When going to the research institute, Chuxia and Cen Huai’an carried a lot of packages, but when they returned, both were carrying nothing.

In the early morning, the sun wasn’t glaring.

Looking out through the bus window, one could still see dewdrops on the leaves shimmering in the sunlight, almost dripping but not quite.

Chuxia, however, was not in the mood to appreciate the beautiful morning scenery and just wanted to rest her head against the window and sleep for a bit.

Last night, Cen Zhengnian had kept her up too late.

If it weren’t for the fact that she had to send An’an to Grandpa Jiang’s place today, she wouldn’t have woken up until noon.

Cen Huai’an was also in low spirits.

He kept looking back at Cen Zhengnian until he couldn’t see the research institute anymore before turning back around.

Before heading to Grandpa Jiang’s house, Chuxia first took Cen Huai’an home to change clothes and pack up, bringing along some medicinal wine.

When they got off the bus, they happened to run into someone selling bamboo shoots at the alley.

It was already late in the bamboo shoot season, with the peak time being around the Qingming Festival.

It was indeed a stroke of luck to come across them now.

Chuxia looked at the bamboo shoots.

The old farmer selling them had a simple, honest face and awkwardly handled the shoots.

Rubbing his hands together, he said, “These… these are from the mountain I dug up myself, not… not old.”

Saying this, he peeled one for Chuxia to see.

“I know,” Chuxia said after inspecting them. They were indeed as fresh as the old farmer claimed. She smiled at him and said, “I’ll take them all.”

There weren’t many left anyway, and these would be finished in one meal.

The old farmer quickly weighed them and put the shoots into the net bag Chuxia was carrying.

Nowadays, Chuxia always carries a net bag when she goes out.

Since there are few plastic bags available, you either use a basket or a net bag to carry things; otherwise, there’s no way to take them.

When they arrived at Grandpa Jiang’s house, his students happened to be asking him questions, so Chuxia and An’an did not go to the study.

She let An’an play in the living room and took the net bag to the kitchen, where Aunt Li was tidying up.

“Aunt Li, I saw someone selling bamboo shoots on my way here, so I bought some. Can you see how to cook them?”

“Okay.” Aunt Li took the bamboo shoots and put them away, continuing with her work.

Chuxia knew her temperament, so she took the empty net bag and sat with An’an in the living room.

With the pre-exam period approaching, Chuxia was studying even more diligently.

Whenever she had free time, she would either read or do problems.

When Uncle Jiang’s youngest daughter, Jiang Zhiyi, and Aunt Jiang arrived, they saw Chuxia working seriously on problems at the living room table while Cen Huai’an quietly played chess beside her.

Aunt Jiang glanced at Chuxia and then at Jiang Zhiyi with a cold expression, asking, “Where is your homework?”

Jiang Zhiyi, who was also preparing for the college entrance exam this year, had been pressured by her mother to study every day.

Finally, having the chance to rest at Grandpa Jiang’s house, she didn’t want to bring homework.

“It’s at home,” Jiang Zhiyi said coquettishly to her mother. “Mom, I study and do exercises every day at home. Let me just rest a bit at Grandpa’s house.”

Chuxia overheard their conversation, looked up at Aunt Jiang and Jiang Zhiyi, and greeted them with a smile, asking Cen Huai’an to call them over.

Aunt Jiang nodded politely and signaled Jiang Zhiyi to put the things she brought on the table.

Just as Chuxia always brought something when visiting Grandpa Jiang, other young relatives who came to see him also didn’t come empty-handed.

“Cousin, where is Grandpa?” Jiang Zhiyi asked, looking around and not seeing Grandpa Jiang.

“Grandpa’s students are here, and he’s in the study talking to them,” Chuxia replied.

Jiang Zhiyi stopped looking for Grandpa Jiang and instead turned to look at Chuxia’s papers. “I heard that Cousin is also taking the college entrance exam this year. Is this?”

She scanned the papers and was surprised. “This is the monthly exam paper we just finished in high school. Cousin, it looks like you’ve answered everything correctly.”

Chuxia’s papers were all given to her by Grandpa Jiang.

She didn’t know where he got them but could only tell which high school they were from by the school names printed on the papers.

She wasn’t very familiar with Uncle Jiang’s family and had only met Jiang Zhiyi for the second time since she came to the capital, so she only knew she was in high school but not which one.

“I haven’t finished yet; the earlier questions aren’t difficult.”

The math paper had challenging problems at the end, which were harder than the earlier ones.

