That voice and that tone didn't sound even a little bit like someone who had just woken up.
Jiang Si let out a helpless sigh. She had wondered why the two little ones had fallen asleep so quickly today.
So, after all that, they were just pretending to be asleep!
Luckily, she and Huo Tingzhou hadn't done anything intimate, otherwise...
Huo Tingzhou beside her had clearly realized this too, his face now darker than the bottom of a pot.
Unfortunately, the two little ones were completely oblivious to this. All they knew was that mom was the most important person in the whole wide world!
And so, they promptly latched onto Jiang Si's arm and began their sweet, cooing act of acting cute and spoiled.
"Mommy, want bubbles!" the two little ones drawled in their sweet, milky voices, sticky and adorable.
Jiang Si couldn't withstand it, holding out for less than two minutes before surrendering.
Children are only this dependent on their parents for these few years. When they're older, even if you ask them to tag along, they might not want to.
Besides, the two little ones are bigger now and not so easy to manage.
Grandpa and Third Granduncle usually help look after them, which is hard work. Taking the kids away for a few days to give them a break would be nice too.
In fact, Jiang Si had discussed the matter of childcare with Huo Tingzhou before.
Given Huo Tingzhou's current rank and the existing policies, they could easily hire a live-in nanny to take care of the children and handle household chores.
But before she could even find a suitable candidate, the proposal was vetoed by Grandpa and the others.
The two elders had practically huffed and puffed on the spot, saying they had nothing to do at home anyway, and if they weren't even allowed to look after their great-grandchildren to pass the time, life would be utterly boring!
"Let's take them all with us," Jiang Si said.
Since she put it that way, what else could Huo Tingzhou say?
Well then, this wasn't going to be a hot spring trip anymore; it was really going to be a washout.
And so, what was supposed to be a sweet, romantic getaway for the couple was, at the last moment, transformed into a family trip for four.
Perhaps because they knew they were going out to play, the next morning, as soon as dawn broke, the two little ones were awake.
Huo Tingzhou was right about one thing: the two children were really well-behaved.
When they woke up and saw Mommy and Daddy still sleeping, they immediately made a "shh" gesture and then quietly slid down from the foot of the bed.
The temperature difference between morning and evening in the capital was quite significant. The moment Suisui's little feet touched the floor, he couldn't help but shiver.
He quickly pulled his little feet back and, in the same motion, pressed down on his sister who was about to get off the bed beside him.
Zhaozhao tilted her head to look at her brother, her eyes full of little question marks, "???"
"Co-cold," Suisui said, while pulling out two pairs of little socks from under his own small pillow.
Sister is afraid of the cold, so put them on her first.
After putting them on his sister, he then put on his own.
Their little feet were now wrapped up snugly.
Only then did they slip on their slippers and, hand in hand, head to the bathroom.
The moment the two little ones left the room, Jiang Si and Huo Tingzhou on the bed opened their eyes.
They had naturally heard the rather significant commotion the little ones made.
They were just pretending to be asleep.
There was no other way. Ever since the New Year, the two little ones had refused to let anyone help them brush their teeth or wash their faces.
Since the children wanted to manage on their own, Jiang Si let them. But the doting parents still couldn't fully rest easy. Every time, they had to secretly lurk in the background, standing guard to make sure the kids didn't fall or swallow something they shouldn't.
The two little ones were completely unaware of this.
By now, they were already standing skillfully on the small step stool in front of the washbasin.
The step stool was specially customized for their height, and it was just the right size when they stepped on it.
Suisui skillfully unscrewed the toothpaste cap, squeezed a pea-sized amount onto his own toothbrush, then turned sideways and squeezed a little onto his sister's toothbrush as well.
They didn't have many teeth, but they brushed with great seriousness.
Their little heads swayed back and forth so much it almost made Jiang Si dizzy.
Finally, they began to gargle and rinse, making "gulugulu" sounds.
Next, they picked up their little towels and started washing their faces.
It really was a testament to their father's dedication; every night before bed, he had to adjust the faucet to the perfect position so the water temperature would be just right.
After washing their faces, the two little ones didn't forget to apply their lotion.
As soon as they left the bathroom, they turned to look for their little suitcases.
