Chapter 1: Returning to Eight Years Ago
#AE CEO Chi Shaochen Spotted in Intimate Act with Same-Sex Partner; Suspected Homosexual#
Xiahou Qian stared at the Weibo headline. His heart hammered against his ribs as his trembling fingers clicked into the post to reveal the attached photos.
Photo 1: Chi Shaochen and a man getting into a car one after the other.
Photo 2: Chi Shaochen was in the passenger seat. The man leaned over, and the two appeared to be kissing.
Photo 3: The man was smiling, while Chi Shaochen looked at him with an expression of impatient yet indulgent fondness.
Photo 4: The two of them walking into a hotel together.
…
Xiahou Qian felt as if he were being strangled; a suffocating pressure clamped down on his lungs. Despite the pain, he continued to scroll through the images one by one with a self-torturing intensity.
The man was exceptionalâa perfect match for Chi Shaochen. Surely, that smile could brighten even the CEO’s mood? But why? He was so jealous! Why was Chi Shaochen with someone else? Didnât he love him? Why couldn’t it be him?
“Chi Shaochen, Chi Shaochen…”
Xiahou Qian felt he needed something to numb the pain.
He headed toward a bar near his home but froze at the entrance. There, standing right before him, was one of the protagonists from the photosâthe man involved in the scandal with Chi Shaochen.
“Shaochen, are you really not coming? …Alright, alright, I know you’re busy with work! …You promised we’d have lunch tomorrow, okay? …Don’t stay in the office all day and night; it’s bad for your health. …You’re calling me naggy again! Being nagged by me is your blessing! …”
Xiahou Qian fled the scene in a disheveled state. He collapsed in a corner down an alley, gasping for air. With his head bowed, his reddened eyes were hidden from view, but the sound of his heartbroken sobbing was unmistakable.
Upon returning home, the moment he pushed the front door open, someone seized him from behind. A cold blade was pressed against his throat. The intruder forced him inside, snatching his keys and tossing them deep into the room, effectively sealing any chance of outside help.
The man threw Xiahou Qian onto the bed. Setting the knife aside, the man began tearing at his clothes while spewing vile, lewd insults. Xiahou Qian realized exactly what was happening and fought back frantically. However, his health had been poor lately, and the emotional exhaustion from earlier left his resistance pitifully weak.
“With the way you look now, if it weren’t for the money someone paid me, I wouldn’t even have the interest to touch you! I suggest you cooperate, or you’re the one who’s going to suffer!” The man was as burly as he was hideous. Though Xiahou Qian was tall, his physical strength was far inferior.
Even so, Xiahou Qian refused to yield. He managed to grab the knife and lunged at the man pinned atop him. The man dodged, suffering only a slash to the arm. The injury sent the attacker into a blind rage. He exerted all his force to subdue the youth. Xiahou Qian fought with every ounce of his remaining strength until, in the struggle, the blade plunged deep into his own chest.
A searing pain blossomed in Xiahou Qianâs chest. It felt as though time had slowed into a series of agonizing frames. The intruderâs shocked expression faded into a grainy black-and-white blur as Xiahou Qian finally drifted into unconsciousness.
…
This was a very ordinary studio apartment with a single room and a bathroom. The main room served as both bedroom and living area. Against the wall sat a two-meter bed, flanked by two nightstands, a computer desk with a laptop, a chair, and a wardrobe.
Sunlight filtered through the thin curtains, illuminating the face of the youth on the bed. Even with his eyes closed, his beauty was evident. His naturally brown hair shimmered with a golden hue under the morning light.
A sharp ringtone pierced the silence of the room.
Xiahou Qian was startled awake. Groggy, he followed the sound and fumbled for his phone on the nightstand, pressing the answer key.
“Hello, I’m Zhang Tian from Tianheng Entertainment. Iâm calling to remind you not to forget to come to the company this morning to sign your contract.”
The moment Xiahou Qian processed the words, his eyes snapped open. He sat bolt upright with a ‘bang.’ He scanned his surroundings, his gaze filling with uncontrollable shock! In an instant, a thousand thoughts raced through his mind.
Ignoring the person still on the line, he hung up and checked the home screen.
The screen displayed the current time: 08:30 AM, August 20, 2030.
Seeing the date brought a sense of disbelief, yet it also confirmed his suspicions. Zhang Tian’s call had already triggered a wild guess, but more importantly, he remembered the agonizing pain of the blade piercing his heart. If he hadn’t died, there was no way he would be at home, completely unharmed.
Is this a dream or reality? Xiahou Qian felt dazed. He pinched himself hard. The sharp sting that followed brought a brilliant, radiant smile to his face.
Using the dark reflection of the phone screen, he looked at himself. It was indeed his eighteen-year-old self. He wasn’t disfigured yet, and his voice was still intact.
Though he was only eighteen, he was well-developed. He possessed a handsome face that lacked any effeminacy, stood at 183 centimeters, and had an excellent physiqueâthe kind that looked slim in clothes but muscular without them. His smile held a vivid charm unique to that transition between youth and manhood. However, he rarely smiled. He had been like that in his previous life, and after experiencing death and rebirth, he felt even more profound. His eyes, which didn’t match his age, made him appear much more steady.
