Upon hearing this, Jiang Si raised an eyebrow. "You can go even faster? Does that mean you went easy on me today?"

It has to be said that when a child is too outstanding, parents feel proud but also a bit of pressure.

Fortunately, each of the four family members has their own path, otherwise they really wouldn't be able to handle it.

"No." Zhao Zhao was already a little sleepy, and mumbled, "There's a faster way."

How about another approach?

Jiang Si was about to ask what the method was, but when she looked down, she saw that Zhao Zhao was so sleepy that her eyelids were almost closed, so she had to give up the idea and quickly take her home.

...

Upon learning that Zhao Zhao had won first place in her first competition, the whole family's smiles never faded.

The old man immediately brought out his chessboard.

Everyone sees through it but doesn't say anything.

Not only was the old man happy, but even the usually low-key Sui Sui was unusually excited today.

While his younger sister was sleeping, he ran out for a stroll.

That afternoon, everyone in the family compound, young and old, knew that Huo's young Jingyan had won first place in the Beijing Abacus Competition!

Still first in the youth group!

This infuriated all the old men in the compound.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Huo was also busy, and immediately went into the kitchen to add several more main dishes.

The celebratory banquet that evening was as lavish as the Chinese New Year celebration.

The family chatted and laughed, creating a very harmonious atmosphere!

Although Huo Tingzhou was absent, the phone call that evening came as promised.

Are the children asleep?

"Yes, they're asleep." Jiang Si held the receiver, her gaze gently sweeping over the room where the two children were sleeping.

Although each abacus game may only last about half an hour, it is actually extremely mentally taxing.

"She fell asleep in my arms on the way back."

Huo Tingzhou felt a pang of heartache, but men are always reserved when it comes to such matters. "When we go back this time, let her have some fun and relax."

He paused, then asked, "Is everything packed?"

"All packed up," Jiang Si replied.

Suddenly remembering something, she said with a hint of reproach, "I've been on the phone for ages, all I've asked are whether the kids are asleep or not, whether they've packed their things. Haven't you even asked how your daughter is doing today?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a low laugh came from the other end of the phone. "I already figured it out."

Jiang Si took a moment to process what he meant.

Yes, from the moment the call was connected.

Her voice clearly conveyed a sense of pleasure.

Even though several hours had passed, Jiang Si's voice still betrayed her excitement when she talked about her daughter's award.

"The rules for the finals have been changed. Your daughter took on twenty-four opponents and scored thirteen points in one go, winning first place."

Huo Tingzhou was good at grasping the key points; as soon as he heard that the rules had been changed, he understood.

"Zhaozhao, she wasn't wronged, was she?"

"No," Jiang Si said with a smile, and then recounted in detail what happened at the finals.

But Huo Tingzhou on the other end of the phone just listened with a smile in his eyes.

Jiang Si stopped talking midway through her speech, "Your daughter won an award, how come you, as her father, aren't excited at all?"

Huo Tingzhou laughed again on the other end of the phone, "No, I'm very happy and proud of her."

He was not surprised at all by this result.

Lao Zhuo called him quite a few times during this period.

"He talks about Zhaozhao all the time; people who don't know him would think Zhaozhao is his daughter."

Hearing his sour tone, Jiang Si was both amused and helpless. "People are praising your daughter, and they've gotten it wrong? Deputy Chief of Staff Huo, your jealousy is a bit unreasonable."

“That’s not what I meant.” Huo Tingzhou pinched the bridge of his nose.

He and Lao Zhuo came from the same school, how could he not know him?

Old Zhuo clearly had ulterior motives, which is why he didn't point it out to his face.

I guess they felt that even if they spoke up, they wouldn't agree.

In fact, he had imagined many things before having children.

He even thought that when the child was older, he would train him every day to make him the best soldier.

But when he actually became a father, he found that his thoughts had completely changed.

Zhao Zhao is still young, and it's her freedom to do whatever she wants in the future. But children of this age should play carefree instead of confining themselves to endless studying.

These were his hidden thoughts, which Huo Tingzhou did not reveal.

But Zhao Zhao had already made a request to Jiang Si after dinner today.

“Your daughter said she doesn’t want to go to the children’s palace’s small group classes after the New Year.”

Huo Tingzhou suddenly had a bad feeling. "What's wrong? Does she find it boring?"

Jiang Si hummed in agreement.

To be precise, the teaching methods at the Children's Palace can no longer meet Zhaozhao's current needs.

"Zhaozhao said she wants to take classes with Teacher Zhuo. You can ask him about it when you have time and see if he's willing to take her in."

Huo Tingzhou remained silent for a moment upon hearing this.

Seeing that he remained silent for a while, Jiang Si asked, "Is it inconvenient?"

"No." Despite his disappointment, Huo Tingzhou denied Jiang Si's guess.

In fact, Lao Zhuo has been searching for promising young talents for the past few years, and he personally teaches them on weekends and during winter and summer vacations.

However, his requirements are quite high, and over the years he has only taken in three or four children.

After explaining all this, Huo Tingzhou, still unwilling to give up, asked again, "Is it really absolutely necessary to go?"

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