The children seemed still immersed in the festive atmosphere of the National Day, sharing what they did during the holiday when they arrived at school.

Cen Huai’an had never participated in such discussions before, but today, after Chen Chen mentioned that his parents had taken him to see peonies, Cen Huai’an turned and asked what he did during the National Day.

Cen Huai’an, looking calm, took out three movie tickets and casually said, “My parents took me to see a movie.”

“Wow!”

Watching a movie was considered quite trendy among the kids.

Anyone who mentioned they had been to the movies would be surrounded with questions.

Cen Huai’an, trying to suppress his excitement among the various questions from his peers, nonchalantly replied, “You’ll find out if you watch it.”

Then he stopped talking, and of course, he wouldn’t show his movie tickets to anyone who asked.

These tickets were something he had asked his parents for, and he only brought them to school today.

When he got home, he put them in his treasured box, hiding them carefully.

At school, Cen Huai’an started playing Go.

Chen Chen couldn’t understand the rules at all.

After watching for a while, Chen Chen found it too difficult and said, “Huai’an, what kind of game are you playing?”

“Go.” Cen Huai’an didn’t look up, focusing on the pieces in his hand and thinking about what the teacher had taught him.

Chen Chen’s eyes widened, not knowing what kind of game it was.

But that was normal since he only cared about eating, drinking, and having fun.

The games he knew were all learned from Cen Huai’an.

“What kind of game is this?”

Cen Huai’an finally looked at Chen Chen and said, “You won’t be able to learn it.”

However, for the sake of candy, Cen Huai’an still played several rounds of Five-in-a-Row with Chen Chen.

Chu Xia had warned him many times about the consequences of eating too much candy, but Cen Huai’an loved sweets and never had toothaches, so he didn’t take it seriously.

Until today, after dinner, he felt some swelling in his teeth, and by the time he went to bed at night, the pain was so severe he couldn’t bear it.

He was moaning and holding his cheek on the bed.

Chu Xia and Cen Zhengnian had never seen him like this and were immediately alarmed.

Chu Xia hugged Cen Huai’an and asked anxiously, “What’s wrong? Does your head hurt? Can you still talk?”

Cen Zhengnian quickly put on his clothes again and, without saying a word, picked up Cen Huai’an, saying, “Let’s go to the hospital!”

“Teeth! My teeth hurt!”

Cen Huai’an finally managed to say.

His little face was scrunched up in pain, looking extremely pitiful.

When Chu Xia heard it was a toothache, she sighed in relief.

She examined his mouth and found that the gums around the big tooth on the right side were swollen, making it hard to see the details of the teeth.

Frowning, she told Cen Zhengnian, “I’ll check his teeth first.”

She found a flashlight from the drawer and carefully examined the area where Cen Huai’an said it hurt.

She saw that between the two large molars on the right side, there was already a sign of cavities.

Fortunately, the cavity didn’t look deep, so it probably hadn’t affected the nerves yet, and it wasn’t the most severe stage.

Chuxia felt reassured and said to Cen Zhengnian, “No need to go to the hospital; just start with anti-inflammatory medication. The hospital doesn’t have a dentist right now, and even if you go to the emergency room, they’ll only give anti-inflammatory and pain-relief treatments.”

Cen Zhengnian looked at An An, who had tears in his eyes and a pitiful expression, and felt heartbroken. “But he’s in a lot of pain.”

Chuxia put the flashlight away and looked for medication in the drawer where she kept commonly used drugs. “The pain will ease once he takes the medicine.”

She found an anti-inflammatory pill and turned to Cen Zhengnian. “Get him a glass of water.”

After Cen Huai’an took the medicine, Chuxia placed a Sichuan peppercorn in the gap between his teeth and told him to bite down on it.

The peppercorn contained numbing agents that could help with the pain.

Slowly, Cen Huai’an’s condition started to improve.

Once he fell into a deep sleep, Chuxia and Cen Zhengnian finally relaxed.

That night, the three of them didn’t sleep well.

Chuxia and Cen Zhengnian woke up several times to check on Cen Huai’an and even removed the peppercorn from his mouth in the middle of the night.

Fortunately, Cen Huai’an slept well through the night and didn’t experience any more pain.

The next morning, Chuxia asked An An as he woke up, “Does your tooth still hurt?”

He shook his head, licked his teeth, and said, “It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

Great, the toothache was resolved. Now, it was time to find out why An An had a toothache in the first place.

Chuxia, having been a doctor in her past life, was very particular about oral hygiene.

She made sure Cen Huai’an rinsed his mouth after meals and candies and brushed his teeth twice daily.

If she had enforced these rules, Cen Huai’an wouldn’t have cavities. It was clear that he had secretly eaten candy behind her back.

Chuxia pulled up a chair and sat down in front of Cen Huai’an, looking at him seriously.

Cen Huai’an, sensitive to adult emotions, sensed his mother’s anger and instinctively moved closer to Cen Zhengnian.

Cen Zhengnian was about to speak, but Chuxia gave him a look, signaling him to stay silent. “I didn’t ask last night why his tooth hurt, but today I must find out why he has cavities.”

