BTMDY Chapter 1

“Boom—”

 

The rain came down in torrents, and the heavy rumble of thunder mixed with the sound of raindrops crashing against the ground.

 

Funerals are always stark, either black or white, with an atmosphere that’s solemn and quiet.

 

As a prominent figure in the business world, many came to pay their respects at Lin Shen’s funeral. After registering their attendance, each person was handed a fresh white rose.

 

Every rose petal was covered in sparkling dewdrops, its fragrant aroma enough to tell that it had been freshly picked.

 

In the center of it all, the crystal-clear casket was surrounded by roses, layered three deep inside and out. The person lying in the casket seemed to rest in an almost absurdly romantic sea of pure white flowers.

 

Amidst the barely audible sobs, whispers started to drift through the air.

 

“It’s such a shame, so young… and such a huge company. Who knows what’ll happen to it now…”

 

“Didn’t Mr. Lin have a son?”

 

“Tch, that son of his… he’s not up for the task.”

 

“This family’s a tough one to handle, with his father gone, the support is gone too. The young master’s life is pretty much over now.”

 

At the center of attention at the funeral stood Lin Wangye. Dressed in a jet-black suit with a blooming white rose pinned to his chest, he slowly and mechanically bowed and thanked the people who came to pay their respects.

 

As the only son, Lin Wangye rarely interacted with most of his relatives.

 

The only one he was somewhat familiar with was his aunt, Lin Qianqian.

 

But for some reason, possibly due to her star status, she hadn’t come to the funeral.

 

As the son, Lin Wangye didn’t even know how to conduct this ceremony.

 

The elders in the family surely knew, but no one bothered to teach him.

 

Not sure how long he had been standing there, Lin Wangye finally remembered something. He lowered his head and pulled out his phone from his pocket, opening the top message thread.

 

The last message was still him asking when the other person would arrive.

 

Even he, the son, hadn’t been told about his father’s death until the day before the funeral. The person, far abroad, surely hadn’t received the news any earlier.

 

It would take at least 20 hours to fly back from Segville.

 

The only person who could offer him any emotional support at this moment was destined to be absent.

 

Lin Wangye stood quietly, his face looking pale, his eyes clouded, no longer holding the spark they once did. At 1.8 meters tall, he now seemed small, fragile, and utterly alone, as though the moment he lost his footing, the unfamiliar world around him would swallow him whole.

 

He stared down at his phone for a long time, not even noticing when the screen went dark.

 

And this small gesture seemed to be just what some people had been waiting for.

 

The sobs hadn’t stopped since the funeral began, and suddenly, a lavishly dressed woman, clearly of high status, rushed up, snatched Lin Wangye’s phone, and smashed it on the ground. “Your father’s gone, and you still have the nerve to play with your phone? You didn’t even know he’d been sick for so long, you good-for-nothing… ungrateful wretch!”

 

The scene was like a thunderclap, shattering the stillness of the funeral, drawing everyone’s attention.

 

Lin Wangye felt the emptiness in his hands. The shrill screech of the woman’s sudden outburst hurt his ears, followed by a ringing hum. He stood there frozen, staring at the woman, whose face he could only vaguely recognize—she seemed to be his cousin’s wife.

 

As she shouted and cursed, a crowd quickly gathered around, trying to intervene.

 

Lin Wangye’s blood ran cold. Though he couldn’t quite make out all her words, he could easily hear the whispers from those standing on the outer edges, pointing and gossiping about him.

 

He couldn’t refute the accusations of being a ‘wretch’ or a ‘good-for-nothing.’

 

It was true—he didn’t know how to do anything except spend money.

 

He hadn’t even known that his father had been suffering from multiple serious illnesses, and that he had eventually died from one of them.

 

Though Lin Shen had kept his illness a secret from everyone, making his death seem sudden and shocking, others would always find a way to rationalize it.

 

As his son, Lin Wangye could never escape the blame.

 

The stares of those around him, filled with judgment and complexity, made him feel inexplicably ashamed, as if he were undergoing some kind of torture. He stood there numbly, playing the lead role in this farce, his mind becoming more and more dazed.

