“Sometimes I’ll be in the hospital. If An An can’t get through to me when he arrives in Liangzhou, he’ll have to call you.”

Cen Zhengnian said, “You all have beepers.”

Chu Xia: I completely forgot about that.

In her past life, she had gotten used to the convenience of mobile phones; beepers were too small, and the person sending a page had to first call the paging service, then wait by the phone for the person being paged to call back.

While beepers were more convenient than landlines, they couldn’t compare to mobile phones, so Chu Xia seldom used hers and often forgot she even had one.

If Chu Xia couldn’t be reached, Cen Huai’an would definitely page her.

In the staff quarters, waiting didn’t feel so anxious anymore.

At that moment, Cen Zhengnian, after several hours on the train, successfully arrived at the Liangzhou train station with his classmates and teachers.

There was an arrangement by the math association to pick up the competition students and teachers nearby the train station.

Once Cen Huai’an and his group arrived in Liangzhou, they took a bus directly to the second floor of their hotel.

There was nothing to complain about; two people shared one room, all standardized twin rooms. Cen Huai’an and Xin Yang shared a room.

After the other classmates entered their rooms, the first thing they did was wash up and then rest.

They had been sitting on the train for so long that their backs ached, and they felt very fatigued.

Cen Huai’an didn’t force himself; his mom had told him that getting up early and sleeping early was important for growing taller, so he valued his sleep time.

After calling Chu Xia to let her know he had arrived safely, he lay down and went to sleep.

However, Xin Yang, who shared a room with Cen Huai’an, didn’t rest.

After entering the room, he took out some papers and pens from his bag and sat at the desk, diligently working on problems.

The sun had now moved to its peak, and it was lunchtime.

Cen Huai’an rubbed his stomach and sat up.

Xin Yang was still writing, and as Cen Huai’an walked by, he glanced at the paper—it was the test paper given by Teacher Jiang, and he had already finished it.

Teacher Jiang knocked on each door, calling the students to come down to the hall for dinner.

Once everyone had gathered, Teacher Jiang checked off names, confirmed that several were present, and led the group downstairs.

The food provided by the hotel was neither terrible nor particularly good—just ordinary.

The hotel did not serve lunch, but with so many students staying, the organizers negotiated with the hotel to prepare meals for them, as it was deemed unsafe for the students to eat outside.

Having been hungry all morning, the students ate hastily, focused on filling their stomachs without caring whether the food was particularly tasty.

The servers moved about, replenishing the food available on the tables.

Cen Huai’an didn’t notice that among the servers, a woman in her twenties frequently looked at him with a mix of confusion and shock.

One of the servers noticed she had placed the dishes incorrectly and snapped at her, “Xiao Luo, why are you daydreaming? You put the dishes in the wrong place!”

The woman quickly lowered her head, shaking it. “I… I was just lost in thought.”

She hurriedly switched the dishes.

After returning from the hall, a colleague who was friendly with her asked what was wrong, noting her distracted demeanor, which was unusual for her.

“I… I think I saw someone I recognized, but after a closer look, I realized I was mistaken,” the woman said, not wanting to elaborate further.

The two soon moved on to other topics.

Once her shift ended, the first thing the woman did was rush back to her family home.

Cen Huai’an was unaware of the conversation among the hotel staff.

After finishing his meal, he went upstairs.

He didn’t plan to sleep in the afternoon; instead, he pulled out a practice exam to work on.

Cen Huai’an was no longer focused on how much he could improve his math skills; he primarily wanted to maintain his problem-solving touch, ensuring he could perform his best during the upcoming exam.

The exam was only two days away, but before that, while Cen Huai’an was having dinner with teachers and classmates in the hall, a woman with graying hair rushed up to him, reaching for his hand.

Cen Huai’an quickly dodged her grasp.

If it weren’t for the table in front of him, he might have kicked her away.

“An’an! It’s me! I’m your grandmother!”

Cen Huai’an’s eyes filled with disgust, a coldness washing over him. “I don’t have a grandmother.”

