Reborn to prepare for the college entrance exam, you're letting me retire and make a comeback?

Watching Xu Qingwei turn and walk towards the kitchen, Lu Qian finally understood what that sentence meant—

When we constantly reminisce about our youth, we are actually reminiscing about certain people from that youth.

"Perhaps, Empress Dowager Lu, who is even younger than I was before my rebirth, can also be considered a part of my youth," Lu Qian thought to himself.

Sometimes, the end of youth may begin with the increasing gray hairs at a mother's temples.

Doing it again now, I actually find it quite enjoyable.

As I always say, come home often.

Just then, a series of light, quick footsteps came from the inner room.

"Brother Lu Qian, Brother Lu Qian is back!"

A little girl, about four or five years old, with pigtails, fluttered towards Lu Qian like a cheerful little bird and hugged his leg.

The girl's cheeks were rosy, her eyes were big and bright, she looked up at him, and her voice was sweet and soft.

Lu Qian looked down and was instantly delighted.

"Small glutinous rice?"

He knelt down in surprise and picked up the soft little dumpling in one scoop: "Oh my, what are you doing at my house?"

"Are your aunt and uncle busy with work lately, so they sent you over again?"

This little girl is Lu Nuo, the daughter of his cousin. Because his cousin and his wife were too busy with work and often went on business trips, they often sent her to live with Lu Qian's family when she was a child.

In Lu Qian's memories before his rebirth, this girl grew up to be a beautiful and graceful young woman, becoming a well-known school beauty. What's even more remarkable is her kind heart; when he was at his lowest point, she secretly gave him money to help him out.

The sibling-like bond between the two is no joke.

Seeing my former little sister so young now, I naturally felt like teasing her.

"Uh-huh!"

Little Nuomi nodded vigorously and said in her childish voice, "Mommy said my brother's house has delicious food, and Aunt Weiwei's food is the most fragrant, so I came to find you!"

She twitched her little nose, trying hard to smell the aroma wafting from the kitchen, which made Lu Qian laugh out loud.

"She's my sister, so damn cute!" Lu Qian thought to himself. "I wish she didn't have to get married in the future."

"Oh my, isn't this our little Nuomi? Come here and let your big sister give you a hug!"

Lin Shuyue's eyes lit up when she saw the beautiful little girl, and she immediately came over, her face full of affection.

"So cute!"

She carefully took Xiao Nuomi from Lu Qian's arms, held her in her arms and gently rocked her, her voice soft and gentle: "Hello, Xiao Nuomi, I'm Sister Shuyue."

"Hello, Sister Shuyue!" Little Nuomi said sweetly.

Looking at Lin Shuyue's beautiful face, he suddenly blinked his big eyes and exclaimed, "Sister Shuyue, you're so pretty! Are you my brother's girlfriend?"

"Pfft—!" Lu Qian almost choked on his own saliva.

As expected of her own good younger sister, what a divine assist!

Sometimes, don't think that little kids are easy to fool. In fact, their eyes are sharp, and a casual remark they make might reveal a lot.

For example, right now, as soon as Xiao Nuomi said those words, Lin Shuyue's pretty face turned red instantly.

She quickly explained, "No, no, my sister is my brother's good friend."

"Oh..." Little Nuomi nodded as if she understood, then reached out her chubby little hand and gently poked Lin Shuyue's slightly flushed cheek. "Wow, sister, your face is so red, like an apple, so pretty!"

This innocent remark made Lin Shuyue extremely embarrassed, and she tightened her grip on Xiao Nuomi.

Lu Qian looked at Lin Shuyue holding Xiao Nuomi with a gentle yet slightly flustered expression, and a mischievous smile appeared on his lips.

He leaned close to her ear and said, "What's wrong? Do you really want a little sister as cute as this?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Shuyue nodded subconsciously, her eyes still fixed on Xiao Nuomi: "Yes, I wanted to have a cute little sister like this when I was little, but my mom and her family just wouldn't let me have one. I remember I made a fuss about it for a long time back then."

