Hu Pandeng’s Mother grew increasingly fond of Cen Huaian.

Although Cen Huaian’s university start date was around the same time as Hu Pandeng, Xiao He, and the others, they had arrived early in Beijing to have some fun.

Cen Huaian, being a great host, took on the role of tour guide.

During his years in Beijing, Chu Xia would take him sightseeing whenever she had time, so he had already visited places like the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, and the Great Wall at Badaling.

For the places Chu Xia hadn’t taken him, he had explored with Zhang Lu.

As a result, he made an excellent guide, anticipating everything for his friends.

Since the summer heat made climbing the Great Wall tough, he reminded Hu Pandeng and Hu Lei to bring hats and extra water.

He even brought a camera from home to take photos of them.

Hu Mama became so impressed with Cen Huaian that within days, she treated him better and better.

Every evening when she came home, she would say, “Pandeng, why don’t you learn from Huaian? Look at how thoughtful he was today. And you? All you do is eat and sleep. What else do you even know how to do?”

Hu Pandeng, having heard such remarks from his mom his whole life, wasn’t fazed.

He would nonchalantly respond, “Mom, I know plenty! I even got accepted into a university in Beijing. I heard you bragging about me in the staff housing, haha!”

Hu Mama would throw a slipper at him. “You brat! Eavesdropping on adults again!”

Hu Pandeng would dodge the slipper with a smug smile, “I wasn’t eavesdropping! I listened fair and square!”

When Cen Huaian was about to report to the university early, Hu Pandeng breathed a sigh of relief and whispered to him, “If you don’t start school soon, my mom might want to adopt you as her godson, and then I’d have no status left in this house!”

Cen Huaian reassured him, “That won’t happen.”

Regardless of how much Hu Mama adored Cen Huaian and pretended to dislike Hu Pandeng, her own son was always her favorite.

Of course, Hu Pandeng knew this too, but being constantly compared to the “perfect child” Cen Huaian put a lot of pressure on him.

On the day Cen Huaian was to report to school, Chu Xia wanted Cen Zhenian to take the day off to go with her to drop him off.

“This is Huaian’s first time going to university, and then he’ll start military training. We probably won’t see him for a month. If you don’t send him off, even if he doesn’t say it, he’ll be disappointed.”

Cen Zhenian understood that Chu Xia was right, and he didn’t want to miss this important moment in his son’s life.

But he had been extremely busy lately. Rubbing his temples, he said, “I’ll do my best.”

That night, he worked on calculating experimental data until 11 p.m., still not finished.

Chu Xia got out of bed and walked over to the desk.

“Not done yet?”

“Almost there. You go ahead and sleep.”

He was trying to finish some work in advance, hoping that if he chipped away at it each night, he might be able to secure time off for Huaian’s start of school.

Chu Xia, feeling exhausted, tossed and turned in bed but couldn’t sleep.

Eventually, she got up and sat beside Cen Zhenian, adjusting the fan so that it pointed toward him.

The fan had been oscillating earlier, missing him, and the back of his shirt was soaked with sweat.

“I’ll sit here with you for a while. I don’t have work tomorrow, anyway.”

Cen Zhenian wanted to tell her to go back to bed, but she stopped him. “Just keep working. Don’t waste time.”

Chu Xia casually waved a small fan in one hand and picked up a medical book to read.

As the clock ticked past her usual bedtime, she slowly started nodding off, her head getting closer and closer to the desk.

Eventually, she fell asleep on the book, her fan discarded on the side.

When Cen Zhenian finally finished his last calculation, he looked up and saw Chu Xia asleep with her head on her arm, breathing peacefully.

His expression softened immediately.

He gently brushed a few stray strands of hair away from her face, his gaze tender enough to melt hearts.

However, sleeping at the desk could easily cause a chill.

He carefully picked her up, and she woke briefly, groggily asking, “Are you done?”

“Mm-hmm,” he answered.

“Good,” she mumbled, closing her eyes again, already drifting back to sleep as he laid her down on the bed.

She didn’t wake again.

When he joined her in bed, she instinctively snuggled closer to him, finding a comfortable spot in his arms.

Though he felt hot, he couldn’t bear to let go of her. Gently patting her back, he too drifted off into sleep.

---

On the day of the university registration, Cen Zhenian worked diligently to finish his tasks and managed to secure a half-day off.

Chu Xia, noticing the exhaustion in his eyes, couldn’t hide her concern.

“If I’d known you were this tired, I wouldn’t have asked you to come with us.”

“I don’t feel tired,” he said, patting her head and gently massaging her scalp with his thumb. “It’s my duty as Huaian’s father.”

Cen Huaian chimed in, “Dad, I’d actually rather you not overwork yourself. You don’t have to drop me off at school if it’s too much.”

Cen Zhenian had always understood Cen Huaian’s concern.

Cen Huaian hadn’t always grasped why his father’s work demanded so much of him, leaving little time for his family.

But after living together and seeing the achievements of men like his father on the news, Cen Huaian had grown proud of him.

His father was a great man who had dedicated his life to the nation.

Cen Zhenian ruffled Cen Huaian’s hair, which still had the close-cropped style that Chu Xia had maintained since he was a child, making him seem a bit unapproachable.

“But I want to be there to send you off to university,” he insisted.

Chu Xia checked the time and interrupted their father-son moment. “Alright, it’s time to go. Zhenian, help Cen Huaian load the luggage into the car while I lock up. Huangzi, Heizi, Little Spot, be good at home!”

