Chapter 1#

The Liar Who Deceives Himself#

Lin Xiaodong used to hear people joke that if you killed pigs in your past life, you’d teach in this one. He always just laughed it off as a joke.

But he never imagined that one day, a thing calling itself a “System” would find him, saying he’d broken heavenly laws in his previous life and had to be a good person for seven lifetimes in this one before he could reincarnate.

System: “Hello, I am not a ’thing’, I am System Zero Seven.”

Lin Xiaodong (expressionlessly): “I don’t care.”

Ten minutes ago, he was lying on his own bed at home, enjoying the air conditioning and cold drinks. Ten minutes later, he had turned into a yellow-haired little punk in boxers, squatting by the roadside. Flipping through the plot of this world, he thought to himself that with his current outfit—which probably cost less than a hundred yuan in total—he could actually be scouted by a tycoon worth hundreds of billions and become a “substitute” for a “White Moonlight”?

What a load of bull.

“That White Moonlight is your younger brother,” the System paused, then added, “Biological.”

“My name is Lin Xiaodong, and his is Lin Xiamian,” Lin Xiaodong couldn’t help but complain. “Even though I like my name—it’s simple and easy to remember—isn’t the contrast a bit too obvious? Am I really biological?” (Note: Xiaodong = Little Winter, Xiamian = Summer Sleep).

“No, you just happened to come out of the same mother’s womb.”

Lin Xiaodong: “…”

He didn’t expect this System to tell dry jokes.

He sighed, propped himself up by his knees, and straightened his body. He thought, whatever, might as well make the best of it.

Wasn’t it just being a “Holy Father”? That shouldn’t be hard.

The task given by the System was to collect “Good Person Cards” from characters related to the plot in each small world. The number must not be less than five. Besides that, he had to play the character according to the persona and must never let the residents of the original world discover the existence of the System.

Lin Xiaodong ruffled his sharp, yellow-green bird’s nest of hair. Seeing the way pedestrians on the street avoided him like the plague, he wondered: with this punk looking like this, how could anyone see him as a good person?

Even the neighbor’s kids would probably be scared to tears.

Following the route provided by the System, he swayed and drifted back home from the street, prepared to see what this “cheap” younger brother of his actually looked like.

The place the brothers lived was very crude—a hot and humid old apartment building. Even when Lin Xiaodong climbed to the sixth floor, he could still hear the energetic sounds of two middle-aged women fighting downstairs.

“Brother!”

Hearing footsteps, seventeen-year-old Lin Xiamian stood at the door, smiling brightly at him.

The youth was wearing a white T-shirt school uniform with the emblem of High School No. 1. His skin was fair and clean, and his eyes were curved in a smile.

He looked like a pure and sunny student.

Seeing him, Lin Xiaodong’s first reaction was: A golden phoenix flew out of a chicken coop.

With this look, no wonder he would be treated as a “White Moonlight” by a tycoon.

He closed the door and asked casually, “Don’t you have cram school today?”

Lin Xiamian shook his head: “The teacher took leave today, so we were let out early.”

He eagerly took the bag from Lin Xiaodong’s hand and lowered the air conditioner in the living room by a few degrees, but was quickly stopped by Lin Xiaodong: “Why set it so low? It wastes electricity.”

So Lin Xiamian turned off the air conditioner and fanned him with a cattail leaf fan.

Lin Xiaodong calmly took the towel handed over by his brother. After a thought, he asked again, “How are your studies lately?”

“It’s okay. I ranked seventh in the school’s math competition team training.”

“Seventh? Not bad, keep it up.” Lin Xiaodong searched through the memories the System had packaged and sent him, finally finding this matter in a dusty corner. “I remember if you get into the top thirty in the province, you can be recommended for a 985 university, right?”

Lin Xiamian nodded: “I’m currently around sixtieth. Teacher Zhao said if I work hard, there’s still hope. It’s just…”

Lin Xiaodong waited for a while but didn’t hear him speak, so he couldn’t help but look up in confusion.

