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

Chapter 41: The Dark Side of the Prodigy

While Chen An was making the most of the limited time left to help Lu Li catch up on her missing knowledge, downstairs, Tan Jing and Chen Xuemei were having a pleasant conversation.

With the assistance of the small notes provided by Chen An, Tan Jing felt like she had already become sort of a friend with Chen Xuemei. However, she wanted to solidify that, and the small notes that Chen An had written about what kind of thing she could say that would make his mother think of her as a friend rather than just a pleasant cop.

One of the things that he had written was to have his mother chat about "why your child should do bad things."

Although Tan Jing wasn't entirely sure what this sentence meant, she decided to give it a try.

"By the way, sister Chen, why are you so determined to make your child do bad things?"

"Why are you suddenly asking about this?" After a moment of confusion, Chen Xuemei shook her head helplessly and continued, "But since you brought it up... Sister Tan, do you think my child is normal?"

"Well... you really caught me off guard with that question," Tan Jing replied, feeling perplexed.

Is Chen An normal? Judging by the standards of a child, this guy couldn't be further from normal; he had nothing to do with normalcy!

In order to further understand this mysterious child, she had researched many books and materials about child prodigies. She found that these prodigies were truly exceptional, with some even starting to gain fame at the age of seven or eight. Take the famous child prodigy, Zhang Zhongyong, for example – he had a deep understanding of poetry and literature at a young age.

But Chen An was different from these prodigies.

In hindsight, he had never threatened Lu Yisheng with any words. He had merely told a story about a woman who had been abused to death, and he never implied any connection between this story and Lu Li. However, Lu Yisheng had drawn her own conclusions, projecting the woman's situation onto her daughter, which led her into a state of fear.

There was no doubt that Chen An was exceptionally skilled at understanding human hearts and human nature. He used fear to manipulate adults, turning them into his "wish fulfillers."

If he saw a crying child by the roadside, his first thought probably wouldn't be to comfort or console them. Instead, he would consider using the child's innocent nature and simple thinking to quickly establish a beneficial relationship.

This behavior was clearly different from the knowledgeable but socially inexperienced child prodigies she knew.

Armed with the information she had gathered, Tan Jing had also consulted her well-informed grandfather. After reviewing the materials she had compiled, her grandfather had uttered a sentence.

"If the so-called child prodigy refers to someone who transcends humanity in a certain aspect and possesses divinity, then he is a 'demon child' because he is too close to humanity and has a profound understanding of human weaknesses and human nature. He possesses a demonic nature, which is the complete opposite of a child prodigy."

After pondering this statement for a while, Tan Jing was certain that her grandfather had read too many martial arts novels. She would have to restrict his reading time in the future, just as he had once limited her time watching cartoons.

In any case, Chen An was not a normal child, and there was no doubt about that.

"I'm really worried about him. Although he never gives me a chance to care for him, the less he allows me to do so, the more worried I become."

Chen Xuemei looked upstairs with concern, as if she could see her child's unsettling demeanor.

"Sister Tan, can you believe it? My child at home doesn't sleep in, doesn't need anyone to remind him to brush his teeth and wash his face, wakes up early every day, even earlier than me, and cooks for himself and me! Oh my God... a primary school student in our house is responsible for personal hygiene and three meals a day. If I share this with others, they'll think I'm belittling their intelligence. Even if I record a video of it, people will think it's a fake video."

"So, what you're saying is..."

Tan Jing looked puzzled as she said to the dejected Chen Xuemei, "He's blocked off the path you should take as a mother, leaving you with no way out. That's why you desperately want him to leave a path for you to act as his mother, right?”

"It's not that, after all, no matter how capable he is, I still have to earn money, and that's the only area where I can hold my head up in front of my child."

Chen Xuemei stared at Tan Jing and said, "But don't you find it strange? Why is it that all the other children are so normal, but my child is nothing like a typical child?"

"Well... I do find it really strange," Tan Jing replied.

"So strange that I'm tempted to categorize your child's situation as an unsolved mystery of the world," Tan Jing continued.

"Well… It’s because he doesn't have a father figure to rely on," Chen Xuemei said, her tone tinged with bitterness. "I've heard people say that children who have no father figure tend to mature earlier than other children, they understand what responsibility means, which is why my child seems so responsible."

"That should be a good thing, right?" Tan Jing asked uncertainly.

"How could it be a good thing?" Chen Xuemei shook her head firmly. "Children should look like children, whether they are responsible or mature, or they've learned to shoulder responsibilities, those are all things that adults should do. Children, before becoming adults... should grow up carefree."

Tan Jing twitched at the corner of her mouth, unable to imagine what troubles that little one might have hidden in his heart, especially after witnessing the child who dared to deceive and manipulate even adults.

"I've actually been thinking, maybe I should find a father for that child, someone who can treat him better."

Chen Xuemei continued, "I don't want to see him continue to 'force' himself to grow up. Maybe with a father, he can stop trying so hard to be a mature, responsible adult and can just let go and be a child, playing and laughing without any burdens."

"Well, why not give it a try then?" Tan Jing asked.

"I don't know either," Chen Xuemei said, looking perplexed. "But it seems like every time this thought comes to mind, that child unintentionally interferes with it."

Unintentionally interfere with it?

Tan Jing couldn't believe it. Given the little one's understanding of the psychology of adults, he must have already seen through his mother's desire to find a stranger to be his father. So he had repeatedly intervened to disrupt it.

‘Wait a minute.’

Tan Jing looked at Chen Xuemei with a strange expression and then glanced at Chen An's room.

Clearly, even up to now, the little one's mother hadn't given up on the idea of finding a father for him, and the little one undoubtedly wanted to interfere again. Could it be that his method... involved her?!

Thinking that she "might" have been used by the little one, Tan Jing was stunned for a moment, and then she recalled her grandfather's assessment of the little one.

An entity opposed to child prodigies, playing with people's minds... a demon child?