Chapter 1: Rebirth of the Middle-Aged Man

"Did you watch 'Fen Dou Er' last night?"

"I stopped watching after Lu Tao cheated. I only watch idol dramas now."

"Which channel? What show?"

"I bought the discs, 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon of the Forbidden City'. The fighting scene in the rain was so touching..."

Zhai Da looked around in a daze.

A hospital ward, four beds, and a very retro-looking ward at that...

The dim afternoon light spilled into the room. The floor was old-fashioned terrazzo, made of gravel and glass shards embedded in cement, forming a kaleidoscope-like pattern.

In the next bed was a gaunt old man, legs crossed, flipping through a newspaper titled "Yangzi Evening News".

It had a very "dad-vibe" feel to it.

Nearby sat a radio that looked like a black brick, broadcasting news from who knows where.

"The countdown to the Jingbei Olympic preparations has begun, with over 1.5 million volunteers expected to participate..."

"The Shanghai Composite Index has hit a new high, expected to break through 6,000 points this year..."

"The second-largest subprime mortgage lender in the United States, New Century Financial Corporation, has declared bankruptcy..."

"Experts state that the current real estate market is chaotic and irrational, suggesting that everyone sell at the peak to profit, enter the bull market for investment, and repurchase once housing prices return to normal."

The two nurses were also dressed in a very retro style, wearing white soft-soled shoes, thick flesh-colored stockings, and hats that looked like little white boats; they seemed worried they might fall off whenever they lowered their heads to rummage through the bedding.

"Wait... what are you doing?!"

Zhai Da felt a hand reaching deeper and deeper, so he quickly pulled back his legs.

The nurse rolled her eyes and pulled a urinal out from under the covers. It was empty.

"You're awake? We were going to insert a urinary catheter if you didn't wake up by the afternoon. The doctor will come to see you in a bit, so lie still and don't move around."

Zhai Da felt a chill run down his spine.

The nurse's expression was very indifferent; she had seen it all. From Eastern dragons to crooked-mouthed evil gods, what hadn't she seen?

"Don't get excited. We still haven't figured out why you fainted, but it's definitely related to your emotions. Just close your eyes and rest; your mother should be on her way."

Zhai Da felt a sharp pain in his head. He remembered he had been on a blind date...

Later, because they couldn't agree on the "300,000 yuan bride price" installment plan, they started arguing.

He wasn't ungrateful, but he was just an advertising man in his thirties who had returned after ten years of working only to remain a beast of burden.

He had already been careful not to touch the ox-carts, ox-sheds, or calves, but the normalized 996 and super-evolved 007 had left his liver yellower than his face, yet he still couldn't piece together a future.

Where did the money go?

Mr. Ziren said distribution according to work; did they not receive the notification?

Everyone says young people should suffer and accumulate experience. Now that Zhai Da is over thirty, may I ask where one exchanges experience and suffering for happiness?

Relying on voluntary overtime and a tearful rendition of "Grateful Heart" at the annual meeting, he sacrificed his face and liver, only touching the "so-called middle management" in his thirties, reaching the same level as the boss's son who had just graduated.

As a result, he was fired after two months, only then realizing he had been specifically promoted to be the scapegoat.

Optimized by the company, suppressed by his superiors, driving for Didi, delivering food—the older he got, the more tired he lived.

Even when he later won 50 million in the lottery, it didn't bring him happiness.

Really.

The cold 40 million in the bank couldn't soothe a heart already castrated by life; it only gave this heart the courage to lie flat.

He just wanted to take his Vacheron Constantin, drive his Maybach, and live out the rest of his life in a plain and warm way.

Plainness is the truth.

It was just that occasionally when alone, he still longed for his own love. He hadn't had the conditions before, and after winning the lottery, he finally had a bit of confidence, but he didn't want to find a hound coming for the 40 million; he wanted to find a sincere lover.

The pain of youth requires a lifetime of adulthood to heal.

So he traveled back and forth between various blind date venues, pretending he still had no money. "300,000 yuan bride price" was fine, but with one condition: paid in one hundred installments, 3,000 at a time.

Only time can prove sincerity; companionship is the longest confession of love.

Maybe it was a bit strange, but he always maintained an attitude of mutual respect, treating every blind date partner with courtesy. If they talked too late, he would even very gentlemanly book a five-star hotel for them.

That was exactly what he told the police at the time.

It was the next morning when he left the police station. Sitting in his Maybach, he wanted to smoke a cigarette, but as soon as it hit his lungs, he felt a sharp pain in his chest, and his limbs went numb and wouldn't listen to him.

The suffering endured in youth eventually backfires on every middle-aged person.

He tried to call for help, but the Maybach's soundproofing was too good, and the windows were one-way perspective to protect the owner's privacy. Just like that, his consciousness grew dimmer and dimmer...

Until the very end, in his blurred vision, he vaguely saw a young man riding an electric scooter, carrying his beloved girl, whizzing past him. Both were very poor... but both were very happy. It was truly enviable.

"No parking here!"

That was the last sound he heard; it might have been an auditory hallucination.

When he opened his eyes again, he was already in this hospital bed.

