Chapter 402 Why is Dad living at Mom's house?
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?"
"What do you think?" Jiang Si found it amusing; other families desperately wanted their sons to become dragons and their daughters to become phoenixes.
He, on the other hand, was only worried that his daughter would get tired.
With a slight smile, Jiang Si said, "You know your daughter. She may be young, but she's very determined. Once she sets her mind on something, she'll stick to it wholeheartedly."
It wasn't just daughters; sons were the same.
When it comes to doting on her children, Jiang Si is no less than Huo Tingzhou.
She also hopes that the children can have more time to play.
But the child has his own ideas and is so hardworking and ambitious, what else can she say but to fully support him?
“Let them decide their own lives,” Jiang Si said.
With these words, Huo Tingzhou was finally persuaded.
The two talked for a while longer. After Jiang Si told him to take good care of his health, she hung up the phone.
The next morning, bodyguard Xiaolin came to pick us up early. We boarded the plane at 9:00 a.m. sharp and landed at Shanghai Airport before 11:30 a.m.
This is the first time the two little ones have come to Shanghai, and their first impression of Shanghai is that it is very beautiful.
My second impression was, "My mom's house is huge!"
To be honest, their new home, including their old house, is already quite large.
Otherwise, the brother and sister wouldn't have been able to sleep in separate rooms at such a young age.
But it still can't compare to the house in front of us.
Upon entering the house, the two little ones were dazzled by the high ceilings of the living room and the crystal chandelier.
Seeing the two little ones looking up with wide eyes in amazement, Jiang Si put down her luggage and then led them on a tour of the rooms upstairs and downstairs.
In recent years, my third uncle and Uncle Zhong have always come back to stay for a few days after the Lunar New Year.
The house has been gradually furnished with a lot of furniture and household items, and someone comes to clean it regularly every month.
The house is almost unchanged since she left four years ago.
As Jiang Si walked, she introduced the place to the child until they reached the corner on the second floor.
She pushed open the door, looked around carefully for a while, and then said, "This room used to be where your father lived."
"Where does Daddy live?" The two little ones widened their eyes in surprise.
Isn't Dad in Beijing?
How could he be living at his mother's house!
"Your father has lived here since he was six years old."
As Jiang Si was saying this, she was still lost in her own thoughts and didn't notice that the two children were looking at her with eyes full of gossip, as if they had discovered a new continent.
"Dad has lived here since he was six years old?"
"Mom, was Dad naughty when he was little?"
"..."
As they were asking questions, the brother and sister suddenly exclaimed, "Why doesn't Dad live at his own house? Why does he stay at Mom's?"
Jiang Si didn't know if other people's children were easy to fool, but her two children were definitely not.
So Jiang Si picked out some things she could say and said them.
As for Huo Tingzhou's abduction and the hardships he had suffered, Jiang Si made no mention of them.
The two little ones are thoughtful and naturally sensitive.
Zhao Zhao, in particular, has an extremely strong ability to empathize.
If they knew that their seemingly invincible father had endured such hardships as a child, they would probably be heartbroken for a long time.
After mentioning a few more interesting things, Jiang Si quickly changed the subject.
"Alright, let's talk about the rest when Dad gets back. Which room are you sleeping in tonight?"
Upon hearing this, the brother and sister immediately asked, "Mom, can we sleep in Dad's room?"
Jiang Si feigned jealousy, saying, "I thought you guys would want to sleep with me tonight."
The main reason I say this is out of concern.
Unlike Beijing, there's no central heating here; getting into bed at night relies entirely on sheer willpower.
She was worried that if the two little ones slept alone, they might kick off their blankets and catch a cold.
The two little ones looked visibly conflicted after hearing this.
Dad said they're big kids now, and big kids sleep by themselves!
And even if they sleep with their mother, it's no use, because when their father comes, they still have to go back to their own rooms.
But when Mom finally spoke up, it seemed she really needed them.
Also, Mom seems to be particularly sensitive to the cold.
Thinking about all this, the two little ones decisively changed their minds; they wanted to sleep with their mother and warm her bed!
But it turned out the two little ones were right; they only slept in their mother's room for less than three days.
When they woke up again, the two were already asleep in their own small bed.
When Zhao Zhao came out rubbing her eyes, she ran into her brother, who looked completely bewildered, as he walked out of the room across the street.
The brother and sister looked at each other in the corridor and sighed at the same time.
No one but my dad could have done this!
In the master bedroom, Jiang Si was both annoyed and amused. "Couldn't you have waited until they woke up on their own before carrying them over?"
Then she became worried again, "It's so cold inside, won't they catch a cold if you take them out of bed?"
As he spoke, he was about to lift the covers and get out of bed to take a look.
"No." Huo Tingzhou hugged her from behind. "I preheated the room for the two children with a heater."
"What's the point of drying it? The bedding..."
"The bed has been warmed up."
"It's warmed up?" Jiang Si gave him a strange look. Was that what she meant?
Huo Tingzhou felt a little uncomfortable under their gaze, so he simply admitted, "I warmed it myself, I guarantee it will be even warmer than the current one."
“Huo Tingzhou, you…” Jiang Si was stunned for a moment.
To get their child to sleep alone, they even went so far as to 'warm the bed'?
[My darlings, my computer is having problems. It's been crashing all day, about once every seven or eight minutes. I'll be taking a day off and will resume normal updates tomorrow.]
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