"Sister Lane, I’m heading home now."

Cedric Grant felt completely bored and spoke up.

The "Sister Lane" he mentioned was the caregiver Joanna Sherman had hired.

She was in her twenties, a university nursing graduate specializing in infant and toddler care.

He and his father, Vincent Grant, had painstakingly selected her for Stella Grant.

Lane was very surprised. "Your Auntie Joanna isn’t back yet. Why are you leaving already?"

In the past, Cedric Grant would always wait for Joanna Sherman, no matter how late it was.

"She’s on her way and will be back soon. Just wait a little longer."

"No, thanks." Cedric Grant shook his head.

But he still diligently prepared Stella Grant’s formula, checked to see if the nursery’s windows and door were properly closed, and, as he was leaving, reminded Lane of various precautions, just as he always did.

’I can’t neglect Auntie Joanna just because I’m in a bad mood. She’s been working overtime constantly, she’s under a lot of pressure, and it’s been really hard on her.’

After Cedric Grant got into the car, Uncle Norton deftly drove in the direction of the marital home.

Ever since Cedric Grant developed an anxiety disorder, Vincent Grant had moved him back into the marital home.

As he drove, Uncle Norton said, "President Grant has already picked out a school for you. You’ll go register first thing tomorrow morning."

Cedric Grant gently pinched the corner of his clothes. "Am I going by myself?"

Uncle Norton paused for a moment, then said, "Cedric, do you want Auntie Joanna to go with you? If so, you’d need to make an appointment with her in advance."

Cedric Grant pressed his lips together.

What he really wanted was for his mom to go with him.

His mom had taken him to school on his first day of kindergarten.

And when he started elementary school, she was the one who took him to register, too.

The day before, his mom would always bake lots of little cookies to take to school and share with the teachers and his classmates.

Because his mom’s cookies were so delicious, many of his classmates were eager to befriend him, and the teachers had a very strong impression of him too. He was able to adapt to the new environment without any trouble.

But he knew his mom was still angry with him. There was no way she would take him to school anymore.

"Uncle Norton, do you know how to bake cookies? The kind my mom makes."

"The kind of cookies your mom makes takes a ton of effort. Proofing the dough, mixing the ingredients, hand-shaping them into all sorts of pretty designs... just that part alone takes a whole night."

"Even if I were willing to pull an all-nighter, I could never replicate the taste and look of your mom’s."

On this matter, Uncle Norton could only sigh in admiration.

Cedric Grant’s heart skipped a beat. "It... it takes that long?"

He had always thought it only took an hour or two.

"If you include the time it takes to select the fruit and make the natural food coloring, it’s not just one night, but several days."

Sophia Shaw was very serious about food safety. She would personally go to a farm to select the right fruit. The fruit she brought back would be sterilized and processed into natural dyes of different colors. Then, she would color the cookies according to their shapes and even brush them with fragrant honey.

That’s why her cookies were so colorful, fragrant, and sweet.

The only reason Uncle Norton knew all this was because he had been the one to recommend the farm to Sophia Shaw.

"Sev... several days?"

Cedric Grant could hardly believe his ears.

He had only ever seen the finished product his mom made. He never knew that a simple little cookie involved such a complicated process.

’Mom went to all that trouble just so I could fit in quickly when I started school...’

"Oh, right. I heard your mom went to the farm to pick fruit again. Maybe she already knows you’re starting school and is planning to make you cookies?"

The moment Sophia Shaw went to the farm, a relative had sent him a message.

Cedric Grant’s listless eyes instantly lit up.

He hadn’t been looking forward to school, but now he couldn’t wait for tomorrow to come.

「The next day.」

Cedric Grant waited for a very, very long time, but Sophia Shaw never appeared.

Utterly dejected, he tried calling Sophia Shaw’s phone.

She didn’t answer.

If he didn’t leave now, he would be late.

Crestfallen, Cedric Grant could only get into the car and head to school.

"Cedric!"

Just as he reached the school gate, a white car pulled up beside him.

Joanna Sherman stepped out of the car.

Joanna Sherman’s eyes were bloodshot. She strode toward him, carrying a large box.

Behind her was Lane, holding Stella.

Joanna Sherman handed the large box to him. "For your first day of school. This is a gift from your auntie."

Cedric Grant’s dull eyes brightened a little. Looking at Joanna Sherman’s red eyes, he asked, "Auntie Joanna, did you bake these cookies for me yourself?"

"Who bakes cookies themselves these days? Isn’t that a waste of time?" Lane responded.

Joanna Sherman also said softly, "Hasn’t your auntie taught you? Any miscellaneous task that can be delegated to others, you shouldn’t do yourself. You should use your time to focus on the most important things."

Cedric Grant knew this was the way of the elite.

Joanna Sherman had told him similar principles more than once.

Before, these principles had sounded novel, and he’d thought they were far more interesting and useful than the day-to-day family matters Sophia Shaw had taught him about.

But at this moment, his heart felt empty. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing from the cookies.

Still, he said, "Thank you, Auntie Joanna."

Lane quickly chimed in, "You have no idea how busy your Auntie Joanna is. She worked overtime all night last night, and then rushed over first thing this morning to bring you these cookies."

"She had her assistant commission these cookies from a master artisan of intangible cultural heritage two weeks ago! One box costs several thousand yuan, and there’s a long waiting list of people who can’t even get them!"

"Thank you for your trouble, Auntie Joanna."

Joanna Sherman patted his head. "Share the cookies with your classmates. I’m sure they’ll love them."

She wasn’t allowed into the school, but Joanna Sherman insisted on watching Cedric Grant until he was inside.

Feeling her gaze on his back, the sense of emptiness in Cedric Grant’s heart lessened considerably.

When Cedric Grant entered the school, the students were doing their morning exercises.

The homeroom teacher led him in front of the Class One first-graders and introduced him, "This is our class’s new student, Cedric Grant."

"Hello, everyone," Cedric Grant said politely.

The students were very interested in the new arrival and all crowded around him, asking all sorts of questions.

Cedric Grant handed the box to the teacher. "Teacher, these are cookies made by a master artisan of intangible cultural heritage. Could you please help me pass them out to everyone?"

The first-graders didn’t understand what "intangible cultural heritage" was. Seeing the cookies were pre-packaged, their initial excitement faded by half.

All of their families were well-off; who couldn’t afford cookies? They were sick of them.

Still, a few children took one.

After opening the wrappers and taking a bite, they all made strange faces.

Expensive and delicious are two different things.

Although no one said anything, the distaste was written all over their faces.

They quickly lost interest in this new classmate who couldn’t offer any exciting surprises, and the crowd around him completely dispersed.

Cedric Grant had wanted to make a good impression, but things had turned out like this. He stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do.

The teacher sighed and said, "Cedric Grant, please don’t bring such expensive things to school anymore."

Bringing such ridiculously expensive cookies on the first day could easily make people think you like to show off.

School isn’t a place for showing off.

After their morning exercises, the children all headed to their respective classrooms.

Cedric Grant was all alone; no one paid him any attention.

Even the teacher was lukewarm toward him.

This was the worst first-day-of-school experience he’d ever had. He felt an indescribable dejection.

Just as he reached the classroom door, he heard someone shout, "Wow, a mom in Class Five is handing out cookies! They’re so pretty and cute!"