On September 1st, Cen Huai’an reported for school.

He no longer needed to attend kindergarten and went straight to the first grade at the Research Institute’s affiliated elementary school.

When Chuxia took him to pay the tuition, the enrollment process was very simple because Cen Huai’an was the child of a researcher at the institute.

The affiliated elementary school was established to facilitate the schooling of researchers’ children, so there were no hurdles.

First grade covered more material, but Cen Huai’an was already familiar with most of it.

He had mastered the pinyin taught by the teacher long ago.

On the first day, when Cen Huai’an returned home and flipped through his books, he said to Chuxia, “Mom, the first-grade content is really simple.”

Chuxia noticed that Cen Huai’an seemed uninterested in first grade.

She had always known that An’an was a prodigy and enjoyed more challenging activities, such as Go, Sudoku, Chess and difficult math problems.

If Cen Huai’an were older, Chuxia would consider having him skip a grade.

But since he was already starting school earlier than other children, skipping a grade would mean he would have no peers his age, and Chuxia didn’t want An’an to struggle with making friends due to his young age.

“How are your classmates in your class?” Chuxia asked.

Cen Huai’an thought for a moment and replied, “They seem a bit older than when we were in kindergarten, but some still cry.”

Not only were there those who cried, but there were also students who didn’t pay attention in class and wandered around the school, and some didn’t even know how to use the bathroom.

Every day before each class, the teacher would go out to catch students who were not in class.

Chuxia said while adjusting the book cover on Cen Huai’an’s backpack, “You are only six years old now. If you skip to second grade, everyone would be older than you, and you might not make friends.”

It wasn’t just about making friends; older kids might see An’an as small and could bully him, which was a possibility.

Cen Huai’an thought for a while and said, “Mom, I think I wouldn’t make friends in first grade either.”

He didn’t like many of the activities that first graders enjoyed and couldn’t join in. Back in the kindergarten at the experimental primary school, apart from his desk partner, An’an didn’t have any close friends.

Most of Cen Huai’an’s friends were made outside of school.

For instance, he enjoyed playing Go with Hong Youxuan.

They both loved the game, and Hong Youxuan had a steady personality.

They could spend the whole morning playing and discussing Go without realizing how time passed.

Hearing An’an’s words, Chuxia frowned and felt a bit distressed.

Sometimes, she thought, being a genius might not make a child’s life happier than that of an ordinary kid.

Chuxia looked at Cen Huai’an, who seemed indifferent about having friends, and fell into deep thought.

She had initially planned for An’an to follow the regular school progression until the third grade.

After that, if he found the curriculum too simple, she would consider having him skip a grade.

But now it was clear that he wasn’t interested in first grade.

Chuxia patted Cen Huai’an on the head and said, “I’ll discuss it with your father when he comes home.”

She paused and then continued, “If your father agrees to you skipping a grade, we’ll take you to see the principal and arrange for you to move to the second grade.”

Cen Huai’an, who had only shared his troubles with his mother and didn’t know about the possibility of skipping straight to the second grade, blinked and asked, “Mom, can I go directly to the second grade?”

Chuxia nodded, “If you can pass the grade-skipping exam.”

When Cen Zhengnian returned home that evening, Chuxia brought up the idea of An’an skipping a grade.

Cen Zhengnian paused as he was taking off his coat, then naturally hung it up and said, “Skipping a grade? Isn’t An’an a bit young?”

Chuxia responded, “If he only skips one grade, the age difference with his classmates won’t be too big.”

Cen Zhengnian pondered for a moment, then turned and said, “I’ll go check on An’an.”

Chuxia was familiar with An’an’s level of study since she had been the one teaching him much of what he knew.

She was confident that moving him to second grade would be feasible.

Cen Zhengnian, however, wasn’t as familiar with An’an’s academic progress but knew he was different from other six-year-olds.

For instance, An’an could recognize many characters and looked up words in the dictionary by himself.

He had completed several Sudoku books, which was uncommon for a six-year-old.

“An’an, Mom and I heard you want to go straight to second grade?” Cen Zhengnian asked.

Cen Huai’an was in his room with two dogs at his feet, one hand petting the yellow dog and the other reading a comic book, currently “Water Margin.”

Upon hearing Cen Zhengnian’s voice, Cen Huai’an closed the comic book and replied seriously, “I know everything in first grade.”

Cen Zhengnian picked up the math book Cen Huai’an had left on the table and flipped to the last page, asking him a math question.

Without thinking, Cen Huai’an answered, “Dad, I said I know everything.” He petted both dogs again.