Lin Shuyue's parents are also public servants. In an era where only children are common, having another child would mean risking losing one's job, so most people chose to keep their jobs.

Although the two-child policy has been relaxed this year, the generation that most wanted to have children back then has long since grown old and no longer has the energy or ability to have children.

It is said that every generation has its own happiness and regrets. Now that I think about it, perhaps this is also the regret of their generation.

"Easy,"

Hearing Qingmei's words, Lu Qian joked, "If you become my wife in the future, wouldn't that be like getting a free little sister? It's no big deal."

"You...!" Lin Shuyue suddenly turned her head and glared at him, her cheeks flushed, both ashamed and angry. "Who wants to be your wife?!"

She was about to say something when the little rice in her arms twisted its body, so she could only glare at Lu Qian reproachfully and swallow her words.

"Lu Qian! You're such a scoundrel!"

……

……

The food was quickly laid out on the table. The sweet and sour pork ribs looked tempting, the stir-fried vegetables were bright green and tender, and there was a plate of golden fried meatballs that emitted an enticing aroma.

In this world, only love and good food should not be missed.

"Wow! It smells so good!"

Little Nuomi was placed in the high chair, her eyes fixed on the plate of fried meatballs, her short legs swinging happily under the chair.

She couldn't wait to scoop up a piping hot meatball with a spoon, puffed out her cheeks, blew on it, and then took a big bite, panting as it burned.

But she still couldn't resist praising indistinctly, "Aunt Weiwei's cooking is the best! Even better than Mom's!"

His earnest little face made Xu Qingwei very happy, and she couldn't stop smiling.

If it were two high school students praising Xu Qingwei's cooking, she probably wouldn't be so happy, because people their age have already learned to say one thing to one person and another to someone else.

But what bad intentions could a child possibly have?

If they say it's really delicious... then it really is delicious!

The emotional value is immediately maximized.

Xu Qingwei was delighted and put another piece of pork rib on her plate: "Oh my, look how sweet our little Nuomi is! Come on, have some more!"

"Thank you, Auntie!" Little Nuomi said sweetly. "Brother Lu Qian, Sister Shu Yue, you should eat too!"

The people present were all coaxed into becoming embryos.

Children are at their cutest during this age. They are like lotuses emerging from clear water, naturally beautiful without any artifice. They don't need to try to be cute; they can make everyone around them happy.

Hehe, she's naturally cute, okay?

The family sat down happily. Lu Qian looked around and casually asked, "Mom, where's Dad? Hasn't he come home from get off work yet?"

Xu Qingwei paused in her ladling of soup, looking up at him with some surprise: "Your dad? Oh, he went on a business trip. Didn't he tell you yesterday morning when he left?"

"A business trip?" Lu Qian recalled for a moment, and it seemed that there was such a thing, but since he was reborn, he had long forgotten about it.

So he mumbled, "Oh, I guess I've had too many exams lately, I might have forgotten..."

He remembered that his father might fall seriously ill soon, and if he were to encounter him, he would have to give him a heads-up.

"When I have more money in this phase, I'll take my parents for a full-body checkup, just to prevent any potential problems..." Lu Qian secretly made a mental note of this.

Just then, the phone screen on the table suddenly lit up and emitted a QQ notification sound.

He glanced at it and saw it was a message from Shen Xinyi.

Shen Xinyi: "What are you doing?"

It was a very ordinary opening, but it felt a bit off when it came from Shen Xinyi.

Lu Qian was somewhat surprised, not expecting that a cold and aloof girl like Shen Xinyi would take the initiative to contact him.

"Judging from her impression, she doesn't seem like the type to initiate messages." Lu Qian always felt that this girl seemed to treat him differently from others.

But he couldn't ignore a message from such a pretty girl, so he casually took a picture of the food on the table and sent it to her.

