Chapter 16: Sleeping with Daddy

After taking a bath, Zhao Jiaying hugged her favorite little yellow duck plush toy. Her favorite cartoon character was the little yellow duck, and she had to hold it while she slept every night. She arrived at Ou Zichen’s bedroom door and knocked, because tonight she wanted to sleep with Daddy to strengthen their father-daughter bond.

There was no response, so Zhao Jiaying just opened the door and went in. At that moment, Ou Zichen had just finished his bath and was putting on his pants. Zhao Jiaying suddenly burst in, startling him so much that he hurriedly pulled up his pajama bottoms.

Once inside, Zhao Jiaying sweetly called out: “Daddy!”

“Woof woof…” Tangyuan, of course, had followed her and also called out: “Daddy.”

“Mm!” Ou Zichen responded, turning his back to Zhao Jiaying to put on his sleepwear.

Zhao Jiaying’s sudden arrival had caused him to forget to dry his hair, which was now still wet and dripping.

After getting dressed, Ou Zichen picked up a dry towel to wipe his hair and, while doing so, asked Zhao Jiaying: “Yingbao, you came here so late. Is there something you need?”

“I want to sleep with Daddy tonight!”

Sleep with him? Upon hearing this, Ou Zichen was a little at a loss. Since he was three years old, he hadn’t shared a bed with anyone, and certainly not with someone of the opposite sex. Though she was his biological daughter, he still felt some psychological barriers.

Seeing that Ou Zichen didn’t respond for a long time, Zhao Jiaying thought he didn’t want to sleep with her and lowered her head, dejectedly saying: “Never mind, Daddy, I’ll go back to my own bedroom and sleep.”

After saying that, she turned to leave. Seeing her look of disappointment, Ou Zichen couldn’t bear it. After all, she was his own daughter, and if she wanted to be close to him, he should give her the chance.

“Yingbao, come up here.” Ou Zichen patted the bed beside him.

Hearing Ou Zichen’s words, Zhao Jiaying’s face lit up, and she ran over, with Tangyuan following her, lying on the floor beside the bed.

Once Zhao Jiaying was in bed, she obediently lay down, and Ou Zichen covered her with a blanket, saying: “Go to sleep now!”

Was it really that easy to get a child to sleep? Just tell her to get in bed and she obeys? It wasn’t going to be that simple!

Lying in bed, Zhao Jiaying’s big, round eyes blinked as she sweetly said to Ou Zichen: “Daddy, I want to hear a story!”

This put Ou Zichen in a difficult spot. Not only did he not have any storybooks, but he also had never told a story before and didn’t know how to do it.

So he said: “Yingbao, Daddy doesn’t have any storybooks here. Wait until tomorrow, and Daddy will go to the bookstore and buy some storybooks for you. If you can’t sleep now, how about we just talk for a while?”

Zhao Jiaying thought for a moment. Chatting was also a great way to strengthen the father-daughter bond, so she nodded in agreement!

“Daddy, what do you want to talk about?”

“Let’s talk about your Mommy. Daddy wants to know, what kind of person is your Mommy?”

Actually, what he really wanted was to gather some information from Zhao Jiaying about how her Mommy had gotten pregnant with her!

But it seemed his plan was a little off. Not only did Zhao Jiaying not know, but even if she did, she wouldn’t tell him now.

“Mommy? Mommy is a very amazing doctor. She’s saved so many people. Those people she saved were so grateful that they tried to give her money and gifts, but Mommy refused them all. She said that treating patients and saving lives was her duty, and she didn’t need any thanks!”

When Zhao Jiaying talked about her Mommy, Zhao Yunxi, she was incredibly proud!

Hearing Zhao Jiaying’s praise of Zhao Yunxi, Ou Zichen thought that she seemed like a pretty decent person.

“So, these years, have you and Mommy lived together alone?”

“Originally, there were three of us, but last year, Grandpa went to heaven to be with Grandma, so it’s just me and Mommy now… Oh, no, there’s also Tangyuan. Tangyuan has always been with us too!”

So, it seemed that for these years, her Mommy hadn’t been with any other man. Did that mean she didn’t intend to date or get married? Or maybe no one had pursued her?

It shouldn’t be the case. Even if she had a child, if a man truly loved her, he would accept her child, right?

Could it be because she was unattractive?

With that thought, Ou Zichen suddenly felt a bit foolish. Looking at Zhao Jiaying’s looks, it was clear that even if her Mommy wasn’t perfect, she couldn’t possibly be ugly!

Ou Zichen couldn’t make sense of it, so he decided to ask Zhao Jiaying directly. She would surely know the reason.

“Yingbao, does your Mommy… have a boyfriend?”

Zhao Jiaying shook her head. “No!”

“Why not? Is it because she doesn’t look good, so no one is chasing her?”

Hearing this, Zhao Jiaying immediately sat up, excitedly saying: “Of course not! Mommy is the most beautiful woman in the world. There are plenty of people chasing her, but Mommy just doesn’t like any of them!”

The most beautiful woman in the world? Maybe every child believes their mother is the most beautiful woman in the world.

“Is your Mommy really that beautiful? Daddy has seen many beautiful women, but your Mommy might not be more beautiful than them.”

Ou Zichen said this on purpose, as he had seen many beautiful women, but none of them caught his eye. He was curious to see just how beautiful Zhao Yunxi was to be worthy of Zhao Jiaying’s praise.

He deliberately tried to provoke her, to see if she would bring out a picture of her Mommy.

Zhao Jiaying had indeed fallen for it. She jumped up and said: “Daddy, you don’t believe me, right? I’ll go get Mommy’s photo and show you. After you see it, you’ll know if Mommy is beautiful or not!”

With that, she hopped off the bed and dashed to her bedroom to get her iPad, where she had a photo album of Zhao Yunxi’s pictures.

Ou Zichen smiled mischievously. Zhao Jiaying was no match for him. As soon as he cast the bait, she had automatically taken the hook.

As Zhao Jiaying walked, she muttered: “He actually said that my Mommy isn’t as beautiful as other women. Wait until I show Daddy what real beauty looks like!”

She quickly grabbed the iPad and ran back to Ou Zichen’s bedroom. Once back in bed, she opened a photo of Zhao Yunxi and proudly held it out to Ou Zichen, saying: “This is my Mommy. Isn’t she beautiful?”

Ou Zichen took the iPad and glanced at the photo of Zhao Yunxi, instantly stunned. The woman in the picture had bright, clear eyes, a high nose, and soft pink lips, with two deep dimples on her cheeks when she smiled. Now, he finally understood where Zhao Jiaying’s dimples came from—they were inherited from her mother.

This exquisite face was truly breathtaking, fit to be called a beauty that could make fish sink and swallows fall. Looking at it gave one a pleasant feeling, and she was certainly more beautiful than any woman he had seen before. No wonder Zhao Jiaying called her Mommy the most beautiful woman in the world. It truly surpassed all expectations!