Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, summer vacation arrived.
The "Ten-Year Promise" was a consensus reached by several families a long time ago.
However, with children in school in each household, it was difficult to coordinate a long holiday outside of summer break.
Fortunately, direct flights from the capital city to Qiongzhou Island were now available, making travel there much more convenient than before.
And so, in the week before summer vacation, the families made their plans.
They would set off officially in early July.
But plans often change. Just before departure, Huo Tingzhou had an important work assignment come up temporarily.
Unable to delay, Sister-in-law Hu and Sister-in-law Xu's families decided to proceed as originally planned and leave first.
This was a good opportunity for them to take the children back to their maternal homes for a while.
The families agreed to meet directly on the island half a month later.
With Huo Tingzhou tied up for the moment, Jiang Si discussed with Third Granduncle and decided to take the children back to Shanghai first.
This return to Shanghai was primarily for official business.
She had only learned from a notification some time ago that after the start of the Great Movement, the Shanghai Red Committee had taken numerous items from Shen Xiuwen's possession.
There were over a dozen land deeds and property deeds alone. After more than two years of verification by the authorities,
the process of returning these items one by one had begun since the start of this year.
Jiang Si's return was specifically to assist in handling this matter.
Although Huo Tingzhou was swamped with work, he rushed back to Shanghai on the very day of Jiang Si's birthday.
"It's just a small birthday, no need to rush back like this," she chided, seeing his travel-weary appearance, though in her heart she was truly happy.
Moreover, subconsciously, she seemed to have guessed that Huo Tingzhou would likely return today.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have saved a separate piece of birthday cake for him when they cut it that evening.
"Go take a bath and relax first, I'll go cook you a bowl of noodles..."
Before she could finish, Huo Tingzhou took hold of her wrist.
Jiang Si smiled, then habitually extended her left hand.
For the past few birthdays, Huo Tingzhou had unfailingly given her a ring every year.
The styles varied, but the sentiment never changed.
This year, she thought it would be no exception.
However, she was only half right, and not completely.
Because after Huo Tingzhou slipped the ring onto her finger, he also placed a document, rolled into a tube and tied with a red ribbon, into her open palm.
Jiang Si was taken aback for a moment and didn't open it immediately.
Instead, she looked up, gazing steadily at him.
Having lived in the military compound for so many years, Jiang Si now had some understanding of military ranks.
But in the original storyline, Huo Tingzhou didn't reach that position until he was fifty.
Yet now, he wasn't even forty.
She understood perfectly well that the higher-ups would never promote him so significantly without reason.
Behind every dazzling promotion were dangers she couldn't see, as well as Huo Tingzhou's extraordinary effort and sacrifice far beyond the ordinary.
And about these, he had hardly ever mentioned a word in front of her.
Thinking of this, a pang of sadness hit Jiang Si's heart.
The long-anticipated reaction didn't appear; instead, he had made his wife's eyes redden. Huo Tingzhou was momentarily at a loss. "What's wrong, darling? Aren't you happy about my promotion?"
Jiang Si shook her head, forcing back the tears that threatened to fall.
Sometimes she wondered if her high expectations for the future had inadvertently put pressure on them.
Perhaps not wanting to disappoint her was why they all pushed themselves so relentlessly.
"Huo Tingzhou."
Whenever she used his full name, it meant things were serious.
Huo Tingzhou's expression turned solemn. "I'm here."
"Whether you get promoted or not, whether you become this commander or not, I am happy," Jiang Si said, looking at him with earnest sincerity. "Life isn't just about one decade; we still have many, many more decades to spend together."
Understanding her unspoken words, Huo Tingzhou promised immediately, "Okay."
He would be safe and sound, and they would grow old together.
After resting in Shanghai for two days and completing the necessary procedures, the family prepared to depart for Qiongzhou Island.
Third Granduncle and Uncle Zhong initially didn't want to go, mainly because the previous plane ride to Qiongzhou Island had been terribly bumpy, leaving them with a deep-seated fear.
It was only after Jiang Si said that Huo Tingzhou had already booked the tickets,
and that this time they wouldn't be flying but taking the train, that the two finally agreed.
On the day of departure, they all got up very early.
Just like ten years ago when they went to Qiongzhou Island, as soon as Jiang Si and Huo Tingzhou came downstairs, they saw Third Granduncle and Uncle Zhong squatting in the living room, busy organizing the luggage.
Perhaps due to his age, Third Granduncle had recently become quite fond of "chattering," often reminiscing about the past.
But "chattering" was only his own perception.
Jingxing and Jingyan loved listening, and so did Huo Tingzhou.
During those ten years in the army, he had missed too many opportunities to be by her side.
Now, hearing these stories from Third Granduncle helped fill a void in his heart.
Even Jiang Si herself listened with great interest.
But as she listened, Jiang Si suddenly sensed something amiss.
"Third Granduncle, I fought with Shen Qingqing?"
Now it was Third Granduncle's turn to be surprised. He stopped what he was doing. "You don't remember?"
Even after all these years, mentioning this still stirred indignation in Third Granduncle. "That bastard Shen Xiuwen did inhuman things. He actually gave your mother's jewelry to Lin Yueru and her daughter. When you found out, you had a huge fight with him."
Jiang's mother was Jiang Si's untouchable sore spot, a trigger for her anger.
Yet Lin Yueru deliberately used this to provoke her.
The result was predictable.
"You and Lin Yueru were locked in a fierce fight, and that girl Shen Qingqing hit the back of your head with a vase," Third Granduncle remembered clearly. "You bled a lot and had to get several stitches at the hospital."
Listening to this, Huo Tingzhou's face darkened.
He instinctively parted the hair on the back of Jiang Si's head to look.
Over fifteen or sixteen years had passed since the incident. The scar from back then, hidden by her hair, had almost faded to invisibility.
But strangely, Jiang Si had no memory of the event at all.
That shouldn't be. Although her memory wasn't as good as Zhaozhao's,
she had no reason to completely forget something that happened to her.
Especially something like getting into a physical fight with Shen Qingqing.
But when she tried hard to recall, her mind was completely blank.
She didn't even remember being hospitalized for such a thing.
Sensing her unease, Huo Tingzhou put an arm around her shoulder. "Don't overthink it. It's possible your brain temporarily blanked out due to the injury at the time."
