Chapter 9 Study Hard and Make Progress Every Day

By the time Qin Yiyi finished choosing what she wanted, she didn't bother to guess who had prepared the odd collection of combs, shovels, and the like that remained.

Overall, the Zhuazhou ceremony was quite satisfactory. The old masters had achieved their goals, everyone witnessed the prodigy's uniqueness, and most importantly, the extent of her favoritism was evident.

Qin Yiyi was also quite content. Besides the gifts, the gold coins in the bag alone were heavy enough.

The only exception was the young boy Meng Shichen who, seeing his treasure holding such a heavy object and unable to eat when mealtime came, felt very uncomfortable. The moment the banquet started, he took his treasure away to feed her.

The elder Mr. Meng knew his grandson was feeling sorry for the child. He sighed internally, wondering if by pampering the Little Princess so much at the age of one, would they end up losing a grandson instead of gaining one when she grew older. For the first time, the elder Mr. Meng felt depressed about his decision.

In the past few days, people around Qin Yiyi noticed that the little treasure seemed listless, always appearing lethargic. Often, she would simply close her eyes, ignoring people when they tried to play with her.

This alarmed the entire household. Master Qin immediately called for the family doctor, and Meng Shichen, also worried, had his grandfather bring in a specialist pediatrician. However, no matter how much they checked, there were no results. Everyone said that Qin Yiyi was healthy, with rosy cheeks, let alone sick.

In fact, Qin Yiyi had explained many times already. Unfortunately, her available vocabulary was limited, and she couldn't tell them that she wasn't listless or disinterested in people but was always deep in thought. If she told them, they wouldn't believe her, and believing her might be even worse than not. So, she let them fuss over her, as long as they didn't go to extremes with medications or injections. Once the checkups were done, they would be reassured, preventing them from constantly worrying that something might go wrong with her.

Indeed, she did have a problem, but it wasn't a physical one; it was a "psychological issue." This "psychological issue" was different from the usual sense; it pertained to the matters Qin Yiyi had been contemplating daily.

It wasn't a significant issue. The Zhuazhou was over, and she had also passed the helpless infant stage. She was merely considering what her next steps should be.

Based on the Zhuazhou, Qin Yiyi had pretty much sampled a variety of industries. Talking about the future was still premature, but she knew she had to start working towards it from this moment on.

Joining the military, entering politics, learning arts, doing business, these were all broad categories. She wondered where she should begin or how to ensure she didn't appear extraordinary and abnormal while also getting the adults to find her tutors without seeming abrupt. This problem seemed simple, but to Qin Yiyi, it felt like there was still a missing opportunity. These past few days, her distraction was due to her constant alertness for this first opportunity in life.

This opportunity Qin Yiyi had been waiting for half a month had yet to appear, which gradually made her impatient. In her past life, she was hotheaded, acting on impulse. This life, far from improving, saw this tendency worsen due to an overly comfortable living environment.

Qin Yiyi didn't want to be like this, but she couldn't help it. Her anxiety had the direct consequence of making everyone else anxious.

Old Master Qin felt terrible seeing his precious little darling pout day after day. He couldn't get anything out of his granddaughter, which led him to suspect someone might be bullying his little darling when he wasn't home, prompting him to return home occasionally to check in on her. Fortunately, the country was in an ascendant phase, enjoying peace and political stability; otherwise, people suspected that even if there were a war, Commander Qin would still make time to leave the battlefield and check on his beloved daughter.

While the other elders weren't as worried as Old Master Qin, they felt lost and concerned to see their darling seemingly downcast for no apparent reason and no longer offering hugs and kisses as she used to. They had checked and rechecked, and with the young man from the Meng Family constantly by her side assuring them everything was fine, they were at a loss for what to do. Their only option was to bring her all sorts of strange and interesting trinkets, hoping to strike it lucky.

Meng Shichen, who seemed to be joined at the hip with Qin Yiyi, was especially worried. His little darling hardly interacted with him every day, becoming less responsive, and being of a cold nature and not adept at expressing his feelings, he could only anxiously hover around her, eventually even staying over to sleep at night. Of course, he wouldn't just sit around doing nothing; every day, he tried new ways to amuse his darling, hoping to elicit a smile from his beloved.

Qin Yiyi had intended to avoid drawing attention, but she didn't realize that she was now the weathervane of Beijing. She was oblivious to the caliber of people around her, but that didn't mean others weren't paying attention. Qin Yiyi had become the center of public discourse, and recently, those associated with her had been exuding such a gloomy aura that it was becoming unbearable for everybody else.

Upon inquiring, people heard that Commander Qin returned home several times a day and that Commander Meng had sought out several renowned pediatricians. Their children, upon hearing of any interesting tidbit, would gather it up without discrimination. It was obviously all related to the Little Princess. People then began secretly suspecting whether the Little Princess had contracted some illness - if she indeed faced any misfortune, it would spell bad luck for those who were their subordinates.

Over the short span of half a month, a superstitious wind blew through Beijing, all because of these anxious people who went to every temple and shrine hoping that the Little Princess would be safe and sound.

Qin Yiyi couldn't possibly be aware of all this; if she had been, she would have been regretting it immensely. She would have thought it better to cause a sensation from the outset rather than being cursed with illness every day.

Fortunately, this situation did not last for long. Children's thinking is unlike adults', and luckily, Qin Yiyi had caught the eye of Meng Family's young master, who was out of the ordinary. Who was Meng Shichen? He was a bona fide high-intelligence individual, mature beyond his years even at a young age. Before Qin Yiyi came into his world, his life revolved around studying and more studying. Now that he saw his darling growing up, how about letting her learn something to stave off boredom? He enjoyed that sense of fulfillment, and he believed his darling would love it too, without ever feeling that he was any different from normal people.

Qin Yiyi was only a year old. At her age, some children still couldn't speak, so it would seem normal for adults to entertain her with toys. If not for the fact that Qin Yiyi had been reincarnated, would you really think she'd find learning fun?

Meng Shichen was reading bedtime stories to teach Qin Yiyi to recognize characters. After all, he was still young and never thought to teach her step by step from easy to difficult. Instead, he started with the first story and explained it from beginning to end. However, this method suited Qin Yiyi perfectly; if she were to follow a mundane routine day after day, she would have surely gone crazy again.

Qin Yiyi hadn't even decided what she wanted to learn, but Meng Shichen's approach made her realize she had been lucky to start with recognizing characters. Otherwise, if she'd jumped straight into learning other things, how could she explain to people that she was born able to recognize words due to her exceptional talent? Such an explanation would only arouse suspicion. It wasn't that Qin Yiyi was careless, but she had been too anxious. For the past year, she had been constantly thinking about making sure things were different this time, which resulted in her overlooking many small yet crucial details. This incident served as another reminder for Qin Yiyi to plan her future more meticulously.