The inside of Feng Xue's place looked newer than what appeared on the outside, and it was evident that many spots had been repaired or refurbished over time. Overall, it gave a sense of modern comfort with a touch of antiquity; a curious but very appealing mix.
After learning the rent for this place– Yang Jingshen could guess why his cousin decided to stay there, despite the slightly dilapidated surroundings.
'In this time and age, it's quite rare to find a place this cheap, with this level of comfort ne. Considering it even has two bedrooms, they still lowered the price to just a thousand eight hundred yuan a month, probably because of the neighborhood. And, it's even in the suburbs of the capital!'
Yuan? Yeah, by now, Yang Jingshen had realized that the world of the novel that he transmigrated into was actually pretty similar to the earth he was familiar with. Well, he at least knew that the currency of this country was called yuan, and the capital city's name was the same as before.
This little information as well, he was only able to scrape off with the help of the television in his hospital room. After all, his dear cousin had taken it upon herself to confiscate his phone, with the excuse of 'to not let it hinder his recovery by distracting him with all sorts of nonsense in the net.'
In front of this kind of determined rationalization, what could Yang Jingshen do except bow down and accept defeat? It wasn't like he could pick a fight with her asking for his phone or wander around collecting information with his crippled leg, no? And, after all, they all say that patience is a virtue, right?
All in all, from whatever he could gather up until now, it appeared that this world had a structure very similar to earth; oh let's face it, it was even called 'earth'! He'd have started thinking that he was on the very same planet if he didn't see the advertisements and news broadcasts and certain other programs on that little television.
Almost all of the popular brand names were not ones he was familiar with and the political figures were all different. Many other things were different from what he knew as well, but he guessed that at least the geography of the planet might be the same; at least this country was still called China– or at least that's what he think it was.
'Guess that some things never change.' Yang Jingshen sighed ruefully while observing the tiny living room sporting sparse furniture from his comfortable perch on the slightly worn-out sofa.
Feng Xue was busy in the small kitchen preparing the promised meal to celebrate his recovery, which gave Yang Jingshen ample time to ponder over his situation.
'Pretending amnesia is the best option. I told them I don't remember information like the current year and the prime minister's name. The only hitch in this whole farce is how I acted when I first woke up. Thankfully they concluded it as temporary confusion due to shock'
And, the fact that the original owner of the body also suffered from a head injury during her 'accident' had only cemented his claims of amnesia. Fortunately, they didn't ask anything serious like the history of the country or geography or something equally complicated, so he had been spared much of the trouble.
'Good thing I acted the role of an amnesiac person in a drama a few years back and did some research on this matter. Or, I would've been in a real pinch'
Perhaps, lady luck didn't desert him after all, considering his past efforts came in handy at this point.
Humans were inherently suspicious and curious beings; their way of coping with anything abnormal was very much in tandem with this nature they possess.
Throughout the history of mankind, they would either try to destroy anything remotely related supernatural or opt to worship it like fanatics. But, the descent of modern science had guided them to a path where they would dissect and observe any type of abnormality, trying to prove the science in this phenomena of the unknown.
And, Yang Jingshen, by no means wanted to become a lab rat under the glorious banner of 'for the development of mankind' or some such shit!
Shuddering at the picture of himself strapped to a cold metal bed in a creepy laboratory, surrounded by a bunch of mad scientists and tested for this and that, he quickly grabbed his crutches and limped his way over to the kitchen in search of the company of his cheerful cousin.
'That hospital stay– I think it gave me some kind of trauma.'
Honestly, Yang Jingshen couldn't understand how those MCs in novels can easily accept everything without so much as batting an eyelid when they first transmigrate. Look at him– he was on the brink of insanity, and that was even without a truckload of foreign memories crammed into his head!
'Imagine if I have twenty years of this girl's life experience stuffed in my head; memories about when she ate, shat, or pissed, and what she learned and her relationship with others and all that useless nonsense!.'
'...'