Indeed, the child’s health was important.

Cen Zhengnian had to harden his heart and avoid looking at An An’s little face to avoid softening.

“Did you secretly eat candy? Don’t lie!”

Cen Huai’an looked at Chuxia’s eyes and remembered how she looked when she was angry before.

He didn’t dare lie and quietly said, “Mm.”

Chuxia frowned and continued, “You’ve saved all your own money and haven’t exchanged it for candy with me. So where did you get the candy?”

Cen Huai’an knew he couldn’t hide it any longer. His mother was determined to find out where he got the candy.

Although he didn’t know what the consequences would be, he knew his mother wouldn’t let him off the hook without an explanation.

He hesitated for a long time.

Chuxia waited patiently until he finally told her how he had won candy in the preschool and the family compound.

Chuxia was both angry and amused when she heard the story.

She patted his head and said, “You’re quite clever! Knowing how to win candy this way—I should have never taught you any games!”

Cen Zhengnian also understood the situation now.

He frowned, his expression mixed.

He felt Cen Huai’an was smart but regretted that his cleverness had been used for something that led to a toothache.

Cen Huai’an had never considered that he was wrong for eating the candies he won because it was something he achieved through his own ability, fairly and squarely.

But now, seeing his mother’s expression and his father’s demeanor, he was unsure.

“Mom?” Seeing that Chu Xia hadn’t said anything, he called out to her.

“Didn’t I tell you that eating too much candy can cause toothaches?”

Cen Huai’an nodded.

His mother had indeed said that, but he had never experienced a toothache before and didn’t know what it felt like.

“Even though you knew, you still ate all the candy you won from others? And you finished all the candies I gave you every two days at home? You really have no self-discipline! And do you think winning candy from others is right? You’re just taking advantage of your skills to cheat and eat more candy!”

Cen Huai’an indeed had this mindset as Chu Xia described.

Because other children couldn’t beat him at chess, he felt proud and confident.

Since they wanted to play chess with him, he agreed only after being sure he could win against everyone.

This way, he would always win candy and never lose any.

Chu Xia wanted to continue, but then she noticed Cen Zhengnian’s frowning expression.

Since they were not alone at home, it was not fair for her to handle this alone.

“You handle the rest. Make sure Huai’an understands his mistakes and that he receives a proper punishment.”

Cen Zhengnian’s frown deepened as he met Chu Xia’s serious gaze.

He sighed and nodded, “Alright.”

Educating the child was also part of his responsibility as a father, and it shouldn’t be left entirely to Chu Xia.

Chu Xia didn’t watch how father and son interacted further.

When she came back from buying breakfast, Cen Huai’an had already admitted his mistake.

Chu Xia looked at Cen Zhengnian, who cleared his throat and said, “I’ve decided to make him write three extra pages of large characters every day for a week, and all his little red flowers will be reset.”

Cen Huai’an looked pained.

Writing large characters didn’t bother him much, but losing all the little red flowers he had accumulated was another story.

There were dozens of them, and he was planning to exchange them for picture books.

Now he couldn’t redeem anything, which made him feel really sad.

Chu Xia raised her eyebrows. She thought Cen Zhengnian might be too soft to punish Cen Huai’an, especially since he had been indulging Huai’an in his requests recently.

Unexpectedly, the punishment he chose hit Huai’an’s sore spot directly, making him genuinely feel the consequences and learn his lesson well.

“Very good,” Chu Xia said to Cen Huai’an, “If you make a mistake again, not only will you lose your red flowers, but you’ll also be banned from reading picture books for three days!”

Cen Huai’an immediately shook his head.

He didn’t want to lose his picture books: “Mom, I won’t do it again!”

Since the cavities were discovered, it was important to see a dentist promptly and fill the cavities to prevent further decay that could harm the nerves and become harder to treat.

Today was Sunday and there were no work commitments, so Chu Xia and Cen Zhengnian took Cen Huai’an to the dentist.

At first, Cen Zhengnian thought about taking them to the hospital, but after leaving the family housing compound, Chu Xia said, “We’re not going to the hospital. There are dental clinics on the street. Our neighbors get their fillings and dentures done here.”

Cen Zhengnian thought for a moment and asked, “Are the doctors there professional?” Treating and filling cavities for children required careful consideration.

Chu Xia winked at Cen Zhengnian, signaling that she had her own plan and wanted him to follow along.

Soon, Chu Xia took Cen Huai’an and Cen Zhengnian to a small private dental clinic.

The clinic was very small, and the door curtain outside was quite dirty, looking like it hadn’t been washed in a long time.

From the outside, you couldn’t tell the situation inside the clinic.

Only the glass next to the door had large red characters saying “Tooth Extraction, Denture, Filling.”

Seeing this environment, Cen Zhengnian furrowed his brows.

Cen Huai’an looked at the adults entering and exiting with their mouths covered and hadn’t yet realized what was about to happen.

Chu Xia suddenly asked with a mysterious tone, “Huai’an, do you know how the doctor extracts and fills teeth?”