Outside, the sky was gradually brightening. Jiang Xia stretched his arms with a weary yawn.

’Ah, it’s great to be young.’ He had watched anime all night, and while his body felt a bit heavy, his mind was still sharp, without the slightest hint of sleepiness.

He closed his eyes, trying to process the fruits of his night’s labor.

The hot-blooded action series had an art style extremely similar to the Hong Kong manhua of his past life. As for the slice-of-life romance shows, they had the heavy, rich feel of Korean manhwa. The children’s shows were truly for children, with the same unchanging Q-style art.

This only strengthened his resolve to completely revolutionize this world’s animation industry.

Letting out a long breath, Jiang Xia slowly opened his eyes and reached out to pat the face of Wang Ming, who was sleeping with his head on the desk.

"Boss Wang, wake up. It’s morning."

Wang Ming struggled to open his eyes. The side of his face that had been pillowed on his arm was covered in red marks. He shook his head hard and rubbed his face, finally managing to wake himself up a bit.

He stared at Jiang Xia for a moment. There wasn’t a hint of greasy weariness on that handsome face.

"Old Jiang, you watched shows all night?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Jiang Xia nodded.

"Damn, impressive. I couldn’t last past the second half of the night. I need to go home and catch some sleep now." He yawned as he spoke, looking like he hadn’t slept nearly enough.

"Let’s go. It’s getting late. Time to head home."

Jiang Xia glanced at the time. It was just past 7:00 AM; it was about time to go home.

Thinking of his parents, he suddenly felt an urge to run home and hug them.

The two parted ways at the web cafe’s entrance. Jiang Xia hailed a taxi by the roadside and went straight back to his old residential complex. He took a deep breath, trying his best to suppress the nervousness inside him, but his body still couldn’t help but tremble slightly.

He walked up the stairs to the third floor. Staring at the familiar security door with an upside-down "Fu" character sticker on it, Jiang Xia slowly took the key from his pocket, but his hand was shaking too much to fit it into the keyhole.

’Those two people from his memories... He really... he really missed them so, so much.’

But the next second, the door suddenly opened.

Seeing her son, Xia Shanshan froze for a second. Before she could speak, Jiang Xia wrapped her in a tight hug.

"Hey, hey! What are you doing? I’m holding the trash! Let go, you’ll get my clothes dirty."

Jiang Xia ignored her, hugging her even tighter.

"I’m going to count to three. If you don’t let go, I’m gonna smack you!"

"It’s a deal!"

"???"

Xia Shanshan raised her hand as if to strike him. Only then did Jiang Xia let go with a sheepish, reluctant laugh. As he looked at his mom, his eyes were a little red.

"Mom, don’t hit me, don’t hit me! I was just kidding. It’s just been a while since I saw you, and I missed you."

"Get lost."

Xia Shanshan shot him an annoyed glare. "You’re out of allowance money again, aren’t you? Let me tell you, this trick won’t work."

"No, no, Mom, I’m serious. You look even younger and more beautiful than before," Jiang Xia said with a completely serious expression.

"Stop with the sweet talk! Are you trying to get a beating? Get inside. Have you eaten breakfast? If not, I’ll make you some noodles after I take out the trash."

"Let me take out the trash." Jiang Xia quickly took the garbage bag, grinning. "Mom, I happen to be hungry. Can I have your tomato and egg noodles? Please?"

"You sure? Fine."

Watching Jiang Xia run down the stairs in just a few steps, Xia Shanshan frowned. ’Something feels off. Isn’t this kid being a little too attentive today?’

’Could it be that he got into trouble at school and wants me to let him off the hook?’

’Nope, I have to ask him about it later.’

He ran downstairs in one breath. Only when he was completely out of Xia Shanshan’s sight did his nose start to tingle, and he could barely hold back the tears that had almost burst out earlier.

’Mom, I finally get to see you again. This is so wonderful.’

