Chapter I

The city was covered in a powder-like snow. This time of the year will always be the loneliest time for a young man who was living alone. Xiao Bai stared out of his rundown apartment's window as the little snowflakes floated down, one by one to the ground.

Xiao Bai let out a frustrated sigh as he thought about how the things were in his life. Xiao Bai was a 21year-old guy who lived on his own; he stopped going to school at the age of 15 and was forced to do hard work in order to support himself. His parents owned a mediocre business but unluckily both of his parents died in a car accident leaving the 10-year-old Xiao Bai in his maternal aunt's care. 

At first, his aunt’s family was nice to him and cared for him but that was until all the assets of his parents were transferred to Xiao Bai; his aunt, as his legal guardian, managed to get her hands on the money showing her true colours. They began to abuse the poor boy. Xiao Bai endured all of it for 5 years, until he grew tired of being a white lotus and decided to run away from home.

It wasn’t even a home – it was a place full of monsters that hurt him and used him to get all his money. It was hard for him at first but he strived to get a job and somehow managed to get himself a rundown apartment to take shelter and enough money to buy food and other basic necessities.

As he snapped out of his rather sad past, Xiao Bai decided to go out and buy something to at least reward himself for making it into another year. He pulled his old coat from the rusty rack and go out on the cold night. 

"Woah! I never knew snow could be this beautiful!" he murmured, amazed as he stepped outside on pile of snow that could be seen everywhere. He was somewhat annoyed for being always ignorant about these things for the sole reason that he just wanted to survive in this scary world making him forget to appreciate the beautiful things around him. But one thing was for sure, his heart was surely slowly turning cold the moment he faced his reality. Cold just like this winter season. 

After a while of looking around, he bought some snacks and two bottles of liquor from a nearby convenient store, and walked out to see an old beggar who was silently walking on the cold streets alone and was only wearing a thin layer of clothes. He eyed the old beggar who went ahead to lie down on a cardboard under a shabby looking shed. On a whim, Xiao Bai decided to go and talk to him. 

As unfortunate he was, he had to harden his heart to protect himself. But, at the end of the day, he was still a human and found it unbearable to see others suffer. He couldn't help but feel a little pity for the poor man. Then and there, he decided to have a little chat with the beggar since he didn’t really feel like going back on that empty apartment yet. 

"Mister, do you have it hard too? I mean, are you having a hard time in life?", he asked as soon as he sat on one of the concrete benches and the old man looked at him devoid of any feelings as if he was looking at a void. Xiao Bai also looked at the man and handed him a bottle of liquor and some snacks.

The old man saw this and his eyes sparkled at the offer. He reached out at a lightning speed making Xiao Bai startled. The old man suddenly started talking with a hoarse voice due to the temperature, "You know I don't really have it hard. I get to live and breathe every day; I think it's good enough." 

He spoke while chugging the liquor and Xiao Bai also decided to drink his share. Xiao Bai replied enviously, "Must be nice!" 

"Hey mister, do you have a family? How about a special someone?" he continued after a short pause while blankly staring at the snow outside of the shed's roof. 

"I don't. But I knew in my heart that my family is always there, and that I will always cherish them no matter how many lifetimes have gone." The old man replied and also looked solemnly at the snow. The old man gave such an abstract answer but Xiao Bai could feel that he was really serious. After a while of Xiao Bai's silence, came a series of soft sobs and the old man looked at him questioningly. 

"I wish I could feel that with my family as well", Xiao Bai laughed languidly then continued, "All my life I yearned for that feeling but all they gave me was pain, all they wanted was wealth, and my bastard ex dumped me a month ago after I caught him cheating with my best friend." 

He laughed again but this time he was laughing at how an idiot he was. All this time he should have guessed that her aunt is aiming at their money and that his so-called "B.F.F." only got close to him to hook up with his boyfriend, no scratch that, ex-boyfriend. Xiao Bai knew in himself that crying for this reason was obviously pointless but those two slags have been his support along the way, they made a huge impact in his life only to be betrayed. 

"You know if someone took something away from you then you should just steal it back; if not then force them to give it back to you. Well, you should just let go of your ex-boyfriend though. I believe someone is there just waiting for you." the old man advised him, chugged the remaining alcohol, laid down on his cardboard and fell asleep. 

