“Professor Hang.”

Cen Huaian stood up from his chair, showing respect on his face.

“Don’t be nervous, sit, sit.”

Cen Huaian nodded and sat down, not really feeling nervous.

He knew why Hang Ling had come to see him.

Sure enough, the next second, Hang Ling spoke, “You know I’m a professor at Jinghua University, right?”

Cen Huaian nodded, “I know.”

“So, what do you think? Are you interested in joining Jinghua?”

After knowing his ranking, Cen Huaian expected someone to approach him, but he hadn’t yet decided if he wanted to pursue mathematics as his future path.

He always felt that there were many unknown things in the world, and he wanted to explore more.

He wasn’t sure if he could dedicate his life solely to studying mathematics.

Hang Ling didn’t pressure him or speak at length about how great Jinghua University was.

Instead, he sat next to him, smiling leisurely, as if waiting for Cen Huaian to make up his mind.

It seemed like he wasn’t there to recruit him at all.

Cen Huaian thought for a while, then turned to Hang Ling and asked, “Professor, how did you decide that mathematics was the right path for you?”

Hang Ling smiled, “Let me tell you a story.”

His story was simple, not filled with the magical elements that often accompany the origin stories of famous figures in history.

He talked about how, as a child, he used to help his mother sell vegetables.

At the bustling market, many people came to buy and sell vegetables, bargaining fiercely over even the smallest amounts, haggling over a single penny with red faces and raised voices.

Hang Ling watched his mother argue with a customer, and then, seeing her win the argument and hold up that single penny in the sunlight, he thought that penny shone so brightly.

At that moment, a wild thought popped into his head: why is money counted in increments of one to ten cents, ten to a hundred?

Why not eleven or twelve?

Hang Ling smiled and said, “From then on, I found numbers fascinating. They weren’t lifeless entities; they existed in every aspect of our daily lives, even in the places we take for granted. Even if you ignore them, they are always at work.”

Suddenly, it was as if a light had been ignited in Cen Huaian’s mind.

Hang Ling’s words made him reconsider his perspective on mathematics.

“Professor, let me think about it a bit more.”

Hang Ling smiled and nodded, “You should think it over carefully. This is a decision about your future, so don’t rush it.”

After Hang Ling left, Cen Huaian furrowed his brow and thought for a long time.

The sunlight outside changed from bright and dazzling to slowly setting, and finally, Cen Huaian stood up.

He went to the hotel’s public phone and called Chuxia.

When Chuxia heard that Cen Huaian had the opportunity to get a guaranteed spot at Jinghua University, she didn’t react with the same enthusiasm other parents might have, encouraging him to accept right away.

Instead, she asked him, “Do you really love mathematics? Do you love it to the point where, without it, life feels meaningless? Just like how your father loves his career?”

Cen Huaian froze on the spot, asking himself this question over and over again, and then he shook his head.

He didn’t want to dedicate his life solely to mathematics.

“Then don’t accept the guaranteed spot. You can use the remaining time to think about what you truly love. I believe that even without the guaranteed spot, you’ll still be able to attend the school and study the major you like.”

“Alright.”

As Chuxia listened to the busy signal after the call ended, she was also in a bit of a daze.

She had just told her son to reject the guaranteed spot at Jinghua University.

She hung up the phone and went home, but the thought kept lingering in her mind, and she couldn’t even focus on eating.

Cen Zhengnian noticed and put down his chopsticks, gently holding her hand, “You’ve been dipping your water with chopsticks for a while now.”

“I told Anan to reject the guaranteed spot at Jinghua.”

Cen Zhengnian remained calm, gently stroking the back of her hand with his thumb, “And then?”

Chuxia frowned, looking a bit uneasy, “What if, in the future, Anan decides he wants to study mathematics at Jinghua, and he regrets this? What if during the college entrance exam…”

She quickly corrected herself, “No ‘what if’! I’m just worried.”

Cen Zhengnian tightened his grip on her hand, “Chuxia, look at me.”

Chuxia raised her eyes to meet his.

The calm assurance in Cen Zhengnian’s gaze gradually eased her anxiety.

“Anan won’t blame you. This was also his choice. You need to have faith in him, and there won’t just be one opportunity for guaranteed admission.”

Chuxia knew this too, but she still had a sense of unease about the unknown.

She slowly exhaled, “You’re right. Both you and Anan are geniuses—there’s no need to worry about a genius.”

At that moment, she finally felt her hunger return and reached out to grab some food.

As soon as she tasted it, she spat it out immediately. “Why is it so salty?”

She turned to Cen Zhengnian. “How did you eat it with such a straight face?”