He took a moment to compose himself, burying all the sad and painful memories of his past life deep in his heart. In any case, he was reborn. He would not let the tragedies of his previous life happen again.

In this life, he was determined to repay his parents properly.

He happily returned home. The moment he opened the door, he smelled the aroma of scrambled eggs with tomato. Seeing Xia Shanshan bustling around the kitchen in her apron, Jiang Xia closed his eyes. ’This is a taste I’ve longed for for so many years.’

He used to eat it every day until he got sick of it. But once he couldn’t have it anymore, he began to miss it like crazy. Although Lin Yanwan had often made it for him too, it always felt like something was missing.

Thinking back now, it wasn’t that the taste was off, but that the person making the noodles was different.

He rubbed his face, snapping out of his reverie. He looked around the home—the familiar furniture, the award certificates on the wall, the digital clock on the TV stand, and the row of flowers and plants on the balcony outside.

Everything was exactly as he remembered it.

He touched this and that, his eyes filled with nostalgia for everything he saw.

A moment later, Xia Shanshan came out with a bowl of steaming hot noodles. "What are you standing there gawking for? Go wash your hands!"

"Oh, oh, right."

After washing his hands, Jiang Xia came out and saw the tomato and egg noodles on the table. His nose tingled again. He picked up his chopsticks and began to devour the meal, almost moved to tears.

"Slow down, slow down! No one’s going to steal it from you. The way you’re eating, I’m starting to suspect you aren’t eating properly at school."

"It’s because you’re such a good cook, Mom." Jiang Xia lifted the bowl, took a sip of the broth, and calmed his emotions.

Xia Shanshan was amused. "Didn’t you used to complain that you were sick of eating this every day?"

"Who said that? It’s the most delicious thing in the world, okay?" Jiang Xia drank every last drop of the broth in one go, then wiped his mouth with a napkin, still wanting more.

Xia Shanshan beamed at his words. What woman doesn’t like her family praising her cooking?

"Mom, where’s Dad?"

"He left early this morning. He’s probably driving right now. What’s up? Do you need him for something?" Seeing the hesitant look on his face, Xia Shanshan knew this kid definitely had something on his mind.

"No, no, I was just asking."

Jiang Xia shook his head, just a little disappointed that he hadn’t seen his father. ’If I had known, I would have come back from the web cafe earlier.’

After all, the person he had wronged the most in his previous life was his father.

If his startup hadn’t failed and gone bankrupt, leaving him with a mountain of debt, his parents wouldn’t have sold their home to pay it off for him. His dad wouldn’t have worked day and night driving a taxi to support the family, eventually getting into a car accident due to fatigue.

In the end, it was all his fault.

"Spit it out. Did you get into trouble at school?" Xia Shanshan asked, glancing at him.

"How could I! Do I look like that kind of person?" Jiang Xia denied it righteously.

Xia Shanshan thought about it seriously. Although her son was usually a bit unreliable and his grades were so-so, and he had even defied his parents’ wishes in his first year of high school to become an art student, he had thankfully never caused any real trouble growing up.

"Fine, I’ll believe you for now. But how are your studies lately? What did you score on your Chinese test?"

"Mom, do we have to do this? I just got home and you’re already asking about my grades. Can’t we take it easy for a bit?"

Jiang Xia felt helpless. Xia Shanshan was a primary school Chinese teacher, so she had always paid special attention to his Chinese grades. It didn’t matter if his other subjects were poor, but if he dared to do badly in Chinese, all that awaited him were endless nights of writing lines.

If one time wasn’t enough, it would be ten. If ten wasn’t enough, it would be a hundred, until his score on the next test satisfied Xia Shanshan.

Xia Shanshan’s eyes narrowed. "Less nonsense. Spit it out!"

"137."

"That’s acceptable, but your score is still a little low. You need to aim for a perfect score on the essay, or at least lose fewer points. As for the other questions you got wrong, you know the drill—go write them out ten times."

"Yes, Mother," Jiang Xia agreed helplessly.

...