 

He didn’t know how much time had passed before a tall figure stepped in front of him, abruptly dropping a heavy “Enough of this,” and the scene immediately fell silent.

 

Lin Wangye didn’t look up, but from the voice, he immediately recognized who it was.

 

Lu Chengxuan, the head of the Lu family.

 

This man was a competitor to the Lin family, managing similar business ventures in the commercial world. Lin Shen had spent most of his life in a constant battle of wits with him.

 

Being in the same circle, Lu Chengxuan had to be there, at least for appearances, out of both courtesy and duty.

 

How many people at this funeral were secretly scheming, waiting to observe the future of the Lin family? The predictions about the fate of the Lin family’s empire were far from optimistic.

 

If anyone could step up and take control of the situation, it was clearly Lu Chengxuan.

 

But now, Lin Wangye didn’t care about anything else.

 

He felt exhausted, like there was a string inside him, stretched taut and constantly pulled by external forces, wishing desperately to snap it all at once.

 

His protective instincts had taken over, numbing his awareness. By the time he came to his senses, he was no longer in his suit, but sitting in the car, the funeral long over.

 

He was alone, and everyone who used to fawn over him now avoided him like the plague.

 

Lin Wangye wanted to escape this place.

 

Even though he had no idea where he could go.

 

The place he ended up at was the suburban airport. Lin Wangye didn’t think about anything, clearing his mind and driving aimlessly.

 

At a traffic light where few cars passed, he was sure he only stepped on the gas after the light turned green. But as he reached the center of the intersection, the shrill honk of a horn suddenly pierced the air.

 

He instinctively turned his head to the left, his pupils narrowing sharply.

 

A tanker truck was barreling toward him at high speed. In the split second he turned, it was already so close—only a few meters away—and the blinding headlights flashed before his eyes like the white light reflecting off the scythe of death.

 

The next moment, the world spun violently. Lin Wangye’s vision went black, and he lost consciousness on the spot.

 

---

 

The first thing Lin Wangye felt was cold.

 

The biting wind howled in his ears, slicing through his exposed skin like a knife. He mustered every bit of strength to open his eyes, only to find his body curled up, frozen to the point where he could barely feel anything.

 

It seemed like dusk, and night would soon fall.

 

His fragmented memories hadn’t fully returned, but Lin Wangye clearly remembered that just before losing consciousness, he had been in a terrible car crash.

 

He strained to lift his arm, every joint stiff and painful.

 

He blew a few puffs of warm breath into his hand before realizing he was in a dark alley, next to a pile of trash emitting a faint, rancid smell.

 

The young master had never been this close to garbage in his life, and the sight made him gag instinctively. Leaning against the wall, he struggled to stand, stumbling as he crawled out of the alley.

 

The familiar specialty shops of Ningchang City reminded him that he was indeed in the city he had grown up in, but there was an odd, undeniable sense of alienation.

 

The density of the tall buildings was unlike the Ningchang he knew, and the cars on the street were all outdated models, none of them new. The shops played old songs that had been popular years ago, and the promotional posters hanging in front of them were from a long time ago.

 

Lin Wangye stood dazed on the side of the street, taking a long time before randomly grabbing a passerby.

 

“Excuse me, is this Ningchang?”

 

The rough, hoarse voice startled the passerby, who hesitated, eyeing Lin Wangye for a moment before replying with a complicated expression, “Of course.”

 

Lin Wangye’s mind raced quickly, a sudden realization hitting him. He continued asking.

 

“What year is it now?”

 

The passerby frowned at him, seemingly thinking he was strange, quickly giving the year before turning and walking away.

 

Lin Wangye widened his eyes, taking in everything around him. He pinched his thigh hard, confirming that he could feel pain, and his heart began to race uncontrollably.

 

He hadn’t died!

 

And he had gone back 20 years!?

 

Lin Wangye had watched plenty of sci-fi movies, so he quickly realized that things like time-folding might actually be real. But in those stories, the protagonist always travels back to their past self. But there was no version of him in this year.

 

He wouldn’t even be born for another two years.

 

With that thought, Lin Wangye walked up to a car parked on the side of the road, brushing off the snow from the window and glancing at his reflection in the glass.