Wang Yulan, standing before him, looked significantly older.

The once glamorous and commanding figure from his childhood was gone.

Now, her face was lined with wrinkles, and only a hint of the sympathy in her eyes remained.

Teacher Jiang and the other students reacted quickly, standing up to protect Cen Huai’an.

“What are you doing? We are here as competitors. If you dare do anything, I will have you taken to the police station!”

Teacher Jiang’s expression was serious; Cen Huai’an had never seen him look so devoid of a smile.

“I’m not a bad person; I truly am his grandmother!”

Tears welled in Wang Yulan’s eyes. “An’an, look at your grandmother. You and your mother are so cruel! After all these years, you never contacted me! Do you know how worried I’ve been about you?”

Cen Huai’an replied, “My grandmother passed away long ago. Teacher, this crazy woman came out of nowhere; I don’t know her.”

He had no intention of recognizing anyone from the Luo family.

If it weren’t for the potential impact on the competition, he might have physically thrown Wang Yulan out of the hotel.

Cen Huai’an was not the type to show leniency to enemies, even if they claimed to be family.

He was unyielding and didn’t care if he was labeled unfilial.

Teacher Jiang believed his student, quickly calling for hotel staff and security.

At that moment, a server rushed over to support Wang Yulan, glaring at Cen Huai’an. “Cen Huai’an! You and your mother are ungrateful! My mom raised you!”

Before she could finish, Cen Huai’an interrupted, “My mom has a salary; she raised me with her own money, not because of your mom. And I don’t know you; stop shouting!”

Teacher Jiang raised his voice further, and finally, security and other staff arrived.

Teacher Jiang immediately complained about Luo Xiaomei, saying he would report the hotel for not being safe, allowing problematic individuals to enter and jeopardizing guest safety.

The hotel manager rushed over to handle the situation.

If any issues arose with the competing students at the hotel, the hotel would not only face repercussions from the competition organizers but also from the government, potentially losing future lucrative contracts.

Thus, regardless of what Wang Yulan and Luo Xiaomei shouted, the security personnel dragged them out and tossed them outside the door.

“You’re a hotel staff member? You’ll never work here again!”

Bringing her mother into the hotel and harming its reputation made her an unwelcome employee anywhere.

Realizing her mistake, Luo Xiaomei quickly pleaded, “Manager, I’m sorry! I won’t do it again!”

It was futile; the manager was too annoyed to deal with them and instructed the security at the door to keep an eye on those two, forbidding them from re-entering the hotel before returning to his office.

The manager personally apologized to Cen Huai’an and Teacher Jiang, bringing out a few more of the hotel’s best dishes to somewhat appease Teacher Jiang.

“Make sure you pay attention to who you let in; if you scare my students and it affects their exam the day after tomorrow, your hotel will be in big trouble.”

“Yes, yes, yes, we should have done better,” the manager repeatedly nodded, understanding the gravity of Teacher Jiang’s words and feeling even more frustrated with Wang Yulan and Luo Xiaomei.

After dinner, Cen Huai’an picked up the phone, wanting to call, but he hesitated and put it down again.

He picked it up and then put it down again, struggling for a while before taking a deep breath and dialing Chuxia’s number.

Chuxia immediately asked, “How’s it going at the hotel? Have you run into any issues?”

Cen Huai’an recounted what had happened during the past two days, and Chuxia felt a bit relieved.

Then he added, “Mom, I ran into them.”

Chuxia’s heart tightened, and her mouth felt dry. “Who did you run into?”

“Grandma and Aunt.”

Chuxia replied, “They don’t deserve to be called that by you. Did they bully you? Did they try to ask for our contact information?”

“No.” Cen Huai’an recounted the afternoon’s events to Chuxia: “I didn’t acknowledge them; they were thrown out by the hotel staff.”

Chu Xia said, “They won’t give up easily. An An, don’t worry about them for now; focus on your exam. We can deal with them after you finish.”

“Mom, do you think I don’t recognize their mistakes?”

