"Lin Yu, you finally picked up! Did you pull another all-nighter at the internet café?"
"Listen, Aunt Qimeng noticed you were gone this morning and panicked."
"If you don't come back soon, she's going to call the police!"
The pure, lively voice on the phone sent a shiver down Lin Yu's spine.
He glanced at the caller ID:
[Chi Qingchi—the younger twin from class]
Then at the time displayed on the café computer:
[July 8, 2014, 06:58]
Holy crap!
Did I just… rebirth?
Last night, 31-year-old Lin Yu had just finished overtime work, finally enjoying his first weekend off in three months.
He'd booked a "pure college girl" at the Red Romance club, popped some dubious pills, and partied all night…
Only to wake up reborn in 2014—back to his 20-year-old self.
July 8… summer break between sophomore and junior year…
Aunt Qimeng…
Right!
During this time, Aunt Qimeng was still alive. He could see her again!
"Lin Yu? Hey, are you listening?"
"Can you grab me an ice cream cone on your way back?"
"Hello?"
"..."
Lin Yu had no time to entertain Chi Qingchi's chatter. He hung up abruptly, shoved himself up from the chair—
Only to stagger, his vision swimming. He barely caught himself before collapsing back into the seat.
His hands braced against the keyboard, empty beer cans clattering to the floor.
"Did I drink all these? Why so much last night?"
Freshly reborn, his mind was still untangling the threads of memory.
No time to dwell. Lin Yu rushed to pay his tab and bolted from the internet café.
——
Outside.
The air hit him—unfamiliar yet achingly nostalgic.
This neighborhood was where he and Aunt Qimeng had lived together for years.
Chen Qimeng.
35 years old. A neighbor from Lin Yu's hometown.
Since childhood, she and Lin Yu's mother had been as close as sisters.
Naturally, Lin Yu called her "Auntie"—though given their age gap, "Big Sis" wouldn't have been inappropriate.
After Lin Yu's parents died during his senior year of high school…
Divorced and living alone, Chen Qimeng took him into her home in Pingchuan City, supporting him through school.
Chen Qimeng's own story in this second-tier city was one of failed marriage—lasting barely two years.
To this day, Lin Yu didn't know why it ended.
Every time he asked, she'd deflect, avoiding any mention of that chapter.
The marriage left her with little…
Except a three-story house near Pingchuan University.
A small villa in an ordinary second-tier city neighborhood—
Sounded decent on paper. Respectable, even.
Reality?
Crushing mortgage payments.
To avoid foreclosure, she rented out every bedroom across all three floors.
Fastidious by nature and deeply wary of men post-divorce…
The tenants were exclusively women.
Aside from Lin Yu and Chen Qimeng, eight young girls shared the house.
Chi Qingchi, the caller, was one of them.
Even with all those rent checks in a budget-friendly city…
Chen Qimeng still had to supplement the mortgage with earnings from her flower shop.
Between daily expenses, Lin Yu's tuition, and living costs, savings were nonexistent.
If not for sheer desperation, she'd never have trusted that so-called "business partner"—
Or signed the contract that doomed her.
It was this contract that led to the flower shop going bankrupt not long after, forcing the three-story building to be sold off to repay debts.
Chen Qimeng herself couldn't bear the blow and ended her life by suicide...
Lin Yu's "safe haven" from his youth collapsed completely along with it.
From then on, the rented apartment without family could no longer be called a home...
Thinking of this,
Lin Yu instinctively quickened his pace.
The internet café he frequented was just a street away from home.
The round trip took no more than ten minutes.
After entering Xuefu Residential Area, the first row of three-story villas with unobstructed sunlight was where he and Chen Qimeng lived.
Standing at the doorstep, Lin Yu's emotions were indescribable.
A mix of nervousness and excitement.
He feared everything might just be a dream.
Passing through the small courtyard and opening the sturdy apartment door downstairs, a pleasant fragrance filled his senses.
"This scent... I'm back!"
His heart racing, Lin Yu stepped inside.
[Ding!]
[System successfully activated!]
Lin Yu's mind reeled: "!!!"
Holy crap, a cheat!
This time, he was sure it wasn't a dream.
Having read so many wish-fulfillment novels in his past life,
a system was a must-have for any transmigrator.
With a system, life from here on out would undoubtedly be much smoother.
Immediately after, the system's voice continued broadcasting:
[Welcome back, host, to the Joyous Sect...]
Lin Yu: "???"
He looked around the apartment.
No different from how he remembered it.
Had he entered the wrong way?
Lin Yu stepped back outside and re-entered, this time leading with his right foot.
Sure enough, the system's prompt changed.
[Ding!]
[Welcome back, host, to the Joyous Sect...]
[Host: Lin Yu]
[Age: 20]
[Sect Status: Outer Sect Probationary Disciple]
[Number of Dao Companions (Soul Cultivation/Body Cultivation): 1/0]
[Sect Contribution: -50 (Penalty for breaking sect rules by staying out all night drinking)]
[Spirit Stones: 5]
[Current Missions: 3]
[Host's Physical Condition:]
[Hangover (Agility -20%)]
[Acting Sect Master's Concern (All Attributes +2%)]
[...]
[Friendly Reminder:]
[You have unfinished missions. Check details for rewards including sect contribution, spirit stones, items, status effects, etc.]
[Sect contribution can only be used for draws.]
[Spirit stones can be used for system mall purchases or exchanged for real-world currency.]
Lin Yu stood frozen: "..."
What the hell was this system?
This was clearly the apartment he'd lived in for years, yet it insisted he was in the Joyous Sect?
And even assigned him the title of [Outer Sect Probationary Disciple].
If not the sect master, shouldn't he at least be a hall master or something?
Was the system broken?
"Little Yu, you're back."
"Where did you go so early? I thought you were still asleep and didn't want to disturb you."
"Perfect timing—I made congee and scallion pancakes. Come have breakfast."
From the open kitchen area to the right front of the first-floor living room,
a woman in a light blue spaghetti-strap nightgown and an apron leaned out, holding a wooden spoon for serving congee.
Her figure was curvaceous, and even without makeup, her beauty was undeniable.
The morning light streaming through the windows made her fair skin glow even more.
But what stood out most were her bright, large eyes—
sparkling with... a hint of naive innocence.
Back when Lin Yu used to see Chen Qimeng, he hadn't noticed it so clearly.
But now, reborn, he realized:
her face practically screamed "easy to fool" to any man.
Suppressing the emotions of their reunion,
Lin Yu changed into slippers and walked in, saying:
"Auntie Qimeng, you made red bean congee today, didn't you?"
Chen Qimeng's eyes lit up as she smiled warmly:
"Little Yu, your nose is that sharp? You could smell it?"
Lin Yu chuckled without answering and walked over to her.
Under her bewildered gaze, he reached out and touched her cheek.
"Little Yu?"
Chen Qimeng froze, momentarily at a loss.
The next moment,
Lin Yu brushed off a half-cooked red bean that had been smeared on her face.