Life Like Summer Flowers

9 o'clock at night.

Qin State Art Academy.

He lay on the grass beside the school's sports field with his hands clasped behind his head, gazing up at the stars.

The stars overhead seemed indistinguishable from those on Earth. Yet even though he couldn't locate the North Star, he knew that he wasn't on Earth. He was in a parallel universe on a planet called Blue Star.

"Lin Yuan, a second-year student from the Composition Department at the Qin State Art Academy."

This was his identity after traveling through time and space.

He inherited the memories and life of the original owner of this body. Yet, he couldn't recall his name or the reason for his transmigration from his previous life.

"I only remember that I seemed to be an artist in my previous life?"

So, it was only fitting that he now accepted this new identity:

"Lin Yuan."

He sifted through the memories of the original Lin Yuan.

As Lin Yuan anticipated, the historical trajectory of this world was drastically different from his past life.

The divergence began with the Qin Dynasty. Fusu succeeded Emperor Qin Shi Huang and led the Qin cavalry to conquer all lands, making the East dominate the world. This rule lasted until a century ago when it was overthrown by the powerful Xia Kingdom.

The world was unified under one rule.

It was divided into eight continents.

The place where Lin Yuan resided was called Qin State.

In this world, which had long left warfare behind, art became the collective pursuit of the people. The cultural atmosphere was rich and vibrant. Fields related to arts like films, music, paintings, literature, calligraphy, etc., all flourished like never before.

"A Utopia."

That's how Lin Yuan described it.

It was especially true for those in the arts.

However, even in such a utopian world, tragedies still occurred. The original owner of the body Lin Yuan now inhabited was such a tragic figure—

He was diagnosed with a terminal illness.

Yes, the same clichéd "terminal illness" often dramatically portrayed in TV shows.

This was the shocking revelation Lin Yuan found in his new memories after the transmigration. He had taken over a body that was not long for this world. Doctors had given their grim prognosis to the original owner a while back:

"This child won't live past 25."

Such a dire fate was too much for the original owner to bear, leading him to overdose on sleeping pills, hoping to end his pain. This very act allowed Lin Yuan to become the new inhabitant of the body. The 19-year-old original owner gave up the little life he had left—

Because he feared death?

He chose to embrace it instead?

Lin Yuan initially believed that the original owner's choice to end his life was straightforward, but as he delved deeper into the original owner's memories, he realized the situation was more complex than he had imagined:

The original owner came from a single-parent family.

His father passed away from an illness at an early age.

He was raised solely by his mother.

From a young age, the original owner had been frail, frequently falling into fevers that would cause him to lose consciousness. For the sake of treatments, he was often hospitalized. All these tremendous medical expenses were borne solely by his mother.

Some of the money was borrowed.

Some was earned by his mother.

To provide for him, she had suffered immensely. Moreover, the original owner had an elder sister and a younger sister—

Both of whom were very understanding.

Even though they led difficult lives due to the original owner's condition, his elder sister gave up the opportunity to pursue higher studies to support the family financially. The younger sister, to lessen the burden on the family, wore hand-me-downs from her elder sister.

The last straw that broke the camel's back was...

The original owner lost the qualification to chase his dream.

Initially a student in the vocal music department, he was naturally gifted with an impressive voice. His vocal range and quality were unparalleled in the professional world. His dream was to become a singer.

However, in his freshman year, his illness struck again, with devastating consequences:

He could no longer sing.

His vocal cords were damaged, making him unable to endure intensive vocal training, let alone reach the high notes he once prided himself on.

Reluctantly, he transferred to the composition department, an area he wasn't particularly skilled in.

And in his sophomore year, he chose to end his life.

It wasn't just the crushing of his dream, but also the guilt of being a burden to his family. As his life seemed to be on a countdown, every tick of the clock felt like torture.

Having absorbed all these memories, Lin Yuan, the newcomer to this body, could fully understand the original owner's decision. He couldn't judge the original owner from a moral high ground, accusing him of weakness.

It was evident...

Everyone has their miseries, and some people's miseries are just too much to bear compared to others.

This resonates with the Buddhist saying, "Life is suffering."

However, Lin Yuan would not choose the path of suicide.

Even though the body he inherited was unlikely to live past twenty-five, he still had a few years to make the most of... right?

He could adapt some songs.

Write a few books.

Transfer some culture.

Earn some money for the family.

Yes, while Lin Yuan might not change the inevitable fate of the terminal illness, he could perhaps alter the fate of his family in the time he had left.

Such a thought was pressing.

Lin Yuan couldn't distinguish whether this urgency stemmed from the original owner's will or his own desires.

Perhaps what he inherited was not just the memories, but also all the emotions, tied to that mysterious bloodline.

Lin Yuan didn't resist such feelings.

However, when he tried to recall artistic works from his past life, he was taken aback to find he couldn't remember any, just as he had forgotten his name from his previous life.

