Chapter 87: Good Daddy, Ninja Turtle
Nan Xun hugged her pillow and returned to the princess bedroom she hadn’t slept in for many years. Although she hadn’t actually stayed there, Aunt Li cleaned it every day, so it was spotless.
She had just hugged the blanket and rolled around on the bed, marveling at how comfortable it was, when there came a knock on the door.
“Baby, open the door.”
Nan Xun curled her lips. Serves you right for stripping me of my rights—tonight you can sleep by yourself.
Listening to the knock grow heavier and heavier, she could already picture Li Chen standing outside with his thin lips pressed into a straight line, expressionless. The thought made her even more pleased. Still, after a moment’s consideration, she went over and opened the door.
Looking at Li Chen’s darkened face, Nan Xun smiled brightly and said, “Dad, I’ve grown up now. From today on, I’m going to sleep in my own room.”
Seeing her brows lifted in smug triumph, Li Chen couldn’t help rubbing his forehead. It seemed the old man was right—his precious girl had entered her rebellious phase. Fine. He’d let her be on her own for a couple of days and cool off first.
So he compromised. “Alright. You can sleep by yourself for the next few days.”
He said the next few days.
Nan Xun didn’t notice. Happily, she pounced onto the bed, burrowed under the covers, lay down neatly, and grinned at him. “Dad, it’s getting late. You should go to sleep too. Remember to close the door for me when you leave.”
Li Chen sighed softly, walked over to tuck in the blanket corners for her, then bent down and kissed her little mouth. “Good night, baby.”
“Good night, Dad.” In her happiness, Nan Xun tilted her head slightly and pecked his lips.
That peck made both of them freeze.
Li Chen restrained the smile threatening to curve his lips and said gently, “Sweet dreams, Daddy’s baby.”
—
Li Chen was convinced that Li Xiaonan was only angry for the moment and would soon come back on her own. After all, they were already used to each other.
These past few days, without a girl to hold, Li Chen slept terribly—dark circles even appeared under his eyes. Meanwhile, Li Xiaonan looked radiant every day, her little face rosy and full of energy—the complete opposite.
The happiest person about this was none other than Old Master Li.
Humming a little tune, Old Master Li was in such a good mood that he personally went to the estate to prune flowers and plants, then picked two lilies, placed them in a vase, and set it on the coffee table in the living room.
At dinner, as the family ate together, Old Master Li even had an extra bowl of rice.
Li Chen glanced at him and said coolly, “You seem to be in a very good mood.”
When he was younger, Old Master Li had been a formidable figure himself. He wasn’t afraid of his son’s oppressive aura at all and said cheerfully, “Tomorrow I’m going fishing with some old friends. Nan Nan will be in your care—take good care of her.”
Hearing this, Nan Xun immediately chimed in, “Grandpa, I want crucian carp. Catch a few more and bring them back, okay~”
“Alright. Just wait, Nan Nan. Tomorrow when Grandpa comes back, I’ll bring you a whole basket of fresh crucian carp.”
Watching this grandfather and granddaughter blatantly ignore him, Li Chen’s mood grew somewhat gloomy.
“Dad, eat some more. I’ll get you some food,” Nan Xun said when she noticed Li Chen hadn’t eaten much, promptly putting a chopstickful of vegetables—her most hated greens—into his bowl.
Looking at the bowl now piled high with vegetables, Li Chen raised an eyebrow.
His baby was taking the initiative to talk to him, worrying that he wasn’t eating enough, even serving him food—clearly, she was no longer angry.
“Dad, I can’t eat anymore. Help me finish the rest. Waste is shameful; I don’t want to be a shameful person,” Nan Xun said, pushing her half-bowl of mashed rice toward him.
Li Chen gave a low “mm” and calmly dumped her half bowl of rice into his own.
Neither of them thought much of it. Ever since Nan Xun was little, she and Li Chen often shared the same bowl of food—one pear, one piece of cake, even one piece of chocolate, taking turns biting. They had indirectly shared each other’s saliva countless times already.
They didn’t mind—but Old Master Li felt thoroughly sour. The kind of tooth-aching sour that made him lose his appetite.
“Nan Nan, you’re eating so little. What if you get hungry later tonight?” Old Master Li asked with concern.
Nan Xun immediately replied, “It’s fine. Dad can cook. If I get hungry, I’ll just have Dad make me a midnight snack.”
Hearing this, Li Chen relaxed even more. His baby really had calmed down—looks like tonight she’d come back on her own.
“Dad, Grandpa, I’ll cut some fruit for you!”
Nan Xun happily dashed into the kitchen, cut various fruits into small pieces, arranged them into a flower on a plate, then brought over a box of toothpicks.
“Dad, Grandpa, try the fruit I cut,” she said, setting the plate on the table and handing each of them a toothpick.
Old Master Li found it amusing. Just because you cut it, does it taste any different?
No sooner had that thought crossed his mind than he heard his son praise, “Baby did a great job cutting the fruit. It tastes even better than before.”
Old Master Li: …
Feeling his teeth ache even more, Old Master Li went out for a walk, lest his teeth fall out from all that sourness.
Uncle Wang followed him out. Aunt Li finished cleaning the kitchen and left as well. The house was left with only Li Chen and Nan Xun.
Nan Xun sat alone on the sofa watching TV, completely absorbed.
Li Chen moved closer. With no one else around to get in the way, he could finally have a heart-to-heart talk with his baby.
“Baby, you’re not angry at Dad anymore, hm?” His tone was very gentle.
Nan Xun paused, then quickly said, “I’m not angry. Why would I be angry at Dad?”
Seeing how sincere she looked, not as if she were brushing him off, Li Chen became even more convinced that she had truly calmed down. He rubbed her little head. “Come on, baby. Time to wash up and go to sleep.”
Nan Xun immediately sensed something was off. “Wait, Dad—did you misunderstand something? Even though I’m not angry anymore, I still want to sleep by myself.”
Li Chen’s eyes narrowed at once.
“Dad, I’m almost sixteen. In a few months I’ll be taking the college entrance exam and going to university. I’m already grown up—how can I still sleep with Dad?”
When Nan Xun was still a little kid, she’d been afraid that Li Chen might give her a bunch of younger siblings, and then his attention wouldn’t be on her anymore. At that time, her words would carry no weight, and using family affection to eliminate the ‘evil value’ would be nothing but a pipe dream. So when Li Chen wanted to sleep with her back then, she’d been quite happy and especially clingy toward him.
But later, when she grew a bit older—around nine or ten—she felt that she had already managed this father–daughter relationship very well. Even if Li Chen had younger children, her place in his heart would still be firmly first. Yet when Nan Xun suggested sleeping in separate beds at that time, Li Chen was the one who didn’t want to.
She asked him why, and he gave a very simple reason: he was used to it.
And that habit had continued all the way to now—growing stronger day by day. These past few days without Nan Xun, Li Chen’s sleep quality had plummeted. On top of that, he still had to handle high-intensity work during the day. Watching him like this, Nan Xun felt rather guilty too.
For her sake, Li Chen had practically turned himself into a Ninja Turtle—truly a very good “dad.”
