Chapter 10 Going to School with the Shota (1)

Meng Shichen's teaching material for Qin Yiyi was a hardcover edition of "Andersen's Fairy Tales," a book that Qin Yiyi remembered buying in her previous life, although by that time she was already grown up and bought it just for relaxation. This book was still a very fine children's reading material in China now, after all, unlike the future, early childhood education hadn't taken off yet.

Meng Shichen taught very quickly, explaining each character to Qin Yiyi only once. He found that Qin Yiyi could remember them all very well, which pleased him and didn't strike him as inappropriate, because he too learned things after just one explanation. It was good that he was the one teaching Qin Yiyi; otherwise, her unmasked pace of learning would have become another legend spreading across the country by the second day.

Qin Yiyi still very much enjoyed learning with Meng Shichen. Initially, she thought it would be boring and had braced herself for a long struggle with dullness, but Meng Shichen explained the meaning of each character and often told her the stories behind them. This made Qin Yiyi listen very attentively and with interest. She was more than once amazed at how such a small child could know so much, even thinking that she didn't need to be too low-key. With Meng Shichen laying the groundwork, perhaps others wouldn't find her odd.

Indeed, Meng Shichen's genius was undeniable, but given his young age, how could he possibly possess such extensive knowledge?

It was because Meng Shichen had always striven for perfection when it came to matters involving Qin Yiyi, and he had also discovered that every time he told his darling the stories behind the characters or the extended meanings, she would look at him so attentively and with such sparkling eyes. This brought him immense joy, a sense of fulfillment he had never felt before, incomparable to anything else.

Therefore, the books he had been studying every night after his darling went to sleep were now replaced with various dictionaries of character meanings, and he would also look up many historical stories. This naturally benefited his own learning as well, so both benefited from the arrangement.

One day, Qin Yiyi inadvertently noticed that the book Meng Shichen used to teach her characters was actually bilingual, in both Chinese and English. This discovery brightened her eyes, and she felt she was finally on the right track.

Qin Yiyi's mind was very sharp, she had an extremely high level of comprehension, and what she was most proud of was her memory. Everyone who knew her in her previous life said that not all beauties are brainless, and Qin Yiyi was certainly smart.

But she also had the same flaw that all intelligent people have: laziness, combined with a lack of perseverance. She learned many things, learned quickly but also forgot them just as fast. After she gave up on herself, she lived in a daze until in the end, she was incompetent at everything. Thankfully, she had a chance to regret and start over, so this time, she was making an extra effort.

Despite Qin Yiyi's intelligence, she was extremely lazy, so her previous English was her Achilles' heel. These past few days, through studying, Qin Yiyi found that she didn't know if it was due to rebirth causing mutations or if a child's brain was just purer, but while she couldn't claim a photographic memory, she could still remember things without needing a second look. She found many things she thought would be difficult were actually easily understood, as if her brain had become smarter. This realization excited her so much that she had trouble sleeping. It sounded nice to say she wanted to be her family's pride, but if she were dumb as rocks, it would all be for naught.

Qin Yiyi found an opportunity and pointed at the English on the book, saying, "Brother, fun." She couldn't say too much, unfortunately.

Meng Shichen saw where his darling was pointing and realized it was the English version at the back of the book. He said softly to Qin Yiyi, "This is English, the language spoken by foreigners." He thought for a moment and asked, "Does baby like it?" Meng Shichen thought, his darling was very intelligent; if she could start learning English now, that would be perfect. Originally, he had planned to wait another couple of years. Because helping his darling learn English well was very important to him.

In her heart, Qin Yiyi thought, I don't like it at all, but I have to like it. She had heard that the best time for children to learn a language was before the age of two and English was somewhat difficult for her. She didn't know if she had a talent for languages, so starting to nurture it now was essential. Even if she didn't excel, it would still be like an early bird catching the worm.

```

"Giggle, like, Curvy."

Meng Shichen's mouth curled into a smile, "If baby likes it, Big Brother Shichen will teach you."

Qin Yiyi was startled; the little fellow really kept surprising her. Initially, she had intended to ask the young prodigy to find her a tutor or something. But learning from the young prodigy himself was ideal, as it would spare her the trouble of having to explain. As for the pronunciation and such, Qin Yiyi wasn't worried at all about Meng Shichen teaching her incorrectly. She didn't realize that, ever since she started learning from Meng Shichen, he had slowly become an omnipotent god-like figure in her heart.

By the time the adults discovered the reason Qin Yiyi had reverted back to being a cute baby, she had already started bilingual education.

After a period of superstition, now Beijing was swept up in the trend of focusing earnestly on the next generation's education – all, of course, initiated by Qin Yiyi.

The Qin Family noticed that recently Qin Yiyi was no longer lackluster and had returned to being the lively and lovable bundle of joy she used to be. Most importantly, she greeted them every day as before with a sweet kiss and a warm hug.

However, the attitudes towards this sudden change varied among individuals.

Granny Qin and the other ladies felt happy seeing the baby happy. In addition to their joy, the Qin men, being wise, began to investigate the cause of the baby's emotional downturn to prevent it from happening again. The more irrational one was the old Mister Qin. True to his nature as an old hand, he immediately noticed that recently the baby had been spending even more time with the Meng Family's boy. Though they had always been together every day before, it was apparent that it was mostly Meng Shichen's enthusiasm with Qin Yiyi in a more passive role. But now, little darling's eyes would light up at the mere sight of the Meng Family's little brat – the reason behind her uplifted spirits was undoubtedly related to him.

The old Mister Qin really took note of Meng Shichen – his reference to the boy shifted from the 'Meng Family's youngster' to the 'Meng Family's little brat'. One couldn't help but wonder if it was fair, given how his granddaughter was well taken care of by the boy, or if this was simply the old Mister Qin being somewhat befuddled.

Meng Shichen and Qin Yiyi did not study behind everyone's back; previously, little Qin Yiyi used to sleep almost twenty-four hours a day, and Meng Shichen was not like Mommy Qin or Granny Qin, who knew how to sing lullabies. When he took over, he followed his style and told her stories to lull her to sleep every day. So the sound of Meng Shichen's clear reading often came from Qin Yiyi's room. Later on, as Meng Shichen handled everything himself without seeking anyone's assistance, and the people noticed he was actually doing better than the Qin Family men, they gradually let the two be alone together. Whenever there was something, Meng Shichen would promptly call someone over, so they were very confident in him.

In fact, the most important reason was that every time they were with the little treasure, they would receive an undeniable gaze from the side.

Now, because the Qin Family men wanted to investigate the cause, the fact that Qin Yiyi was learning inevitably came to light.

At first, they too were utterly amazed, despite the Qin men being famous for their composure and steadiness, they couldn't help but be astonished. In their eyes, Qin Yiyi was a child prodigy, but still within the ranges, they could accept. However, now they were shocked to learn that in just over a month, Qin Yiyi had come to recognize quite a few characters, and it was even bilingual education – they were rattled.

```