Rebirth 08: A Happy Life Begins in Elementary School

On Friday night, Li Zhao completely ignored Zhou Xiaoyun, pretending not to notice her unusual mood, and ate, showered, and rested as usual.

He ignored the faint sounds of arguing coming from the living room.

The next morning, breakfast consisted of only solidified white porridge and a dish of pickled vegetables.

Not at all surprising, this is Zhou Xiaoyun's way of fighting for privileges at home—expressing her emotions outward.

Her emotions would spill over onto every family member through all the behaviors she led.

Everywhere they go, they emphasize, "I'm very unhappy right now, so come and ask me why."

If nothing unexpected happens, when she comes back to cook lunch, she'll probably emphasize how hard it is to cook, then complain of feeling dizzy or feeling unwell, and then start talking.

After finishing breakfast, Li Zhao stretched and reread the two articles he had already written.

"That's about enough. Any weaker and it'll be too weak," he muttered to himself, putting away the manuscript.

Then I went to the living room and stared blankly.

What did you do when you were locked up at home as a child?

Watching TV secretly, drawing, writing articles, reading books... these certainly can't fill all my time.

Oh, and it can even play by itself.

A very special ability...

Li Zhao can temporarily ignore the objective reality and instead immerse himself in a fictional fantasy world, thus embarking on a wondrous adventure.

For example, in the world of martial arts, imagine yourself wielding a sword and exchanging blows with martial arts masters; or imagine yourself as a once-in-a-century basketball prodigy, the NBA's number one draft pick ten years from now, turning the NBA into your own personal stage; or imagine yourself as a secret agent, carrying a huge secret mission, using the world's most advanced equipment to break through layers of defenses...

He would recite his lines while making various gestures, and the most atmospheric part was probably the sound effects he created with his mouth.

For example, swords clashing, a basketball going into a net, a bullet leaving the barrel...

To outsiders, it just looks like a mumbling child making a bunch of random movements.

Actually, it's quite interesting.

As Li Zhao grew up, he saw other kids doing the same thing, and he also remembered how he used to fantasize about having superpowers and saving the whole school when he was in junior and senior high school. He was so embarrassed that he couldn't bear to think about it.

Unexpectedly, I now have a completely different idea.

This is a very interesting vitality; being a "chuunibyou" (a person with delusions of grandeur) is actually just as valuable as youth itself.

Once society has thoroughly educated them, they won't be able to act like teenagers anymore.

Those composed adults who suddenly shoot a basketball while walking down the street at least still have some vitality in their hearts.

Once they stop fantasizing, some things die completely from their hearts.

[Positively reflecting on your childhood self from a different perspective increases happiness by 2 points, bringing the total to 9.]

Li Zhao smiled, pursed his lips, stood up, and jumped around a bit.

This frail body...

Let's start practicing now.

So, when Zhou Xiaoyun walked into the house with a frown and a gloomy face, she saw her son struggling to do push-ups.

The combo I was preparing to unleash was interrupted before I could even start.

"What's wrong with you?"

Exhausted and drenched in sweat, Li Zhao collapsed to the ground, panting, "Training."

"...Turn your head away."

Children may lack strength, but they are light and recover quickly, so they actually find it relatively easy to handle high-intensity workouts.

Li Zhao did not respond to Zhou Xiaoyun, but instead began to formulate his own training plan.

At lunchtime, the familiar atmosphere of low pressure permeated the dining table.

Li Changlin silently picked up some food, while Zhou Xiaoyun frowned and glanced at him every now and then.

"You've held out long enough, haven't you?" Li Zhao asked, taking a bite of rice.

"What do you mean, 'endured until now'?" Zhou Xiaoyun immediately retorted.

"Not going to tell me? Then I'll pretend I don't know." Li Zhao continued to eat heartily—even though the food wasn't very tasty.

Li Changlin frowned, but remained silent.

Zhou Xiaoyun hesitated for a moment, clicked her tongue, and then spoke up, "Son, the money has already been handed over. It's a large sum of our family's savings. If this store doesn't succeed in the end, we'll lose everything."

"Mm," Li Zhao replied simply.

Zhou Xiaoyun took a deep breath. "I'm bound to be anxious. Who knows if it will actually succeed in the end? After all, it was you who brought it up, and it was your dad and you who made the decision..."

"You're saying that again!" Li Changlin snapped. "We've already bought it. Whether we make a profit or a loss depends on our next move. What are you doing spouting this nonsense?"

"Did I spout nonsense?!" Zhou Xiaoyun finally found an outlet for her emotions and immediately began to retaliate. "Wasn't it mostly me who handled the paperwork? Which meal at home wasn't cooked by me? I was dizzy at noon but I still insisted on going..."

Mom, you're so skilled!

"Why are you in such a hurry to extricate yourself from the decision-making process?" Li Zhao said.

It was like a bucket of ice water being poured directly over their heads.

"Son, what do you mean by that?"

"It means exactly what you mean. Mom, what you're saying is that you've actually given away the money, and you're anxious because you're worried that if you can't get it back, you won't be able to handle the loss, so you're dumping the responsibility and pressure on us first."

Zhou Xiaoyun immediately became agitated, "How could you talk about your mother like that?"

"Okay then, Mom, I understand you. After all, I'm the source of this information, and Dad was the one who made the decision to buy it, so it's normal for you to be worried. So, if this store really does lose money, all the pressure will be on Dad and me. You can scold us all you want about this, I won't say a word. From now on, you'll be in charge of making the financial decisions, how about that?"

"That's not what Mom meant..."

"But let me finish," Li Zhao said haltingly as he continued eating. "If this store achieves anything, it belongs only to my dad and me, not to you. The honors are ours, and the control of the store is ours, okay?"

"What are you saying, child? That 37 isn't mine? I've always been a diligent and hardworking homemaker..."

"Then calculate the percentage, and you'll get your share in full. Everything else will be as I said, okay?"

"You..." Zhou Xiaoyun was speechless.

Li Changlin scratched his eyebrows. "Well, son, you might have misunderstood your mother. We're family, there's no need to keep such accounts."

"Yes, we're all family..."

"You all know we're family. The 37 yuan used was family assets, and the decision was made with everyone's consent. So why do you say it was my dad and me who decided it when it comes to calculating responsibility and pressure?"

He's stuck in one direction and has blocked both ends.

Li Zhao remained calm and composed throughout, which put Zhou Xiaoyun under immense pressure.

"But the new plan hasn't been released yet, and I'm afraid this store is a scam, and we've been cheated!" Zhou Xiaoyun directly used her trump card—

I don't care what you're saying, I'll play the victim first.

"If that's really what you think, sell the shop now. Sell it for the original price of 37, then go back to your job. When you see the revised pedestrian street plan announced, and see this shop being taken over and thriving, stop complaining. This is all your choice. This is your decision alone. Do you dare to take it on?"

"How dare you talk to your mother like that?" Li Changlin snapped.

"Dad, you've been sitting here silently when it's your turn to speak, and now you're suddenly thinking about your authority as the head of the family? Emotions have a cost. When Mom said the decisions were made by us, she didn't consider at all whether she could talk about family decision-making responsibility with a sixth-grade kid!"

Li Zhao finally raised his voice.

Li Changlin and Zhou Xiaoyun were stunned for a long time, looked at each other, and couldn't say a word for a long time.