Chapter 1

"32 days until the college entrance exam."

A girl in a white school uniform walked to the blackboard, carefully erased the number 32, and changed it to 31 before returning to her seat. The calendar next to the blackboard read 'May 6, 2013' and 'March 28, Year 13 of Chongding,' once again proving that he lived in a world that was both familiar and strange.

Li Chencan looked at this familiar yet unfamiliar scene with a complex expression.

In April, as the weather in Tianfu slowly warmed and the flowers bloomed, the evening light streamed into the classroom, and the dust from erasing the blackboard danced in the sunset. Outside the window, the green grass was vibrant, and the leaves rustled in the breeze, breaking the sunlight into pieces.

He had traveled from Earth in 2013 to a parallel world that was still Earth but had developed very differently. On that Earth, Li Chencan was in his thirties, barely managing to become a director of a small-budget film, always busy, without a wife, and living a life of constant struggle.

Here, he was still called Li Chencan, and he still looked the same, but he was 18 years old. His strong heart beat vigorously in his chest, his hair was thick, and he walked with strength. After a month of effort to sort out his memories, the memories of the two worlds merged, and Li Chencan finally understood everything.

In this timeline, Li Chencan's parents were the same as those in his original Earth's timeline, but they were his parents when he was 18 years old...

His country was called the Chinese Empire, and it was inhabited by the same race as in the other timeline, but this was a different timeline. In 1900, the ambitious Taizu rose up in the North China Plain, marched straight to Yanjing, expelled the Tartars, and established the Chinese Empire, unifying the north and south, reforming the bureaucracy, and rising to become a major power after World War I. After World War II, it became one of the three major powers alongside America and the Soviet Union, with a vast territory of 1.5 million square kilometers. It began a constitutional monarchy, and its national strength grew even stronger. In the 1990s, the Soviet Union disintegrated, and the Chinese Empire, as a neighboring country, seized countless legacies, making its national strength even stronger, and it became one of the two remaining superpowers in the world alongside America.

Travelling to another world and returning to his 18-year-old self, Li Chencan was filled with gratitude to heaven. In his previous life, at 18, he failed to get into college, read a few more books, watched a few more art films, and considered himself a literary youth, mixing in film crews, struggling step by step to become a director. At his poorest, he went out to sing for money and read books in his spare time... So, in the new world, Li Chencan was most involved in entertainment, film, and culture.

In this timeline, the Chinese Empire was powerful, dividing the world with America, with Chinese Empire ships constantly shuttling across the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and almost all of the Middle East, South Asia, and Southeast Asia under its influence. Unfortunately, the vast empire was mismatched in the cultural industry, mainly due to the doubts about Chinese traditional culture that arose in the early 19th century because of the country's weakness and poverty. A hundred years later, Chinese culture had almost been interrupted, and although the empire had been inclusive and broad-minded for decades, it was still lagging behind America. Although it was on par with America in national strength, it was a step behind in culture, especially in books, songs, and the film industry...

What surprised Li Chencan the most was that many classic movies and songs from his original timeline were not found here.

He casually picked up a book, a high school geography textbook, and in this timeline, Li Chencan still chose the humanities.

The geography was similar to his memory, and the most terrifying and most surprising thing for Li Chencan was that after several months of memory integration, he could remember any detail from his previous life, no matter how minor. For example, a book he had only skimmed through in his previous life, he could now remember every punctuation mark clearly. Moreover, in this world, he could remember every word and sentence of a book with just a quick glance.

He only spent two days to remember every detail of three years of textbooks.

"Do you feel prepared for the final monthly exam in two days?" A pleasant voice, like the gentle spring rain, soft and tender, came from beside him. Li Chencan turned his head and saw a beautiful face. Although she was wearing a school uniform, it could not hide her full figure, and her long hair reached her waist, adding to her beauty.

This was his desk partner in this world, Ye Huanxue, the class beauty.

In his previous life, there was also a Ye Huanxue, the dream girl of many boys in the class. In this life, Ye Huanxue looked the same and was still the girl with the perfect combination of beauty and academic excellence in the class.

"Alright." Li Chencan nodded but did not intend to say more. His soul was already in his thirties, and although he could not remain completely unperturbed by everything, he was at least not as impulsive as a young person.

Seeing Li Chencan's somewhat indifferent expression, Ye Huanxue frowned slightly.

