In the early morning, a ray of sunlight shone through the gaps in the curtains onto the sleeping face of the teenager. Albert had not yet woken up, but he would soon be roused.

The door to the stairs on the second floor quietly creaked open. A brown-haired girl poked her head in, gazing at the sleeping teenager on the bed with her large brown eyes. She whispered, "Albert, it's time to get up."

Not receiving a response, the girl pursed her small mouth in dissatisfaction, opened the door fully, and walked in, with a British shorthair cat following her.

"Tom, please." The girl picked up the shorthair cat's tail, gently brushing it against Albert's face twice.

Albert, still asleep, instinctively swatted at the cat's tail that had brushed across his face. He opened his eyes to see his mischievous sister, stifled a yawn, and greeted her. "Good morning, Niya!"

"Dad said we're going to London today," Niya said, blinking as she looked at Albert. "We're going to get your Eton College uniforms and pick up the items on the list."

"Okay, I see. I'll change clothes." Albert yawned again, picked up the British shorthair, who was stretching its paws on the bed, placed it on the floor, and stretched his own body before heading off to change clothes. He would wash up and join the family in the living room for breakfast soon after.

"You stayed up again last night?" Daisy asked as she placed a hearty breakfast on the table in front of Albert.

"Son, we'd better move quickly. Today's schedule is a bit packed." Herb spread out the letter from Eton College that had arrived the other day, a proud smile playing on his face.

It was well-known that private schools in the UK were prestigious institutions for training elites, and Eton College was among the best. To attend such a school required two things: talent and wealth.

The Andersons belonged to the middle class in the UK. They ran a law firm, and had some savings tucked away.

As for Albert, he was considered a genius by everyone around him. Not only did he have exceptional grades, but he had also participated in numerous inter-school competitions, winning awards.

Whether Albert was truly a genius, however, was something he himself questioned.

A genius?

No, Albert never considered himself a genius. Albert had a big secret: he was a time traveler.

As for why others had labeled him a genius, Albert didn't quite understand.

He was a child who had never even heard of the Rubik's Cube, yet he could solve a scrambled third-order cube with ease.

To most adults, this was seen as genius.

The truth was, he could solve the cube because he had played with it in a previous life and knew its secrets.

As for maintaining the image of a genius, Albert didn't worry about being exposed. He had a legendary "golden finger"!

Time travelers always had their golden fingers, and online novels didn't lie about this.

At the age of seven, Albert had discovered a mysterious panel had appeared in his mind.

The panel had two main functions: accepting tasks and increasing skills.

Occasionally, tasks would appear. Completing them would grant experience or skill points. Experience could be used to level up skills, while skill points directly increased levels by one.

Albert's first skill was English proficiency. It had taken him several years to raise it to level 3.

If you were to compare it, the English proficiency of an average British person would be level 2, and an English teacher would have a level 3 proficiency.

With maxed-out skills, Albert could easily become a genius scientist.

Of course, Albert had no desire to become a scientist, nor had he ever wanted that in his previous life.

In his past life, he had enjoyed reading books and eventually became a small-time online novelist.

He wrote a few books and managed to save up a little money. His life was carefree, spent doing what he loved every day.

In other words, his previous life had been a relaxing, laid-back existence.

As for how he had crossed over?

That was a bit embarrassing.

One day, while lounging on the sofa watching a Mr. Bean movie, Albert was eating an apple. The movie was so funny that he forgot to chew properly and ended up choking on a chunk of apple, dying at the age of thirty.

When he woke up, he found himself in the body of a baby. After many years in this new life, he had even raised a cat named Tom.

The name "Tom" was a playful nod to the famous cat-and-mouse cartoons.

At seven years old, the mysterious panel appeared again, and Albert began to question everything about his new life. He even wondered if he might be an NPC in some kind of game.

But over time, he stopped looking for evidence of players and started considering the panel as a blessing—a tool for his new life as a time traveler.

With his golden finger and the ability to travel through time, Albert felt he was a winner in life.

Albert had no grand ambitions. He just hoped for a simple, easy life—maybe build a few relationships, land a decent job after graduating from college, marry before 30, and make enough money to spend the next hundred years leisurely.

To realize such a future, Albert had a plan: after graduation, he would head to Wall Street in America. With his maxed-out economic skills and the knowledge from his previous life, he was confident he could make a lot of money quickly.

However, improving his panel skills wasn't easy, especially after reaching level 2, where each new level required a lot of experience.

Albert needed to complete tasks to earn experience and skill points. Being admitted to Eton College was just one of those tasks.

"Son, what's on your mind?" Herb asked as he cut his steak, eyeing Albert who seemed lost in thought.

"I'm thinking about my future," Albert said, taking a bite of the poached egg and continuing after he swallowed.

"What do you want to do in the future?" Daisy asked, curious. The couple rarely heard their son talk about his dreams.

"Finance," Albert said without hesitation.

"We thought you'd want to be a scientist or astronaut," Herb said, glancing at Daisy.

"What's finance?" Niya asked, upset that she wasn't included in the conversation.

"Finance is how you make money," Albert replied, looking up. "I also bought a few books on economics as a birthday gift for myself."

"Don't mislead your sister, Albert," Herb said, frowning. "Only powerful people can make money in that field. Besides, we're not poor."

"Okay, enough talk, let's just eat," Daisy interrupted. "Niya, remember to finish your milk."

"Oh!" Niya, not a fan of milk, sighed.

After finishing their meal and tidying up, the Anderson family was ready to head out.

As Albert opened the door to the family Ford and was about to get in the backseat, he suddenly heard a voice of surprise from Niya. "Look! Is that an owl?"

The Andersons looked in the direction Niya pointed, and sure enough, an owl was flying toward them. As it passed overhead, it dropped a letter at Albert's feet.

The Andersons stood frozen, their faces blank.

An owl? Delivering mail? When had that become a thing?