Rebirth 08: A Happy Life Begins in Elementary School

Chapter 103 You can't only love me when I produce results.

"Ah Zhao, you don't even need to take the entrance exam for junior high school anymore—"

"I'll participate."

error?

Chen Nian and He Shuyao were both dumbfounded, thinking they had misheard.

"Are you going to another school?" Chen Nian frowned.

"No, I'll take the entrance exam for New Taipei First Senior High School."

"Ah—" Chen Nian's head was a little itchy; he needed to grow a brain.

"Don't overthink it, just think I'm curious," Li Zhao said.

"That's really capricious—" Chen Nian took a deep breath. "Pretty cool."

This kid is all about showing off.

Curiosity was one reason Li Zhao wanted to take the exam, but more importantly, it was for his own niche at New Taipei No. 1 High School.

There aren't many opportunities left to rely on current knowledge to get ahead. Graduation exams aren't very valuable, and some schools with a lot of vanity will produce a bunch of perfect scores of 300.

New Taipei No. 6 Elementary School has always been quite honest; a score of 299 is usually the highest in the grade. Even if they made an exception and gave Li Zhao a perfect score, he wouldn't stand out among the many perfect scores in the city.

The best opportunity is this entrance exam for junior high school.

Getting first place in the grade creates a legendary aura even before enrollment, and once enrolled, their niche becomes incredibly prominent.

"So, if you come back to school, what will you be doing? Studying again?"

"I'll do what I did before, and I'll do it again next time."

"oh oh."

"So—" He Shuyao's curiosity was piqued, "What does he usually do during class?"

She asked about Chen Nian, skipping over Li Zhao.

"I didn't actually look at it carefully," Chen Nian said. "I was either reading or writing."

"Write something?" He Shuyao's gaze fell on Li Zhao again.

It has a profound meaning.

But girl, you've really misunderstood. In class, Li Zhao isn't Si Kou Dao, but a future famous young adult novelist.

"Oh right, my dad said a lot of people have been talking about the Four-Knife Mistake lately," Chen Nian said.

"Um?"

"Regarding the earthquake, many people dug up the article about Sikoudao and said that it made a great contribution."

Has it really fermented?

"That's what it means to have made a contribution," He Shuyao said, giving Li Zhao another deep look.

"Ah Zhao, I think you shouldn't submit to that stupid elementary and middle school weekly." Chen Nian was still indignant. "They don't know your talent. You should just submit to the South China Weekly and call it 'Rikoudao'."

This name is so painful —

I'll give it a try if I have the chance.

"Yes, you can definitely do it!"

He Shuyao was trying not to laugh.

The three of them walked to the bus stop again. He Shuyao got into a car and went home. Just then, Li Zhao's bus arrived. Chen Nian suddenly remembered that he seemed to have forgotten to ask about something important: "Zhao, last time Shuyao was with you—"

"See you tomorrow."

Li Zhao climbed eight flights of stairs again, but he wasn't as out of breath as before.

Bodyweight training at home is having some effect; I'll have to go running again when I have the opportunity.

He was just about to knock when the door opened by itself. Li Changlin stood there, beaming, with open arms, saying, "Welcome home, son!"

Okay, the teacher must have already made a phone call.

Li Zhao walked into the house expressionlessly and immediately smelled the aroma of a grand feast.

Normally, Zhou Xiaoyun's dishes wouldn't have this street food stall flavor. The fact that they do means she's no longer resisting the Maillard reaction and is willing to make the food crispy and delicious. Combined with this rich garlic and seafood aroma, it must be a gourmet meal.

If I'm not mistaken, there's a plate of fried food, a plate of pan-fried dishes, and a plate of steamed seafood with garlic—that's the base.

Sure enough, as soon as I entered the kitchen, a plate of fried chicken wings, a plate of pan-fried pork chops, and a sweet soup were already on the table.

Fruit, and scallops with garlic and vermicelli being steamed vigorously in a pot.

This is a feast that you can't even afford during the New Year normally—not because of the money, but because Zhou Xiaoyun thinks fried food is unhealthy.

-

When I eat chicken wings, I always steam them with soy sauce.

You can tell how happy Zhou Xiaoyun is just by looking at the dishes on the table.

"Son! You're back!"

Yes, I'm really happy.

This wasn't the first time Li Zhao had seen his parents so happy.

Back in high school, they studied diligently and their grades kept improving. Occasionally, they would even get first place in their class or the grade, and they were once very happy.

But by then, Li Zhao had already developed a considerable distance from them. In his parents' eyes, their son didn't talk to them much anymore, so their happiness was nowhere near as strong as it is today.

—In terms of achievements, they are also far inferior in quality.

In his previous life, Li Zhao's greatest achievement in exams was the college entrance examination.

What should have been a very happy occasion turned into an argument with his parents because he insisted on going to the north.

With grades good enough to get into the medical school of Linyi University, why did you choose to go north to study urban planning?

In the parents' eyes, this is a deliberate attempt to break away from the family.