 

It was definitely him, just… a little dirty.

 

His youthful body allowed him to move easily after a few steps, loosening up his stiff limbs and letting blood flow again.

 

But the return of his senses quickly made him aware of how hungry he was.

 

Instinctively, he checked his pockets—nothing.

 

In this era, scanning payments weren’t widespread, and most transactions still required cash.

 

Not to mention, his phone had been smashed at the funeral, so even if he could scan something, he couldn’t.

 

Speaking of the funeral…

 

Though he hadn’t shed a tear at the time, now a wave of intense emotion surged within him.

 

The overwhelming grief nearly brought tears to his eyes, forcing his nose to sting.

 

Everyone has some form of self-protection mechanism. Maybe it’s the release of adrenaline when physical pain occurs, making you unable to feel it, or maybe it’s the brain’s stress response when emotional trauma strikes, stopping you from dwelling on the sadness.

 

But all of that was just a buffer.

 

The pain that was bound to come would still arrive once the protective mechanism faded.

 

Lin Wangye suddenly felt an urge to break down and cry in the street, but the sadness only lasted a few seconds before it vanished as quickly as it came.

 

No, wait. It’s twenty years ago right now.

 

My dad isn’t dead yet!

 

I can go find him—maybe he crossed over too!

 

Few things in life are as tragic and joyful as this.

 

Lin Wangye quickly calculated his father Lin Shen’s age this year, realizing he was seventeen, a year younger than himself.

 

Public schools in China are divided by household registration, and since his dad had mentioned they both attended the same high school, Lin Wangye had a clear target. He fumbled through directions, asking around, and quickly found Ningchang City’s Seventh High School.

 

The Seventh High School of twenty years ago looked nothing like the one he was familiar with.

 

The school gate was just a regular iron gate with a painted metal sign showing the school’s name—nothing as grand and polished as it would later become. Three teaching buildings stood right at the entrance, clearly marked as freshman, sophomore, and senior year. Due to the expensive land in the city center, the school’s sports field was tiny.

 

By the time Lin Wangye would go to school here in twenty years, the campus had grown to six teaching buildings, including added science buildings, libraries, and administrative offices.

 

Lin Wangye had heard the story of how it happened.

 

The three new buildings had been donated by Lu Chengxuan after he graduated.

 

Not sure if it was an intentional show of rivalry, but his dad had followed suit by pouring massive funds into expanding the sports field.

 

In the limited construction time, the two construction teams often quarreled, suspecting the other side of stealing cement and sand, nearly coming to blows.

 

After the summer break, the students of the Seventh High School returned to their shiny new school.

 

The school leaders, for reasons Lin Wangye couldn’t understand, decided to show their gratitude for the two benefactors by digging a pond in front of the office building and stocking it with koi. In the middle, they placed a stone sculpture of a globe, naming it—

 

The Lu-Lin Pond.

 

Lin Wangye didn’t know if his dad was unlucky or not, but he definitely wasn’t happy about it.

 

Why was Lu Chengxuan’s name in front?

 

Since it was his father who funded the new sports field, Lin Wangye, when he attended the school, had enjoyed preferential treatment from both teachers and administrators, becoming the true ‘big shot’ of the school. His followers and admirers could circle the entire campus five times if they walked together.

 

But now, thinking of those past glories, Lin Wangye shivered from the cold and hunger, feeling no different from a homeless child.

 

I have to find my dad quickly.

 

Otherwise, even if I don’t starve to death, I’ll freeze to death on the streets tonight.

 

The Lin family isn’t a typical noble or prestigious family—they only became wealthy during my grandfather’s generation. But my dad is a second-generation rich kid, so he must have some recognition at school. It shouldn’t be too hard to find where he is.

 

Unfortunately, the timing was all wrong.

 

Classes had just ended for the afternoon, and it was the free time between lessons before evening study sessions. A lot of students had already left the school.

 

Lin Wangye asked around, most of the students recognized Lin Shen’s name, but none of them knew where he was.

 

After wandering for a while, Lin Wangye finally ended up at the school cafeteria.