Li Chencan was originally a top student in the school, consistently ranking in the top five in the humanities class. However, in the past six months leading up to the college entrance exam, he suddenly became dull and slow, and his grades plummeted, making him the worst student in the class. Now, with the final monthly exam approaching, she was concerned about Li Chencan, but he seemed to take it lightly.

"I was just thinking about something. Thanks for your concern." Li Chencan suddenly looked at Ye Huanxue, and in her retinas, a clear smile appeared, along with a pair of unique, deep, and beautiful eyes, like the starry sky. Ye Huanxue had been very concerned about Li Chencan for the past few months, but he had always been in a daze, incomprehensible. Today, he seemed to have fully recovered.

"Li Chencan, will you participate in tonight's graduation song party?" Ye Huanxue was about to say something when a voice came from behind.

In front of their desks stood a tall, handsome boy in a high school uniform. He crossed his arms, his eyes filled with a bit of provocation and disdain, and his lips curled up slightly.

"Good show."

"Li Chencan is going to be tragic again." The students around them laughed maliciously.

Ye Huanxue also looked at Li Dong with a hint of anger.

Li Dong was one of the top students in the class, handsome, and his father worked in the Education Bureau. Although the citizens of the empire were not afraid of authority, having a certain status still gave him a bit of a halo, and many girls liked him. However, Li Dong had always been interested in Ye Huanxue, who was a girl who strongly disliked early romance in high school. Li Dong's unrequited love for Ye Huanxue made him angry at her desk partner, who was close to her.

Moreover, Li Chencan was also a talented student, excelling in both academics and singing. In the school's various evening parties, Li Chencan and Li Dong were known as the 'Two Lis,' usually the most anticipated singers.

However, in the past few months, Li Chencan's academic performance had plummeted, and he had lost his singing talent. His once rich and clear voice had become like two pieces of wood rubbing together, rough and tasteless.

Li Dong had always disliked Li Chencan, and now, with this opportunity, he often suppressed him, especially at tonight's graduation party. He wanted to overshadow Li Chencan and end the 'Two Lis' reputation in the school.

Ye Huanxue knew Li Dong's plan and felt that things between classmates should not be taken to such extremes, so she said, "Li Dong, Li Chencan's voice has been uncomfortable for the past few months. Don't make him go."

Hearing Ye Huanxue defend Li Chencan, Li Dong felt very uncomfortable. He just looked at Li Chencan, indicating that this was a matter between the two of them. "What do you think? Are you going?"

"Sure, I'll go." When Li Chencan said this, the students in the classroom became even more malicious—

"This guy really doesn't know his situation. He's going to humiliate himself tonight."

"His voice now... and he still wants to sing?"

"Are you sure...?" A flash of joy appeared in Li Dong's eyes. He thought Li Chencan would be a coward, but he actually dared to step forward... If that was the case, tonight, he would use the song he bought to thoroughly humiliate him!

"I'll see you tonight!" Seeing Li Chencan nod, Li Dong left calmly.

After Li Dong left, Ye Huanxue looked at Li Chencan, feeling that he was being too impulsive, but she was also worried that telling him not to go would hurt his current self-esteem. After hesitating for a while, she softly asked, "Li Chencan, are you confident?"

"Yes." Li Chencan suddenly exuded a confidence that Ye Huanxue couldn't understand, and this confidence made her pause, adding a bit of faith in him.

Ye Huanxue's concern touched Li Chencan. Rongcheng No.1 High School had a tradition of pairing boys and girls, with poor students sitting next to good students to encourage each other's progress. Li Chencan's grades had plummeted in the past few months, and Ye Huanxue, who had been one of the top two students in the humanities, perhaps out of a sense of empathy, had volunteered to sit next to him.

Thinking about the past few months of her constant concern, Li Chencan felt a warm feeling in his heart and smiled at Ye Huanxue. "I'm very confident. Tonight, I'll sing a song I wrote for you."

"..." In this smile, Ye Huanxue was almost convinced and slowly lowered her head.

"I'll go first. See you tonight." Li Chencan picked up a notebook and walked out of the classroom. His 1.80-meter height and well-proportioned figure made him look good even in a school uniform, and Ye Huanxue almost believed him.

Li Chencan went to the library, found a quiet corner, and took out a black hardcover notebook, writing swiftly.

He opened a new page and wrote:

Emperor Hongwu. Chapter 24. Emperor Jianwen.

And the second page of the book, after opening the cover, read: "The Ming Dynasty: Those Years."

This was the first book he wanted to write in this world, and he was now writing the 24th chapter of the first part, "Emperor Hongwu." After a few days of hard work, the book was almost finished.