In the end, her entire face was covered in white cream, and her clothes were stained too—she looked like a little cat.

That night, before bed, Cen Huaian went into his parents’ bedroom and gave the medical manual he had bought at the street stall to Chuxia.

“Mom, I found this at a used book stall today. See if it’s useful?”

The medical manual’s paper was old, with some smudged and damaged handwriting on a few pages.

But as soon as Chuxia flipped to the first page, she knew this was an authentic record of medical cases written by a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner.

She couldn’t help but sit up straight, her expression a mix of excitement as she flipped through a few more pages.

The more she read, the happier she became.

This manual was very useful to her.

Though it mainly documented treatments for minor ailments with rare prescriptions, it filled a gap in her knowledge.

“It’s very useful! An’an, Mom loves the manual you got.” Chuxia beamed at Cen Huaian.

Cen Huaian’s lips also curled up, and he felt a warm surge of happiness in his heart.

Jiang Zhida had originally planned to leave after the Lantern Festival, but now he was staying to focus on setting up the roller rink and pool hall.

His factory in Yangcheng secured a deal in Beijing and brought in an investment from one of his friends.

He was so busy that his feet barely touched the ground, but everything was progressing in an orderly fashion.

Chuxia was also busy, not just with hospital work.

Jiang Zhida frequently sought her advice on building the entertainment venue, and she also had her graduation to focus on.

She had already decided not to pursue graduate studies and was preparing for job assignments.

Old Lady Tang asked Chuxia, “If you pursue a master’s degree, you could work directly under me.”

“Teacher, do you think I have the ability to independently treat patients?”

Chu Xia didn’t answer Mrs. Tang’s question directly but instead asked her a question in return.

Mrs. Tang looked into Chu Xia’s eyes, and after a moment, she nodded, “Yes, you do. But if you pursue further studies, your skills will improve even more.”

“But I also need to treat real patients. I want to progress, and the only way to do that is by diagnosing more patients.”

Mrs. Tang frowned. “As a graduate student, you’d still spend most of your time studying with me in the hospital.”

Chu Xia shook her head. “Teacher, it’s because I’m following you that I’ve become dependent. I need to train on my own.”

Although others were unaware of Chu Xia’s situation, she knew it well herself.

She wasn’t lacking in practical experience under a teacher’s supervision—whether in traditional Chinese medicine or Western medicine.

She didn’t need to pursue a master’s degree either; what she needed from the start was just the diploma.

During her years of study, aside from the textbook knowledge taught by her teachers, she had also read many other books and acquired a lot of additional knowledge.

Now, Chu Xia wanted to put it into practice.

Elder Tang didn’t push her further.

She gave Chu Xia her contact information and told her to reach out if she had any questions.

During the following days of internship, Mrs. Tang became stricter with Chu Xia, giving her more tasks.

“Chu Xia.”

It was after work in the afternoon, and Chu Xia was getting ready to go home when she was stopped by Ye Mengchun.

Her usually expressionless face now showed a mix of emotions.

“Today, the teacher asked me if I wanted to pursue a master’s degree with her.”

Chu Xia gave a simple “Mm,” her eyes showing some confusion.

Why was Ye Mengchun telling her this?

“I want to do it. I also asked the teacher if you were planning to pursue it, and she said you weren’t. Why not?”

As Ye Mengchun said this, there was a hint of jealousy in her eyes, but mostly confusion.

She knew Chu Xia was talented in traditional Chinese medicine and well-liked by the teacher.

Ye Mengchun had always thought that she wasn’t far behind Chu Xia, and that they held the same position in the teacher’s eyes.

But now, when it came to pursuing a master’s degree, she realized they weren’t the same.

The teacher valued Chu Xia more and considered her first, only thinking of Mengchun after that.

For someone who had been studying Chinese medicine since childhood, this realization was a heavy blow.

Not to mention, Ye Mengchun was proud, so the blow was even greater.

“I want to start working sooner. I’m not just thinking of myself.”

Chu Xia didn’t tell Ye Mengchun the real reason, just like she hadn’t told Mrs. Tang about her other medical experiences.

Ye Mengchun frowned, disbelief and disappointment filling her eyes. “Just because of your family, you’re giving up further studies? Haven’t you thought about yourself?”

Chu Xia smiled at her.

Ye Mengchun might be jealous, but there was also a sense of camaraderie between them.

She truly wanted to meet Chu Xia at the top.

“I am thinking of myself. Working doesn’t mean I’ll stop learning. And how do you know I won’t learn even more after I start working?”

Ye Mengchun stared at Chu Xia for a while, then shook her head. “I don’t know that, but I do know that pursuing a master’s degree would definitely help you improve.”

Chu Xia smiled at her. “Then I hope you can keep progressing and become even better.”

Ye Mengchun replied, “You too.”

Chu Xia nodded and turned to leave.

As she walked away, her silhouette stretched long in the glow of the hospital’s evening light.

Suddenly, Ye Mengchun called after her, “Chu Xia, don’t let me down!”

Chu Xia didn’t turn around but waved her hand as she walked into the fading light.

---

Cen Huai’an’s school term had started.

After the break, he returned to class with completed Olympiad math worksheets and books.

