Cen Huaian was even more composed than Chuxia. “If I get selected to compete in the International Math Olympiad, I’ll still be guaranteed admission. Besides, I can get into Jinghua University on my own.”

Cen Huaian was now confident in his abilities. He knew that whatever he set his mind on, he could achieve.

Chuxia’s hand, holding the knife, suddenly paused.

She looked at Cen Huaian, who was carefully cleaning the fish. From his profile, he looked so much like Cen Zhengnian when he was fully focused on something.

For the first time, she truly realized how much Cen Huaian had matured, both in his thinking and his actions.

When Cen Huaian didn’t hear a response from Chuxia for a while, he turned his head to look at her, puzzled.

Chuxia’s lips curved into a smile. “I believe you can do it too.”

That evening, when Cen Zhengnian came home, he and Cen Huaian talked for a long time in Huaian’s room. Outside, Chuxia waited anxiously, wanting desperately to know what they were discussing but also feeling that she should respect her son’s privacy.

Her thoughts swung back and forth, making the waiting even more agonizing.

When the two finally came out, Chuxia quickly sat up straight, smiling at them as if she wasn’t curious at all. But in her heart, she was screaming, Tell me, tell me, what were you talking about?

Unfortunately, neither Cen Huaian nor Cen Zhengnian picked up on what was going on in her mind, and neither shared their plans with her.

Chuxia: “…”

That night, as they got ready for bed, Chuxia could no longer hold back and directly clung to Cen Zhengnian’s arm, asking, “What did you and Huaian talk about for so long?”

Cen Zhengnian’s eyes softened with a smile.

He reached out, lifted Chuxia, and let her sit on his lap, his arms wrapped around her waist.

“I’m impressed you held out until now.”

Chuxia immediately made an exaggerated angry face. “Oh! You did it on purpose!”

She pinched his waist and playfully tried to push him away.

“I’m not listening anymore!”

Cen Zhengnian didn’t move. Just as she was about to get up, he hooked his arm around her, pulling her back onto his lap again.

“I wasn’t doing it on purpose. I was just waiting for you to ask me.”

Chuxia really did want to know, so she stayed where she was and looked up at Cen Zhengnian, waiting for him to explain.

“I just talked to Huaian about what he wants to do in the future. I had thought about taking him to visit the research institute’s exhibition hall, but he doesn’t seem to be interested in my line of work.”

Cen Zhengnian chuckled softly. “Looks like I can’t pass the torch to him after all.”

Chuxia responded, “Your job is so busy anyway. It’s probably better for Huaian not to do it.”

“That’s true.” Cen Zhengnian smiled, agreeing with her wholeheartedly.

“So, what does Huaian want to do?”

“Maybe after he finishes his training with the national team, he’ll have a clearer idea.”

Cen Zhengnian hadn’t just left things to chance. After returning to the research institute, he’d gone to the library and archives.

There, he found not only materials on his own field but on other disciplines as well.

He hadn’t touched anything confidential, but he borrowed a few rare, non-classified books to give to Cen Huaian.

“You can take a look. Maybe you’ll find a field you like.”

Additionally, Cen Zhengnian had asked Jiang Zhida to help acquire introductory material and experimental videos from foreign experts across various fields, especially from Yangcheng.

These were meant for Cen Huaian to explore.

The volume of information was vast, and Cen Huaian couldn’t go through it all in one go, but Cen Zhengnian didn’t expect him to make a decision right away.

“Just go through it at your own pace. You’ve got a year and a half before you need to decide on college, so there’s no rush.”

Taking advantage of a day off, Chuxia drove to Jiang Zhishu’s company. Now that she had a car, she no longer needed him to pick her up.

With her pass to the company, Chuxia could go anywhere inside.

Jiang Zhishu’s assistant informed her that he was in a meeting, so Chuxia went to the lab building at the back.

Dr. Xu and his team were busy, so Chuxia didn’t disturb them.

Instead, she went to the exhibition hall to check out the work Dr. Xu had been doing.

It had been a brilliant decision for Jiang Zhishu to bring Dr. Xu on board.

His talent and sharp insight in pharmaceutical research were exceptional.

The two ointments Chuxia had provided were improved in effectiveness by Dr. Xu’s team, and they were even working on further refinements.

Chuxia wasn’t sure how long she had been there when she heard the sound of hurried footsteps behind her.

“Dr. Luo?”

“That’s me.” Chuxia turned around with a smile, carrying a bag that held the formula she was bringing this time.

Dr. Xu, without taking a break, immediately made the ointment according to the formula she had provided.

After testing it on a few mice, his eyes lit up with amazement.

“Dr. Luo, although you’ve already declined, I still want to ask once more—would you consider joining our lab?”

Chuxia declined firmly, just as before. “No, I wouldn’t. It’s not where my passion lies.”

Dr. Xu looked more regretful this time. “But your talent lies in this field.”

Chuxia replied, “I haven’t given it up. If I were to make it my job, I probably wouldn’t have so many creative ideas.”

Dr. Xu frowned thoughtfully for a while, then sighed deeply, no longer pressing the matter. “You’re right. Heavy workloads can sap one’s love for the job.”

As they walked through the lab, Dr. Xu shared the team’s recent research developments and asked for Chuxia’s thoughts.

While they were discussing medical concepts, Jiang Zhishu arrived.

“Sister-in-law.”

“Big cousin.”

After exchanging greetings, Jiang Zhishu inquired about the new formula.

Dr. Xu couldn’t praise it enough. “Boss, I think this formula could take our company’s partnerships to the next level.”

Jiang Zhishu was thinking along the same lines. “Send it for testing first. Once we get the report, I’ll handle the rest.”

