Rebirth 08: A Happy Life Begins in Elementary School

Thunder on the ground.

Li Zhao was almost completely stunned on the spot.

This might be the most shocking thing I've ever heard from Chen Nian since my rebirth.

How is that possible?

It's impossible to discern the relationship between Si Kou Dao and Li Zhao.

Could it be that the Chinese teacher thought the writing styles were similar? But even the teacher was just joking and quickly denied it, so how did it get to the students' mouths?

"Why?" Li Zhao composed himself.

"Because the four swords are called 'Shō'."

"Four knives? That's hardly 'Shō'! Three knives would be more accurate."

Chen Nian suddenly revealed a smug expression, "Ah Zhao, even you have your vulgar moments."

"...?" Li Zhao really didn't follow Chen Nian's train of thought.

"The character '日' has two '口' radicals, but the outer frame also has one '口' radical. Add to that the '召' radical's bottom '口' radical, and you have a total of four '口' radicals, right?"

If there were a mirror to see one's own expression, even Li Zhao would probably find it difficult to describe it clearly.

Hey, I'm trying to have a serious talk with you, and you're trying to play riddles with me?

"Does this make sense?" Chen Nian pressed.

"A ghost...that's too far-fetched." Li Zhao shook his head, feeling much more relaxed.

It seems that Chen Nian really thought Li Zhao was unparalleled and simply associated him with the powerful figures he could hear about.

"I told you, it shouldn't be like that," Chen Nian said.

"Hmm? Where did you hear that from?"

"He Shuyao, that's what she said."

You just betrayed He Shuyao like that? You really are my good brother...

"She used to be a fan of riddles too," Li Zhao remarked.

Chen Nian stopped right at the classroom door, pulled Li Zhao aside, and said, "No, the four knives were my idea!"

You want to claim credit, huh?

"Shuyao is right, she thinks this four-knife style is similar to yours. But I think that's too far-fetched, how could he possibly be you?"

"Then why are you even analyzing that four swords represent 'Shō'?"

"I cooperated with Shuyao, and she found it very believable. She's already convinced that you are Sikoudao."

Li Zhao was taken aback again.

Is that a confirmation...?

"No, Ah Zhao, you're acting strange today?" Chen Nian frowned.

"What's wrong? Let's go to class."

"You're not a four-knife wielder, are you?"

"no."

"Then why do you look so nervous?"

"I'm shocked by you. Go to class, go to class."

During the class meeting, Chen Nian remained deep in thought.

He didn't believe Li Zhao was a four-knife user at all. No matter how powerful Li Zhao was, it was still too exaggerated to match the influence of a four-knife user.

But why was Li Zhao so shocked today? Chen Nian had only seen that look in his eyes in two situations:

One is when you're playing hide-and-seek, you painstakingly hide in what you think is the best spot, only to be discovered instantly.

One person secretly altered the test scores, thinking they wouldn't be caught, but their parents immediately exposed them.

The main characters are all his cousins.

The common thread is that "what they wanted to hide was discovered."

But Si Kou Dao's article was published in the South China Weekly, a top-tier publication. I haven't seen Li Zhao much lately…

No, yes. Li Zhao submitted an article.

Given his writing skills, how could a weekly magazine for primary and secondary school students possibly not have seen him?

So who did he vote for?

However, Si Kou Dao's articles all discussed urban planning, which was highly technical. How could Li Zhao possibly know that...?

No, it is. Didn't Li Zhao buy a book on urban planning at Xinhua Bookstore?

The writing styles are similar, and the relationship between "four-mouthed knife" and the character "昭" is...

No, really?

Chen Nian was so shocked that he could hardly breathe.

But why did Li Zhao deny it?

Chen Nian couldn't figure this out no matter how hard he tried.

If you can't figure it out, just ask. But since class was in session, Chen Nian wrote a note and handed it over: "Why won't you admit that you are Si Kou Dao?"

Kids are so persistent!

"Because I am not," Li Zhao wrote back.

"I've just analyzed it, and I think you are it."

"Would you believe me if I said I was Qin Shi Huang?"

"I'm not stupid."

