After breakfast, they set out. Jiang Shengnan had already prepared everything that needed to be delivered.

The first stop was the Fang family next door.

Since they were neighbors and Fang Father and Cen Father had fought in the war together, their relationship was quite good.

It would be inappropriate for Cen Zhengnian not to go and pay New Year’s greetings.

Chu Xia didn’t know about these complicated relationships.

She just needed to follow Cen Zhengnian and smile while holding Cen Huai’an.

When they walked into the Fang family’s gate, Chu Xia realized that the Lu Qin she had talked to with Jiang Shengnan yesterday was Fang Lingling’s mother.

At that moment, Fang Lingling was sitting on the sofa with Lu Qin, and they seemed to be having some kind of argument.

But as soon as Cen Zhengnian and Chu Xia walked in, they immediately returned to their normal selves.

Lu Qin put on a warm smile: “Zhengnian and Chu Xia are here! Oh, and An An! Come in, have some candy, and I’ll get you some water.”

Fang Father heard the commotion and came out of his study.

Seeing Cen Zhengnian, he also smiled and talked to him.

Fang Lingling tidied her hair and walked over, about to speak to Cen Zhengnian, but Lu Qin pulled her behind her with a sharp look.

Turning back, Lu Qin put on a warm smile again.

Both Lu Qin and Fang Father liked Cen Zhengnian a lot.

Chu Xia could see their admiration for Cen Zhengnian as a senior, their attitude was much warmer towards him than towards her, the new daughter-in-law.

Chu Xia didn’t mind.

After all, Cen Zhengnian grew up in the military, and these people had watched him grow up, so it was very normal for them to be close to him.

Today, she was just there to be a wallflower and collect red envelopes with Cen Zhengnian’s approval.

Lu Qin and Fang Father wanted to keep Cen Zhengnian longer, but he declined.

After sitting down for a cup of tea, he stood up and said, “Uncle Fang, Aunt Fang, we still need to go to the next house to deliver New Year’s gifts. We have to go.”

Fang Father and Lu Qin had to let him go and asked him to visit again when he had time.

After leaving the Fang family’s gate, Chu Xia smiled and said to Cen Zhengnian, “Were you the best-behaved child in the family quarters when you were young? The kind of child that others would envy?”

Cen Zhengnian didn’t understand her meaning: “What do you mean by ‘other people’s child’?”

“Other people’s child,” Chu Xia explained to him: “Like Xiao Ming, who is so good at his studies, so understanding and well-behaved, never naughty. You should learn from him! In Xiao Ming’s eyes, An An is the ‘other people’s child.’”

Cen Huai’an, eating a milk candy, asked with a mouthful, “Mom, who is Xiao Ming?”

He was feeling quite pleased with himself, as his mom always praised him as the best child, never praising others.

Chu Xia patted his head: “You’ll often see him on your test papers in the future.”

Upon hearing this, Cen Zhengnian’s smile was hard to hide: “If you put it that way, then I am…”

Chu Xia looked at him and said, “It’s a good thing I didn’t grow up with you, or I would have really disliked you when we were kids.”

Cen Huai’an, confused, asked, “Mom, why would you dislike Dad?”

Chu Xia sighed: “You geniuses will never understand the pain of ordinary people.”

Cen Zhengnian pressed his fist to his mouth, trying to hide his uncontrollable laughter, while Cen Huai’an looked puzzled, not understanding what Chu Xia meant.

The family continued to deliver dumplings and New Year’s gifts to the next house, chatting and laughing.

The people in the military family quarters saw the Cen family’s close bond throughout the morning.

Unbeknownst to them, as they left the Fang family’s gate, Lu Qin and Fang Lingling were once again engaged in a heated argument, and the cause of the argument was Cen Zhengnian.

“Lingling! Your father and I sent you to the Tian Gong Base to learn from the seniors and achieve something in the future, not to interfere in other people’s families! No matter how good Zhengnian is, he’s married now. Stop dreaming those foolish dreams!”

“Mom, why don’t you understand? I’ve liked him since I was a child!”

Lu Qin’s face turned pale with anger.

