madnovel Chapter 26 Suffering is my forte
Chapter 26 Suffering is my forte
At the beginning of May, the recording work for Crystal Records had been progressing steadily for nearly a week, coinciding with the seven-day Labor Day holiday. In previous years, at this time, Qianqian would go on a trip with Liu Xiaoli to relax, broaden her horizons, and gain new experiences. But this year, the two little ones had more important things to do, and all their holiday time was devoted to recording and practicing songs.
As evening fell, the day's recording work finally came to an end. Xie Anran walked out of the recording studio yawning, looking exhausted. Beside her, Qianqian looked even more listless, her little head drooping, appearing completely drained. Outside the studio, Liu Xiaoli had been waiting for a long time. Seeing her daughter so tired, she felt a pang of heartache and quickly went over to hand her a cup of warm honey water.
"Thank you, Mom." Sisi took the water glass and drank a few sips. The sweet and soothing honey water instantly revitalized her, and her energy returned immediately. Children's physical strength and recovery ability are truly a natural talent.
Fully recovered, Sisi rushed forward without a word and grabbed Xie Anran with a tight hug, causing the unsuspecting Xie Anran to scream in pain. "Gently, my little darling!" Xie Anran complained, struggling repeatedly.
"What are you pretending for? I didn't even use any force." Xixi rolled her eyes at him, her face full of disgust. Seeing his feigned weakness exposed, Xie Anran instantly lost his temper, muttering weakly, "Fine, fine, I wasn't pretending. Just talk properly, stop with the physical contact, okay?"
Sisi completely ignored his rambling and went straight to the point: "When we get home, we'll continue practicing singing."
Xie Anran's heart sank instantly. He had already planned to go home, take a shower, and go straight to sleep. He had no energy left to stay up all night practicing singing. He quickly persuaded her, "Qianqian, it's good to work hard, but we've been singing all day long. Aren't you tired? It would be good to rest."
"Anran~ Good Anran~" Qianqian ignored all advice, gently shaking his arm and acting coquettishly. This trick was extremely effective against her mother Liu Xiaoli and Aunt Yunyun, but it was a real "physical attack" on Xie Anran.
"Stop shaking me! Stop shaking me! I promise you, I promise you, okay?!" Xie Anran was so dizzy from being shaken that she immediately raised her hands to beg for mercy. Zhang Yun and Liu Xiaoli, who were standing to the side, looked helpless and secretly amused. Xie Anran usually seemed calm and composed, but she could never get under Qianqian's control. She was no match for the little girl at all.
After dinner, Xie Anran took a shower, changed into his pajamas and shorts, and returned to his room. As soon as he entered, he saw Qianqian wearing a cute nightgown. Before he could say anything, Qianqian announced crisply, "I'm sleeping with you tonight!"
"Absolutely not!" Xie Anran immediately became anxious and resolutely refused. "You don't sleep well at night, you'll definitely bother me, I absolutely disagree."
Sisi pouted and stared at him with a wronged look: "I'm a very quiet sleeper. We've slept together before."
Xie Anran paused for a moment, then realized it was true. Liu Xiaoli was usually too busy with work to take care of Qianqian, so she often entrusted her to Zhang Yun. The two little ones often slept together, and nothing had ever gone wrong. "Alright, alright," Xie Anran yawned, climbed into bed, and just wanted to rest.
"Sit up!" Qianqian saw through his attempt to slack off and immediately stopped him. Xie Anran reluctantly sat up, inwardly complaining, "This little girl is only seven years old, how can she be so clever? How did Liu Xiaoli teach her?"
"Alright, let's sing." He leaned against the headboard and got into position.
Sisi cleared her throat, ready to sing "Little Frog". The song wasn't particularly difficult, but its pitch was high, which happened to be a range that Sisi wasn't good at, which was why she insisted on practicing extra hard.
"You started off wrong, start over." Xie Anran's first inheritance was perfect pitch; even the slightest deviation couldn't escape his ears, and he would immediately and accurately correct it. This was also why Qianqian insisted on having him teach her to sing. When it came to scrutinizing singing techniques, Xie Anran was even more meticulous and professional than Zhang Songyu, a professional arranger.
Undeterred, Sisi sang the song again and again with utmost seriousness. Xie Anran gradually abandoned her perfunctory attitude and secretly admired Sisi's perseverance. Seven hours of intense recording during the day, followed by an hour of practice at night—even professional singers would find this exhausting, yet this little girl remained full of energy, truly impressive.
Around 9 p.m., Xie Anran suddenly raised her hand and called out, "Stop, don't sing anymore."
"What's wrong? I can still practice." Sisi looked at him with a puzzled expression.
"Your voice has reached its limit. That's enough for today. You can't sing anymore." Xie Anran heard it clearly. Qianqian's voice already had a faint hoarseness. Although the signs were slight, continuing to practice would inevitably damage her voice, which would be a loss.
Sisi wanted to argue, but Xie Anran put on a stern face, her eyes carrying an inexplicable intimidating force. Sisi immediately shrank back, not daring to argue anymore, and obediently went out to brush her teeth and wash up before tiptoeing back to her room and climbing into bed.
Crawling into bed, Qianqian instinctively hugged Xie Anran tightly. "You promised not to hug me." Xie Anran was momentarily overwhelmed. In Jiangcheng in May, the night temperature was in the teens, just right under the covers. With a little girl clinging to her, it was inevitably stuffy and unbearable.
"Anran, you're so boring. You're not close to me at all," Xixi protested softly and resentfully.
"I'm just afraid of the heat," Xie Anran said, both amused and exasperated.
"Okay, then I understand." Sisi pretended to be magnanimous and let go of his hand.
After a moment of silence, Xie Anran suddenly spoke up and gently comforted her, "Qianqian, you're actually singing very well now."
"It's not enough, I don't sing as well as you," Sisi said sullenly.
Xie Anran was filled with puzzlement. She had an unfair advantage, so why did Qianqian, an ordinary person, insist on competing with her? "Why are you so obsessed with surpassing me?"
Sisi immediately slumped down, shrank into the blankets, and muttered softly, "I'm scared... I'm scared I won't be able to keep up with you."
Xie Anran was startled, his face full of surprise. He hadn't expected that a little girl of only seven years old would have such thoughts at such a young age. Once the gap between people widens, even childhood sweethearts will eventually drift apart. Different social circles make it difficult to maintain even the best relationships.
"What are you thinking? I've been holding your hand the whole time, I won't abandon you," Xie Anran reassured her, feigning nonchalance.
"You're not in good health, you can't overwork yourself," Sisi said seriously. "I'm healthy, I can work as hard as I want."
Xie Anran felt a warmth in her heart. She hadn't expected the little girl to be so thoughtful and sensible. She gently pinched her cheek and said, "Alright, but don't overwork yourself, okay?"
"I'm fine, my throat just hurts a little."
"That's from overusing your voice, you silly pig."
"You're the pig! You're stupid!"
"Okay, okay, stop fooling around, let's go to sleep." Xie Anran reluctantly gave in.
"safely!"
"What's wrong now?"
I want to hold your hand while I sleep.
"Whatever you want." Xie Anran felt helpless yet soft-hearted, letting the little girl lead her into sleep.