Chapter 1

"Winner of the Best Screenplay at the 30th Awards is..."

As the words faded, a cheer erupted in front of Zhang Tan. A middle-aged man with a small braid stood up excitedly, waving his fists in the air and giving Zhang Tan a provocative glance.

Zhang Tan's lips moved silently, cursing under his breath, "mmp." His right hand subconsciously touched the pocket of his suit, where a small piece of paper was placed. It contained the acceptance speech he had prepared for an hour last night, which he never expected to use.

As the saying goes, things don't go wrong more than three times, but Zhang Tan, as a hot favorite for the Golden Rooster Awards, had been a runner-up for three consecutive years.

He thought this time it would finally be his, but the result was not what he had hoped for. The mixed applause and surprise around him showed that he wasn't the only one who was shocked.

Zhang Tan did not attend the evening banquet. He drank himself into a stupor alone in a bar and ended up passed out on the street. The next day, he woke up from a deep sleep, feeling as if dozens of needles were piercing his head. The pain came in waves, and he couldn't help but hold his head and bang it a few times.

He opened his eyes and heard the noise around him. Above him, a blue ceiling fan was whirring.

Turning his head, he saw a group of young men and women having breakfast, and he himself was lying on a table.

He immediately sat up, and people around him, while eating breakfast, looked at him and whispered among themselves.

"Where am I?"

He remembered drinking at the bar last night, then leaving, and then... then, he walked under the spotlight, received the Golden Rooster Award from the hands of the Best Actress on stage, and her soft and smooth hands made his heart flutter...

Zhang Tan shook his head. There was no spotlight above him, only a whirring ceiling fan that seemed to be about to fall and wake him up. There was no sexy Best Actress, and his thighs were surprisingly smooth... Luckily, they didn't slide any further.

"This is the North Peace Film Academy," said a short-haired girl nearby.

Zhang Tan was stunned. Academy? How did he end up at the academy? Wait, Beijing? No, North Peace??

He reached into his pocket, but found nothing. He realized he wasn't wearing the suit he had worn for the Golden Rooster Awards, so naturally, there was no speech in his pocket.

...

The sun was high and bright. Zhang Tan stepped out of the canteen, and the scene before him was red and bustling. A red five-star flag was fluttering on the flagpole, and the bulletin board in front of him was filled with job advertisements, the most prominent of which read:

North Peace Bank Campus Recruitment on June 25 at the First Venue!

North Peace Bank!

It was really North Peace! Zhang Tan felt dizzy and still couldn't believe it.

Students passing by kept looking at him. Following their gazes, he reached behind him and pulled off a piece of paper.

"Scumbag, go to hell!"

It was written in neat handwriting.

Zhang Tan: -_---

Who stuck it there? ? ! !

"Spit, scumbag!"

A pretty girl appeared in his mind, glaring at him and spitting on the ground. She had cute dimples, but her eyes were full of disgust.

"Spit! Scumbag!"

Another one, this time spitting on his face.

...

After N times, Zhang Tan had to shake his head to clear his mind of the girls who had come to curse him.

The scumbag is already dead, don't hurt the innocent.

He sat down on a bench by the lake, his mind racing, trying to sort things out.

He had traveled through time.

Amazing.

Not far away, a group of graduating students were taking photos. They were wearing black graduation gowns, laughing and joking, their voices carried by the wind.

"That's probably the Sea King~~"

Zhang Tan looked over, and to his surprise, these people looked familiar. One of them had just appeared in his mind, spitting at him fiercely!

He remembered, these were his classmates!

Today was their graduation day! A big day in their lives!

Everyone was busy taking graduation photos, while he sat by the lake, smelling bad and staring blankly?

Zhang Tan instinctively got up to join them but stopped, looking down at himself. He was wearing a shirt and jeans, which made him stand out from the crowd.

He searched his memory and confirmed that he didn't know about the graduation photos, and no one had notified him.

As he hesitated, the graduation photos were already over, and the scene erupted in cheers as graduation caps flew into the air.

"Zhang Tan, why are you so late?"

"He smells bad."

"The Sea King is late again, probably drinking."

"Haha, it's the Sea King."

...

Some teased, some joked, some gloated...

It seemed that the original owner of this body was not well-liked. Zhang Tan forced a smile and turned to leave without hesitation.

He remembered more, like his poor relationships in class and his nickname, "Sea King."

This wasn't a compliment. It was given by a former classmate girlfriend and spread by her. The full name was "Sea King Scumbag." When you thought you had entered Zhang Tan's heart, you found yourself in his fish pond. When you thought Zhang Tan only had a fish pond, you found out he was a Sea King, ruling over seven oceans.

This was the Sea King Scumbag, with a vast heart that could accommodate a large harem.

"Spit! Scumbag."

Zhang Tan, understanding "himself," felt disdain.

The next day, in the dormitory.

Zhang Tan woke up, and his head finally stopped hurting. His phone, which had been beeping non-stop, showed 999+ unread messages in the class WeChat group. Everyone was saying goodbye and expressing their reluctance to part. The latest message was from his roommate, expressing his affection for his classmates.

Zhang Tan sat up in bed, looking around. The dormitory was empty, and no one had said goodbye to him.

