Reborn, my online friend is the real me.

"Beep beep beep!!!"

The QQ message notification pulled Su Yu out of his half-asleep state.

He opened his eyes. Above him was a white ceiling, and the chandelier was an old-fashioned trident style, with a thin layer of dust on the lampshade.

Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the blue curtains, drawing a bright line on the cement floor.

This is his home in Jingzhou, a three-bedroom, one-living room apartment decorated in the style of the 1990s. The living room has a leather sofa and a 29-inch Konka color TV on the TV cabinet.

Su Yu stared at the television for three seconds, confirming once again that he had indeed returned to 2004.

He rolled over in bed and reached for the mouse on the desk.

The Founder computer case was humming, and the QQ chat window was flashing on the 17-inch flat-screen monitor.

The profile picture is a cartoon girl, and the username is Anxi.

The message content popped up:

"I'm going to take a shower. I'm exhausted today, covered in sweat and mud, but it's finally over. Good luck on your college entrance exam, only one month left. Get some rest, goodnight."

Su Yu glanced at the time in the lower right corner of the computer screen: May 7, 2004, 11:03 PM.

He thought for a moment, then typed back: "Okay, little rich girl, goodnight."

The other person replied with a "Goodnight" emoji almost instantly, and then their profile picture turned gray.

Su Yu leaned back in his chair, put his hands behind his head, and stared blankly at the ceiling.

.......

This is already the third month since he traveled back in time.

Three months ago, he was a 41-year-old middle-aged man living in a 100-square-meter luxury house in Shenzhen. His bank account balance was less than six figures, and there were leftover takeout and half a bottle of Jiannanchun liquor on the table.

Then he died, suddenly. It could have been from overwork caused by depression; in any case, he closed his eyes and that was the end of his life.

When he opened his eyes again, he was lying in a hard sleeper berth on a green train, his head resting on a hard little pillow, and a school uniform jacket covering his body.

A middle-aged woman was sitting across from me, dozing off, and next to her was a student eating instant noodles.

It took him a full half hour to figure out what was going on: he had transmigrated, and it was a soul transmigration.

The original owner of this body was also named Su Yu, a native of Jingzhou, Hubei Province. He had just turned eighteen and was a senior high school student at Jingzhou Middle School.

This guy took the train to Beijing alone to take the entrance exams for the directing and cinematography departments of the Beijing Film Academy. After the exams, he was so excited on the train back that he suffered a sudden cardiac arrest and died.

Then, by a twist of fate, Su Yu from 2026 took over this body.

His first reaction wasn't shock or fear, but rather an absurd confusion; Beijing Film Academy? The Cinematography Department? This kid actually got into Beijing Film Academy?

In his previous life, he dropped out of school at the age of sixteen, and his highest level of education was junior high school. His only knowledge of the Beijing Film Academy was "that school that produces stars."

Now, he is a prospective art student and has likely already secured his place at the Beijing Film Academy.

After the train arrived at the station, he went home in a daze.

It's called a home, but it's actually a three-story self-built house on the edge of the ancient city of Jingzhou.

There was a loquat tree planted at the entrance, and a silver-gray pickup truck parked in the yard, which his father, Su Jian'an, used to haul materials to the construction site.

His mother, Li Xiulan, was cooking in the kitchen, and the smell of cooking oil wafted out, making him cough.

His dad was watching the news in the living room. When he saw him come in, he didn't even look up and said, "You're back? How did the exam go?"

Su Yu opened his mouth, but after a long pause, he managed to utter, "It's alright."

That was the first time he called this unfamiliar couple "Mom and Dad," and he did so awkwardly, as if he were reciting a textbook.

Fortunately, he inherited all of the original owner's memories. The family relationships, classmates' names, and details of life were all engraved in his mind, like an instruction manual that could be consulted at any time.

With the help of this instruction manual, he successfully passed through the first week after his time travel without revealing any flaws.

The only thing that made him feel uneasy was the online friend named "Anxi" on QQ.

The original owner's memories told him that he met this Anxi on the "Yifei Xianju" forum in August 2003.

