The Reincarnated OP Protagonist Is Now A 3rd Grade Student (Patreon)

Chapter 4: The Worried Mother

‘Damn it, I got lost again... ‘

Looking at the unfamiliar street in front of him, the little boy with his school bag scratched the back of his head. He looked left and right, hoping to find some traces of how he ended up here.

Lost in his thoughts about the day's events and the perplexing "hide-and-seek" game with Lu Li, he kept walking absentmindedly. But when he snapped out of it, he realized he had no idea where he was. The surroundings were filled with unfamiliar buildings.

"Why am I labeled as a 'directionally challenged' in this life when I was a normal person in my previous one?"

Chen An sighed, extending his hand to see the small footprints on his forearm. He questioned the small fairy, "Are you really here to strengthen my system? I feel like I've been seriously weakened instead."

"The 'directionally challenged' attribute is essential for the development of Long Aotian's life," the system explained with its hands out, "Think about it, if you always live a predictable life, how could you possibly rescue a foreign princess starving at the bottom of a cliff?"

"How severe would my condition have to be in the future to get lost from here to the bottom of a cliff?!"

Chen An gave the system a mental breakdown before trying to find a passerby to borrow a phone and inform his mother to pick him up. But before he could ask, a man approached him.

This was not an ordinary person.

The man standing before him was robust and muscular, even more so than the bodybuilders in the gym. Just his presence alone would deter any troublemakers from approaching. Coupled with his somewhat fierce face and a scar, he looked like he could easily handle all the rowdy kids on the street.

In fact, Chen An noticed that the pedestrians around them were giving anxious looks. A combination of a seemingly useless adult and a soft-spoken elementary school kid made people feel like they should call the police.

"Little friend, I can tell you got lost, right?" the bald man spoke up, his voice as rough as sandpaper. But the gentleness in his tone made Chen An slightly lower his guard and nod obediently.

"Uncle, can I borrow your phone? I want to make a call; my mom might be worried."

"Of course, you can."

The man took out his feature phone, and Chen An instinctively reached out to take it, but the man didn't give it to him. Instead, he asked for Chen An's phone number.

Chen An reported his mom's phone number, feeling a bit puzzled about the man's strange behavior.

The call connected quickly, but the man still didn't hand over the phone to Chen An. He explained to the worried woman on the other end, "Ma'am, your child who didn't return home is with me."

Although he felt that the man, with his blend of tough and gentle demeanor, was somewhat off, Chen An shook off his doubts as mere illusions. He reached out and tugged at the man's clothes, saying, "Uncle, my mom tends to be forgetful. Please remind her to bring her wallet when she comes to pick me up by taxi."

The man nodded silently and added to the phone, "Remember to bring money."

"Okay! Okay! I'll bring the money! Just don't hurt my son!" The phone rang with a panicked woman's voice. "Whatever you need, I'll pay!"

"..."

The man looked at the phone in confusion and then at Chen An, who had just been slapped in the face.

"Uncle, your way of speaking is very misleading. Quickly explain it to my mom, she tends to misunderstand things!”

Seeing the anxious look on the little lost boy, the man with the scar repeatedly nodded and quickly explained to the phone, "I hope you understand what I mean! I won't harm him!"

"Yes! Yes, I understand. I won't call the police; please don't hurt him. He's just a seven-year-old child!" The woman's voice on the other end sounded on the verge of tears, leaving the scarred man puzzled.

He turned his head to the little kid and asked Chen An, "Do I need to explain more?"

"That's enough; let me talk to her," Chen An said, letting out a sigh.

He jumped up, trying to reach for the phone, but his sad one-meter-two height made it impossible. Thankfully, the man finally handed the phone to him, and he quickly reassured his worried mother.

'Mrs. Chen Xuemei' – that was his mother's name in this life, an extraordinary woman who could be Long Aotian's mother. Of course, she wasn't an ordinary person either. An ordinary person wouldn't behave this bizarrely. It took Chen An a full minute to calm her down.

"Sweetie, are you really okay?" His mother's tone carried doubt. "You aren't comforting me under duress by some kidnapper, are you? Blink your eyes if you are."

"Mom, how am I supposed to show you that I blinked? Anyway, I'm fine; really. The uncle that just spoke was bad at talking, that's all."

Chen An glanced at the bald scarred man, who looked dejected and mumbled about how he was once again looked down upon by a grade schooler.

"There's a tutoring center called Hualong near me. Mom, do you know it? If not, I'll go look for someone who can help you figure out where it is."

"I know. I received their advertisement before. Stay put, and I'll be right there," his mother said hurriedly, then hung up the phone. Chen An felt relieved and ended the call, returning to his contact list.

He took a moment to look at the list, and his gaze froze.

"It seems like your troubles are resolved now. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave," the man said, taking back his phone and turning to leave.

Having witnessed the man's peculiar behavior earlier, Chen An hesitated for a while but couldn't resist asking in a peculiar tone, "Uncle, I want to ask about something. What do the names 'Bank Robber No. 1,' 'Bank Robber No. 2,' 'Bank Robber No. 3,' and 'Bank Robber No. 5' mean?"

"Haha..."

The bald man touched his shiny head, laughing awkwardly, "That's adult humor. You'll understand when you grow up. Can't you imagine how foolish one must be to openly write their team members' professions like that?"

"I remember there was news recently about the police capturing four people involved in a bank robbery in our city. According to their confessions, there's still another group on the run. Considering your earlier strange behavior… Finally, uncle, you might want to think about whether your previous conversation has completely exposed your intelligence."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Kid!"

The scarred man's face turned stern, and he glared at Chen An with an intimidating aura, "Do you know what it means to act ignorant when you already know the truth?"

"Uncle, I'm just a third-grade elementary school student," Chen An blinked innocently, "The knowledge you mentioned is taught in middle school."

"Uh, is that so?"

"Who knows?"

Chen An shrugged, "Perhaps I'm just overly suspicious. But I still suggest you come with me to the police station and explain everything to the police officers. If I've misunderstood, I'll apologize to you, and of course, you can refuse. I don't mind using 'means' to bring you to the police station if necessary. I hope you make the sensible choice."