Seeing that Jiang Si remained unmoved, Huo Tingzhou reluctantly finished what he hadn’t said last night.
“If you don’t come back soon, I’m afraid I won’t be able to resist packing you up and taking you with me.”
Though his tone was playful, it was a genuine expression of his feelings.
Jiang Si was touched by his words, her heart turning bittersweet, and in the end, she could only nod in agreement.
“Alright.”
As she spoke, Jiang Si took out a neatly bound album from her bag and handed it to him.
“What’s this?” Huo Tingzhou asked instinctively.
“It’s a photo album of our family of four,” Jiang Si replied. “I printed out all the pictures taken after the kids were born.”
There were photos marking special milestones—one month, two months, three months—and various candid shots from their daily lives.
Of course, there were plenty of pictures of Huo Tingzhou too.
Thinking about taking photos, Jiang Si recalled the time they had their wedding pictures taken.
Back then, he had been stiff and awkward, but now, after taking so many, he knew how to find the right angles.
When she took these photos, Jiang Si hadn’t thought much about it—whenever the thought crossed her mind, she’d snap a few pictures, just to keep as mementos.
She never expected that, without realizing it, she’d collected such a thick album.
As she spoke, Huo Tingzhou was already flipping through the pages one by one.
Many of the photos were new to him.
There were pictures of him asleep, and others of him wearing an apron, doing chores at home.
Jiang Si said softly, “Whenever you miss us, just take it out and have a look…”
Before she could finish, Huo Tingzhou reached out and pulled her into his arms.
Even though there were a few passengers scattered around the platform, he couldn’t hold back.
Jiang Si raised her hand and gently stroked his back. “Three months will pass quickly. The kids and I will be waiting for you back in the Capital City.”
Huo Tingzhou’s voice was hoarse as he replied, “I promise.”
Half an hour later, the train departed on time.
Jiang Si felt an emptiness deep inside.
She thought she would be the one struggling the most after he left, but unexpectedly, it was the two children who had the hardest time adjusting.
When she got home, the two little ones were still awake.
At the sound of the door opening, Suisui and Zhaozhao, who had been sitting on the sofa reading picture books, immediately lifted their heads.
The children were almost six months old, and perhaps because they had been drinking Lingquan water regularly, their development was always a step ahead.
At just five and a half months, they could already roll over smoothly and sit steadily leaning against the sofa.
Jiang Si didn’t think much of it. After washing her hands, she sat down beside them as usual, planning to play with the two little ones for a while.
But Suisui and Zhaozhao seemed distracted tonight, frequently glancing toward the front door.
Normally, after finishing their milk around eight o’clock, the two would obediently fall asleep, but tonight, they played in the living room until after nine.
In the end, Mother Huo and Jiang Si each had to hold one of them.
After quite some effort, they finally managed to lull both children to sleep.
But the next day, just as Jiang Si was drifting in and out of sleep, she sensed movement beside her.
Opening her eyes, she saw Suisui and Zhaozhao already awake.
They were sitting up against the headboard.
Seeing their mother awake, the two little ones opened their big, dark eyes wide and started calling out.
Most often, Jiang Si heard the children calling her name, their innocent voices filling the room.
“Mua~ Mua~~”
Today, for some unknown reason, Suisui kept calling out for a while, then suddenly started making “pa~ pa~~” sounds with her mouth.
Jiang Si was completely stunned.
She instinctively wondered if last night had been too noisy, and maybe the kids had heard something they shouldn’t have.
Just then, Mother Huo knocked and came in.
Seeing Jiang Si’s cheeks flushed red, she asked with concern, “What’s wrong? Did you catch a chill last night?”
Jiang Si awkwardly shook her head.
The two little ones, always eager to stir up some excitement, grew even louder when they saw Mother Huo had arrived.
Mother Huo listened and looked genuinely thrilled.
She kept calling them “good babies, so wonderful.”
Only then did Jiang Si realize that the two little ones were trying to call for their dad.
But since “dad” was a tricky sound for their young age, they could only manage these rough noises.
Mother Huo happily said, “Once they get the hang of it, in a little while, they’ll probably be able to say it clearly.”
Of course, this was just like when they said “mama.”
Both were unconscious babblings before the kids truly learned to talk.
And so, for the next several days, the two little ones would start searching the whole house for their dad as soon as they opened their eyes.
Jiang Si was puzzled—where had he gone without even calling for so many days?
On Saturday, just as Jiang Si got home from work, Grandma Huo waved at her.
“Si Si, quick, it’s a call from Tingzhou. He just called.”
Jiang Si put down her bag and immediately picked up the receiver. “Hello~”
Hearing his wife’s familiar voice, Huo Tingzhou let out a noticeable sigh of relief.