Li Zhao couldn't deny that he did have this idea; he wanted to take control of his own life.

"Principal Cai called us today, and we know everything." Li Changlin's words pulled Li Zhao from his thoughts. "That's amazing, son! Your parents are so proud of you!"

"I've prepared a special meal for you tonight, and I even bought you a Coke! It's frozen in the fridge."

Oh wow, they even bought Coke! They must be really happy.

The couple showered Li Zhao with praise, but Li Zhao remained unmoved throughout.

As they were talking, Li Changlin sensed something was wrong. He pulled him into the living room and asked in a low voice, "What happened? Did anything bad happen later?"

"No. It's just that all of this was within my expectations."

"Huh?" Li Changlin didn't quite understand.

Li Zhao stretched on the sofa. "Isn't that how it is? When I get good grades or achieve something, everyone's happy for me. At that moment, I'm a good friend in my classmates' eyes, and a good son in yours. Absolutely wonderful!"

.

Li Changlin understood what was going on and immediately fell silent.

"At times like this, they can praise me as high as they want. Everyone's happy and celebrating my achievements. Like tonight's meal, things they usually don't give me, I get to eat now, enjoying a lot of privileges." Li Zhao said casually, "But what if things go back to normal? I don't have any exams until I enter New Taipei First Senior High School, there's nothing to be this happy about, right?"

"That's not quite right," Li Changlin said, sounding unsure.

"Dad, there are many days worth celebrating, and many reasons to be happy. I'm happy about what I've learned; every anniversary is worth celebrating. Even—I just want to eat fried chicken wings, will you make them for me?"

"Fried chicken wings shouldn't be eaten too often —"

"Son, everyone just happened to be having a good time tonight—"

"You can't only love me when I produce results."

Li Changlin was stunned.

This sentence structure is incredibly useful.

Li Changlin fell into reflection, but because this state of reflection was out of place with the bustling atmosphere in the kitchen, he frowned.

"Son, you're right, Dad understands what you mean. I'll talk to your mom properly next, hoping she can change her mind. But tonight, we're genuinely celebrating for you, so please cheer up, okay?"

"I didn't say I was unhappy. Let's keep things separate," Li Zhao said.

Li Changlin breathed a sigh of relief.

"But Dad, you have one more question."

"Wh-what?" Li Changlin was nervous.

"Why is everyone assuming I'll agree to New Taipei First Senior High School?"

Li Changlin was stunned again, and his back suddenly felt hot. Yes, Principal Cai only said something like "New Taipei First Senior High School came to recruit Li Zhao", but he didn't really say what the result would be!

"So, what do you think? New Taipei First Senior High School is already the best."

"New Taipei First Senior High School isn't quite up to par nationally," Li Zhao said. "But I've already signed the agreement to join New Taipei First Senior High School."

Li Changlin was speechless for a long time before laughing and patting Li Zhao, "You, you."

"Come and eat!" Zhou Xiaoyun shouted, announcing the start of the feast.

The family seemed to be having a great time at the dinner table. Putting everything else aside, Zhou Xiaoyun's cooking skills were quite good; when she cooked seriously, the food was delicious.

However, the happiness system did not respond.

After all, Li Zhao knew the nature of this meal. It couldn't be said that it was completely devoid of love, but its underlying theme wasn't love.

One day, Zhou Xiaoyun might think that her son likes fried chicken wings, so she buys some and seasons them exactly the way Li Zhao likes them. That would probably increase her happiness a little.

Too much praise can become tiresome, and with Li Changlin controlling Zhou Xiaoyun's speech and resolutely preventing her from saying "Look how much your parents love you," the conversation quickly shifted to Li Zhao taking the lead.

"Speaking of which," Li Zhao said, wiping his hands as he finished eating a chicken wing, "I recently heard from Shuyao that the new plan for the pedestrian street is about to be announced. When that happens, the storefront we bought will immediately become the target of everyone's criticism."

Li Changlin and Zhou Xiaoyun looked at each other in bewilderment.

"real?"

"You don't have to believe me," Li Zhao shrugged.

"Oh dear, you silly child—"

"So, we need to finalize some things regarding the storefront. Mom and Dad, have we completed all the necessary procedures?"

Suddenly, Li Zhao was summoned to the school to hear a report.

Listening to reports when one's position is exceptionally superior is highly effective.

"That storefront is already ours. We've basically completed all the necessary paperwork, and the old man has no way to back out."

"Did you go abroad?"

"Shouldn't we go?" Li Changlin glanced at Zhou Xiaoyun.

"Yes, he went. I specifically asked him. He went abroad for a trip not long after he got the money, and then stayed with his son after the trip."

"Have the leases for the shops next door been finalized?"

"We've negotiated, and the lease is signed. It won't start until the pedestrian mall opens, but it's a five-year lease, and we've already paid a deposit. That'll be another considerable expense later—" Li Changlin sighed.

This old man did a pretty good job.

"Okay, Dad, let's take this opportunity to talk about business?"