She had filled the dogs’ bowls with food and water, ensuring they wouldn’t go hungry even if they didn’t return by midday.

She didn’t let Cen Zhengnian drive.

Instead, she put him in the passenger seat, reclined the chair, and said, “It’ll take at least forty minutes to get to Huaian’s university. You should rest for a bit.”

In the past few days, Cen Zhengnian had barely had any rest, so he simply responded with a soft “mm” and reminded Chuxia to drive safely before closing his eyes and lying down to sleep.

Cen Huai’an glanced at Cen Zhengnian but didn’t say anything, turning his gaze out the window instead.

Since reading in the car was bad for the eyes, Chuxia wouldn’t let Cen Huai’an read while she was driving.

The road from the research institute to Jinghua University wasn’t busy, and at that time, few people even owned cars.

The drive was smooth, and they arrived at their destination in just forty minutes.

Cen Zhengnian, who had fallen into a deep sleep in the car, didn’t wake up when the car stopped.

He had been working late into the night and getting up early to go to the research institute for several days in a row, and he was utterly exhausted.

Chuxia quietly hushed Cen Huai’an with a soft “shh,” parked the car by the roadside, and joined him in reading.

Since they had a full day to register for school, there was no rush, and both of them wanted to let Cen Zhengnian sleep a little longer.

However, Cen Zhengnian’s mind was always on alert, and he woke up after a short while.

“Are we here?”

As soon as he opened his eyes, he was fully awake.

He saw that the car had stopped and that Chuxia and Cen Huai’an were reading, realizing he had slept for longer than he intended.

He rubbed his temples and checked his watch—it was just 9 a.m., and they had left home a little before 8.

Chuxia reassured him, “We’re here. You didn’t sleep long. An’an, let’s go.”

At the entrance of Jinghua University, there were many students.

Although it wasn’t Chuxia’s first time there, she was always struck by how grand and majestic the university gates looked.

Cen Zhengnian didn’t pay attention to the gates and instead went straight to find the registration area for the semiconductor major in the radio engineering department.

Once they located it, he led Chuxia and Cen Huai’an over.

The registration process at Jinghua University was similar to the one Chuxia had gone through for her own university.

After Cen Huai’an received his dorm room key, he was shown to his dorm by some upperclassmen.

The dorm was an old one, not too bad but not great either, about the same as what Chuxia had experienced in her college days.

Having lived in a high school dormitory, Cen Huai’an didn’t mind the environment.

Chuxia, on the other hand, thought it might be a good idea to buy a property nearby, as the value would definitely increase in the future.

After making his bed, Cen Huai’an suggested taking a walk around the campus with Chuxia and Cen Zhengnian.

He wasn’t planning to go home today because there was a class meeting in the evening and military training would start the next day, making it inconvenient to go back and forth.

Chuxia, seeing the redness in Cen Zhengnian’s eyes, shook her head. “We won’t walk around today. We can do that another time. If you need anything, just call me, and if you ever miss home, feel free to come back.”

Cen Huai’an had packed everything he needed for military training, including medicine, as Chuxia had thought of everything.

Cen Zhengnian gently held Chuxia’s hand. “We can take a walk.”

He understood that she wanted to head home so he could get some proper rest.

“Let’s explore An’an’s campus.”

Chuxia looked up and met Cen Zhengnian’s gaze, understanding his thoughts.

The words she was about to say were swallowed back. “Alright.”

Cen Huai’an furrowed his brow, concerned, and said, “Dad…”

“It’s fine. Let’s go check out your cafeteria.”

Jinghua University was a large campus, and although Chuxia had visited before, they didn’t spend much time walking around.

They only visited the cafeteria and the library before she insisted on taking Cen Zhengnian back home.

Cen Huai’an escorted them to the school gate.

When it was time to say goodbye, Chuxia found it hard to part with him.

Though An’an had stayed in a boarding high school, he would come home every week.

But now with military training starting, it could be a month before she’d see him again.

Chuxia gave him plenty of reminders and instructions, making sure she had said everything she wanted before getting into the car.

She watched An’an standing at the gate, looking after her and Cen Zhengnian as they drove away.

Standing under the grand marble arch of Jinghua University, Cen Huai’an was full of energy, ready to embark on his new journey.

Suddenly, Chuxia felt a sense of relief, as if a weight had been lifted from her heart.

She frowned slightly, unsure of where the feeling was coming from.

It wasn’t until she drove past a mall and saw Qi Ming pestering Guan Yan to buy something that she understood.

Despite being a high school student, Qi Ming still acted like a child.

Chuxia smiled with relief, finally understanding her earlier feeling.

In that moment, she realized that Cen Huai’an’s fate had truly changed.

From this point on, he would soar like an eagle, while Qi Ming, just an ordinary bird, would no longer have any place in his life.

Sensing something, Guan Yan looked up and saw a white car driving away in the distance.

She frowned briefly, brushing off the inexplicable feeling that came over her.

“No, Qi Ming! How many similar things have you already bought?” she scolded, feeling exasperated with him.

Cen Zhengnian noticed the smile on Chuxia’s face and asked, “You seem to be in a good mood all of a sudden.”

“Mm,” Chuxia nodded. “I just remembered something that made me happy. Let’s go have a nice meal to celebrate.”

Cen Zhengnian smiled. “Alright.”