Jiang Zhiyi understood and went to sit on the sofa with Aunt Jiang to watch TV.

Chuxia continued working on the problems, while Cen Huai’an looked at the TV beside him, which wasn’t his preference, and focused on his chess game.

Aunt Jiang was quiet, and Jiang Zhiyi wanted to say something, but as soon as she spoke, Aunt Jiang shot her a look and said, “Don’t disturb me.”

Jiang Zhiyi immediately shut up.

Chuxia didn’t pay attention to the situation between Aunt Jiang and her daughter.

She was focused on finishing her problems within the allotted time.

Thus, she didn’t notice when Jiang Zhiyi took the peaches they brought outside, nor did she realize that after giving some peaches to Cen Huai’an, Jiang Zhiyi stood behind her, eating a peach while watching her do the problems.

As early summer progressed and questions were answered one after another, Jiang Zhiyi’s eyes grew wider and wider, to the point where she even forgot to bite her peach.

Jiang Zhiyi tried to recall how she performed during her math test, and she couldn’t match Chuxia’s speed or accuracy.

The monthly exam had been reviewed just a couple of days ago, and Jiang Zhida still remembered the answers quite clearly.

Especially with the math test, she had struggled with some of the questions at the end, made many careless mistakes at the beginning, and had been scolded by the teacher.

She had paid the most attention when the exam paper was reviewed.

By the time Chuxia completed the final bonus question and got it right, Jiang Zhiyi was so shocked that she didn’t know what to say.

“Cousin… cousin-in-law, did you do this exam before? Or have you seen the answers?”

“No,” Chuxia replied while checking the answers, “I only look at the answers after I’ve finished the paper.”

Jiang Zhiyi fell silent for a moment, feeling deeply impacted.

She had felt pretty good about herself, considering she was better than Da Zi and ranked high in school; getting into university was not a problem.

But seeing Chuxia’s speed and accuracy, her pride evaporated instantly.

“Cousin, how long have you been studying?”

Chuxia didn’t quite understand why she was asking these questions but responded, “I’ve been studying diligently for a year.”

Jiang Zhiyi exclaimed in disbelief, “A year! You’ve only studied for a year?!”

Second Aunt Jiuma, Jiang Zhiyi’s aunt, frowned and looked over with a disapproving gaze. Jiang Zhiyi quickly hid her surprise.

Chuxia finished checking the answers and finally understood why Jiang Zhiyi was so surprised—because she had answered everything correctly, including the bonus question.

And she had misunderstood Chuxia to have only studied for a year.

Chuxia smiled at Jiang Zhiyi and said, “If I had achieved this in just one year, I would definitely be a genius. I had a high school foundation before, but I didn’t attend university. I’m just picking it up again now.”

Jiang Zhiyi admired people with good grades, especially since in her family, apart from Brother Da Zi, no one was bad at studying.

She admired her older brothers a lot.

Because she enjoyed playing and wasn’t as hardworking as her brothers, her grades had fluctuated.

Even though she ranked high in school, her mother was still not satisfied with her grades.

Chuxia, who not only looked good but also excelled in her studies, immediately gained more of Jiang Zhiyi’s admiration.

“That’s still impressive!” It had been years since her cousin graduated from high school, and even if she was picking it up again, achieving this in a year was astonishing.

Second Aunt Jiuma looked at Chuxia with a hint of surprise, and her gaze was less critical.

However, it was still early to discuss the college entrance exam.

Soon, Jiang Grandpa and his students came out.

The students were a man and a woman, appearing to be in their thirties, showing respect and familiarity towards Jiang Grandpa.

Chuxia took a quick glance and wasn’t too curious.

When she saw not only Chuxia and Cen Huai’an had arrived, but also Er Jiuma and Jiang Zhiyi, Jiang Grandpa was very pleased.

“Huaying, Chuxia, how long have you been here?” Jiang Grandpa rubbed Cen Huai’an’s head and looked at his adorable granddaughter with a broad smile.

Second Aunt Jiuma’s name was Zhou Huaying, something Chuxia had only learned from Cen Zhengnian last time when he mentioned the Jiang family.

“Half an hour,” Zhou Huaying said bluntly, without any politeness.

Jiang Grandpa, clearly familiar with her temperament, didn’t mind at all and continued to smile: “That’s not too long. Fortunately, I resolved the issue quickly, or you would have had to wait longer.”

Chuxia smiled and said, “It’s okay to wait a bit. Good things are worth waiting for.”

