Chuxia disagreed with her: “Don’t speak out of anger. No matter what conflicts you have, you need to let your family know where you are. I bet your family is looking for you right now.”

Jiang Zhida still didn’t believe Chuxia. Feeling a bit thirsty, she drank some water and said, “My parents said they wouldn’t support me anymore. They won’t be worried.”

Jiang Zhida’s tone was filled with sadness. She didn’t necessarily want her parents to continue supporting her, but their words hurt her deeply.

“How about we make a bet?” Chuxia suggested with a smile.

In the end, Jiang Zhida agreed to let Chuxia call her family, though Chuxia made the call.

Chuxia called Uncle Jiang’s home, but no one answered.

She looked at Jiang Zhida with a firm tone, “Your parents are definitely looking for you!”

She then called Jiang Zhida’s older brother, Jiang Zhijie, who answered this time.

“Chuxia?”

“Second cousin, Zhida is at the hospital where I work.”

Chuxia could clearly hear Jiang Zhijie’s sigh of relief, “My dad just called me saying she ran out in a fit of anger. I was about to ask for leave to look for her.”

Hearing Jiang Zhijie’s words and seeing Chuxia’s smiling eyes, Jiang Zhida blushed with embarrassment and looked down.

However, it was too late.

Grandpa Jiang still found out about the argument between Jiang Zhida and her parents.

In the afternoon, Chuxia, fearing that Grandpa Jiang would be angry about the family quarrel, took half a day off to accompany Jiang Zhida to Grandpa Jiang’s house.

When they arrived, Zhou Huaying was sitting on the sofa with a cold expression.

She had one hand resting on her knee and turned her face away as soon as she saw Chuxia and Jiang Zhida, clearly not wanting to see Jiang Zhida.

Jiang Zhiyi, seeing her mother’s actions, stiffened up and showed a hurt expression on her face.

Second Uncle Jiang jogged over and put Jiang Zhiyi’s shoes on the ground, saying, “Quickly put on your shoes. Aren’t you afraid of getting frostbite? As a girl, you need to take care of yourself and avoid getting cold.”

Jiang Zhiyi bowed her head in silence, squatting down to quietly change into the shoes, feeling a bit better inside.

At that moment, Zhou Huaying suddenly spoke, “Why do you care about her? She doesn’t listen to us now, so let her feet get cold. Maybe then she’ll understand the pain!”

Seeing Jiang Zhiyi’s eyes redden again, Second Uncle Jiang, fearing she might run away, turned to Zhou Huaying and asked her to stop saying such angry words.

“Your mother is also concerned about you. These shoes are from her; she asked me to bring them to you.”

Everyone was sitting on the sofa, but Zhou Huaying still didn’t even glance at Jiang Zhiyi.

Second Uncle Jiang, however, smiled and thanked Chu Xia for helping to bring Zhiyi back.

Chu Xia waved her hand, indicating it was no trouble.

“Zhiyi, what made you come to Chu Xia’s hospital?” Jiang Erji(Second Uncle Jiang) asked, puzzled about how his daughter had become so close to Chu Xia.

Jiang Zhiyi replied, “I just came randomly.”

Jiang Erji(Second Uncle Jiang) laughed a couple of times, clearly not believing Jiang Zhiyi’s words.

He turned to Chu Xia, about to ask something, when Grandpa Jiang suddenly coughed and said, “Enough. Erji, what’s the use of asking Zhiyi where she went? Now that we’ve found her, the focus should be on solving the problem. Is there anything that you can’t explain clearly? Do you have to force the child to run away from home?”

Zhou Huaying remained silent, and Jiang Erji explained the situation to Grandpa Jiang: “Dad, with us as your children, you should understand our concerns for Huaying and me. We just want Zhiyi to have a smooth path ahead and not go through hardships.”

The affection Jiang Erji and Zhou Huaying had for Jiang Zhiyi was undeniable.

However, their love was somewhat suffocating, wanting the child to live completely according to their expectations.

If they believed something was good for the child, the child had to follow it.

Grandpa Jiang snorted, “You were the same when you forced Zhiyi to repeat a year for the college entrance exam. Now you’re doing it again?”

Zhou Huaying, her voice cold, said, “I agreed to Zhiyi not repeating the year on the condition that she would pursue graduate studies. Now that she’s not going to, how can I not be angry?”

Talking about this, Zhou Huaying couldn’t suppress her anger.

Jiang Zhiyi said, “Mom, I said I could pursue graduate studies, but I want to switch majors.”

“No.” Zhou Huaying refused without hesitation, “You’ve been pampered by your dad and me. Even during the toughest times, you’ve never suffered. Now that you’re grown up, you want to suffer? I don’t agree!”

With Grandpa Jiang present, the conflict between Jiang Zhiyi and Zhou Huaying couldn’t be mediated.

Eventually, Jiang Zhiyi stayed at Grandpa Jiang’s house.

Zhou Huaying insisted that if Jiang Zhiyi didn’t change her mind, she and her dad would cut off the monthly allowance.

Jiang Zhiyi was resolute about her dreams and didn’t want to compromise.

