[Quick Transmigration] Black Lotus Upgrade System - Chapter 1

Under the setting sun, the seawater dyed red surged passionately, resembling the blood-soaked final passion of the sun.

The sea breeze, infected by the sun’s passion, felt like heat wrapped in magma. A single touch was enough to leave one burned.

At this moment, a thin man wearing a hospital gown and short, shoulder-length hair stood listlessly at the edge of the sea cliff, holding a piece of discarded newspaper. His eyes drooped, devoid of his past spirit and vitality.

The caregiver, knowing his ordeal, offered sympathetic consolation: “Young Master Yu, Director Fan’s friend has just recovered from a serious illness and probably cannot get away. Please come over here. It is too high, and we do not want the director to worry about you.”

Yu Xingliang reached out and touched the left side of his lower back, where his kidney was located.

“He worries about me?” Yu Xingliang suddenly burst into manic laughter. As he laughed, bitter tears streamed down his cheeks.

“What are you making a fuss about!”

A cold voice abruptly cut the laughter short.

Yu Xingliang turned around mechanically, raising his head to meet a pair of icy, aloof eyes.

The newcomer wore a high-end custom suit and looked radiant, forming a sharp contrast with Yu Xingliang’s hospital attire.

Heh.

Yu Xingliang forced the corners of his mouth upward, his chapped lips parting slightly: “You are here. Then your white moonlight must be fine.”

Fan Zixi frowned, his eyes filled with disgust.

“Have you lost your mind? Come here.”

Just like he had over the past six years, Fan Zixi reached his hand out toward Yu Xingliang.

Yet this time, Yu Xingliang did not rush forward eagerly.

“I was wondering why you treated me this way when I was so good to you, practically offering my heart to you on a silver platter,” Yu Xingliang gasped for air, his voice trembling uncontrollably. “Now I know.”

Yu Xingliang raised the heavy newspaper in his hand, his eyes filled with absolute despair: “Your family business went bankrupt indirectly because of my family’s rise, and your father jumped to his death crushed by heavy debt. You are here for revenge, aren’t you?”

Seeing that Fan Zixi remained silent, Yu Xingliang closed his eyes and finally asked the question: “Did you ever, even for a single moment, truly love me?”

The only response to Yu Xingliang was endless silence and Fan Zixi’s icy gaze.

“I understand now.” Yu Xingliang smiled desolately, suddenly feeling utterly exhausted: “I really should have listened back then. Ending up in this destitute state today is entirely my own fault for being so naive. I was wrong.”

The moment he took a step backward, Yu Xingliang seemed to hear Fan Zixi roar: “You dare jump!”

Shortly after, the world fell completely silent.

Yu Xingliang felt as though he had fallen into a long, dreamy sleep, floating weightlessly like a cloud.

Perhaps this was what they called being free from worldly burdens after death, Yu Xingliang thought to himself.

“The plot of Bloody Romance has loaded successfully. Wishing the host a pleasant journey!” A gender-neutral, mechanical voice rang out, deafening in its clarity.

Yu Xingliang snapped his eyes open, and the recovered gravity yanked him back to the mortal world.

Frigid cold enveloped him, leaving his chest feeling heavily oppressed.

As his vision gradually cleared, Yu Xingliang realized the tightness in his chest came from someone pressing their crossed hands against his heart.

“What are you doing!” Yu Xingliang angrily shoved the person away from his chest.

Because of his kneeling posture, the man lost his balance, falling backward onto the ground in a clumsy heap.

Yu Xingliang sat up defensively, only to find himself completely drenched. He looked behind him and realized he was right by the seaside.

Oh, right, I jumped into the sea.

Yu Xingliang recalled the posture of the big guy just now.

That was the posture for performing CPR after a drowning incident.

“Can you speak?” The man’s voice was clear and carried a hint of surprise.

Yu Xingliang looked up at him. The man wore earth-brown local Republic-era garments, and his yellowish hair covered most of his face, dripping wet along with his clothes.

Yu Xingliang asked in confusion: “Of course I can…”

Before he could finish his sentence, a flood of memories instantly rushed into his mind.

This memory belonged to an eighteen-year-old boy named Zheng Lele. Born into a tailoring family during the Republic era, Zheng Lele grew up surrounded by beautiful dresses because his family business involved tailoring gorgeous garments. In his view, women’s clothing looked far better than men’s.

With his mother having passed away early on, his father took a laissez-faire approach to his behavior, allowing Zheng Lele to live entirely as he pleased.

However, this joyful life collided with General Fan Shenggang. Fan Shenggang took one fancy to Zheng Lele and stubbornly insisted on taking him as his seventh concubine. Zheng Lele’s father naturally refused, secretly seeking out General Fan Shenggang to explain Zheng Lele’s true biological gender.

Yet upon learning Zheng Lele was actually a male, Fan Shenggang became even more delighted.

It was then that Zheng Lele discovered Fan Shenggang’s former fourth concubine was also a man. Because men do not experience pregnancy or menstrual cycles, he was literally favored to death by Fan Shenggang.

On the day before Fan Shenggang was scheduled to officially marry Zheng Lele, his father risked his life to help Zheng Lele escape house arrest.

To evade capture, Zheng Lele had recently arrived in this remote and secluded Langya Village. Exhausted, he collapsed right at the village entrance.

When he woke up, he had been rescued by this shabby, yellow-haired man. However, the villagers seemed to dislike outsiders and kept clamoring to drive Zheng Lele away. Terrified, Zheng Lele did not dare utter a word.

Consequently, the yellow-haired man mistook him for a mute. Out of pity, the yellow-haired man made many promises to the village to secure Zheng Lele’s stay.

