After chatting for a while, Bella finally remembered why she'd been summoned home.
"So where are we going on vacation? Did Charlie say?"
At the mention of this, Natasha looked deflated. "Guess."
"Spain?"
"You're dreaming."
"Venice, Italy then?"
"I need to remind you—our family is broke..."
Bella racked her brain. "Don't tell me it's somewhere like Yellowstone National Park?"
Natasha wore an expression that said I knew you couldn't guess. "I'll tell you—we're going to Washington D.C. this weekend! Charlie says it's one of the safest places in the world. An old friend of his helped submit the application. We registered a month ago, and Saturday morning we get to tour the White House."
Bella was speechless. A trip to Washington D.C. to visit the White House? That sounded incredibly boring. What was there to see at the White House?
It held no real appeal for her, and certainly no religious significance. In her opinion, the whole family going hunting would be more fun.
But Charlie was old-fashioned like that, with old-fashioned ideas. Since he'd been planning this for a month, suddenly trashing the plan would be hurtful.
"Fine, let's go. I've never been to the White House anyway."
The itinerary was cheerfully settled. Honestly, none of the four family members had ever been to Washington D.C.
Charlie and Samantha were the type who'd spent their entire lives in small towns. There was mutual disdain between America's small towns and big cities—one side claiming "our towns have the air of freedom," the other boasting "you hicks can't even imagine the prosperity of our cities."
Now that they'd become "city folk," naturally they needed to shift their stance accordingly.
As for Bella and Natasha, they simply had never been. Why would they go there for no reason?
Many things in this world developed differently from what Bella remembered. At least the current Black president in the White House wasn't anyone who appeared in her memories.
That Black president was actively engaging in dialogue with Iran, and the outside world was extremely optimistic about future relations between the two countries. Bella wasn't even sure whether events like 9/11 would still happen in this timeline.
As for other changes, she had no idea. In both her past and present life, she wasn't a politician and had no desire to get involved in politics.
The family of four was no different from ordinary tourists. Carrying their luggage, they arrived in Washington D.C. early Friday morning, rested through the morning, and went out sightseeing in the afternoon.
True to his old-fashioned nature, Charlie bought the all-access pass—nine dollars per person—and led them on a tour of the World War II Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, and a whole series of structures that were particularly prone to being blown up in films and TV shows.
Bella wore an oversized Lakers T-shirt, frayed denim shorts, and sandals.
A baseball cap covered a third of her face. Her delicate chin tilted up slightly as she lightly patted the little beauty's shoulder. Without a gun on her, Natasha felt uneasy. Her cheeks puffed out as her bright, alert eyes continuously scanned the surrounding tourists, as if afraid someone might pull out a firearm and spray the crowd.
"Relax. Washington's safe," Bella whispered to her adoptive sister.
Maybe it was safe before, but now that our whole family is here, it might not be! Especially you! Natasha looked into Bella's eyes without speaking. Sometimes silence spoke louder than words.
Do you have no self-awareness?
Bella glanced toward Charlie and Samantha. The old couple was taking photos. To prove her innocence, she whispered back, "Look, I went to New York twice! Twice! Nothing happened! In fact, I made good money and made plenty of friends. Doesn't that prove something?"
The little beauty pursed her lips haughtily. "I haven't had any problems going out recently either. I lived just fine for eighteen years before I met you, and only after meeting you did all sorts of bad luck start happening..."
"Hmph!"
"Hmph!"
The two glared at each other, each convinced the other had cursed them...
The family of four focused their tour on the Washington Monument. Bella was also curious to see the inscription that read: "Washington, a remarkable man. He began his campaign with courage surpassing Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, his dominion rivaling Cao Cao and Liu Bei. Having already raised his sword, he opened up ten thousand miles of territory..."
The only pity was that she couldn't see any record of the cherry tree axe incident on site.
The Lincoln Memorial was also a key area of their tour. Bella had her family take several photos with her—she was afraid that in a few years, the memorial might not survive. In a world with aliens, supervillans, and reality-warping catastrophes, even iconic monuments weren't safe. Better grab some photos while she could.
After resting overnight, the family of four arrived promptly at the White House gates early the next morning.
Having made reservations a month in advance, the security screening was extremely strict. Forget handguns and silencers—they wouldn't even let tourists bring in a small knife.
The family joined the tour group, honestly submitted to the inspection, and followed the group toward the designated visitor areas.
The White House tour guide was a young man. Once they joined the group, he began talking endlessly about the White House's history.
"Hello everyone, I'm Donnie. Welcome to the White House. Today I'll be telling you about the history of this place. Every year we host over a million visitors from around the world..."
The group was quite diverse—families with young children, solo travelers, elementary school students in uniforms, a girl who looked about ten years old, and two young people who seemed to be writing some gossip piece, constantly asking about the secret passage where Kennedy met Marilyn Monroe.
The tour guide seemed to genuinely love his job. Even when several questions made him uncomfortable, he maintained a smile while explaining.
He worked hard to energize the group, occasionally using exaggerated gestures to engage nearby tourists.
"Ma'am, where are you from?"
"Virginia."
"And why did you come to tour the White House?"
"Just bored, really."
The young guide's enthusiasm was doused with cold water, but he didn't seem to mind. He asked several more tourists, and soon the questions came to Bella.
She was simply too dazzling, too beautiful to ignore. To avoid seeming abrupt, the young guide asked a few others first before casually making his way to her.
"Where are you from, young lady?"
"San Francisco, Stanford."
"Wow, a top student!"
"So why did you come to tour the White House?"
Can I say I was forced to come? Bella smiled kindly. "I'm collecting material for my new book."
The young guide was himself quite literary—science majors wouldn't take this job. Hearing the words "new book," he felt he'd found common ground, his interest perking up considerably.