Chu Xia immediately replied, “Mistakes? They’re not in the wrong! If I could cut ties, I’d be the first to do so!”

She despised the Luo family and hadn’t reflected on them during her years in Beijing.

With his mother’s support, Cen Huai’an’s lips curled up. “Mom, I understand.”

After hanging up with Cen Huai’an, Chu Xia felt even more anxious. “Zhengnian, I’m buying a ticket to Liangzhou for tomorrow. What if An An runs into someone from the Luo family?”

She rubbed her brow, feeling agitated.

Cen Zhengnian thought for a moment and said, “An An has already dealt with the Luo family. If you go now, it might disrupt his exam rhythm and make him more anxious.”

Chu Xia insisted, “I’ll go first without letting An An know. I’ll meet him after his exam.”

Cen Zhengnian was even more worried. “I’m not at ease with you facing the Luo family alone. I’ll talk to the teachers tomorrow.”

Cen Zhengnian was aware of how busy his work was; he hadn’t taken good care of Chu Xia and An An before, and this time he wanted to protect them.

“Your work?” Chu Xia frowned.

“It’s fine; I’ll catch up when I get back.”

However, Yan Heping indeed wouldn’t allow Cen Zhengnian to take leave, no matter what he said.

“If you leave, who knows how many days it will be before you return? The progress will slow down significantly, and no one can replace your work.”

Cen Zhengnian was currently responsible for the most important project in their research program, so Yan Heping couldn’t grant him time off.

“If I were to give you leave, it could only be for one day.”

“One day is fine.”

Chu Xia replied, “One day won’t work. There aren’t enough flights; you won’t be back in time. A single day off isn’t sufficient.”

Just then, Cen Huai’an called. “Mom, you and Dad don’t need to come.”

He had forgotten to tell his mom yesterday, so he called as soon as he woke up that morning.

“Mom, you have to trust my ability to solve problems. I can handle it.”

Chu Xia responded, “But…”

“Mom, I want to solve it myself.”

His words left Chu Xia unable to insist on going; she simply said, “Okay.”

After hanging up, she furrowed her brow and looked at Cen Zhengnian. “An An doesn’t want us to go. He doesn’t need to be so strong.”

Cen Zhengnian stroked her head. “At his age, he always wants to prove his capability through various means.”

Although Chu Xia didn’t go, she kept in touch with Cen Huai’an every day.

She knew he had gone to take the exam, had finished it, and that the questions were very difficult, even harder than the city competition’s.

But he had completed it.

She also learned that he had met up with Bang Zi and the others, who had grown tall; although their faces still looked youthful, their demeanor was noticeably different from other kids.

Cen Huai’an wanted to know how the Luo family had been over the years, and Bang Zi shared everything with him.

“I knew you’d ask, so I kept it in mind.”

Over the past few years, the Luo family had been in turmoil; their family was discordant, with frequent arguments.

Otherwise, Wang Yulan wouldn’t have aged so quickly.

After hearing this, Cen Huai’an felt much more at ease.

Knowing that his enemies were having a rough time brought him relief.

“Have you seen them?”

Bang Zi leaned against a tree, and when he saw Cen Huai’an nod, he played with a leaf in his hand. “Do you want me to teach them a lesson?”

Cen Huai’an shook his head. “If you punish them, they won’t even know who did it. Don’t bother with them; let them be. But if you catch them doing anything wrong, expose it directly. It’ll throw their lives into disarray for a while.”

Bang Zi understood what he meant and patted his shoulder. “Don’t worry.”

The Luo family didn’t need his help; every day was a spectacle.

Wang Yulan and Luo Xiaomei would loiter near the hotel, but they hadn’t seen him again.

At that moment, the Luo family’s daughter-in-law had another fight with the older brother, causing the entire courtyard to know about it.

Meanwhile, the eldest daughter was bullied by her in-laws and came home crying.

The Luo family was in disarray, and by the time they resolved their issues, the hotel was empty, and Cen Huai’an and the others had long since left.