Cen Zhengnian paused for a moment, then looked up at Chuxia and said softly, “Don’t worry, I’ll find a way.”

His usual tone, though calm, inspired confidence that he would indeed manage to resolve the issue.

Chuxia felt more reassured.

“Are you sure you want to send An An to the Experimental Primary School?” Cen Zhengnian asked.

Chuxia replied, “It’s the closest to home. An An is still young; it’s not suitable for him to go too far for school. He can walk to school with his backpack every day, and the Experimental Primary School is also quite good. With An An’s intelligence, he’ll do well no matter which school he attends.”

At this time, the differences between primary schools weren’t significant.

Most people sent their children to the nearby school.

The better schools that Grandfather Jiang mentioned were older, with teachers from prestigious institutions, and students from well-off families.

The Experimental Primary School also had experienced teachers or those from standard teacher training schools, so the difference wasn’t substantial.

There wasn’t much pressure regarding school admission at that time, unlike in later years when parents would do everything possible to get their children into good middle or high schools.

The society didn’t have various extracurricular tutoring classes, and children’s primary school days were carefree, with classes and playtime.

For middle school entrance, there was a unified exam, and schools were assigned based on exam results.

Chuxia wasn’t worried about An An’s middle school issues and shared this with Cen Zhengnian.

Cen Zhengnian understood her point and nodded. “I’ll try to have An An start school next Monday.”

Hearing that he could start school next Monday, An An’s eyes brightened, and he looked at Cen Zhengnian excitedly. “Dad, can I really go to school next Monday?”

An An hadn’t found primary school particularly fun before.

He could already do what the teachers taught and found many classmates immature.

But now, being away from school, he missed the companionship and activities. With Mom studying at home, he had little to do besides reading, playing chess, and playing with the dogs.

Cen Zhengnian smiled at An An. “If everything goes smoothly.”

After dinner, Chuxia went to the bathroom to wash up while Cen Zhengnian and An An cleaned up after the meal and fed the dogs.

An An crouched by the dog bowl, watching the two dogs eagerly eat the vegetable soup-soaked bread, his eyes filled with happiness.

“Dad, will the jujube tree in our yard bear jujubes?”

Chuxia had told An An that the thick-trunked tree in their yard was a jujube tree.

In Liangzhou, there were no jujube trees by the roadside or in the family compound.

An An had never seen one but had eaten jujubes before.

While playing with the dogs under the tree, seeing the budding jujube tree, An An thought, “It would be great if the tree bore jujubes. We could eat them for a long time.”

“It will,” Cen Zhengnian said without hesitation. “In the past, your uncle would come to pick the jujubes. This year, you can pick them with Dad and Uncle.”

Cen Huai’an felt a surge of anticipation at the thought. “Dad, when will the jujube tree bear fruit?”

Cen Zhengnian patiently explained as he washed dishes, “The jujube tree blooms around May. After the flowers fall, the jujubes will start to grow. By mid-July, the green jujubes will be ready to eat, and by the Mid-Autumn Festival, they will be fully ripe.”

Cen Huai’an calculated the time in his mind. It would be several months before he could eat the jujubes.

Huang Zi and Hei Zi were tugging at his pants, wanting to go out and play.

Since it was getting dark, Chuxia didn’t want them to go out.

So, An An played with the two dogs in the yard.

What was originally a toy ball for people became a game for An An and the dogs.

He would throw it, and the two dogs would immediately jump up to catch it and bring it back, waiting for him to throw it again.

An An, with his two dogs, had a great time playing.

When Cen Zhengnian finished cleaning the kitchen and came out, he saw the joyful scene and couldn’t help but smile.

He watched from the doorway of the east wing for a while before heading to the small shop in the alley.

At that time, phones were expensive, and most ordinary families couldn’t afford them.

To provide convenience, the telecom bureau installed public phones in small shops or supply and marketing cooperatives in alleys, charging a fee every five minutes.

Cen Zhengnian called Jiang Zhida from the small shop.

When he returned home, Chuxia had already come out of the bathroom.

Cen Zhengnian smiled and told her, “Dazi will take you to the Experimental Primary School for the test tomorrow.”

“Resolved? That’s quick!”

