Chu Xia woke up early in the morning to find that breakfast had already been bought, and the herbal medicine was simmering on the stove.

Cen Zhengnian was watching the stove, and when he saw her get up, he smiled at her and said, “You’re up. Breakfast is ready.”

He had even prepared hot water, which was ready to be poured out and used.

The comfort of being cared for was undeniable.

Chu Xia noticed the dark circles under his eyes as she washed up and asked, “What time did you get up? Didn’t sleep well last night?”

“Six o’clock. No, I slept well,” Cen Zhengnian replied truthfully.

His biological clock naturally woke him up at that time, and he had slept well through the night, though he had gone to bed late.

Some work-related data still needed to be calculated, even after he returned home.

He wanted to spend more time with Chu Xia and An An, so he waited until they were both asleep before getting up to work, staying up until late into the night.

When he finally returned to bed, he found his wife sprawled across most of it, with one arm draped over An An.

Looking at Chu Xia and An An sleeping soundly, a warm feeling surged in his heart.

This was the purpose of his work—to ensure that every family in the country could sleep peacefully and happily every night.

Gently, Cen Zhengnian moved Chu Xia’s arm back under the blanket, tucked An An in, and then lay down himself.

He turned on his side, watching them as he slowly drifted off to sleep, deeply content.

He had a pleasant dream, though he couldn’t recall it upon waking.

Chu Xia still went to her exam at Ninth High School by herself, opting not to ride her bicycle.

Taking the bus was faster and more comfortable; riding a bicycle in the chilly morning wind was far less appealing.

During the exam, Luo Xiaomei didn’t try to cause any trouble, even avoiding Chu Xia altogether.

Luo Xiaomei’s face was bruised and swollen from the family fight the day before, and she was afraid of others noticing, so she wrapped herself up tightly with a scarf, leaving only her eyes visible, making her look even more peculiar.

Chu Xia didn’t pay her any mind, and Luo Xiaomei didn’t dare approach her either.

This time, Chu Xia didn’t hand in her test early.

Even if she did, she wouldn’t be able to leave the school.

Her homeroom teacher had told her in advance that there was something planned after the exam, so she was to wait in the classroom.

This was the first time Chu Xia had entered Class 3 of the second year.

The students there didn’t recognize her, and seeing such a beautiful girl walk in, everyone in the classroom turned to look.

“Who is she?”

“Don’t know.”

“She doesn’t look like a student. Maybe she’s here to find someone.”

“Excuse me, who are you looking for?”

After a few seconds, the class monitor stood up, trying to maintain a calm demeanor, but his face turned slightly red as he asked Chu Xia.

He had never spoken to such a beautiful girl before.

Chu Xia looked at the class monitor and said, “I’m not looking for anyone. I’m a student in this class too.”

She then walked to the back row, where she saw an empty seat without any books on it, and asked the class monitor, “Is this seat taken?”

“N-no, it’s not. You can sit there,” the class monitor replied hurriedly, still processing what she had said.

“Thank you.” Chu Xia smiled politely at him, wiped the desk and chair with a handkerchief, and took out the exercise book that Cen Zhengnian had written for her, focusing on her work.

She didn’t notice that the entire Class 3 was buzzing with excitement because of her arrival.

It was as if a drop of water had fallen into hot oil, causing a sizzling commotion, yet she remained undisturbed, quietly immersed in her work.

As Chu Xia concentrated on her exercises, the other students, despite their curiosity, were too shy to interrupt her.

They could only glance in her direction frequently.

Some students in Class 3 then remembered that their homeroom teacher had mentioned a transfer student joining their class, though not attending regular classes with them.

No one had paid much attention at the time, being too focused on their studies.

Now, seeing her in person, they were surprised by how beautiful the transfer student was.

She resembled Lin Daiyu from Dream of the Red Chamber—delicate and graceful, yet with a hint of resilience in her expression.