Jiang Grandpa laughed heartily at her words. Zhou Huaying glanced at Chuxia with a look of disdain, thinking she was too good at flattering and lacked character.

However, Zhou Huaying did think Chuxia’s words were good.

Chuxia didn’t care about Zhou Huaying’s opinion; she was just trying to make the elder happy and felt it was appropriate to say a few pleasant words.

“Grandpa, I also brought you a bottle of medicinal wine that I made myself.”

Chuxia took out the medicinal wine she brought from home and placed it in front of Jiang Grandpa: “I noticed your legs hurt on rainy days, so this medicinal wine helps with cold.”

Jiang Grandpa happily took it and was about to pour a glass to try.

He usually enjoyed a small drink, but unfortunately, his younger relatives didn’t allow him to drink much due to his age.

Zhou Huaying looked at the wine with a furrowed brow: “Dad, we don’t know what ingredients are used in the medicinal wine Chuxia made. What if it interacts with the medicine you’re taking? Don’t drink it yet. Let Dr. Li check it first.”

Jiang Grandpa’s smile instantly faded, and he looked at Zhou Huaying: “I know what I’m doing.”

He could clearly hear Zhou Huaying’s implication—that she didn’t trust Chuxia and thought she didn’t understand and was recklessly giving medicinal wine.

What if he got sick from it?

But Zhou Huaying didn’t consider that since Chuxia had brought it, it must be fine. Even if she didn’t trust it, she shouldn’t say it in front of Chuxia.

Zhou Huaying thought she was acting in Jiang Grandpa’s best interest.

Chuxia realized that the medicinal wine might cause distrust, but she didn’t expect Zhou Huaying to be so direct about it.

Gifts that make people unhappy are not Chuxia’s intention.

She smiled and said, “Auntie is right; I didn’t consider this thoroughly. Grandpa, I didn’t know you were taking medicine. Let’s wait until the doctor has checked it. I’ll write down the ingredients used.”

Zhou Huaying was satisfied with Chuxia’s understanding of the situation, while Jiang Grandpa felt a bit sorry for her: “Chuxia, your aunt didn’t mean anything else.”

“I know,” Chuxia said, having already written down the ingredients and the brewing time.

She handed the paper to Jiang Grandpa, saying, “Auntie is also concerned about your health. We have the same intention, which is for your well-being.”

Cen Huai’an, who had been standing aside, noticed that although he was young, he could see that Huaying didn’t like his mother.

He thought to himself that he also shouldn’t like Huaying.

Grandpa Jiang took An’an to the study to learn chess, and Jiang Zhiyi followed.

Chuxia also went to the study to study.

With no one else in the living room and no one studying, Zhou Huaying walked to the TV and turned up the volume a bit.

At lunch, they had tender bamboo shoots, which Grandpa Jiang praised profusely.

Upon learning that they were brought by Chuxia, he praised them even more.

Chuxia felt her face flush with embarrassment, thinking that in Grandpa Jiang’s eyes, she might as well be one of the heroes in the “Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars” of Huaguo.

In the afternoon, Zhang Lu and Jiang Weixian were brought over and practiced martial arts with Cen Huai’an.

Zhou Huaying was supposed to take Jiang Zhiyi away first, but since Jiang Zhiyi was very interested in watching the kids practice martial arts, she insisted on staying until the end.

Zhou Huaying left her and went home first.

Today’s martial arts practice ended with Jiang Weixian crying and Zhang Lu showing her disdain, and added to that was Jiang Zhiyi’s loud laughter at Jiang Weixian.

Cen Huai’an was the most composed, though he wasn’t as talented in martial arts as Zhang Lu and could only be considered average.

However, he persisted and wasn’t as afraid of fatigue as Jiang Weixian.

Before taking An’an away, Chuxia informed Grandpa Jiang that she would need to go back to Liangzhou in a few days.

“Grandpa, the school has informed me that the preliminary selection will be on May 10th, so I need to return in advance.”

Without passing the preliminary exam, Chuxia would not have the chance to take the college entrance exam.

“Go ahead, An’an can be sent directly to me,” Grandpa Jiang immediately understood her meaning and assured her that he would take good care of An’an while she was away.

“I’ll have Aunt Li pick up and drop off An’an for school. Everything he needs—food, drink, and other supplies—is here, so there’s no need for you to bring anything more. Oh, and also bring those two puppies.”

“And…” Chuxia mentioned the introduction letter issue.