Chu Xia raised her eyebrows in surprise at Cen Huai’an.

She thought the story they saw two days ago would have been forgotten by now.

She didn’t expect him to still be scared.

“Since you’re afraid, why didn’t you wake me?”

Cen Huai’an shook his head, “Mom, you were asleep. I didn’t want to disturb you.”

Chu Xia patted his head, feeling a bit heartbroken.

Cen Huai’an was too understanding.

She took his arm and led him back to his bed, helping him lie down, “I’ll stay here with you until you fall asleep. In the future, if you have anything, just call me. I’m your mom.”

Cen Huai’an didn’t speak.

He wanted his mom to go back to sleep but was truly scared.

“Mom, I…”

“Alright, sleep now.” Chu Xia firmly covered him with a blanket, “I’ll tell you a bedtime story.”

It was the story of Thumbelina, which Cen Huai’an had heard many times before.

With his mother’s gentle voice, the frightening images in his mind disappeared, and he felt as if he had entered a real fairy tale world, experiencing various adventures with Thumbelina.

Once Cen Huai’an’s breathing became steady, Chu Xia stopped the story, adjusted his blanket, yawned, and quickly lay down to sleep herself.

That night, Chu Xia stayed up until Cen Huai’an fell asleep before going to bed.

Two days passed quickly, and the National Middle School Mathematics Competition was about to start.

Chu Xia had never participated in a national math competition before and was unfamiliar with the process.

She, along with Teacher Jin and Teacher Xing, sat in a room outside the examination hall, worrying about how Cen Huai’an and Zhang Lu were doing in the exam.

“Teacher Xing, how many exams are there in total?”

Teacher Xing lowered his voice, “Just this one. The results will be out soon.”

Chu Xia looked at the time, growing impatient, while Cen Huai’an was working through the questions quickly.

The competition included three types of questions: multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, and problems, totaling 100 points plus an additional question.

While others were deep in thought, given the national level of the competition, the difficulty was definitely higher than in city-level contests.

Cen Huai’an also felt the difficulty.

However, it wasn’t beyond his capability; it was just that the problems had more twists and required more thinking time.

There was a pattern in the questions: the earlier ones were easier, and the later ones became more difficult.

Yet, unlike regular exams, one question might be easy while the next one could be very hard.

Despite taking more time for each question, Cen Huai’an’s speed was still relatively fast compared to other students.

Many students stopped when faced with a difficult question, trying to think for a while without a solution, then moved on.

Zhang Lu was one of them.

She had skipped several questions. However, she had a good attitude and came with a relaxed mindset, so she remained very calm.

The examination hall was a large room accommodating all the participants, with several teachers monitoring and patrolling.

They were all math teachers, and whenever they passed by Cen Huai’an, they couldn’t help but stop and watch him for a while.

Especially when they saw how quickly he worked without making mistakes, they were even more intrigued to observe him.

Cen Huai’an didn’t notice these teachers, but the students around him were nervous due to the teachers’ presence, and some were sweating with anxiety.

One student raised a hand and asked, “Teacher, can you move away? You’re distracting me.”

The teacher, concerned about disturbing the students, had to leave reluctantly despite wanting to continue watching Cen Huai’an’s work.

Cen Huai’an finished all the questions, including the extra one, and was about to review his answers when a boy went up to submit his paper.

Cen Huai’an didn’t pay attention to others submitting their papers and focused on checking his own.

There was still plenty of time, so he wasn’t in a hurry.

However, with students leaving, it increased the pressure on those who remained.

Soon, two more students submitted their papers.

Cen Huai’an was the fourth to submit.

The teacher collecting the papers glanced at him, “Are you sure you want to submit? There’s still time.”

“Sure.”

The teacher, expecting another student who hadn’t completed their work, was surprised to see the neat and clear steps written for the major problems on the back of Cen Huai’an’s paper.

He gave Cen Huai’an an unexpected look.

“Okay, you can leave now.”

Zhang Lu only came out after the exam ended, and Chuxia and Cen Huai’an were waiting for her outside.

Seeing the two of them, she ran over joyfully and said, “I only missed two questions!”

Originally, Zhang Lu had hoped to leave some questions blank but now found it a pleasant surprise to have completed so many.

Cen Huai’an asked, “Which two questions did you miss?”

“Choice question number three and fill-in-the-blank question number two. An An, what were your answers?”

“D, 1.” Before An An could respond, a male voice came from behind them.

Zhang Lu immediately turned around, her face beaming with joy, and said, “Tang Song, you finished it too?”

“Mm.” Tang Song nodded.

Cen Huai’an said, “Our answers are the same.”

Zhang Lu clapped her hands, even more thrilled, and said, “The choice question had the same answer as mine, and for the fill-in-the-blank, I was torn between 1 and 0. I ended up randomly writing 0. But I’m really happy that I got one right!”

Unlike the other students who had not performed well and looked glum, Zhang Lu was determined to set aside her worries about the exam and enjoy other activities.

Results would only be announced the next day, and with the entire afternoon free, students were not allowed to leave the hotel.

Without an adult escort, it was too risky to wander around in an unfamiliar place.

Chuxia did not take An An and Zhang Lu out since the weather was not good.

It was cloudy and particularly cold, with the wind feeling like a knife against their faces.

Zhang Lu pulled out a deck of cards, and the three of them sat on the bed playing cards.

While they were playing, the doorbell rang. Zhang Lu went to open the door.

“Tang Song?” she exclaimed in surprise. “What’s up?”