The youth stopped fanning, stared at the floor, and said in a low voice: “Teacher Zhao also said that someone recently saw me frequently entering and leaving… those kinds of places. He’s afraid someone might report me before the competition, so he hopes I’d come back and tell you.”

“What for?” Lin Xiaodong raised an eyebrow. “I’m your brother, and I’m out collecting debts. What does that have to do with you participating in a math competition? How is it any of their business?”

“I didn’t mean that!” Lin Xiamian said immediately. “Of course, I also think they’re the problem. I know it’s not easy for you, brother, but Teacher Zhao’s side…”

The young man stared at him for a while. As Lin Xiamian expected, he finally softened his heart and compromised.

“Fine, fine,” he waved his hand, “I’ll be careful.”

Lin Xiamian immediately broke into a smile again: “Thanks, brother.”

“Come eat,” Lin Xiaodong directed him. “Peel the edamame, and get me a bottle of beer while you’re at it. By the way, you’re not allowed to drink.”

“You’re only two years older than me, yet you manage everything every day.”

Lin Xiamian grumbled, but he still sat by the table with a happy face, peeling the beans for him without complaint.

“How does this brother feel?” the System asked him.

Lin Xiaodong: “Not bad, let’s see.”

Taking advantage of the gap while Lin Xiamian was peeling edamame, Lin Xiaodong carefully flipped through the plot of the original world.

The punk he was playing actually had very good grades originally. But because his father died early and his mother was seriously ill, he had to drop out of school to support the family. He hung out with a group of thugs on the streets, supporting himself and his brother by collecting debts. In the end, his brother was loved at first sight by a tycoon, while he became his brother’s substitute and was kept by the tycoon, becoming the most loyal “vicious dog” under the tycoon’s command.

Finally, the brothers, who were originally loving, turned against each other because of love. The older brother also died by self-immolation after killing the younger brother.

This story combined various popular elements such as wealthy families, melodrama, crime, and brotherly strife. A masterpiece of “dog-blood” drama.

Lin Xiaodong: “With such a trashy script, do you think I still have a chance?”

System (firmly): “I believe in you.”

“Then you really have confidence in me,” the young man leaned lazily on the sofa, staring at the dusty guitar in the corner with an ambiguous smile. “Also, I’ve read novels, and other people’s systems are very powerful, providing ‘cheat codes’ or something. Why don’t you guys have anything?”

“Once you collect more than half of the Good Person Cards, you can unlock the character biographies of this world. Completing tasks will also grant points to exchange for various items and abilities,” the System said tactfully. “But everything has to start from zero.”

Lin Xiaodong understood. In one word: poor.

“Brother, I’m going to school for evening self-study,” Lin Xiamian shouted at the door with his backpack.

“Wait a minute!”

Lin Xiaodong walked over and stuffed a stack of crumpled paper money into his brother’s pocket. It was mostly small change, totaling about two or three hundred yuan.

“…Brother, what is this for?”

“Oh, shouldn’t you build good relationships with your classmates?” Lin Xiaodong waved his hand, sounding as if he was afraid Lin Xiamian would be mistreated. “It’s summer. Remember to treat them to popsicles after school, lest those gossipy guys keep talking about you behind your back.”

Lin Xiamian gripped the bills. After a long time, he silently stuffed the money back into his pocket. The youth suddenly took a step forward and gave Lin Xiaodong a big hug.

“I won’t spend it recklessly,” he promised in a muffled voice.

System: “Ding! Good Person Card fragment +1.”

Plot-related characters are divided into ‘key’ and ’non-key’. Key characters like Lin Xiamian require three fragments to form a complete card.

“Okay, okay, it’s scorching hot. Hurry up and go, don’t be late.” Lin Xiaodong perfunctorily rubbed his head and pushed the kid out the door.

