Rebirth 08: A Happy Life Begins in Elementary School

Thirty-six years old, senior executive of a large company, annual income of two million, luxury house and luxury car, holding a big project, promotion is just around the corner.

The ex-wife took their daughter and half of the family property; the parents, both in their sixties, are now getting a divorce.

This is all part of Li Zhao's life.

Growing up in a high-pressure family environment, she developed a personality focused solely on success, and is intelligent, capable, and has exceptional resilience.

After entering society, he surpassed his peers and achieved financial freedom in the eyes of most people at the age of thirty-six.

But at this time, he was mired in a family crisis, everyone was in turmoil, and his family was falling apart.

His wife doesn't love him, his daughter isn't close to him, and his parents cry every day.

Was it successful?

Li Zhao has done his best to spend time with his wife and daughters, and has also done his best to take care of his parents in their old age.

But... his ex-wife was only after his money, and her true colors were revealed after the marriage; his parents believed from childhood that all of Li Zhao's achievements came from them.

The more Li Zhao had, the more they wanted to take from him, without end.

It doesn't matter how hard Li Zhao worked for this income; what matters is how much he gave them.

A few days ago, Li Zhao returned home drunk after a business dinner. He fell asleep on the sofa because the door was locked. He bought his parents a Mercedes-Benz E-Class, but they were scolded for three days because it was not as good as the Mercedes-Benz S-Class driven by their neighbor, a retired state-owned enterprise executive.

They did not love Li Zhao.

Li Zhao flew into a rage at home, telling them who was the master of the house and who was making money to provide them with such a good life.

Then, his wife took the opportunity to file for divorce, and his parents also threatened to divorce him, forcing Li Zhao to pretend nothing had happened. His daughter told him, "Mom said you're a bad person because you treat her badly."

is it wrong?

Li Zhao couldn't understand it.

After settling the division of assets with his lawyer, Li Zhao drove aimlessly through the city night.

This is New Taipei City, the capital of a developed coastal province bordering the Yangtze River. There are plenty of places in the city center for Li Zhao to spend money on and enjoy.

But he felt empty inside, and although countless signs flashed before his eyes, he had no interest whatsoever.

He doesn't even know how to spend money to please himself.

He doesn't even love himself.

He took out his phone, wanting to chat with a friend, but he had 99+ messages and couldn't find a single friend he could open a chat window with.

Li Zhao felt like he had become a robot that tirelessly pursued "success," hiding in the shell of "making money equals happiness," pretending that he still had everything.

Love, friendship, even family ties...

He deserved it, Li Zhao thought he would be happy as long as he was successful enough, but he didn't know how many people and things he missed along the way.

He had the chance to know what love is, instead of being hunted by the trendsetters of the fame and fortune world after achieving success; he had the chance to make his parents understand right and wrong, instead of being so terminally ill and only knowing how to take.

However, there is no room for correction now.

Back in his quiet home, Li Zhao drank glass after glass of wine, ignoring the messages popping up on his phone.

I let myself sit on the sofa in a daze.

Are you happy?

He dared not answer.

……

"Ah Zhao, Ah Zhao..."

Li Zhao felt someone shaking his arm.

"Ah Zhao, your teacher is watching you!"

Li Zhao opened his drowsy eyes and stared blankly at everything before him:

Blackboard, podium, desks, classroom.

The slightly chubby, short-haired female teacher was staring at Li Zhao, while the students around her were writing their test papers with their heads down, and she was wearing a long-sleeved school uniform jacket.

Outside the window, it was a bright and sunny day, but the temperature was not high.

The desktop contained a blank exam paper, a black ballpoint pen, and a black pencil case.

Minimalism.

Li Zhao didn't feel hangover, but his head felt even more dizzy than if he had a severe hangover.

"Hurry up and write it! It's a diagnostic test, why are you still asleep!"

The person whispering was his elementary school deskmate, Chen Nian, nicknamed Lao Jiu (Old Wine). This nickname stemmed from both the "old wine" reference and his consistently ninth-place ranking in the class.

The teacher on the podium was a math teacher, and he was already squinting.

The title of the test paper is: New Taipei City Sixth Elementary School Entrance Test - Mathematics, Grade 6 (Second Semester).

What kind of obsession leads to a new life in a dream?

Li Zhao smiled, picked up his pen, and glanced at the exam paper.