“I want to compare answers with you,” Tang Song said.

Zhang Lu moved aside. “Come in. We’re playing cards right now. Now that the exam is over, don’t stress too much!”

She patted Tang Song’s shoulder and skipped back to the bed.

Tang Song glanced at his shoulder where Zhang Lu had patted him, hesitated for a moment, and then walked over.

Since Tang Song wanted to compare answers, they paused the card game for a while.

Zhang Lu wasn’t interested in knowing the answers right away; she just wanted to enjoy the moment.

So, while Cen Huai’an and Tang Song compared their answers, she and Chuxia turned on the TV and turned up the volume.

When the two returned, Tang Song said he was leaving.

Zhang Lu grabbed his arm and said, “Why leave? There’s nothing else to do. Let’s continue playing cards!”

Tang Song looked at her and then sat down by the bed.

The four of them played cards for the entire afternoon.

The next morning at eight o’clock, all the teachers and students gathered in the conference room at the exam venue.

The results of the competition would be announced and awards given for first, second, and third places.

Ms. Xing and Mr. Jin had asked each student about their exam experience, and many said the paper was difficult, including Cen Huai’an.

So the two teachers had low expectations for the results, hoping only for a second prize and not to bring shame to Beijing.

In reality, students from Beijing were still quite strong due to the excellent teachers and resources.

Before the exam, Mr. Jin and Ms. Xing were confident.

However, many students reported that they had not finished the exam, which dampened their confidence.

Well, students were new to this competition, and perhaps the pressure was too much.

When the Mathematical Society announced that Cen Huai’an, Tang Song, and another girl had won first prize, Mr. Jin and Ms. Xing were stunned.

Cen Huai’an, Tang Song, and the girl had already gone on stage to receive their awards, and Mr. Jin and Ms. Xing exchanged a look and quickly stood up to applaud excitedly.

Three first prizes—this time, they had made a good impression, and there was no need to worry about defending the reputation of Beijing’s Mathematical Society.

Next, there were more second prizes, with five students winning, including Zhang Lu.

She was overjoyed, holding her certificate with a bright smile on the podium.

No one had a wider smile than hers.

“An An! Aunt! I won second place in the national mathematics competition!”

This was something Zhang Lu hadn’t expected herself.

She had thought getting third place would be great, but now she had achieved second place.

She felt she was really outstanding!

Chuxia and Cen Huai’an were also happy for her.

This national mathematics competition had resulted in satisfactory outcomes for everyone.

Zhang Lu, sitting between Cen Huai’an and Tang Song, looked at them with curiosity and said, “Let me see your first prize certificates.”

Cen Huai’an and Tang Song handed them over without hesitation, and their faces didn’t show how precious the certificates were.

Zhang Lu compared her second prize certificate to theirs.

Besides the different names and the title of the award, everything else was the same.

She returned the certificates to Cen Huai’an and Tang Song, held her own certificate, and continued to smile joyfully, spreading her happiness to those around her.

Chuxia, Cen Huai’an, and Tang Song shared in the joy reflected in their eyes.

After the competition ended, Mr. Jin and Ms. Xing were preparing to take all the students home.

Chuxia had previously spoken to the two teachers, saying, “An An, Zhang Lu, and I plan to spend two more days in Dongcheng and won’t be returning with the students.”

Ms. Xing advised Chuxia, “It’s safer with a larger group. It might be tiring for you to manage two children alone.”

“This was our plan from the start. We have friends in Dongcheng,” Chuxia explained.

Mr. Jin and Ms. Xing, hearing this, stopped insisting and only said, “Be sure to stay safe,” and went their separate ways at the hotel.

Tang Song didn’t see Zhang Lu and the others in the group and furrowed his brow. “Teacher, we’re short on people.”

Mr. Jin checked the count and said, “Not missing anyone.”

Tang Song’s brow furrowed even more. “Zhang Lu and the others aren’t here.”

Ms. Xing laughed and said, “They aren’t returning with us.”

Tang Song was taken aback by this answer.

He turned to look at the hotel behind him, touched the cotton jacket inside his clothes, and his eyes suddenly dimmed.

The bus had already driven far, and Tang Song watched as Chuxia and the others walked out of the hotel, laughing and chatting.

Zhang Lu had the biggest smile and was talking animatedly.

Tang Song watched until he could no longer see them.

Dongcheng no longer had ice sculptures, but there were other fun activities.

There were classmates of Cen Zhengnian, friends of Jiang Zhida, and subordinates of Cen’s father.

It was indeed not very safe for a woman with two children in an unfamiliar city, so they eventually relied on Cen’s father’s subordinate, who worked in the police department, to find a local guide to show Chuxia and the children around.

They spent a full three days exploring and even experienced Dongcheng’s famous bathhouse culture.

The three of them were satisfied and prepared to return home.

On the return trip, Chuxia and the children chose to fly back instead of taking the train.

It was quicker and avoided the discomforts of train travel, as well as the risks of encountering petty thieves or other dangers.

The journey was much more relaxed.

It was not Chuxia’s first time flying, but it was for An An and Zhang Lu.

They accompanied Chuxia to the airport, and from checking in luggage to ticketing and boarding, the two children were as curious as if they were visiting a new world.

Cen Huai’an was more restrained and did not show as much excitement as Zhang Lu, who was unafraid of others’ gaze and asked the airport staff many questions.

On the plane, watching the little people below through the window, Zhang Lu and Cen Huai’an were even more excited.