'Does the human brain even have the ability to bear this kind of stimulus?'
Whatever! He won't try to think about how those book protagonists managed all that– Something to do with, what do you call that? Hmmmm…. Protagonist halo something ne? Anyway, what he realized from all of this was that anything could happen in life after all. Just take a look at him!
'At least, my situation isn't as hopeless and miserable as those books' MCs just when they transmigrate ne.' Because, he got this cousin sister who'd take care of him and a company who'd pay for his medical bills, no matter how much of a nuisance they considered him to be.
'Quite a cheat, if I say so myself.' Yang Jingshen thought as he worked his way through his first proper home-cooked meal consisting of fish and tofu soup, rice, braised shrimp, and some stir-fried vegetables after waking up to his new life.
He had already been dumped in this situation by who-knows-what, so he just had to make use of what he was given and live his life the best he can. Since his past obligations were no more, it was high time for him to carve out a new path of life for himself and enjoy it as much as he can; a luxury he couldn't afford in his last life, but not anymore.
As for his change of gender… who wouldn't encounter an unpleasant thing or two in their life? He'd just suck it up and learn to live with it, and no one would be the wiser!
***
It was another stuffily hot summer day in the capital city; the most populous national metropolis in the world. Yep, it was true even for the 'earth' in this novel, but the similarity didn't end there. Most of the main geographical locations and even many of the historical timelines were intact, despite the various changes observed everywhere.
But, this wasn't the case always, as Yang Jingshen slowly discovered over the past week. Some historical incidents, probably even dynasties had been plucked out of existence, and even some major or insignificant geographical locations have changed as well.
Supposedly, a small island nation, an overseas territory of a certain powerful country back on earth had disappeared from the world map after being buried under volcanic ashes as the dormant volcano in it had erupted nearly two centuries ago.
The similarity to Pompeii was uncanny! Oh, did he mention that Pompeii was never buried under volcanic ashes in this world?
And, some never-before-heard countries had been added to the world map, and even some forms of new land masses, with some of them being utterly unremarkable not to say the least.
Another dominant example was that the Ming dynasty in the history he knew of had been erased out of existence, while another 'Da Yan' had taken its place. It lasted longer and was followed by the same 'Da Qing' led by the Manchus, but the similarity between the Qing dynasty he knew of, and the Qing dynasty of this current timeline ended there.
The emperors, the famous generals, and many other prominent imperial, political, and artistic figures were all different– not to mention everything that happened during the course of the dynasty. But, that wasn't the most surprising result of all these historical changes.
It was because Yang Jingshen had found to his never-ending amazement that the 'Da Qing' didn't perish unlike in his last life; the dynastic line was still there, well and alive!
Of course, it was now a constitutional monarchy and wasn't the 'Da Qing' anymore but was simply the 'Empire of China'; the sole empire in this world as of now. Not a kingdom but an empire!
Honestly, Yang Jingshen didn't know what to think of all of this. He was bogged down in the sheer absurdity of it all! What could've made this change? Was it the change of the emperors? Or something else?
He didn't know and didn't want to know! Because he felt terrified– terrified instead of elated because of the magnitude of all these changes. If it had been the him of the past, he'd have been elated at the sheer glory of it all! Their country had managed to preserve its monarchy and was even the sole empire in the world!
But, now that he was the one facing it all, he felt nothing but chilled, even standing under the scorching midday sun of the capital city– ah it's not just the capital city anymore. It was the 'Imperial capital'.
'This feels too realistic! For that matter, the 'earth' I lived in, was it even… real? What is the real 'reality'? It could mean that I was living a lie before, right? But…. isn't this supposed to be a novel?'
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A/n:
Hope you peeps enjoyed reading this chapter. It gives a bit of the world's background and I think it might have intrigued you enough ne? Hehe.
Alright, now to the important stuff; the WPC competition is still going on so don't forget to vote with your power stones. *wink* Also, if you got any idea about what I write so far, anything at all, don't forget to let me know in the comments section.
Have fun!