Wanqing City, Red Star Square.
The summer sun blazed fiercely, waves of heat rolling through the air.
“One cotton candy, please-strawberry flavor.”
“Coming right up.”
After paying, Ji Yue-nian lowered his head to scroll through his phone, his fingers gliding across the screen as he browsed amusing news from all corners of the internet.
Just then, after a refresh, a post suddenly popped into his view—already trending with a decent number of views.
[To thank the brothers and sisters in the forum, we’re now offering an otherworldly transmigration service! Customize your world, background, character, and race, with one lucky winner randomly selected to have their wish fulfilled.]
Casually accepting the pale pink cotton candy, Ji Yue-nian raised an eyebrow.
Huh… interesting.
Might as well check out the wild ideas netizens have cooked up.
He was just about to tap in and join the fun, curious to see the absurd stunts people would come up with, when a familiar voice suddenly called out from behind him.
“Brother Ji, what are you doing here?”
Hearing the familiar voice, Ji Yue-nian’s expression shifted slightly.
He hastily shoved the cotton candy into the hands of a random passerby, then pulled out a cigarette case from his pocket, plucked a cigarette, and clamped it between his lips.
Turning around with practiced composure, he wore the signature rebellious smirk of a schoolyard tough guy and looked at the approaching figure, his tone deep and imposing.
“Su Tian, what’s up?”
The boy in front of him stood around 1.7 meters tall, with wheat-colored skin, a white loose shirt, black trousers, short black hair, and a muscular build-so much so that the shirt strained against his well-defined muscles.
“Nothing major, really. Class (2) finally agreed to our basketball friendly match. It’s scheduled for two Tuesdays from now, on the school field,” Su Tian said, scratching his head sheepishly.
“I was about to text you when I spotted you here. Just wanted to ask any tactical plans, Brother Ji?”
Ji Yue-nian took a deep drag of his cigarette, his tone dripping with arrogance.
“Same as always. I’ll play center. We’ll gather the guys in a few days for some practice matches.”
“Uh… Brother Ji, I think your cigarette’s upside down,” Su Tian pointed out.
Ji Yue-nian’s smirk froze instantly.
His gaze dropped-sure enough, the white filter and light-yellow tobacco end were reversed.
Whack!
He slapped Su Tian hard on the shoulder, nearly knocking him off balance.
“What do you know? This is the new trend! Everyone in the circle smokes like this now!”
“Alright, that’s all. Scram. I’ve got things to do—I’ll find you later.”
With a dismissive kick, he sent Su Tian on his way.
Only after the boy had completely vanished into the crowd did Ji Yue-nian exhale deeply and finally tuck the cigarette back into its case.
Reputation was everything—like the shadow of a tree.
In the public’s rigid perception, what was a schoolyard tough guy supposed to be?
Naturally, the embodiment of strength, dominance, defiance, and unyielding arrogance.
Ji Yue-nian had meticulously maintained this exact image to solidify his status.
Just think of how the school viewed him: righteous, generous, decisive, ruling with his fists!
But if anyone found out that the school’s top delinquent had a soft spot for cotton candy-especially the pink, girly, strawberry-flavored kind-they’d laugh their heads off.
The mere thought of some punk from a rival school taunting him in a mocking tone-
“Hey! Isn’t this the tough guy who loves eating cotton candy? What a sissy~~”—made his fists clench instinctively, itching to throw punches.
“Big brother, is this for me to eat?”
A soft, boyish voice sounded from behind.
Ji Yuenian turned to see the passerby he’d casually handed cotton candy to still standing there—a little boy with bright green short hair, emerald eyes, and wearing green robes.
His plump, milky-white cheeks made him look like a character straight out of an anime fairy tale.
The boy held a phone in one hand and the cotton candy in the other, blinking up at Ji Yuenian with hopeful eyes.
As a self-proclaimed member of the “looks matter” club, Ji Yuenian immediately told him he could keep it.
“Thank you, big brother!” the boy chirped sweetly.
Then, he took a big bite of the fluffy cotton candy, his emerald eyes-like polished gemstones-sparkling with dazzling starlight.
Watching him enjoy it so much, Ji Yuenian couldn’t help but lick his lips.
Since there were no familiar faces around, he bought another cotton candy for himself and started eating it right there.
In no time, the little boy finished his treat, licking his lips in satisfaction before tilting his head at Ji Yuenian.
“What’s up?”
Ji Yuenian asked, puzzled by the boy’s stare. He touched his own face.
“Did I get cotton candy on my face?”
The boy shook his head.
“Big brother, do you like tragedies?”
“No.”
Ji Yuenian answered through a mouthful of cotton candy.
He wasn’t some kind of masochist-why would he like tragedies?
Life was already hard enough.
Going out of his way to seek suffering?
That was just plain stupid.
“What if you had two choices?” the boy continued.
“One choice is to let things unfold naturally, doing nothing, but the ending is guaranteed to be two tragedies. The other choice is to let those two tragedies collide—the result might be an even worse tragedy, or it might turn out better.”
“Big brother, which would you pick?”
Ji Yuenian chuckled.
Whose kid was this, pondering philosophical questions at such a young age? Definitely a future prodigy.
But whether it was his natural bias toward cute faces or the inexplicable warmth the boy radiated, Ji Yuenian decided to humor him.
“I’d pick the second one.”
Finishing his cotton candy, Ji Yuenian tossed the stick into a nearby trash bin. He crouched down and gently pinched the boy’s chubby cheek.
“If both endings are tragedies anyway, why not take a gamble? Roll the dice-who knows, you might turn a bicycle into a motorcycle! That’s why miracles exist in this world—because life fights back, because it shines as brilliantly as a song.”
“Of course, I can’t speak for others, but I’d definitely choose the second option!”
“After all, I’m Ji Yuenian!”
“Life shines like a song?”
The boy tilted his head again, and Ji Yuenian faintly heard him murmur something under his breath.
“Seems like big brother and I see life the same way.”
Then, something cold was pressed into Ji Yuenian’s palm.
“This is for you, big brother. May your future be as radiant as a song, full of endless possibilities.”
With that, the boy dashed off like a rabbit, disappearing in an instant.
Ji Yuenian looked down—in his palm lay a silver coin.
The coin bore intricate, coldly elegant patterns, yet both sides were blank, as if waiting for something to complete them.
“What’s this…?”
Ji Yuenian picked up the silver coin, his fingers gently tracing its surface, inexplicably feeling a trace of comfort.
Suddenly, an intense burning sensation shot through his fingertips as if searing through his palm, yet the heat vanished as quickly as it had come.
Were it not for the faint burn mark left in his palm, he might have dismissed it as mere illusion.
Frowning, he lowered his gaze to examine it.
“What’s going—”
His words cut off abruptly, for the faceless silver coin now bore an unfamiliar side.
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