Legendary Man

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  Whenever a family gathers together, they hear the mother in the kitchen calling out: "Dinner is ready, go wash your hands." After work, we leave behind a tired shell of ourselves and feel an indescribable warmth and tranquility deep within our hearts.

  But for Ye Cai, this marked the beginning of a nightmare.

  The extremely depressing and oppressive atmosphere at the dinner table would make them a family lose their appetite, avoiding each other with sorrowful eyes seeking safety and expressing guilt and self-blame for their own incompetence.

  With a soft clinking sound, the moment Mother He Xiaoyun placed the first dish on the table, the smiles on everyone's faces gradually faded away, becoming guilty and dim.

  Ye Changhu, sitting on a bamboo chair reading the newspaper, furrowed his brow and lost focus, constantly adjusting his posture to reveal a few hints of awkwardness and constraint. Ye Cai, standing beside him, also lowered her head, with a hint of sorrowful helplessness on her small face.

  She let out a sigh, glanced at the father and daughter not far away, He Xiaoyun fiddled with the hem of her apron, forcing a smile on her face, dryly saying: "Go wash your hands, I specially made dishes that you two love to eat..."

  Ye Changhu raised his hands and shook the collar, looking around with a sense of deep unease at his wife's concern, when Ye Cai let out an exaggerated cheer, as if trying to ignite a warm and harmonious atmosphere in the house, striking a playful little girl's pose, and rushed towards the bathroom, still excitedly shouting "Dinner is ready! Dinner is ready!"

  Her back figure carried a happy and happy color, under the sorrowful and self-blaming gaze of Ye Changhu couple, disappeared at the corner.

  But the moment she entered the bathroom, it was as if a flower that had been full of life and beauty suddenly withered, the smile on Ye Cai's face instantly disappeared, her expression gradually wilted, and her state slowly sank.

  She washed her hands, then picked up a handful of water and scrubbed her face vigorously. She took a deep breath, gazing at her reflection in the mirror - a sorrowful yet numb face. Water droplets slid down slowly, as if replacing her helpless and mournful tears.

  She took a deep breath, pursed her lips, and twitched the corners of her mouth several times before finally squeezing out a few smiles, but they looked very forced and insincere.

  She noticed that her eyes were filled with sorrow, looking dull and depressed. She narrowed her eyes to paint a more realistic smile, then looked again, smiling so sweetly and obediently. Then, she sobbed uncontrollably and shed two lines of tears.

  ……

  Ye Xiaoxiao's face didn't look good, she was huffing and puffing as she carried a plate of pickled vegetables and steamed beef to the table. She quickly put down the dish and turned around, giving her father Ye Changhu a fleeting glance as he sat there savoring the flavor. Then she swiftly returned to the kitchen, muttering under her breath: "Really not a man..."

  She picked up a plate of stir-fried field chicken with her hands, turned around and met her mother with a worried look, and smiled awkwardly: "Mom, you go sit down for a while, I'll take care of it."

  The old mother forced a faint smile, slowly shook her head and passed by.

  With a helpless sigh, Ye Xiaoxiao pouted and walked to the dinner table with a plate of dishes. She noticed that the tall figure was still sitting in the living room on a bamboo chair, and suddenly felt annoyed. She strode into the living room and shouted: "Go wash your hands! What are you doing just sitting there?! Acting like a big shot...!" After finishing her sentence, she threw him a disdainful glance and left behind a contemptuous back view.

  He touched the back of his head, and Ye Changhu became flustered and hastily stood up, taking big strides away, then hesitated at the bathroom door.

  After a moment's wait, the door was pulled open and Ye Cai walked out slowly with her head down, then she and her father exchanged a stunned glance.

  Hurriedly hanging up her sweet smile, Ye Cai nodded and quickly left, leaving only Ye Changhu in the back to chase after her figure with an awkward nod.

  When she arrived at the dinner table, Ye Cai suddenly realized that her relationship with her father had undergone some subtle changes. It seemed that due to her identity as a daughter, their relationship had evolved from the intense love and high expectations of a father-son bond to a kind of awkward tenderness, with measured concern.

