Chapter 42 "Can't bear to part with it?"
Since Si Xiaotie found out that he and his dad were going to send his mom on a business trip, he has been looking forward to it every day. He packed his little suitcase early in advance, bringing along his toy dinosaur and water bottle.
But when she saw Lele, she was stumped. She looked up at her mother and asked, "Mommy, can we take Lele with us?"
"No, Lele can't fly. It should stay home and be well taken care of by its brother."
"Alright then."
The night before they set off, the little girl slept with Lele in her arms all night.
Then, the next morning before seven o'clock, she came to wake her parents up. She was extremely excited and chattered away the whole way to the airport.
This was Si Xiaotie's second time flying. She was sitting in first class, still curiously peering out the window at the planes taking off and landing.
Airplanes always hold a fatal attraction for children. After watching for a while, the child's father received many questions: "Dad, why can airplanes fly?" "Won't it fall down?" "Can airplanes fly to the moon?"
Si Yuming wasn't an expert in this area, so he could only give her a simple explanation. Fortunately, Si Xiaotie had an animal brain, not a scientific one, and didn't dwell on it.
The flight from the northern city to Moscow takes 9 hours. It departs at noon domestic time and arrives in Moscow at dusk.
After flying for two hours, Si Xiaotie ate, drank, and went to the toilet. He then started to sleep while hugging his pillow. He woke up after two or three hours and immediately climbed into his mother's arms. They hugged each other face to face, with his little legs on the seat and his little head pressed against his mother's chest.
"Mom, how much longer?"
"We'll be there soon, just hang in there a little longer."
Si Xiaotie rubbed his eyes, then met his father's gaze, grinned, and said, "Dad~"
Si Yuming reached out and touched her face, smiling gently, "Have you had a good night's sleep?"
"Hmm! Dad, are you asleep?"
"I took a nap."
"Ouch."
Lin Ke handed her a water cup and fed her water. The little girl raised her chin and gulped down two big mouthfuls, then continued to lie in her mother's arms to wake up.
"Mommy~"
"Um?"
I love you.
Lin Ke patted her on the back and replied, "Mom loves you too."
As they prepared to land, a flight attendant handed them an immigration card and explained how to fill it out in English. Lin Ke replied with a few words.
Looking down, I met the curious gaze of the little one in my arms.
"Mom, what are you talking about?"
"English."
"What is English? Xiao Tie wants to learn it too!" The little girl exclaimed excitedly, as if she had opened up a new world.
Lin Ke smiled and taught her, "Mommy is Mommy."
"That's too easy," Si Xiaotie repeated fluently, "Mommy!"
"Daddy is Daddy."
"Daddy, Daddy, there's more, there's more."
Lin Ke looked around, picked up a water glass and said to her, "A glass is a cup, and water is water."
These are two new words. Si Xiaotie opened his mouth and imitated his mother: "Cu.....p".
"Yes, that's fantastic."
"Water."
"That's right, Xiao Tie is really smart."
The little girl, who was bursting with a sense of accomplishment, found a new source of fun and kept pestering him to teach her. Lin Ke got tired of teaching her for a while and simply handed her over to Si Yuming.
Si Xiaotie was a little skeptical: "Does Dad speak English?"
Lin Ke: "Of course, your dad's spoken English is even more fluent than mine."
Before getting married, she searched for news about her future husband. There wasn't much, but in the few videos she did see, his spoken English was very standard.
During a previous business trip together, he communicated with his partners in English in front of me. His accent was very accurate, and his slightly deep voice was very pleasant to listen to.
Si Yuming looked over, a smile in his eyes: "Thank you for the compliment."
"......"
The child, who had never been exposed to a foreign language and had not yet started learning the alphabet, had a very good sense of language and was not shy. Even if he mispronounced a word, he would follow his father's lead and learn confidently.
After teaching her a few simple words, Si Yuming began to teach her short sentences, mainly everyday expressions.
The person sitting next to me was a foreigner. Seeing that the cute little girl had been studying English for half an hour, he took the initiative to strike up a conversation with her: "Hi."
Unexpectedly, Si Xiaotie shrank back, looked at her father first, and then peeked out, boldly replying with the word she had just learned: "Hello".
