Though he was dirt poor, it wasn’t like he had absolutely nothing.
From what he remembered, his parents in this world had at least left him an apartment. Jiarenmeng, by the standards of his previous life, that was an apartment in Tokyo, Liben. He’d hit the jackpot, right?
But the old-fashioned apartment complex, the tiny entryway, and the cramped rooms did nothing to cheer Lin Cun'an up.
Still, the air didn’t reek of anything strange, and the place was reasonably tidy.
He flopped onto the bed and started thinking.
He’d transmigrated.
No romantic encounter—instead, he’d run into 『Siyuan Liangxiang』. In other words, he’d transmigrated into the world of an NTR bull-catcher doujin. At least the situation had been resolved fairly easily, and he’d kept his good name as a 『pure-love warrior』. A happy ending, a happy ending…
And before transmigrating, he’d already had a backstory that could rival Batman’s. After transmigrating, he was still all alone.
Not bad.
He looked at the only full-length mirror in the room.
Reflected in it was 『Kobayashi Muran』.
It was also the first time he’d seen what he looked like in this world.
He was slender, probably around 180 centimeters tall—a rare height for someone from Liben. His skin was very pale, but not the clear, lovely kind of pale. It was almost sickly. His hair was a mess, his eyes were lifeless, and there were faint dark circles beneath them. He looked… seriously sleep-deprived.
Who’d have thought this guy was a fellow cultivator of the late-night arts? He’d really stumbled onto a kindred spirit.
Lin Cun'an smiled.
Setting those 『condition』 issues aside, just going by his features and looks, he was surprisingly handsome—almost like a 『beautiful boy at the end of the century』.
What a shame.
Lin Cun'an rubbed his chin in disappointment.
“In my previous life, I was the Wu Yanzu of Jiangnan and the Peng Yuyan of Hangzhou.”
【Shameless. Beep. The system hereby condemns the host’s statement.】A voice like one of the Misaka Sisters from 『A Certain Scientific Railgun』 rang out in Lin Cun'an’s mind.
“Oh, there you are.”
【The host doesn’t seem surprised at all. Beep. The system is very dissatisfied that the host didn’t scream, 『Aaaah! What are you?!』】
“You already called yourself a 『system』. Why would I need to go 『Aaaaaah』? But if you wanna hear it, fine. 『Aaaaaah.』”
【The host sounds as listless as a married man saying, 『I’m tired today. Let’s do it next time.』 Beep. The system questions the host’s physical condition.】
“Cut the nonsense. What model of system are you?” Lin Cun'an asked. Since transmigration had become a fact, having a system seemed reasonable enough.
【I’m the Chinese-made Model 2060 system. Pure love. You can call me 『Ai-chan』. Beep. The system feels it can change its self-reference to 『Ai-chan』 and begins to give it a try… Ai-chan has left the pod and feels great.】
“Artificially stupid?”
【The host is the stupid one! The Creator personally tested Ai-chan’s intelligence when making her. Ai-chan’s IQ would have to drop by eighty points before she could barely be called 『clever』. Beep. Ai-chan proudly thrusts out her 36D chest.】
“And who’s the Creator?”
【An almighty being. A shining example. Ai-chan’s kami. Not someone the likes of you could ever compare to. Beep. Ai-chan warns the host not to pry too much.】
“So your job is to—”
Lin Cun'an tried silently thinking the word 『interface』, like people did in web novels. A screen really did pop up in front of him.
It was so simple it looked like… a 『TXT』 file!?
And on it, in small Song type, were two lines of text.
The first line read, 『Skills Acquired』.
The second line read, 『Swordsmanship Mastery EX』 and 『Bullshitting LV.2』.
The description for 『Swordsmanship Mastery』 was: “The art of looking cool is always with me.”
The description for 『Bullshitting』 was: “Whether it’s believable doesn’t matter. What matters is whether other people believe it.”
Short, clear, and to the point.
Actually, before Lin Cun'an passed out, he’d heard the system speak. And it seemed the 『swordsmanship skill』 was the reward he’d received for completing the mission involving Siyuan Liangxiang.
The main reason he hadn’t asked whether a system existed was that he wanted to see if it would stay hidden forever as long as he didn’t ask. There were plenty of useless systems around these days. Sure enough, the one that had latched onto him was just as lame.
Lame.
And not just lame…
This damn interface wasn’t even as good as a PowerPoint. It looked crude at a glance, and practically radiated an aura of 『weakness』.
“So, aren’t you going to give me missions or something?”
【Ai-chan’s all about 『freedom』. The host has to trigger every mission for himself. Beep. Clever Ai-chan patiently guides her silly host.】
“Then if I don’t go out of my way to trigger a mission, you’re completely useless?”
【In theory, yes. But Ai-chan’s got plenty of powerful functions, and the rewards she offers are extremely generous. Ai-chan doesn’t think the host can resist the temptation. Beep. Ai-chan tugs her collar down a little, showing off the cleavage between her 36D breasts to entice him.】
“Honestly, 『Martial Arts Mastery EX』 or 『Study Position Mastery EX』 might actually be useful. What the hell am I supposed to do with 『Swordsmanship Mastery EX』? I’ve never even touched a sword in my life. And swordsmanship mastery—what good is that? Go have an intense fencing match? With who?”
『Bullshitting』 was even more ridiculous. Didn’t it still all depend on his acting?
【A-Ai-chan only prepares the rewards. What you get when you open the box depends on the host’s luck. S-so getting 『Swordsmanship Mastery EX』 just means the host is unlucky. Beep. Ai-chan pouts, deeply dissatisfied with the host trying to pin the blame on her.】
“All right, I’m going to sleep. Don’t come out unless I call you!” Lin Cun'an yawned. He didn’t know if he’d actually suffered heatstroke earlier, but his body was pretty tired.
【Hmph. The host really doesn’t understand anything. The 『other worlds』 of today aren’t what they used to be. Without a system by your side, you won’t get anywhere… Hey, hey, don’t actually fall asleep! Beep. Ai-chan tries to tug the host’s hair, then realizes she has no hands and becomes utterly dejected.】
“...Zzz.” He was fast asleep.
【Y-you fiend! One day, I’ll make you understand how amazing Ai-chan is! Beep. Ai-chan vows to make the host understand the pain of 『being cruel to your love interest feels great for a while, but chasing them afterward lands you in the crematorium』!!!】
“…………”
The system and host weren’t communicating through conversation.
It was through thoughts—and the host could control those thoughts. In other words, all he had to do was think about sleeping, and he could drown out the system’s yelling.
That was exactly what Lin Cun'an was doing now.
Still, a high school student, huh.
Half asleep, Lin Cun'an mused that in his previous life he’d already been a middle-aged guy. Maybe going back to his high school years would let him enjoy his youth for once…
…
As if!
The next day, in a classroom at White Hill High School, Lin Cun'an flipped through books he’d borrowed from the library. They were things like 『A General History of China』.
Chinese by birth, Chinese at heart! I’ve gotta find a way back and see it for myself!!
