Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Rebirth and Awakening

“Gurgle…”

Lu Qing woke to the sound of his stomach growling early in the morning.

Feeling the hunger pangs in his stomach, he sighed and touched his belly.

“There’s no point crying. Where can I get food now?”

Glancing at the shabby, bare-as-nails house he found himself in, Lu Qing gave a wry smile.

Others had time-traveled, but he couldn’t even fill his stomach. What a mess.

He’d been lying in bed for two days.

Two days ago, Lu Qing opened his eyes to find himself in this inexplicable world.

He was dressed in rags, emaciated, and even his body had changed, transforming into a teenage boy.

It took Lu Qing some time to figure out his situation.

He had traveled through time.

He had been reborn into the body of a young man whose parents had just passed away. After selling his property to bury them, he was too weak and overwhelmed by grief to survive the cold night.

Perhaps, for the original owner, this was a relief.

This was Lu Qing’s first thought after receiving the memories.

It’s incredibly difficult for a teenager to survive in this world.

Death isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

It’s just…

“Brother, you’re awake!”

Lu Qing’s thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a cry of surprise.

He turned to see a little girl, about five or six years old, holding a gray object in her hands, standing at the doorway, staring at him with a look of surprise.

The little girl scurried over to Lu Qing, “Brother, are you better?”

“Yes, I’m better. Xiaoyan, don’t worry anymore,” Lu Qing said with a smile.

“That’s great, brother, you’re finally better.” Hearing Lu Qing’s words, the little girl’s eyes suddenly reddened, tears streaming down her face. “These past two days, your face has been so red and hot, and you kept saying you were cold. I didn’t know what to do. No matter how I called you, you didn’t respond. I thought you were going to abandon Xiaoyan like Daddy and Mommy!”

Seeing the little girl sobbing, Lu Qing’s heart ached.

He had been trying to reconcile his memories for the past two days, and he seemed to be in a coma. Although he could barely sense the outside world, his consciousness was not always clear.

Except for waking up briefly a few times, he soon fell into a coma again.

He vaguely heard the little girl crying, but he couldn’t respond.

Lu Qing reached out and rubbed the little girl’s dry and yellow hair: “Brother is sorry, brother promises you that I will never get sick again and make Xiaoyan worry, okay?”

“Okay.” Xiaoyan burst into laughter and stretched out her little hand, “Then let’s make a pinky promise.”

Lu Qing stretched out his little finger and made a pinky promise with Xiaoyan.

“Pink pinky promise, don’t change for a hundred years, whoever changes will be a puppy!”

After making the pinky promise, Xiaoyan immediately became happy.

In her little head, since they had made a pinky promise, things would not change again, and her brother would never get sick again.

“Xiaoyan, what are you holding in your hand?”

At this time, Lu Qing noticed what the little girl was holding.

“It’s a steamed bun, brother, don’t you recognize it?” Xiaoyan held the gray thing in both hands, handed it to Lu Qing, and said happily, “This was given to me by Grandpa Zhang next door. Xiaoyan couldn’t bear to eat it alone, so she wanted to bring it back to eat with her brother. Unexpectedly, as soon as she came back, she saw that her brother had recovered from his illness.”

“Steamed bun?”

Lu Qing looked at the gray thing. It was really different from the steamed bun he had in mind.

But when he thought about being in another world, he felt relieved.

Even the world was different, so the steamed buns looked different, so what was so strange about that?

Thinking this, Lu Qing’s gaze rested on the gray bun for a few seconds, and suddenly, a line of words appeared.

[Multi-grain steamed buns: a blend of rice bran, wheat flour, and wild vegetables, with limited nutritional value.]

At the same time, the bun also emitted a layer of gray light.

What was this?

Lu Qing was stunned. He blinked and found that the line of words still appeared on the gray bun, not disappearing.

It seemed that it was not an illusion…

Before Lu Qing could continue to investigate, Xiaoyan held the gray bun and handed it to him.

“Brother, this is for you. You’ve just recovered from your illness. Grandpa Chen said that after a sick person recovers, they need to eat to nourish their body.”

Lu Qing smelled the food emanating from the gray bun, and the hunger that had been starving for a long time swept through him again.

He took it without any pretense, tore off half, and put it back in Xiaoyan’s hand.

“Yes, Xiaoyan, eat too.”

He hadn’t forgotten what the little girl had said earlier: someone gave her the steamed bun, and she wanted to come back and share it with him.

Unexpectedly, the little girl shook her head and stuffed the half back into Lu Qing’s hands. “Brother, eat it. Xiaoyan isn’t hungry. Brother just recovered. Eating more will help you get better faster.”

While Lu Qing said this, he clearly saw the little girl swallow unconsciously as she handed the bun back.

He glanced at the little girl’s dry, yellow hair, feeling a pang of pity, and returned the half to her hands.

“Brother just recovered. He can’t eat too much at once, or his stomach won’t be able to handle it. So, Xiaoyan, have this half.”

“Is that so?” the little girl asked, tilting her head, holding the half bun. “But that doesn’t seem to match what Grandpa Chen said.”

“People recovering from a serious illness shouldn’t overeat. If you don’t believe me, ask Grandpa Chen about this next time and see if that’s the case,” Lu Qing said.

“Okay,” the little girl nodded, seeming to understand.

Yet, they didn’t realize that a mere multi-grain steamed bun had nothing to do with overeating.

Lu Qing seized the opportunity to continue his deception: “Since brother can’t finish it, Xiaoyan, you can eat it with brother. Otherwise, the bun will get cold and won’t taste good.”

“Yes!” Xiaoyan nodded firmly. “Since brother can’t finish it, Xiaoyan will help him.”

And so, the siblings, each holding half the bun, devoured it with relish.

Soon, Lu Qing had finished his half, his empty stomach finally filled with something, and a warm feeling rose from his abdomen, making him feel more energetic.

To be fair, the bun didn’t taste particularly good, but it was substantial and quite large.

So, even with only half a bun, Lu Qing’s hunger was slightly less intense, no longer feeling dizzy and weak like before.

Seeing Xiaoyan still diligently munching on the bun, Lu Qing didn’t bother her and turned his attention to another matter.

He remembered the words that had appeared on the bun earlier.

After a moment’s thought, Lu Qing stood up, walked to the table, and picked up a bowl with a missing corner.

He placed it before his eyes, staring at it quietly.

Then, after a few seconds, he saw a grayish glow appear on the bowl, followed by a line of words.

[Broken Pottery Bowl: A broken pottery bowl, seemingly not very clean.]

As expected, a faint smile appeared on Lu Qing’s face.

(End of this chapter)