What is your name?
Si Xiaotie didn't understand this sentence and looked up at his father for help. Si Yuming said, "Uncle is asking you what your name is. Xiaotie can say 'My name is Silezhen,' which means my name is Si Lezhen."
Si Xiaotie repeated the sentence clearly in his speech.
"I am Mike," the foreigner introduced himself, his accent a perfect British one, and then he extended his hand in a friendly manner.
Si Xiaotie didn't understand what this strange uncle wanted to do, and looked at her father, Si Yuming, who gestured for her to shake hands with the uncle.
And so, Si Xiaotie made a new friend. The couple handed over their teaching duties, and Si Xiaotie went directly to their friend to learn more authentic English.
When they got off the plane, the little girl had learned many new phrases. She spoke English with her father the whole way, and Si Yuming would teach her any new knowledge she encountered.
Upon arriving at the hotel, the little girl, sitting in her father's lap, greeted the pretty foreign lady in front of her: "Hi, I am Silezhen."
The receptionist waved and greeted her with delight. Si Xiaotie asked her father, "Dad, what are we going to do?"
"Check in."
Si Xiaotie then smiled and replied, "Check in!"
The receptionist smiled and said slowly, "I need your passports."
The foreign uncle had just taught her the word "passport," and Si Xiaotie immediately understood. "Dad, my sister wants our passports!"
"right."
Lin Ke took out the three passports and handed them to the front desk. Si Xiaotie continued to communicate with the staff in English, while Si Yuming acted as the translator.
What should have been a quick check-in took more than ten minutes. The girl had her fill of pleasure and finally stopped after entering her room. She ate something, took a shower, and went straight to sleep.
Lin Ke came out of her room, closed the door, and said to the man in the living room, "Manman is taking English classes. You should hire an early English tutor for her when you get back."
"No need to ask her, I'll teach her."
"Are you sure you can handle it? You'll also have to teach phonetics and letters."
"Don't learn those things yet. Develop a feel for the language. Once you can speak sentences, words and letters will be easier to learn."
Neither method is right or wrong, Lin Ke nodded, "Just do whichever you think is best."
She reached for the suitcase next to him, preparing to tidy up her luggage.
There are embassy dormitories available, but she's been staying in a hotel with the father and daughter these past few days for convenience when they go sightseeing.
As she approached, the man reached out and pulled her, causing Lin Ke to stumble onto his lap. She braced herself against his hard chest and retorted angrily, "What are you doing?"
Si Yuming pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly. "You're tired, take a rest."
Lin Ke gradually relaxed and hugged his waist, sitting sideways against his chest like Xiao Tie, the captain on the plane, with the sound of his strong heartbeat in her ear.
Thump—thump—
Outside the window, the dazzling neon lights of every country flowed quietly, and the floor-to-ceiling windows reflected their embracing figures, as time seemed to stretch on endlessly.
......
Over the next week, Lin Ke accompanied them to visit various tourist attractions in Moscow, including St. Basil's Cathedral, the State Museum, the Kremlin and Red Square, as well as Arbat Street, which is full of artistic and cultural atmosphere.
She also took Si Xiaotie to try many local delicacies and experience the local culture. Her interest in English has not diminished. After a few days, she can easily make simple greetings and conversations. She is becoming more and more daring and dares to talk to anyone she meets.
One night, after her daughter fell asleep, Lin Ke asked him, "What do you think Xiao Tie will do when he grows up?"
"translate?"
Lin Ke found it amusing, "Isn't it a waste of her talent to be a translator?"
"What happened to the translation?"
Lin Ke choked, glancing at him, "I'm serious."
“She can do whatever she wants, or if she doesn’t want to do anything, she can come back and inherit the family business.” The man said thoughtfully, “She can do nothing either, I can support her.”
"......."
On the last day, the father and daughter took her to the embassy dormitory.
She's still at a low rank, so she can only get a small two-bedroom apartment. But the apartment is clean and tidy, with all the necessary furniture and appliances, and it's in a good location, so she can walk to work.
However, Si Yuming frowned as soon as he entered, and after looking around, he couldn't help but ask, "Can we go somewhere else?"
Lin Ke walked to the window.
