ASFTB 12: Li Lingfeng, Roll Out of Your Grave

The two children’s silence made Jian Chengxi realize that looking at the photo might stir up memories of their deceased father.

Realizing it was inappropriate, Jian Chengxi immediately put the photo away. He cleared his throat and said, “Forget it. I’m not the kind of person who likes to compare. What’s in the past is in the past. Honestly, I don’t really care.”

As he spoke, he tucked the photo deep into the bottom of the box and even pressed it down.

Li Chen and Li Suisui: “…”

Yep, Daddy definitely cared.

Jian Chengxi looked out at the heavy rain, the sky flashing with lightning and rumbling with thunder. He couldn’t help but feel a bit worried. For the first time, it truly hit him. He was living on a war-torn, unrestful planet. Braving the darkness, he ran downstairs to empty the water from the basin, then hurried back. His own bedroom had a slightly larger bed—big enough for three people to sleep on.

On a stormy night like this, it seemed no one could sleep.

“Can’t sleep?” He sat down on the bed and gently tucked the corners of the blanket around the kids. “Is it the rain and thunder outside? Is it scaring you?”

Li Chen calmly opened his eyes and looked at him. “No.”

Jian Chengxi looked at his pale, thin face, thinking how stubborn this kid was. What child wouldn’t be scared by a storm like this? He was probably just saying that so he wouldn’t worry. He asked, “If you’re not scared, then why aren’t you asleep?”

“Because,” Li Chen’s voice was childish but straightforward, “the thunder’s too loud. It’s keeping me up.”

“…”

Not cute at all.

Jian Chengxi cleared his throat and said, “Alright then, if you can’t sleep, Daddy will tell you a story.”

Bedtime stories were a time-tested trick for getting kids to sleep, both ancient and modern!

Not only that, they were great for distraction too!

Jian Chengxi sat at the head of the bed, letting the two kids sleep on the inside while he only covered himself with a thin blanket. Then he asked, “What kind of story would you like to hear?”

He thought they would at least ask for something cute, like fairies or something.

But then—

Li Suisui poked her little head out and softly said, “I want to hear the story of the dark sorcerer slaying the azure dragon.”

Li Chen lowered his head in thought for a while, then finally offered his suggestion, “Tell us the story of the mech troops wiping out the insectoids.”

What even are these requests.

Three-year-old kids listening to stories full of fighting and killing—what kind of upbringing is that? Teaching kids kindness and beauty should start young!

Jian Chengxi cleared his throat and said, “Alright, Daddy will tell you a story even cooler than those tonight. It’s called Snow White!”

Li Chen and Li Suisui: “……”

On this stormy night, in a dim little room, the family of three lay together on the bed.

Jian Chengxi’s voice was low and gentle as he spoke softly, “The kind Snow White ate the Queen’s poisoned apple and fell into a deep sleep. A kind prince passed by on his white horse and saved her. The magic of true love woke Snow White, and from then on, the prince and princess lived happily ever after.”

The room fell silent.

Jian Chengxi, filled with childlike warmth and fatherly love, looked down and asked the two kids, “Alright, what did you learn from the story?”

He expected at the very least that they would take away something like “good things happen to good people,” or that being honest and kind brings good fortune.

But then—

Li Suisui spoke up. “Why did Snow White get tricked so many times and still not learn her lesson?”

Jian Chengxi was stunned.

“The Queen was such an idiot,” Li Chen snorted lightly. “If I were her, I wouldn’t have let Snow White live that long.”

Jian Chengxi’s eyes widened, this was nothing like the takeaway he had expected. He quickly tried to steer the kids back on track. “When you listen to a story, don’t just pick apart people’s flaws. You should also think about what you can learn from the main character. Like Snow White—she was kind and pure-hearted, and that’s a wonderful quality. That’s why she received help from the dwarves and kind strangers, and was able to escape danger.”

He thought the kids had understood.

But then—

Li Suisui’s voice, childish yet full of confusion, asked, “Wasn’t it because she was pretty?”

Jian Chengxi: “Ah…”

“Because she was pretty, the dwarves took her in, and the prince kissed her,” Li Suisui explained seriously, counting it out. “If it were someone like me, no one would’ve helped.”

Jian Chengxi felt a pang in his chest as he looked into the little girl’s sincere eyes. He had told a fairy tale, a story that was supposed to be beautiful and pure, yet the children had seen right through it. He sighed and gently rubbed the little girl’s head. “Don’t say that. Our Suisui is a wonderful girl. You’ll definitely grow up to be a happy Snow White.”

Li Suisui just smiled sweetly, her eyes curved. “I don’t want to be Snow White. I want to be the Queen.”

Jian Chengxi froze. “Why?”

What little girl wants to be the evil Queen? That’s not right!

“Because I don’t want to be Snow White, always getting poisoned,” Li Suisui said, her tiny eyes filled with a kind of grand ambition. “I want to be the Queen, with a magic mirror, and the power to poison others!”

Jian Chengxi was stunned. It did kind of sound pretty inspiring, but why had the kid made the villain her idol and goal?

That wasn’t the purpose of telling this story at all!

“Suisui, what’s so good about the Queen?” Jian Chengxi tried to reason with her. “Listen to Daddy, you can’t judge things just by appearances. Sure, the Queen had money, power, she was smart and beautiful, and even knew dark magic…”

Crap, now that he thought about it, she really did seem pretty great!

Jian Chengxi almost started to waver himself, but fortunately, he still had some clarity left and quickly remembered the importance of teaching his kids. “But you have to understand, the Queen did bad things, and in the end she still lost, right? At the end of the story, Snow White told the King everything, and the Queen ended up with nothing. You absolutely can’t follow her example. You need to be a kind and good person, or you’ll end up suffering.”

Yes, exactly.

Now they should understand that being a good person is the right path, right?

But then—

Lying beside him, Li Chen spoke up and concluded, “That’s because she was stupid.”

Jian Chengxi: ?

Outside the window, a flash of lightning split the sky with a thunderous crack, the deep, rumbling roar like a wild beast tearing across the heavens in rage.

Li Suisui lay next to him, her little head lowered in thought, as if she had been pondering seriously for a while. Finally, she looked up and said, “Daddy, I understand now.”

The weary father, heart rekindled with a flicker of hope, smiled and asked, “Suisui, what did you understand?”

“If you’re going to do something, either don’t do it, or do it properly.” Li Suisui lifted her thin little face, her three-year-old voice crisp and innocent. “If you’re like the Queen and keep letting Snow White live, that’s how you end up suffering.”

The room fell into a brief silence.

Li Suisui’s eyes seemed to sparkle, even carrying a hint of expectation, as if waiting to be praised. “Right?”

Jian Chengxi: “……”

He was about to lose it.

Li Lingfeng, what kind of kid did you leave me with that’s so hard to raise?! Hurry up and roll out of your grave—I’m scared here all by myself!!