She sat on the sofa, recovering for a long time, while Fang Lingling was terrified: “Mom, Mom, what’s wrong with you?”

Lu Qin grabbed her hand, frowning and saying: “Why didn’t you say anything before? Why didn’t you speak up before Zhengnian got married?”

At that time, Fang Lingling was also very proud.

She hoped Zhengnian would realize her feelings and propose to her.

It would be improper for a girl to take the initiative.

Who knew that when Cen Zhengnian went back to his father’s hometown, the news of his marriage came out. Her first reaction was disbelief.

The Cen family must be joking, it couldn’t be true!

But it was real, and soon she heard that Zhengnian’s wife was pregnant, and later the child was born.

In a fit of anger, she married a classmate who had been pursuing her.

But she didn’t like her classmate at all.

After graduation, with her parents’ help, she joined the Tian Gong Base, getting closer to Cen Zhengnian.

Since Zhengnian’s wife wasn’t even in the northwest, she thought she had another chance.

She quickly divorced her classmate, thinking that being close to him might make him like her and divorce that arranged wife.

Unexpectedly, Cen Zhengnian completely ignored her.

They had no chance to be alone together, and she watched their relationship grow stronger.

Fang Lingling had considered giving up, but after so many years of feelings, she couldn’t let go.

Whenever she saw Cen Zhengnian, she couldn’t stay calm and was more unwilling in her heart.

After listening to Fang Lingling’s tearful confession, Lu Qin covered her forehead, feeling both heartbroken for her daughter and angry at her stubbornness.

“No matter how much you like him, it doesn’t matter. Can liking him be a meal? He’s already married, and you must let go. You have family background, looks, and prospects. What kind of good man can’t you find? Why do you have to hang on to this one tree? If you dare to get close to Cen Zhengnian again, I’ll act as if I have no daughter!”

Lu Qin’s tone was very firm, and she meant it.

She had always been strong, competing with Jiang Shengnan all her life.

Everyone envied her family and children in the hospital, and she would not allow her daughter to make such a shameful mistake.

Fang Lingling cried continuously.

She was afraid of her mother, but saying she no longer liked Cen Zhengnian was impossible.

How could she just stop liking someone she had liked for so long?

After a whole morning of paying New Year’s visits, Chuxia was completely exhausted, especially her legs, which were sore and numb.

She sat on the sofa, massaging her legs, saying, “Thankfully, paying New Year’s visits only happens once a year. Otherwise, I’d be exhausted. My face feels like it’s frozen in a smile.”

Cen Huai’an ran over and squatted in front of Chuxia, saying sweetly, “Mommy, I’ll massage your legs. I’m not tired.”

Cen Zhengnian also said, “Stretch out your legs, and I’ll knead them for you.”

Chuxia patted Cen Huai’an’s head and had him bring a small stool to continue the massage.

She glanced at Cen Zhengnian, hesitated for a moment, but her legs felt too uncomfortable, so she extended them. “Don’t press too hard; it might hurt.”

Cen Zhengnian smiled and responded, “Alright.”

Chuxia leaned back on the sofa and, under the efforts of the two “massagers,” felt so comfortable that she accidentally fell asleep.

Cen Zhengnian was the first to notice she had fallen asleep. He stopped his actions, took Cen Huai’an’s hand, and whispered, “An’an, stop massaging. I’ll carry your mother upstairs to sleep.”

The sofa was uncomfortable for sleeping and could easily lead to catching a cold.

Chuxia was genuinely tired. Cen Zhengnian carried her upstairs and placed her on the bed. She didn’t wake up but instead rolled over to find a more comfortable position and fell into a deeper sleep.

Cen Zhengnian tidied her messy hair and covered her with a blanket, sitting by the bed and watching her sleep with an incredibly gentle expression.

After a while, seeing that it was almost noon, he went downstairs to the kitchen to cook.

Yu Tian was out somewhere, and Cen’s father and Jiang Shengnan were not at home.

Only Chuxia and her family were at home.

The fridge was mostly stocked with dumplings, and Cen Zhengnian was best at making dumplings.

He turned on the gas stove, opened the lid, and started boiling water for the dumplings.

