An An was displeased when his uncle, Jiang Zhida, touched him with hands still covered in dog hair.

He didn’t like having anyone touch his face, except for his parents and grandparents.

After some thought, he added great-grandfather to the list of exceptions.

After breakfast, Jiang Zhida brought Chuxia and An An back to the Experimental Primary School.

This time, they went straight to see the principal, not the head of the academic affairs office.

The principal, a gentleman in his late forties or early fifties, looked scholarly and kind, with a gentle smile.

He clearly recognized Jiang Zhida and asked, “How’s your grandfather’s health?”

Jiang Zhida, no longer in his playful demeanor, stood obediently and replied, “He’s doing well, Uncle Qian.”

Chuxia and An An stood quietly to the side, listening to Jiang Zhida and Principal Qian.

Principal Qian patted Jiang Zhida’s shoulder, saying, “No need to put on an act with me. I know you well enough. Pass on a message to Xiao Ran, ask him when he’ll be home. If he doesn’t come back soon, I can’t save him.”

Jiang Zhida relaxed and returned to his usual cheerful self, nodding and saying, “Don’t worry, Uncle Qian. I’ll definitely pass that message along!”

“Is this the child who will be transferring into the class?” Principal Qian’s gaze shifted to An An, and he remarked appreciatively, “He looks like a smart child.”

Jiang Zhida wrapped an arm around An An and said, “Yes, he’s my cousin’s child!”

Principal Qian spoke briefly with Chuxia before calling over a teacher to bring some kindergarten-level test papers for An An.

“Transferring students need to take a test,” Principal Qian explained, “We need to assess the child’s level.”

The teacher brought over a test paper from the previous semester’s kindergarten class.

It was not difficult, and An An completed it in half an hour.

He could have done it even faster if he hadn’t been careful with each question.

The test papers had only two sides, similar to those he had taken at his previous school, with large fonts and few questions.

The teacher observed An An as he worked, noting that he made no mistakes.

Even in the section where students often made errors by writing characters based on pinyin, An An’s characters were correct.

“Finished already?” Principal Qian asked, surprised. “No need to rush. You can take your time to review.”

Cen Huai’an replied seriously, “I’ve already reviewed it.”

The teacher, suppressing her surprise, reported to Principal Qian, “Principal, An An answered all the questions correctly.”

Principal Qian asked for the test papers and reviewed them.

Afterward, his gaze returned to Cen Huai’an.

There was no excitement or pride on An An’s face; he appeared as if getting the answers right was a normal occurrence.

Principal Qian’s initial praise for Cen Huai’an had been polite, but now he genuinely admired the child.

Originally, Principal Qian saw admitting a student as a minor favor due to the good relationship between his family and the Jiang family.

But An An’s performance was a pleasant surprise.

“Good! Teacher Fang, An An will join your class.”

Upon hearing this, Chuxia, who had been watching closely, breathed a sigh of relief.

An An’s admission to the Experimental Primary School was secured.

Teacher Fang, though young and appearing in her twenties, had a friendly demeanor and spoke gently. “Alright, Principal.”

She turned to An An, crouched down, and extended her hand with a smile. “Hello, An An. I’ll be your homeroom teacher from now on.”

An An looked at Chuxia, who signaled him to shake Teacher Fang’s hand.

He extended his hand and said, “Hello, Teacher.”

Teacher Fang led An An to the kindergarten classroom, while Chuxia and Jiang Zhida stayed outside, watching through the window.

The kindergarten children, around An An’s age, sat attentively and curiously watched An An at the front of the room.

Teacher Fang asked An An to introduce himself.

Since he had never done this before, An An wasn’t sure how to proceed.

He frowned and looked at the students without speaking.

The children began whispering among themselves, and Chuxia and Jiang Zhida could hear their murmurs.

“Why isn’t he speaking?”

“Can he not talk?”

“Where did he come from? Why is he transferring to our class?”

Teacher Fang promptly guided An An, saying, “You can tell everyone your name and interests.”

Cen Huai’an spoke up in a calm tone, “My name is Cen Huai’an, and I like playing Go.”

After speaking, he looked at Teacher Fang, asking if that was acceptable.

Teacher Fang hesitated for a moment but quickly recovered, applauding to encourage the class to welcome An An.

Cen Huai’an, not very tall, was seated in the third row by the window.

The students who originally sat there moved back to make space.

Chuxia saw that An An noticed her and Jiang Zhida through the window.

She waved and smiled, signaling that they were leaving.

Once they left the kindergarten area, Jiang Zhida sighed, “Sister-in-law, An An seems quiet. Will he adjust to the new class? Will he make new friends?”

Chuxia, recalling An An’s previous school experience, reassured him, “Don’t worry. An An had many friends at his old school.”

She also mentioned, “When we left Liangzhou, his friends came to see him off at the bus station.”

Jiang Zhida was relieved.

But it turned out they were relieved too soon.

Cen Huai’an liked the new classroom and teacher, but the lessons were a bit slow for him.

After one lesson, he reached into his desk to find his Go board, but then remembered he had left it at home. He also forgot his practice sheets.

Cen Huai’an had to flip through his language textbook to preview the next lesson.

At that moment, his desk mate, a small, thin boy, asked curiously, “Which primary school did you transfer from?”

Cen Huai’an’s desk mate, similar in size to Miaozhi(Chopstick), reminded An An of his old friends.