Her demeanor was also unlike someone from a modest background.

However, the homeroom teacher soon came in, calming down the students’ curiosity and restlessness.

She glanced to the back and saw Chu Xia sitting obediently in the last row, working on some problems, and her eyes showed satisfaction.

She did not introduce Chu Xia but instead focused on the upcoming tasks.

The main thing was to assign homework.

The National Day holiday was two days long, and since it was a statutory holiday, the students would also have a break.

Naturally, there would be homework to complete.

The homeroom teacher didn’t let Chu Xia leave because she wanted her to take the test papers home.

In addition to the holiday test papers, there were also papers from previous assignments that needed to be done.

There would be no classes in the afternoon to make it easier for students who lived far away to catch a bus home.

After making these announcements in the class, the homeroom teacher called Chu Xia to her office.

“The papers haven’t been graded yet, but I saw you working on the physics paper, and you didn’t do well, especially on some knowledge points about force. This is your weak area.”

The exam invigilators were changed for each session, but the homeroom teacher had specifically switched to her exam room during the physics test to see how she was doing.

Sure enough, an experienced teacher could spot the problem at a glance.

Chu Xia nodded, “I admit that I haven’t mastered that part well.”

The homeroom teacher frowned. “Then why don’t you come to school for classes?”

The homeroom teacher was a good teacher, and her words were for the student’s benefit.

Chu Xia appreciated her kindness but had no choice but to refuse again.

“Teacher, I have a job and a child; it’s really not possible for me. You can wait to see my grades; I’m not just trying to show off.”

The homeroom teacher knew this but was unwilling to give up and thought she would try to persuade her again, even though she didn’t expect to succeed.

“These are the assignments left by teachers of each subject. You must not slack off in your studies at home. It would be best if you came to school once a week to hand in the assignments, so the teachers can correct them for you.”

“Okay.” Chu Xia had no objection to this.

The factory had a uniform rest day on Sundays, so she could come over then.

However, she was unsure whether the school would also be on break at that time, so she asked the homeroom teacher directly.

“Our school has a break every two weeks. If the school is on break when you come, you can leave your papers with the security guard, and I’ll get them when I come in to teach.”

After sorting everything out with the homeroom teacher, Chu Xia came out carrying a school bag filled with test papers for each subject.

All of them were mimeographed, exuding a strong scent of ink and representing the teachers’ hard work, making them quite precious.

In the morning, after visiting Director Zhang, Cen Zhengnian came to the gate of No. 9 Middle School as usual to pick up Chu Xia, riding the bicycle she had reclaimed.

As soon as he saw her, he took the heavy school bag from her hands and slung it over his shoulder without feeling awkward at all.

Actually, compared to the hard seat of the bicycle, Chu Xia preferred to take the bus.

However, Cen Zhengnian had clearly considered this and had tied a cushion to the back seat of the bike, making it much more comfortable to sit on.

“I told you I could get home by myself; why did you come again?”

Riding the bike, Cen Zhengnian’s gentle voice mingled with the sound of the wind, “I wanted to come and pick you up. I don’t know how long I’ll be home, so while I am here, I want to do as much as I can.”

The wind created by the ride blew through Chu Xia’s hair, and sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the two of them.

Chu Xia held onto the bike seat with one hand, looking at Cen Zhengnian’s broad, strong back.

With the motion of riding, she could faintly see the firm lines underneath, and a thought suddenly arose in her mind: if life continued like this, it wouldn’t be so bad.

Suddenly, the bike seemed to run over a small stone, causing Chu Xia to wobble at the back.

Startled, she instinctively wrapped her arms around Cen Zhengnian’s waist.

Once she steadied herself, she realized she had hugged Cen Zhengnian.

Feeling as if her hands had been scalded, she quickly pulled them back.

Cen Zhengnian chuckled softly and suddenly grabbed her hand, placing it back around his waist.

