Chapter 1: A Second Chance at Wealth

Internet café.

The air was heavy and foul—a mix of instant noodles, cigarette smoke, and sweat.

To his left sat a girl with a chunky, alternative-style bob and oversized headphones, hammering the spacebar as she lost herself in Audition.

On his right, a boy had just quit the Sabac siege game and sneakily launched Waga Art Era, his face curling into a sleazy grin.

On Xu Chen’s screen, a gaudy QQ Show avatar and the handle “Nalan Qingchuan” made him cringe.

Xu Chen had been reborn.

It was now 2006. He was eighteen, with the college entrance exam three months away.

Memories of his past life—like a fading dream—still crowded his mind.

He’d scraped his way into the big city only to stay stuck at the bottom as an outsider with no residence permit.

After over a decade of scrimping and working off loans to buy a flat, housing prices plunged, trapping his savings.

He’d burned out himself with endless overtime so his boss could live the life he wanted, only to be laid off at thirty-seven.

Corporate slave!

An absolute wage slave!

The lowest of the low.

Xu Chen grabbed his mouse, opened Notepad, and typed a few chaotic lines:

[Those who preach hard work do so to harvest and trap you.]

[Like the donkey at the mill: exhausted and then turned into donkey meat pancakes.]

[Effort is self-comfort; ambition is a grand deception.]

[Abandon the myth of self-made success. Widen your vision. Focus on two core tracks:]

[First: groom your birth father into a tycoon while you play the dandy.]

[Second: latch onto a wealthy woman]…

He stared at the text, nodded to himself.

Let those who want to work hard keep at it. I’m not interested.

Reborn into this life, why live like a slave again?

Drop the pride, open your mind, and life will brighten.

…

Just as Xu Chen settled on his new path, the girl next to him removed her headphones and smoothed her bob.

“Xu Chen-ge, I’m out of credits. Can you top me up another ten yuan?”

Zhao Linlin—once the flower of the class next door and Xu Chen’s longtime crush.

She looked sweet, but her alternative styling reeked of ‘Funeral Clan’ aesthetic.

Xu Chen frowned, mortified at his old taste.

Years later he learned Zhao Linlin never liked him. He was just an ATM for pocket money.

Xu Chen was one of her many “sugar brothers.”

She hung out with him because his family ran a small factory and he was generous with spending.

In high school he’d given at least half his allowance to her.

Even in college, she feigned a long-distance romance to keep his money flowing while he juggled side jobs.

After graduation, he visited her city on business and tried to meet her—she bailed, claiming overtime.

But at a KTV with clients, he saw her in a strappy miniskirt sipping tips money the moment someone called “princess.”

Those hands he couldn’t charm before now cost two thousand in tips to grope.

That night, the world as Xu Chen knew it shattered. He woke from the dream into a bottomless abyss…

And now, reborn before Zhao Linlin, would he repeat the same mistake?

She blinked, puckered her lips in a deliberately cute act:

“Xu Chen-ge, please, top up ten more yuan~”

He felt nothing but disgust.

“Don’t you have several ‘husbands’ in your game? Go ask them for money,” he said, his tone cold and steady.

Zhao Linlin froze. “What do you mean, Xu Chen?”

“Exactly what I said.”

“Are you jealous? It’s just a game—how could you take it seriously?”

“I was just playing along. I’m done playing.”

“You…”

“All the credits and snacks I bought you—call it a loan. Pay me back now.”

She stiffened, then stormed up:

“What are you talking about? I’ll never play with you again!”

With that, she snatched her backpack and stomped out.

Xu Chen felt nothing but amusement.

He glanced at her screen—one minute of time left.

Without hesitation, he logged her out of the game.

A small lesson, no big deal.

…

Putting the Zhao Linlin detour behind him, Xu Chen rested his chin on his hand and continued planning.

Whether grooming his father or marrying rich, the main mission was always making money.

Everyone can lie to you, but your wallet never will.

Reborn, Xu Chen refused to grind like before—but that didn’t stop him from earning his first gold.

What to do?

It had to be easy, light work.

Too bad he never bought lottery tickets and couldn’t recall numbers from twenty years ago.

Copywriting was the simple path.

At that time, Ghost Blows Out the Light was just serializing on Tianya; Grave Robbers’ Chronicles was still in Uncle San’s mind.

Soul Land would debut two years later; Battle Through the Heavens in three; Stellar Transformations, Demon’s Diary, Ze Tian, Master Son-in-Law…none existed yet.

He’d read them all.

But he couldn’t remember the plots…

And typing out millions of words would give him tendonitis.

Just then, a message popped up in the QQ Show chatroom.

A user named NetAffairsLikeSmoke posted:

“Kidney tonic ad copy needed! Fifteen thousand yuan cash reward for the chosen script! Brand: HuiShuang Shenbao, herbal kidney supplement…”

Xu Chen paused, a twisted smile forming.

The wheels of fate had begun to turn.

As a reborn man, he knew the “perfect answer” for the HuiShuang Shenbao ad.

He didn’t know if the risqué copy would boost sales, but it was the brand’s ultimate choice.

Years later it would even become known as the “root of all evil.”

Fifteen thousand yuan? A giveaway.

In his past life, he detested such shameless ads. Reborn, he had a broader vision.

Making money wasn’t shameful.

He could recite that kidney tonic ad by heart—so much for novels.

In fact, ad copy was his former trade. He’d spent years as a freelance copywriter, scraping the bottom but mastering classic ad formulas.

A single slogan could sell millions.

This was his chance at a fortune!

Copying ads was more cost-effective than novels.

Fifteen thousand yuan? Child’s play.

He clicked NetAffairsLikeSmoke’s QQ Space and scanned the photos of local distributors pushing the kidney tablets.

Then he opened the email page and began typing:

[HuiShuang Shenbao—Steady Happiness TVC, 30″]

[Kidney fatigue. After overwork, your waist aches, your legs fail, your spirit drains as if your body were hollow…]

[Afraid you’ll never give her steady happiness again…]

[Is it kidney exhaustion? HuiShuang Shenbao replenishes and steadies…]

[HuiShuang Shenbao: good for him, good for me~]

Suppressing his shame, sick excitement twisting inside, Xu Chen finished the ad plan.

He added his contact details and, using the provided address, hit send.

Now he waited for good news.

Copying ads was a light path—no doubt more brands would post opportunities, maybe with bigger rewards.

But today he had more pressing matters.

His first track reborn—turning his father into a tycoon—faced a crisis.

That evening, his father would attend a dinner and sign a contract…

And that contract would bankrupt the family factory.