Chu Xia glanced at Grandpa Jiang and smiled at Zhang Lu, “You’ll have to ask An An. It’s his cake—he traded his red stars for it.”

Cen Huai’an looked up at his mom, “Mom, I want to eat it now.”

“You can. Do you want to invite Xuan Xuan to join too?”

On Sundays, Hong Youxuan usually visited his great-grandfather to study chess.

After learning with Grandpa Jiang, Cen Huaian often went to play chess with him.

Cen Huaian nodded and went with Zhang Lu and Jiang Weixian to find Hong Youxuan.

The distance wasn’t far, so before long, the children returned.

Zhang Lu and Jiang Weixian ran ahead, occasionally turning back to urge Cen Huaian and Hong Youxuan, who were walking behind.

“Hurry up!” they called.

Hong Youxuan, with his gentle voice, told them, “Slow down a little, don’t run too fast.”

Although Cen Huaian also wanted to eat cake quickly, he didn’t show it and simply quickened his pace.

When they all came inside, Zhang Lu and Jiang Weixian’s faces were flushed, either from the cold wind or from running.

Hong Youxuan politely greeted Grandpa Jiang and Chu Xia.

Chu Xia smiled back, “Xuan Xuan, there’s no need to be so formal here.”

She touched the back of her hand to Cen Huaian’s face.

Chu Xia opened the cake, and Cen Huaian went to cut it.

Though the children all wanted to eat as much cake as possible and fill their bellies, Chu Xia wouldn’t let them overindulge.

Grandpa Jiang noticed that no one had offered him any cake and called out, “Chu Xia.”

She turned to him with a smile. “What’s wrong, Grandpa?” She acted like she didn’t know what he wanted.

Grandpa Jiang cleared his throat. “Give me a piece.”

Chu Xia replied, “Grandpa, you’re not supposed to eat sweet things.”

Grandpa Jiang wasn’t happy. “Just a little bit won’t hurt.”

Under his eager gaze, Chu Xia finally cut a small piece of cake and brought it over to him.

Grandpa Jiang looked at the cake, then back at Chu Xia. “That’s not even enough to fill the gap between my teeth!”

Chu Xia’s smile didn’t waver. “Grandpa, that’s all you can have. If you don’t want it…”

Before she could finish, Grandpa Jiang quickly grabbed the cake. “Who said I didn’t want it?”

One bite was better than none—at least he’d get a taste.

Zhang Lu and Jiang Weixian started eating quickly at first, but as the cake dwindled, they slowed down, savoring each bite.

Cen Huaian was different.

He ate at a steady pace the entire time.

When he finished, he licked his lips and glanced longingly at the remaining cake, his eyes silently expressing how much he wanted more.

But Chu Xia wasn’t moved by his puppy-dog eyes.

If he wasn’t supposed to have more, he wasn’t getting more.

Like An An, Hong Youxuan finished his cake without showing any expression of wanting more.

After eating, Hong Youxuan and An An went into Grandpa Jiang’s study to play chess, with Grandpa Jiang watching from the side.

Not long after, Hong Youxuan’s great-grandfather, Hong Yuande, came over, complaining as soon as he entered that Grandpa Jiang had once again stolen his great-grandson.

Grandpa Jiang took a slow sip of his tea, glanced at him, and said, “Keep your voice down; don’t disturb the kids.”

Hong Yuande snorted and fell silent.

Not only was Cen Huai’an’s chess improving, but Hong Youxuan’s skills were advancing rapidly as well.

Unlike Cen Huai’an’s aggressive style that sets traps while attacking, Hong Youxuan played with an outwardly gentle strategy, carefully placing each piece to create a trap, giving the opponent a false sense of security.

If you underestimated Hong Youxuan’s moves, you were bound to lose to him.

However, when An An played against him, he mostly won, though he lost occasionally too.

Chu Xia watched for a while, but Zhang Lu and Jiang Weixian got bored and wanted to go out to play, so she followed them out.

It was too cold outside, so Chu Xia stayed in the living room while Zhang Lu and Jiang Weixian played hide-and-seek.

After a while, Zhang Lu got tired and sat next to Chu Xia, glancing at the book she was reading.

“Auntie, my mom says you’re going to be a doctor in the future. Can you help me with my illness?”