When closing the door, he turned around and glanced at the mirror. The youth in the mirror was tall and thin. His eyes, clear as day and night, revealed a precocious calmness. At first glance, he did look like Lin Xiamian, but the temperaments of the two were worlds apart.

Lin Xiaodong ruffled his bird’s nest hair. After Lin Xiamian left, he turned on the air conditioner and lay back on the bed. But he hadn’t been lying for long before the phone in his pocket started buzzing.

He clicked his tongue and answered: “Hello?”

“Xiaodong, see you at the… the old place!” A slurred voice came from the other side. “You… you must come today, Brother Long and the others are all here, just waiting for you!”

Lin Xiaodong (frowning): “Guangtou, how much did you drink?”

“Don’t… don’t worry about that, just get over here!”

“Got it, coming right now.”

He sighed, took a shower, and when the sun had set, he slowly walked towards his destination. Before leaving, he had the foresight to shove an electric baton into his pocket.

It was completely dark when he arrived. Guangtou was very dissatisfied with Lin Xiaodong’s delay.

“You don’t know, that bastard Zheng Li is also playing in the pool room next door today,” he lowered his voice. “He brought a bunch of thugs, each one big and tall!”

Lin Xiaodong’s footsteps paused. He pointed to himself: “Look at my build. Do I look like someone who can fight?”

“Sigh, Brother Long said we can lose the fight but not the momentum,” Guangtou said. “Besides, I don’t think they’ll start a fight today.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of a beer bottle smashing came from the pool room. A group of thugs rushed out with pool cues and clashed with another group of guys in suits at the door.

Guangtou: “…”

He and Lin Xiaodong stood at the door, looking at the chaotic brawl with dazed expressions. Their out-of-place appearance was just like two screaming chickens that had accidentally wandered into a marmot fight.

Brother Long, while struggling with his rival, shouted: “What are you still standing there for? Beat these bastards to death for me!”

Guangtou immediately reacted and pulled Lin Xiaodong into the fray. In the end, Guangtou was knocked down in less than two minutes. Lin Xiaodong, however, was invincible with his electric baton. Anyone who came near him was poked with the baton, making them scream and howl.

Now, the two groups stopped fighting. Zheng Li glared at him fiercely: “Grandson, if you have the guts, come at me fairly! What kind of underhanded tricks are you playing?”

“Warning! Public brawling violates the law. Please pay attention to your character persona!”

The System blew a horn in his ear. Lin Xiaodong asked back: “Isn’t my persona a yellow-haired little punk?”

“No,” the System said seriously, “being a punk is just your occupation. Being a good person is the ultimate goal. Therefore, you must become a yellow-haired punk with a tough exterior but a soft heart. Obey the law, starting with yourself.”

Lin Xiaodong: “Trash System.”

System: “Persona collapse warning, heavenly thunder in preparation… Countdown starts: ten, nine, eight…”

Lin Xiaodong sighed: Fine.

He lowered the electric baton and looked at Zheng Li: “You said you want to do this fairly. Are you serious?”

“You don’t dare!?”

“Fine,” Lin Xiaodong took out his mobile phone. “Then I’ll have to invite someone to be a witness, otherwise I’m afraid you’ll cheat if you can’t win.”

Zheng Li sneered: “Come on, whoever doesn’t dare is a coward.” He sat directly on the ground and even told his thugs to sit down and wait. He wanted to see what kind of tricks Lin Xiaodong could play.

Ten minutes later.

Police cars drove to the scene with their sirens blaring.

Under Zheng Li’s dumbfounded gaze, a police officer jumped out of the car and asked: “Who reported it?”

Lin Xiaodong raised his hand: “Me. Officer, we are about to have a fair and just duel. Please uphold justice for us,” he said seriously, then turned to look at Zheng Li. “I’ve brought the referees, absolutely fair. When are you planning to start the fight?”

Zheng Li: I fuck your uncle!