House Dad's Literary Life

Chapter 323: Changing Emotions

Xixi was very happy today because her mother came to see her performance!

This was an unprecedented event, as in the past, her mother could not attend many of her own occasions. Although the little girl was very sensible and understood her mother’s difficulties, from the bottom of her heart, she still hoped that her mother could come.

After speaking with her mother, Xixi returned to her group of friends with a joyful mood, hopping and skipping. As soon as she returned, she was immediately surrounded!

“Wow, Xixi, who is that really beautiful aunt?” Nan Zhaoyu pointed to Mo Fei in the distance and asked.

“I know, it’s Xixi’s mom!” Lan Xin rushed to answer, “I’ve seen her Mama at Xixi’s house!”

“Hee hee, it’s my Mama!” Xixi raised her little chest and nodded proudly, “I told you, my Mama is super beautiful!”

Chen Shiyun, who had made Xixi cry because of this matter before, completely forgot about it. She exclaimed, “Xixi, your mother is the most beautiful I’ve ever seen!”

Xixi didn’t hold a grudge, and she even twisted her little bottom shyly, feeling happy in her heart.

……

The previous program was about to end and the teachers were waiting backstage with the children who had already put on their props and costumes. Teacher Mu looked at the children with some concern and finally encouraged them: “Just like we practiced normally, don’t worry about the audience below. Perform your part well. Come on, teacher believes in you!”

“Hehe, we’re not afraid.” The little ones bumped into each other, laughing happily.

While they may have said that, when it was really their turn to go on stage, some of the children still got stage fright! And this kind of emotion can spread. One of the children looked at the dense audience of parents from backstage and couldn’t help crying nervously. The emotion of the other children was inevitably affected as well. One by one they tensed up their little faces and the laughing expressions from just now had disappeared.

Fortunately, the crying child’s part was later on, and Teacher Shen held him and comforted him on the side.

Xixi also began to get nervous. Her mind was still clear but her body was shaking slightly. The little girl was worried that she might not perform well and disappoint her mother. Many emotions intertwined, and she looked at the bright stage and could not move her steps.

Fortunately, before their program began, the stage lights dimmed first. Teachers Mu and Cai quickly led the children who were performing in the first act onto the stage.

“Xixi, come over here quickly.” Teacher Mu thought that Xixi was the most obedient child who needed the least worry from her. She was busy pulling other stage-frightened children.

Xixi was very nervous and for some reason, she suddenly felt aggrieved and felt a bit like crying.

No, no, today her mother came to see her, and she had to perform well so as not to make her mother sad! Another thought arose in Xixi’s mind.

As if it were a form of belief, it gave Xixi a surge of strength and made her summon the courage to follow the team onto the stage. The little girl curled up under her eggshell, waiting for Teacher Mu’s instructions.

The sound on and off the stage was still very noisy, but suddenly, Xixi seemed to hear her father’s voice: “Xixi, come on!”

That’s right! Her father was cheering her on from the audience below!

Xixi lifted her head and under the dim stage backdrop and the small stage lights, the little girl’s eyes were filled with surprise. For some reason, hearing her father’s voice, Xixi’s heart settled down.

Warmth enveloped her entire body, and Xixi felt her strength had returned!

The lights came on and Teacher Mu began to recite the narration: “The countryside is so beautiful. In summer, the sunflowers are golden and the rice seedlings are green…”

As the duck eggs were hatched one by one, a “little duckling” broke out of its shell one after another. The child playing the mother duck quacked and the other children playing the “little ducklings” also quacked. The parents below couldn’t help but laugh.

This laughter made the children all nervous again. Fortunately, there was Teacher Mu’s narration as a prompt and the next “little duckling” with lines didn’t have many parts. He still remembered his lines: “This world is really big!”

After some commotion and dialogue, the mother duck finally hatched the motionless big duck egg. Xixi, wearing her prop costume, also crawled out of the eggshell.

Just as she got up, Xixi had to adjust to the lighting on stage. Soon she saw many parents’ heads in the audience below, and a nervous emotion was about to spread in the little girl’s heart again.

But then Xixi saw her father and mother in the audience. Her mother looked very excited and was holding her father’s hand, pointing at her as if saying something.

Her mother must be saying, “Xixi’s out, Xixi’s out!”. Her mother’s happy appearance also infected Xixi. The little girl forgot her nervousness and stood up straight to perform well.

All the actions emerged in her mind and Xixi meticulously completed her own actions, portraying a pitiful ugly duckling who was bullied in the chicken farm.

As the plot deepened, this children’s play that no one had ever seen seemed to become more and more interesting. Every parent’s heart began to worry for this ugly duckling. They didn’t care about laughing, applauding, or talking to the parents next to them. Almost everyone was fully focused on watching the children’s performance.

There was no more distracting noise from the audience and the pressure on the children on stage was also greatly reduced. The little ones’ performance became better and better. Even the little boy who had cried earlier wiped away his tears and returned to the stage.

Of course, performing well didn’t mean they wouldn’t forget their lines.

In one scene, a little boy playing the role of a rooster strutted toward Xixi with great momentum. He tried hard to stare with his eyes and performed well, but remained silent for a long time. He forgot what he was supposed to say.

Fortunately, Xixi remembered and reminded him in a low voice, “Wang Xijun, quickly say that I’m big and ugly.”

“Xixi, you’re big and ugly!” Wang Xijun stood with his hands on his hips and shouted loudly, completely unaware that he had messed up!

Fortunately, the audience was somewhat perplexed and didn’t notice, so this small mistake was glossed over.

Yang Yi in the audience did notice it, and he even reminded Mo Fei with a smile. The two mischievous people chuckled secretly in the audience.

Gradually, as the plot progressed, the ugly duckling played by Xixi was ostracized and began its pitiful wandering life. At this point, a third of the play had been performed and half of Xixi’s part was over. Overall, her performance was quite good, with minor flaws that didn’t overshadow the rest.

Nan Zhaoyu and another “wild duck” also came on stage. They flew over to observe the ugly duckling, which made the ugly duckling a little scared, and it began to step back cautiously.

In previous performances of this scene, it was usually Nan Zhaoyu who had problems, and Xixi had always performed very well! However, this time the little girl didn’t grasp it well and tripped over her costume’s webbed feet.

With a loud “thud,” Xixi couldn’t maintain her balance and fell backward onto the ground, sprawling out in a pitiful manner!

Xixi didn’t feel any pain from the fall because she had thick costume padding to cushion her.

But the little girl was frightened by this fall. She turned over herself and sat on the ground in a daze, her mind blank, not knowing what to do. A sense of grievance surged up in her heart, and crystal-clear tears began to roll in her eyes.