Lu Qian: "Eating at home [image]"

Shen Xinyi: "It looks pretty good."

Lu Qian smiled and tapped the screen with his fingers: "Of course, this is the taste of mom."

Just as he pressed the send button, a small, fair hand suddenly reached out and pressed down on his phone screen.

"Lu Qian, who are you chatting so happily with? You're not even eating your meal properly!"

Lin Shuyue had somehow moved closer, her little head almost resting on his shoulder, her eyes fixed on his phone screen.

Lu Qian's heart tightened. His past life as a scumbag made him instinctively try to take the phone back, like a thief.

But it was too late.

Lin Shuyue, with her sharp eyes, clearly saw the girl's avatar on the screen, as well as the last sentence, "Mom's taste."

Although the content wasn't anything special, the other person's profile picture was a girl.

Lu Qian... talking to a girl?

"Who is it?" Lin Shuyue looked up and stared at him suspiciously.

Her beautiful eyebrows furrowed slightly, like a wary kitten.

"Uh, a friend."

Lu Qian gave a vague answer and quickly locked his phone and put it back in his pocket: "He's just an ordinary friend."

"A friend?" Lin Shuyue clearly didn't believe it and pressed, "Male or female?"

Looking at her puffed-up face, Lu Qian suddenly found her kind of cute and teased her on purpose, "Why are you asking so many questions, Lin Shuyue? Are you jealous?"

"Who, who's jealous!" Lin Shuyue's cheeks flushed again. "I was just asking... You can talk to whoever you want..."

Despite saying that, the way she gripped the chopsticks tightened slightly, revealing her subtle emotions.

Seeing her insincere expression, Lu Qian chuckled inwardly but didn't call her out on it.

A battleground?

nonexistent.

He only needed to make a slight move to tease his childhood sweetheart so much that he had long forgotten about the news.

This is a master.

Thinking about it, he picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork ribs and put it in his mouth. The sweet and sour taste melted on his tongue, carrying a familiar taste from his memory.

"By the way, Qianzi."

At this moment, Xu Qingwei seemed to remember something, put down her chopsticks, and asked with a serious tone, "There are only a little over a hundred days left until the college entrance examination. What kind of university are you planning to get into?"

Her eyes held expectation, but also a hint of barely perceptible worry.

She knew her son's previous level best, but she still planned to try to persuade him at the dinner table.

After all, in the eyes of their generation, good or bad grades are basically equivalent to good or bad success in the future after graduation.

It's perfectly normal for parents to hope their children will succeed.

Hearing this, Lu Qian swallowed the food in his mouth and said, "Mom, to be honest, my grades in the last few monthly exams might not have been very good."

"But don't worry, I will do my best from now on. Give me some time, and I will definitely catch up. As for which university I can get into... I will try my best to get into a good one."

The regret of failing the college entrance exam in his previous life and only being able to attend an ordinary second-tier university flashed through his mind.

The school had a relaxed atmosphere, and the counselor was even more bizarre. He was always thinking about making money and liked to do all sorts of nonsense. He even created gender antagonism in the class, making his college life far less exciting than he had imagined.

In this life, he naturally wouldn't choose to take the entrance exam for that lousy second-tier university again.

He wants to rely on his own efforts to get to a better platform!

The connections and resources he builds in university are crucial for his future; he should give it his all if he can.

"real?"

Upon hearing Lu Qian's answer, Xu Qingwei's eyes lit up. She exchanged a glance with Lin Shuyue beside her, and both of them showed surprised smiles. Neither of them expected Lu Qian to suddenly be so ambitious.

"Go, brother!" Little Nuomi suddenly raised her little spoon and cheered for Lu Qian in her childish voice, making everyone laugh.

"Mmm." Lu Qian ruffled Xiao Nuomi's hair, a smile spreading across his face. "Brother will definitely do his best!"