Seeing him remain silent for a long time, Jiang Si turned her head back in confusion.
Noticing the bloodstain on his fingertip, she also froze for a moment.
Snapping back to reality, she quickly shifted aside. "Have you been a bit... fiery lately? I should probably keep my distance..."
Huo Tingzhou, however, wouldn't allow it. He tightened his arm, not letting her move an inch.
It was true that his 'fire' was strong, but it was mostly ignited by the scene he had just imagined.
"I'm fine," he said.
Seeing him be stubborn, Jiang Si couldn't help but tease him. "If you're like this, how are we ever going to go on a beach vacation together?"
Huo Tingzhou fell silent for a moment, not immediately understanding. "Beach vacation?"
"That's right," Jiang Si said, deliberately trying to get a rise out of him. "I heard from Chris that this is how people dress for beach vacations abroad now. This style is actually considered conservative. Lots of people even sunbathe on the beach..."
She even whispered what kind of sunbathing she meant.
After hearing this, Huo Tingzhou's reaction was nothing short of seismic shock.
"C-can we just not go on beach vacations?" On this matter, Huo Tingzhou genuinely couldn't muster any magnanimity. The mere thought of a bunch of people staring at his wife made an uncontrollable fire blaze in his heart.
Seeing his reaction, Jiang Si stopped teasing him.
Curving her lips into a smile, she said, "Then, when policies loosen up in the future, we'll buy an island. The whole beach will be ours. We'll also buy a yacht to go fishing out at sea, and we'll get a plane too..."
She had already possessed all these things before transmigrating into the book.
Naturally, she would have them again in the future.
"Alright," Huo Tingzhou lowered his head to kiss her hair. "I'll fly the plane. Then you can go wherever you want."
As long as she didn't wear a swimsuit to a public beach, he would strive to make everything else happen for her.
Jiang Si smiled too. "Mm!"
...
You shouldn't soak in a hot spring for too long. Besides, worrying about the two little ones, Jiang Si soaked comfortably for just over an hour before getting out and leaving.
Huo Tingzhou, because his 'fire' hadn't yet subsided, came out half an hour later than her.
After they had both freshened up, Huo Tingzhou said, "Sweetheart, you rest for a while. I'm going to the training room."
Pilot rehabilitation wasn't just a perk; it was a mandatory task.
Later, Huo Tingzhou had to complete flight simulator training and sand table exercises.
He also had a physiotherapy session scheduled for later.
On top of that, each day included outdoor jogging, Baduanjin qigong practice, hand dexterity training, light physical training, sports activities, and so on.
Every day was packed full.
Not long after Huo Tingzhou left, the orderly brought the two little ones back.
As soon as they entered the living room, the two little ones surrounded her, one on each side.
Their little mouths were pouted so much you could hang an oil bottle on them.
"What's wrong? Didn't you have fun playing?"
"Mommy, want home~~"
Although there were other children here, the two little ones were too young, and hardly anyone was willing to play with them.
Zhaozhao was almost in tears. "Mommy, want home, play with brother and sister."
Understanding what the children meant, Jiang Si patiently comforted them for a while.
Once their emotions had stabilized, she said, "But if we go back, the older brothers and sisters won't be able to play with you every day."
In a few days, schools in Beijing would be starting their new semester.
At home, except for Little Soymilk, all the other children would be going to school.
Jiang Si's intention was to tell them that everyone has their own things to do; people can't play with you every day.
Who knew the two little ones would misunderstand.
They immediately declared that they wanted to go to school too.
If they went to school, they could play with the older brothers and sisters!
Ah, this...
Jiang Si couldn't help but facepalm. Of all things to want, they wanted to go to school!
Amused, she tapped their foreheads lightly. "You only have a few carefree years like this. You should cherish the time and play happily at home."
To appease the two little ones that evening, the couple spent their time telling stories, playing games, and promising to take them to an even more fun place the next day.
There was no time left for any romantic moments.
Fortunately, the two little ones were finally comforted and didn't mention going home again.
The next day, Huo Tingzhou went for his rehabilitation training as usual. When he returned in the evening, Jiang Si happened to be coming out of the bedroom.
Huo Tingzhou peeked through the crack in the door. "Asleep?"
Jiang Si nodded, about to say, "Be quiet."
But Huo Tingzhou walked straight in. He pinched their little cheeks and called their names softly, making sure the two children were truly asleep.
Then, he directly scooped Jiang Si up in his arms and quickly carried her to another room.
It was a rather restless night.
The following few nights weren't much better for sleep either.
Jiang Si spent her days coaxing the little ones and her nights coaxing the big one.
Fortunately, the five days passed quickly.
The day before they left, the rehabilitation center organized a lively family social event.
Jiang Si took the two little ones to participate in a relay race to "pull radishes" and also joined a fishing activity.
The funny thing was, after busying themselves for half the day, both she and Huo Tingzhou came up empty-handed.
On the contrary, perhaps due to beginner's luck, the two little ones each managed to catch a fish!
When they returned home that day, Huo Tingzhou personally cooked a delicious radish and crucian carp soup, which delighted the two little ones immensely.
Time flew by, and before they knew it, it was the end of February. Schools all over Beijing had started their new semester.
Early in the morning, the nieces and nephews shouldered their little backpacks and went to school.
Suisui and Zhaozhao grew anxious again and brought up going to school once more.
The problem was, at their age, the only option was nursery school. The compound kindergarten only accepted children over two years old, and the child needed to have a certain level of self-care ability.
At the very least, they needed to be able to express their thoughts clearly.
And so, the two little ones counted on their fingers, from summer all the way to autumn.
Jiang Si never expected the two little ones to be so deeply fixated on the idea of going to school.
On their second birthday, they actually made a wish in front of everyone.
They wanted to be like their older brothers and sisters, carrying little backpacks to school every day.
Jiang Si was quite helpless. Alright then, if it's going to school they want, she'd satisfy them.
Enrolling in kindergarten wasn't so complicated back then; you just needed the household register and some proof. Jiang Si was busy with the renovation of the foreign-related building during this period, so Huo Tingzhou took care of all the enrollment procedures for the two little ones.
A few days later, the two little ones got their wish and started attending kindergarten.
At first, Jiang Si worried whether they might be too young to adjust.
But after observing for several days in a row, she found the two little ones not only adapted well to kindergarten life but thoroughly enjoyed it.
Seeing this, Jiang Si was completely reassured.
Time flashed by, and another three months passed. It was now officially the spring of 1972.
After more than half a year of renovation, the foreign-related hotel was completely transformed, having become one of Beijing's landmark buildings.
Early one morning, Jiang Si was discussing matters related to water, electricity, and heating with Director Yang.
Minister Zhao knocked on the door, his face beaming with a smile—