  Her sister Ye Xiaoxiao's figure holding the dish made her come back to her senses, she smiled and then immediately rushed into the kitchen with her mother and sister to serve the dishes.

  Yexiao walked up to her and asked mysteriously, "Brother, what did Dad say?"

  "Huh? What do you mean?" Ye Cai was perplexed.

  Ye Xiaoxiao looked around cautiously and leaned in close, whispering: "It's about you turning into a girl."

  Ye Cai shook his head and sighed: "I don't know either, but he should have a plan in mind."

  "What plan? What kind of plan?"

  Ye Xiaoxiao lowered her head and muttered to herself, repeatedly guessing what was on her father Ye Changhu's mind. She came back to her senses and wanted to ask further, but found that her "brother" had left behind only a hurried and joyful figure, and had slipped away intentionally or unintentionally.

  The dishes were served, and the family members took their seats one after another. Ye Changhu, as the head of the household, was forced to sit down first under the resentful gaze of the three women. Then it was He Xiaoyun, followed by Ye Xiaoxiao who was pushed into her seat by Ye Cai. Ye Cai busied herself serving rice to everyone before finally sitting down with a satisfied smile on her face.

  However, a couple with two daughters, a good family, finally reunited at the table, but after sitting down, they all showed awkwardness, even who moved their chopsticks first became a serious literary issue.

  Like several travelers who ventured in different directions, suddenly under certain conditions, they turned back to the starting point with rich ideas and concepts accumulated along the way. They had different directions, and the scenery they passed through was vastly different, to the extent that there was no common language between them.

  Under the gaze of three women, including his wife and children, who were looking at him with a mixture of grievance and expectation, Ye Changhu, who had not returned home for several months and felt estranged and oppressed by his family, gritted his teeth, steeled himself, picked up his chopsticks, pointed to the full table of dishes, and said: "Eat, ah, Xiaoyi, Xiaoxiao..."

  Ye Cai and Ye Xiao both picked up their chopsticks, tapping them on the table. They looked at each other, then at the dishes on the table, which were emitting a delicious aroma. They exchanged an awkward glance, and simultaneously let out an embarrassed laugh. Yeah, neither of them dared to be the first to start eating.

  Mom chuckled and quickly picked up the chopsticks to serve them food, saying: "Eat, eat, it's rare that I've made so many delicious dishes, don't be polite, eat freely, ah, especially you, Xiao Cai, your body is weak, you need to eat more meat, ah?"

  Ye XiXi's eyes widened in surprise as she stared at the bowl filled with various meats, her throat constricted in astonishment. She raised her gaze to her mother, who was still serving her food, and forced a smile, nodding repeatedly.

  "Alright alright, you eat it yourself."

  Ye Changhu seemed to have finally had enough, his face stern as he raised his chin, signaling to his wife He Xiaoyun to stop.

  He Xiaoyun's movements suddenly stiffened, and sweat beads quietly emerged. She suddenly floated with a flattering smile, then turned to face her husband with a maliciously cute expression, staring at him with wide eyes. At the same time, she turned the chopsticks around and put the piece of steamed beef that had just been picked up into Ye Changhu's bowl, saying: "Eat!"

  "Hmm... Hehe." Ye Changhu scratched the back of his head.

  Ye Xiaoxiao and Ye Cai lowered their heads and exchanged a glance, both of them wearing an expression as if they had swallowed a fly.

  Slowly sitting down, He Xiaoyun picked up the bowl and didn't start eating until her husband finally took a piece of beef and put it in his mouth, then she felt at ease and started picking some chili threads to mix with her rice.

  The dinner table seemed to have a warm and harmonious atmosphere, everyone picked up their chopsticks and started eating. As time went on, they unknowingly slowed down their eating speed in the silence, repeatedly raising their eyes to peek at the expressions of their family members.

  Ye Changhu pretended to be oblivious, shoveling rice and dishes into his mouth with all his might, stuffing himself until he was full, showcasing the warmth of family ties. Only then did he raise his head with a serious expression and say something important.

