Chapter 1

In the midst of a chaotic darkness, as if thick clouds had obscured the sky, Lu Jing's eyes felt as if they were weighed down by a thousand-pound boulder, unable to open. His head throbbed faintly, and a series of disordered images flashed through his mind, forming a bizarre and surreal scene, leaving him unsure of where he was.

The sounds of "thud" and "thud" echoed in his ears, sometimes clear, sometimes muffled, continuously shaking his dazed consciousness. Lu Jing tried hard to grasp something, but to no avail.

Vivid memories kept flashing through his mind, like a fast-forwarding DVD, jumping forward and passing by in a flash. Although they were just quick flashes, Lu Jing could recognize the deeply etched events. It was as if he had watched the movie countless times, and just a glimpse of a scene would instantly bring the entire plot to the forefront of his memory.

The tapestry of memories seemed like a surging river, rapidly unfolding. Familiar yet distant figures kept appearing in the scenes. He laughed heartily, cried out in pain, drank alone under the moon, and remained proud in his downfall...

Lu Jing was deeply immersed in various inexplicable emotions, unable to control himself.

"Lu Jing, Lu Jing, wake up!" Accompanied by a soft call, Lu Jing's right hand was shaken repeatedly.

In a daze, Lu Jing heard someone calling his name, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't hear the rest clearly.

Lu Jing's mind was still muddled. He clearly remembered that the poison in the wine had already taken effect, and even if a great immortal came, he could not be saved. "Where am I?"

"Lu Jing, Lu Jing..." The voice seemed to have risen in volume, and then Lu Jing felt someone shaking his body.

These few shakes finally helped Lu Jing regain some clarity. He struggled to open his eyes and took in the situation in front of him.

A beautiful woman with delicate features and fair skin stood there, her face stern, holding a deep red ruler in her right hand and tapping it rhythmically on the stack of thick books on her desk.

The ruler striking the thick books made a "thud! thud!" sound, indicating that the woman was extremely dissatisfied and angry.

Lu Jing looked at her rhythmically moving ruler in a daze, his lips twitching, and he managed to utter a dry voice, "Where am I?"

"Where?" The woman laughed in anger and shouted, "Stand up! You're sleeping like a log. Even a pig wouldn't sleep as soundly as you!"

"Ha-ha—" A burst of laughter erupted from behind. Lu Jing turned his head and saw a row of young faces. Books, desks, students—he was clearly in a classroom.

Lu Jing's mind struggled to function. He wobbled to his feet and looked at the small, chubby boy sitting 30 centimeters to his right, who had been shaking him.

Shao Qiulan, seeing Lu Jing stand up, was still seething with anger. How dare a student sleep in her class right under her nose! It was outrageous!

"Stand there and listen to the lesson. Clear your head and reflect on your behavior!" Shao Qiulan placed the ruler on the lectern, walked back to the center of the podium, put the half-used white chalk into the chalk box, and picked up a new piece to continue her lecture.

She glanced disdainfully at Lu Jing, who was standing by the wall. He didn't look bad, but his grades were the worst in the class. His tall figure standing in the first row was very conspicuous and distracting.

Someone in the classroom laughed with schadenfreude.

Lu Jing, as if he hadn't heard, carefully examined his desk mate. He vaguely recognized the chubby boy as his high school desk mate, Yu Zhicheng.

"High school—?" Lu Jing was startled. He turned to look at the beautiful woman on the podium, who was lecturing and writing on the blackboard, occasionally glancing at him. Her black, crystal-clear eyes were like dazzling gems, her nose was straight, and she wore a delicate pair of glasses. Her face was a perfect oval, and her small red lips formed a beautiful and exquisite face. The memory in his mind immediately surfaced—this beautiful woman was his class teacher in the second year of high school, Shao Qiulan.

Lu Jing's mind was struck by a thunderbolt, as if a summer thunderclap had sounded in his head, leaving him dazed and disoriented.

Who was he? Lu Ershao! He had clearly drunk the lethal poison, so how could he suddenly be in the classroom where he had studied in the second year of high school?

Throughout his third year of high school, Lu Jing had not been in the same school. At the end of his second year, he had moved with his older brother to Jiangzhou, the capital of Chubei Province, and completed his high school education at Jiangzhou No. 1 Normal University High School. In his first and second years, he had attended the key high school in the capital, Dinghai No. 4 High School.

His first-year class teacher was an old man who retired due to illness in his second year, and Shao Qiulan, who had just graduated from the Capital Normal University a year earlier, took over as the class teacher.

After recognizing Shao Qiulan, Lu Jing immediately realized that this was the time when he was in his second year of high school. It must have been 1996, but how could this be?

Lu Jing's mind felt as if it were stuffed with cotton, weak and unable to think. He closed his eyes, and fragments of memories, like colorful petals, fluttered in his mind like a rain of flowers.

