Only After I Was Reborn Did I Realize That I Had Childhood Sweethearts Chapter 496: The Long Run of Time

[Teacher, teacher, you’re so good]

[Nurturing us with all you could]

[Teaching art and gas to play]

[Songs and dances every day]

[Now we graduate with pride]

[Soon to primary school we’ll ride]

[When red scarves adorn our chests]

[We’ll return with joyful zest]

[Goodbye teacher, wave goodbye]

“Can’t believe this is still the kindergarten graduation song after twenty years… Feels like ti froze, like I’m dreaming back to my childhood.”

“Huh? IV drip? What IV—are you sick? What’s your temperature? Should Grandpa visit?”

“Too many relatives to visit! Exhausting, huh…”

Six-year-old i Xiaoyuan had blossod into a radiant girl, her twin ponytails tied with vibrant red bows, perpetually brimming with energy.

anwhile, i Zhixi sported a chin-length bob—still quiet but now comfortably responsive, a far cry from her once-timid self.

As Sunflower Class’s final chorus echoed, the sisters stood hand-in-hand onstage, their smiles mirroring the parents and teachers below—a scene both nostalgic and new.

The ever-conspicuous i Fang and Xia Yuan duo drew familiar attention from other parents, their dynamic now a three-year staple.

Xia Yuan, clutching tissues, sobbed into i Fang’s arms. “Wuwu… Ah Fang, I can’t take this!”

“Yuan Mama, don’t cry! Kids have to grow up…” Teacher Lin ng’s mother comforted.

“I know but… but…”

i Xiaoyuan handed i Fang a tissue. “Daddy, don’t cry! We’re just growing—not leaving you! Be happy!”

“Hahaha, where’d you learn such cheesy lines?” i Fang dabbed his eyes. “But congratulations on graduating!”

“Wuwu… I wanna paint with Xixi too!”

Xia Yuan’s dramatics tinged the joyous atmosphere with lancholy, prompting other parents to sniffle.

i Fang suddenly rembered his audience and slapped his own mouth. “Daddy cursed! Bad Daddy!”

“It’s okay—no one else is here.”

Post-ceremony, i Xiaoyuan distributed handmade Kan Rider bead art to classmates, including i Zhixi—just as Xia Yuan had done decades prior.

Brimming with gifts, i Xiaoyuan cheerfully wiped sweat off her brow. “Daddy, I want waterlon!”

“Ask Mama to cut it—Daddy’s unpacking.”

i Zhixi, however, hesitated with her haul, tugging Lin Youxi’s sleeve. “Xi Mama… I didn’t prepare gifts. Is it okay to accept these?”

Lin Youxi crouched to her level. “When you receive presents, do you feel happy or pressured to reciprocate?”

“Happy… I think.”

“Then they likely feel the sa. But if you’d like, we can make sothing you enjoy—like ani cards?”

i Zhixi nodded, then frowned. “But after today… we won’t see them again, right?”

“They’d probably still be happy to hear from you. Want to invite friends for your birthday next week? You could give gifts then.”

“Really? But… what if they don’t like it…”

“Just prepare sincerely. Let’s ask Jiejie for ideas, okay?”

Nearby, i Xiaoyuan overheard and bounded over. “After ii’s birthday, we’re starting elentary school, right Daddy?”

“Mhm.”

“Yay! Can Yaya Gu visit too? She never finished Grandpa Lan’s adventure story!”

“But Yuan Mama said Yaya’s at university far away—”

“We’re flying to Baii County!” i Fang suddenly announced, phone in hand.

“Huh? Moving?”

“Grandpa called—our old neighborhood’s being redeveloped into a cultural plaza.”

Lin Youxi mused, “This ‘forr residence’ talk is probably just prompting you to invest in hotown revitalization.”

“Regardless, it’s a chance to show the girls where we grew up,” Xia Yuan added. “Starting from high school mories could be aningful.”

“Let’s include Jiangcheng too!”

i Xiaoyuan imdiately cheered, “I wanna go! See where you lived!”

“ too!” i Zhixi clung to i Fang’s leg. “And visit grandparents!”

After packing their kindergarten ntos into a full trunk, the family returned ho to blessed AC relief.

“Phew… so cool!”

As i Fang fetched luggage, Xia Yuan brought out sliced waterlon—only to find the living room empty save for discarded socks.

“Ack! Don’t leave clothes for the robot vacuum!”

Upstairs, Lin Youxi was changing when i Xiaoyuan scolded, “Xi Mama! No undressing where boys might see!”

“But Daddy’s the only ‘boy’ here—”

“Still! Let’s shower properly!”

anwhile, i Fang and Xia Yuan had snuck into the shower—erging later to find i Zhixi pouting.

“Daddy and Yuan Mama stole waterlon!”

“What ‘stealing’? You vanished!” Xia Yuan protested, munching another slice.

“Then shower with !” i Zhixi tugged i Fang’s pants.

“You’re too big for that,” he chuckled. “Besides—”

“I want Daddy!”

“Fine, but you’re re-showering afterward,” Lin Youxi conceded. “By yourself this ti.”

That evening, the family settled into their routines: i Fang and i Zhixi painting, Xia Yuan and i Xiaoyuan watching Kan Rider, Lin Youxi reading in her beanbag—until i Fang’s phone rang. ꞦÃΝÓʙÊṡ

“Dad? What’s up?”

“Just missing you! Hahaha!” i Lijun bood.

i Xiaoyuan grabbed the phone. “Grandpa! I’m getting IV fluids!”

“What?! Where?!”

After chaos subsided, i Fang explained the county’s redevelopnt plans—including preserving Xia and Lin’s childhood hos as morial sites.

“We’re not dead yet!” Xia Yuan yelped.

“Living people can have forr residences too,” Lin Youxi noted dryly.

“Regardless, let’s visit this sumr,” i Fang decided. “Make it a vacation!”

As cicadas humd outside, the family envisioned retracing their twenty-year journey—a final pilgrimage before this generational marathon reached its finish line.

One chapter remains—