Rebirth 08: A Happy Life Begins in Elementary School

Chapter 98 What is Subjectivity? (Second Update, Seeking First Subscription)

After the English class on Monday afternoon, Huang Keyun gave Li Zhao a look.

Li Zhao didn't understand.

So she waved to Li Zhao again, thinking she was being discreet.

As a result, He Shuyao immediately turned her head, glanced at Li Zhao, and then quickly turned back.

The funniest one was Chen Nian, who understood Huang Keyun's meaning even faster than Li Zhao. He nudged Li Zhao with his elbow and said, "Zhao, Teacher Huang wants you to go out."

—Ke Yun, you need to be more careful.

"What can I do for you, Sister Yun?"

Huang Keyun was taken aback. "At school, you have to be addressed by your position. You kid."

Now it's so clear.

"The teacher is asking you," Huang Keyun looked around, covering her mouth with her hand, "where are you planning to go for junior high?"

She's afraid others won't notice she's whispering.

"New Taipei First Senior High School".

"? So you're in the office—oh." Huang Keyun was smart enough to realize what was going on and smiled. "Don't worry, your teacher will keep it a secret."

Li Zhao thought to himself, "That's mainly because you leaked the information to me first—"

After school, the trio acted as usual.

Li Zhao is in the center, Chen Nian is on the right, and He Shuyao is on the left.

"Ah Zhao, that Liu Yiting from noon was really strange."

"Um?"

"Didn't you get called away by the teacher at noon? Liu Yiting was acting suspiciously at the door with her notebook. I couldn't stand it anymore, so I called her in."

"Are you the gatekeeper of our class?"

"Door God? Great, that's a good nickname."

"Can't be an egg" is a pun on "security guard".

"Anyway," Chen Nian always managed to quickly switch back to his吐槽 (tu cao, a Chinese internet slang term for sarcastic or critical) mode, "I knew right away she was looking for you, but the way she talked was really strange. She asked me if Zhao Shen was there, which left me dumbfounded."

"Pfft—" Li Zhao couldn't hold back and glanced at He Shuyao, only to see her face full of embarrassment, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't.

"I told her you went to the office and wouldn't be back by noon normally, and she seemed a little flustered." Chen Nian was speechless. "I was wondering why she was so nervous just because I was asking her a question. Then Shu Yao probably thought she was being too nervous, so she told her that if she had any urgent questions, she could ask her first, and she would pass them on. Guess what she said?"

"How would I know?"

"She said thank you, Holy Maiden," hahahahaha! Chen Nian slapped his thigh, "Shu Yao was completely stunned!"

""

Li Zhao looked at He Shuyao, the girl's brows furrowed slightly, clearly a little embarrassed.

Li Zhao patted Chen Nian on the shoulder, gave him a look to stop his laughter, and then asked He Shuyao, "What did she ask?"

"It's a simple question, and I don't think she doesn't understand it. Besides, she's been staring at me since she came in. I don't think she's looking for you."

Even with all his amazing wisdom from his past life, Li Zhao couldn't figure out this strange girl.

Something was off today. Chen Nian and He Shuyao seemed to have slowed down their pace. The alleyway where they could usually chat for a few minutes and then walk out was now filled with Chen Nian's entire rant.

"Ah Zhao, I've been studying my notes recently, and I have a question for you."

He Shuyao hesitated again, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped.

Notes — Could it be that "Li Zhao's Observation Diary"?

Who knows what kind of strange question it will be again.

"Speak."

"What is subjectivity?"

Li Zhao was stunned, and He Shuyao was also stunned.

They were used to Chen Nian's various whimsical ideas along the way, so this serious question was quite a surprise—it had a unique flavor to it.

"Why would you think about this?"

"Ah, because I took notes. I noticed this word appears frequently, but I don't understand it. It seems like you often mention it when you're talking to people about essays."

He Shuyao seemed quite interested in this topic as well, and she moved even closer to him.

Subjectivity is actually a philosophical term, referring to the autonomous, proactive, and creative qualities that people exhibit in practical activities, reflecting the core position of the relationship between humans and the world.

But when Li Zhao said it, he didn't mean it in such a complicated way. He just hoped that his classmates could understand the word using the simplest principles.