And then today, Zheng Lele learned from the village head who had gone into town to buy grain that General Fan Shenggang had smashed Zheng’s tailoring shop in the city to pieces, gouged out the tailor’s eyes, stabbed him in the heart, and hung his corpse on the city gates to feed the birds.

Unable to accept that he had brought this disaster upon his father, a remorseful Zheng Lele jumped into the sea.

Yu Xingliang swallowed hard, a cold sweat breaking out across his back.

“You are a man.” The yellow-haired man propped his chin up, leaned in close to Yu Xingliang, and smiled: “I was wondering why your chest was so flat, but I was afraid of hurting your self-esteem by asking.”

Yu Xingliang’s lower lip trembled, still unable to process the fact that he had jumped into the sea and transmigrated.

The yellow-haired man smiled faintly, looking as though he was growing more and more pleased with Yu Xingliang the longer he looked.

Yu Xingliang’s stomach protested with two loud growls.

“Uh…” Yu Xingliang instinctively clutched his stomach, offering an awkward smile to the yellow-haired man staring right at him.

The yellow-haired man seemed momentarily stunned, then asked in mild surprise: “Were you just smiling at me?”

During the days they spent together, Zheng Lele had always acted like a frightened bird, usually clutching his stomach in shyness and refusing to look up whenever hunger struck.

Today’s reaction from Zheng Lele was somewhat strange.

“What are you doing again?!” Yu Xingliang defensively swatted away the hand the yellow-haired man reached out, looking thoroughly displeased: “Stop touching me!”

The yellow-haired man looked even more startled, not only because Zheng Lele had never resisted any physical contact over the past few days, but also because Zheng Lele’s strength in hitting him was a bit too much.

“I just wanted to check your forehead temperature.” The yellow-haired man tucked his bruised hand behind his back and asked gently: “You are a bit different today.”

Sensing that it was perhaps inappropriate to treat his savior with such irritability, Yu Xingliang softened his voice and said: “I am truly sorry, I am just too hungry.”

The yellow-haired man paused, pushed himself up from the ground, and walked away without saying another word.

Yu Xingliang watched the yellow-haired man’s retreating figure for a moment, then sighed and lowered his gaze to the gravel on the ground.

I scared my savior away, and in this unfamiliar place…

After pondering for a moment, Yu Xingliang felt that Zheng Lele’s life strongly mirrored his own deceived youth.

Both lost their fathers and mothers, and on top of that, Zheng Lele had a predatory fiancé hovering over him.

A chilling creep of dread crawled up Yu Xingliang’s spine: Forget it, since I already jumped into the sea once, I do not mind doing it again.

Just as he slowly stood up, he saw the yellow-haired man returning with a small bundle of dry branches and two plump fish caught from somewhere in his right hand.

The yellow-haired man ignited a bonfire using a flint, threaded the fish onto two thin branches, and began roasting them over the flames.

Flames licked the fish bodies, and soon, a savory aroma of roasted fish drifted through the air.

Yu Xingliang, who had been standing still, shook his head and decided in his heart: I might as well become a well-fed ghost.

The yellow-haired man caught sight of Yu Xingliang sitting down beside him, and a smile surfaced in the corner of his eyes.

“Are these fish ready yet?” Yu Xingliang stretched his neck forward and asked.

The yellow-haired man uttered an affirmative sound, and handed one of the roasted fish to Yu Xingliang.

Yet just as Yu Xingliang was about to take it, the man pivoted his wrist and pulled the fish back.

Yu Xingliang grabbed empty air and immediately puckered his lips in dissatisfaction: “What is the meaning of this?”

“I caught the fish, and I roasted them. I can give it to you, but you have to agree to two conditions.”

The plump fish on the thin skewer was steaming, making Yu Xingliang so hungry his chest felt glued to his back, causing him to readily agree without any principles: “Fine, fine! I agree to everything!”

With the yellow-haired man’s hair shielding his face, Yu Xingliang could not see his expression clearly, but he could tell the man must be wearing a smug grin.

“Condition one: you are not allowed to try and end your life again,” the yellow-haired man stated. “I saved your life, so since you do not want it anymore, hand it over to me from now on.”

Yu Xingliang furrowed his brow. He understood the first half about not ending his life, but what on earth did the second half mean?

“Do you agree?” The yellow-haired man deliberately waved the fragrant roasted fish in front of Yu Xingliang.

“I agree! I agree to it!” Yu Xingliang refused to waste any more brainpower; right now, all he wanted was a bite of fish.

The yellow-haired man smiled, then continued: “Condition two: I want you to pretend to be my wife in the village.”

Yu Xingliang felt a jolt in his chest and immediately stepped back, pulling his outer robe tightly around himself.

“Rest assured, it is only a pretense,” the yellow-haired man explained hastily upon seeing his reaction. “If you want to live in Langya Village long-term, you must become a member of the community. By becoming my wife, you become a local of Langya Village, and the village head will no longer try to drive you out.”

Considered half a businessman himself, Yu Xingliang asked: “Your conditions sound like they purely benefit me. What do you get out of this? Why are you doing this?”

The yellow-haired man pondered for a moment before replying: “Because I am kind-hearted.”

Yu Xingliang’s mouth twitched. He was no longer as gullible as he used to be.

“If you do not agree, forget it.” Seeing that Yu Xingliang did not believe him, the yellow-haired man tossed one of the plump fish directly into the roaring bonfire. The fire, seemingly starving for a long time, opened wide and swallowed the fish whole, soon filling the air with the smell of burning flesh.

Fearing the yellow-haired man would throw the remaining fish into the fire as well, Yu Xingliang hastily shouted: “I agree! I agree to it, alright?!”