Cen Huai’an followed him like a little tail. After answering Cen Zhengnian’s question about his Go lessons at school, he asked in a babyish voice, “Daddy, when will you play Go with me again?”

He wanted to play Go with his father.

He had already played two games of chess with his grandfather and had yet to play Go with his father in the northwest.

Cen Zhengnian stirred the dumplings in the pot and said, “After we eat, I’ll play with you.”

When Chuxia was woken by Cen Zhengnian, she still felt very sleepy and could barely open her eyes.

He spoke gently, “Chuxia, eat something and then you can go back to sleep.”

Chuxia drowsily sat up, ate some dumplings on the bed, took her medicine, rinsed her mouth, and continued to lie down to sleep.

When she woke up again, the sun was already tilting to the west.

She went downstairs and saw Cen Zhengnian and Cen Huai’an sitting and playing Go.

Hearing her footsteps, both of them looked up. Cen Zhengnian immediately smiled, “You’re awake. Do you want something to eat?”

Cen Huai’an also called out, “Mommy,” with a hint of pride, “I’m about to win.”

Chuxia wasn’t hungry but was a bit thirsty.

She poured herself a glass of water, sat behind Cen Huai’an, and smiled at Cen Zhengnian. “Zhengnian, how do you feel about losing to your five-year-old son? What’s your mood right now?”

Cen Zhengnian wasn’t embarrassed at all.

He continued to smile warmly and replied naturally, “I’m proud of him. And…”

He glanced at Chuxia, “Whether I win or lose, he will always be my son. That won’t change.”

Seeing that she wasn’t mocking him, Chuxia stopped talking and focused on the game, even though she didn’t understand it.

Soon, Cen Zhengnian put down his chess piece and said, “An’an, Daddy lost.”

His tone was calm and collected, unlike Cen’s father, who would feel embarrassed about losing.

Cen Zhengnian didn’t have that feeling. He reached out and patted Cen Huai’an’s head. “You’ve improved so much in Go over the past few months. You’re amazing! Daddy can’t keep up with you.”

Cen Huai’an’s lips curled up, showing his happiness at being praised.

Chuxia took a sip of water and added, “An’an, even though you’ve beaten your father, he’s very skilled too. His work contributes to the country.”

Cen Huai’an’s curiosity was piqued. “What work?”

Cen Zhengnian smiled and stayed silent, looking at Chuxia.

Chuxia patted Cen Huai’an’s head and said, “It’s a secret. I can’t say, but it’s very impressive!”

It sounded very mysterious, making Cen Huai’an look at Cen Zhengnian with more admiration.

Cen Zhengnian enjoyed his son’s admiration.

Chuxia added, “Also, your father is very good at math. If you have any questions about Sudoku, you can ask him now.”

Cen Huai’an’s eyes lit up, and he immediately ran upstairs to get his Sudoku puzzles.

Cen Zhengnian looked at Chuxia with a helpless expression. “During the New Year, it seems that only An’an and I do puzzles.”

Chuxia replied, “Well, you are his father.”

Cen Zhengnian didn’t have much time at home, so he made the most of it.

Cen Huai’an didn’t have many unsolved problems, and it took them less than half an hour to finish.

For Cen Huai’an, who found certain problems particularly difficult and had struggled with them for a long time, Cen Zhengnian solved them with just a glance.

His daily work involved a lot of calculations and experiments, so solving these not-so-difficult Sudoku puzzles was as easy as 1+1=2 for him.

After finishing a few Sudoku puzzles, Cen Huai’an’s admiration for Cen Zhengnian reached its peak.

He had never seen his father as impressive before.

“Daddy, are you a math expert?”

Cen Zhengnian nodded. “You could say that. My work involves using math.”

Cen Huai’an began to ask Cen Zhengnian math questions, and Cen Zhengnian answered them seriously, not neglecting even the simplest ones.

Chuxia soon noticed that Cen Huai’an’s relationship with Cen Zhengnian had improved.

She watched the father-son interaction, finished her water, and felt very pleased.

Just as she was wondering whether to turn on the TV, the front door of the Cen family home was suddenly knocked from the outside, accompanied by several male voices.

“Cen Ge! Are you home?”

