From the hundredth floor of the towering hospital building, Li Mingzhe stood at the open window of his small room, his unusually sharp eyes taking in every detail of the scene below. Despite the dizzying height, he could distinguish individual children playing in the field with perfect clarity - one of his peculiar abilities that seemed to compensate for his physical limitations. His extraordinary eyesight and brilliant mind stood in stark contrast to his frail body, weakened by a rare disease that had confined him to this sterile space for as long as his memory stretched.
The hospital room, though equipped with the latest medical technology money could buy, felt more like a gilded cage. Its small dimensions had become all too familiar over the years - every crack in the ceiling, every subtle mark on the walls etched into his memory. The world beyond his window seemed to taunt him with its vastness and vibrancy, so close yet perpetually out of reach.
His knowledge of his family was limited to fragments: they were exceptionally wealthy, evidenced by the premium private room and constant medical care, but personal connections were sparse. His mother's visits had dwindled since his younger sister's birth, and when she did come, her attention seemed divided, her thoughts clearly preoccupied with the new addition to their family. His father remained an enigma - a perpetually busy figure he had never met, existing only in passing mentions and excuses for absence.
Lost in his contemplation of the playing children below, Li Mingzhe was startled by a sharp voice behind him. "I told you to stop opening the window, it's dangerous!" The new nurse appeared at his side, her face etched with disapproval as she gestured for him to step back. Obediently, he moved away, watching as she firmly shut the windows.
"Why don't you just admire the scene through the glass instead of opening the entire window? It's not like you can see anything down there anyway," she admonished, turning to place a meal tray on the recently cleaned table. Little did she know about his exceptional vision - another detail that set him apart from others.
Li Mingzhe observed her with quiet resignation. Unlike his previous nurse, whose gentle demeanor had made his confinement more bearable, this new one ruled with strict guidelines that stripped away what few pleasures he had. He briefly wondered about his former nurse but dismissed the thought - years had passed, and change was inevitable in hospitals.
The nurse efficiently wiped down the table and set out his meal, rattling off instructions that Li Mingzhe deliberately tuned out. After she left, he examined his lunch without enthusiasm - milk tea and a sandwich, a poor substitute for the coffee he once enjoyed before the new nurse deemed it inappropriate for his condition.
Turning away from the unappetizing meal, his attention was caught by something new on his bedside table - a book that hadn't been there before. The cover resembled those popular magic academy novels, its surface gleaming with an unusual sheen. "Did she leave this here?" he wondered, stepping closer to examine it.
As his hand reached for the mysterious volume, something extraordinary happened. Before he could even read the title, the book erupted in a brilliant display of light. The radiance swirled and expanded, growing increasingly intense until it engulfed the entire room. When the light finally dimmed seconds later, both Li Mingzhe and the book had vanished without a trace.
The silence that followed was shattered by the nurse bursting through the door. "What happened?" she called out, her voice tinged with alarm. Taking in the empty room and the open space where her patient should have been, she immediately assumed the worst. Her hand slammed against the large red emergency button on the wall, her mind jumping to the conclusion that he must have somehow jumped from the window - completely unaware of what had just transpired.
…
Sunlight streamed through tall windows into a chamber vast enough to rival a classroom, illuminating luxurious furnishings that surrounded a magnificent bed. Among the silk sheets and plush pillows lay a teenage boy, his youthful features suggesting he was no older than twenty. Li Mingzhe's peaceful slumber gradually transformed into visible distress - his brow furrowing, fingers twitching against the sheets, face contorting in an unseen struggle. After what seemed like an eternity compressed into seconds, his expression finally softened, and his eyes fluttered open.
"What happened?" he muttered, one hand rising to clutch his throbbing head. Suddenly, memory flooded back like a tidal wave. "That's right! The book!" He jerked upright, eyes darting to his bedside table, only to find an unfamiliar, ornately carved surface where his hospital furniture should have been. The realization hit him like a physical force - this wasn't his sterile hospital room.
"A dream?" he wondered aloud, his voice echoing slightly in the spacious chamber. With deliberate movements, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed, his feet finding impossibly soft sandals. "Nice stuff," he mused, momentarily distracted by the luxurious fur that caressed his ankles, before forcing his mind back to the pressing matter at hand.
The sensation was too vivid, too detailed to be a mere dream. His heart began to race as a possibility he'd only encountered in novels surfaced in his mind. Could it be? Had he actually achieved what countless protagonists in his beloved stories had experienced? Transmigration - the act of crossing into another world - had been his secret wish, a desperate hope during lonely hospital nights. Had some deity finally heard his prayers?
Making his way to an ornate full-length mirror beside a massive wardrobe, Mingzhe studied his reflection intently. His enhanced vision picked up subtle differences that ordinary eyes would miss - a barely perceptible glow to his skin, a slight alteration in his features that suggested this body, while similar, wasn't quite his own. Yet disappointment settled heavy in his stomach as he lifted his arms, feeling the same weakness that had plagued him in his previous life. Even in this new world, this new body, he remained shackled by illness. The irony of being trapped in another weak vessel wasn't lost on him, "It seems I can't be cured even in two lifetimes…"
His self-examination was interrupted by voices drifting from the hallway, remarkably clear despite the distance. "Master, why do you keep looking after this kid? You and I both know there's no cure for the Weak Body physique," a younger voice complained.
"Hmph! What do you know?" came the sharp retort of an elderly man. "The Rothschild family has always had one heir in each generation since ancient times. Do you think they'd let their history worth a few thousand years end just like that?"
"But why do they always have one heir?" the younger voice persisted.
"Don't ask what you shouldn't," the elder snapped with unmistakable authority.
Mingzhe's mind raced as he processed this information. "One heir?" he pondered, but an even more startling realization struck him - he could hear their conversation with perfect clarity from what must have been a considerable distance. Had his transmigration enhanced not just his already exceptional vision, but his hearing as well?
Before he could explore this new development, the chamber door swung open with a commanding presence. An elderly man stood in the entrance, his bearing dignified and controlled, with a younger assistant hovering anxiously behind him. The old man's eyes locked with Mingzhe's, and for a brief moment, surprise flickered across his professional facade before being swiftly masked.
"The young master has woken up!" he announced, his voice carrying the weight of significance. "Quickly, go tell the lord!" The assistant, still visibly stunned and lacking his master's composure, took a moment to process the command before turning and rushing away, his footsteps echoing down the corridor.