Chuxia had no idea what the two were plotting, but who wouldn’t like more money?

After all, with her shares in Jiang Zhishu’s company, the better it did, the more money she would make.

---

Cen Huaian finished his final exams and, after resting at home for two days, headed off to the national training camp, which was being held at Jinghua University.

Of all the materials Cen Zhengnian had gathered for him, he had only gone through a small portion so far.

When Cen Huaian arrived at Jinghua University, he was surprised to find Hong Youxuan there to welcome them.

“Brother Youxuan?”

Hong Youxuan wore a gentle smile, though it warmed even more upon seeing Cen Huaian—not just a polite social smile.

“Huai’an, come with me.”

“Brother Youxuan, did you know I was coming to Jinghua for training?”

Cen Huaian noticed that Hong Youxuan didn’t seem surprised at all when he saw him.

Hong Youxuan nodded. “I got the list of students coming to Jinghua for the training camp ahead of time. As soon as I saw ‘Cen Huaian,’ I knew it was you.”

Last year, Hong Youxuan had been admitted to Jinghua University, majoring in computer science.

This major was still relatively new, with both the country and the school still exploring its full potential.

However, abroad, computer science had already made great strides.

Hong Youxuan had developed a strong interest in the field after encountering it while attending an international Go competition.

So when it came time to choose a college major, he didn’t hesitate to pick computer science.

“It seems I wasn’t wrong.”

Cen Huaian glanced at him. “But you knew I participated in the Mathematical Olympiad winter camp.”

Hong Youxuan laughed. “Consider it a surprise then. You’ve been playing Go less frequently lately.”

Cen Huaian explained, “I’ve been working on a problem that’s been troubling me.”

Most of his time had been spent researching different fields, which left him little time for Go practice.

Hong Youxuan sighed, “When I entered university, I thought I would have more time to play Go. But unexpectedly, I have even less time for it now. My great-grandfather is still angry that I didn’t inherit his skills.”

Hong Yuande was single-minded in nurturing Hong Youxuan’s Go skills, hoping that he would continue the family tradition.

Who would have thought that he would grow up and directly go study computer science, completely disregarding the path of professional Go that Hong Yuande envisioned for him?

Cen Huai’an said, “You can let your great-grandfather train another successor.”

Hong Youxuan suddenly burst into laughter, the gloom on his face instantly disappearing: “You think training a successor is that simple? My great-grandfather doesn’t have the energy to train anyone anymore.”

While they were talking, they arrived at the boys’ dormitory of the training camp.

It was still the dormitory that Cen Huai’an was familiar with, where he had stayed during the summer camp at Jinghua University in middle school.

However, this time, his roommates were all new; Wang Aihua and the others were no longer there.

Cen Huai’an also did not see them during the national high school mathematics competition.

After registering for the training camp, classes began the next day.

There were activities, but not as many as during the summer camp.

Cen Huai’an and the others spent most of their time listening to the mathematics professors from Jinghua and renowned Olympiad teachers, followed by doing exercises, grading them, and ranking their scores.

Exams were frequent, and the ranking was crucial for selecting six students from the training camp to participate in the IMO (International Mathematical Olympiad).

Cen Huai’an shone brightly in the training camp.

If he had improved in high school through self-study and guidance from Teacher Jiang, now he was exposed to more excellent teachers, and their different ways of thinking and teaching created a wonderful collision with his own thoughts, leading to rapid progress.

Professor Hang Ling was the chief teacher of mathematics for this training.

He last taught a class where, unfortunately, Cen Huai’an didn’t understand why he disagreed with the recommendation for admission to Jinghua.

He even told Cen Huai’an, “I’ll reserve a spot for you. Whenever you decide you want to go through with it, you can come find me.”

Originally, there hadn’t been such cases, as Professor Hang directly applied for Cen Huai’an because he deserved it.

Cen Huai’an felt pressured. “Professor Hang, you don’t need to do this. Since I haven’t chosen to be recommended, it means I won’t choose it in the future either.”

Professor Hang smiled mysteriously and shook his head, “People’s thoughts change from time to time; who knows, at any moment you might want to study mathematics as a major.”

Cen Huai’an couldn’t persuade Professor Hang.

Though he seemed amiable, he had his own principles.

As the New Year approached, Cen Huai’an’s training was still ongoing, and Chu Xia was preparing to take some things to Jinghua to see him.

The training camp was closed, but it was possible to send items from outside.

Before taking items to Cen Huai’an, Chu Xia first delivered some medicinal wine to Grandpa Jiang.

Grandpa Jiang couldn’t live without it; he loved drinking, and he couldn’t drink other alcohol, so he used the medicinal wine to satisfy his cravings.

As soon as Chu Xia arrived in front of Grandpa Jiang’s door, she heard chaotic shouting from inside.

Without picking up her things, she hurriedly ran in.

Aunt Li was supporting Grandpa Jiang, her face full of worry, shouting, “Help! Is there anyone who can help?!”

Because she was in the house, her panicked voice didn’t attract anyone’s attention when Chu Xia entered.

“Chu Xia! Grandpa Jiang suddenly fainted!” Aunt Li cried, looking at Chu Xia as if she had found a lifesaver.

Chu Xia rushed over, taking Grandpa Jiang from Aunt Li’s hands and helping him lie down properly. “You go call for an ambulance, and also inform Elsest Uncle Jiang, Second Uncle Jiang, and Cousin Da Zi!”

While speaking, Chu Xia had already assessed Grandpa Jiang’s condition and began to administer first aid.

She was very anxious and worried, her hands shaking slightly as she took out the silver needles.

But she couldn’t afford to panic now.

Taking a deep breath, she steadied herself and focused on inserting the needles into Grandpa Jiang’s body one by one.