It was nine o'clock in the evening.
Qin Prefecture Art Academy.
He lay on the grass beside the school's playground, cradling his head with both hands and gazing at the stars above.
The starry sky above him appeared no different from Earth's, but even without finding the North Star, he knew this wasn't Earth. It was a parallel spacetime called Blue Star.
"Qin Prefecture Art Academy, sophomore in the Composition Department, Lin Yuan."
This was his new identity after crossing over.
He inherited everything from the original host, especially the characteristic of being good-looking. However, he couldn't remember his past life's name or the reason for his crossing. He did recall that in his previous life, he was also quite handsome and quite famous?
So, he could rightfully consider himself:
"Lin Yuan."
He scanned the memories of the original host.
Lin Yuan was not surprised to find that the historical trajectory of this world was entirely different from his past life.
History took a different path since the Qin Dynasty, with Fusu continuing Ying Zheng's legacy, leading the Great Qin Iron Cavalry to conquer the world. This operation made the Eastern world dominate the globe until it was replaced by the even more powerful Xia Nation a hundred years ago.
One world government.
The world was divided into eight continents.
Lin Yuan was in Qin Prefecture.
On this planet, which had bid farewell to war completely, art became the common pursuit of the people. The cultural atmosphere here was extremely rich, and every field related to the arts, such as film, music, painting, literature, and calligraphy, was flourishing like never before.
"Utopia."
That's how Lin Yuan described it.
Especially for those in the arts.
However, no matter how utopian it was, misfortunes still occurred. The original host, in whose body Lin Yuan now resided, had experienced such a misfortune—
He had a terminal illness.
Yes, it was the term that appeared frequently in TV dramas, accompanied by a dramatic turn of events:
"Terminal illness."
Lin Yuan discovered this in his memories after crossing over. He had somehow inherited a body with a short life expectancy. The doctors had sentenced the original host to death a long time ago:
"This child won't live past twenty-five."
This was something the original host couldn't bear, so he chose to end his life with sleeping pills. This was also why Lin Yuan could become the new owner of this body. The original host, who was only nineteen years old, gave up what little life he had left—
Out of fear of death?
So he chose death?
Lin Yuan initially thought this was the reason for the original host's decision to commit suicide. It wasn't until he delved deeper into the original host's memories that he realized the situation was more complex than he had imagined:
The original host came from a single-parent family.
His father had passed away at a very young age.
His mother raised him on her own.
The original host had been fragile since childhood, often falling into a fever-induced coma. To treat his illness, he was frequently hospitalized, incurring substantial expenses, all borne by his mother.
Some money was borrowed.
Some money was earned by his mother.
To raise him, his mother had suffered countless hardships. Moreover, the original host also had an older sister and a younger sister—
His sisters were very responsible.
Despite not having experienced a good life because of the original host's condition.
To earn money and support the family as soon as possible, the older sister gave up the opportunity to pursue a master's degree.
To ease the family's financial burden, the younger sister had been wearing hand-me-down clothes from her older sister since childhood.
And the final straw that broke the camel's back was...
The original host lost the qualification to chase his dreams.
He was originally a student in the Vocal Department, born with a powerful singing voice. His vocal talent was unquestionably the best in his field. His dream was to become a singer.
However, during his freshman year, his illness flared up once again, resulting in a direct consequence:
The original host could no longer sing.
His vocal cords were damaged, unable to withstand continuous high-intensity vocal training, especially his proud high notes—
With no other options.
He transferred to the Composition Department, where he was not particularly skilled.
And in his sophomore year, he chose to end his life.
It was not just because his dream had been shattered, but also because he didn't want to burden his family any further. Once the countdown of life began, every minute and every second was torture.
After digesting these memories, Lin Yuan could fully understand the original host's decision. He couldn't stand in a moral high ground and accuse the original host of being too weak. All he could say was...
Everyone has their own misfortunes, and some people's misfortunes are harder to bear than others.
This echoed the Buddhist saying, "Life is suffering."
But Lin Yuan wouldn't choose suicide.
Even though the body he inherited was still one with a short life expectancy, he had a few more years to make the most of, right?
Sing some songs.
Write some books.
Promote culture.
Earn money for his family.
Yes, Lin Yuan was finding it challenging to change his fate of having a terminal illness, but in the limited time he had left, he might be able to change his family's destiny.
This thought was pressing.
Lin Yuan couldn't quite tell if it was the will of the original host or his own desire.
Perhaps what he had inherited included not only the memories of the original host but also all the emotions, including that mysterious bloodline.
Lin Yuan didn't resist this feeling.
However, when Lin Yuan tried to recall some works of art from his past life, he was surprised to find that he couldn't remember them very clearly, as if his memories had been separated by a layer.