Logically, this should be something we realize as we grow up and continuously search for the meaning of life.

I didn't understand that when I was a child.

However, Chen Nian's question at this moment gave Li Zhao a moment of reflection that transcended time.

His sense of self-determination seemed to be even stronger when he was a child than when he grew up.

Even as a primary school student, he could write "The Book of Returning to Truth" on his own, believing that he could do many things. His youthful spirit was evident. However, as he grew older, he became more and more bound by various shackles, and he didn't even dare to do the things he "wanted to do." He ran wildly along the path set by society. At this point, how much agency did he have?

Subjectivity emphasizes the value construction of objects by humans, including independent consciousness and the pursuit of freedom. If we were to say when Li Zhao's subjectivity was strongest, it would be after his rebirth.

[An interesting reflection. Happiness +1, total 21]

"It's actually a philosophical term, and it's pointless to make it too complicated now. In short, it means valuing yourself, caring about your own ideas, believing in your ability to do it, and putting it into practice."

This sentence is very easy to understand, but it probably won't resonate with elementary school students.

Because they still believe in dreams right now.

"Very powerful," He Shuyao said.

"But why emphasize this?" Chen Nian scratched his head. "Does anyone not care about their own thoughts?"

""

When you grow up, you'll find that there are many things you don't care about or can't care about.

Li Zhao smiled. "Take Liu Mingyu's article for example. He was too concerned about technique and scores, so he didn't really write about his own thoughts and feelings. What do you think his reasoning was?"

"For—a high score?"

"Yes. But high scores weren't entirely his own pursuit; rather, they were pressured by his parents, teachers, and even classmates. Everyone told him to study hard and get high scores on exams. In order to get high scores on his essays, he completely ignored his own feelings and couldn't write with genuine emotion. This is ignoring his own subjectivity."

"Oh, oh," Chen Nian stopped in his tracks after thinking for a moment, "I think I understand. My dad sometimes says he doesn't know what to do, is it something like that?"

Li Zhao's eyes lit up. "That's right. The older people get, the more things they need to do and the more responsibilities they have to shoulder. If they ignore their own agency, it's easy to live a life without understanding it."

"Living incomprehensible" is still too difficult for Chen Nian at present.

"Don't overthink it. You and Shuyao are both very independent people. Keep it up. Now is not the time to worry about this."

"I get it, it means I'm the only one who matters!" Chen Nian struck a childish pose.

Li Zhao smiled and shook his head, then looked back and saw that He Shuyao seemed to be unable to contain herself.

Do you want to strike a pose too?

As we chatted, we arrived at the bus stop.

Chen Nian and Li Zhao naturally leaned against the bus stop sign and started betting on when the bus would arrive.

Suddenly, I noticed that He Shuyao was also standing next to me.

"Hmm? No one's coming to pick you up today?" Li Zhao asked.

"I—no, I also took the bus today," He Shuyao said.

However, when the bus to her house arrived, she did not get on.

"Shuyao, can this car take me to your house?" Chen Nian asked. "Isn't your house near People's Park?"

"Ah—yes."

"Then aren't you getting on the bus?"

Chen Nian suddenly sensed murderous intent in He Shuyao's eyes, and he looked at Li Zhao with a bewildered expression.

Li Zhao seemed to understand.

Young lady, you must be so eager to know about the expedition team, right?

She hesitated to speak all afternoon, wanting to ask but afraid that others would overhear and cause trouble for Li Zhao.

I had originally planned to follow him to the bus stop so I could ask Li Zhao after Chen Nian left.

Who knew that Chen Nian waited at the bus stop until Li Zhao left before leaving himself?

"I'm going somewhere else," He Shuyao replied.

"Oh, oh—" Chen Nian didn't dare to continue the conversation, and immediately turned his head to pat Li Zhao, "Zhao, the car is here, I won, hahaha, I told you it would be quick today, right?"

"I always bet like this and I'll never lose." Li Zhao smiled smugly. "Alright, see you tomorrow, Shuyao, see you tomorrow."

Chen Nian waved, "Bye-bye."

Then I watched as He Shuyao got into the car.

"?" Chen Nian blinked, staring blankly as the bus drove away.

"What a coincidence, they're traveling together." He scratched his head.