"S-she..."
"Her... first words...!"
"Baba, she said!"
Not realizing that her first words caused a huge fuss and commotion from the Qi Family, little Mingzhu kept sprawling her limbs, as if in appreciation of the attention garnered on ber.
Yet their attention wasn't completely on her.
"It's her first words! Arrange for copper coins to be given, go make rice cakes, steamed buns..."
Father Qi swiftly seclared somberly, his tone lacking the usual warmth, taking on a more commanding tone.
While everyone else was baffled, Mother Qi bolted at the first word, hearing everything still and following it all to a letter.
Qin Hanliu looked at this in sheer shock and surprise.
Such matters were usually for the Matriarch to take care of yet Father Qi took on the role effortlessly as if it were his own son's first words.
Mother Qi returned with a copper coins and noticed the baffled look on Hanliu's face as she whispered away, "He wasn't like this even at the time of Shou'er."
Her playful words made Qin Hanliu embarassed as she realized it was something a mother ought to participate in too.
However, she didn't get the chance to say anything as both Father and Mother Qi vanished from her sight, busy with their own celebrations.
Leaving behind the equally baffled Qi Shou.
His eyes had turned red from emotion as he held Mingzhu and repeated the scene of her first words in his mind.
It ended up leaving a deep emotional image in his brain, reeling him to reality.
'Yes, that's right. I'm going to be a part of this world, be it what the Heavens wanted or not.'
As an avid reader, he had read his fair share of deities or forces of evil behind inexplainable phenomenon like transmigration, rebirth, reincarnation and the like.
So, he'd never discarded that possibility.
Just that it never occurred to him that his daughter's first words would arouse the primordial spirit of fatherhood buried deep within his veins.
As he tenderly caressed her little head, he felt a gaze on him and turned to look in the direction, only to find an equally dazed Qin Hanliu.
For her, it was the first time to see Qi Shou show his affection for their daughter.
Despite his actions, she didn't believe them completely.
It was as if a lump was stuck in her throat and she walking on tenterhooks, but now that suffocating feeling had completely vanished.
In its place was relief.
She seemed to have envisioned a life of just the three of them, growing old together watching Mingzhu's growth, marriage, grandchildren and more.
"Ah..."
Suddenly, her thoughts dissipated as she felt a slight dampness on her cheeks alongside a rough yet gentle touch.
"You mustn't cry. This is a happy occasion, wife," came Qi Shou's voice as she saw him tenderly wipe away her tears.
In a flush, she hurriedly took a step back before looking left and right and berating him.
"What are you doing? What if they saw it?!"
She felt truly embarassed and frustrated, just what was her husband doing in the open!
Yet Qi Shou just chuckled and smiled knowingly.
The sole reason they vanished to make arrangements and didn't return was to leave the two of them some space with Mingzhu.
He knew his parents well enough to be sure that most of the arrangements had long been made and it wasn't hard to notice.
"You're so silly, darling," he whispered with a chuckle, taking a step closer to her and holding her hand before she could back off.
Qin Hanliu, her whole face flushed red, felt like a shy wife on the marriage night yet her husband didn't seem to care.
If not for him still holding Mingzhu with one hand, she would've pushed him aside and bolted back to their room, locking him out for the night.
Her heart rate skyrocketed as she noticed the knowing smile on Qi Shou's face.
She gritted her teeth and barely spat the words, "Just you wait!"
However, the words only amused Qi Shou further who shook his head.
"Wife, father and mother won't return before completing the celebratory procedures. You can rest assured that they won't interrupt anything," he added suggestively.
Naturally, he didn't really mean it in a such a sense, but teasing his wife?
He was all for it!
Who didn't love teasing their wife to shyness?
Even getting a few hits from her wouldn't hurt as it just showed how much she cared for the relationship.
Though memories spanning two distinction eras, Qi Shou had never longed for a wife... until he got one.
Then, there was no then.
He was head over heels for her!
From childhood playmates and rivals to having a daughter together.
The joirney was a beautiful memory in his mind.
Though it had some cracks here and there, it was perfect in his mind.
On the other side, Qin Hanliu also knew Qi Shou very well. Yet her head couldn't help but heat up at the thought of it all.
She reflexively broke free from his hold and dashed away, leaving behind the words, "I'll go help mother!"
Her entire face was red, there was no way she was going to see her mother-in-law like this.
Although Mother Qi was a good mother-in-law, Qin Hanliu herself felt it be wrong to meet her like this.
Though she still grund her teeth in exasperation at Qi Shou's sudden antics today.
"Hmph! Let's see who gets to sleep in a bed tonight!" She mumbled angrily before going to wash her face, all the while fanning herself.
Unaware of his destined to be roomless night, Qi Shou chuckled to himself, playing with Mingzhu.
"Such moments are the ones that bring joy to life."
A smile lingered on his face before the familiar sound came once again.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations host for Qi Qingluo's first words!]
[Accomplished a major task! Rewards Calculated]
[Rewards: Easy to understand picture books, The Three Character Classics, The Five Classics, Thousand-word-analects, Fairy Tales, Three Languages and Four Seas, Five Clouds and Six Heavens...]
As the list continued on, Qi Shou's confusion grew.
Those were just her first words, what was the use of so many books?
Even if picture books could be used to teach her, only he could do so.
Then the multiple labguages books, different poetries, classics, myths, legends, and various books left him awestruck.
It seemed the system was rewarding him with troves worth of knowledge in the form of these books as they were truly worth it all.
"By the time she learns to read, I would be well-versed in most of the books and able to teach her... Is the system giving me a reward or a task?"
The joy of her first words still lingered in Qi Shou's heart but the system's compulsory task(in a sense) left him with complicated feelins.
But then again, he couldn't just hoard them for future as Mingzhu would remember things more evenly then, and it would be hard to sneak in the system rewards without anyone discovering it.
The quality of most books was fine and could be taken out directly, but the picture books and kindergarten books were just made of different quality paper.
It was already a blessing to have white paper in this era, let alone laminated paper with glossy quality.(For paper enthusiasts, try GSM 80 or Photo Paper for a rough comparison.)
"I can copy it," he said aloud, but knew it wasn't feasible in this case.
For most books, just copying would do as the content was what mattered more than the intent.
Either way, the books weren't orignals, just copies.
So, it was fien for most of them.
Only a few made him hesitate.
"Sigh, you're really going to drain me to the last drop of blood," he sighed helplessly, whether to the system or Mingzhu or himself was unknown.