"Don't worry about these things." Just as Li Zhao finished writing and handed it to Chen Nian, Lin Wenjuan on the podium said:

"Li Zhao, please answer this question."

He Lin, the Chinese teacher and homeroom teacher, had both experienced Li Zhao's strong writing skills and benefited from Li Zhao's national first place in the English competition. Huang Keyun goes without saying; the two of them had completely left Li Zhao to his own devices.

But Lin Wenjuan is different.

In her eyes, Li Zhao was just a child who could solve problems very quickly. He might have amazing talent and ability in mathematics, but without competitions, it would all be for naught. She was far less hands-off with Li Zhao than the other two teachers.

Although Li Zhao's achievements in other subjects put a lot of pressure on her, so she wouldn't directly criticize Li Zhao for passing notes in class, she could at least give her a nudge with a difficult question, right?

"A product is priced with a 20% profit margin, then sold at an 80% discount, resulting in a loss of 40 yuan..."

Li Zhao glanced at the question and blurted out, "Cost: 1000 yuan."

A small gasp rippled through the classroom.

Lin Wenjuan was taken aback for a moment, then could only nod and ask him to sit down.

Then, spontaneous applause broke out from the students.

Li Zhao was a little embarrassed. He had long been used to mentally calculating all sorts of small percentages since he started working, and now he might have to think about some unfamiliar formulas. He hardly needed to think about such classic numbers.

Lin Wenjuan on stage had mixed feelings. She had meant well, so why did she end up looking like the villain?

Fine, let Li Zhao do whatever he wants during class from now on.

She focused her gaze on Chen Nian—young man, you won't get any special privileges.

Chen Nian was still grinning foolishly, his face full of excitement, completely unaware of the kind of classroom challenges that awaited him before the entrance exam for junior high school.

Coincidentally, He Lin and Huang Keyun also had this idea.

However, their motivations were different. He Lin felt that as Li Zhao's deskmate, Chen Nian should make significant progress, so she placed high hopes on him. Huang Keyun, on the other hand, was curious because Li Zhao and Chen Nian seemed to have a good relationship, so would Li Zhao give Chen Nian special tutoring?

So, without prior consultation, the three teachers unanimously decided to ask Chen Nian more questions in class.

Chen Nian spent two days realizing something was wrong, and on the fourth day, he resigned himself to his fate.

Friday, January 5th.

Li Zhao saw Chen Nian looking very serious, so serious that he was a little nervous.

He even had to focus on studying during breaks, afraid of being unable to answer questions in the next class and embarrassing himself.

Li Zhao told him there was no need to be too nervous, and that it was a good thing to fill in the gaps in his knowledge if he couldn't answer a question. But this kid said that as Li Zhao's deskmate, he couldn't embarrass himself...

So Chen Nian lost interest in figuring out whether Li Zhao actually had four knives.

Chen Nian, who was focused on his studies, didn't constantly ask Li Zhao what he was doing, which provided him with a good environment for immersion.

Li Zhao spent almost the entire week figuring out how to construct a long story, and then realized that being a writer really isn't easy...

He can easily come up with simple emotional points and write them down smoothly, but when he thinks about the "ending," he gets completely lost.

Perhaps the characters are still somewhat vague because I haven't officially started writing them yet? Or maybe I haven't read enough youth literature, so I lack substance?

Anyway, this stuff is much harder to write than professional articles.

The May issue of the journal "China Urban Planning" placed Li Zhao's article, submitted in March, "An Exploration of the Boundary Control and Intensive Development Mechanism of Construction Land," in the "Focus" section.

The introduction gave it very high praise, and the influence of the pen name "Four Knives" is growing in the industry.

Who would have thought that Sikoudao is now obsessed with writing youth literature and is even scratching his head over it?

In every mental gap that arose when Li Zhao's thoughts were blocked, he was looking at He Shuyao.

Girl, you're really interesting.

It was clearly He Shuyao's guess that "the four knives belonged to Li Zhao," yet there was no trace of it in any of their interactions over the course of a week.

She certainly didn't realize that Chen Nian had already exposed everything...

Li Zhao was really looking forward to their "secret base" over the weekend.