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

After a month of tutoring by Shen Xingbai, Su Ningning has caught up on her knowledge from the third grade to the fifth grade.

She felt incredibly proud of herself; she was making rapid progress and was extremely pleased with herself: "I've done the equivalent of two years' worth of study for others in just one month, that's amazing!"

Shen Xingbai fell silent after hearing her idea.

He really wanted to tell her bluntly: You're already in the second year of junior high school. There's really nothing to be proud of in catching up on knowledge from the third to fifth grades of elementary school.

But seeing her bright eyes and happy face, he swallowed his words and couldn't bring himself to dampen her spirits.

Every day when Su Ningning comes home, she excitedly reports her progress to her parents, and she becomes much more confident when talking about her grades.

The couple were also happy and very grateful to the young man, Shen Xingbai. They often asked Su Ningning to bring him some delicious food.

By the end of the semester, Su Ningning had finally caught up with the junior high school curriculum. She was incredibly proud and cheerful every day.

When the final exam results came out, she ranked 490th. This might not seem like much to others, but for her, the improvement was so significant that she could hardly believe it.

Holding her report card, she was both surprised and delighted, and happily circled around in place.

That day, she specially invited Shen Xingbai to dinner.

Over the past six months, thanks to her consistent "feeding" of him, Shen Xingbai has noticeably grown taller and gained some weight. His features have become more refined and handsome, and he no longer looks as thin and haggard as before.

This was Shen Xingbai's first time eating out with her classmates, and she felt particularly at ease and relaxed while eating.

After finishing her meal, Su Ningning clapped her hands contentedly, casually put her arm around his shoulder, and smiled brightly.

"Good brother! You're truly my savior! Without you, I, Su Ningning, wouldn't be where I am today!"

Shen Xingbai smiled and said softly, "Actually, you're not stupid, you just haven't found the right learning method."

Su Ningning nodded repeatedly, her tail almost wagging.

"Yes, yes, yes! How could I be stupid? I'm not stupid at all, it's just that my method was wrong!"

She even gave him a thumbs up, saying, "Your analysis is spot on!"

Shen Xingbai chuckled helplessly—he was just trying to comfort her, but she took it all seriously.

Only in such a carefree family could such a pure and optimistic child be raised.

He was genuinely envious.

During this time, Su Ningning has been getting close to me, and the strange looks, exclusion, and whispers from others have never stopped, but Su Ningning seems to ignore them and still happily sticks to me every day, she's very carefree.

After saying goodbye, Shen Xingbai returned alone to the dark and dilapidated old neighborhood.

Before he even stepped inside, he could hear the sounds of things being smashed and his mother crying.

Shen Xingbai's expression changed drastically. He grabbed a wooden stick from the doorway and rushed inside.

Shen Mingqiang was drunk again and was acting out.

Li Jing's face was covered in bruises, and she huddled in the corner, trembling. As soon as she saw her son return, she scrambled to hide behind him.

Shen Xingbai said coldly, "What drunken tantrum are you having now?"

Shen Mingqiang, reeking of alcohol, roared with red eyes:

"You brat, what business is it of yours if I hit my wife? If you dare say another word, I'll beat you up too!"

Since Shen Xingbai entered junior high school and grew taller rapidly, Shen Mingqiang has rarely hit him anymore.

He had long seen that his son possessed a ruthless, reckless streak, which even frightened him when he really got into trouble.

But he had drunk too much today and his mind was no longer clear. As soon as he finished speaking, he rushed forward and started fighting with Shen Xingbai.

Shen Mingqiang was, after all, an adult, and with decades of strength to his name, he ultimately had the upper hand over Shen Xingbai.

After the fight, Shen Xingbai had several bruises on his face and body, and blood was seeping from the corner of his mouth.

Finally, because Shen Mingqiang was slow to react, he was knocked unconscious by Shen Xingbai.

Upon seeing this, Li Jing immediately rushed over, frantically checking on Shen Mingqiang's condition.

He shouted angrily at Shen Xingbai:

"How could you be so cruel? He's your father! Even if he's drunk, you can't treat him like this!"

