Chapter 4

I hugged my mother back and she gasped and cried harder.

Well damn.

My dad discreetly blew his nose in the corner.

My sister also got caught up in the environment and her eyes began watering.

My family certainly is way more emotional on this side. Back in the past life, they were more stoic and less prone to showing emotions. Well, at least that's a change.

This is so strange. Usually, my parents were the usual strict 'Asian' parents who avoided showing too much emotion.

Gazing to the side, I recollected the fact that it had been quite a long time since I was hugged and shown love like this from my family.

I suddenly lost the high I had from this new experience and felt how heavy my eyelids were. I sensed how my head just naturally wanted to look down, and how lifeless everything looked.

Is my sadness from my last life merging with this depressive side?

Ah, I haven't felt this lethargic in a long time. I just want to lie down and cover my face with a blanket.

My heart pulsed with pain and I felt my stomach trembling in pain. My breathing quickened and my eyes widened.

Am I having an anxiety attack? Why are my palms so damn sweaty?

Can't I just lie down? I don't want to do anything.

I sensed the void within my heart growing and I suddenly had the urge to shed tears.

Hey, man don't cry now.

Please don't cry right now. Please don't cry.

Why are you crying? Stop crying, it's okay.

I look up in an attempt to hide the tears in my eyes welling up.

I haven't cried in such a long time. Why am I crying now?

Stop crying man.

[Author Note: It's a little heavy right now. The main character is experiencing a flood of negative emotions mainly from suppressing them in his past life and then suddenly joining with the depressed side of this life. Before you judge, this is an attempt to develop a little early character growth. By the way, if you're going through something, drop it in the comments. The boys will always be here. I know the quarantine is tough, but keep going!]

I feel pulsing pain from my heart reaching all the way to the top and bottom of my body. I tense my legs and grip my hands.

Usually, I wouldn't cry this easy and just telling myself to stop crying would work but it isn't now.

Ugh, why does it hurt so much?

Like a cloud passing through my fog of confusion, I heard a little voice in the back of my mind quietly whispering, "I want her back."

[Ding!]

[The Achievement System has observed that the host is currently going through overwhelming emotions. The System has deduced that the Host will not earn any Achievement Points in this current state and has calculated it is of best that the system intervenes.]

I felt myself regaining calm and my vision clearing up. The cloud hovering over my mind dissipated and my body relaxed.

I looked down and my mother had stopped crying and was just staring at my trailing tears now.

She wiped them and smiled at me.

Ah, my parents were always very kind. Although they weren't very emotional, they still showed me love.

I can only hope back in the other world my parents and sister aren't feeling lonely without me. Who knows? Maybe I'm still there.

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My parents were not too keen on immediately intruding upon me and I'm thankful for that. I'm honestly not so sure what's even happening.

I ate breakfast next to my gaping sister and awkwardly grinned at her with a thumbs up.

Finishing up, I did not forget to show my parents my gratitude and offered to clean the plates.

My father merely smiled at me.

"You have school in twenty minutes."

OH SH-

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After wearing my school uniform I rushed outside and found my sister waiting for me wearing the same uniform.

I nodded at her and we walked to the subway station which was systematically close.

In the past life, we occasionally went to school together since we were separated by grade level. Here, it seems like we always took the same subway to the same school but after my heartbreak, I'd go by myself.

She seemed a little awkward since it had been a long time since we've walked together but pretty soon we wordlessly agreed to a comfortable silence.

I once again couldn't help but marvel at this world. The subway system was gigantic and interconnected all of the parts of the world. The metro was really quick, safe, and there were different systems depending on the different scales of travel you were going on.

I entered the smallest scale of the subway which was just local and after taking our seats, we started zooming our way to the school.

Entering my mind, the place where we went for education was at the level of a university in my past life. The campus was huge, almost resembling a really small city. There were restaurants, stores, and there was even a mall in there. This school housed students from kindergarten all the way to college.

But, this was for every state. Each state where I lived, the USA, had an identical school-city with top tier level of education. The number of school-cities within a state depended on the size of the state. There were two others in this state 'Weath Lands' and were named accordingly to the time they were built. The one we're going to is the "First Academy."

This system of education was funded by the government and the states that were the most competent received better funding and resources.

[Author Note: if you're confused, just think martial arts sects from Chinese novels but they're schools instead.]

The one we're going to is actually pretty high up there in the ranks and is abbreviated as "Weath First."

The sports department in this one isn't too bad, and the basketball there quite piqued my interest.

Arriving, I feel an odd sense of butterflies. I'm not going to a new school, but at the same time, I'm going to a new school with people I know but don't know at the same time.

Getting out of the subway station, I walk with my sister for a few minutes to the gates of the illustrious school. We enter the high school section and part ways with a nod. I adjust my clothes and walk into the unfamiliar yet familiar atmosphere.