Cen Zhengnian explained, “It’s not a big deal. The age requirement of seven years old is not strictly enforced by most primary schools. As long as the registration fee is paid, children can enroll. However, since An An is transferring, the principal of the Experimental Primary School was stricter.”

Cen Huai’an household registration was transferred with Cen Zhengnian to the capital, so there were no issues with his registration.

Cen Huai’an was six years old, which wasn’t too young.

Therefore, enrolling him as a transfer student didn’t require Grandfather Jiang’s involvement.

Dazi’s friend handled it, but Dazi reported the matter to Grandfather Jiang afterward.

Cen Zhengnian felt a slight disappointment when he heard Dazi’s report, as this was something he should have handled himself.

He sincerely thanked Dazi and mentioned the help to Chuxia.

Chuxia nodded, “I understand.”

She was also thinking about how to thank Jiang Zhida.

It was not yet bedtime.

Chuxia sat in the bedroom doing physics problems, planning to complete two sets of papers before going to bed.

Meanwhile, Cen Zhengnian was telling An An a bedtime story in the next room.

Physics had always been a struggle for Chuxia.

No matter how hard she tried, her scores were stuck around ninety, and she often couldn’t solve the more difficult problems, or even if she did, she couldn’t be sure they were correct.

While working on the second paper, Chuxia got stuck on a mechanics problem.

She stared at it for a long time, drew several forces, but the results she calculated were clearly incorrect.

Chuxia was about to erase and rewrite when a sudden warmth approached from behind.

White, slender fingers landed on the lines she had drawn.

“Try adding a force of tension here,” Cen Zhengnian suggested.

Chuxia didn’t look at Cen Zhengnian behind her but followed his advice, drawing the force of tension and recalculating.

The results were no longer so far off; they matched the correct answer.

With such an excellent free tutor, Chuxia wasn’t going to miss this opportunity.

She pulled out the physics problems she didn’t understand and asked Cen Zhengnian one by one.

Cen Zhengnian pulled up a chair and sat next to her, leaning in to look at the problems she mentioned.

Their bodies were very close, and Chuxia could even smell the faint scent of soap on him.

Unlike many men of this era, Cen Zhengnian was always impeccably clean.

Even when he was hurriedly coming from work to see her, he carried no unpleasant odor, only this subtle soap fragrance.

A man like this was rare even in the future, and Chuxia felt it was normal to be moved.

Seeing that Chuxia was staring at the problems without reacting, Cen Zhengnian gently tapped the table and asked, “Did you understand?”

His tone carried a smile, clearly knowing she had been distracted.

Chuxia looked up and met his smiling eyes.

She felt as if her heartstrings were gently strummed by an unknown hand, like witnessing a field of blooming flowers in spring, making her face flush with a light pink.

Cen Zhengnian’s gaze softened as he looked at Chuxia, becoming deeper.

He moved his throat, about to speak, but Chuxia quickly turned her face towards the desk and looked at the problem book, saying awkwardly, “I understand now.”

She grabbed the draft paper and quickly reviewed the problems.

The issues she had only partially understood were clarified by Cen Zhengnian’s few explanations, and she solved the remaining problems swiftly.

After solving the last problem she didn’t understand, Chuxia closed the book and showed a relieved smile, “Finally, I understand them all!”

She stretched and was about to get up to go to bed when Cen Zhengnian suddenly picked her up.

Chuxia quickly wrapped her arms around him, her voice turning tense, “What are you doing?”

Cen Zhengnian’s face was serious, “Just collecting my fee for teaching.” His voice was husky and flirtatious.

The night was deep, and a cool breeze blew outside.

The two little dogs squeezed into their bed, as if they heard a delicate voice calling “teacher” from the master’s bedroom.

The moon was hidden behind clouds, and a distant dog barked. Inside, the atmosphere was full of spring warmth.

The next morning, Chuxia was woken by the chirping of birds.

Cen Zhengnian was no longer beside her, and when she looked out the window, it was already bright outside.

She moved and felt some soreness in her waist and weakness in her legs, but other than that, everything was fine.

She was clean, except for some marks.

Chuxia got out of bed and sat in front of the vanity.

On it was a note from Cen Zhengnian, telling her he had already gone to work.