Most of his classmates had spent the holiday having fun, with only a few doing their homework.

Now, everyone was frantically trying to catch up.

They loved copying Cen Huai’an’s homework, and he didn’t mind.

After submitting his work, he let his classmates copy it as long as they didn’t lose it.

This one trait made Cen Huai’an extremely popular in the class.

He was also younger than most of his classmates, so he had become somewhat of a class favorite.

“Cen Huai’an, our school built an ice rink on the east side of the playground during winter break. Have you gone skating there?”

Cen Huai’an was sorting through his math problems when his classmate in the seat in front of him spoke excitedly.

Cen Huai’an shook his head. “No.”

Most of the students at his school were from families of the research institute employees, and many of the teachers at the school were also from the institute.

The ice rink wasn’t really a secret.

In fact, it wasn’t so much built as it was created by flooding an area and letting it freeze, allowing the kids and even some adults to skate during the break.

But by the time spring came, the ice would melt, and the rink would disappear.

His classmate was surprised and a little disappointed. “I was wondering why I hadn’t seen you there. It’s so much fun! Do you not know how to skate? I could teach you!”

In truth, Cen Huai’an had spent his winter break celebrating the New Year and preparing for the National Math Olympiad.

He had also gone ice skating at Beihai Park with Zhang Lu and the others, so he wasn’t too curious about the school rink.

However, since he didn’t bring his skates to school, he wouldn’t be able to join in anyway.

That Sunday, their martial arts teacher had something come up, and Zhang Lu suggested, “The ice rink is going to melt soon. Let’s go skating!”

The kids got excited, grabbed their skates, and ran off to Beihai Park.

When Cen Huai’an and Zhang Lu arrived at Beihai Park, the ice rink was already bustling with people.

Everyone was bundled up in thick clothes, wearing hats, and with their faces covered, joyfully skating on the ice.

It was still early spring, and the weather had turned quite cold.

Before leaving, Chu Xia had wrapped Cen Huai’an in a thick scarf and put a black hat on him.

Only his eyes were visible; his face was completely covered.

Upon seeing the ice rink, Zhang Lu cheered excitedly, leaving Cen Huai’an and Jiang Weixian behind as she swiftly changed into her skates and, like a fish, glided joyfully onto the rink, skating back and forth happily.

They hadn’t brought Jiang Weixi because she was too young, and the trip to Beihai Park required taking a bus, making it difficult to keep an eye on her while skating.

Jiang Weixian was slower.

Seeing Zhang Lu already on the rink, he grew anxious. “Sister, wait for me!”

But in his rush, he kept messing up his steps, making him even slower at changing his skates.

By the time Cen Huai’an had calmly put on his skates and made his way onto the ice, Jiang Weixian still hadn’t finished with one of his skates.

The rink wasn’t just for skating.

There were also people riding sleds and dog-pulled toboggans, mostly for younger children, with adults accompanying them.

Cen Huai’an had learned skating when he played rollerblading with Chu Xia and had often been dragged to the ice rink by Zhang Lu.

His skating skills were quite good.

Amid the crowd, he glided freely, the wind rushing past him.

His speed gradually increased as he felt his spirit lifting with each movement on the ice.

Cen Huai’an loved the feeling of skating.

It was as if he had become a bird, his body light and unburdened, his mind free of all worries, flying effortlessly across the ice.

With his martial arts training, Cen Huai’an could perform some impressive moves on the ice, but he chose not to, instead simply gliding in circles.

Zhang Lu, on the other hand, was different.

She skated straight to the center of the rink and began performing ice kung fu.

Her skating skills were already excellent, and with her martial arts background, her movements at the center of the rink were both clean and graceful, drawing a crowd of onlookers.

Particularly impressive were her backflips, which earned her loud applause and cheers from the crowd.

Zhang Lu became even more enthusiastic, enjoying the admiring gazes directed at her.

Cen Huai’an and Jiang Weixian noticed the commotion and slowly skated over just as Zhang Lu was performing a series of punches on the ice.

“Sister! That’s my sister!” Jiang Weixian’s eyes widened with pride as he excitedly tugged at Cen Huai’an.

Cen Huai’an’s eyes focused on Zhang Lu in the center, and he nodded with a hint of pride in his voice, “Mm.”

At that moment, Zhang Lu was the brightest star on the ice.

Among the many people, she was the only one you could see—she was all you could see.

After finishing her martial arts routine, Zhang Lu looked up and saw Cen Huai’an and Jiang Weixian.

She quickly ended her performance and skated over to them.

She was smiling brightly, and when she stopped in front of them, she was slightly out of breath.

Standing with her legs apart, her hands on her knees, she looked up at the two of them, her eyes sparkling like stars.

“How was my skating just now?” she asked with a raised eyebrow, her confident smile making it clear she didn’t think her performance was anything less than perfect.

“It was amazing! You were awesome!” Jiang Weixian immediately gave her a thumbs up, his tone full of sincerity.

He had admired his sister Zhang Lu for as long as he could remember, always following her around.

Cen Huai’an’s lips curved into a smile, and he nodded, his voice equally genuine. “Mm, I think so too.”