Huo Xiaoxiao’s parents from the address book, and Teacher Sun called.
“Hello, are you the parent of Huo Xiaoxiao? I am a teacher from Wellington Kindergarten; my surname is Sun.”
“Xiaoxiao’s teacher? Please wait. I’ll call Old Master.”
“OK.”
————
In the afternoon, Old Master Huo came to pick up Huo Xiaoxiao.
As soon as she got in the car, Old master Huo asked what she had played in the kindergarten, whether she had been bullied, and whether she had a good meal.
Then, at the end, he asked, “I heard that your daddy told you a story last night. What story? Tell it to Grandpa?”
Huo Xiaoxiao repeated the story from her father.
“Daddy said that if I dare to do this kind of thing in the future, he will break my legs. Grandpa, will Daddy really break my legs? I am so scared.”
————
The more she said, the uglier Old Master Huo’s face looked. ”How dare he! Don’t listen to your father; he’s just scaring you.”
“Yes! I will not worry about it. Grandpa, you must live for a thousand years so that Daddy can’t easily bully me.”
“Well, Grandpa will live for a thousand years.”
Back home, Old Master Huo told her a lot of warm and lovely fairy tales. It was not until Huo Suicheng came back in the evening that Old Master Huo went downstairs with an ugly face.
From time to time, there would be an angry voice in the living room, vaguely sounding as if it was berating her dad.
Huo Xiaoxiao rubbed her hands and quietly lay down beside the stairwell to listen.
“Why do you say that to such a young child? Fairy tales are for children to dream. Can she even understand what you are saying to her?”
“What stories do other parents tell their children? And what story did you tell her?”
“It’s your job as a father to protect her!”
“Don’t tell me that you’re really going to break her legs?”
“No matter what, you can’t scare her!”
“You’ll talk to her later and promise you won’t scare her again!”
Huo Suicheng found this laughable.
“Dad, she’s scared? Really? You also said that she’s still young, so how could she even remember? Besides, there’s nothing wrong with what I said. It’s just early education.”
“She is just a two-year-old child. Why will she need your education in advance? Are you even a dad? Go!”
Huo Xiaoxiao was delighted to hear all this, but suddenly, there were no more voices.
Footsteps sounded at the end of the stairs. She quickly got up and went to her room to hide.
Thinking back, her grandfather had really spoken well, hitting the nail on the head.
What was the point of telling children so much about the real world? You were just scaring her! So, you should be scolded.
The door of the room opened.
Huo Suicheng walked in from the outside.
“Daddy!”
Huo Suicheng held her with one hand and asked, “Did you complain to Grandpa today?”
Huo Xiaoxiao widened her eyes in shock. “No!”
“No?”
“No, Grandpa asked me whether Daddy had told me a story. I told him what Daddy told me. I didn’t complain to Grandpa.”
“Only told a story to Grandpa? Didn’t say anything else?”
Huo Xiaoxiao nodded and said, “No.”
Huo Suicheng looked at Huo Xiaoxiao’s cunning eyes and pinched her small face. “Fine, Daddy apologizes to you and will never say anything about breaking your legs. Daddy promises that he will never find a stepmother for Xiaoxiao.”
Then, he carried her to the study, took out a pen and paper, and wrote a guarantee.
“I, Huo Xiaoxiao… No, I, Huo Suicheng, promise that I will never find a stepmother for Huo Xiaoxiao in the future. If there is any violation, I will break my leg.”
“Daddy, you wrote it wrong. It’s 18!” Huo Xiaoxiao pointed out the number in the guarantee.
Huo Suicheng took a look and crossed out 18. “Yes, Daddy made a mistake.”
He wrote twenty-five instead.
After writing, he held Huo Xiaoxiao’s hand and asked her to press for a fingerprint.
Huo Xiaoxiao resisted and cried out in alarm, “Daddy! What are you doing?”
“It’s a promise from Daddy. Grandpa asked to let me give you a guarantee to make you feel at ease.”
“No… Just press your fingerprint in the guarantee. Why do you want mine?” Huo Xiaoxiao grabbed her wrist to make one last struggle, her face flushed.
“Daddy will press his fingerprint, and you can also leave yours. Be good; don’t move. Press your finger here, and you will have no stepmother in the future.”
No stepmother?! More like no boyfriend!
Huo Xiaoxiao struggled desperately in his arms.
‘Taking me for an illiterate! How dare you!’
It clearly said, “I, Huo Xiaoxiao, promise you that I will not fall in love before the age of twenty-five. If there is any violation, then I request my father to break my leg!”
‘Twenty-five! You are too vicious!’
It was just a little scolding! Was it really necessary to do this to her?!
‘I will never leave my fingerprint!’