The note also had contact information for everyone in the Jiang family, with important ones like Jiang Zhida and Grandpa Jiang circled.

From the few lines on the note, Chuxia could feel Cen Zhengnian’s reluctance and concern.

She touched the strong handwriting and placed the note in a box that was already nearly full.

After putting the box away, Chuxia looked in the mirror and saw the obvious marks on her neck.

She felt annoyed.

Next time, no matter how Cen Zhengnian tries to sweet-talk her, she won’t fall for it.

She didn’t expect him to be so wild and uncontrolled.

Chuxia huffed and placed the comb heavily on the vanity, trying to figure out how to hide the marks.

She eventually realized that she couldn’t cover them up, so she decided to wear a high-necked thin sweater.

The weather had warmed up, and thick sweaters were only for sudden drops in temperature.

Today’s weather looked good, so it shouldn’t be cold.

Chuxia went out of her room to find Huai’an playing with the two little dogs.

One ran while the other two chased and rolled together.

She called out, “An An!”

Cen Huai’an looked up with bright eyes and saw Chuxia. “Mommy, you’re awake!”

He pushed away the dogs trying to lick his face, stood up, and ran towards Chuxia.

He looked a bit sad as he said, “Daddy has already gone to work.”

“I know. Have you eaten?” Chuxia asked, patting his head.

“I’ve eaten. Mom, there’s food in the kitchen. I’ll help you bring it out.”

“Okay.” Chuxia never refused Cen Huai’an’s offers to help, no matter how well he did.

She let him do it and praised him, which gave him a sense of accomplishment and made him eager to help more.

Even if he got dirty playing with the dogs, Chuxia wouldn’t scold him.

She’d let him wash his own clothes, and he could use his feet if his hands weren’t strong enough.

It would get clean eventually.

Cen Huai’an had woken up early and knew Cen Zhengnian had left.

Before going to work, Cen Zhengnian had wanted to peek into Cen Huai’an’s room one last time.

But as he approached the bed, he met Cen Huai’an’s sleepy eyes.

“Daddy?”

When Cen Huai’an realized his father was going to work, Cen Zhengnian had already bought breakfast.

He patted Cen Huai’an’s head, telling him to keep sleeping and eat when he woke up.

Unable to sleep, Cen Huai’an sat up and hugged Cen Zhengnian, then, after reluctantly letting go, said, “Daddy, you can go to work now.”

Cen Zhengnian ruffled his hair before leaving.

As Cen Huai’an watched his father walk away, his reluctance grew.

He quickly climbed out of bed and ran to the door.

Cen Zhengnian was about to ride his bike out when he saw Cen Huai’an peeking from behind the screen wall.

His heart softened instantly, and he waved at him.

Cen Huai’an ran over, and Cen Zhengnian squatted down to hug him again, saying, “Listen to Mommy at home. Daddy will be back soon.”

Cen Huai’an stood at the door watching his father’s figure disappear around the corner.

He followed Cen Zhengnian’s advice, closed the door completely, and locked it from the inside with the nearby stool.

If Cen Huai’an and Chuxia hadn’t locked the door, Cen Zhengnian would have locked it from the outside, allowing Jiang Zhida to open it when he arrived.

While Chuxia was having breakfast, she heard Jiang Zhida knocking on the door and asked Cen Huai’an to let him in.

“Cousin-in-law.”

Jiang Zhida had changed to a different colored pair of sunglasses, wearing a tan jacket over a floral shirt and even more extravagant flared pants than yesterday.

Chuxia nodded and smiled, praising him, “You look more avant-garde today! Have you eaten?”

Jiang Zhida was pleased with the compliment.

His father and brother always criticized his style, but Chuxia had an eye for it.

“I’ve eaten. Cousin, don’t worry. I guarantee Huai’an will get into the experimental primary school.”

Chuxia continued eating her savory pancake, saying, “Zhengnian has already told me about the school. Thank you for your help.”

Jiang Zhida waved it off casually and played with the dogs alongside Huai’an, ruffling his head, “It’s a small matter. I’m more than willing to help such a cute An An!”

He reached to ruffle Cen Huai’an’s face again, but Cen Huai’an dodged and ran to Chuxia, snuggling next to her.