Chapter 1 – The young master has returned!

“Is this how it ends? I feel so unwilling…” The feeling of suffocation caused Luo Lin to struggle helplessly within the cold lake. Before his consciousness completely perished, he never once stopped thinking of one name—Pan Jiajun!

That was Young Master Pan who belonged to one of the Capital’s Four Great Families!

Albeit being at death’s door, Luo Lin would never forget the person who sent people to crush his legs. He would never forget how the Luo Family, who owned a large consortium, suffered such a crushing defeat.

This included his father’s death which led to the passing of his ailing mother. His uncle was deprived of his position as the Municipal Committee Secretariat. Even more so, his grandfather who was a high-ranking military official succumbed to a sudden illness and died.

All of this must be related to that person!

In this cruel world, Luo Lin merely offended such a person, and it unexpectedly led to the eradication of his entire clan!

All of this… could not be blamed on anyone else.

During this lifetime, Luo Lin acted too arrogantly. He was the prime example of a prodigal child, he made too many enemies.

After the start of the Luo Family’s decline, the adversaries who he once considered to be insignificant and only capable of ‘hitting a person while they were at their lowest’, possessed the ability to make Luo Lin spend his entire life as a garbage collector.

‘If I could start over, would fate turn out differently?’

Luo Lin felt as though he had been slumbering for an eternity, and when he came to, he realized…

He was now lying on the sofa in his living room.

‘Hold on a minute! I…I’m not dead?!’

‘This is… Why does this look like the home I lived in during my teenage years?’

He raised his head to scrutinize the decor in the living room, and when he took notice of the clock on the wall, Luo Lin was completely dumbfounded.

[Time: 2005, August 14, Hungry Ghost Festival.]

*TL Note : Hungry Ghost Festival is an actual festival that takes place on the 7th month of the Chinese calendar.

‘… W-What kind of joke is this? 2005?!’

He was only 17 years old that year!

‘How did I go from my 37-year-old self to my 17-year-old self in a blink of an eye?’

Luo Lin pinched his arm ruthlessly and…it hurt!

‘It felt real! This isn’t a dream!’

“Maybe I had a long nightmare?” Luo Lin recalled falling into the lake and wishing to be reborn. At the thought of this, his heart raced. Luo Lin leaped off the sofa, and a wave of dizziness soon crashed over him. His legs gave way, and he fell to the floor.

“Ah.” He groaned softly. The light-headedness he was experiencing felt like a hangover from an entire night of drinking. His head felt like it was splitting apart.

As he realized this, Luo Lin felt increasingly excited!

As his parents were swamped with work and usually absent from home, his 17-year-old self would spend nights indulging in alcohol. Overtime, Luo Lin began to act more and more unbridled, and his life became more and more unrestrained.

The headache he was having right now was proof that Luo Lin was truly still alive!

He returned to the year of 2005!

What’s more important was that…

When Luo Lin tried to move his legs, it worked! The sensation of having his legs back overwhelmed him with emotion.

“I’ve truly come back… back to 2005… the year when all the misfortune began. Since heaven has given me a chance, I must become a better person.”

Countless thoughts filled his mind as his emotions stirred wildly.

‘If everything is real, that means the Luo Enterprise still exists… Father, Mother, Uncle, and Grandpa… they’re all still alive and well!’

Luo Lin wiped away a tear that slid down his face. Hidden within this 17-year-old body was a 37-year-old soul.

Although it felt a little awkward, it was nonetheless wonderful.

Time trickled one second after another as Luo Lin laid on the floor.

He sorted out his thoughts in silence while his emotions gradually stabilized.

Luo Lin swore that if everything was true, then he had to right his wrongs. He would not allow himself to live as he had done in the past. Even if this was all a dream, he had to live a purposeful life!

After taking a deep breath, his gaze suddenly turned sharp.

Three years later, an investment convention would be held in the Capital. All the influential families would be invited. As a second-tier family, the Luo Family will also obtain the opportunity to attend.

The convention seemed more like an event for the families to look for potential marriage partners. The heads of the families that attended would bring along their most prided heirs.

In his past life, it was at the convention that Luo Lin had reunited with Han Xuan, a classmate whom he harbored a crush on during his school days. Being young and frivolous, Luo Lin had pursued her relentlessly. However, he not only failed to attain the affection of the former, but he also garnered the hatred of many.

This was the beginning of the falling out between him and Pan Jiajun. They then became enemies that could not tolerate each other, much like fire and water.

It all began from a personal struggle that later on evolved into a financial commercial trade war between families, which also included wars in the shadows!

To be clear, the entire Luo Family had been consigned to eternal damnation by the hands of the young and frivolous Luolin!

This went on for seven years without any signs of ending, causing the Luo Family to gradually sink into the abyss. The entire family suffered the heavy consequences of Luo Lin’s mistakes.

Luo Lin’s heart ached at the thought of this.

‘Thank god I was given another chance!’

Luo Lin had to admit that Pan Jiajun’s methods were beyond those of his… However, now that he was given another chance, would he suffer another defeat?

‘Three years. Haha, it’s enough.’

One could say that Luo Lin possessed a vision that reached further and wider compared to anyone else in this era.

With this alone, he could become a dazzling presence.

