The day before departure, Fang You told Luo Xianyu and Xia Nuo about his upcoming adventure to catch a mythical creature, and the two little ones were thrilled. Early the next morning, they headed to Fang You's house to find him for playtime.
At that moment, Chen Xuan was just changing her shoes in the hallway, getting ready to head off to work when she heard the doorbell and directly opened the door.
"Good morning, Auntie Chen!"
"Chen, Auntie Chen..."
"Ah, Nuo Nuo and Ayu have come to play again!"
Chen Xuan patted the heads of Xia Nuo and Luo Xianyu, "You kids sure wake up early every day."
Xia Nuo, having been watched over as she grew up from a young age, remained as cheerful and lively as when she was little, always smiling, which in turn would brighten one's own mood whenever seen.
Compared with the outgoing Xia Nuo, Luo Xianyu came across a bit shy.
Her hand was always on her bag, as if hiding some secret within.
"Have you had breakfast? There's food at home... Uncle is still here, I'll have him get some for you later."
"We've eaten, eaten already! I always eat before leaving the house."
"I, I have too," Luo Xianyu chimed in softly.
"Alright, go on and find You You," Chen Xuan said with a smile, "He's still in his room."
"Then, we'll go on ahead!"
Since the start of the summer holiday after second grade, Nuo Nuo and Ayu no longer needed constant adult supervision and gained the right to move about freely.
They didn't need to be accompanied by family members anymore to come over for a visit.
And this also meant they began visiting even more frequently.
It almost felt like a second home to them.
Although she found it strange that her son didn't have any male friends,
...well, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
After all, both children were well-behaved angels, and playing with them felt reassuring.
Then
"Aren't you going to work today?"
"Hmm... Today I promised You You I'd accompany them to the sports park for a mountain hike."
Chen Xuan asked, puzzled, "But haven't you always disliked taking kids out to play before? Whenever Nuo Nuo's dad offered to help look after them, you'd hand them off right away."
If he neglected the rest required by growth in pursuit of progress, that would be putting the cart before the horse.
"Are you done yet..."
Fang You felt like a doll being dressed up by the girls, changing into many different outfits, with Xia Nuo and Luo Xianyu taking a long time to decide on today's look.
"Alright, this is the one!"
"You can tell at a glance that this is an outfit that will capture the mythical beast Paru."
Reflected in the mirror, Fang You wore a blue and white striped T-shirt and pure white shorts, clipped at the waist with a big smart genius watch, topped off with a Paru king badge sticker.
Of course, the most important piece was the soul-infusing baseball cap—
Great, it's a Trainer's outfit!
"Isn't this the same outfit I was originally going to wear?"
Fang You couldn't help but complain.
"It's different! That sticker is the one I brought."
Luo Xianyu pointed at the badge sticker on Fang You's hand, "This is the soul!"
"Ayu, do you have more stickers? Give me one too!"
"Yes, yes, I've brought three with me!"
Ayu gave Xia Nuo the same sticker, keeping one for herself. Uncle Fang was an adult and wouldn't want to play with this, so Luo Xianyu didn't prepare one for him.
At that moment, Xia Nuo suddenly realized something and looked at Luo Xianyu with curiosity:
"No wonder Ayu was so nervous when she came in. You were afraid of being seen by Aunt Chen playing with this, right?"
Luo Xianyu didn't deny it, nodded her head, and mumbled with her lips pouted, "Because, after all, playing with tattoos, is, is not a good thing..."
"There's nothing wrong with these tattoo stickers, they come off with a rub."
Fang You was unconcerned, "I played with them when I was little, they're old news."
"When you were little, you played with them? How come I didn't know?"
Xia Nuo cocked her head, expressing confusion, almost leaning into Fang You's face, only to be pushed away by him.
"Enough, don't ask so many questions, it's time to capture Thunder Emperor Jex."
"Let's go, go, go!"
Thus, with Fang Guanghui leading the way, the trio commenced their operation to capture the mythical beast, Thunder Emperor Jex!