Chu Xia closed her medical book, curiously looking at her. “What kind of illness do you have that needs my help?”

“My mom said I have a disease where if I don’t move, I’ll die.”

Chu Xia burst out laughing.

Her cousin was too funny; the description perfectly fit Zhang Lu’s energetic nature.

Chu Xia still told her the truth. “There’s no such illness in medicine.”

“Huh?” Zhang Lu’s mouth dropped open, her eyes wide and filled with panic. “Auntie, does that mean I have a terminal illness and I’m going to die?”

“No.” Chu Xia couldn’t help but laugh as she explained, “It means you’re not sick.”

Zhang Lu still looked doubtful and asked, disheartened, “My mom said you can check my pulse. You didn’t even look at me—is it because I have a terminal illness and you don’t want to help me?”

Chu Xia shook her head. “No, that’s not it.”

Worried Zhang Lu still didn’t believe her, Chu Xia raised her hand to take her pulse.

Zhang Lu watched in amazement as Chu Xia’s fingers touched her wrist.

After checking her pulse, Chu Xia told her, “You’re very healthy. You don’t have a disease where you’d die if you stopped moving. Your mom just said that because you’re always so restless.”

Zhang Lu finally believed her, returning to her usual lively self.

She chased after Jiang Weixian, pretending to be an eagle trying to catch a chick, making Jiang Weixian run away in a hurry.

Meanwhile, Cen Huai’an won his chess game against Hong Youxuan.

Hong Youxuan rubbed his hand and said to Cen Huai’an, “An An, you’re improving so fast.”

His tone was still gentle as usual, without a hint of jealousy, only happiness for Cen Huai’an.

Cen Huai’an pursed his lips, still not completely relaxed as he looked at Hong Youxuan. “You’re improving fast too.”

The two of them exchanged a look, feeling a sense of being evenly matched opponents.

In the afternoon, Cen Huai’an practiced martial arts, and during a break, he talked about walking Huangzi and Heizi and mentioned the dog sled.

Zhang Lu and Jiang Weixian’s eyes widened in envy. “I wish I had two dogs too.”

Jiang Weixian nodded enthusiastically.

Both of them really wanted to go with Cen Huai’an to see what dog sledding was like, but by the time martial arts practice ended, it was too late for them to go.

As the weather grew colder, Cen Zhengnian’s birthday was approaching—it was in winter.

In December, when Chu Xia sent homemade dried red dates to Jiang Shengnan, Jiang Shengnan mentioned Cen Zhengnian’s birthday in her reply.

Actually, Chu Xia already knew about Cen Zhengnian’s birthday; she had it marked in her mind!

Previously, they had planned to invite Cen Zhengnian’s colleagues from the research institute over for a meal, but due to various reasons, it never happened.

This time, for Cen Zhengnian’s birthday, Chu Xia suggested, “How about we invite some of your closer colleagues from the research institute over to help you celebrate?”

As Cen Zhengnian was taking off his scarf, he responded, “There’s no need to celebrate my birthday like that. Just having an egg that day will be enough.”

He didn’t care about these kinds of rituals, and celebrating his birthday would mean Chu Xia would be the one busy. He didn’t want her to be too tired.

Chu Xia then turned to Cen Huaian and asked, “An An, do you want to celebrate Daddy’s birthday?”

“Yes!” Cen Huaian nodded immediately, then thought for a moment and added, “But, Mom, I only want to celebrate with you.”

In fact, Chu Xia wanted the same thing, but they needed an excuse to invite everyone over for a meal.

“When An An and I moved here, your teacher helped us a lot, and your colleagues have also helped us at times. We should invite them for a meal.”

Cen Zhengnian looked at Chu Xia and nodded. “Let’s do it this Sunday then. I’ll come home to help.”

“Alright.”

---

On Sunday, after breakfast, Chu Xia started preparing for the meal.

They had already planned the menu together in advance, and Cen Zhengnian had gone out during lunch to buy the groceries.

As usual, Cen Zhengnian wasn’t great at selecting vegetables.

However, since it was winter and fresh produce was limited, the potatoes and cabbages were either large or small but otherwise fine—he at least knew how to avoid picking bad ones.