The little suitcases were only slightly larger than a school bag. They were the kind Huo Tingzhou used for short trips to pack toiletries.
Because they had little wheels on the bottom, the two kids loved them.
So Huo Tingzhou bought one for each of them.
Once they had their little suitcases, the two little ones began huffing and puffing as they stuffed things inside.
Toys, cloth books, picture storybooks, delicious little biscuits—whatever came to mind, they stuffed it in.
Seeing that the two were now starting to rummage through drawers and cabinets, Huo Tingzhou, who had just lain back in bed for less than two minutes, made to get up again.
"Don't interfere, let them pack by themselves," Jiang Si said, pressing a hand on him to stop him.
Being a mother for the first time, she didn't have much experience and often acted on instinct.
As long as it wasn't dangerous, she generally wouldn't interrupt or interfere with the children's actions.
If they really did something wrong, she would explain it to them clearly afterward.
The two little ones were quite precocious. Some things they just couldn't express well yet, but they could understand the reasoning.
Hearing this, Huo Tingzhou lay back down. "Alright, I'll listen to you."
Just as the two were whispering, the little ones outside seemed to have encountered some difficulty.
It looked like they couldn't solve it on their own.
Seeing this, Jiang Si and Huo Tingzhou pretended to have just woken up and went out to the main room.
Seeing that Mommy was awake, Zhaozhao immediately put down what she was holding, ran over, and opened her mouth wide for Jiang Si to see her teeth.
Jiang Si pretended to be surprised, bending down to take a careful look. "Did you brush your teeth?"
Zhaozhao nodded emphatically. "Brushed."
"Brushed so cleanly."
"Mommy, smell," Zhaozhao said, squinting her crescent-moon eyes, and offered her little face and hands.
Jiang Si cooperated by taking a deep breath. "So fragrant."
Huo Tingzhou had by now crouched down in front of Suisui. Seeing him repeatedly trying to open and close the suitcase, he asked, "What's wrong?"
Suisui was quite good at expressing himself and knew it couldn't be explained in just a sentence or two.
He immediately demonstrated the problem.
And so, Huo Tingzhou understood.
It turned out they had stuffed too many things into the little suitcase, and it couldn't close.
Of course, this also had to do with their young age and not knowing how to pack efficiently.
It would be simple for him to handle it.
But Huo Tingzhou didn't do that.
Instead, he chose to bring over another suitcase in front of his son.
"Look, this is how Daddy packs," he said, while neatly organizing the items in the box one by one.
Soon, quite a bit of space was freed up in the box.
But Zhaozhao had brought far too many things, and in the end, there were still several stuffed animals that wouldn't fit.
Huo Tingzhou didn't make the decision himself either. Instead, he gave the choice to his daughter.
"Zhaozhao, the box is a bit small. These few can't all fit. Pick your favorite one, and Daddy will pack it for you. We'll leave the other two at home for now and bring them next time we go out, okay?"
Zhaozhao nodded and quickly picked her favorite from among them.
"See, now it's all packed, right?" As he spoke, Huo Tingzhou easily and effortlessly closed the suitcase.
Children at this age have an incredible ability to imitate. With Huo Tingzhou's patient demonstration and guidance, Suisui quickly followed his example and rearranged the items in the suitcase.
It was still a bit messy, but at least it could be closed properly.
While he was busy tidying up, Jiang Si and Huo Tingzhou had already deftly styled Zhaozhao's hair into two adorable little buns.
Just as they expected, once her hair was done, Zhaozhao also turned her attention to the suitcase.
Jiang Si and Huo Tingzhou didn't stop her. If she wanted to give it a try, they let her.
How would they know if the child had learned without letting her try?
When it came to parenting, they had plenty of patience.
Sure enough, Zhaozhao didn't disappoint them. By the time the two adults returned from washing up, Zhaozhao had already managed to repack the disorganized suitcase based on her own understanding.
Half an hour later, the guard responsible for their transportation arrived.
This time, their destination was the Xiaotangshan Sanatorium in the northern suburbs. The road conditions outside the city were not great, and once the car left the urban area, there wasn't a soul in sight on the road.
Fortunately, they had brought the two little ones along. Their constant chattering made the journey anything but boring.
After more than two hours of bumpy travel, they finally arrived.
