NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 1: Life Like Summer Flowers
9 PM.
Qinzhou Art Academy.
He lay on the grass next to the school’s playground, hands behind his head, gazing at the stars—
The starry sky above seemed no different from Earth, but even though he couldn't find the North Star, he knew this wasn’t Earth but a parallel world called Blue Star.
“Qinzhou Art Academy, sophomore composition major Lin Yuan.”
This was his new identity after crossing over.
He inherited everything from the original owner, especially the attractive appearance, but he couldn't remember his previous life’s name or why he crossed over. He only remembered that in his previous life, he seemed to have been a very good-looking and famous person?
So he could naturally consider himself as:
“Lin Yuan.”
After skimming through the original owner's memories.
Lin Yuan discovered, as expected, that the history of this world was completely different from his previous life.
History took a divergent path from the Qin Dynasty. Fusu succeeded Ying Zheng, leading the Qin cavalry to sweep across the world, establishing Eastern dominance until it was replaced a hundred years ago by the more powerful Xia Kingdom.
A unified global world.
The world is divided into eight continents.
Lin Yuan’s location is called Qinzhou.
On this planet, which has completely bid farewell to war, art has become a common pursuit for people. The cultural atmosphere here is extremely rich, and every artistic field—film, music, painting, literature, calligraphy—is unprecedentedly prosperous.
“Utopia.”
Lin Yuan described it this way.
Especially for those in the arts.
But even in a utopian ideal state, misfortunes still occur. Lin Yuan inherited the misfortune of the original owner—
He had a terminal illness.
Yes, the term frequently seen in TV dramas, always accompanied by a melodramatic plot:
“Terminal illness.”
Lin Yuan discovered in his memories that he had inherited a body with a short life expectancy. The doctors had long since declared the original owner’s situation as terminal:
“This child won’t live past twenty-five.”
This was the unbearable pain for the original owner, leading him to choose to commit suicide with sleeping pills, which is why Lin Yuan became the new owner of this body. The nineteen-year-old original owner gave up his remaining life—
Was it due to a fear of death?
So he chose death?
Lin Yuan initially thought this was the reason for the original owner’s suicide until he delved deeper into the original owner’s memories and found that the situation was more complex:
The original owner came from a single-parent family.
His father passed away early.
His mother raised him alone.
The original owner was frail and sickly from a young age, frequently fainting from fevers. To treat his illnesses, he was hospitalized almost every few days, with huge expenses borne solely by his mother.
Some of the money was borrowed.
Some was earned by his mother.
To raise him, his mother endured countless hardships, and not to mention, the original owner had an older sister and a younger sister—
The older and younger sisters were very understanding.
Despite the original owner’s condition, they never had a good life.
To earn money for the family, the older sister gave up the chance to pursue a graduate degree.
To reduce the family burden, the younger sister started wearing the older sister’s old clothes from a young age.
And the final straw was—
The original owner lost the chance to pursue his dreams.
He was originally a vocal music student, with a natural, powerful singing voice, undisputedly the best in the profession. His dream was to become a singer.
But in his freshman year, his illness flared up again, and the direct consequence was:
The original owner could no longer sing.
His voice was damaged, unable to withstand intense vocal training, let alone his proud high notes—
Helpless, he transferred to the less proficient composition department.
And in his sophomore year, chose to commit suicide.
Not just because his dream was shattered, but also because he didn’t want to drag his family down. Once life starts counting down, every second is torment.
Digesting these memories.
Lin Yuan, who had crossed over, completely understood the original owner’s decision. He couldn’t stand on a moral high ground to condemn the original owner for being too weak.
He could only say…
Everyone has their own misfortunes, and some people's misfortunes are simply more unbearable than others.
This is akin to the Buddhist saying “life is suffering.”
But Lin Yuan wouldn’t choose suicide.
Although the body he inherited still had a hard time living past twenty-five, at least there were a few years left to struggle… maybe?
Compose some songs.
Write some books.
Promote culture.
Earn some money for his family.
Yes, Lin Yuan could hardly change his terminal illness, but in the remaining time, he might be able to change his family’s fate.
This thought was urgent.
Lin Yuan couldn’t distinguish whether it was the original owner’s will or his own desire.
Perhaps what he inherited was not only the original owner’s memories but also all their emotions, connected with that mysterious bloodline.
Lin Yuan didn’t resist this feeling.
But when Lin Yuan tried to recall some artistic works from his previous life, he was astonished to find that he couldn’t remember them clearly, as if the memory was separated by a layer.
