Madam, Please Behave-Chapter 173: Pinky Promise
September 1st.
When Liu Xiazhi stumbled out of her room, rubbing her eyes, Liu Zhiyue had already left for school.
As a third-year middle school student, he was officially in exam-prep mode. Although there were still two semesters left, students in the Rocket Class had to arrive at school half an hour earlier than those in regular classes for morning reading.
Liu Changqing had already prepared breakfast for his daughter. Seeing her yawning as she walked out, he said,
“Go wash your face and brush your teeth first, then come eat.”
“…Got it.”
Her response was sluggish and weak.
Truth be told, Liu Xiazhi hadn’t actually stayed up too late last night. She had finished her homework around 2 AM, taken a shower, and only truly fallen asleep close to 3 AM.
For kids her age, adjusting to such little sleep was far more difficult than it would be for an adult.
By the time she finished washing up, her eyes were dull and unfocused. Holding a steamed bun in her left hand and a fried dough stick (youtiao) in her right, she sluggishly took a bite of the bun, chewing as if it were tasteless wax. Before she had even swallowed, she took a bite of the youtiao, making her cheeks puff up like a hamster stuffing food in its mouth.
Liu Changqing watched this scene unfold, finding his daughter oddly hamster-like as she drowsily munched away.
She looked pitiful, but ultimately, it was her own fault for procrastinating on her homework.
That was why both he and her brother had refused to help her last night—she needed to learn to solve her own problems.
As the saying goes, eagles must spread their wings and learn to fly…
Of course, comparing a girl to an eagle didn’t quite fit, but she still needed to learn independence. Otherwise, she’d be too easily taken advantage of in the future.
Since he hadn’t bought soy milk, Liu Changqing placed a warmed glass of milk in front of her.
Without hesitation, Liu Xiazhi picked it up and gulped it all down in one go.
This surprised Liu Changqing.
His daughter usually refused to drink plain milk, always insisting on flavored ones. In the past, getting her to drink it was like trying to force-feed medicine.
Yet now, she downed it without even flinching…
Just as he was about to praise her, he noticed something odd.
Still holding the half-eaten bun in one hand and the youtiao in the other, her head was bobbing up and down.
She was… falling asleep?
Liu Changqing lightly patted her head.
Feeling the touch, Liu Xiazhi suddenly jolted awake and, as if on autopilot, took another bite of the bun, chewing with her eyes shut.
Something felt off.
Liu Changqing narrowed his eyes and leaned in, speaking softly.
“How late were you up playing on the handheld console?”
“Until fou—”
Mid-sentence, she suddenly froze.
Her eyes flew open, realizing her slip-up.
Immediately, she started frantically waving her hands in denial.
“I-I didn’t play on the console last night!”
“…”
Watching her clumsy attempt at deception, Liu Changqing suddenly understood why parents always saw through his own lies when he was a kid.
This must be what low-level lying looks like at this age.
Kids think that if they can fool themselves, they can fool their parents too.
Sighing, Liu Changqing glanced at the clock, then turned to his daughter, who was now taking small bites of her bun, clearly trying to avoid being scolded.
“Return Haohao’s handheld console today. You’ve played with it for the entire summer.”
“Haohao said I could keep it! He has plenty more at home.”
“…What?”
His eyelid twitched.
“Didn’t he just lend it to you?”
“He lent me the games. Some of them aren’t sold anymore, I think…”
Hearing this, Liu Changqing’s hands slowly clenched into fists.
He had underestimated that little chubby kid…
That brat Haohao was way too crafty!
This child… must be dealt with…
“Dad, why is your face twitching?”
“Huh? Is it?”
Snapping back to reality, Liu Changqing rubbed his face to regain his composure.
“We’re not keeping it. I’ll get you a new one tonight—the kind with Pikachu on it.”
“Really?!”
Liu Xiazhi’s eyes lit up, the excitement instantly wiping away her sleepiness.
“You promised, Dad! No take-backs!”
“Only if you return the other one to Haohao.”
“Okay!”
Without hesitation, she dropped the youtiao, wiped her greasy hand on her shirt, and then extended her pinky toward him.
“Pinky promise! No take-backs!”
“…”
For a moment, Liu Changqing was stunned, but then he hooked his pinky around hers.
Grinning, Liu Xiazhi chanted the familiar rhyme,
“Pinky promise, if you lie, you’re a puppy!”
“…Who taught you that?”
Liu Changqing wiped at the grease now stuck to his finger but soon gave up. He’d just wash his hands later.
He was surprised to hear his daughter say something like that.
Li Wanran definitely wouldn’t have taught her this, and he himself had no memory of saying it to her before.
Hearing her father’s question, Liu Xiazhi blinked and replied,
“Aunt Lan taught me! That day, I wanted an ice pop while we were watching TV, and she said I could only have one. Then she made me pinky swear and told me if I lied, I’d be a puppy!”
“…Lan Yixian?”
Liu Changqing hadn’t expected that.
He tried to picture Lan Yixian speaking to a child in that coaxing tone…
And shuddered.
Something about that felt… deeply unsettling.
He never would’ve thought she was so good at dealing with kids.
Shaking off the thought, he checked the time again and said,
“Finish up and go change your clothes.”
“But my hair…”
“When we get to Aunt An’s place, she’ll help you tie it up.”
“Okay!”
Satisfied, Liu Xiazhi focused on finishing her bun.
—
After breakfast, Liu Changqing helped her wash up and change clothes.
At some point, her exhaustion returned, and she started nodding off again.
He had only turned around for a second to grab her clothes, and when he looked back—she was sprawled across the bed, asleep.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.
With great effort, he got her dressed, stuffed the handheld console into her new backpack, and carried her out the door.
Grabbing a hair tie, he hurried downstairs, opened the car door, and gently placed her in the back seat.
As he started the car and drove off, he noticed how eerily quiet it was in the back.
Glancing at the rearview mirror, he saw his daughter sprawled out in an incredibly ungraceful position, fast asleep.
Watching this, Liu Changqing sighed deeply.
For a moment, he questioned his own parenting methods.
Why was his son so different from his daughter?
It really felt like…
He had ruined his “second account” (second child).