Chu Xia frowned and tried to pull her hand away, but then heard Cen Zhengnian say seriously, “Hold on tight, we’re going downhill.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the bike started descending, and the wind rushed against them, making her heart skip a beat.

Without needing further prompting, she clung tightly to his waist, finding the position unexpectedly comfortable.

For the remainder of the ride, Chu Xia didn’t let go of Cen Zhengnian, worried about encountering another sudden situation.

Cen Zhengnian glanced down at her hand, a gentle smile on his face, but he said nothing.

When they arrived home, Chu Xia immediately let go and jumped off the bike, urging him, “Give me the backpack. You should go pick up An An.”

She avoided making eye contact with him.

Cen Zhengnian, noticing her demeanor, smiled to himself but didn’t say anything.

Instead, he handed her the backpack and simply said, “I bought some groceries today. Check if I got everything right.”

With that, he got back on the bike and rode off.

Chu Xia exhaled in relief and went inside to see what he had bought.

There were six live crucian carp swimming in a basin, along with tofu, spinach, and some other everyday ingredients.

Chu Xia put down the bag and examined the groceries more closely.

They were fine—he had clearly put some thought into selecting them, though it was evident he chose them based on appearance alone, a giveaway that he wasn’t accustomed to buying groceries regularly.

Still, it was acceptable.

The spinach could be trimmed of any wilted leaves, and as long as the fish were fresh, that was the most important thing.

The taste of unfresh fish would be noticeably worse.

Fortunately, the six crucian carp were indeed fresh, though he had bought too many.

It would be impossible to finish them all in one meal, or even in a day.

With the tofu on hand, Chu Xia didn’t overthink the meal and decided to make crucian carp tofu soup, adding some spinach at the end to enhance the flavor.

She also prepared braised eggplant and reheated a few steamed buns, completing their lunch for the day.

Just as the meal was ready, Cen Zhengnian and An An returned home.

The crucian carp tofu soup was savory, and the braised eggplant was fragrant.

Both Cen Zhengnian and An An ate heartily, barely looking up from their plates.

Chu Xia noticed that both of them seemed to have a sweet tooth; the braised eggplant she had added sugar to was what they devoured the most.

In the afternoon, after An An went back to school, Chu Xia and Cen Zhengnian each took a spot at the table—she worked on her exercises, while he was busy writing something.

But whenever Chu Xia encountered a difficult problem, all she had to do was ask, and Cen Zhengnian would immediately set down his pen and come over to help her.

It wasn’t unexpected that the Luo family would come looking for her; Luo Xiaomei had seen Cen Zhengnian picking her up.

They had lost their connection with the factory secretary and now sought to latch onto Cen Zhengnian, who had returned.

Aside from Luo Xiaomei’s eldest brother’s family, the others—Luo Dafu, Wang Yulan, Luo Xiaomei, and Luo Chuming—had all come.

Luo Dafu, putting on the airs of a father-in-law, said, “Zhengnian, how could you come back without visiting your in-laws? Have you forgotten the most basic manners after working for a few years?”

Upon hearing this, Chu Xia slammed her pen onto the table, about to speak up when Cen Zhengnian’s cold voice cut in, “I haven’t forgotten. I just don’t want to go.”

Luo Dafu’s face turned red and white as he glared at Cen Zhengnian. “You think you’re something now, don’t you? Even your father wouldn’t speak to me like that! Do you know that if it weren’t for me, your father would be dead by now!”

Chu Xia frowned and walked over, pushing Cen Zhengnian aside. “This is between me and them. You go inside.”

Cen Zhengnian didn’t move, instead shielding Chu Xia behind him as he firmly said, “Your business is my business.”

He faced Luo Dafu directly. “My father and I have not forgotten the life-saving grace you extended. You’ve taken everything my father could give. But that has nothing to do with Chu Xia or An An. You can ask us to repay you, and we have no objections, but it doesn’t give you the right to torment Chu Xia and An An.”