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.