“Zhengnian! Come out and play!”

“Cen Ge, we know you’re back. Don’t just stay at home with your wife!”

“Yeah, let’s hang out with us brothers too!”

Cen Zhengnian stood up, meeting Chu Xia’s puzzled gaze, and said, “They are a few friends I grew up with.”

He rubbed his forehead and laughed, his tone a bit helpless: “Their personalities are a bit unconventional.”

The noise outside grew louder. Chu Xia nudged him, “You should go open the door.”

Cen Zhengnian walked towards the door, and after thinking for a moment, Cen Huai’an ran outside after him. Hearing the noise, Cen Zhengnian turned back and took his hand.

Chu Xia looked at the two of them and followed them outside.

As she walked to the center of the courtyard, Cen Zhengnian opened the big door.

Several men poured in and immediately surrounded Cen Zhengnian, all talking at once.

Chu Xia couldn’t distinguish their voices.

Seeing Cen Huai’an, one of the men immediately lifted him up and tossed him in the air a few times before catching him.

“Zhengnian, so this is your son! He really looks like you, and his expression is just like yours when you were young.”

Someone with sharp eyes noticed Chu Xia behind them and quickly pulled the people next to him.

In an instant, all their gazes were on her.

Cen Zhengnian stepped out from the crowd and walked to Chu Xia’s side, saying to them, “This is your sister-in-law.”

The men’s eyes widened in surprise, their reaction similar to Yu Tian’s.

One of them even exclaimed, “Wow,” with his mouth hanging open.

“Hello everyone,” Chu Xia greeted them with a smile.

The men quickly stood at attention and saluted her, shouting in unison, “Hello, sister-in-law!”

The sound was so loud that it made Chu Xia want to rub her ears.

Cen Zhengnian then introduced them to Chu Xia.

They were all people who had grown up in the family quarters and now worked in the military. Chu Xia had met their parents earlier that day.

When the men heard this, they looked regretful.

“If we’d known, we wouldn’t have gone to play basketball this morning,” said a man named Hu Lei.

“Yeah, otherwise, we would have met sister-in-law earlier,” another added.

Cen Zhengnian said, “It’s not too late. What do you need from me?”

He had only two days of leave, and although he had grown up with these friends, he wasn’t very eager to go out and hang out with them.

He just wanted to stay home with Chu Xia and Cen Huai’an.

“We wanted to invite you to play basketball. It’s been a while since you’ve been back, and we all missed you,” Hu Lei said.

In the military, entertainment activities were mostly limited to basketball, chess, or secretly watching the female performers of the art troupe train.

Some of Hu Lei’s group had wives in the art troupe, and they were all about the same age as Cen Zhengnian and had gotten married.

Cen Zhengnian knew he couldn’t avoid it today.

Since Hu Lei and the others had come, he had to go out.

However, the basketball game was an activity where family members could join, so he turned to Chu Xia and asked, “Do you want to come watch us play basketball?”

“Sure,” Chu Xia replied. She didn’t have much to do at home and didn’t want to read during the New Year. Watching them play basketball sounded good.

Cen Zhengnian was so refined; she was curious about what he would look like playing basketball.

Seeing Cen Zhengnian bring his wife and son to the game, Hu Lei and the others exchanged glances, eager to tease Cen Zhengnian, but couldn’t do so with Chu Xia present, so they held back.

When they reached the basketball court, Chu Xia sat on the side with An An, and Hu Lei and the others finally started to laugh and joke.

“Zhengnian, you and sister-in-law seem to be getting along really well,” Hu Lei said.

“Can’t leave her for even a moment.”

“Yeah, we never would have thought you’d have this side to you.”

……

Cen Zhengnian took off his coat, rolled up his sweater sleeves, and looked at the men: “You talk so much. Are we playing or not?”

“Let’s play!”

“Zhengnian, our basketball skills have improved a lot. We’re going to beat you this time.”

Cen Zhengnian didn’t say much more. He handed his clothes to Chu Xia and asked, “Same old rules?”

Hu Lei nodded, “Yes.”

“Alright.”

Chu Xia watched from the sidelines as the men started tossing the basketball, and the court immediately became lively.