“Sorry,” he explained on the other end, “I’ve been tied up these past few days… not convenient to call.”
Though he didn’t elaborate, Jiang Si roughly guessed why.
The flight school where he taught was near the border, and it was common to have sudden missions that made contact difficult.
So she didn’t press further, simply saying, “It’s okay. Everything at home is fine. You don’t have to worry.”
“Mm, I know,” Huo Tingzhou said with affection. “Thank you for taking care of things these past few days.”
Grandma had just mentioned how clingy Suisui and Zhaozhao had been since he left.
Every night, they fussed for a long time before finally falling asleep.
Mentioning the two little ones, Jiang Si had a lot to say.
“Suisui and Zhaozhao have been a bit mischievous lately.”
Hearing their names, the two, who were busy eating fruit puree, immediately blinked their big, dark eyes like little grapes, curiously staring at the receiver in Jiang Si’s hand.
Tilting their little heads, their eyes were full of question marks.
Jiang Si had a thought. “Wait a moment.”
Huo Tingzhou was still puzzled when he suddenly heard encouraging voices from the other end.
“Suisui, Zhaozhao, this is Daddy on the phone. Come on, say ‘Daddy’…”
Hearing this, Huo Tingzhou pinched the bridge of his nose helplessly.
The kids were barely six months old — at this age, they shouldn’t be able to say “Daddy” yet.
But as if to prove him wrong, just as the thought crossed his mind, the receiver carried a rustling sound.
Then came the two little ones’ unclear baby voices, “Pa… pa… ba pa… ba ba…”
Though the pronunciation was messy and unclear,
Huo Tingzhou’s heart instantly melted into a puddle.
After a pause, he eagerly responded over the phone, “I’m Daddy…”
Suddenly, a familiar amplified voice came through the receiver.
The two little ones were clearly taken aback.
They blinked their eyes and stared blankly at the receiver in their mother’s hand.
Jiang Si’s eyes were encouraging, hoping they would call out once more.
But to everyone’s surprise, after hesitating for a few seconds,
the two little ones suddenly pouted their lips and burst into tears.
Their tears fell like beads breaking off a string, one after another.
“Oh no, don’t cry, don’t cry~~”
Grandpa Huo and Grandma Huo were heartbroken and quickly each picked up one of the children. “It’s Dad! It’s Dad on the phone.”
“What’s wrong? Are they feeling unwell or scared?”
Huo Tingzhou’s heart clenched tightly at the sound of the children crying.
“It’s nothing, nothing,” Jiang Si glanced at the two little ones.
Her tone soothing, she explained, “Maybe it’s because they suddenly heard your voice. They miss you so much, but can’t see you, so they feel upset…”
She then told him about the children’s unusual behavior over the past few days.
“It’s my fault,” Huo Tingzhou said, his voice full of guilt.
“How can we blame you for this?” Jiang Si didn’t know how to comfort him.
She could only say, “From now on, whenever you have time, call home more often. Let them hear your voice more; maybe once they get used to it, it will get better.”
Jiang Si said this more as a hopeful thought—she figured if he managed to call once or twice a week, that would already be good enough.
But unexpectedly, from then on, Huo Tingzhou called almost every day without fail.
Sometimes the calls were long, sometimes short, but never missed.
After so many calls, the children stopped crying.
And as time passed, the two little ones seemed to gradually understand something.
That little black thing could carry Dad’s voice!
So now, the very first thing the two little ones did every morning upon waking was to babble and shout into the receiver for a long time.
Sometimes, when they didn’t get a response, they would get so frustrated that they’d pat the phone with their dimpled little hands.
This always made everyone around both laugh and feel touched.
Life went on quietly and steadily like this, and before they knew it, more than two months had passed.
Now the two little ones were almost eight months old, and the frequency with which they correctly pronounced “Dad” was steadily increasing.
Although occasionally mixed in were a few “Pa Pa” or “Ba Ba” sounds, every time it made Huo Tingzhou on the other end of the line happy for a long while.
Jiang Si’s work was also progressing smoothly.
After completing the concrete pouring for the foundation and other preparatory tasks,
the construction team had already begun building the basement.
One day, Jiang Si was at the construction site, coordinating with Director Yang about the basement’s waterproofing materials.
Suddenly, Assistant Qi came rushing over, looking flustered.
“What’s going on?” Jiang Si stopped her conversation with Director Yang as she noticed Assistant Qi’s anxious expression.
Assistant Qi was bent over, gasping for breath.
“There’s… there’s an emergency meeting. Minister Zhao wants you to… to come back immediately…”
“The car… the car is already waiting at the site entrance…”