Past lives were like fleeting dreams.

Once awakened, nothing remains.

Then what is the purpose of my transmigration?

Lin Yuan pondered internally.

Soon after, a voice resonated in his mind, a response, though not exactly answering his query: [Blood test in progress... Genetic scan in progress... Iris verification in progress... Compatibility: 99.36%... Meets criteria... Database selection: Solar System - Earth... System binding in progress...]

System?

Lin Yuan understood.

Although the details of his memories were blurry, he did recall some web novels from his previous life that revolved around the 'system' trope. He recognized it as a cheat code, possibly the very reason for his transmigration.

Ceasing his wandering thoughts, he patiently awaited the system's installation.

It wasn't long before that robotic, electric voice echoed in his mind once more: [Load successful. Artistic System binding complete!]

"Hello."

Lin Yuan greeted proactively.

[Hello, Host. Congratulations on binding the Artistic System. This system will strive to help you become the top artist of Blue Star. You can communicate with the system through your thoughts. Now, I will display the host's information in text form.]

After a brief pause in the mechanical voice, transparent subtitles appeared before Lin Yuan.

[Age: 19]

[Lifespan: 22]

[Painting: 45]

[Literature: 105]

[Music: 1038]

[Composite: 1188]

[Others: Awaiting activation]

[Note: Aside from age and lifespan, the numbers in each category represent fame, indicating the recognition the host has gained in the respective fields. Theoretically, there is no upper limit. The higher the fame score, the more benefits the host receives...]

Lifespan... only 22?

It seemed the system was aware of Lin Yuan's train of thought.

Another line of subtitles emerged: [Twenty-five is the theoretical age limit of the host. Considering actual circumstances, the host is predicted to live up to 22 years and will be completely paralyzed by 21.]

"Is there a cure?"

Lin Yuan questioned silently.

System: [Once the host's fame reaches the system's requirements, you will be eligible for treatment. Multiple rounds of treatment can lead to full recovery. For every achievement in fame, the system will notify the host...]

So, there is hope for a cure.

Lin Yuan, accustomed to such systems, asked promptly, "Do I get a newbie gift pack?"

Perhaps Lin Yuan's familiarity caught the system off guard, as it took a few moments before responding: [The big newbie gift pack has been sent to the host's background inventory.]

"Open inventory."

As Lin Yuan's words fell, he witnessed a virtual interface materialize before him, similar to a game inventory. In the first grid, there was a small audio file:

Song: "Life Like Summer Flowers".

The big newbie gift pack was just a single song?

Could they please remove the "big" from "big newbie gift pack"?

While inwardly grumbling about it, Lin Yuan listened to the song once. Only the intro played, but he was already certain that this was the very composition from his memories.

In fact...

The moment he played this song, memories from his previous life regarding it flooded his mind. Before that moment, he couldn't recall the tune or the lyrics of this piece.

Lin Yuan had an inkling about the system's route.

The fame values mentioned earlier probably related to releasing songs and earning recognition. When this recognition reached a certain level, he could receive treatment and wouldn't need to worry about becoming paralyzed too soon...

Such a perfunctory setting.

The system seemed discontent with Lin Yuan's cynicism and promptly added another feature: [While acquiring fame, the host will also have a chance to participate in a lottery, with extremely high chances of winning.]

"Oh."

Lin Yuan responded nonchalantly.

He was pondering the matter of the song.

His vocal cords were ruined, and though the song "Life Like Summer Flowers" didn't require a high vocal range, Lin Yuan was advised not to sing.

But this wasn't a problem for Lin Yuan.

If he couldn't sing, he could have someone else sing it.

As long as he could earn fame, it didn't matter. Even though logically, the one singing would be more likely to become famous, Lin Yuan didn't relish fame. In fact, he somewhat disliked it—

He didn't know why.

Perhaps his past life influenced him?

Although Lin Yuan couldn't remember his previous life's memories, he had a vague sense that he might have been rather accomplished in his past life.

This song was interesting too.

At the very least, it suited the original owner's circumstances.

Thinking this, Lin Yuan suddenly grew curious: "System, when I transmigrated to this world, did the previous me from my past life just disappear from Earth?"

System: [Life Exchange]

The system had already figured out Lin Yuan's approach. This individual had a strong understanding and remarkable adaptability. They preferred simplicity and directness, so there was no need for excessive explanations. As such, the system began to speak concisely.

"Life exchange?"

Lin Yuan's gaze flickered briefly, followed by a gentle smile. The feeling of someone taking over his life wasn't that bad.

After all, he was single.

Although many things were unclear, Lin Yuan could faintly sense the vague outline of his past life's memories. It wasn't great, but it wasn't terrible either.

In fact, no matter how dire life might be, it was still better than having a countdown to the end of your life. Lin Yuan wished the unknown 'him' out there also had a system and didn't have to experience another life Like summer flowers—

At the very least, we still exist.