They called a doctor again that very night and stayed by the man's side the whole time.

Shen Xingbai stood there, covered in wounds, blood still dripping from his fingertips.

But his mother never looked at him once, nor did she ask him if he was in pain or if he was alright.

As he gazed at the scene before him, his heart sank deeper and deeper, growing as cold as ice.

He doesn't understand.

This man had clearly beaten and tormented them time and time again, never showing them any kindness.

Why is it that in her eyes, there is only this man?

He was injured too, he was bleeding too, but she seemed completely oblivious.

He sometimes doubted whether he was really their child.

The next day, when Su Ningning saw the injury on Shen Xingbai's face, she was furious and rushed over, saying urgently:

"Shen Xingbai! Who hit you? How could they ruin your beautiful face like this! I'm going to get revenge for you!"

Shen Xingbai looked at her with genuine concern in his eyes.

Even though he was just an ordinary classmate, she cared about him more than his biological mother.

Even last night, Li Jing didn't come back to see him once; she just stayed with that man.

He said softly, "It's nothing, just a minor injury. It'll be fine in a few days."

Su Ningning frowned, wanting to ask more, but Shen Xingbai stopped her.

"Alright, go back to your seats, class is about to start."

Su Ningning reluctantly sat back down.

Not long after, she heard several classmates behind her whispering:

"It must have been his dad who hit him. I heard his dad is abusive, gambles, and drinks..."

"He must have gotten into a fight with his dad yesterday."

"With a father like that, how good can Shen Xingbai be? He'll probably be an alcoholic in the future, and might even be abusive."

His words were harsh and sarcastic.

Shen Xingbai's face turned pale instantly, and her fingers clenched so tightly that her knuckles turned blue.

Upon hearing this, Su Ningning couldn't sit still any longer. She put her hands on her hips and angrily shouted:

"What nonsense are you spouting! I'll sew your mouths shut if you don't want them anymore! Your mouths are full of filth!"

She gave those people a severe scolding, and they, realizing they were in the wrong, immediately turned pale and dared not say a word.

Su Ningning was about to say a few more words when the teacher walked in.

"What's all the noise about? Class has started, be quiet! Now turn to your books..."

Su Ningning swallowed her words and sat down next to Shen Xingbai after class.

"Your dad treats you so badly, you shouldn't stay in that house! Move out, we have spare rooms, you can come stay at my place!"

Shen Xingbai was taken aback, then he gently shook his head:

"No need... I can handle it myself."

After class, the homeroom teacher also called him in for questioning. The homeroom teacher knew about Shen Xingbai's family situation.

She also tried to communicate with his parents, but unfortunately, those two were simply scoundrels.

They keep saying things like, "We don't have any money, but we want to be good to Xingbai too."

"Teacher, you're so kind, could you please sponsor us a little?"

"Teacher, you seem to be getting on in years. I heard you're still unmarried. Could it be that you've taken a fancy to Xingbai?"

Hearing their words one by one infuriated the homeroom teacher, who also wanted to have no further contact with them.

Moreover, the school does provide poverty relief to Shen Xingbai, but the money never ends up in Shen Xingbai's hands.

She snapped out of her reverie, turned to Shen Xingbai, and said gently:

"If there's anything a teacher can help with, you can come to me anytime."

"Thank you, teacher."

After saying that, Shen Xingbai returned to his classroom, and the students he encountered along the way gave him strange looks.

He had long since become numb to those looks.

Now he's just back to where he was in elementary school.

That evening, Li Jing accompanied Shen Mingqiang back from the hospital.

Shen Mingqiang's face was frighteningly gloomy, and he had gauze on his head. He exuded a violent aura.

He stared at Shen Xingbai in the room with a vicious look, as if he wanted to devour him alive, without saying a word.

Li Jing followed behind, and as soon as she entered the door, she started yelling at Shen Xingbai:

"You unfilial son! How dare you beat your father like this! He's your own father! How could you be so heartless? I've wasted my time raising you!"

Shen Mingqiang angrily said:

"Shut up! Go cook!"

