The one competing in the match is Zhaozhao, but she seems completely unaware of what nervousness is.
For the past half month, apart from her unwavering daily lessons at the Zhuo family's, she has been eating and playing as usual.
Even though the competition is officially tomorrow, this afternoon she still went out with the kids from the compound to have a snowball fight for hours.
Fortunately, thanks to the spiritual spring water's conditioning over the past few years, Zhaozhao only came back with rosy cheeks and was otherwise perfectly fine.
After the mother and daughter took a hot bath together, Jiang Si said, "Alright, it's getting late. You have the competition tomorrow."
Just as she leaned over to tell Zhaozhao to sleep well, Zhaozhao suddenly propped herself up halfway from under the covers.
"Mom, can Dad come back tomorrow?"
Hearing the anticipation in her voice, Jiang Si stroked her little face. "To be honest, Mom isn't sure either."
Ever since Huo Tingzhou was transferred back to the Beijing General Military District, his work focus has shifted from tactical execution to strategic command.
Although he doesn't go on missions now, he is truly busy.
Especially since receiving a secret order last week, he hasn't been home for a week.
However, Jiang Si can understand this. At the end of this month, a very important person will be visiting China.
From then on, relations between the two countries will begin to normalize.
Huo Tingzhou is responsible for the security of the entire airspace over Beijing, including the Beijing-Tianjin-Tangshan region, and when necessary, also for the cruise guidance of the special aircraft. It's normal for him to be busy right now.
Seeing her mother silent, Zhaozhao roughly guessed the answer.
Very sensibly, she tucked her head back under the covers. "It's okay. Even if Dad isn't there, Zhaozhao will still do her best."
Jiang Si smiled and teased deliberately, "Dad is busy, but there's still Mom and your brother, and your great-grandparents—they will all go to cheer for you. With so many people, can't they compare to just one Dad?"
"No~ Mom, you know I love you the most!"
"Alright, go to sleep now. It's really late." As she spoke, Jiang Si tucked the quilt corners around her.
"Mhm." Zhaozhao nodded obediently.
Just as Jiang Si was about to turn off the bedside lamp, faint footsteps came from downstairs.
It was almost ten at night. At this hour, the only person who could be returning was Huo Tingzhou.
Zhaozhao obviously realized it too, her eyes snapping open. "Mom, is that Dad?"
As soon as the words left her mouth, the light at the bedroom door dimmed.
"Dad!"
The moment she saw Huo Tingzhou, Zhaozhao immediately scrambled out from under the covers, opening her arms to rush over.
Huo Tingzhou quickly took two steps forward to catch his daughter. "Slow down. Dad is cold from outside. Get back under the covers."
But Zhaozhao didn't mind at all, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck.
"Dad, how come you're back?"
"Missed you all, so I came back to see you."
As he said this, Huo Tingzhou's gaze remained fixed on Jiang Si.
After a pause, he asked, "Have you been good and listened to Mom these past few days?"
Zhaozhao nodded vigorously. "I've been good!"
Jiang Si chuckled. "If you're being good, then hurry up and lie back down properly."
Zhaozhao said "Oh" and quickly did as told.
After the father and daughter had a warm chat for a while, Jiang Si asked, "Is your work finished?"
Huo Tingzhou shook his head. "Not yet. I managed to get away for two hours. I have to leave again soon."
Then, he looked at Zhaozhao.
He had promised his daughter he would be there to cheer her on, but plans had changed.
"Zhaozhao, Dad broke his promise this time. Next time you have a competition, Dad will definitely go and cheer for you, okay?"
But Zhaozhao shook her head like a little adult. "Mom said you're doing something very, very important. I'm already really happy that you came back to see me."
Afraid her dad wouldn't believe her, she added proudly, "Dad, Zhaozhao already has a whole bunch of people in her cheer squad!"
"What a good girl."
Huo Tingzhou took a few chocolate candies from his pocket and placed them in her palm. "This is Dad's reward for you. Take these with you tomorrow."
Zhaozhao's eyes clearly lit up. "Thank you, Dad! Dad, I love you so much!"
Then, she turned her head to Jiang Si and said, "Mom, I love you so much too!"
Jiang Si couldn't help but laugh, touched that she remembered to keep things perfectly fair even at a time like this.
"Alright, it's really getting late now. You need to sleep, otherwise you won't be able to get up tomorrow."
Zhaozhao is good in every way, except she has a bit of a temper when waking up, especially if she hasn't slept well—she won't smile all day.
Zhaozhao nodded. "Mhm, I'll sleep right away."
Perhaps because her wish was fulfilled, one second she was saying goodnight to her parents, and within two minutes, she was fast asleep.
Listening to their daughter's light, even breathing in sleep, Huo Tingzhou kissed her little cheek, then dimmed the bedside lamp to its lowest setting.
Before going downstairs, Huo Tingzhou tiptoed to his son's room as well.
He similarly kissed his little cheek and placed the chocolate candies from his other pocket on the nightstand before quietly leaving the room.
Knowing he often forgot to eat when busy, Jiang Si said, "Sit down first. I'll go cook you a bowl of noodles."
She wasn't skilled at complex dishes, but cooking noodles was no problem.
"I'm not hungry, don't trouble yourself." Huo Tingzhou took her hand. He had to leave in half an hour. "Just stay and talk with me for a bit."
"Cooking noodles doesn't stop us from talking." Jiang Si held his hand in return and directly led him to the kitchen.
The Air Force compound used gas stoves, which had a strong flame.