The original owner was a super hater of Liu Yifei, posting on forums every day to criticize her, from her acting skills to her weight and gums, from her fashion sense to her way of speaking, there was nothing he wouldn't criticize.

The main reason is that the original owner especially liked Leng Qingqiu, that innocent and naive girl!

This Anxi, despite being a fan of Liu Yifei, never refutes his criticisms.

Sometimes, when the original owner of the body scolded her harshly, she would chime in, saying things like, "Yes, she really didn't act well in this scene," or "This outfit really doesn't suit her."

The two thus forged a deep friendship between haters and fans; the original owner had once suspected Anxi's identity, as this person frequently posted Liu Yifei's personal photos and stills from dramas, many of which could not be found online.

The original owner guessed that she was Liu Yifei's assistant or staff member, but Anxi never admitted it, only saying that she was a long-time fan.

The most outrageous thing is that the original owner of this body went to take the entrance exam for the Beijing Film Academy because she was encouraged by Anxi.

"Don't you like photography? The photography department at Beijing Film Academy is the best in the country, why don't you apply?"

"Why would a high school student like me apply to the Beijing Film Academy?"

"Why not give it a try? How will you know if you don't try? Besides, if you get into the Beijing Film Academy, you might see Liu Yifei at school. Wouldn't it be even more satisfying to roast her to her face?"

This logic is so absurd it's practically nonsensical, but the original owner of this body at eighteen years old was somehow persuaded.

He had always loved photography, and his family was financially supportive, so he signed up, prepared a portfolio, and went to Beijing alone.

Then there is no more then.

........

After Su Yu transmigrated, he originally planned to ignore An Qian.

After all, this netizen was added by the original owner, and has nothing to do with him.

He didn't have any special feelings for Liu Yifei. Although he had seen news about Liu Yifei in his previous life, he was neither a fan nor a hater, just a passerby.

But Anxi was really annoying. In the first few days after he transmigrated back, Anxi would send him more than a dozen messages almost every day, asking him how his exams went, when the results would be released, and whether he was confident of passing.

Su Yu initially gave him a few perfunctory replies, but later simply stopped replying altogether.

As a result, Anxi called directly. Su Yu stared at the number for three seconds, hesitated, and then answered.

A young woman's voice came from the other end of the line, not loud, with a slight Northeastern accent: "Su Yu? You finally answered the phone! I thought you had disappeared!"

Su Yu paused for two seconds, then said, "I've been a bit busy lately."

"What are you busy with? Studying for the college entrance exam? How's your studying going? But you passed the art exam, so your academic subjects shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Su Yu was taken aback for a moment, "It's alright, but suddenly I don't want to study at Beijing Film Academy anymore."

"Why? You've worked so hard for half a year, I gave you so much material, and you finally failed the exam?" Anxi's voice was clearly agitated. "You can't give up halfway through anything, didn't you say that?"

Su Yu held the phone, unsure of what to say for a moment.

"Feed? Su Yu? Are you still there?"

"exist."

"Why aren't you excited at all? You got into the cinematography department at Beijing Film Academy! They only admit twenty people nationwide! Do you know what that means?"

"Does that mean I'm going to Beijing?"

"Yeah! You're coming to Beijing!" Anxi's voice suddenly lowered, carrying an ambiguous meaning. "Then you'll be able to see Liu Yifei complain to her face."

Su Yu's heart skipped a beat.

A meeting? And with Liu Yifei no less? This plot is getting weirder and weirder.

.......

From that day on, Su Yu decided to stop giving An Qian the cold shoulder.

It wasn't for any other reason than that he discovered this girl was genuinely wealthy.

After the two resumed their daily chats, Anxi would send him messages almost every day, sometimes text messages, sometimes voice messages, and occasionally a few photos of Liu Yifei.

Su Yu initially joined in with a few sarcastic remarks, but later realized that it was really too exhausting.

He jokingly sent a message: "Anxi, chatting with people must be tiring, how about you pay me some wages?"

Ansie replied, "How much?"

Su Yu casually said, "Fifty yuan a night, 1,500 yuan a month."