Returning to 1996, from 35 years old to 18, this reality was hard to believe. It was as if he had suddenly been hit by a billion-dollar lottery prize, shocking, joyful, excited, and then deeply skeptical, fearing it was all a dream.

Shao Qiulan, seeing Lu Jing close his eyes and doze off while standing, was furious, her beautiful eyes glaring. But thinking of Lu Jing's notorious reputation at Dinghai No. 4 High School, she swallowed her reprimand.

Fortunately, Lu Jing's position by the wall did not block the view of the students behind him, so Shao Qiulan ignored him and turned to continue deriving the math formulas on the blackboard.

The classroom, which had been briefly restless, gradually quieted down, leaving only Shao Qiulan's clear and pleasant voice explaining the dry and complex math formulas.

A pair of bright, clear eyes from the back of the classroom secretly watched Lu Jing, who was standing with his eyes closed, filled with concern.

Listening to Shao Qiulan's slightly Wu-dialect-accented, pleasant, and gentle voice, Lu Jing opened his eyes and looked at the stack of high school study materials on the yellowish wooden desk, which were about a foot high. He pinched the Hegu point on his left hand with his right hand.

It hurt, a lot. The real pain made the doubts in Lu Jing's mind gradually fade away until they disappeared.

Everything was real. He had drunk the poison but unexpectedly returned to the age of 18.

Lu Jing barely suppressed the wild joy in his heart, organizing his chaotic thoughts and recalling what he had done on the last day of his life.

He had called Tang Yurao, instructing her to fly directly from Hong Kong to Australia without any stops. His older brother's involvement was not deep, so those people would not go to great lengths to find her trouble abroad. The child in her womb would be the only bloodline of the Lu family. After enjoying a segment of "The Yellow River Cantata" in the villa in the capital, he drank a cup of poison and ended his 35-year life.

All the glory and wealth he had possessed vanished like clouds after his older brother's political career ended. His personal accounts were frozen, his company was sealed, and he was placed under house arrest. One by one, old matters were exposed. His older brother's opponents would not give him any chance. He would be the final blow. But would he let them have their way?

With the position his grandfather held before his death, which was equivalent to a marquis in ancient times, the sons of nobles should die with dignity. His suicide would likely cause trouble for some people.

A sinister smile appeared on Lu Jing's lips, and he felt a strange sense of satisfaction.

"Ring—ring—" The sharp sound of the bell interrupted Lu Jing's wandering thoughts. Shao Qiulan placed the ruler on the lectern, closed her blue-covered lesson plan, and said, "Alright, that's it for this class. Class dismissed!"

"Stand up, teacher, goodbye!" The students stood up in unison, their chairs scraping the floor, and they called out in unison.

"Lu Jing, come out for a moment!" Shao Qiulan, holding her lesson plan, walked out of the classroom in her black high heels.

"Ha-ha" Low laughter erupted from the back of the classroom. "Bro, you're really something, sleeping in class right under the teacher's nose." The chubby boy, Yu Zhicheng, winked and nudged Lu Jing, who was sitting inside, to go out, and gave him a thumbs-up.

Lu Jing sat in the first row and fell asleep during the class teacher's lesson, truly sleeping right under her nose. However, how could Yu Zhicheng and the others know that the 18-year-old body now housed the soul of a 35-year-old man?

Lu Jing waved his hand indifferently, smiled, and walked confidently to the classroom door.

If life is a road filled with various crossroads, requiring constant choices without the possibility of turning back, then returning to the age of 18 was undoubtedly a reset of all important choices, allowing Lu Jing to make new choices with his memories.

The outcome of this life would be different.

He thought of his father, who, before his death, repeatedly instructed his older brother to take care of him, then held his mother's hand with deep affection, reciting the poems they had shared, and closed his eyes with regret. His mother, heartbroken and ill from grief, passed away a month later, not even reaching 56 years old.

He thought of his older brother, who had always been calm and composed, as if he could hold up the sky, but during their last meeting, his temples were gray, his face haggard, and he silently smoked, as if with a premonition, saying, "Xiao Jing, if you don't leave for abroad soon, I fear I will fail to fulfill Father's wishes. The road ahead will be up to you."

He thought of the moment at the airport when he parted ways with Yurao. As she walked through the security checkpoint, she turned back and gave him a sad, charming smile, then said with certainty, "Don't worry, Jing Shao, the child will be fine. The Lu family's bloodline will not be broken."

Thinking of these scenes, the blood in Lu Jing's chest burned again. Perhaps the heavens had given him a chance to be reborn, or perhaps the past was just a dream, like Zhuangzi dreaming of a butterfly. Regardless, since heaven had given him another chance, he would change his fate, fulfill his father's wishes, and ensure his parents' peaceful old age. He would help his older brother achieve his political aspirations and make his name resound throughout the land.

He would live a life worth living, with no regrets!