Reincarnation: Trying to pretend to be ordinary, but it turns out it's really impossible.

Shen Xingbai returned from the CMO competition, and there were still two whole months before the winter break. Su Ningning felt that every day was worse than death.

After Shen Xingbai secured his admission to Jinghua University, he was no longer worried about his studies and devoted all his attention to her, becoming as strict as a completely different person.

He stopped paying attention to his own courses and spent all his time revolving around Su Ningning, watching her do practice problems, memorize key points, and review her mistakes.

No room for relaxation, just intensive, relentless tutoring, which transformed Su Ningning, who was originally at the bottom of the class...

He managed to pull himself up to the middle level of the class; with this score, he'd be a sure bet to get into an average university.

Su Ningning was also suffering terribly. Whenever she saw Shen Xingbai, she would instinctively try to hide. When she couldn't take it anymore, she would pretend to be dizzy and uncomfortable.

That day in class, Su Ningning, again covering her head, slumped listlessly on the desk, muttering softly:

"I feel dizzy and awful..."

Shen Xingbai frowned instantly, his tone full of tension:

"Why are you suddenly feeling unwell? I'll take you to the school clinic."

Su Ningning quickly shook her head and shrank under the table:

"No need, no need, I'll be fine after lying down for a while."

After he feigned illness so many times, Shen Xingbai finally saw through his act.

She muttered to herself, "Did I push her too hard? Is she really at her breaking point...?"

Zhang Tianyu, who had been watching the commotion from the sidelines, came over, patted him on the shoulder, and said bluntly:

"You're only realizing this now? If this continues, it won't even take half a month..."

Su Ningning avoids you and is afraid of you. From now on, all she'll remember about you is the shadow of being forced to study by you—you're no different from the headmaster.

Shen Xingbai fell silent.

Zhang Tianyu continued, "Do you still want her to get into Peking University? Why do you have to force her to become a top student?"

I've tutored her before. Given her foundation, reaching this level is already the absolute best. Asking her to take it any further is practically impossible!

Upon hearing this, Shen Xingbai glared at him coldly.

Zhang Tianyu was not afraid at all and continued, "Gazing at me won't do any good. I'm just telling the truth!"

Besides, I know what you're thinking. You're just afraid that Su Ningning will get into a different school and you won't be able to see her anymore.

A hint of unease flashed across Shen Xingbai's face.

Zhang Tianyu glanced at him and said with a half-smile:

"Who says I have to get into Peking University to be close to you?"

Jinghua University is so big, even if you get accepted, you might not be on the same campus.

Why don't you have her apply to a university in Beijing? It's near the university town, not far away, and you can see each other often, isn't that the same thing?

These words made Shen Xingbai stop what he was doing and sit down to think seriously, his eyes full of consideration.

Zhang Tianyu couldn't help but chuckle as he watched him deep in thought.

After that, Shen Xingbai completely changed his attitude, significantly reducing study time and no longer forcing Su Ningning to do difficult problems.

His tone had softened considerably, no longer as stern as before.

Su Ningning's tense heart immediately relaxed.

Doing exercises is no longer a torment, and I can even hum a song softly during occasional tutoring breaks. My overall appearance has become much more cheerful.

Seeing her relaxed expression, Shen Xingbai felt even more guilty.

I did push myself too hard before.

On the way to school, he bought Zhang Tianyu a cup of milk tea.

Zhang Tianyu took it, his eyes wide with surprise:

"Wow, has the sun risen in the west? The top student even brought me bubble tea?"

Shen Xingbai said indifferently, "Drink it or don't, it's up to you."

Zhang Tianyu immediately snatched it, opened it, and took a big, satisfying suck:

"Drink it! Of course I'll drink it! Something from a top student is definitely different; it's perfectly sweet!"

Life continued as usual. Shen Xingbai attended classes on time, carefully compiled the key points and difficult points of each subject into a booklet, and then patiently tutored Su Ningning.

Slow down the pace and reduce the difficulty. When you see that her eyes are tired and her head is heavy, stop writing and rest immediately, and stop forcing her to do more practice problems.

Su Ningning felt extremely comfortable. This just-right tension was the rhythm she could handle.