Jiang Erji felt torn, unable to persuade either side, but he also couldn’t let Jiang Zhiyi be without a place to stay.

Grandpa Jiang offered her a place at his house.

Zhou Huaying, wearing small leather shoes and carrying a bag, shot Jiang Zhiyi a glance and walked out with a “tap-tap-tap” sound.

Jiang Erji frowned at Jiang Zhiyi, “When will you make things easier for us?”

After saying this, he quickly went after Zhou Huaying.

Although Jiang Zhiyi could now do what she wanted, the fallout with her family left her unhappy.

Chu Xia patted her shoulder and said, “Your dad was already suspicious of me.”

Jiang Zhiyi, puzzled, asked, “Suspicious of what?”

Before Chu Xia could answer, Grandpa Jiang snorted and pointed at Jiang Zhiyi, saying, “What else could he suspect? He suspects that Chu Xia has led you astray and that it was Chu Xia’s idea to cause trouble at home.”

Jiang Zhiyi stood there stunned, regret showing on her face.

She patted her head and looked apologetically at Chu Xia, “I didn’t expect this. I’m sorry, Cousin.”

Chu Xia shook her head, and Grandpa Jiang said, “Let’s not dwell on this now. Zhiyi, if you have more conflicts with your family in the future, don’t involve Chu Xia. It will only cause trouble for her. Come directly to me. Your parents won’t dare to take it out on me.”

If Jiang Zhiyi continued to seek Chu Xia’s help, it would only make Jiang Erji and Zhou Huaying dislike Chu Xia, affecting the relationship between the two families.

Jiang Zhiyi did realize she hadn’t thought things through.

However, after Grandpa Jiang’s words, she understood and responded obediently, “Grandpa, I understand.”

Even though Chu Xia didn’t have an internship at the hospital that afternoon, she was still very tired.

When she got home, she collapsed onto the sofa, feeling like she didn’t want to move at all.

Cen Huai’an came back with Huangzi. He had stopped taking Heizi out for walks since Heizi was pregnant and about to give birth.

The puppies Heizi was carrying were not Huangzi’s, and the two dogs couldn’t breed as they had different mothers.

During the days Heizi was pregnant, Cen Huai’an noticed she was close to a large spotted dog in the village and guessed that the puppies might be from that dog.

Seeing the door to the house open, Cen Huai’an’s mouth curved into a smile.

He pushed open the door and indeed saw Chu Xia sitting on the sofa.

“Mom, you’re back?”

“Mm.” Chu Xia didn’t feel like talking.

She had said too much while trying to advise Jiang Zhiyi at the hospital today.

Cen Huai’an noticed that Chuxia seemed off and went over to squat down in front of her, looking up and asking, “Mom, what’s wrong?”

Chuxia rubbed her head and said, “I’m a bit tired.”

After that, Cen Huai’an insisted that Chuxia not enter the kitchen.

He took over making dinner and wouldn’t let her help.

As he cooked, he occasionally looked back to ask Chuxia if he was doing things right.

Chuxia always encouraged him, and since he had a good memory, he followed her cooking steps closely and made no mistakes.

After dinner, Chuxia finally felt a bit more energized and discussed Jiang Zhida’s situation with Cen Huai’an and Cen Zhengnian.

After she finished speaking, both of them fell silent for a moment, shaking their heads and sighing inwardly.

They truly felt fortunate that their loved ones supported whatever they wanted to do.

Cen Huai’an also adored his mom. Whenever he wanted to do something, his mom never opposed him, except when it came to staying up late to read comic books, which she firmly disapproved of.

Unable to hold back, Cen Huai’an hugged Chuxia.

He wanted to thank her and tell her how great she was, but he couldn’t find the words.

Instead, he snuggled into her embrace.

Chuxia was a bit surprised by the hug.

Since Cen Huai’an had been growing up, he rarely initiated hugs with her.

He felt he was getting older and shouldn’t act like he did when he was younger.

But soon, Chuxia understood Cen Huai’an’s feelings, softened her expression, and patted his head.

Jiang Zhida’s issue couldn’t be resolved quickly.

Even Grandpa Jiang couldn’t do much, and neither could Chuxia.

However, Jiang Zhida had decided not to pursue a graduate degree in literature and was now studying journalism.

Chuxia was busy with her internship at the hospital and couldn’t follow up much.

Moreover, she didn’t have the mental space to worry about Jiang Zhida because that night, Blackie gave birth to puppies.

This was Blackie’s first litter, and it was said that pets often take after their owners.

Both Blackie and Huangzi(Yellowie), the dogs raised by Cen Huai’an, had a somewhat proud temperament and were quite selective about other dogs.

Initially, Chuxia thought Blackie would have puppies quickly after reaching adulthood, but it took until now.

So, this was the first time they had seen a dog giving birth.

Hearing Blackie’s painful whimpers and soft cries that night, the whole family quickly got up.

Chuxia had never delivered puppies before and didn’t know much about it, and Cen Zhengnian and Cen Huai’an were even less informed.

Thus, Chuxia followed the steps for human childbirth to assist Blackie and kept encouraging her: “Blackie, come on, you can do it!”

She also prepared some hot water and sugar water to give Blackie during labor to help with her energy.