Being in a hospital wasn't strange, but how could there be such a dilapidated hospital in the Magic City? Putian-affiliated?

Zhai Da looked blankly at his hands... on the side of the first joint of his middle finger were calluses from long-term writing, and his nails, due to regulations, were cut to an anti-human length...

Without a doubt, these were the hands of a student.

Combined with the radio from just now... so, had he been reborn?

Preparing for the Olympics... 2007 or 2008?

In an instant, those memories that had long been swept into the trash heap by his exhausted soul, echoes that were once profound but gradually covered by calluses, all surged out...

Dongyang County... Wool Spinning Middle School... 2008... the year he took the college entrance exam?

He just stared at his hands like that, stunned for a long, long time.

And then, joy surged from the depths of his soul.

Really back to... 2008?

The most sigh-inducing thing in life is "possible"... and what is infinitely more precious than "possible" is only "if".

And rebirth gave him countless "ifs" to become a better version of himself.

Damn! If I had known I was going to be reborn, I should have spent the money first. At the time, I was thinking of lying flat, so I only tremblingly spent five million, and left the rest in the bank to earn interest...

The money is still there, but the person is gone! A huge loss!

After the two nurses left, for the time being, only he and the old man reading the newspaper were in the ward; the other two beds were empty.

After countless thoughts surged through his mind for who knows how long, Zhai Da finally couldn't hold it back and shouted, "Awesome!!"

It startled the old man so much that his hand shook, tearing the newspaper in two. He frowned and looked over.

Sure enough, games will ruin the younger generation.

Zhai Da now felt full of strength, this body...

It really has to be young to be energetic!

He wanted to be discharged immediately to see his familiar hometown, familiar streets, and... his mother, whom he hadn't seen in years and who had raised him.

Just as he thought of this, a middle-aged woman rushed in through the door, her eyes red and her voice choked with sobs, clearly panicked.

"Xiao Da... are you okay! You scared your mother to death!"

Looking at that familiar and missed face, Zhai Da's nose felt a bit sour...

"Mom... I'm fine... I'm doing great!"

"I'm doing great"—these four words used to be a regular in his phone calls with his mother.

The child who secretly ate instant noodles when he was little was actually still secretly eating instant noodles when he grew up.

Unfortunately, ever since his mother passed away from breast cancer, he couldn't even find anyone to say the words "I'm doing great" to. From then on, no one in this world cared whether he was doing well or not.

This mother, who passed away with regrets before he won the lottery, who never enjoyed a day of happiness but worried about her son in the big city all day long, was Zhai Da's greatest pain.

Zhai Da took the initiative to hug his mother, a gesture he had rarely made in the past, and said with a smile:

"Mom, it's nothing, just a little physical discomfort. I don't know why the hospital made such a big fuss."

In fact, he didn't know why he woke up in the hospital either; in his memory, this didn't happen back then, and he hadn't even been to a hospital much before he started working.

On the contrary, after he started working, the good physique his mother had raised him with eventually lost to the whip of life. After working, he ran to the hospital every few days, and even after winning the lottery, he hadn't managed to get his health back in order.

"By the way, Mom, how much longer until the college entrance exam? I have to hurry up and try to get a high score to make you proud!"

Yu Xiaoli's lips trembled for a long while before she said, "Son, I've heard about your situation. It doesn't matter, Mom can introduce you to work in the factory, and we'll be in the same unit from now on."

Zhai Da had a bad premonition: "How did I end up in the factory... uh... how exactly did I faint? I can't quite remember."

"You... fainted in the exam room, during the last session..."

Zhai Da could only remain silent and smile bitterly at this subtle timing...

What does this mean? Does it mean I won't even get to go to junior college in this life?

In his previous life, he often mocked himself for going to junior college after working hard from dawn to dusk; in this life, it's even more direct: three years of hard study for the electronics factory?

Then he heard the second half of Yu Xiaoli's sentence: "It doesn't matter if your second mock exam results aren't good, there are still three months left... besides, the factory is always short of people!"

"Mom, can you not take such big breaths when you speak..."

And why can't you go three sentences without mentioning the factory? Did you tear the square root of two in half and carry it with you?

Retracted a disastrous start.

Before he had finished digesting these ups and downs, a string of strange text appeared before Zhai Da's eyes.

"Life Equipment Synthesis System is online."

"Strong emotions, obsessions, and moods will linger on objects, giving them unique traits."

"This system can help the host discover and acquire 【Equipment】, strengthen abilities, and even synthesize higher-level rare equipment."

"Host currently has equipment: None."

As the text gradually changed, before Zhai Da could understand it, new content had already appeared.

"Unlock novice reward: One of the host's random personal items is converted into 【Equipment】."

"Anchoring... Converting..."

"Congratulations to the host, you have obtained a white new 【Equipment】: Clown's Love Letter."

"【Clown's Love Letter】: A love letter written by a teenager under the influence of hormones, wrapped in embarrassment and delusions enough to make an adult want to execute themselves. Equipment effect: Slightly increases sense of humor."

"Note: Child, there is no love in there, it's all humor!"