He thought she would yell at him, "You're obsessed with money," but Anxi only replied with one word: "Okay."

After she asked for the account number, a transfer image appeared in the QQ chat box on the third day.

Su Yu opened the window and saw that 10,000 yuan had been transferred in one go.

Ten thousand yuan.

The note reads: "Six months' worth of chat service fee, more can be added if needed."

Su Yu stared at the transfer, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets.

What was the concept of 10,000 yuan in 2004? This netizen casually transferred 10,000 yuan without even blinking.

This is a real little rich woman.

Without saying a word, Su Yu accepted the money and then typed: "Don't worry, President An. From today onwards, if you tell me to go east, I will never go west. If you tell me to scold Liu Yifei, I will never praise her."

Anxi sent a smirking emoji: "Then how about I ask you to praise her?"

Su Yu thought for a moment: "Then it'll cost more."

Anxi sent a long string of "hahaha" messages, and finally said, "Su Yu, you're really an interesting person."

Su Yu looked at that sentence and the corners of his mouth unconsciously curled up.

In his previous life, he lived forty-one years. He was praised for his competence, intelligence, and courage, but no one ever praised him for being interesting.

Perhaps it's because he was too busy in his past life—busy making money, busy turning his life around, busy proving himself.

He dropped out of school at sixteen and went south, determined to become the richest man born in the 80s. In the end, he worked as a security guard, a backpacker in Huaqiangbei, engaged in foreign trade, drove for Didi, and finally became an internet celebrity by chance.

He had four million followers and enjoyed two years of glory. Then, he was summoned for questioning due to selling counterfeit goods and tax issues, and was subjected to online abuse, bringing him back to square one overnight.

He thought money could solve all problems, but he eventually discovered that when he ran out of money, he didn't even have anyone to talk to.

Now, he inexplicably has one.

Su Yu snapped out of his reverie and glanced at the time on the screen; it was almost 11:30.

He was about to turn off his computer and go to sleep when there was a knock on the door. His mother, Li Xiulan, came in carrying half a watermelon.

"Xiaoyu, you're still awake?" Li Xiulan put the watermelon on the table and patted the back of his head. "Don't stare at the computer for too long, it'll hurt your eyes."

Su Yu responded and picked up a spoon to scoop out a bite of watermelon.

The watermelon was very sweet and had a sandy texture; his mother must have just bought it from the market that afternoon.

"Mom, where's Dad?"

"He's still on the construction site. He recently took on a repair job at Chengnan Elementary School. The deadline is tight, so he and his workers are rushing to finish it." Li Xiulan said as she tidied up the books on his desk. "You have one month left until the college entrance exam. How's your review going? Your dad said that if you get into Beijing Film Academy, he'll buy you a laptop."

Su Yu almost choked on the watermelon. A laptop? A laptop from 2004, that thing would cost at least ten thousand yuan.

"Mom, tell Dad not to buy it, it's too expensive."

"What's so expensive about it? Getting into university is something that brings honor to the family." Li Xiulan smiled, her eyes narrowing into slits. "Besides, your sister said that if you get into the Beijing Film Academy, she'll sponsor you with three thousand yuan."

Su Yu's older sister, Su Ting, is a senior majoring in finance at Hunan University and is currently interning at a securities company in Shanghai.

In the original owner's memories, the older sister was an exceptionally capable person. She had excellent grades since childhood, a strong personality, and was strict with her younger brother but also extremely protective of him.

Su Yu has been in this world for three months and still hasn't seen Su Ting.

She was working overtime in Shanghai during the Chinese New Year and didn't come back. We can only keep in touch by phone.

Every time she called, Su Ting would ask him, "Have you really thought about what you want to do in the future? Can you make a living by studying photography?"

Su Yu always replied, "Sister, don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

Su Ting would sneer, "What do you know? What can an eighteen-year-old like you know?"

Su Yu couldn't refute it. He couldn't very well say, "Sister, I'm actually a full twelve years older than you. I've been struggling in society for twenty-five years. How could I not know?"

He could only smile and change the subject.