Is sixth-grade math really that simple?

"A certain product first increased in price by 20%, then decreased by 20%. Compared to the original price, it is... lower."

Without needing scratch paper or even much time to think, Li Zhaofeng swept through the exam paper in a flash.

Except for a few formulas that I haven't used since leaving school and which caused me a slight stumble, the rest were answered almost instantly.

The exaggeratedly fast speed attracted Chen Nian's attention.

It also attracted the attention of Lin Wenjuan, the math teacher on the podium.

She stepped down from the podium as if nothing had happened, pretended to look around, and finally stopped next to Li Zhao.

After glancing at it a few times, she nodded in satisfaction and decided not to pursue the child's behavior of sleeping before the exam.

Li Zhao was always among the top three in his class and had certain privileges with the teachers. It was common for elementary school students to suddenly have an epiphany and make rapid progress after returning from a holiday.

Maybe it will be Li Zhao's turn. He will take an exam in one class, sleep for ten minutes, do the questions for ten minutes, and then stare blankly out the window.

This child… Lin Wenjuan smiled helplessly.

Li Zhao was in a daze.

He recalled that during his elementary school years, although he was excellent, he was always just short of the top scorer, mainly because his compositions were not as good as those of the girl who was the class monitor.

His parents were always dissatisfied with this, which put a lot of pressure on young Li Zhao.

His grades have always been good, but not top-notch.

Once you enter the workforce, you realize that how much money you earn isn't just about academic performance.

If he really goes back to elementary school, what should he do?

make money?

The second semester of sixth grade in elementary school had just begun, and that was in 2008.

There are so many ways to make money work for you. You don't need to put in much effort; you can surpass your future self simply by leveraging information asymmetry.

So, what happens next?

His subject of study should be happiness.

happiness……

Li Zhao looked to his right front as if possessed.

A girl with a ponytail, sitting upright and answering questions earnestly.

He Shuyao is the girl who taught Li Zhao how to write the word "regret".

At this time, however, the two were just childhood friends.

Lost in thought, the exam ended, the papers were collected, and everyone scattered like birds and beasts, groaning in despair.

Chen Nian sighed as he packed his schoolbag. "Li Zhao, why did you finish your test so quickly today?"

"...Was the exam difficult?"

"This is really tough!" Chen Nian exclaimed with an exaggerated expression. "You're almost killing me off, no, have you evolved?"

Li Zhao smiled and awkwardly packed his schoolbag.

Then I saw the little diary hidden in the corner.

This thing was almost forgotten by him, how could it be...?

"Chen Nian, hit me."

"Smack!" Without hesitation, Chen Nian delivered a blow to Li Zhao's shoulder.

"Ouch... that was really heavy-handed?"

"I've never heard of such a requirement in my life," Chen Nian said with a mischievous grin. "What's wrong? Did you find a mistake on the test paper?"

"No..." Li Zhao stared blankly at the blue sky outside the window, "I feel... like something's wrong with my life."

He actually went back to 08, back to his sixth grade of elementary school.

In an instant, the past thirty-six years flashed before his eyes like a revolving lantern—joy, sorrow, excitement, regret, pain, helplessness…

And his question to himself, "Am I happy?", was a resounding wake-up call.

This is almost a second chance at life; he has the opportunity to change everything!

A long-lost, unfamiliar sense of fullness, carrying a warm and comforting power, enveloped Li Zhao's heart.

His lips trembled uncontrollably.

This is... happiness.

This is happiness.

[Restarting my life, I feel incredibly fortunate. Happiness +10]

[You can exchange 10 Happiness Points for a reward of 10000 yuan]

[Accumulating happiness to the next stage will unlock new rewards]

Li Zhao was completely stunned.

Does this mean that not only was a chance to be reborn given, but the legendary system was even awakened?

If you feel happy, then pat... no, you'll gain something?

They were reborn and even received a cheat code; God is really kind to them.

But without any missions, the reward is just money, which seems a bit lacking.

Li Zhao quickly came to his senses; the system's greatest value lay in its guidance on "what is happiness."

"Li Zhao? What's wrong? Are you frozen in place?"

"Ah...it's nothing, I was just a little lost in thought."

Chen Nian slung his backpack over his shoulder, grinned, and said, "You've been acting strange today. Hurry up and get out of school, I'm going to buy a grilled sausage, do you want one?"

"want!"