Since Qiao Jiusheng and Beauty Wu were hanging out together, Fang Yusheng naturally could not be a third wheel. Besides, he was always pestering Qiao Jiusheng, so Fang Yusheng was worried that he would be despised. After thinking about it, he got up and said to Auntie Jin, “I’ll bring the children to Binjiang River Beach. I won’t be back for lunch. Give Ah Sheng a call. If she doesn’t come back for lunch, there’s no need to prepare our lunch.”


  “Okay.”


  After Aunt Jin answered, she walked to the side room and picked up the landline to call Qiao Jiusheng.

  Qiao Jiusheng also said that she was not coming back for lunch.

  Fang Yusheng heard it too. He did not say anything and returned to his room to change into a set of casual clothes. He took his car keys and left with his wallet.

  He drove the Cayenne. Fang Yusheng parked the car at the entrance of Mansion Number 7 and rang the doorbell. A middle-aged man in a gray suit walked out. This was Dongli Ao’s butler. Dongli Ao and the butler were the only ones living in this house.

  Seeing that it was Fang Yusheng, the butler was a little surprised. “Mr. Fang, are you here to pick up the children?”


  Fang Yusheng looked into the house and asked, “Are they all here?”


  “Ok.”


  Without waiting for the butler’s invitation, Fang Yusheng walked into the room. The butler had taken good care of the house. The environment was still beautiful, and the green plants in the courtyard were neatly trimmed. Dongli Shenghua had found a good butler for his son.

  The moment he entered the house, Fang Yusheng saw his two children.

  Fang Zikai was playing with the Dongli Ao family’s building blocks while Dongli Ao was doing his homework. Fang Zicheng sat on the carpet beside him, holding Dongli Ao’s textbook in his hand. Every time Fang Zicheng came to Dongli Ao’s place, he would borrow his past textbooks to read. He read the fourth grade textbooks and those from the first grade.

  He read them himself and learned almost everything.

  Occasionally, Dongli Ao would encounter Mathematical Olympiad questions that he did not understand and had to ask Fang Zicheng. Hence, the two little friends, who were more than five years apart in age, had an especially good time. On the other hand, Fang Zikai was like an isolated fool playing with building blocks alone.

  The long shadow started from the door and extended into the house, landing on the top of Dongli Ao’s head. Dongli Ao stared at the shadow on the exercise book, put down his pen, and looked up at Fang Yusheng. He called out, “Uncle Fang.”


  Dongli Ao admired Fang Zicheng from the bottom of his heart. Hence, when he saw Fang Yusheng, he was very respectful.

  How could Uncle Fang be an ordinary person if he could give birth to a strange creature like Fang Zicheng?

  Fang Yusheng nodded. Seeing that the three children were looking at him, his heart skipped a beat.

  Fang Zicheng closed the book and asked Fang Yusheng, “Dad, are you here to pick us up and bring us home?” Just as he was about to get up, he heard Fang Yusheng say, “I’ll bring you to Binjiang River Beach to play. Do you want to go?” Binjiang City was far away from the sea. There was only one Binjiang River in the city. There was a river segment in the middle of Binjiang City and Wei’an County in China. In the middle of the river was a river bank more than 2,000 meters long.

  The river and sand there were smooth and the terrain was flat, making it look a little like a beach.

  When Fang Yusheng and Qiao Jiusheng took their wedding photo, it was inconvenient for Qiao Jiusheng to run around because she was pregnant, so she went nearby to take a look. She had not been there for a while, and the weather happened to be warming up. It was neither cold nor hot, so today was suitable for her to play on the river bank.

  Upon hearing that he was going to play, Fang Zikai immediately threw away the building blocks and hurriedly replied, “Let’s go, go, go!”


  Fang Zicheng also wanted to go.

  Fang Yusheng suddenly asked Dongli Ao, “Do you want to join us?”


  Dongli Ao was a little surprised. He was a child too, so he naturally wanted to. He controlled his desires and asked politely, “Won’t I be a disruption if I go?” They were family. Why should he follow?

  Fang Yusheng smiled as he replied with intention. “I welcome all good children to be friends with our children.”


  Dongli Ao was stunned.

  Fang Yusheng believed that Dongli Ao understood what he meant.

  Dongli Ao’s gaze became firm. He said, “I’ll go too. Do you need to bring anything?”


  “No need.”


  Fang Yusheng bought some snacks at the supermarket and brought the three little fellows to the river bank. The weather was good today, and there were many people at the river bank. The road was filled with cars. Fortunately, the river bank was not by the county road but by a fork in the county road. Otherwise, with so many cars, it would hinder the traffic.

  On one side of the road was farmland, and on the other side was a slope with the Binjiang River below. The slope was not easy to walk on, and there were no stairs. Fang Yusheng carried a child in one hand and turned around to say to Dongli Ao, “Follow me.”


  This river bank was not a scenic area, and the government did not invest in trimming paths that were suitable for pedestrians to walk on.

  The river bank was in the middle of Binjiang River. They had to step on a messy stone road to cross the river. Before the two children crossed the river, Fang Yusheng pointed at the noticeboard at the side and told the three of them, “It’s written here that swimming and playing are prohibited. You can only play with sand later on and not go into the water.”


  Fang Zikai said, “It’s okay. If something really happens, Dad, you can save us.”


  Fang Yusheng slapped Fang Zikai. His face darkened and he said in a cold tone, “You’ve watched too much television, right? When people are drowning, they don’t know how to struggle at all. Often, they will sink straight down after drinking water.” He stared at the river in front of him and reminded the three of them, “Don’t go into the water. If you want to go into the water, I’ll bring you back now.”


  Fang Yusheng had to bring the children back intact.

  Seeing that his father was so serious, Fang Zikai did not dare to argue and could only agree. Dongli Ao and Fang Zicheng had always been very easygoing. They remembered Fang Yusheng’s reminders.

  They crossed the river by stepping on stones. When Fang Zikai saw someone selling plastic shovels, he pulled Fang Yusheng over to buy them. Fang Yusheng bought three directly, and the three children each took one. The three little fellows ran on the river bank for a long time. Fang Yusheng took off his shoes and stepped barefoot on the soft sand as he looked at them.

  He took out his phone and took a photo. He sent it to Qiao Jiusheng and sent a voice message: [I’m at Binjiang River Beach. I brought them out to play and I’m letting you know. Alright, let’s not talk anymore. I have to watch over them.] Fang Yusheng would not play with his phone in such a place.

  He had to watch the children lest they run into the water accidentally.

  The three little fellows were panting from running. Fang Zicheng stared at the thin gauze under his feet and gently scratched it with his toes. A few light traces appeared. Fang Zicheng suddenly thought of what Dr. Zhuo Yu had said. He hesitated for a moment before squatting down and drawing a small person on the ground with his fingers.

  He had a round little head, a round belly, two thin and long legs, a hand that was as thin as dry firewood, and five fingers of different lengths. What was seriously inconsistent with Fang Zicheng’s IQ was that his drawing skills were especially abstract.

  This person was himself.

  Fang Zicheng thought about it and drew another similar person at the side. This person was Fang Zikai.

  He stood up again and drew two bigger people.

  After drawing, Fang Zicheng stared at the picture and pondered for a long time before writing one word under the image—Family.