Xiahou Qianâs voice and musical sense were extraordinary. Beyond singing, his talent for composition had frequently drawn praise from his professors. In short, before the age of eighteen, he had been blessed by the heavens. Even after everything he had suffered later, he had now been given a second chance.
In his last life, he had gone to Tianheng to sign the contract on this very day. Because he was a newcomer with no backing, he had signed a ten-year “slave contract” with the harshest terms. At the time, he lacked the experience to understand the implications. By the time he regretted it, it was too late. He had ended up dying a pathetic death, never even knowing who he had offended.
He never expected that upon opening his eyes again, he would be back eight years in the past. Xiahou Qian was beyond grateful. If he had returned even half a day later… he didn’t dare think about it. Perhaps the heavens had specifically chosen today to let him change his fate?
However, even with a fresh start, that man likely still wouldn’t belong to him. He thought of the usually cold man showing rare emotionâbut not for him. That indulgence, and the phone call he had overheard later… the man calling him ‘Shaochen,’ speaking to him without restraint.
In truth, that man had never belonged to him…
Just then, the phone rang again. Seeing the name ‘Manager Zhang’ on the screen, Xiahou Qian felt a surge of loathing. He took a breath and answered. Before the other party could speak, Xiahou Qian took the lead.
“Hello, Manager Zhang. I’m afraid I have to apologize. After discussing it with a friend, I feel that Tianheng isn’t quite the right fit for me. I’m sorry for wasting your time.” Despite the resentment in his heart, his tone was perfectly polite.
On the other end, Zhang Tian was clearly caught off guard by the sudden reversal. He asked hurriedly, “How could it not be a fit? Is your friend just jealous that you can sign with a big company like Tianheng?” Zhang Tianâs words were a blatant attempt at provocation. It was clear that the current Zhang Tian was still green, far from the smooth and inscrutable fox he would eventually become.
“No, my friend is a computer science major.” Xiahou Qian lied without batting an eye. His words felt like a subtle slap to the face, essentially saying, ‘You’re overthinking it.’
“Have you really thought this through? You should know that if you regret this later, you might not get such a good opportunity again.” Zhang Tian sounded like he was confirming, but there was a hidden threat in his voice.
“Iâve thought it through, and I won’t regret it.” Xiahou Qian smiled as he finished and hung up. He let out a light laugh and collapsed back onto the bed.
This small apartment had been bought for him by his mother. It had exhausted almost all of the familyâs savings. It was very close to the Conservatory of Music. Although the unit was tiny, the complex was decent; the floor plans were small simply because they were designed to be sold or rented to students. His place was less than 40 square meters. Nearly 10 square meters were cordoned off for the bathroom, leaving only about 30 square meters for the living and sleeping area. Once you added the bed and other furniture, the actual living space was minuscule.
After he started school, his mother had moved out of their rented home and into a staff dormitory. Xiahou Qian didn’t know when she had started getting sick. He had only seen her for the last time at the hospital right before she passed away. He still couldn’t forget that regret and agony. Even now, he felt like a total failure as a son.
Because of his love and talent for music, his mother had supported him wholeheartedly. She would often joke about how she was waiting for him to become a big star and make a lot of money to take care of her. She said that when she saw him on TV, she would brag to everyone, ‘Look, thatâs my son!’
The wish that went unfulfilled in his last lifeâhe would surely fulfill it in this one!
He got dressed and washed up. Afterward, he sat down at the computer. This laptop had also been a gift from his mother. Though she didn’t understand the technical specifications, she had earnestly told the salesperson that her son studied music. She insisted on a good sound card, excellent recording capabilities, and the ability to run professional software.
His usually frugal mother never hesitated when spending money on him. This laptop had cost nearly six months of her salary!
Powering on the laptop, Xiahou Qian wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. If he could have gone back to before college, he would have found a way to cure her. But regret was useless now. That the heavens let him return to this point was already a blessing. He had no right to complain.
Because everything he wrote was stored on this laptop, Xiahou Qian had once asked his professor to find someone to install several layers of password protection. Thus, even when people had tried to use it behind his back in the past, they had never found anything useful.
He entered the BIOS password, then typed a string of code into the ‘Run’ command. Only then did a folder named ‘Works’ appear on the disk. Xiahou Qian double-clicked it, prompted for another password. He expertly typed a long sequence of characters, and the folder finally opened. Inside were dozens of completed compositions and hundreds of half-finished pieces, all written before graduation.
During the final years of his previous life, he had stayed holed up at home with plenty of time. Over those years, he had accumulated at least a hundred finished songs. Xiahou Qian had a good memory, and since those songs were written with his heart and soul, he had reviewed and refined them frequently. Even though the laptop didn’t have his work from the later years yet, he was confident he could transcribe them all from memory.
With that thought, Xiahou Qianâs spirits soared. He opened the software and began editing… until a phone call interrupted his work.
T/N: Hello everyone! This is a new project for me. Itâs a classic “rebirth” story but with a musical twist and some “spiritual power” buffs. Xiahou Qian is our protagonist (the ‘Bottom’ or ‘Shou’ in the 1v1 relationship). The story is set in a near-future entertainment circle. Hope you enjoy the ride!
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