Cen Huai’an shook his head and finished his water, “These problems aren’t that hard. The final problems from our teacher are more difficult.”

Chuxia, who hadn’t been able to solve the subsequent problems, looked puzzled, “Not that hard? There’s definitely a difference between ordinary people and geniuses.”

Chuxia patted his head and changed the subject, “I think you’ve grown taller again?”

Cen Huai’an, munching on an apple, nodded, “It seems like it.”

Chuxia had him stand by the height chart and marked his height with a pencil.

After he stepped away, the new mark was indeed two centimeters higher than the previous one.

He looked at the mark and then at Chuxia’s head, thinking he would soon be taller than his mom and able to better protect her.

On the day of the competition, Chuxia had to rush to the hospital early.

She specifically asked Cen Zhengnian to take Cen Huai’an to the affiliated school.

“Make sure you understand how Cen Huai’an will get to the competition and what safety measures the teachers have in place. It’s okay if he doesn’t do well, but he must be safe and healthy.”

“I know.” Cen Zhengnian gently adjusted Chuxia’s hair and said reassuringly, “You go to the hospital, don’t worry.”

Cen Zhengnian had taken Huai’an to school for competitions many times and knew what needed to be done.

Chuxia was just worried because she wasn’t going herself, so Cen Zhengnian tried to comfort her and assure her everything would be fine.

Cen Huai’an stood silently behind them, sipping his milk.

He glanced at his parents, who seemed to still be talking.

He sighed sweetly and with a bit of responsibility in his heart: he didn’t want to interrupt his parents, but if his mom didn’t leave soon, she would be late for the hospital.

So Cen Huai’an finished his milk and called out to Chuxia, “Mom, it’s already 7:10.”

Hearing the time, Chuxia quickly turned to leave, waving to Cen Zhengnian and Cen Huai’an, “You two hurry to school and don’t be late. An’an, good luck!”

Elder Tang was a renowned doctor in traditional Chinese medicine, so many people sought her out for treatment.

Chuxia and Ye Mengchun sat beside her.

After she finished with a patient, she would have them take pulses and discuss the symptoms and treatment methods.

If they were correct, she would nod. If not, she would refer them to a specific book and page for them to review.

Most of the time, they were right, though not always with the best treatment approach.

After the patient left, Elder Tang would correct their methods.

“Mengchun’s prescription was okay, but this patient’s clothes had patches, and he comes from a poor family. The prescription you suggested might be too expensive.”

Chuxia, who had just disagreed with Ye Mengchun, received a helpless look from Elder Tang, “Chuxia, don’t only think about saving money. The prescription I suggested would be more effective.”

She then looked at Ye Mengchun, “Just find a balance between the two.”

Chuxia replied, “But your prescription isn’t affordable for ordinary people.”

Elder Tang adjusted the pulse pillow on the table and said, “But not everyone can afford to eat this way. Chu Xia, you need to observe patients more closely. Different patients require different prescriptions. We first consider the optimal plan, and then adjust according to the patient’s actual situation.”

“I understand, teacher,” Chu Xia replied, thoughtfully considering Elder Tang’s words.

Elder Tang’s guidance was always based on her extensive experience in treating and saving lives, which far surpassed Chu Xia’s own.

Ye Mengchun also looked thoughtful.

On the other side, Cen Huai’an was dropped off at the research institute’s affiliated middle school by Cen Zhengnian.

The math competition teacher was already waiting in the classroom.

Cen Zhengnian was familiar with this teacher; from the time Cen Huai’an was in the first year, he had been selected for advanced math training.

Every time Cen Huai’an participated in a math competition, it was this teacher who led the students from the math program.

Cen Zhengnian didn’t relax; he still inquired about the students’ safety.

The math teacher was used to this; it was rare to see such concern for children’s safety, and since Cen Huai’an was his prized student, he patiently answered every question.

After finishing his questions, Cen Zhengnian patted Cen Huai’an’s head and said, “Don’t be nervous, just treat it like a regular exam.”

“Mm,” Cen Huai’an nodded, pursing his lips.

The students were taken to the competition venue in a school-provided bus.

There were about twenty students selected from three different grades.

Only a few would achieve rankings, and among them, the teacher had the highest expectations for Cen Huai’an.

The competition was held at Beijing City’s affiliated middle school.

Previously, it was held at Min University’s affiliated middle school.

These renowned schools in Beijing took turns hosting the competitions.

As Cen Zhengnian got off the bus, he saw Zhang Lu waving excitedly at him, “An An, over here!”

Zhang Lu attended Beijing No. 4 Middle School and was two years older than Cen Huai’an.

However, due to Cen Huai’an skipping a grade, they were now in the same year.

Zhang Lu was a bit taller than Cen Huai’an and had started to show signs of adolescence, though still somewhat childish.

Among the tense and silent competitors, she was the most relaxed and lively.

Seeing Cen Huai’an walking slowly, she couldn’t wait and ran over to drag him to the other students from No. 4 Middle School.

She proudly announced, “This is my brother, who has won many first-place awards in math competitions. He’s really amazing!”

Zhang Lu believed that she was outstanding at school—she was cheerful, helpful, and ranked at the top of her class.

Many people liked her.

However, in terms of achievements, she thought her brother was the most impressive.

She wished he could be as lively and cheerful as she was.

The other competitors from No. 4 Middle School, who were also excellent students, felt a bit uncomfortable with her praise. Despite being Zhang Lu’s friends, they couldn’t just acknowledge her brother as the best.

