Reborn to Bloom: A Second Chance at Youth

5

That's when Olivia made a remarkable discovery. She'd actually known who got each piece of land, how much, and any changes since the village chief's initial measurement. She'd even seen the length and width of each plot. The account books she'd reviewed were accurate to the last decimal point. It was incredible. Even after the measurement and verification, Olivia was still in shock. It didn't matter whose family had taken the extra land. What mattered was, holy crap, a fall had actually opened my brain. If this were a future-era concept of developing the left and right brain, wouldn't it be ridiculous? Just dropping a child right after birth wouldn't solve any problem. Of course, perhaps none of the world's six billion people would be as lucky as she is. It's a blessing in disguise. No, the most important thing now is to get home and verify whether I'm just daydreaming. Yes, get home, immediately.

Olivia's first thing after returning home was to pull out her first-grade Chinese textbook, quickly skim through it, then start memorizing a random lesson. After twenty minutes, she compared her memorization with the original text. Wow! It was spot-on, even the punctuation. It was amazing. She'd only heard of Huang Rong's mother possessing this kind of photographic memory, but she'd died from exhaustion from memorizing secret manuals. This was a plot in a novel, something she usually brushed off. But when it actually happened to her, she felt a little uneasy. Could memorizing too much also strain her brain, leading to death from exhaustion or even complete idiocy? There was no way to verify it. But so far, she hadn't felt any strain. So Olivia decided to stop immediately if she felt even slightly reluctant.

Not long after Olivia finished cooking, her parents returned. They inquired about the morning's incident and learned that the neighbor, who had been in dispute with Olivia's family, had taken over more land. The issue was resolved, and after lunch and a short rest, her parents returned to work in the fields. Olivia wasn't idle either. She borrowed Chinese, English, math, and even history and politics from an older child in the same village for her eighth and ninth year of junior high school. These were required subjects for the high school entrance exam in her previous life, along with physics and chemistry. Honestly, in her previous life, Olivia had scored among the top ten and was admitted to high school. She didn't make the top spot because, while she was bright and quick-witted, she had a weakness: she disliked memorizing. She believed rote memorization lacked technical skills, so she chose science without a second thought in high school. With this skill, her mother no longer had to worry about her failing to memorize texts.

As always, Olivia memorized the content of every book she read. After several attempts, she consistently managed to memorize it. Later, she sped up her pace. Previously, she'd read carefully, but later, while not quite skimming, it was close. She could remember everything she'd glanced at. So, her mother had noticed recently: her daughter, who previously didn't take her studies seriously, was now studying hard, perhaps worried she wouldn't be able to keep up in school in the city. She hadn't realized Olivia had a new idea: since she had this talent, why not use it? Her first move was to skip a grade. She hoped to attend high school and college as soon as possible, enter the workforce, earn more money, and improve her family's situation.

While Olivia was planning her future, a mistress's ambush unfolded in a mansion in a southern metropolis.

Two women sat in the spacious living room, one youthful and beautiful, the other still charming. I saw a beautiful young girl gently put a hospital diagnosis sheet on the coffee table: "Sister, please take a look, what should I do, I--" she burst into tears. The elegant woman next to her did not speak, picked up the diagnosis and took a look, then looked up at the girl's performance. The girl cried for a while and saw that the hostess was indifferent and then continued: "Boss Xiao and I are truly in love. You are also a person who has children, so you should be able to understand my feelings. I don't want my child to be born without a father--" She continued to cry. The hostess picked up the teacup on the coffee table and took a sip. If you look closely, you will find that the veins on the back of the woman's hand are bulging, which shows that her heart is not calm. After setting down the teacup, the hostess spoke, "So what do you intend for me to do? Are you planning on leaving my son fatherless to fulfill your child's wishes?" "That's not what I mean. I—" "Alright, since you don't mean that, just abort it. It'll save you trouble!" "Sister, you can't be so cruel. It's a life. Besides, Mr. Xiao would love to have another child."

"Oh? Then let Xiao Shiming talk to me. I'm tired. If there's nothing else, go back!" Just as she finished speaking, she heard a door open upstairs. A young man, about sixteen or seventeen, came down. He was about five feet eighty, wearing a light beige home suit. Although still young and his features still undeveloped, he looked like he would charm countless women in the future. He walked calmly and seemed surprised to see the woman downstairs. "Mom, are there guests?" "Um, Xiaowei, why are you downstairs?" "Oh, just to get some water." He nodded at the young woman and said, "Hello, sister."

The young woman was taken aback by the greeting. "Okay, okay," she thought to herself, "my son will be just as remarkable when he grows up." Ideals are full of promise, but reality is harsh. Soon, her child, who she didn't know whether it was her son or daughter, would be ruined by the young man she considered so outstanding.

"Mrs. Xiao, I won't bother you anymore," she said, standing up and, with a pretentious air, caressing her belly.

"Mom, let me see this sister off," Liam said before the hostess could even begin to speak. He then naturally escorted the woman out of the room. As she reached the steps outside the villa, Liam's voice, filled with sarcasm, rang out, "Tell me, besides being younger, what can you compare to my mother? You're an overconfident fool!"