Cen Zhengnian put the book down, knowing An’an knew the material but still wanting to test him.

Skipping a grade required passing an exam, and it wasn’t just about wanting to move up.

Satisfied, Cen Zhengnian looked at An’an playing with the dogs and smiled, “Tomorrow I’ll take you to see the principal.”

Cen Huai’an’s eyes lit up, and he quickly looked up at Cen Zhengnian, “Dad, don’t you have to go to work?”

“I can go in the morning and come in later.”

Chuxia, who was applying face cream, heard Cen Zhengnian say he would go to An’an’s school the next day and said, “I’ll go to the school in the afternoon. I can take An’an in the morning.”

Cen Zhengnian walked over to her, his eyes falling on Chuxia’s hair. He gently undid her braid, letting her hair fall loose.

“Skipping a grade is a big deal. I’m his father, and I haven’t been involved in many of his matters before. Now that he’s in school near me, I don’t want to remain absent from his life.”

Chuxia listened to Cen Zhengnian’s somewhat melancholic voice, feeling his fingers softly unbraiding her hair.

She took his other hand and said, “Alright, we’ll do it your way.”

The next day, Cen Huai’an was unusually excited. He went for a run with his dog, completed the task set by his martial arts teacher, and was full of joy.

“Mom, when are we going to school?”

In early summer, Chu Xia handed Cen Zhengnian an egg, stirring the porridge slowly with a spoon. “We’ve eaten. We need to wait until it’s time for you to go to school, or else we might get there and the school will still be closed.”

Cen Zhengnian handed the peeled egg to Chu Xia and reached for Cen Huai’an’s egg to peel it, but Cen Huai’an dodged.

“Dad, I’ll peel it myself.”

Suppressing his excitement, Cen Huai’an sat down to eat.

Chu Xia had always been correcting his eating habits, teaching him not to eat too quickly.

Now, Cen Huai’an didn’t eat like he used to, shoving food into his mouth without chewing.

Even when he was in a hurry, he would still slow down his eating speed if Chu Xia reminded him.

After breakfast, around 7:30, Chu Xia and Cen Zhengnian took Cen Huai’an to the affiliated elementary school.

The school wasn’t very large; it had only a big yard in the middle with a flagpole. Unlike modern schools with plastic tracks and concrete floors, the yard was still dirt.

To the north and west of the yard, there were long rows of classrooms.

By now, many students had already arrived at school. Some were playing in the yard, while others were chatting and playing in the classrooms.

Before classes began, the elementary school was very lively.

The principal had a separate office, which was very small.

The other teachers shared a large office.

When Cen Zhengnian and Chu Xia took Cen Huai’an to the principal’s office, he was busy writing something at his desk.

Cen Zhengnian knocked on the door.

The principal looked up, his face lined with the marks of age and his hair graying.

“Who are you?”

The principal hadn’t met Cen Zhengnian before, as he hadn’t had a child attending this school previously.

“Hello, Principal. I’m Cen Zhengnian, Cen Huai’an’s father. I work at the research institute. I wanted to ask the principal what the requirements are if my child wants to skip a grade.”

The principal looked at Cen Huai’an in surprise. “Your child doesn’t seem very old. What grade do you want him to skip to?”

“Second grade.”

“Has he attended preschool?”

“Yes.”

The principal stood up from his desk, closed his notebook, and asked, “Are you sure you want him to skip a grade? He might struggle because he’s still young.”

Cen Zhengnian replied firmly, “Yes, we’re sure.”

The principal nodded. “To skip to the second grade, he just needs to pass the end-of-year exam for first grade. Please wait here for a moment.”

The principal left and soon returned with a teacher holding two exam papers.

The principal said to Cen Zhengnian and Cen Huai’an, “These two papers must be scored above 90 points to skip a grade.”

Cen Zhengnian looked at Cen Huai’an, who nodded with a confident expression.

Chu Xia, standing at a distance, could see some of the content on the papers.

They should not be too difficult for Cen Huai’an.

Cen Huai’an sat on the chair the teacher had brought, leaned over the principal’s desk, and began working on the papers.

The teacher and the principal stood behind him, watching.

Chu Xia and Cen Zhengnian stood farther away.

Not worried about Cen Huai’an’s performance, Chu Xia looked through the window at the little students playing in the yard, thinking about how happy they looked.

Indeed, childhood is the most carefree time.

When you’re young, you look forward to growing up, and when you’re grown, you long for the simplicity of childhood.

After a while, Chu Xia glanced at the time and noticed it was approaching 8:30.

She whispered, “It’s almost 8:30. Why don’t you head back to the research institute for now?”