"Huh?" Mai Ge widened his eyes, looking down at Amy who was calling out "Daddy" in a childish voice. Suddenly, he remembered the theme song of "Where Are We Going, Dad?" in the music box. After thinking for a moment, he replied, "No..."
"Then I'll teach you!"
"Okay!"
"Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are."
"You are singing off key." Mai Ge replied with a laugh.
"Daddy, didn't you say you didn't know how to sing?" Amy sat up abruptly, looking at Mai Ge with a puzzled expression.
"Uh..." Mai Ge looked at Amy's serious face and suddenly felt a little speechless. His daughter really didn't play by the rules!
"Hehe, let's sing together then." Amy's face quickly lit up with a smile again, and she clapped her hands as she sang, "Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are..."
Amy's two little braids swayed from side to side, her little face was full of smiles, and her pointed ears were crystal clear in the moonlight and starlight, making her look extremely cute. Mai Ge smiled and hummed along softly, her slightly childish singing voice floating on the balcony and drifting towards the sky, as if making the starry sky even more dazzling.
After several unsuccessful attempts to climb the smooth steel chair legs, the Ugly Duckling could only anxiously run back and forth under the chair, occasionally meowing to try and make its presence known so that someone would remember to lift it up.
"Hmm, Daddy, look! That star is flying!" Amy suddenly stopped singing and pointed to the starry sky with great surprise.
"It's a shooting star. They say if you make a wish upon a shooting star, it will come true. Do you want to make one, Amy?" Mai Ge looked in the direction Amy was pointing and saw a bright star with a long tail slowly gliding across the sky, flying eastward.
"Really?" Amy immediately closed her eyes, clasped her hands together in fists in front of her, and earnestly made a wish.
"I hope Little Amy can grow up happily everyday." Mai Ge looked at Amy's sincere face and closed his eyes to make a wish.
After a while, Amy slowly opened her eyes, her eyes full of hope.
"What did Little Amy wish for?" Mai Ge asked, smiling at Amy.
"Teacher Luna said that wishes shouldn't be told to others, otherwise they won't come true, so I can't tell Daddy." Amy said earnestly, shaking her head.
"Well, then don't say it. A wish made to a shooting star will definitely come true." Mai Ge nodded, feeling quite grateful to Luna. Luna had indeed played a crucial role in Amy's upbringing. In the past two years, she had been shaping Amy's values, allowing her to grow up in poverty but still remain a kind child.
"Yes, Little Amy believes so too." Amy nodded, then suddenly pounced on Mai Ge, kissed his cheek, and whispered against his chest, "Daddy, you'll always be by Amy's side, won't you?"
"Of course, always. No one can take me away from you." Mai Ge gently stroked Amy's hair, a promise that was also a responsibility.
"Daddy, you're so good." Amy smiled and sat up again, saying, "Daddy, I'll dance for you, the one the Mushroom Little Elf dances."
"Okay." Mai Ge nodded. Amy had only learned it a little in the morning and at noon, and now she was eager to perform for him.
"But Daddy, what's the name of this dance? I can't understand what she's singing." Amy jumped off the chair, picked up the music box next to her, and asked Mai Ge with curiosity.
"This…" Mai Ge hesitated for a moment. Amy couldn't understand Japanese, and even he couldn't understand it. As for the song title, it was not easy for a child to understand. After thinking for a while, he nodded seriously and said, "This dance is called 'Spring Is Here'."
"Spring is here?" Amy's eyes lit up, and she clapped her hands, saying, "It's so good that spring is here. No wonder the Mushroom Little Elf is dancing so happily and joyfully."
"Yes, spring is wonderful." Mai Ge nodded with a smile.
"Okay, I'll start now." Amy squatted down and gently tapped the screen. The music of Gokuraku Jodo started playing. In just one day, Amy had completely mastered the touch screen of this music box. Although she couldn't read, but she could play songs and dances without any difficulty by recognizing pictures.
As soon as the music started, Amy's face turned serious. She turned to the side, placed her hands together in front of her chest, and as the music played, she raised her left hand backward like scattering flowers, then turned 360 degrees back to her chest. Then she presented herself to the left with one hand on top and the other on the bottom. As soon as the drumbeat started, she immediately presented herself to the right, then backward. After a neat turn, she crossed her legs, pushed off the ground with one foot, and spun around... All of her movements were in sync with the rhythm.
If these actions were performed by Yabemia, they would be considered a less than standard version of Gokuraku Jodo, but with Amy...
Mai Ge couldn't stop smiling as he watched Amy struggling to raise her little arms, trying to make movements as nimble as the Mushroom Little Elf.
With her short legs, she danced with cross steps, almost tripping herself. When she clapped her little hands and twisted her waist, her whole body was swaying, completely giving the dance her own adorable style.
Watching her swaying little legs and arms, even though her movements weren't standard and she was barely keeping time, her butterfly steps were basically just going through the motions, Mai Ge felt his heart melt. How could there be such a cute dance in this world? How could there be such a cute little one?
The Ugly Duckling hopped and skipped along beside her, as if it wanted to dance too, showing none of the cat's behavior.
The rousing music stopped, and Amy, still in her final bow pose, slightly out of breath, looked at Mai Ge with anticipation and asked, "Da...daddy, did Little Amy dance well?"
"It's beautiful, really beautiful! It's even cuter and more beautiful than the Mushroom Little Elf's dance." Mai Ge nodded sincerely.
Today was the first day of learning Gokuraku Jodo. Amy, who had never danced before, was able to memorize the general movements of the entire dance and dance along. This talent for dancing already surprised Mai Ge. He estimated that it wouldn't take Amy long to learn the dance completely.
"I'll try even harder to learn to dance." Amy nodded earnestly, her happy expression impossible to hide.
"Then let's go downstairs to wash up. Tomorrow is Amy's first day of school. I'll give you a bath in a bit, and you can wear your new clothes to class tomorrow." Mai Ge said with a smile, standing up, squatting down, and picking Amy up.
"Okay." Amy nodded happily, then opened her arms and hugged Mai Ge's neck, letting Mai Ge carry her downstairs. The Ugly Duckling looked at the two of them with a slightly aggrieved expression, then had to walk on its own.
....
In the Second Prince's residence in Luo Du, in a grand hall, a handsome young man with a refined and scholarly demeanor was smiling and talking to several young mages dressed in mage robes sitting in the hall. His voice was gentle and his speech was quite extraordinary, which made most of the mages sitting down look at him with admiration.
Just then, a middle-aged man who looked like a steward rushed in from outside. Ignoring the many people present, he went straight to the young man's side and whispered in his ear, "Your Highness, someone is coming from over there."