Reason To Cry

A couple of days had passed since the "urine" incident. Under normal circumstances, Zhou Rui would have felt embarrassed by his own behavior.

However, being trapped in a baby's body seemed to have altered his state of mind. Or probably, he had adapted to his current circumstances.

Now, he felt no shame in peeing, pooping, chewing on his own fingers, babbling nonsense, or whining whenever he was hungry and wanted to ask his mother for milk.

His inner justification was simple:

I'm just a baby!

Anyway, today marked the third day since his reincarnation.

As usual, he was lying in the cradle, his mother having just left the room. He stared up at the ceiling, his mind wandering.

Ugh, being a baby is so boring. No wonder most people have no memories of this phase, it probably gets automatically erased like junk files from our brains.

It made sense to me now why babies constantly chew on their fingers. Besides that, and a few other random activities, what else is there for them to do?

By the way, how did I get reincarnated in the first place? Suppose... everyone who dies is reincarnated into another world, could there be fellow Earthlings here too?

Hmm, perhaps in the future, I'd consider searching for their traces. But I'd had to make sure my investigation ran discreetly.

While he wouldn't mind meeting his fellow Earthlings, there was no guarantee the feeling would be mutual. Especially since he couldn't be sure what kind of person they'd turned out to be in this new world.

I'd be lucky if I met someone who shares my hobbies. But what if I run into the opposite—like a criminal? It's not like they're uncommon, after all. That would be a total disaster!

And without things like fingerprint identification, CCTV, and other recognition devices in this world, criminals like them probably treat this place like their personal playground. If I were to contact someone like that, I would very likely end up as their next target.

Based on his observations, Zhou Rui concluded that he had likely reincarnated into a medieval-age world. The lack of electricity, the style of clothing, the building materials—everything pointed to an era far detached from the modern world he once knew.

At first, he felt a massive wave of disappointment. The lack of modern technology was bound to make life inconvenient, especially since he had grown so accustomed to it.

For instance, no more hot showers with a water heater, just cold water every morning. No flush toilets either, so goodbye to modern sanitation. And there'd be no electric fans to keep cool in the summer or heaters to warm up in the winter.

But that wasn't even the worst part.

No modern technology means... no internet!

This realization hit him the hardest, like a punch to the gut!

No online videos to pass the time, no memes to laugh at, no social media to scroll through, and no streaming services for movies or games to play.

He couldn't even survive a single day on Earth without the internet! Now he has to endure an entire lifetime without it?!

How is he supposed to survive without checking his phone every few minutes or browsing the web endlessly?

For a fleeting moment, he even thought it might be better to die again.

But that thought passed quickly. He didn't plan on dying anytime soon, not now, not in some distant future. He'd just been given a second chance at life, and he wasn't about to waste it over just the loss of his biggest source of entertainment: the internet.

Still, that didn't stop him from mourning over the absence of something that had become such an essential part of his past life. His mother suffered because of it, too.

Last night, he'd cried a river until his eyes were red and swollen. His mother's eyes were ringed with dark circles, shadowed like a panda's, from staying up all night to comfort him.

He felt a pinch of guilt, but the milk was already spilled—no point crying over it now. He'd just make it up to her by being the most devoted, filial model son when he finally grew up.

Ah, speaking of growing up… I wonder how long is it going to take me to learn the language here? Sigh. Baby life really is like those annoying, unskippable ads.

How I wish there were a time skip button.

Lost in his thoughts, Zhou Rui didn't notice the door to his room creak open. It wasn't until his mother was nearly at the cradle that he became aware of her presence.

His mother, as beautiful and youthful as ever approached him. It seemed she had only left a few minutes ago to change her clothes. Now, she wore a simple, soft lavender dress that flowed gently as she moved.

Her hair, which had been tied up before, was now loose, falling in soft waves around her shoulders

Before he could even greet her, she swiftly scooped him up and cradled him in her arms. His mouth was suddenly filled with something tender, yet slightly firm.

Err… I retract my statement... maybe being a baby isn't so bad after all…

...

At noon, Zhou Rui was comfortably nestled in his mother's embrace, happily sucking her milk when the door suddenly swung open.

