The First Interstellar Kindergarten.
"My dad can fight space pirates. My dad is awesome!"
"My dad can build starships. My dad is awesome!"
"My dad is a minister in the Senate. My dad is awesome!"
"My dad can eat eight bowls of rice. My dad is awesome! What can your dad do?"
Xiao Buding blinked her big, round eyes and thought for a long time. Then she said sweetly, "My dad can eat poop. Lots of it." She gestured with her little hands, drawing a huge circle.
"Wow!" The children around her immediately crowded in, excited. "Really? That's amazing!"
Xiao Buding puffed out her little chest. "Of course! I saw it with my own eyes!"
Last night, Dad had eaten it secretly with her on his back. She'd woken up because of the stink!
Thinking of this, the little girl sighed. If Dad ate poop, would Mom still want a stinky dad?
At the parents' meeting, Imperial General Snowell endured everyone's stares. At last, a crack appeared in his usually stern expression.
He had only just learned that his daughter had claimed he could eat poop just to win!
Snowell closed his eyes and ignored everyone's stares. As he walked home holding his daughter's hand, he said,
"That was durian, not poop."
So next time, could she please stop saying Dad liked eating poop?
Xiao Buding furrowed her little brows, unconvinced. Mom was the one who liked durian.
But since Dad had said so, she supposed she could believe him.
"Okay, Dad. You don't like eating poop. Is that good enough?"
Meeting his daughter's look that said, "You're being unreasonable, but I'll humor you," Snowell felt a lump rise in his throat. He bent down and picked her up with one arm.
"I'll take you to see Mom in a bit. Can you ask her to let Dad stay for dinner, too?"
"Dad, that's cheating. You're not allowed."
"I'll buy you the model of your favorite starship, the Homebound."
"Hmm... Still no. Mom makes the rules at her house, and I listen to her."
Reader's Guide:
1. This story has a mountain of personal worldbuilding. I'm writing what I want to write, and there won't be much interstellar knowledge involved (the author can't write that stuff).
2. At its heart, this is a cozy, everyday child-rearing story. The plot serves the romance.
3. This blurb was posted and screenshotted on September 15, 2025.
4. I haven't thought of anything else yet. I'll add more when I do.
Theme: Hold fast to a kind heart