So what’s the meaning of my crossing over?
Lin Yuan asked himself inwardly.
Then a response echoed in his mind, not quite an answer: [Blood test in progress… Gene test in progress… Iris test in progress… Compatibility 99.36%... Meets standard… Selecting database… Solar System Earth… System binding in progress…]
System?
Lin Yuan understood.
Although the details of the memory were blurry, he had some impression from reading system-type web novels in his previous life. He knew this was a golden finger and the meaning of his crossing over.
No more idle thoughts.
He quietly awaited the system installation.
Soon, the mechanical electrical sound echoed in his mind again: [Loading complete, Artistic System binding complete!]
“Hello.”
Lin Yuan greeted actively.
[Hello, host. Congratulations on binding the Artistic System. This system will do its best to help you become an artist on Blue Star. You can communicate with the system through brainwaves. The following will present your host information in text form.]
The mechanical voice paused.
A transparent subtitle appeared before Lin Yuan.
[Age: 19]
[Lifespan: 22]
[Painting: 45]
[Literature: 105]
[Music: 1038]
[Overall: 1188]
[Others: Awaiting activation]
[Note: Except for age and lifespan, the values in each category represent reputation, which is the recognition of the host in that field by the public and industry. In theory, there is no upper limit. The higher the reputation value, the more benefits the host will receive…]
Lifespan… 22?
The system seemed to sense Lin Yuan’s thoughts.
Another line of subtitles appeared: [Twenty-five is the theoretical maximum age the host can live. Considering the actual situation, the host will live up to 22 years old and will be completely paralyzed at 21.]
“Can it be cured?”
Lin Yuan asked inwardly.
System: [When the host’s reputation reaches the system’s standard, treatment will be provided. Through several rounds of treatment, recovery can be achieved. The system will notify the host when certain reputation values are reached…]
Meaning it can be cured.
Lin Yuan skillfully asked: “What about the newbie gift pack?”
Perhaps Lin Yuan was too familiar with this, and the system was a bit slow to respond, pausing for a few seconds before replying: [The newbie gift pack has been sent to the host’s backend warehouse.]
“Enter the warehouse.”
As soon as Lin Yuan’s words fell, a virtual interface similar to a game backpack appeared before him. In the first grid, there was a small audio file—
Song: “Life Like Summer Flowers.”
A newbie gift pack with just one song?
Can you remove the “big” word?
While Lin Yuan internally complained, he listened to the song. As soon as the prelude started, he confirmed it was the piece he remembered.
In fact.
The moment he opened this song, the memory of it from his previous life surged into his mind. Before this, he couldn’t recall the melody or lyrics of the song.
Lin Yuan figured out the system’s trick.
The so-called reputation value probably meant releasing songs and gaining sufficient recognition, and when this recognition reached a certain level, he could cure his illness and avoid an early death…
Quite a perfunctory setting.
The system seemed displeased with Lin Yuan’s complaint and promptly added a setting: [While gaining reputation, the host can also receive lottery opportunities with a high chance of winning.]
“Oh.”
Lin Yuan responded flatly.
He was considering the song.
His vocal cords were damaged, and although “Life Like Summer Flowers” didn’t have high vocal range requirements, according to medical advice, Lin Yuan should avoid singing.
But this didn’t trouble Lin Yuan.
He could have someone else sing it.
As long as it could gain reputation, even though singing would make someone more famous, Lin Yuan didn’t like fame and even disliked it somewhat—
He didn’t know why.
Perhaps influenced by his previous life?
Although Lin Yuan couldn’t recall the memories of his previous life, he had a vague sense that he should have been quite accomplished back then.
This song was also quite interesting.
At least it suited the original owner’s situation.
Thinking of this, Lin Yuan suddenly became curious: “System, since I crossed into this world, did my previous self disappear from Earth?”
System: [Life Swap]
The system had figured out Lin Yuan’s pattern. He had a strong understanding and acceptance ability, preferring simple and direct answers, so it began to be concise.
“Life swap, huh.”
Lin Yuan’s eyes flickered slightly, then he revealed a gentle smile. The feeling of
someone replacing him in life wasn’t too bad.
After all, he was single.
Although many things were unclear, Lin Yuan could roughly outline the blurred contours of his previous life’s memories.
Not good, but not terrible either.
Actually, even the worst life is better than one on a countdown. May the stranger have a system instead of another life like summer flowers—
At least, we still exist.