  "This afternoon I went back to the office and took down Xiaocai's thing, don't worry."

  He Xiangyun nodded in agreement with a gentle smile, and Ye Changhu turned to Ye Cai, picking up his chopsticks and pointing at her as he sternly instructed: "From now on, you're a girl, whether at home or in society, you have the identity of a girl. So, don't think about those messy things anymore, focus wholeheartedly on your studies. I'm telling you, girls are different from boys, if a boy doesn't study and is idle, others will just say he's naughty and not motivated. But if a girl is like that, people will secretly say she lacks upbringing, isn't well-behaved, and doesn't act like a girl, which is not good, you need to be careful."

  He Xiaoyun and Ye Xiaoxiao exchanged sympathetic glances, under which Ye nodded obediently with chopsticks in hand.

  After eating a few mouthfuls of rice, and with the nourishment of the egg soup, Ye Changhu raised his face again and put on a serious expression, saying: "As for how to be a good girl, you can ask your sister Xiaoxiao for advice. And also, Xiaoxiao, you should help your brother more... no, I mean, help your sister more."

  "Uh-huh, no problem." She puffed out her small chest, and with a serious expression, Ye Xiaoxiao nodded vigorously.

  Under the dominance of Ye Changhu, three women simultaneously withdrew their complex and helpless gazes. When the atmosphere at the dinner table returned to its previous dullness, Ye Changhu said while eating: "What I'm most worried about now is whether Xiao Cai has accepted this change or not. I was thinking that if you're afraid, then I can transfer schools for you. What do you think?"

  Under the sharp and piercing gaze of her old dad, Ye Cai broke out in a cold sweat and smiled awkwardly. In her heart, she felt a sense of emptiness and suddenly thought that she must not let her professional disease affect her keen sense of smell and let her dad discover the existence of "transformed cigarettes". Therefore, she had to create an illusion for him that she was already indifferent to the transformation problem.

  "Why don't you come to our school? We can take care of each other..."

  The old mother with chopsticks in her mouth nodded straight away, highly approving.

  Under the expectant gaze of her family, Ye Cai shook her head and shrugged her shoulders, saying: "No need to, you all know that I have a strong ability to adapt."

  "Uh... okay, okay, heh heh."

  Ye Changhu smiled and looked up at Ye Cai with a satisfied and relieved gaze, while his mother exchanged a helpless glance with her younger daughter, feeling somewhat dissatisfied and depressed about Ye Cai's decision.

  Next, Ye Changtiger has a targeted question on how to be a good girl, entrusting his wife He Xiaoyun to give Ye Cai more ideological work and related education.

  This sensitive topic, spoken so calmly and seriously by Ye Changhu, made Ye Xiaoxiao and Ye Cai's faces flush with embarrassment, unable to lift their heads. So Ye Changhu saw this and jokingly said that he was a legendary man who had even examined the bodies of beautiful female artists everywhere, his shamelessness was almost non-existent, so in front of him, there was no need to be shy about these things, and he indicated that even if Ye Xiaoxiao and Ye Cai treated him as a female comrade, it would not be a problem.

  Then, Ye Changhu told a few more harmless anecdotes from his work, and the warm atmosphere at the dinner table was maintained until the end under the careful protection of the family working together in harmony.

  Continuing with their usual roles, the original female Ye Xiao and He Xiaoyun cleaned up the dinner table together, while Ye Cai went to sit on the sofa with Ye Changhu, a legendary man who had summoned him.

  Before Ye Cai returned to school, Ye Changhu hurriedly reminded Ye Cai again and again about some living details that girls need to pay attention to.

  Watching his father talk about women's issues with such confidence and omniscience, Ye Cai couldn't help but nod in agreement, while feeling puzzled in her heart. Was it just because he was a police officer that he knew so much? This feeling of having secrets dug up made one feel extremely uncomfortable.

  But then, her puzzlement added another aspect. Since Dad understood women so well, why would he be nervous and awkward in front of Mom, like a stranger meeting for the first time? This was really baffling.

  （……）