Summer vacation arrived.
The children, who hadn't gone out with their mother for a long time, longed to see the underwater world.
Jiang Nan Fang researched and found an aquarium in Shangcheng that perfectly matched their expectations. They all took a plane to Shangcheng.
On the plane, Ge'er and Tian Tian's beautiful and cute appearance attracted the attention of all passengers, who eagerly greeted them.
Overjoyed, Ge'er accidentally knocked over the juice in her hand.
Her pure white dress was instantly stained with orange-yellow.
The flight attendant offered to take Ge'er to the restroom to clean it, but Jiang Nan Fang said it wasn't necessary; they could change clothes after the plane landed.
A cotton dress stained with juice would definitely not wash clean, so they might as well discard this one.
Upon landing at the airport, Tian Tian wanted to stay with her mother.
Jiang Nan Fang instructed the two boys to wait by the restroom door, watch the luggage, and not wander off. They would return immediately after changing.
The two little ones sat on the luggage, bored, and took out their digital toys to play.
Rui Rui was watching an educational video and suddenly discovered something magical.
"Isn't it said that heat expands and cold contracts? Why did this person pour a cup of boiling water into a plastic bottle, and the bottle shrunk?"
He showed the video he was holding to Jing Yu.
Although they considered themselves knowledgeable, Jing Yu couldn't answer his question.
They watched the video again, and Jing Yu reminded him.
"If all else fails, ask Baidu. I don't know why either."
The two clean and refined little boys were about to switch to Baidu.
Suddenly, a pair of dull, large feet appeared in their vision.
"Plastic bottles contain polyethylene and polypropylene. Their component materials are high molecular materials in a stretched state."
When exposed to boiling water above 80 degrees Celsius, they soften, lose their structural support, and the molecules, under stress, cancel out, causing them to shrink."
A man suddenly provided them with an answer instead of Baidu.
Not only was it a man's voice, but it was also a very familiar man's voice.
They quickly looked up, their faces turning towards the person in front of them simultaneously.
He had long hair, a scruffy beard, and wore sunglasses, obscuring his features.
On such a hot day, he wore a rumpled black windbreaker.
He looked nothing like Daddy, not even remotely similar.
But that voice!
They immediately thought of Zhan Bei Jue at the same time.
"Daddy, is that you? Are you back?"
"You're finally back, Daddy, we missed you so much!"
That's right, Zhan Bei Jue was back.
He was going to participate in a chase game show introduced in Shangcheng, carrying a worn-out duffel bag.
But at this moment, he didn't recognize his children.
He had just come to use the restroom, saw the two little ones pondering a question beyond their knowledge, and instinctively answered them.
He didn't expect that his answer would lead to trouble.
The two hugged his legs and called him Daddy.
Zhan Bei Jue didn't squat down. He first reached up to push his glasses up and then pushed them away from his legs, saying expressionlessly.
"Little friends, you can say anything, but you can't recognize anyone as your father. You can't even tell what your own father looks like?"
He spoke fluent English, without any accent.
Rui Rui and Jing Yu, seeing him reject them, exchanged glances and were confused at the same time.
What was going on?
His voice sounded exactly like Daddy's, but he wasn't Daddy?
Could there really be two people in the world with such similar voices?
After speaking, Zhan Bei Jue went into the restroom with his luggage.
They looked at the entrance of the women's restroom, hoping Jiang Nan Fang would come out quickly.
However, before Jiang Nan Fang came out, Zhan Bei Jue emerged first.
Without paying attention to the children's gazes fixed on him, he strode away with his luggage.
As his figure grew further away and disappeared at the lobby entrance, Jiang Nan Fang finally emerged with her two daughters.
"Why did it take so long? Mommy, we think we just saw Daddy!"
"What?"
Caught off guard by this statement, Jiang Nan Fang's hair almost stood on end.
"Really? Where? Where is he now? Where did he go?"
"He just looked very similar, but it wasn't him. His voice sounded a lot like Daddy's. Mommy, do you think there are really two people in the world with identical voices?"
"Mommy, we miss Daddy so much, when will he come back?"
Jiang Nan Fang anxiously scanned her surroundings. She also missed Zhan Bei Jue dearly and wouldn't miss even a hint of resemblance to him.
"Do you really think that person looked a lot like Daddy? Where did he go?"
Rui Rui pointed in the direction of the exit.
"Let's go and see!"
Jiang Nan Fang pulled Ge'er and Tian Tian, instructed the two boys to lead the way, and the five of them rushed to the lobby entrance.
A taxi had just arrived. Zhan Bei Jue negotiated the fare and opened the door to get in.
Not seeing his full face clearly, as he bent down to enter the car, Jiang Nan Fang saw his full beard and the tattered luggage bag.
She was instantly disappointed.
He looked nothing like Zhan Bei Jue.
He was a person with severe洁癖 (germophobia), who, no matter when, even when drunk, would not allow his appearance to be even slightly messy.
But the man in front of her looked like a homeless person, completely unkempt.
How could he resemble him?
Jiang Nan Fang sighed and stopped.
She comforted the children and herself.
"Daddy will come back when the time is right, don't miss him too much."
"Let's go, aren't we going to the aquarium? We'll go to the hotel to drop off our luggage first, and then we'll go right away."
The mother and sons spent time at the aquarium, while Zhan Bei Jue went to a budget hotel.
When the boxing gym owner sold the copyright, he had informed the investors in Shangcheng to guarantee a spot for one contestant.
Zhan Bei Jue needed to register his details with the program team.
The hotel had been booked in advance by the investors, and he went straight in with his room card.
After putting down his luggage and resting for a while, he took a taxi to the television station.
Jiang Nan Fang continued to play with the children until past three in the afternoon before leaving the aquarium.
After being excited for half the day, the sudden relaxation made the children tired, and they were drowsy on the way back to the hotel.
Jiang Nan Fang told them, "Go back to the hotel and sleep properly. Mommy has something to do and needs to go out for a while. I'll be back when you wake up, okay?"
Everyone knew that Jiang Nan Fang had a friend in Shangcheng named Ke Teng, who was hospitalized due to illness, and Mommy had always wanted to visit him.
Before coming to Shangcheng, she had made many preparations for this.
The children nodded in agreement.
After settling the children, Jiang Nan Fang also took a taxi directly to the television station.
This was because she had already inquired beforehand.
Ke Jing Yu's media company was currently preparing to develop a new variety show, and today was the day to sign a cooperation agreement with the television station.
Ke Jing Yu would be present in person.
She hadn't seen Ke Teng for a long time.
She didn't want to continue this ambiguous stalemate with Ke Jing Yu.
She wanted to approach him proactively and clarify things.