“Just drink more porridge.”

Chuxia wouldn’t let him eat any more and went to make another dish.

The winter sunlight was very pleasant.

Since there were no patients at the moment, Chuxia sat in a spot where the sun shone directly on her, reading a medical book while enjoying the rare warmth of winter.

“Chuxia, come quickly and check on Zhu Zhu! She ate something bad and now has diarrhea and is vomiting!”

Chuxia quickly put down her book and took Zhu Zhu’s pulse. “Acute gastroenteritis. She did eat something unclean. Do you want me to perform acupuncture on her or take her to get an IV?”

“You can do it.” Shi Qin trusted Chuxia the most and gently laid Zhu Zhu on the bed beside her.

No matter how many times Shi Qin saw it, acupuncture always seemed miraculous to her.

Just moments ago, Zhu Zhu was listless and in pain, but after Chuxia inserted the needles, her complexion improved significantly, and she clutched Shi Qin’s hand, saying, “Mommy, my tummy doesn’t hurt anymore.”

Shi Qin looked at Zhu Zhu with a heart full of pity, feeling very guilty for not taking better care of her. “Be good, Zhu Zhu. Once you’re better, Mommy will take you to eat ‘Donkey Rolls’ (a Chinese snack).”

“Okay!”

Among the children at the research institute, Zhu Zhu was famously well-behaved.

Her parents were not exactly quiet or gentle people, so no one knew how they ended up with such a sweet and docile child.

If Lu Lu had been more like Zhu Zhu, Jiang Zhiguan wouldn’t have had such headaches in the past.

By the time Chuxia removed the needles from Zhu Zhu, the little girl had already fallen asleep in Shi Qin’s arms.

Chuxia handed Shi Qin some Chinese patent medicine. “Boiled medicine is too bitter. This medicine will be just as effective for Zhu Zhu’s condition.”

Many of the patent medicines at the affiliated hospital were produced by Jiang Zhishu’s medical company.

He had genuinely expanded his business, and with effective products at affordable prices, his medicines could be found in every hospital across the capital.

“Oh, and Zhu Zhu has a bit of a weak stomach. I’ll write down some foods she should avoid. Just be mindful of her diet.”

It’s not good for children to take too much medicine. It’s better if the adults put more effort into their diet to nurture a healthy stomach.

Cen Zhengnian’s stomach had taken Chuxia a long time to nurse back to health, using a combination of food and adjustments to his lifestyle.

Shi Qin gratefully accepted the note Chuxia wrote with dietary advice.

“Don’t forget to bring Zhu Zhu in tomorrow. She’ll need one more acupuncture session.”

After Shi Qin left, Chuxia didn’t return to her book but instead took out the tools she used to prepare medicinal herbs and ointments.

She was just about to start when a patient came in.

Chuxia pushed her tools aside and resumed seeing patients.

When lunchtime came, she exhaled and glanced at the tools for making ointments again but put them away once more.

Recently, Chuxia had been preparing to offer Jiang Zhishu another prescription. She maintained a practice of providing him with one or two formulas a year.

Too many would arouse suspicion, so sometimes she waited two years to give him one.

Her formulas didn’t offer miraculous cures for rare diseases, but with consistent use, they effectively treated conditions that caused chronic discomfort for patients.

For example, she had created ointments for sunburn, frostbite, bleeding, and digestive issues, as well as remedies for chronic throat problems.

These weren’t life-threatening illnesses, but they were the kind of ailments that made people uncomfortable if they had them.

This time, Chuxia was thinking of giving Jiang Zhishu a formula for a hemostatic (bleeding control) ointment.

Its effectiveness wouldn’t necessarily surpass the popular hemostatic medicines on the market, but it wouldn’t be worse either.

She just wasn’t sure if Jiang Zhishu would be interested in this formula, given that the hemostatic medicine market was already quite saturated.

When Chuxia got home, she was surprised to find that Cen Huaian had returned.

“Weren’t you supposed to come back tomorrow?”

Cen Huaian was petting Heizi, and Huangzi and Banzi were lying at his feet as the three of them watched TV.

Cen Huaian stood up and took the groceries from Chuxia’s hands. “The flight was delayed, but it got cleared today, so we came back early.”

After Chuxia changed her shoes, she asked what he wanted to eat. “Do you still want sweet and sour ribs? I didn’t buy ribs this time, but I have fish. How about sweet and sour fish instead?”

“Sure, Mom. I’ll help you prepare the fish.”

While they were in the kitchen, Chuxia asked Cen Huaian, “After rejecting the guaranteed spot at Jinghua University, did you feel disappointed?”

“No.”