At 7 PM in Geming City, a mechanic workshop stood alone beneath the moon.
Some mechanics were still underneath the cars under service, clanking and screwing. Others were discussing loudly like men do, laughing and drinking beer.
One mechanic was different from the rest. Younger, he was a boy seated alone near the open garage door.
He was a mess, sweating all over and trembling.
Since he had been unconscious for nearly three hours, his older colleagues decided to knock off and leave him be.
Then, suddenly, the boy regained consciousness.
'What…?'
The young man looked around the dark garage, realizing he was alive. Sitting up, he ran his fingers through his unruly hair.
This was his third transmigration, and he wondered what might have killed this body by the name Chen Xuan.
From what he observed, the elderly mechanics didn't seem capable of murder, so he awaited the rush of memories.
'Ah. Food poisoning?'
Chen Xuan, a 19-year-old orphan was on his way to work when he stopped by a vendor, desperate to eat something to sustain himself after going hungry all day.
Many vendors in the city never followed strict hygiene standards.
Some even used cooking oil browner than barbecue sauce.
Maybe it wasn't even the food itself, but the water or the drink Chen Xuan had purchased alongside.
Whatever it was, it caused him his life.
'Very miserable way to die....'
Chen Xuan studied his vessel's lean figure. It was no surprise his immune system was ineffectual.
"Wa! Junior Chen?! You are alright now?"
Chen Xuan only smiled as his colleagues gathered to inspect him, pretending to care.
When Chen Xuan had arrived at work, he had complained about stomach issues, and everyone ignored it.
But as time went on, his state had worsened. His older colleagues had watched him groan, yet not a single one had taken him to a hospital.
Instead, they had carried on with their beers, betting if he'd wake up by morning.
"I am fine, everyone. I just took a little nap," Chen Xuan said as he stood up, proving it.
It felt splendid to stand on his feet as he realized he was 184 cm tall, almost double the height of the men around him.
The fellow mechanics stared mistrustfully as the young man grabbed a bottle of beer and took a long sip.
He was never the kind to take alcohol and cigarettes, why is he chunking down a bottle now?
'How is this stinky brat still alive? Everyone I know who got food poisoning without medicine died a miserable death!'
'Did he hit his head? Why does he seem... different?'
'This brat dares to drink a whole bottle without paying? Does he think he's the young master of some noble clan?'
'Tch, now that he's all better, he can make up for the work we spared him while he was rolling around like a dying dog!'
"Oi! You!"
A rough voice froze Chen Xuan.
A burly man, Zhao Dahu, snapped his fingers at him. "Done playing tough? Get your ass moving! Go clean the wheel nuts! You lazed around all day and still expect full pay?"
Being smart, Chen Xuan understood it was best to endure for now.
Nodding calmly, he headed toward the wheel nuts like a lowly worker following orders.
But the sensation of obeisance was foreign. This feeling of yielding to another's will was something Chen Xuan didn't like.
In his past life, he had been a governor of a great clan.
But in this life, he was no supreme figure, but a penniless orphan under student debt.
This shabby mechanic workshop was his only means of survival, putting a pitiful $500 in his pocket every month.
The older men were delighted with themselves as Chen Xuan trudged across the garage to do as they commanded.
'You were so helpless, Chen Xuan. Why would you let them treat you like this?'
Ill-fate had always been Chen Xuan's destiny. He had never been dealt a good hand. His parents perished when he was still an infant, leaving him to rot in an orphanage.
The moment he turned eighteen, they tossed him out like a dirty rag.
That was when the lurid reality dawned on him. He secured a student loan and made it into college, his only advantage in life being a sharp and intelligent mind.
Chen Xuan eventually got a girlfriend, his natural good looks and intellect finally earning him something beyond mere survival.
But from there, the memories took a turn, shifting from an ambitious young man with the blueprints to becoming a Certified Public Accountant to a despondent youth whose entire focus had been swallowed by the desire to please a woman.
'How could this brat not see...? She had wanted to break up with him since the end of their first year!'
Wang Xinyu was a beautiful girl from a middle-class family. Such a girl like her should have nothing to do with a pauper like Chen Xuan.
It was only the novelty of youth and college life that made her fall in love with the tall, nerdy boy with dark, unruly hair.
Wang Xinyu even went as far as putting Chen Xuan under her wing and covering some of his expenses!
'How shameful! One should never let a woman do that!'
She occasionally covered his T-fares, borrowed him money that he seldomly paid back and sometimes, even buys him some clothes.
Even the watch Chen Xuan currently had around his wrist was given to him on his birthday by sweet Wang Xinyu.
However, all these good deeds Wang Xinyu did for her boyfriend was what made her lose interest.
At first, she didn't mind, but as time passed, she saw him as a man who depended on her rather than providing for her. Her natural instincts made her resent him.
Chen Xuan never took charge financially, making her feel he wasn't worthy of her beauty. It made her feel like she was a babysitter rather than his girlfriend and he was a burden rather than her man.
Wang Xinyu got tired of carrying him financially and socially especially when there were other boys and men in campus who were fawning over her.
"Did you see Wang Xinyu with Chen Xuan again? How does she put up with him? He's always wearing those ragged clothes, and she's walking around with all those high-class boys. He doesn't even match her!"
"Oh, don't you know? She's been paying for his lunch and textbooks. I heard she even bought him a new laptop last semester when they started dating. Why would she bother with someone like him when she could have anyone?"
"It's embarrassing, really. She could be with someone like Li Wei, the president of the student council, but she's stuck with that loser. What a waste of her beauty and status!"
Digging his hands into the pocket of his jumpsuit, Chen Xuan pulled out a black case from an average designer in the country.
Inside the case was the most stunning necklace he had ever seen in his lives. It had a ruby for its pendant, a red ravishing stone that would gorgeously match Wang Xinyu's red hair.
'Haha! This brat wanted to be romantic on their two-year anniversary tonight!'