After the water boiled, Jiang Si put in half a bundle of dried noodles and cracked three poached eggs into the pot.
While the noodles cooked, Huo Tingzhou quickly prepared a soup base in a bowl with soy sauce, lard, and chopped scallions.
Working with his hands didn't stop him from talking. "The morning after tomorrow, Little Lin will drive you to the airport."
After a pause, he added, "I might be a few days later. As soon as the work at hand is finished, I'll return to Shanghai."
Jiang Si nodded, signaling he could scoop out the noodles.
Only after they sat down at the table did she say, "Don't worry about things at home. Work is important. If you really don't have time for the New Year, it's fine..."
"I can go back for New Year." Huo Tingzhou said.
He couldn't discuss work details, but returning to Shanghai was certain.
It was part of the other party's itinerary. Once his work here was done, he had to return to Shanghai.
There were still many matters regarding air defense to coordinate.
Since he put it that way, Jiang Si didn't press further. "Eat quickly, while it's hot."
Huo Tingzhou said he wasn't hungry, but his body was honest. In just a few minutes, a large bowl of noodles was gone.
"Leave the bowl, I'll wash it later." Before Jiang Si could finish, Huo Tingzhou had already taken the empty bowl to the kitchen.
After doing that, he checked the time. "Then, I'm off."
Jiang Si nodded.
It was cold outside, so she wouldn't see him out. "Drive carefully, pay attention to safety."
Huo Tingzhou pursed his lips, standing still for almost a full minute.
"What's wrong?" Jiang Si felt a bit puzzled under his gaze.
Seeing his wife still hadn't caught on, Huo Tingzhou cupped her face with both hands and gave her a firm kiss.
He only let go after Jiang Si gave him a light push.
Jiang Si looked over with an amused expression. "We've been married for four or five years now..."
Before she could finish, Huo Tingzhou said with a serious face, "Even if it were forty or fifty years, it would still be the same."
Then, he asked, "Don't you have anything to say to me?"
His posture strongly suggested that if she didn't say something, he would just stand there and not leave.
"Alright, you win." Perhaps hearing the two children talk about love all the time made the next words less awkward to say.
Jiang Si said, "I'll miss you. Satisfied now?"
Huo Tingzhou nodded.
...
She slept soundly through the night. When Jiang Si woke up the next day, the two little ones had already dressed themselves and gone downstairs.
Since there was a competition today, they avoided heavy, greasy, or strongly flavored food for breakfast.
After breakfast, she checked the things they needed to bring, and then Jiang Si took them to the competition venue.
This year's competition was held at the Beijing Abacus Association. She had heard earlier that there would be many participants, but she hadn't expected this many.
Even though it wasn't a weekend, the area outside the association was packed with people, several layers deep.
These were all parents and family members who had come to cheer for their children.
She had thought it would take some effort to find the elderly family members in such a crowd.
Unexpectedly, as soon as they got out of the car, Jiang Si spotted an extremely eye-catching banner.
It had Jingyan's name on it, with a bunch of encouraging words below.
Looking closer, Grandpa and Third Granduncle were holding the banner high, with Grandma Huo and the others standing beside them.
Jiang Si quickly took the children over to join them.
They barely had time to exchange a few words of encouragement before a staff member came out with a loudspeaker.
He was there to announce the competition rules.
Overall, apart from having more participants than last year, the rules were basically unchanged.
Whether in the preschool, youth, or adult categories, all contestants had to go through two elimination rounds.
The first round tested addition and subtraction, with thirty questions and a ten-minute time limit.
Anyone with an accuracy rate greater than ninety percent would automatically advance.
The second round tested multiplication and division, with the same rules as the first round.
After the two elimination rounds, the competition committee would verify all the answer sheets and the list of qualifiers. Once confirmed, the finals would be held that same afternoon.
The finals also lasted ten minutes, with no restrictions on question types. The person who answered the most questions correctly within the time limit would be the champion!
In case of a tie, an overtime round would be held.
Additionally, to create a good competition environment for the children, parents were not allowed to watch the elimination rounds.
Family members were allowed to attend the afternoon finals, but only one person per family.
It was important to note that since the finals were held indoors, making noise during the competition was prohibited. If any family member violated this rule, the corresponding contestant would be disqualified immediately.
There was no other way; without such rules, who knows how chaotic it might get during the competition.
After the rules were announced, under the guidance of the staff, all contestants began lining up to enter according to their registered competition categories.
All the words of encouragement had been said countless times over this period. Jiang Si held Zhaozhao's little hand and walked her to the lining-up area for the youth category.
"Go on. Just do your best."
Zhaozhao nodded, then suddenly made a small fist and gave a determined, cheering gesture towards Grandpa and Third Granduncle not far away.
"Zhaozhao will do her best!"
Her clear, milky voice rang out brightly. By coincidence, a staff member was standing nearby and immediately looked over upon hearing her.
"Little one, you're in the wrong line. This is the youth category line. The preschool category is over there."
Zhaozhao: "No mistake, I'm in the youth category."
As soon as she said this, the entire line of people in front turned to look.
The staff member was clearly shocked too. "How old are you, little one? Why did you sign up for the youth category? Did you accidentally check the wrong box when registering?"
Just as Jiang Si was about to explain, a sarcastic male voice came from the crowd.
"Teacher, she's not that little! She's already four years old this year."
Another person nearby chimed in with a smirk, "No, no, not even four. Counting by actual age, she's not even two and a half."