Before we knew it, the cold winter months had arrived, bringing with them the winter break and the New Year.

Shen Xingbai originally planned to stay away from home alone for a few days during the Chinese New Year, but Su's parents stopped her.

"Don't go, stay home for the New Year, it'll be more lively." Su's mother smiled kindly, while secretly making plans for him.

"We have many relatives. If my relatives ask, I'll say you're a cousin from his father's side. If his father's side has guests, I'll say you're a cousin from my mother's side. You can do whatever you want if you don't want to talk."

Su Ningning's eyes lit up as she listened, and she couldn't stop laughing:

"Wow, so you have a dual identity? One minute you're my cousin, the next you're my cousin-in-law. I'd better remember that so you don't get it wrong!"

Shen Xingbai smiled helplessly yet gently, and finally nodded in agreement.

This New Year was the most peaceful and happy one Shen Xingbai had ever experienced in his life.

For him, the New Year was never a time of reunion and joy, but rather a time of deep-seated repression and pain.

In the past, during the New Year, his parents didn't have to go out to work and stayed at home all day. He had to take on all the dirty and tiring work, and if he was not careful, he would be beaten and scolded by his father. He was even afraid to eat a hot meal.

That man was a demon that haunted him from his childhood, which is why he always feared the New Year, feared facing that dark and hopeless time, and feared family reunions.

But this year, at Su Ningning's home, he truly experienced for the first time how warm and lively the Spring Festival should be.

Relatives and elders visit the family every day. As agreed beforehand, Su's parents introduce him to both sides of the relatives, sometimes saying he is their cousin, sometimes saying he is their distant cousin, and they always protect him.

When his relatives learned that Shen Xingbai had earned his place in the prestigious Jinghua University through his own hard work, everyone treated him with exceptional warmth and enthusiasm.

They couldn't stop praising him, and they all pulled their children along, telling them to add Shen Xingbai on WeChat to ask for advice and learn from him, treating him as their most outstanding junior.

The phone in Shen Xingbai's hand was the old phone that Su's father had discarded.

Originally, Su's father wanted to buy him a brand new smartphone, but he insisted on refusing to accept it. In the end, he couldn't persuade him otherwise and accepted Su's father's old phone.

Throughout the New Year, his phone had a long list of new contacts. Shen Xingbai held his phone and carefully noted each one, indicating which elder or child each contact was, and even the titles were written clearly.

Su Ningning leaned over to take a look and was speechless. She couldn't help but marvel at how meticulous he was; every note was so neat and flawless.

Shen Xingbai sat on the sofa, a faint but genuine smile on his lips, without saying a word.

The Su family treated him with kindness and care, taking good care of him in every way. The younger members of the family were lively and sensible, and never made a fuss.

Especially after hearing that he had won a spot in the national-level math Olympiad, a group of children's eyes instantly filled with admiration, calling him "Brother Shen" sweetly and circling around him.

She kept stuffing candy and snacks into his pockets, and brought him all her treasured trinkets and New Year's gifts, her eyes full of admiration.

At the dinner table, the elders handed out New Year's red envelopes to each of them.

Shen Xingbai hurriedly waved his hand to decline, reluctantly refusing to accept the gift.

Su's parents smiled and gently advised him, "Please accept it, child. It's for good luck during the New Year, so you can share in the festive spirit."

He then stopped refusing, gently accepting the gift with his fingertips, carefully remembering every act of kindness in his heart.

I secretly opened my phone's notes app at night and wrote down everything clearly, one entry at a time:

The names of the elders and the amounts in the red envelopes are neatly noted in the remarks.

After the New Year, Shen Xingbai never disappointed the New Year's expectations.

He tailored a personalized learning plan for each of his juniors based on their personality, achievements, and weaknesses.

They then used the money from the red envelopes they had received to provide each student with supplementary teaching materials, exercise books, and error notebooks tailored to their grade level.

When the gifts were delivered to the parents, they were all overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly, praising Shen Xingbai for being thoughtful, reliable, and considerate—a good child.

Only the younger students, who received the heavy exercise books and supplementary materials, immediately wailed and rolled on the ground with mournful faces, crying pitifully at the top of their lungs:

"Brother Shen got me into trouble!"