"Two families are here today hoping to adopt. You can choose which one you'd like to go with."

In my previous life, I chose the Parkers, who owned a small neighborhood store.

Life wasn't particularly comfortable, but they cherished me like their own.

They fully supported my writing and helped me become a moderately successful novelist.

Meanwhile, Sean Lowe chose the affluent Bennett family. Their home was comfortable, but cold and detached.

He spent more than a decade trying to earn their affection, but never truly became part of the family.

Now that I'd been given a second chance, the moment I saw the Parkers again, I nearly called them Mom and Dad.

But Sean beat me to it.

He threw himself forward and said, "Mrs. Harper, I want to go with the family that owns the store! I love snacks the most. I'll be good and listen to everything they say!"

He buried himself in Claire Parker's arms like a kitten that had finally found its way home.

I stopped behind him and didn't move.

If my guess was right, he had been reborn too.

"Aaron, which family do you prefer?"

The orphanage director, Evelyn Harper, bent down and asked with a smile.

"I'm fine with either. Mr. Bennett and Miss Shaw are both really nice people."

Evelyn froze for a moment, probably not expecting me to be so calm about it.

I turned to look at Sean Lowe.

He was holding the Parkers' hands and swaying them gently, his words sweet as honey.

"Mr. Parker, Mrs. Parker, I really like you both. Can I start calling you Mom and Dad right now?"

Samuel Parker was caught off guard by the enthusiasm.

His eyes quickly reddened as he replied, overwhelmed.

"Claire, look at this child..."

Claire White smiled warmly. She rubbed her hands nervously against her pants before finally reaching out to pat Sean's head.

"Good boy. As long as you want us, you'll always have a home with us."

Watching the three of them together felt like someone had carved a piece out of my chest.

Yet there was no anger, only a faint bitterness.

Sean and I grew up together.

We had been inseparable best friends.

I knew he wasn't a bad person by nature.

He simply wanted a warm home that truly belonged to him.

In my previous life, the Parkers hadn't had much money, but they gave me everything they could.

They supported me in pursuing the things I loved.

That kind of family environment was exactly what Sean always longed for.

We were both orphans with no parents of our own.

I understood why he made that choice.

Even so, it still hurt.

After the adoption paperwork was completed, I followed the Bennetts toward the expensive black sedan parked outside the orphanage.

As we passed each other, Claire seemed a little guilty.

She reached into her pocket, pulled out a handful of candy, and pressed it into my hand.

It was my favorite candy in my previous life.

"Good boy, these are for you. And from today on, you'll have a family of your own.

"A family like the Bennetts is different from an ordinary one. Be on your best behavior, and don't suffer in silence if you're treated unfairly."

The candy still carried the warmth of her hand, and my eyes began to sting.

“Mom, thank you for raising me in my previous life.”

I silently thanked her.

“Sean will cherish both of you on my behalf in this lifetime.”

Hedworth Bennett courteously opened the car door for Laura Shaw.

Laura turned to me and said, "Aaron, get in. Our housekeeper, Linda, has already prepared your room at home."

Her tone was polite, as though she were welcoming a young guest.

In my previous life, Sean told me that when he first arrived at the Bennett household, everyone had been distant and difficult to get close to.

Later, after they had a child of their own, they paid even less attention to him.

He said it wasn't what he imagined a family should be.

But from this brief interaction, I found myself feeling differently.

A family willing to thoughtfully prepare everything for a child they hadn't even met yet—how could they truly be cold and indifferent?

I looked out the window at the passing streets and at Sean's family as their car drove past ours.

I understood one thing clearly: no relationship could thrive without both sides putting their heart into it.

Streetlights flickered on one by one.

I let out a quiet breath.

My new life officially began at that moment.

Forty minutes later, the car pulled up in front of a stately house.

There was no army of servants waiting outside as I imagined, only a housekeeper in a work uniform stood by the front door.

"Sir, ma'am, everything has been prepared as instructed."

Linda took my backpack and smiled at me.

Hedworth gently patted my shoulder, his voice warm.

"Aaron, this is your home from now on. Your room is on the second floor. If there's anything you're not used to, you can talk to Linda anytime, or come directly to me."

I followed him upstairs.

The moment the bedroom door opened, I froze.

The desk had been neatly arranged with imported fountain pens, study supplies, and a complete collector's edition of classic literary works.

Hedworth studied my expression, his tone as calm as ever.

"Mrs. Harper told us you enjoy writing and literature. Laura arranged for all of these to be prepared on our way home."

After a brief pause, he asked, "Do you like them?"

I turned to look at him.

Unlike Samuel in my previous life, he didn't immediately crowd around me asking whether I was adjusting well.

Instead, he kept a comfortable distance and patiently waited for my response.

"I like them very much. Thank you, Mr. Bennett."

I nodded earnestly.

He seemed to relax a little.

"I'm glad. Go take a shower and get some rest. Dinner will be ready in half an hour."

The dinner table was so quiet that the faint clink of silverware was the only sound.

Hedworth and Laura occasionally exchanged a few quiet words, mostly about literary exhibitions or the orchestra.

They didn't deliberately alter their routines because of my arrival.

