Chapter One: Awakening from a Dream, I Realize I Am a Guest

  He had actually woken up early, but was unwilling to open his eyes. He tried hard to make himself fall asleep again, as if he would wake up to a new world after a good night's sleep. He calmed down and started counting sheep, over 8,000 of them, but the more he counted, the more awake he became. He wished this was just a dream, and that he could wake up in his original body again, even though this one was younger, stronger, and more powerful. Xue Xiang pinched his left bicep with his right hand, clearly feeling the bulging muscles filled with strength. Although he hadn't stood up to measure himself, his toes could reach the edge of the bed, which was a large 1.8 meters wide and 2 meters long bed.

  The pale white window was wide open, with only a thin curtain hanging down to block the cold air. Through the gap in the curtain, he gazed out at the bright moon outside, and the faint scent of jasmine flowers wafted in from afar. The sturdy hardwood bed pressed against his back, and on the pure white wall hung a ticking clock that walked steadily along. The sensory information clearly told him that this was not a dream. The moonlight outside the window shone through the thin curtain onto the clock face, and the hour hand had moved from its original 9 to 12. More than three hours of contemplation, from his initial fear, anxiety, and despair to his current calmness. Despite the strangeness, Xue Xiang could not help but accept the fact that he had been reborn.

  Five hours ago, Xue was sitting in front of the computer desk in his office and playing chess with someone else in a QQ chess room. The game was intense and exciting, and at one point, he accidentally knocked over a cup of water next to his laptop, spilling it all over the place. Worried that the water would seep into the keyboard, he quickly used his palm to wipe away the spill, but in his haste, some of the water flowed along the desk surface and into a multi-port socket embedded in the table.

  As a result, Xue met with a tragic end!

  It's a coincidence that the owner of this body is also named Xue Xiang. The soul that broke in didn't disperse the original owner's memories, and his memories were completely received by Xue Xiang. To be precise, they merged! Xue Xiang could clearly feel the original owner's reluctance to leave this world, his sorrow and melancholy, which included his love for life, his indignation towards the world, his guilt towards his younger siblings... a thousand kinds of sorrows, ten thousand memories tangled with Xue Xiang's invading soul, gradually merging together, until they could no longer be distinguished from each other. The young man's life, from childhood to adulthood, unfolded like a scroll in Xue Xiang's mind, crystal clear.

  Xue Xiang was reborn on March 25, 1976. The location was the same as his previous life, in Beijing. However, the original 33-year-old "boss" of a district Party History Office in Beijing had become a 16-year-old unemployed young man.

  After fully integrating the memories of the original host, Xue Xiang felt a chill run down his spine and suddenly cursed Mary next door.

  Xue Xiang never thought that at the age of sixteen, he would be the head of the household. His parents had passed away two years ago, and although he still had an uncle and a great-uncle, they were either far away or in prison, so how could they take care of them? The Xue family currently has four members: himself, his second sister Xue Wan, third brother Xue Yi, and fourth sister Xue Shi. The names of the four siblings are quite interesting, taken from an ancient poem, as their father loved Li Shangyin, and the siblings' names came from his "Climbing the Tower" - "towards evening, not suitable".

  As soon as he thought of his current situation, Xue Xiang couldn't sleep anymore. He urgently wanted to go see the relatives of this life. In his previous life, Xue Xiang was also an orphan who lost his parents at a young age and grew up in an orphanage, never having experienced familial love. Now, it filled his chest. He turned on the desk lamp by his bed, picked up the cotton military uniform, and felt its thickness and softness. This was a washed and faded yellow military uniform with a removed shoulder badge, leaving two holes. He knew this was top-notch equipment for this era, simple yet stylish, without showing off.

  He put on his clothes, slipped on a pair of black calf leather shoes, and walked in front of the mirror to carefully examine his appearance. His thick hair was cut very short, standing upright, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, fair skin, and a clear face with a hard outline, paired with an upturned mouth and a straight, high nose. Rascal, stubborn kid, Xue Xiang sighed in his heart. Obviously, this face and body made him satisfied, no, it was a pleasant surprise! In his previous life, Xue Xiang had been sitting in the office for years and had developed a big belly, which was nothing like this body that was tall and straight, with tight skin and strong bones. Silently gazing at himself in the mirror, he gritted his teeth in his heart: This is the worst era, but isn't it also the best era for someone as foresighted as myself? Since heaven has brought me to this world, I will make sure that the name Xue Xiang resounds throughout this land!