After waking up, Su Yizhou touched his head. *Huh? Why does it feel different?* Then he looked down at his own hands. *Huh? Why are these hands so small? Did I check out of this life?*
However, when he raised his head to look at the surrounding environment, a wave of familiarity washed over him. Wasn't this his childhood home?
"Could it be that I've... been reborn? Seriously? I was only joking! No wait, I actually *did* want to be reborn! But why rebirth me back when I was so tiny? Wouldn't it have been better to drop me into high school or college so I could start a business, make a comeback, and become the richest man?" Despite these thoughts, he couldn't hold back the excitement bubbling up inside him, and Su Yizhou started bouncing around as he searched for his parents.
He found his mom in the kitchen cooking lunch. Looking at his young and beautiful mother, Su Yizhou couldn't possibly connect her to the careworn woman with a face full of wrinkles from worrying about his future in his past life.
*"No wonder I'm so handsome—turns out Mom is a stunner! I barely paid attention when I was a kid,"* Su Yizhou thought to himself.
Seeing her son acting so out of character and suddenly so full of energy, Liu Shiran didn't think too much of it. She just figured that kids' moods changed with the wind, and hurriedly told him to run to the bedroom and wake up his lazybones of a dad.
Rushing into the bedroom, Su Yizhou looked at his dad, who was sawing logs. He knew his father must have been out socializing again last night, and a pang of sadness ached in his heart. He remembered how hard his dad had worked running around to support the family, only for the business to collapse while he was in college. Su Yizhou vowed that he had to change this ending.
Just as he was about to wake his dad up, he was suddenly struck by a thought: *Why is my dad in his twenties so damn handsome? He's completely incomparable to that balding middle-aged man from my past life.*
"My son... no, wait! My father, Su Jin, possesses Emperor-grade potential! Son, your future depends on you. I choose you—go, Su Jin!" He had wanted to tease his dad, but unfortunately, Su Jin was startled awake by the commotion Su Yizhou had made. Seeing his son with a mischievous look on his face, Su Jin put on an expression as if he were about to teach him a lesson.
Su Yizhou scurried out of the room and into the dining area, ready to reminisce and taste his mom's cooking from his childhood once more.
After washing up and coming out of the room, Su Jin took his seat at the dining table. Unlike in his previous life, Su Yizhou now knew that his parents' strictness had only ever been meant to help him grow up capable and able to take care of himself when they weren't around.
Because of this, Su Yizhou didn't feel the innate fear toward his father that he had carried in his past life. Could this be what they called "bloodline suppression"?
As he was thinking this, Liu Shiran finished tidying up and came out of the kitchen.
"Zhouzhou, kindergarten starts tomorrow. Don't you dare start crying tomorrow, you hear me? If you cry again, you won't get any TV time after school."
Hearing this, Su Yizhou let out a scoff of derision. Did she really think an adult's soul like his would cry? Ridiculous. Yet, at the thought of it, an inexplicable emotion welled up inside him—it felt almost like reluctance to part. Su Yizhou found himself influenced by the innocent nature of a young child after returning to his youth, but he didn't think of this as a bad thing. This way, he could experience a much more complete set of emotions and a proper childhood.
Looking at Su Yizhou, Su Jin spoke up, "You're already five years old. It's time to grow up. A little man shouldn't be such a crybaby," and then shot a glance at his wife.
Catching Su Jin's look, the mom—being a thoroughbred Sichuan native—immediately glared right back at him. "I've told you how many times not to talk to Zhouzhou like that! Still refusing to listen, aren't you? Do it again and I'll curse you out!"
The Su Yizhou of this lifetime certainly wouldn't throw a tantrum. Having already experienced the hardships and heartache of his parents in the past, he just smiled as he watched his parents playfully bickering, and sighed to himself:
"To live this life all over again... it's really great!"
After the meal, upholding the parenting philosophy that children should develop study habits from a young age, Liu Shiran pulled Su Yizhou over to check if he had memorized the Tang poem she'd assigned yesterday.
"Zhouzhou, did you commit the 'Quiet Night Thought' I taught you yesterday to memory?"
Listening to Liu Shiran, Su Yizhou felt a wave of inner disdain. With the educational pedigree of an Ivy League master's degree from his future life, rattling off a single "Quiet Night Thought" was child's play, wasn't it? Rebirth hadn't caused the knowledge in his mind to fade; if anything, it felt even more firmly ingrained.
So he opened his mouth and recited:
"Quiet Night Thought" by Li Bai of the Tang dynasty:
"Before my bed, the moonlight gleams,
Like frost upon the ground it seems.
I lift my head and watch the moon,
Then lower it, and dream of home."
Listening to her son's fluent recitation, while it wasn't enough to shock Liu Shiran, she was still slightly taken aback. Usually, her son seemed so playful and easily distracted, yet she had only taught him this once yesterday, and he hadn't even learned all the characters yet. Could he have been studying secretly behind her back?
Looking at his satisfied mother, a small wave of smugness swelled inside Su Yizhou. *"Such a little Tang poem—totally nailed it."* Wait, why was he feeling smug over reciting a single Tang poem? Su Yizhou realized he was being assimilated by a child's mindset, but figured this probably wasn't a bad thing.
"Alright then, that's it for today. I'll teach you another one tomorrow," Liu Shiran said with satisfaction.
There were no parents in this world who didn't want the best for their child, and Liu Shiran and her husband didn't want to pile so much pressure on such a young Su Yizhou either. They also wanted him to enjoy the most carefree period of his life. However, with the internet beginning to take off in his past life, they had been bombarded and influenced by all sorts of early childhood education propaganda. They were first-time parents too, and they needed to keep learning as they went.
When Su Yizhou grew up in his previous life, they would often secretly regret being too strict with his upbringing, even blaming themselves in part for why Su Yizhou still hadn't found a wife by the age of thirty-five.
But the Su Yizhou of this life wanted to change that situation and alter his parents' educational mindset.
The poem recitation just now was part of his plan. He wanted to gradually display his talent so his parents would slowly learn to let go. Once they recognized his capabilities and granted him enough freedom, he could truly stretch his wings and make his move.
As soon as he finished reciting the poem, Su Yizhou dashed over to the television to watch today's cartoon, while secretly complaining in his heart: *It's not that I actually want to watch this! What if I don't put on this act and they start suspecting I've fallen ill? (Okay, fine, maybe I actually do want to watch it a little bit, but I'm definitely chalking that up to the influence of a child's mentality.)*
Su Yizhou's tsundere traits were starting to show...
When night fell and it was time for the strict bedtime enforced by his mom and dad (eight o'clock), Su Yizhou had no choice but to obey, no matter how reluctant he felt. There was nothing for it—if he wanted to grow up strong and healthy, he just had to listen to them. *(It definitely wasn't because he wanted to keep watching TV or anything like that that he was reluctant!)*
Lying in bed, Su Yizhou wondered what going to kindergarten tomorrow would be like. Would there be fun things to do? Would he make some friends? And with those thoughts, he slowly drifted off into dreamland.