Li Jing immediately shut up, walked sullenly to the kitchen, and started cooking.

Shen Xingbai remained silent, but his hands, hanging at his sides, clenched tighter and tighter.

Then he turned around and went back to his room.

Originally, Li Jing didn't cook in this family. But ever since Shen Xingbai was able to stand firmly on the stove and hold the spatula, the responsibility for all three meals a day fell on him.

He had to rush home after school to wash vegetables and cook, and he had to cater to Shen Mingqiang's tastes. Even if he was so tired after finishing his homework that he couldn't lift his hands, he could only obediently go into the kitchen if Shen Mingqiang scolded him.

Shen Mingqiang has always been domineering, constantly beating and scolding him. He takes his anger out on him whenever things don't go his way, and verbal abuse and physical violence are commonplace for him.

The long-suppressed feelings finally culminated in Shen Mingqiang's unprovoked provocation and subsequent kick to his head.

Shen Xingbai searched online for medications that could cause diarrhea, and on his way home from school, he gritted his teeth and bought some.

Actually, he wanted to buy other medicines, but those medicines were not something a child like him could afford.

He knew that Shen Mingqiang wouldn't die after taking these drugs, and that he would even beat him up after he recovered, but so what?

That night, while Li Jing was working overtime and wouldn't be home, he put the medicine into the food, and in the end, it all ended up in Shen Mingqiang's stomach.

Before long, severe abdominal pain swept over Shen Mingqiang. He squatted on the ground, clutching his stomach, his face pale, howling in pain. He ran to the toilet so many times that his legs went weak. In just a few hours, he was so weak from diarrhea that he collapsed on the ground due to dehydration.

Shen Xingbai stood there looking at the tall man who looked like a dead dog, feeling only satisfaction.

He admired it for a while longer, then went back to his storage room to sleep.

When Li Jing returned home late at night from working overtime, she saw Shen Mingqiang looking extremely weak. She was so frightened that she almost lost her soul. She hurriedly rushed him to the hospital and it took a whole night to stabilize his condition.

Once Shen Mingqiang recovered and was discharged from the hospital, he immediately unleashed all his resentment on Shen Xingbai. Without saying a word, he rushed at him and began punching and kicking him, hurling the most vile insults at him.

They were certain that Shen Xingbai had tampered with the items, but they couldn't produce any evidence.

Shen Xingbai gritted his teeth and silently endured all the beatings, his eyes icy cold.

Perhaps he was genuinely afraid, or perhaps he had some doubts in his heart, but from then on, Shen Mingqiang never dared to let Shen Xingbai cook again. No matter how dissatisfied he was, he could only make do with what he had or wait for Li Jing to cook.

Shen Xingbai was finally freed from the days of constantly working around the stove, and had plenty of free time to sit quietly at his desk and concentrate on completing his homework.

A few days later, Shen Mingqiang recovered.

He was completely drunk again, and when he went upstairs, he would habitually grab the handrail at the corner.

To everyone's surprise, the handrail, which looked perfectly fine on the outside, suddenly detached as soon as Shen Mingqiang put his hand on it. He lost his balance and fell heavily down the stairs.

He broke his leg in the fall; it was a comminuted fracture.

Shen Mingqiang's legs are completely useless, and he can only sit in a wheelchair all day long. He no longer has the strength to punch and kick as easily as before.

He spends all day at home smashing things, cursing and going crazy, but without the ability to commit violence, his destructive power is pitifully small. At most, he just yells and throws things around.

Every time he looked at Shen Xingbai, who stood taller and more upright in front of him, his eyes were still filled with venom, resentment and bitterness, but he no longer dared to step forward and attack as easily as before.

The current Shen Xingbai is no longer the child who could only be beaten and scolded by him. Standing tall in front of him, he exudes a calm sense of oppression. Shen Mingqiang is afraid. Even though he hates him to the core, he can only suppress his anger and dare not be arrogant anymore.

Li Jing may have realized that she can only rely on her son from now on, so her attitude towards him has improved a lot.

Shen Xingbai found it laughable.

He had given up hope on his parents.