The day Lin Zhou dropped dead, he was still clutching the bankruptcy liquidation papers he'd just printed.
When he opened his eyes again, he was crouched outside the restroom on a green train in 1998, with 35 yuan in his pocket and the "elementary school message book" of Su Xiaomei, the village beauty from next door.
Even more absurdly, a System with a strong Northeastern accent had appeared in his head:
"Ding! Beginner mission: perform a bit of 'Health Song' for the train attendant. Reward: 'Scam-Proofing Guide: Wet Market Edition'!"
"Ding! Side mission: trade insults with a factory old-timer. You must make him laugh out loud. Reward: 'Unreleased Jay Chou Lyrics: Fragment'!"
"Warning! Fail the mission and 'The Boatman's Love' will be played on repeat, while you are forced to dance ballet at a power pole!"
Lin Zhou: "...I just want to make a little money in peace, pay for my dad's treatment, and marry Su Xiaomei. Is that too much to ask?"
System: "What, I'm annoying you? Then try getting by on the Shenzhen assembly line without me. Oh, right. In your past life, you were too 'serious,' so you were too poor to afford the bride price and could only watch Su Xiaomei marry someone else..."
Lin Zhou: "Damn it! I'll take the mission! Want me to dance ballet right now?!"
And so, a strange character appeared on the streets of Shenzhen:
While others set up stalls, he danced the dinosaur dance. While others negotiated business deals, he arm-wrestled. While others got into e-commerce, he livestreamed nail trimming...
Employee: "Boss, our rival is spreading lies about us again!"
Lin Zhou: "What's there to panic about? The System just gave us a photo of the rival boss's first love. Let's send it to him and have a chat."
Su Xiaomei: "Lin Zhou, can't you act normal for once?"
Lin Zhou, forced to wear a pink bridal veil and dance in the square: "Don't stop me! This is the System's