Standing in the doorway was his sister, who, over the past two days, had become a very regular visitor. In fact, her visits had been so frequent that Zhou Rui began to suspect she desired their mother's attention too. After all, which child doesn't yearn for their parent's affection?

But his suspicion quickly proved wrong. Why? Because whenever his sister came over, the first person she always sought to see wasn't their mother—it was him.

At the discovery, his thoughts could be summed up as:

How could this be? I, Zhou Rui, a lifelong, till-death card-carrying virgin, the president of the 'Let's Just Be Friends' club, a simple guy who was never popular with girls, yet here I am, being liked by one? Okay, sure, it's just my five-year-old sister, but still… this is a plot twist that even I didn't see coming!

While it did bring a small sense of pride that he was finally getting attention from a member of the opposite sex, Zhou Rui had seriously underestimated just how much affection his sister had for him.

It had only been three days, yet not a single part of his soft, baby body had been spared from her relentless pinching.

Even if he wanted to stop her—out of some faint flicker of his manly pride—he couldn't. As a baby, his options were… well, nonexistent.

Zhou Rui instantly pulled away from his mother's nipple, producing a loud 'pop' sound.

He eyed his approaching sister, then pointed his chubby little finger at her and babbled, "Dadadadada!"

It wasn't exactly clear to anyone else, but what he was really saying was: "Don't you dare pinch me again!"

He was practically 'threatening' her.

His sister glanced at him, smiling, but surprisingly, she didn't reach out to pinch his cheek like she usually did.

Strange. Didn't she always pinch my cheek whenever she came to visit?

Zhou Rui kept watching his sister as she suddenly tripped over her long dress. She fell forward, her right arm hitting the floor first, and let out an exaggerated yelp—something that sounded a little too dramatic for someone falling on a soft rug. "Ow!"

But as his sister tried to get up, Zhou Rui noticed something on the other side of her arm. A black-and-blue bruise, horrifyingly large and noticeable.

That injury looked like it had been there for a while, but it also seemed fresh, at least it wasn't there when she visited me yesterday. Could it have happened last night?

His mother, who had already set him down in the crib, rushed over to her daughter's side. She saw the bruise too, and her expression immediately shifted.

Without wasting a second, she hollered, probably calling for some maids to attend to the injury. She helped his sister to the bed next to him, speaking to her in a low, stern voice, likely lecturing her. Zhou Rui had never seen his mother look so angry before.

His sister didn't say a word. She only lowered her head.

Not long after, a series of footsteps approached the door, followed by a couple of knocks.

"Come in," his mother probably said.

Two maids and a well-dressed man with glasses entered. The man, who Zhou Rui suspected to be a doctor, went straight to his sister and started asking her some questions.

Soon, under Zhou Rui's curious gaze, he saw something that most people could only dream of back on Earth.

It was magic.

A glowing yellowish-green light appeared in the man's palm as he hovered it over his sister's right arm.

The bruise, which had looked so horrendous moments ago, slowly faded away, replaced by his sister's soft, fair skin once again.

If Zhou Rui could've stood up, he probably would've at that moment just to get a better view of the magical performance. His neck stretched as far as it could. His mouth hung open in awe.

Magic...

Is this for real?

Magic... actually exists in this world?!

He was so caught up in the excitement that he didn't notice the blood-red liquid slowly trickling from his nose. By the time he did, it had dripped down and stained his clothes.

Huh? I'm actually getting a nosebleed?

As the metallic scent of blood filled his senses, he noticed everyone around him turning their heads toward him. His mother, who had looked relieved after her daughter's injury was treated, suddenly froze.

What's happening? Why do I feel so dizzy?

My thoughts… they're all jumbled… spinning…

Everything... feels so big...

I... see... stars...

As his consciousness started slipping away into darkness, Zhou Rui saw his mother rushing toward him, with his sister close behind.

But that wasn't the end of the scene.

Just before he completely lost awareness, something familiar caught his eye. It was so familiar, in fact, not only had he seen it numerous times, he had also interacted with it countless times back on Earth.

It was... a system screen.

<Name: Lumien Ofnir>

<Race: Human>

<Lev-< p>

He passed out just before he could see the rest information.