“Lu Lu, how great someone is needs to be judged by the results of this competition.”

Zhang Lu turned to the speaker, Liu Hongyu, who was the top student at No. 4 Middle School.

She retorted, “Alright. Liu Hongyu, my brother will definitely come in first place this time!”

Liu Hongyu felt a bit wronged, as he had always been close to Zhang Lu. “Lu Lu, you’ve never said that about me.”

Zhang Lu bluntly stated, “Because you’re not as impressive as my brother.”

Liu Hongyu felt like he had been stabbed multiple times in the heart.

He took a deep breath and said, “I’m the top student at our school.”

“My brother is…”

Cen Huai’an interrupted Zhang Lu’s further arguments with a calm demeanor, glanced at Liu Hongyu, and said to Zhang Lu, “Sister, we don’t need to discuss this. The competition is more important.”

“Right!” Zhang Lu immediately agreed and offered Cen Huai’an some water from her bottle.

Cen Huai’an shook his head, indicating that he had his own water bottle.

Soon, the teachers began calling the students, and the exam was about to start.

They were heading into the examination room.

Whether by chance or coincidence, Cen Huai’an and Liu Hongyu were assigned to the same examination room, with their seats separated only by an aisle.

After the test papers were distributed, Cen Huai’an flipped through the pages, confirmed that there were no issues, and began working on the problems.

When Cen Huai’an was focused on a task, he would automatically block out everything around him, including people and sounds.

He remained oblivious to his surroundings.

The competition questions were challenging, and Cen Huai’an discovered many traps.

Some questions, if approached with incorrect methods, could still yield seemingly reasonable yet incorrect answers, making them quite misleading.

Cen Huai’an carefully avoided these traps and, in contrast to the other competitors who were frowning in frustration, he remained calm.

While others were still struggling with the first question, Cen Huai’an was already turning the page.

In contrast to Cen Huai’an’s focused isolation, Liu Hongyu, sitting nearby, watched Cen Huai’an’s progress with great interest.

Seeing Cen Huai’an finish the first question quickly, Liu Hongyu felt a sense of superiority, thinking Cen Huai’an must still be working on it since the question was so difficult.

To his surprise, Cen Huai’an was already turning the page.

Liu Hongyu was astonished: How was this possible?

The invigilator came over and tapped Liu Hongyu’s desk, “Focus on your own paper and stop looking around.”

Liu Hongyu, unable to see Cen Huai’an’s answers, believed that Cen Huai’an’s speed meant he was likely guessing.

He shifted his attention to the next question, which was even harder.

Liu Hongyu frowned and thought hard. Despite telling himself not to be influenced by Cen Huai’an, he found it difficult to calm down, and after a long time of struggling, he had to move on to the next problem.

Cen Huai’an, however, focused entirely on his paper.

After completing it, he carefully reviewed it twice to ensure there were no mistakes before raising his hand to submit his paper.

At this point, Liu Hongyu had only completed the first major question.

He struggled with the subsequent problems and hadn’t found a perfect approach.

Watching Cen Huai’an leave the exam room, Liu Hongyu became even more anxious.

He repeatedly told himself not to worry about Cen Huai’an, convincing himself that Cen Huai’an must have been writing nonsense.

However, the pressure of seeing others submit their papers was too great.

Despite the invigilator saying there was still plenty of time left, the competitors in the room hurried to complete their papers.

With the questions being so difficult, one student began crying in his seat, “I can’t solve it, I can’t solve it.”

While crying, he also banged his head on the desk, frightening the teacher, who forced him to submit his paper and escorted him out of the room.

The remaining students were even more distressed.

Finally, the exam was over, and everyone, whether they had finished or not, breathed a sigh of relief.

The exam was done.

Of course, those who hadn’t finished were no longer hopeful for winning an award, with only Liu Hongyu sitting in his seat, deeply discouraged.

He hadn’t solved several problems and felt that it was over.

Before the competition, Liu Hongyu was very confident, thinking that even if he couldn’t win first place, the first prize was a sure thing.

Now, with the first prize slipping away, he only hoped to get second place and not fall to third.

The results of the city-wide middle school mathematics competition wouldn’t be available immediately.

The judges needed time to grade the papers, so they would have to wait to find out which prize they had won.

This competition was important because the first-place winner would get a spot in the national middle school mathematics league.

After the competition, the teachers didn’t allow the students to wander freely for fear they might get lost.

They personally took the students to the cafeteria of the Capital City High School and planned to tour the campus before heading back.

However, Cen Huai’an didn’t plan to join them.

The Capital City High School was far from Grandpa Jiang’s house.

Cen Huai’an told his teacher he wanted to go to his great-grandfather’s house directly in the afternoon, and this had already been communicated to the teacher by Cen Zhengnian as well.

The teacher, concerned, said, “Can you manage taking the bus alone? Otherwise, you should come back to school with me first, and then go with your parents later.”

“Teacher, I’m not alone. I’m going with my sister; she’s a contestant from No. 4 High School.” Cen Huai’an pointed in the direction of Zhang Lu, who immediately waved happily at them.

The teacher considered this and decided to take Cen Huai’an to the No. 4 High School group.

Since their contestants were also going back, Cen Huai’an could ride back with them, ensuring safety.

The teachers from No. 4 High School, who were acquaintances of the competition teachers from other schools, readily agreed. “Sure, leave it to me. You can rest assured.”

Cen Huai’an boarded the bus with the No. 4 High School contestants, sitting next to Zhang Lu.