Chapter 3

Should he wish that the original and his family were not close enough so that he can OOC beneath notice? But he did not want for the original to have lived such a life. He was in a dilemma, but he had no way to solve it and help himself.

After walking for a few minutes, the housekeeper finally let him into a spacious dining room. There were large French windows that showed a beautiful garden on one side of the room. The windows let the natural sunlight in and fully illuminated the large mahogany dining table.

There was a woman, who looked like she was in her 30s, sitting at the table. She was elegantly dressed in a purple dress and her hair was set into loose curls. She had a beautiful face, and it became more pleasant to look at when she saw him come in the dining room.

Beside her was another seat where the food had been arranged. He immediately went there and made his morning greetings before sitting down.

“Hua Er, you need to be early for your horse-riding lessons. It’s important that you develop this talent to further your standing amongst your peers,” the mother of his original body said.

Lian Hua almost choked on his food. He did not expect that this was the first conversation that he would have with the original’s family. He carefully drank his orange juice while gathering his thoughts.

“I heard that the Fang family’s daughter is an equestrian. She is two years your junior. If you can get along with someone like her, mother will be very happy,” the original’s mother continued with gleaming eyes.

He carefully observed the original’s mother. From her words, he could gleam that the family was rich but the original’s mother was a bit of a social climber. Although trying to improve your standing in life was not a bad thing, Lian Hua was someone who never engaged much in socializing. If it was not for circle of friends or his job, he would not have many opportunities to socialize with others.

So far, he still did not know the original’s name or the mother’s name. He hoped it would be mentioned in their conversation.

“Mother, I will try my best,” he said. He made sure that his reaction was normal and not too eager. He had never come into contact with a horse before. So he silently hoped that he would not suck when it came to the lessons.

“Naturally, our Shu family will secure our place amongst the prominent families. There will come a time that everybody will know Shu Lianhua as the scion of the Shu family,” the original’s mother said.

Shu Lianhua? His own name was Lian Hua.

Did the original and he shared a part of their name? Is that why he was able to transmigrate into the original’s body? But what happened to the original?

Lian Hua had no answer to the latter question. And he also had no clear answer as to his own cause of transmigration either.

The original’s mother—now his new mother—wanted him to learn horseback riding to help his social status. He could not understand how such an old-fashioned past time can increase his social standing. But he had to do it.

Given his uncertainties about the original’s character, he could not easily refuse his new mother. He could treat horseback riding lessons the same as learning the piano or painting. It probably appealed to the image of a refined young man. And maybe that was what his new mother wanted. He dreaded the sudden thought of also learning even more things to increase his social standing.

Even the concept of having parents was new to Lian Hua. His mother died of childbirth and his father remarried, leaving him to his maternal grandmother’s care. His grandmother died when he was 23 years old. He did not know if he had any siblings from his father’s remarriage. In fact, he had no idea what had happened to his father after remarriage.

Lian Hua became an orphan at the age of 23, but he never minded that he was alone. He was able to work and continue his peaceful life with the occasional outings with his friends. He was contented with what he had.

But now, he was inside the body of a 16 or 17 year-old boy. He was now a student. He never thought he would ever go back to school again. He never really liked taking exams. Although he always managed to pass his exams with average results, he still found taking tests bothersome and tedious. That was also why he had stayed in the same office job since he graduated. He did not want to be bothered with taking more company tests or job interviews.

In truth, he just wanted to live a quiet and peaceful life. He really did not care about thrills. It was good if he traveled, but it did not matter if he just stayed at home.

He had his books and his Internet connection. Those were enough to entertain him.

After breakfast, Lian Hua finally managed to return to his room. He immediately looked for the original’s bag and wallet. He rummaged through the original’s things to find out more about his new identity.

Inside the expensive leather wallet, he found a thick wad of paper bills and credit cards. In his previous life, he never had so much money on hand and he only had one credit card. He finally found a student ID from inside the wallet.

He was now Shu Lianhua, a third year student in senior high school. And in the ID, there was a picture of a teenager who looked like a Korean idol. The boy had a condescending expression on his face as if he was entitled to everything the world had to offer.

Seeing the pretty boy’s face, Lian Hua could not help but touch his cheek. He pinched himself and felt the suppleness and firmness of youth. The boy was blessed to not have any imperfections or blemishes on his face despite being a teenager. It was vastly different from his 29-year old self who still had the occasional pimple popping up on his face from time to time.

He thought back on his new mother’s face. He realized that she also had a perfect complexion. Did this body inherit his pretty boy looks from his mother? He now wondered what the original’s father looked like.

PAchan: I have been trying to write this story as much as I can during my free time. I found writing on paper relaxing in a way. And then I could rewrite it on my computer. Before I posted this chapter, I spent some time making a spreadsheet for the story and the characters. Because I wanted to be clear on what kind of dog blood story the original time line was before I wrote this one. But this story is a fluffy slice of life one. Drama will be minimal and plot will not be heavy.

Please leave me a comment. Thanks for reading!