A presence that didn’t  need any help from his family!

Click!

At this moment, the door of the house opened. The person who entered the house was a beautiful lady with a voluptuous figure. She was startled after she noticed Luo Lin lying on the floor. Without a second word, she ran over to help Luo Lin off the floor.

“My little young master, what kind of dream are you having? There is such a large sofa, so why are you on the floor?”

She had a pleasant and delicate voice, but within the gentleness, there was a tinge of ridicule and reproach.

The instant Luo Lin heard her voice, he immediately broke away from his thoughts. It felt as though there was a lump in his throat.

“Wanshu? …Qin Wanshu?”

After being supported onto the sofa, Luo Lin closely observed the lady’s appearance, and his heart raced unknowingly.

…She had flawlessly fair skin, a pair of soul-stirring eyes, and a hot and enticing figure that was concealed by a set of conservative attire.

Who could it be other than ‘Aunt’ Qin Wanshu?!

“Wanshu?…” Luo Lin called out with a slight tremble in his voice.

Upon hearing his words, Qin Wanshu’s face flushed slightly. She extended her hand to pinch Luo Lin’s face: “Stinky Brat, is Wanshu a name that you can call? I am your Aunt Qin! What’s going on? Are you still not out of your drunken stupor?”

‘Aunt Qin Wanshu.’

“Haha.”

Luo Lin suddenly broke out into a burst of silly laughter. At this moment, he felt blissful.

Qin Wanshu’s father and his Grandfather were former comrades. Although Qin Wanshu was only 5-6 years older than him, based on seniority, she was indeed his aunt.

Qin Wanshu’s lived next door, and she also had amicable relations with his parents.

When his parents were busy with work and would sometimes not be returning home for 1-2 months, they would entrust Qin Wanshu to care for Luo Lin. After all, Luo Lin was merely 17 years old, just a 3rd-year high schooler.

As time passed, Qin Wanshu eventually duplicated a set of keys.

After a year or more had passed, Qin Wanshu came over more frequently to cook and wash his clothes. The only unfortunate thing was that Luo Lin wasn’t someone who had a moderate lifestyle. This gave Qin Wanshu many headaches.

The reason for that was simple, Luo Lin loves drinking, and he often brought questionable friends over to play cards. He was a prime example of a prodigal child.

To Luo Lin who had gone through a rebirth, Qin Wanshu was a woman he considered to be very important in his life.

In fact, Qin Wanshu was Luo Lin’s first love.

The former Luo Lin wasn’t a good person. Every one of his confessions to Qin Wanshu had been met with rejection. Eventually, his hooligan friends gave Luo Lin a piece of advice—to get Qin Wanshu drunk and drug her alcohol.

In the end, Luo Lin succeeded in having a ‘relationship’ with Qin Wanshu.

To this day, he still remembered. On the morning of the next day, there was already no one beside him by the time he woke up. All that remained were red spots on the bed sheet and a piece of paper.

On the paper were a few simple words, “Luo Lin, I hate you for life.” The words on the paper were smudged by tears. One could only imagine the pain Qin Wanshu experienced when she wrote the letter.

Since then, Luo Lin never saw Qin Wanshu again, and neither did his parents. It was as though she had vanished off the face of the earth, disappearing from Luo Lin’s life completely.

It was also from then on that Luo Lin walked down a path of corruption. He acted even more rampantly and even recklessly abused his family’s wealth.

Right now… the ‘aunt’ who captivated him was here, standing right before his eyes. How could he not feel overwhelmed? How could his heart not ache for this woman?

Under Luo Lin’s fiery gaze, Qin Wanshu blushed once again.

“Stinky brat, what are you staring at? Are there any flowers growing on Aunt’s face?”

Qin Wanshu knew that Luo Lin was going through puberty.

She was not dumb and could sense Luo Lin’s admiration for her. However, that was only limited to adoration. In terms of seniority, she was his ‘aunt’, and they shouldn’t go beyond that relationship. This was the reason Qin Wanshu had considered nothing else. Furthermore, Luo Lin was merely a kid in her eyes.

Qin Wanshu had always thought of herself as Luo Lin’s aunt and would often mention it in her speech to remind Luo Lin. It was as if she was saying: ‘Hehe, Stinky brat, I’m your aunt, you’d better cease those unhealthy thoughts!’

Naturally, Luo Lin understood her intentions. Despite being 17 years old, his psychological age was close to 40. He was even more mature than his parents now. In his eyes, ‘Aunt Qin’ was merely a naive little girl.

Luo Lin who had undergone the unimaginable rebirth soon calmed down. He buried these preposterous secrets to the back of his mind. Even if he mentioned to anyone that he had come from the future, would anyone believe his words?

“Aunt Qin, do you know when my parents will come back?”

Luo Lin, who had experienced so much, was most concerned about his parents. Whenever he thought about how his parents were still healthy and that the Luo Family had not gone downhill, an indescribable excitement churned within him.

“This child… You fool around so much that you don’t even know when your parents are coming back?” Qin Wanshu rolled her eyes. She removed her coat and revealed the close-fitting white shirt which made her chest appear larger.

Luo Lin’s heart skipped a beat: ‘This Aunt of mine is still treating me like a child. Does she think that I have yet to grow up?’