After successfully communicating with the triplets, Qiao Nan could finally give He Yi an answer.

  After receiving her answer, He Yi was overjoyed. He knew that Qiao Nan had not traveled overseas before. Hence, he reminded Qiao Nan to settle the administration matters such as passport application as soon as possible, in case they could not make it in time. Of course, given the department’s connection, Qiao Nan was able to settle this faster than typical people.

  He Yi gave Qiao Nan many pointers and Qiao Nan noted all of them down in a book.

  When Qiao Nan boarded the overseas flight with He Yi under the sinister and gloomy watch of Deng Wenchang, Zhai Sheng, who was seldom home and wanted to give Qiao Nan a surprise, received one from her instead. To him, it was a surprise but not a pleasant one. “Nan Nan went on an overseas business trip?” Why wasn’t he aware?

  With the three children by her side, Miao Jing looked relaxed. “Who can you blame? As you have to carry out missions, you can only come home and stay for a few days, right?” When a soldier was out on a mission, he had to cut off all correspondences with the outside world and his family. Even if they wanted to inform Zhai Sheng, they also had to be able to find him to do so.

  “Dad.”

  “Dad.”

  “Dad.”

  The triplets greeted Zhai Sheng listlessly. This was unlike the past whereby they would scream and pounced on Zhai Sheng and make Zhai Sheng play with them by lifting them high up in the air. Sigh, their mother was away. Even the candies did not taste as sweet as usual.

  \r \r \r

  Zhai Sheng was biased as he carried his chubby daughter. “What is the matter? Not happy? Dad plays with you?” Zhai Sheng was not pleased that his wife was away. However, he was their father. He could not appear to be clingier to Qiao Nan than his children did in front of them.

  San Bao snorted and kicked. “No mood.”

  “Pfft!’ Miao Jing laughed. “Zhai Sheng, you don’t know. Today is the first day of Nan Nan’s overseas business trip. As soon as Nan Nan left the doorsteps, the triplets became like that. The words they say sound like those of little adults. It’s so funny.” Seemingly, Nan Nan’s departure had become a key.

  Before today, she didn’t know that these three grandchildren of hers were so fun and interesting.

  “I think this situation will change very soon.” Miao Jing spoke while drinking water as if implying something.

  Zhai Sheng, who was also amused, patted his daughter’s buttocks. “Nan Nan will be back soon?”

  “Nope.” Miao Jing shook her head. “Xiao Bao will usually come to our house and stay overnight for two days a week. If Xiao Bao comes and knows that his favorite auntie is away, I think he will have a more exaggerated reaction than the triplets. Nan Nan is simply the children’s queen in our family. She’s too popular with kids!”

  Er Bao swirled his eyeballs. Right, when Xiao Bao came and found out that their mother was away, he wondered what his reaction would be.

  What reaction?

  It was as if heaven and earth had collapsed!

  As soon as Xiao Bao, who was happily hopping around like a kangaroo, entered the Zhai family’s residence and found out that his auntie was away, the adults seemed to have witnessed the process of petrification on him at that instance.

  Miao Jing could not stop laughing at that badly stricken look of Xiao Bao; he could not recover his senses after a long time. He did not even snort or make any noise. On the contrary, Tian Dong felt embarrassed at his son’s reaction. His son liked Qiao Nan very much and often talked about Qiao Nan at home.

  Clearly, his teeth were not fully grown and he could not pronounce well. However, when he spoke the word ‘auntie’, the pronunciation was basically perfect. Even Tian Dong’s mother was becoming jealous.

  At the sight of his son’s reaction now, Tian Dong felt both embarrassed and amused. Tian Dong touched his son’s body. Sigh, upon his touch, his son fell to one side like a dough fritter. Dong was shocked, but with sharp eyes and agile hands, he managed to catch his son. He did not know whether to laugh or cry. “My mom is already very jealous when at home. If Hua Hua sees this, our family can sell vinegar soon.” And it was the kind of vinegar that could kill someone and yet not suffer any punishment.

  As he thought of his son’s ‘nothing else is meaningful now’ expression, Tian Dong could not help feeling a little jealous of Qiao Nan even though he was a grown-up man. Xiao Bao was someone with biological parents. Why was he so close with Qiao Nan, his auntie?

  He and Hua Hua spent very little time with Xiao Bao but neither did Qiao Nan. His retired parents should be the ones who spent the most time playing with and accompanying Xiao Bao, no?

  Sore at his son favoring an ‘outsider’ instead of someone on one’s own side, Tian Dong carried Xiao Bao and asked him, “You know that auntie is not at home now. She won’t be back tomorrow too. Are you going home with Dad, or do you wish to continue staying at maternal grandma’s house? If it is the latter, Dad will come and fetch you home tomorrow?”

  Without Qiao Nan, this temptation, Xiao Bao would most likely go home with him. If that was the case, his parents would be happy.

  Xiao Bao snorted. “Stay, stay here! Auntie!” Xiao Bao pointed at Qiao Nan’s photograph on the wall with his stubby fingers. Xiao Bao expressed that he would not be easily taken in. This was auntie’s house. There were her smell and many of her photographs. “Brother, sister.” In addition, there were three playmates that he could play with!

  Go home? What going home? Not going!The corners of Tian Dong’s lips twitched. So, although the person was not around, her photos and children could make up for it……”You’re really not going home with Dad?” Qiao Nan must be a reincarnation of some vixen. Look at how smitten his son was.

  Xiao Bao swiftly pushed Tian Dong’s hands away and ran over to the triplets. In his baby voice, he greeted ‘brother’ and ‘sister’ before joining their camp of ‘looking at the things, reminded of the owner’.

  Tian Dong looked at his son. Such a letdown! Zhai Sheng walked over and said something that pierced his heart. “Looking at Xiao Bao, I thought of you when you were a child. Although you were bullied by Zhai Hua, you would still follow her around thereafter and play with her.” One must know that there was a reason for Xiao Bao’s temperament and behavior; they were actually inherited.

  Shot by a few arrows, Tian Dong’s heart was in so much pain that he could not recover. “Don’t say this anymore in the future.” Tian Dong looked guiltily at the four children who cuddled together. “Especially in front of Xiao Bao.” A father must have a father’s dignity.

  Zhai Sheng laughed. He did not reply, but he also did not reject him clearly.

  Looking at Zhai Sheng’s response, Tian Dong understood his intent. If Zhai Sheng was in a good mood, he would definitely not expose his shortcomings in front of the children and let Xiao Bao know his embarrassing childhood matters. On the other hand, if Zhai Sheng was in a bad mood, what happened earlier might repeat. Zhai Sheng would mention his childhood embarrassing matters to train the functionality of his heart and lungs.

  Tian Dong could not do anything about Zhai Sheng’s threat. Tian Dong was older than Zhai Hua by a few months. Hence, he was just older than Zhai Sheng for more than one year but less than two years.