Cen Zhengnian had taken a day off from work today and was helping Chu Xia in the kitchen alongside Cen Huaian.

However, since the kitchen was small, Chu Xia quickly sent Cen Huaian outside to play.

She had already called Grandpa Jiang to let him know that An An wouldn’t be coming over for chess today but would study at home instead.

With only Chu Xia and Cen Zhengnian left in the kitchen, Chu Xia gave the orders, and Cen Zhengnian followed them one by one.

“Peel the potatoes.”

“Cut the beef into chunks.”

“Wash this pork.”

Since they were hosting guests, they had to prepare several large dishes. Even Cen Zhengnian, not just Chu Xia, was too busy to rest.

He alternated between sitting on a small stool peeling potatoes, cutting meat on the chopping board, and washing cabbages at the sink.

Meanwhile, Chu Xia stayed by the stove, tending to the coal fire as she cooked.

Since they had to make a lot of food, they had borrowed Yan Heping’s coal stove to help.

Both of them were so busy that Cen Zhengnian felt exhausted, and he was glad he had taken the day off.

Otherwise, he couldn’t imagine how much harder it would have been for Chu Xia to handle everything alone.

After working all morning, the food was finally ready, and by then, Cen Zhengnian’s colleagues from the research institute had arrived.

He hadn’t invited too many people—besides Yan Heping and Ye Xingxiu, he invited five other colleagues with whom he had a good relationship.

With dozens of people in the research lab, it wasn’t possible for Cen Zhengnian to invite everyone.

Besides, he wasn’t one to focus on socializing much at work.

As soon as Yan Heping walked in, he handed Cen Zhengnian the gift he had brought. “Happy birthday! Got a cake?”

“Yes,” Cen Zhengnian replied, taking the gift without any formalities and setting it aside. “But, Teacher, you shouldn’t eat too much.”

The smile on Yan Heping’s face quickly faded. “Zhengnian, you’re becoming more unreasonable, just like your wife.”

Cen Zhengnian nodded and accepted the comment, saying, “Teacher, I’m only looking out for your health.”

At that moment, the others entered, and seeing Cen Zhengnian wearing a red apron, they couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

Though they tried to hold it in, knowing it was his birthday, they couldn’t fully suppress their amusement. Ye Xingxiu laughed the loudest, “Cen Zhengnian, you don’t usually look like this!”

Cen Zhengnian remained composed and didn’t feel embarrassed by their laughter. “Come in and eat,” he said.

Seeing his calm expression, everyone felt that laughing wasn’t really worth it.

They weren’t mocking him; they just found the sight amusing.

In many households, if the husband’s friends or colleagues were invited over for dinner, the wife would usually finish cooking and then eat elsewhere with the children, not sitting at the main table.

But Chu Xia didn’t do that.

In fact, she specifically asked Cen Zhengnian, “Where should I eat?”

“At the table,” he answered.

There was only one table of food, so of course, everyone would eat together.

Besides, Chu Xia had prepared the meal, so if she wasn’t allowed to eat, then no one else had the right to, either.

Chu Xia’s lips curled into a smile. Even if Cen Zhengnian hadn’t let her sit with them, she would have sat down anyway.

And if he hadn’t allowed it, he could forget about eating her cooking in the future.

Apart from Yan Heping and Ye Xingxiu, the other colleagues were momentarily surprised to see Chu Xia sitting next to Cen Zhengnian with their child.

Chu Xia smiled and said, “Thank you, Teacher Yan, and everyone, for coming to celebrate Zhengnian’s birthday. Please help yourselves and don’t hold back. If anyone’s still hungry, there’s more food in the pot.”

Yan Heping chimed in with a smile, “We didn’t come here to be polite. We’ve all tried your cooking before—Zhengnian sure married a great wife!”

Cen Zhengnian smiled as he used communal chopsticks to serve Yan Heping a piece of beef. “Teacher, have a taste. Everyone, please dig in.”

There was no alcohol, as they had to return to work in the afternoon, but Chu Xia had prepared soda and good tea.

The meal included a variety of dishes—both meat and vegetables—along with soup, cake, and a choice of steamed buns or rice as the main staple, catering to everyone’s tastes.

After working all morning, everyone was already quite hungry.

Just the various aromas of the dishes wafting from the kitchen had made their mouths water.