To everyone's surprise, the person who arrived was Huo Jing.
"Auntie, why are you here?"
Huo Jing was wearing a sporty outfit, her long hair tied up high, looking energetic and stylish.
"I heard your father wanted you to learn tennis, so I volunteered to be your coach."
Huo Jing walked over and pinched her little cheek. "Are you happy to see your auntie here?"
Huo Guining smiled, her big eyes curving into crescent moons.
"Yes, I'm happy!"
"Auntie, you know how to play tennis too?"
Huo Jing raised an eyebrow: "If I hadn't changed my path at the last minute, I would've definitely had a place in the tennis world."
Huo Guining gave her a thumbs up.
Huo Yueze nodded in agreement: "Auntie won third place in a youth tennis competition back then."
Huo Guining was shocked.
Huo Jing smiled gently: "Enough talk, let's start practicing!"
After warming up, Huo Guining realized just how amazing Huo Jing was.
Huo Guining and Huo Yueze both ran ten laps around the court, after which Huo Jing taught her the basic grip and how to receive serves.
Huo Yueze acted as Huo Guining's practice partner, running back and forth on the court.
Every time Huo Guining missed the ball, Huo Jing would intentionally make her go pick it up.
Huo Guining didn't mind at all. With the dopamine flowing, even chasing after balls became a kind of fun.
Next, Huo Yueze got to witness just how competitive Huo Guining could be.
Although she was just a beginner, every swing of Huo Guining's racket was filled with determination to win.
Her demeanor was like that of a queen descending upon the court.
But...
"Guining, although tennis isn't a performance, you should try to control your expression a bit," Huo Jing suggested.
Huo Guining tilted her head in confusion.
Huo Jing imitated her, furrowing her brows and putting on a serious face.
"Like this..." Huo Jing pointed at her own face and said, "It's too fierce."
Huo Guining seemed to half-understand. She softened her expression but still maintained a stance ready for battle.
Huo Jing: ...
When Huo Xiaozheng arrived at the court, he saw Guining staring at the ball hit by Huo Yueze with a serious face from afar.
She quickly counterattacked with a forehand topspin, and then... missed!
But she wasn't frustrated at all. Instead, she happily ran to pick up the ball.
Huo Xiaozheng walked up to Huo Yueze and patted him on the shoulder.
Huo Yueze was startled: "Uncle?"
Huo Xiaozheng was wearing casual clothes, walking with elegant ease. He said to Huo Yueze, "Give me the racket."
Huo Yueze obediently did as told and walked to the side to stand next to Huo Jing.
"Guess if uncle will let Guining know the harshness of society," he said.
Huo Jing rolled her eyes at him: "Haven't you already shown Guining the harshness of society?"
Who plays so seriously against a 5-year-old girl?
Since Guining started playing, for a whole hour, she hadn't managed to return a single ball.
Huo Yueze scratched his head embarrassedly: "My little sister was so serious, I couldn't bring myself to..."
"Dad, why are you here?!"
After picking up the ball, Huo Guining saw that the person on the other side had changed to Huo Xiaozheng. Her face lit up with joy.
Huo Xiaozheng smiled and gestured for her to serve.
After learning for an afternoon, although Huo Guining couldn't return balls, her serve was already quite decent.
She took a deep breath, then suddenly tossed the ball up. Her racket quickly followed, hitting the tennis ball and sending it flying towards Huo Xiaozheng in a beautiful arc.
Huo Xiaozheng's wrist moved slightly, deftly turning the racket to redirect the ball onto a different trajectory.
Huo Jing smiled.
Huo Guining quickly counterattacked, taking a few small steps and hitting a backhand over the net.
Considering the huge difference in their strength, Huo Guining used a bit of strategy, deliberately lessening her force so that the ball would drop right after crossing the net.
Huo Xiaozheng couldn't reach it in time. In this round, Huo Guining won completely!
This made Huo Guining extremely happy. She immediately ran towards Huo Xiaozheng, hugging his leg and boasting: "I hit the ball! I hit the ball!"
Huo Xiaozheng picked her up with one arm, praising her with a smile: "You have a strong learning ability."
Sitting in Huo Xiaozheng's arms, Huo Guining smiled shyly: "When I was playing with brother earlier, I couldn't hit a single one. This time it must have been luck."
Huo Xiaozheng discreetly glanced at Huo Yueze.
Huo Jing stepped forward: "How can you say it's luck? You deliberately reduced your strength just now so your dad couldn't reach it, didn't you?"
Huo Guining looked at Huo Jing with admiration in her eyes: "Auntie, how did you know?"
Huo Jing smiled without answering: "Your dad is right, you really do have a strong learning ability."
Huo Xiaozheng played with Huo Guining for a while longer. Seeing that it was getting dark, the group started heading home.
Huo Guining was being carried by Huo Xiaozheng. She rested her head on his shoulder with her eyes closed, looking as if she had fallen asleep.
"Guining really likes it when you play with her," Huo Jing remarked.
Huo Jing noticed that ever since Huo Xiaozheng arrived, although Guining's expression remained fierce, her whole demeanor had relaxed considerably.
Huo Xiaozheng spoke softly: "Is that so?"
Huo Jing: "Mm-hmm. Although it might not be very realistic, if you have time, you should try to spend more time with her."
"I read from an expert that if children have enough sense of security, their physical health will improve as well."
Huo Yueze was puzzled: "What expert? How did it turn into talking about mysticism?"
Huo Jing raised her hand and gave him a flick on the forehead.
Huo Yueze pouted pitifully.
Huo Xiaozheng wrapped Huo Guining's down jacket tighter around her, his voice very soft: "I understand."
Huo Jing's eyes lit up: "Oh right! There's a parent-child travel reality show recently. You could go with Guining!"
Huo Xiaozheng immediately refused.
Huo Jing thought for a moment: "The biggest gap between you and Guining comes from the fact that you haven't lived together."
"Currently, all of Guining's daily needs are well taken care of, with people looking after her."
"But that's precisely the problem!"
"If you don't personally take care of things, how can you become as close as father and daughter should be..."
Huo Xiaozheng frowned: "We are already father and daughter."
Huo Jing stomped her foot: "Aiya, you know what I mean!"
Huo Yueze immediately raised his hand: "I'll do it, I can take Guining..."
Huo Jing snorted coldly: "A child taking care of a child? How could you even think of that!"
Huo Jing earnestly advised: "Guining will definitely go to school in the future. She will have to face those gossips someday."
"Instead of that, why don't you accompany her on the reality show, let everyone see what a kind child Guining is."
"If the audience is really blind, then you can invest more money."
"As long as you have enough money, you don't have to worry about not being able to turn public opinion around."
Huo Yueze was dumbfounded.
Is the entertainment industry so blatant about these things now?
Huo Jing belatedly spat twice: "That's not what I meant, but brother, you should understand my meaning, right?"
Ever since learning the truth about Guining's repeated hospitalizations from Shen Shiyan, Huo Jing had felt very sympathetic towards Huo Guining.
Also, because of her past hostility, she wanted to make some amends.
Huo Guining mumbled a bit and changed her position to continue sleeping.
Huo Xiaozheng remembered the scene of her running towards him, and his eyes softened.
"I'll think about it."
Huo Jing's face lit up with joy.