He replied, “From Affiliated Primary School,” speaking as little as usual.

Since his desk mate resembled chopsticks, An An wondered if he was as talkative.

However, after asking that one question, the desk mate fell silent and began playing with paper frogs on the desk.

Another boy, larger and heavier, leaned over An An’s desk and pressed down on his books, asking, “Hey! You’re not from Beijing, are you?”

An An frowned and pushed him back, saying, “Don’t press on my books.”

He didn’t answer whether he grew up in the capital city.

The burly boy was stunned when pushed, and his face immediately flushed with anger: “You dare push me? Do you know who I am? Do you know who my brother is?”

Hearing this, Cen Huai’an’s deskmate shrank back a little in fear.

Cen Huai’an, however, looked up, examined his face for a moment, and shook his head. “I don’t know you.”

He found the boy in front of him quite strange.

He had just joined the class, so how could he know him and his brother?

The burly boy became even angrier, pointing at Cen Huai’an. “You! You’d better wait after school! This matter isn’t over!”

At this moment, the bell rang, and the burly boy quickly returned to his seat.

Cen Huai’an didn’t pay any attention to his words.

Instead, his deskmate hesitated for a while and secretly wrote a note to Cen Huai’an.

Since his deskmate couldn’t write many words, the note had a large figure drawn, and a smaller figure with a long line drawn in front of it.

Cen Huai’an stared at the note for a while but couldn’t figure out what it meant.

He folded the note and focused on listening to the teacher.

His deskmate thought Cen Huai’an understood his message, sighed in relief, and relaxed to focus on the class.

After class, when the bell rang for dismissal, Cen Huai’an’s deskmate watched him slowly pack up his books and walk towards the door.

He was getting anxious.

But at this moment, the burly boy was right behind them, glaring.

His deskmate didn’t dare say anything more and could only slowly move towards the school gate with his backpack.

As expected, Cen Huai’an was stopped at the school gate by the burly boy and an even burly-er boy.

“You’re the one who pushed my little brother? You don’t look like much!” The larger boy tilted his head, squinted his eyes, and looked Cen Huai’an up and down with a disdainful expression.

Cen Huai’an looked at the two, still expressionless and unafraid, but his eyes were already filled with a fierce look.

“Apologize to my little brother and then kneel down and call us ‘grandpa,’ and we’ll let you go!”

As he spoke, the larger boy reached out to push Cen Huai’an, but he dodged by leaning aside.

Cen Huai’an’s fierceness intensified as he looked at the two, ready to attack like a wolf cub facing its enemy.

“I will not apologize.” Cen Huai’an said each word clearly, his gaze towards the two burly boys as fierce as a beast.

The burly younger brother looked into Cen Huai’an’s eyes and, for some reason, took a step back, feeling a sense of retreat.

However, seeing his older brother, he immediately puffed out his chest and lifted his head, saying, “If you don’t apologize, just wait to be beaten!”

The burly older brother beckoned Cen Huai’an with his hand. “You’ve got guts; come with me!”

He and his burly younger brother walked ahead, but Cen Huai’an ignored their words and walked directly towards home with his books.

Who did they think they were, calling him around?

He wasn’t a little dog.

After walking for a while, the two burly boys turned around and saw that Cen Huai’an hadn’t followed them, and their faces instantly showed anger.

Especially the burly older brother.

In the past, if anyone didn’t listen to him during a fight, he would beat them to a pulp.

No one in the entire experimental elementary school dared to mess with them.

He grabbed his brother and turned to chase Cen Huai’an, quickly reaching him and giving him a hard shove.

“Are you deaf? Why aren’t you following me?”

The burly older brother was extremely angry, hitting Cen Huai’an as he spoke.

Cen Huai’an quickly dodged, but still didn’t avoid completely.

The older brother knocked the books he was holding to the ground.

Cen Huai’an was very protective of his books.

They were all covered with book covers, and he wouldn’t let the corners get bent.

Now that his books had fallen on the ground, he quickly squatted down to pick them up.

But the older brother, in his rage, saw Cen Huai’an’s action and immediately stepped on his books, kicking them far away.

“Damn it, get out of the way! Hurry up and follow me, or I’ll…”

Before the burly older brother could finish his sentence, Cen Huai’an’s eyes turned completely red.

In a fit of rage, he charged at him aggressively.

Because Cen Huai’an lowered his head to charge, he collided right into the older brother’s stomach, causing him pain and knocking him to the ground.

Ignoring everything, Cen Huai’an sat on top of him and started punching him fiercely, one punch after another.

He didn’t speak, just gritted his teeth and looked like he wanted to beat him to a pulp.

The burly older brother was stunned at first from the hit but soon reacted and began to fight back.

The burly younger brother joined in, and the three of them rolled on the ground, entangled in a struggle.

Though it seemed Cen Huai’an was at a disadvantage, he clung tightly to the older brother, beating him mercilessly.

The older brother became terrified.

“Let me go! Pull him off!”

No matter how much the younger brother hit Cen Huai’an, he kept his focus on his brother.

Eventually, the younger brother desperately tried to pull Cen Huai’an away but couldn’t move him.

At this moment, Teacher Fang arrived, looking terrified and flustered. “What’s going on? What are you doing?”

She pulled the three children apart.

The older brother’s arm was already bleeding from Cen Huai’an’s bites.

If Teacher Fang hadn’t arrived, he might have bitten off a piece of flesh.