This was Jiang Nan Fang's first opportunity to participate in Rui Rui and Ge Er's parent-child activities.
Although she no longer wished to appear with Zhan Bei Jue, she ultimately agreed for the sake of the children.
The next morning, Zhan Bei Jue drove himself.
Seeing that Mommy and Jing Yu, Jing Tian had not left but had actually appeared before them, Rui Rui and Ge Er were overjoyed.
They had a daddy and mommy too!
Daddy and Mommy were so handsome and beautiful, far more so than others, which made them incredibly proud!
The coach had organized a grand event.
Dozens of students, with all their parents present.
They sat on the lawn decorated with childlike charm. The coach gave an opening speech and then announced the game rules.
The activities officially began.
The first item was the children's performance.
Watching her son and daughter in camouflage uniforms happily singing and dancing on stage, Jiang Nan Fang felt a mix of sadness and sweetness, unable to hold back tears multiple times.
To capture the beautiful moments, she could only keep taking photos of them with her phone.
After several performances showcasing their learning achievements, it was time for warm-up exercises.
The first game was "Same Hands, Same Feet."
Parents and children would appear together, their feet tied together, and start from the starting line simultaneously. Whichever family reached the finish line first won.
Jing Yu and Jing Tian could not participate in the activities, but they were quite excited to see their daddy and mommy standing together in matching colored clothes.
Holding balloons, they continuously cheered, "Go! Go! Our family is the best, Daddy and Mommy, go!"
Zhan Bei Jue bent down to tie the ropes for everyone personally.
As he tied them, Rui Rui told him.
"Don't go too fast for Daddy later. I've studied the secret to winning this game."
"As long as we keep our steps in sync and no one falls, we'll reach the finish line quickly. Trust me."
This was also the first parent-child activity Zhan Bei Jue had personally participated in since the children were five years old.
Seeing the usually reserved Rui Rui so happy, he was also very pleased.
"Okay. This is your show today, I'll listen to you. Whatever you say, Daddy will do."
With the signal, Zhan Bei Jue and Jiang Nan Fang stood on either side, with the two children in the middle. The four of them, legs together, hands clasped, walked forward in unison.
As Rui Rui had said, they didn't fall and were the first to reach the finish line.
They earned ten points for the family right from the start, making Ge Er incredibly happy.
She hugged Zhan Bei Jue's neck and kissed him, then kissed Jiang Nan Fang.
"With Daddy and Mommy accompanying me, I'm so happy. Can we participate in such activities every year from now on?"
After the warm-up, the next activity was a quieter one: Pictionary.
As soon as the coach announced the rules, Rui Rui ran out to strategize.
"Mommy is better at drawing, isn't she? Let her draw, and the three of us guess. With our intelligence, we'll definitely win this round!"
The assistant brought out the topic board.
The Zhan family went up first. Jiang Nan Fang looked at the first question, which had only four characters: "Xiang Qin Xiang Ai" (Loving each other).
After thinking for a moment, she quickly drew a picture on the paper of four elephants, sitting together harmoniously and smiling.
Before Ge Er could even stand up to answer, Zhan Bei Jue blurted out, "Xiang Qin Xiang Ai."
"...Daddy, how did you know it was 'loving each other'?" Ge Er disagreed with him. "This clearly depicts a family of four!"
"Mommy secretly gave a hint. Look, aren't those four elephants?"
Rui Rui pulled his sister to sit aside, then pushed Zhan Bei Jue forward.
"Daddy, you answer. Ge Er, don't talk. Hurry, make good use of the time!"
Jiang Nan Fang and Zhan Bei Jue cooperated perfectly. They answered twelve questions correctly in two minutes, successfully securing first place in this event as well.
All the children looked at Rui Rui and Ge Er with envious eyes.
The expressions on the two children's faces were incredibly proud.
Next, there was a family relay race, a live cooking demonstration, and a tug-of-war competition.
The happy day quickly passed.
Zhan Bei Jue and Jiang Nan Fang consistently performed outstandingly and, as expected, won first place.
There was another day of activities tomorrow. The coach announced that today's events were concluded.
Everyone was to stay in the arranged homestays to rest and experience life before continuing tomorrow.
The children, like treasure hunters, used the map given by the coach and successfully found the family they would be staying with that night.
It was an extremely simple rural house.
The room had only two wooden plank beds and no electronic facilities.
The kitchen was next door, and it was still a traditional stove that required burning firewood.
They had only seen such houses in documentaries before. This was their first time seeing one in person, yet the children did not complain; instead, they seemed very happy.
"So, can we start a fire and cook our own meal today?"
"I saw on TV that people made beggar's chicken and roasted sweet potatoes and corn in the fire. Mommy, can we try roasting something ourselves?"
Jiang Nan Fang said yes.
"Since you want to do it so much, the dinner tonight is up to you."
The children were overjoyed. They took the ingredients assigned to them by the coach and happily went into the kitchen.
Jiang Nan Fang stayed by their side to guide them in cooking, while Zhan Bei Jue went to investigate the bathroom, which was his primary concern.
The entire floor had only one public bathroom, located in a room in the middle of the corridor.
Inside, there was only a squat toilet and a showerhead.
The environment was extremely basic, but fortunately, it was relatively clean. They could manage to stay.
To ensure the children could come in to wash and rest properly after eating, Zhan Bei Jue, for the first time in his life, rolled up his sleeves and endured the unpleasantness.
He used water to flush the entire floor, sprayed disinfectant to sterilize it, and then went out.
The kitchen had no fan, let alone air conditioning.
After the effort of starting fires and cooking, everyone was covered in sweat.
Zhan Bei Jue entered the kitchen and saw Ge Er's wet hair sticking to her forehead, her small face smudged like a little cat.
He couldn't help but take out a tissue to wipe her face.
"Look at you, you were such a beautiful princess, and now you've made yourself into a little cat. Don't move, Daddy will wipe it for you."
Seeing him looking at Ge Er with such affection, Tian Tian felt a pang of jealousy and ran over.
She showed her dirty hands to Zhan Bei Jue.
"What about me? What do I look like now, Daddy?"
Zhan Bei Jue looked at her, even dirtier than Ge Er, and smiled.
"You, you look like a little tiger."
With such a fiery and bold personality, he wondered what kind of person this girl would grow up to be.
Tian Tian was not satisfied with Daddy's description and pouted, saying,
"Why does Ge Er look like a kitty, and I look like a tiger? People say fierce women are tigresses, Daddy, are you scolding me!"
"How could I be. Whether it's a kitty or a tiger, they are both Daddy's children. How could I scold you?"
Zhan Bei Jue pinched her nose.
"This is a compliment. Not everyone can be a tiger. In Daddy's eyes, only Tian Tian is worthy."
Tian Tian was finally satisfied.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and sat on his lap, saying, "That's more like it. I love hearing Daddy praise me. Hurry and wipe me too."
Ge Er, not to be outdone, squeezed onto his other knee.
"Let's hug together. I am also Daddy's most beloved daughter!"