Outside the window is the Moscow River, with a panoramic view of the open landscape on the opposite bank.
Looking back, taking a closer look at the small house, there are signs of use in the living room and kitchen. There are still some Chinese bowls and chopsticks in the cabinets, and there are many books left by former colleagues on the bookshelf in the living room, with the corners curled up from being read so much.
She said, "No, I'll stay here."
Si Xiaotie ran up to her, stood on tiptoe to look at the world outside the window, and exclaimed, "It's so beautiful!"
Lin Ke picked up her daughter and relaxed, "Come on, help Mommy get ready."
"Um!"
After cleaning the master bedroom thoroughly, Lin Ke also cleaned the second bedroom, planning to buy a set of bedding in a few days, wash it, and leave it there so they could put it on whenever they came over.
In the evening, Si Yuming had dinner with Meng Jing, who had come all the way there. The little girl wanted to hug everyone she saw and clung to them tightly, which made Si Yuming grit his teeth.
After dinner, they came back together. While Lin Ke was taking care of the child, the two men went up to the rooftop to talk.
Seeing that the man looked worried, Meng Jing took out a cigarette and handed it to him, then took out a lighter and lit it for him.
He lit a stick himself and stood up to look at the night view in the distance with him.
"You can't bear to part with it?"
Si Yuming remained silent, as wisps of blue smoke rose and billowed around him.
“Just hang in there, two years will pass quickly, but if you keep doing this, another two, three, or four years will be waiting for you.” Meng Jing exhaled a puff of smoke and slowly said, “I plan to apply to my superiors to stop being stationed abroad after I finish this term.”
Si Yuming glanced at him sideways, as if he understood, and chuckled softly.
Meng Jing also chuckled softly: "The older generation really has a lot of underhanded tricks. It didn't matter where I went when I was single, but now that I'm married, I always feel bad for young girls who are always running around outside."
"Having another baby girl would be nice, like Xiao Tie, always chattering and making a fuss around me. But Ning Shuxia is even more boisterous than Lin Ke. If we really had a girl, wouldn't the house be in chaos?"
"To be honest, your old man had good foresight. He got you married early and even chose our little Lin Ke for you, allowing you to enjoy so many more years of happiness than I have."
Si Yuming tapped the cigarette butt against the railing with his fingers, then asked, "How many days off do you get per month?"
"It's a normal two-day weekend, but it's basically impossible. If you want to ask if Lin Ke can go back every month, I'll tell you in advance that if she's not busy, she can go back for a few days, but if she's busy, she'll be working non-stop for several months in a row."
The man frowned again, but could only nod helplessly in the end, "I understand."
Meng Jing patted him on the shoulder, a smug smile playing on his lips: "Good bro, welcome to come visit anytime." He added, "Our little Lin Ke is so pretty and gentle, what if she gets kidnapped?"
"......roll."
......
The flight was scheduled for the next morning. Lin Ke originally wanted to take them to the airport, but Si Yuming refused.
She escorted him downstairs.
Si Xiaotie finally realized he was going to be separated from his mother, and tears welled up in his red eyes. "Waaah, Mom... I don't want to go..."
Lin Ke felt heartbroken, but she still smiled and wiped away her tears, "Baby, go home with Daddy. Mommy will come back to see you whenever she has time, okay?"
"No, no, I don't want to..."
Lin Ke hugged her and comforted her, saying many, many things until the little one calmed down a bit. Si Xiaotie sniffed and held up her little finger: "Pinky promise, Mommy must go back."
"Pinky promise."
After the mother and daughter separated, Si Yuming went up to hug her and whispered in her ear, his voice low, "Take good care of yourself."
Lin Ke buried her face in his shoulder and replied in a hoarse voice, "You too."
As they were talking, an official vehicle stopped at the apartment entrance, and Yun Zheng got out.
He stopped politely upon seeing the woman, glanced at her red eyes, and understood what was happening.
Si Yuming paused for a moment, then finally stepped forward and extended his hand: "Director Yun, I'll have to trouble you to take care of Lin Ke from now on."
Yun Zheng looked directly at him and shook his hand in return: "Okay."
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Author's note: Good morning~ Little red envelope~
Remember to be happy on Monday! [cheering emoji]
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