 

Most students disliked the cafeteria food, which was always the same, and would go out to eat, but there were still many who stayed.

 

Lin Wangye had a feeling his dad wouldn’t be the type to eat at the cafeteria, but still, he held onto a glimmer of hope and went in.

 

It wasn’t too crowded, and everything was in plain view.

 

After a few laps around, he still didn’t find his dad.

 

As a key high school, the food here couldn’t be that bad, and in his starving state, even the simplest meal looked tempting.

 

Lin Wangye was famished. He randomly picked a seat to warm up and watched as a picky eater threw the green onions and vegetables off their plate. He swallowed in desperation.

 

If worse came to worst, he could eat some leftover food?

 

Hell no!

 

He’d never been this pathetic in two lifetimes!

 

Just as he was sinking into despair, his peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of someone not far away, and his eyes locked on the person with a jolt.

 

Lu Chengxuan!?

 

Anyone with eyes would find it hard to miss this person.

 

Even in a simple gray hoodie and jeans, he exuded an aristocratic aura that stood out starkly against everything around him. His dazzling golden hair was impossible to ignore, and his facial features were perfectly proportioned, with a nose bridge that stood out well beyond the average Asian’s, his eyes a deep, dark black that was a hallmark of his Asian heritage.

 

A naturally handsome, mixed-race face that radiated exceptional genes.

 

Though he hadn’t fully matured yet, compared to the Lu Chengxuan Lin Wangye knew, he still carried a youthful innocence.

 

Yet the cold, distant aura of nobility, as if pushing people away a thousand miles, was almost an exact replica.

 

No wonder so many girls in the cafeteria were secretly looking at him but didn’t dare to sit at his table.

 

Lin Wangye actually felt a bit hesitant too, but the person in front of him was the first familiar face he had encountered in this world, and he had no other choice.

 

After organizing his thoughts, Lin Wangye mustered up the courage to sit down opposite Lu Chengxuan and cleared his throat.

 

“Hello, do you know Lin Shen?”

 

Upon hearing the name, Lu Chengxuan, who had been eating quietly with his head lowered, lifted his eyes and stared at Lin Wangye for a few seconds.

 

The boy in front of him had naturally rounded lower eyelids, and his eyes glimmered with tiny flecks of light. Objectively speaking, he was very handsome.

 

Especially those innocent, hopeful eyes, which reminded one of a small animal that wags its tail.

 

But it was hard for Lu Chengxuan to feel any affection for the boy’s beauty, which lacked any aggression.

 

Familiar, good-looking, asking about Lin Shen.

 

These keywords always seemed to lead to some story that Lu Chengxuan didn’t want to know.

 

Lu Chengxuan responded indifferently, “I know him.”

 

Lin Wangye was overjoyed. “Do you know where he is? I need to find him.”

 

Lu Chengxuan countered, “Why do you need to find him?”

 

Under Lu Chengxuan’s unblinking stare, Lin Wangye nervously swallowed.

 

“It’s urgent… Not convenient to say.”

 

After the words left his mouth, Lin Wangye sensed that Lu Chengxuan wasn’t satisfied with the answer, as his eyebrows visibly furrowed.

 

But after a moment, Lu Chengxuan lowered his gaze again and spoke.

 

“There’s an internet cafe near the school.”

 

Finally, Lin Wangye’s face brightened with hope, and he was about to stand up when suddenly, his stomach growled loudly.

 

Lu Chengxuan clearly heard it. He lifted his eyes once more, giving Lin Wangye a long, scrutinizing look.

 

Lin Wangye awkwardly avoided his gaze, his eyes involuntarily drifting toward the delicate bacon and egg sandwich on Lu Chengxuan’s side. Unconsciously, he swallowed.

 

For a moment, it felt like a cinematic close-up, focusing on the expressions of the two protagonists, then steadying on the sandwich placed on the table.

 

After a few seconds of silence, Lu Chengxuan, almost as if surrendering, pushed the sandwich toward him.

 

Lin Wangye grabbed the sandwich and stuffed it into his mouth, turning around and running without looking back.

 

“Thanks, Uncle!”

 

“…”

 

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Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters.  (๑>ᴗ<๑)