Invincible Dad

The heavens are fickle.

Despite the afternoon sky being blanketed with dark clouds, by evening, not a single one remained.

As a result, at the entrance of Galaxy Kindergarten, Qian Xiao, who had missed out on the cloud candy, looked utterly dejected and kept muttering, "Where are the clouds? Come out already! I won't eat you, what are you hiding for!"

"Yiyi, see? You can't believe a single word a man says," Beibei admonished, hanging from Yiyi's backpack. "Take Qian Xiao, for example. He's constantly swallowing his spit, yet he claims he won't eat the clouds. Tsk, tsk."

As Qian Xiao's semi-mentor, Beibei no longer despised him as before but still subconsciously teased him every now and then.

"Daddy's a man too," Yiyi said, blinking her big eyes. "I believe Daddy. I'll always believe whatever Daddy says."

"Ah, that's my girl." Hearing his daughter's conversation with Beibei, Xu Lai beamed with joy and planted a big kiss on Yiyi's forehead.

Pleased, Xu Lai waved his hand and summoned a few clouds from the neighboring city, creating two cloud lollipops.

Qian Xiao was stunned for a moment, then happily took one and started eating voraciously, even as he choked back a sob. "This is..."

"The taste of first love," Xu Yiyi and Beibei chimed in unison.

"First..." The words Qian Xiao wanted to say got stuck in his throat. He scratched his head, his face full of confusion. How did Big Sister Yiyi and Beibei know what he was going to say?

As Qian Xiao relished the cloud candy, he fell into deep thought. Suddenly, he slapped his forehead and exclaimed with delight, "This must be what it means to be on the same wavelength!"

Xu Lai was speechless. This kid's skin gets thicker by the day.

Xu Lai glanced at the sky. Winter evenings grew dark early, and night would soon fall. Without lingering, he took his daughter to the company to pick up Ruan Tang and head home.

Dinner was especially lavish.

Xu Lai's appetite was average, so he ate very little. In contrast, Ruan Tang and Yiyi ate quite a bit.

Tomorrow was the weekend, so Yiyi asked Ruan Tang if she could play games for an hour. Ruan Tang hesitated for a moment before agreeing.

"It's a pity Auntie isn't home, otherwise, we could play the two-player co-op mode," the little girl said, somewhat regretful.

"Yes, Ruan Lan isn't home," Xu Lai said, looking at Ruan Tang with a meaningful expression. "How about we play a few more rounds of poker tonight to see who has the higher card? The kind where the loser strips."

"Get lost! I'm going to take a shower!" Ruan Tang beat a hasty retreat. After all, there was no escaping Xu Lai's clutches tonight, so how could she let herself be fooled again!

Xu Lai chuckled and played games with his daughter.

After Ruan Tang went upstairs wrapped in a towel, Xu Lai patted Yiyi's head and said, "Daddy's going to sleep now. You should go to bed early too. Don't play for too long."

"Daddy." Yiyi put down the game controller and gently tugged on Xu Lai's sleeve, whispering, "My birthday is in two days, and I want to invite my classmates over. They all love little animals and want to meet Xiao Hei..."

As she spoke, her large, watery eyes blinked with anticipation and nervousness, as if she was terrified Xu Lai would refuse.

"Okay," Xu Lai nodded.

"Really?" Xu Yiyi exclaimed with delight. "Then can I invite Mao Dou and Qian Xiao? And Diandian, Yi Le, and Mi Le, too? They're my best friends at kindergarten."

"Of course," Xu Lai said with a smile. He and Ruan Tang had already been planning to throw a birthday party for Yiyi. As for who to invite, that was up to Yiyi herself.

"Thank you, Daddy." The little girl leaped into Xu Lai's arms, saying joyfully, "Daddy is the best!"

"Actually, your mommy was already planning to throw a birthday party for you," Xu Lai said.

"Mommy is the best, too!" The clever little girl chuckled. "I have the best daddy and mommy in the whole wide world. I'm so happy!"

Xu Lai laughed and ruffled his daughter's hair. "Go to sleep early!"

"Mhm." The obedient little girl turned off the game console and hopped off with Beibei to the bathroom to wash up.

Meanwhile, Xu Lai returned to their room.

Pushing the door open, he saw Ruan Tang wrapped in a towel, sitting at the vanity mirror. Xu Lai expertly picked up the hairdryer and began to dry her hair.

"What were you and our daughter talking about downstairs? Yiyi sounded so happy," Ruan Tang asked curiously, having heard her daughter's joyful voice through the ajar door.

Xu Lai recounted their conversation.

Ruan Tang mused, "Yiyi's birthday is the day after tomorrow. It's time to start preparing."

Xu Lai nodded. "Leave everything to me."

Ruan Tang thought about the surprises Xu Lai had prepared for her birthday: Haitang Court, the haitang flowers, and the bracelet she still wore to this day.

She had loved every single one of them immensely.

When it comes to surprises, I can't compare to Xu Lai, Ruan Tang admitted to herself.

Ruan Tang said softly, "Thank you for all your hard work. I'm not much help with our daughter's birthday."

Her eyes sparkled as she suddenly stretched lazily and said, "My hair's dry. Let's go to bed."

"Mm," Xu Lai nodded, turned off the lights, and gently embraced Ruan Tang.

Ruan Tang pursed her lips. She knew Xu Lai was really going to draw little turtles on her this time—after all, she was the one who had lost their card game yesterday.