Chapter 2

Once again, Zhou Xiao woke up from a coma.

This time, he thoroughly became the Zhou Xiao of 2014.

Looking at the calendar hanging on the wall, Zhou Xiao felt quite dejected.

May 7, 2000.

Zhou Xiao, who came from 2014, had traveled back in time for 14 years.

And his age, which was at the tail end of 20, had now become the rainy season of 17.

Unfortunately, in this rainy season, there was only a hollow stomach, no flower-like girls.

In Zhou Xiao's mind, there was not only the memory of the Japanese Zhou Xiao but also another set of things.

And this matter had to be traced back to the previous life of the Chinese Zhou Xiao.

The so-called half-fledged entertainment industry worker, Zhou Xiao, actually could not write lyrics, compose music, sing, or act. His job mainly involved the initial editing and preliminary music arrangement for various TV dramas, TV stations, and other institutions' promotional videos. In this field, he was neither the original initiator nor the final decision-maker of the videos. His work was between these two roles. Normally, he did the most tedious and boring part of the job, such as finding and copying materials, selecting and initially editing shots, etc. This work required low technical skills but took a considerable amount of time, making it very dull and boring. Therefore, Zhou Xiao's monthly salary was barely enough to keep him alive.

Apart from this, Zhou Xiao had another identity, which, if he hadn't traveled to Japan, would have been insignificant. He was a fervent fan of AKB48 and other idols... the administrator and webmaster of a website dedicated to the Japanese entertainment industry. In his rented room, there were two computers: one for personal use and the other as the website's server.

Since the website's traffic wasn't very high, the server computer didn't have any impressive specifications. The only noteworthy feature was the hard drive, with a total capacity of 8TB, storing all kinds of videos and materials. Concerts of AKB48 and Morning Musume, videos and materials of Johnny's artists like Arashi and KAT-TUN, popular Japanese dramas over the years, hundreds of concerts by Japanese artists, thousands of variety shows, and nearly ten thousand songs... one could say that these 8TB of data were an encyclopedia of the Japanese entertainment industry over the years.

On that night in early 2014, Zhou Xiao, as usual, was maintaining the website's normal operation in front of the computer. After working for several hours, he stretched, but he didn't expect that this movement would accidentally knock over the cup of water beside him.

Computers are most afraid of water. In a panic, Zhou Xiao even tried to stop the water from spilling out of the cup, but he didn't realize that the water, the computer, and his hand were connected at a certain moment.

In a short instant, electricity coursed through his body several times. Finally, Zhou Xiao fell down, along with the computer that was smoking.

When he woke up, he was in Japan, and Zhou Xiao discovered that, besides the memory of the Japanese boy, there was something else in his mind. This something was precisely the 8TB of website data!

Zhou Xiao was very clear that this was a treasure worth a fortune, especially in Japan. These things might help Zhou Xiao earn everything he wanted. Not only that, these things might even help him achieve his dreams!

It was only 2000, and it would be at least five and a half years before AKB was born. Flipping through the vast resources in his mind, Zhou Xiao felt that the name "Father of AKB" might not be placed on Akimoto Yasushi's head!

And those goddesses he had once yearned for... Ma Youyou, Uncle You, even Nagasaki Masami, Hori Kitami... just thinking about them made Zhou Xiao feel like his moral integrity was about to run out of credit!

However, those things were uncertain in the distant future. What Zhou Xiao could be sure of now was only one thing: he was really hungry...

What Zhou Xiao didn't know was that in the history where he hadn't traveled, the 2000 Zhou Xiao, after leaving his parents, stubbornly refused to ask them for even a single cent. In this situation, Zhou Xiao, with ten thousand yuan, of which five thousand yuan had to be used for rent each month, ultimately died alone and stubbornly in the rental room.

Climbing off the tatami, the room was only about ten square meters in size. The small kitchen in the corner was covered in dust, indicating that the owner was completely incapable of cooking. Zhou Xiao rummaged through the rice bag, which only had a dozen grains of rice left. As for vegetables or meat, there was none. The only thing with any flavor was a small bag of salt.

"Really... I can't even afford a meal," Zhou Xiao couldn't help but think.

Finding nothing to eat in the kitchen, Zhou Xiao had to shift his attention to himself. Clothes, pants, and every corner of his memory, Zhou Xiao searched all possible places and found... thirty yuan... However, this search wasn't entirely fruitless. Outside the room's window, Zhou Xiao found a girl's... lace panties.

Stretching the small piece of fabric, Zhou Xiao's face was quite strange. His residence was on the first floor of a two-story building, so these panties likely belonged to a girl from upstairs.

In 2000 China, thirty yuan could last a week if saved carefully, but in 2000 Japan, if this money was in yen, it would only be a few cents in China.

After all, if you went out to a restaurant, the cheapest bowl of ramen would cost 300 yen.

"This... I'm really going to starve to death," Zhou Xiao couldn't help but exclaim.

Ask his parents for money? After seeing this situation, Zhou Xiao's first reaction was this. However, it seemed that the previous soul of this body hadn't completely dissipated, and Zhou Xiao felt a deep resistance from the depths of his soul.

"But, if I don't get money, I really will starve to death..." Zhou Xiao's rationality was also resisting the deep-seated resistance.

"Ring ring ring..." Just as Zhou Xiao was struggling, a phone call interrupted his thoughts.

Struggling to find the phone in the corner, Zhou Xiao saw "Mr. Inoue" written on the black and white screen.

"Inoue?" Zhou Xiao quickly recalled the image of a middle-aged man with a slight bald spot.

This slightly balding middle-aged man was the manager of a small theater called Daikawa Entertainment in Tokyo. The theater and the room Zhou Xiao was renting were both located in the Nakano district of Tokyo. In the land of gold that is Tokyo, Nakano was considered a good location, which was why the small house, built about fifty years ago, could charge 50,000 yen in rent per month.

"Mr. Inoue, hello," Zhou Xiao pressed the answer button and said in Japanese. The Japanese Zhou Xiao naturally knew Japanese, and the Chinese Zhou Xiao also knew Japanese, given his involvement with a Japan-related website. However, the Chinese Zhou Xiao's spoken Japanese wasn't very good. Now, with the two sets of memories merged, this was no longer an issue.

"Zhou Xiao, don't forget the performance this afternoon. I've reserved 20 minutes for you. Prepare a few more jokes," the middle-aged manager Inoue said.

"Ah? But... Oh, no, it's fine, I... I know, I'll get ready and come over, thank you," Zhou Xiao initially wanted to refuse when he heard about the performance in the afternoon, because the Japanese Zhou Xiao in his memory had to perform a solo manzai act, which in China would be equivalent to a solo crosstalk performance. Standing on stage, telling jokes, and entertaining the audience was something the Chinese Zhou Xiao, as a shut-in, was least skilled at. How could he possibly be good at this?

However, after hesitating for a moment, why didn't he refuse? Because that hesitation made him think about the situation after the performance. After all, the newly started comedian Zhou Xiao almost couldn't find any work, and the job at this small theater was almost the biggest job he looked forward to every day. Why? Because you get paid for performing. A 20-minute performance would earn Zhou Xiao 5000 yen! Don't underestimate this 5000 yen. If you could earn 5000 yen every day, that would be 150,000 yen a month! The average salary for a Japanese office worker is about 300,000 yen per month, but this amount isn't just for the worker's personal use. Remember, most Japanese women are full-time housewives. 300,000 yen can support an entire family. For a single person like Zhou Xiao, who only needs to feed himself, 150,000 yen is enough to live comfortably for a whole month!