As Isaac tried to open his eyes, he heard the peaceful sound of rain falling onto leaves. He was inside a house in the mountains, far smaller and weaker than he had ever been before. A woman was holding him in her arms, while a man watched with quiet happiness. The man gently touched Isaac's tiny hand with his finger, tears flowing from his eyes as he cried in joy.
At that moment, Isaac realized many things.
He understood what had happened to him, and why he had been so unhappy in his previous life. Deep down, all he had ever wanted was to be loved and cared for. He had been a kind child when he died, not an old man, but a teenager barely seventeen or eighteen years old.
He had been loved by his parents, yet he could never truly love them back. His father had a habit of constantly screaming at him, sometimes even beating him. His mother verbally abused him. He knew that such behavior was common in families struggling financially, but he was different. As he grew older, his parents began to irritate him more and more, and he could no longer endure it.
So he decided to leave. Not out of hatred, but because they had changed as he grew up. Or rather, he had changed too.
Isaac realized he had begun imitating them. When he was around eleven years old, he started screaming back, cursing, and saying hurtful things to his parents. As he grew older, guilt settled in his heart. He wondered if things would have been different had he grown up in a healthier environment, with parents who treated him differently.
He knew they loved him. But because of how they treated him while he was growing up, he could never return that love.
Then he realized another painful truth.
He was sad because he could never be with the only person who had ever made him feel genuinely loved. No matter how many times he told himself that he had lost interest, or that he could no longer love her because of how she behaved, he knew the truth. It was his fault. He could never erase the soft spot he had for that girl.
And so, he accepted his death.
He wished that this time, his life would be happier and more peaceful.
Because he had been reincarnated.
**Isaac's POV**
I wonder what kind of world this is. I hope it's not some fantasy world. I just want a comfortable life. Western fantasy would be fine, but if it's a xianxia world, i'm completely screwed.
Even though I'm not from China, i really liked that genre. I read novels, played games, watched anime. I was kind of a loser, honestly. That's how i passed my time.
This time, as i grow up, I'm going to enjoy my childhood.
"Yes, it's him. Xuan Ling, just like we talked about, honey."
Eh?
That sounded Chinese.
Don't tell me this is a xianxia world. I don't want to be refined into a pill by some random demonic cultivator.
Isaac began crying.
The couple, Xuan Yan (his father) and Qingfeng (his mother), thought he was simply happy. Crying was the only way he knew how to thank his parents.