" Zhong Xuan! Open the door and pay me! I know you're in there! Don't try to hide!"
The creditor banged on the door, repeatedly shouting Zhong Xuan's name. Inside the house, he sat silently on his bedroom window, looking down at the ground and muttering:
"From the 15th floor, I guess I wouldn't survive, would I?"
He looked up at the sky, admiring the few stars that appeared, then sighed:
"Why is life so unfair to me?"
To add a little more, Zhong Xuan, 25 years old, was an honest and diligent police officer, always progressing and completing his tasks well. During one operation, while arresting a drug dealer, his teammate accidentally shot a civilian. However, because the drug dealer was the child of a high-ranking official, Zhong Xuan was wrongfully blamed, lost his job, and had to pay an enormous amount of money to the victim's family. He borrowed money from everywhere, invested in stocks to turn his life around, but ended up suffering huge losses and went bankrupt.
"Bang!" The door was violently pushed open, its sound echoing through the quiet house. A cold wind swept in, accompanied by heavy rainstorms from outside, like a sign of the end. The creditors, with cold faces, stormed into Zhong Xuan's house with unwavering gazes. Zhong Xuan closed his eyes. A shiver ran down his spine. He took a deep breath, trying to suppress the panic inside. "Goodbye, world..." he whispered, as if bidding farewell to his life.
In an instant, he jumped down, feeling the loss of balance as his body plunged through the air. His eyes remained tightly shut. The sound of the wind whistling in his ears, each second, each breath seemed to stretch forever, his body seemingly sinking into the endless, strange void. His eyes were closed, his mind empty. "I wonder if it hurts?" The question flashed through his mind, unanswered. But he didn't want to know the answer. Everything was left in silence, reverberating in his heart... Suddenly, he heard a "Thud!" Zhong Xuan startled, opening his eyes to find himself lying in the middle of an endless ocean of clouds. The ground was no longer visible, only a vast sea of white clouds surrounding him. Each cloud seemed to be moving, forming strange shapes. A faint light flickered from somewhere, illuminating the space, but its source was unclear. Zhong Xuan took a deep breath, trying to process the strange scene before him.
A sigh broke the silence right behind him.
Zhong Xuan jumped up in alarm to see an old man with long, white hair and beard, dressed in white robes, radiating a halo around him. Still shaken, Zhong Xuan stammered:
"W-where is this? Who are you?"
"This is the realm of reincarnation, and I am its guardian. Just understand that for now," the old man said slowly, his voice warm, giving off both a sense of dignity and approachability. "You have left the world, but your fate has not yet ended. This is the boundary between life and death, where souls find their path."
"Reincarnation? So, I can live again?" Zhong Xuan's eyes lit up, asking eagerly.
The old man nodded and told him, "I will let you choose your next life."
"I want to be a handsome prince, with a beautiful wife, and live a carefree life," Zhong Xuan answered, thinking about the protagonists in some reincarnation stories he had read.
Suddenly, a 'Pop!' sounded, and his eyes involuntarily closed. After a while, it was unclear how much time had passed, but he heard someone calling: " Zhong Xuan! Zhong Xuan!"
Immediately sitting up at the sound of his name, he saw around seven or eight people standing by his side: " Zhong Xuan!!! You're awake, thank goodness you're not dead!" A young man hugged Zhong Xuan tightly, crying as he spoke. Zhong Xuan couldn't remember who he was, but the worried and familiar look in his eyes made him unable to ignore it. Zhong Xuan smiled and reassured, "Yeah, I'm awake."
Seeing his confused expression, a doctor spoke, "Everyone, please step out. The prince needs rest. We'll talk later."
Everyone stepped out, and as Zhong Xuan looked around the room, admiring and curious about everything, a sharp pain suddenly struck his head. All the memories of the previous life flooded back to him. Coincidentally, the previous person also named Zhong Xuan was a prince of the Tai Hong Kingdom, the youngest of three princes. The eldest prince was Bing Gui, and the second prince was Liu Kang. The third prince, Zhong Xuan, also had a beautiful wife named Hong Lan from the Lee family, but their marriage was for the benefit of both families, and they didn't love each other, barely speaking to one another. Aside from memories of his family and a few close people, the previous Zhong Xuan's mind was mostly filled with memories of indulgence, he was a frequent guest at wine houses and brothels, but there were also empty and lonely gaps in his memory, gradually surfacing.
Zhong Xuan secretly rejoiced: "Now, I can truly live without worry. I will enjoy this life to make up for my past one. But at the same time, I must find good friends and companions."
Approaching a mirror, he looked at his reflection, and the body of this new life was truly stunning! As he thought about conquering all the beauties in the capital, he suddenly heard the sound of the door opening...