He looked at the lively phone and the empty dormitory, shook his head, and realized he had been isolated.

He got up, brushed his teeth, and washed his face. Looking at himself in the mirror, he estimated his height to be over 180cm, with a slim build, pale and handsome face, and long hair tied into a ponytail. His name was also Zhang Tan, and he was 22 years old, a graduate of the North Peace Film Academy's directing department. During his four years at university, he was obsessed with dating, and his girlfriends changed frequently, earning him the nickname "Sea King."

As for why he had slept on a canteen table all night?

Not long ago, he had used his connections to join a TV drama production team as an assistant to the director. However, due to the interference of a former girlfriend, he was fired, and in anger and disappointment, he drank himself into a stupor, ending up passed out like this.

"Having a good face but being such a failure." Zhang Tan said to his reflection in the mirror, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a train ticket.

North Peace West - G7008 - Pudong

The time was 11:00 AM on June 28, which was today, and it was only an hour and a half away.

Zhang Tan's parents had died early, and he had grown up with his grandparents in Pudong. The two elderly people had passed away last year, leaving him an ancestral home and a school.

After being fired from the production team yesterday, he bought a ticket to go south in a fit of anger.

If Zhang Tan were still the old Zhang Tan, he would have thrown away the ticket, as the original Zhang Tan planned to establish himself in North Peace. But now, Zhang Tan didn't hesitate and decided to go south to Pudong.

This Pudong was equivalent to the Shanghai he knew. Before today, he had spent nearly 10 years there, getting used to the local customs and culture.

He packed his luggage, closed the windows and doors, went downstairs, and walked through the university campus where he had lived for four years, waving to the gate where people were coming and going, as if waving goodbye to the old Zhang Tan and his four years of reckless youth.

At 11:00 AM, he boarded the train, and at 4:30 PM, the train stopped at Pudong. Zhang Tan got off with the crowd, curiously looking around this world's Pudong, which was very similar to the Shanghai in his memory.

"Pudong Grand Theater has arrived~"

The subway announcement reminded him that he had unknowingly taken the route to the Pudong Grand Theater.

Yesterday, he had attended the 30th Golden Rooster Awards at the Pudong Grand Theater, and after a night's sleep, he found himself in North Peace, becoming another person.

He hesitated for a moment, got off the train, and walked out of the station to the Pudong Grand Theater. The night was gradually falling, and the area around the theater was very quiet. The square was lit up, and there were few pedestrians, mostly in small groups.

The bulletin board showed the theater's schedule for the next week:

"A Grand Symphony Concert: Me and My Country"

"A Large Comedy Play: Oh, Mom"

...

There was no information about the 30th Golden Rooster Awards, confirming that the two worlds had no connection.

"The times have changed, and the world has transformed."

Zhang Tan looked at the magnificent building, re-entered the subway station, and took Line 1, getting off at West Chang'an Street. He followed his memory to find the ancestral home left by his grandparents.

West Chang'an Street was a bustling area in Pudong, but there was a large urban village in the middle. Zhang Tan's ancestral home was located there.

The ancestral home covered over 500 square meters and was in disrepair, uninhabitable. After surveying it, Zhang Tan entered a barbershop. Inside, there was only one barber, wearing a yellowed white tank top, with a large belly, and old enough to be his grandfather.

The barber was shelling peas, preparing dinner. Seeing someone come in, he looked up, squinted, and laughed.

"Hey, finally, you're here."

He put down the peas, picked up a large pair of scissors, and cut off Zhang Tan's ponytail, leaving a short buzz cut.

Zhang Tan looked at himself in the mirror, and his entire style had changed, looking clean and fresh. Given that this Zhang Tan was not the old Zhang Tan, his aura was completely different, and even his classmates wouldn't be sure if he was the old Zhang Haiwang.

"How much?"

"I'll pay you! I've always hated your ponytail."

They were from the same village, and the barber knew Zhang Tan. He had always disliked seeing him with a ponytail and wanted to pay him to cut it off. Today, his wish was fulfilled.

Zhang Tan, laughing and crying, took 5 yuan and left, finding the Little Red Horse School.

This was another property left by his grandparents, also located in the urban village, right next to the bustling West Chang'an Street. On one side were the houses of the urban village, shaded by trees, and on the other side were high-rise buildings, shopping malls, and bars, a scene of prosperity and nightlife.

The night was deep, and a crescent moon hung in the sky. The Little Red Horse School was brightly lit.

Zhang Tan looked at his watch; it was 6:30 PM. Normal schools had already dismissed, but this was a night school, operating only in the evening.

A pink electric scooter was parked at the school gate. The rider was a man in his 30s, wearing a yellow delivery uniform. He picked up a 3-4 year old girl from the front of the scooter, put a small backpack on her, and told her to go play with the other children in the school.

The little girl didn't want to play with other children; she just wanted her father and refused to let go of his pants.

The man had to get off the scooter and squat in front of the little girl, speaking gently.

"Daddy has to go to work. Little Qian, go play with the other children, okay? We promised to do this..."

The little girl wiped her tears and reluctantly entered the school.

PS: A new story is here, and it needs your care. Please recommend and collect it.