"What is the purpose of my crossing here?" Lin Yuan asked himself.
Then, in his mind, there was a response that didn't quite answer his question: [Blood analysis in progress... gene analysis in progress... iris analysis in progress... Compatibility: 99.36%... Standard compliance... Database selected... Solar System Earth... System binding in progress...]
A system?
Lin Yuan understood.
Although the details of his memories were vague, he had read some web novels about system-related stories in his past life, so he had some impression of what this was – a cheat, and this was the purpose of his crossing.
No more overthinking.
He quietly awaited the installation of the system.
Not long after, the mechanical sound echoed in his mind again: [Loading successful, Art System binding complete!]
"Hello," Lin Yuan greeted proactively.
[Hello, host. Congratulations on binding the Art System. This system will do its utmost to help you become an artist on Blue Star. You can communicate with the system through thought. Below, I will present your information in text form.]
The mechanical voice paused.
Transparent subtitles appeared in front of Lin Yuan.
[Age: 19]
[Life Expectancy: 22]
[Painting: 45]
[Literature: 105]
[Music: 1038]
[Overall: 1188]
[Other: Awaiting Activation]
[Note: Except for age and life expectancy, the values in each category represent reputation, which is the recognition you've gained in that field from the outside world and the industry. In theory, there is no upper limit to these values. The higher your reputation, the more benefits you will receive...]
"Life expectancy is... 22?"
The system seemed to know what Lin Yuan was thinking.
Another line of subtitles appeared: [Twenty-five is the theoretical maximum age the host can live to, considering the actual situation, the host can live up to twenty-two years at most and will become completely paralyzed at twenty-one.]
"Can it be cured?" Lin Yuan asked in his mind.
System: [When the host's reputation reaches the system's standards, you will receive treatment from the system. Through several rounds of treatment, you can reach a level of recovery. The system will notify the host as you reach certain reputation values...]
In other words, it could be cured.
Lin Yuan skillfully asked, "What about the beginner's package?"
Perhaps Lin Yuan was too skilled, making the system struggle to keep up with his pace. It remained silent for a few seconds before responding: [The beginner's package has been sent to the host's subspace storage.]
"Access the storage."
As soon as Lin Yuan spoke, a virtual interface resembling a game inventory appeared in front of him. In the first grid, there was a small audio file—
Song: [Life Like Summer Flowers.]
Just one song in the beginner's package?
Can you please remove the word "big"?
While Lin Yuan was inwardly complaining, he listened to the song. As soon as the prelude began, he was sure it was the same song from his memories.
In fact.
Until then, he couldn't recall the melody and lyrics of this song but as soon as he opened the song, the memories of the song from his past life rushed into his mind.
Lin Yuan probably knew the system's route.
The so-called reputation value, and so on, was probably about releasing songs, gaining recognition, and so on. When this recognition reached a certain level, he could get treatment and not have to pick up a lunchbox too early...
It was quite an insincere setup.
The system seemed quite displeased with Lin Yuan's complaint and promptly added a setting: [Along with gaining reputation value, the host can also receive the chance to draw prizes, with a very high winning rate.]
"Oh," Lin Yuan responded indifferently.
He was thinking about the song.
His vocal cords were already damaged, and even though the song "Life Like Summer Flowers" didn't require a high vocal range, according to medical advice, it would be better if Lin Yuan didn't sing.
However, that didn't deter Lin Yuan.
If he couldn't sing, he could have someone else sing for him.
As long as he could gain reputation. Although, theoretically, singers were more likely to become famous, Lin Yuan didn't like fame, and he even felt a bit repulsed by it—
He didn't know why.
Perhaps it was an influence from his past life?
Even though Lin Yuan couldn't recall the memories from his past life, he had a vague sense that he might have been quite accomplished in his previous life. Perhaps he had some achievements to his name.
This song was interesting, at the very least, it suited the original host's situation.
Thinking about this, Lin Yuan suddenly became curious. "System, when I crossed over to this world, did the 'me' from my previous life on Earth simply disappear?"
System: [Life Swap.]
The system had already figured out Lin Yuan's style. This individual had a strong understanding and acceptance, preferring simplicity and directness without the need for extensive explanations. So, it started to be concise and to the point.
"Life Swap, huh."
Lin Yuan's eyes sparkled for a moment, and then he revealed a gentle smile. The feeling of someone living on in his place wasn't all that bad.
After all, he was single.
Although many things were unclear, Lin Yuan could roughly outline the hazy contours of those memories from his past life.
It wasn't great, but it wasn't terrible either.
In fact, no matter how bad a life might be, it is still better than having your life on a countdown. Here's to hoping that 'Lin Yuan' could have a system too, rather than experiencing "Life Like Summer Flowers" all over again—
At least, we both still exist.