In my previous life, Sean was always complaining that the Bennett household felt colder than an icebox.

He said every second he spent here felt suffocating and that the Bennetts never truly loved him. They only wanted a child to brighten their lives.

After they had a child of their own, they cared even less about him.

I couldn't help thinking back to my previous life with the Parkers.

The three of us would squeeze around a small coffee table. Samuel would always pile extra meat onto my plate and say in his booming voice, "Aaron, eat more. You're still growing."

That lively, bustling warmth, filled with the comforts of everyday life, stood in sharp contrast to the quietness of the Bennett household.

Back then, we were both still young. Without the wisdom that came from living a second life, neither of us understood that every family had its own way of showing love.

But now, sitting at the dinner table and looking at the nutritious, child-friendly dishes that was prepared especially for me, I arrived at a different answer.

The Bennetts' love was rooted in respect.

They weren't the type to loudly announce how much they did for someone. Instead, they quietly made sure everything was thoughtful and taken care of.

For the Sean of my previous life, who longed to be constantly noticed and showered with affection, that kind of restrained care probably felt like emotional distance.

But I wasn't Sean.

I knew better than anyone how precious this kind of freedom, free from interference and backed by the best resources, was for a writer.

A week later, Evelyn came to visit the Bennett household for a follow-up check.

She took my hand and led me into the garden.

After making sure no one was nearby, she lowered her voice and asked, "Aaron, are you adjusting well here? If anyone has treated you unfairly, you must tell me."

I shook my head and pointed toward my desk.

"Mr. Bennett hired a professional writing tutor for me. They'll be arriving tomorrow."

Evelyn looked at me, something complicated flickering in her eyes.

"You've always been more composed than Sean. Sean called me yesterday. He was so excited he could barely contain himself. He said Mr. Parker took him to a night market and bought him all kinds of cool toys."

I smiled but said nothing.

That was simply how the Parkers expressed their love— warm, direct, and completely different from the Bennetts.

"I'm not surprised Sean chose the Parkers. He's always been a bit impulsive. But you..."

Evelyn reached out and ruffled my hair.

"Sometimes, even I can't figure out what's going on in that head of yours."

I lowered my gaze and wrote another passage on the page, sketching out the beginnings of a story.

It wasn't that I was especially deep or mysterious.

I simply knew what I wanted.

Life at the Bennett household settled into a steady rhythm as I carefully mapped out my new future.

Inside my nine-year-old body lived the soul of a twenty-four-year-old.

The moment I picked up the fountain pen beside my bed, the familiar feeling came rushing back.

But I restrained myself.

I couldn't start off writing novels with the same mature style I developed in my previous life.

That would be far too unbelievable.

I had to improve gradually.

Every now and then, Hedworth would pass by my study and glance at what I was writing, a flicker of surprise crossing his face.

"Aaron, you have a real gift for writing. But your work seems to carry a melancholy that doesn't belong to someone your age."

I set down my pen and looked up at him with a bright smile.

"That's because your house is so peaceful, Mr. Bennett. I wanted to capture that feeling in my writing."

Hedworth patted my shoulder, approval evident in his eyes.

Just as I was gradually settling into life with the Bennetts, my phone vibrated.

It was a text message from Sean—sent from the new phone the Parkers bought for him.

Attached was a photo.

The bed was covered with ordinary stationery supplies, while Sean grinned brightly at the camera. Behind him was the Parker family's small but cozy living room.

"Aaron, look! Mom and Dad bought me a complete set of writing supplies!

"They said that as long as I love writing, they'll support me no matter what it takes.

"You don't get this kind of support from your whole family over there, do you?"

I stared at the screen.

Before I could reply, another message arrived.

"By the way, I signed up for a creative writing class at the youth center. The instructor said I have talent.

"Aaron, I want to be a writer someday. You think I'll succeed, right?"

I held my phone and looked at the familiar stationery brands in the photo.

They were the same brands I used most often in my previous life and considered the best value for the money.

I sent him a smiling emoji.

Good for him.

He had finally gotten the life he wanted.

I genuinely wished him well and hoped he would find the warmth he always dreamed of.

And I believed that in this life, I would carve out an even brighter path for myself.

The days passed quietly, one after another.

Eight months later, news of Laura's pregnancy caused quite a stir in the Bennett household.

The first thing to change was the atmosphere at home.

The once-quiet house saw a constant stream of nutritional supplements and baby supplies being delivered.

Linda became even more careful in everything she did, to the point where even her footsteps seemed softer.

At the same time, bits and pieces of gossip began finding their way to my ears.

One day, I got out of school early.

As I passed the conservatory, I overheard one of Hedworth's cousins chatting with his assistant.

"I said it from the start. An adopted child is never the same as your own flesh and blood.

"See? Now that Laura's pregnant, Aaron's position in this family is going to get pretty awkward."

The assistant lowered his voice and tried to smooth things over.

"Please keep your voice down. Aaron is a very good kid."

"So, what if he is? Are they really going to leave part of the family fortune to an outsider?

"Just wait until the baby is born. He'll end up getting sent back to the orphanage sooner or later, or dumped in some boarding school and forgotten about."

I stood in the shadows, my heart completely calm. Not the slightest ripple disturbed it.