When Xiao Bai saw this, he also laughed and thanked the old man for the short acquaintance then got himself up to go home. "If someone took something away from you then you should just steal it from them; if not then force them to give it back to you."

This sentence had been in his head for a while now, and in his heart, for some unknown reason, he became uneasy. He got too immersed at what the old man told him that he forgot that he was walking at the middle of the road and suddenly came a blinding light approaching him at full speed.

Then- beep...beep...beep Xiao Bai stared at the incoming car and smiled to himself. 

'Does the world think that I'm very pitiable and wants me to rest already?', he thought. 

He held his chin up as he waited for the impact to happen and finally closed his eyes with an accepting smile on his face.

Xiao Bai fluttered his eyes trying to open them. And after a few more attempts he finally managed to take a clear look at his surroundings. The land he saw was very vast and was covered with a thick layer of snow that slightly emitted a light due to the moonlight. 

'Am I in heaven?', he thought and then let out a giggle as if ridiculing himself. 

"Xiao Bai!!", a distant voice called his name and his ears perked up to see who was calling. Could it be the god of death? "Xiao Bai!!", the voice called out again and this time it was nearer and, in his sight, came a lady in cloak and was holding an oil lamp on her right hand. Xiao Bai stared at the silhouette of the lady wandering in the wide until she saw Xiao Bai's lying figure and rushed to his side. " Xiao Bai, aare you alright?", the old lady asked him but he didn't respond and stared at the lady's face instead. The lady seemed to know him and she is obviously not a god of death. "Who are you?", after he finished his words, the lady looked into his eyes with disbelief. 

"This little kid, you already made me worried sick when you ran away from home!... I'm sorry for keeping it a secret until now", the lady replied like she really knew Xiao Bai. 

Then it hit him- HE UNDENIABLY DIED ALRIGHT!!! He knew for sure that he would certainly die from being hit by a car that fast, if he was still in his original body and he survived the accident then he should be at the hospital. But judging from the old lady's words and looking at his surroundings, it seems that he was looking for Xiao Bai the whole time. It was rational to think of this. 

'Oh No!', Xiao Bai mentally slapped his self and thought of the one and only thing that was happening to him- Did I just transmigrate?! The old lady mentioned that the original ran away into the cold night and maybe froze himself to death letting the modern Xiao Bai's soul to enter. Thinking of this made Xiao Bai's head to throb and a severe headache hit him as images and unfamiliar scenes played in his head. Scenes that are obviously not his and he was not familiar with. 

[Xiao Bai's POV: the original host] I grew up only with my mother on my side. We lived in an isolated place so there are no neighbours nearby and I don't have anyone to be friends with. In short, I had spent a lonely childhood and all I did for entertainment was playing on the mountain and hunt some animals for food, I also did the heavy works because my mother is not getting any younger and I have to give a helping hand. My mom taught me how to read and write and when I was younger, she would always tell me stories about the capital. Yes, the capital where the royalties, nobles, and rich merchants lived. 

I always wished to visit the capital with my mom but we were not fortunate enough to be able to enter. She said that the capital was well-protected by a tall gate and no one can enter if they are not a noble or a royal, and even those rich merchants need a proper invitation before they could enter. But she would always boast that she once worked at the palace and she would always tell me many stories about the lady she served.

But unluckily her lady was gone and she wouldn't tell me the reason. It was okay though, I knew that she missed the lady that treated her like a sister despite their position in the empire, not to mention that this lady is the one that insisted my mom to learn how to read and write. 

I was currently at the mountain near our house. The whole mountain was covered in white and the trees with no leaves on them gave it an additional touch. I was planning to hunt for some food in the mountain's forest and stock a lot of meat before the snow gets harder, because I couldn't imagine myself eating only vegetables for the whole winter.

Finally, I went back home holding three rabbits and a deer and smiled at my success. I was planning to surprise my mother so I entered the house through the window in the back of the house and sneakily went to the kitchen but mother was nowhere to be found, so I tried to look in the living room and saw her standing at the door and talking to someone I didn't know. I was about to call her when I heard my name from the stranger and decided to listen a

little bit more. 

"Xiao Bai is turning 15 tomorrow. You should tell him already, I know that he'll understand", an unfamiliar male voice said. 

"I know that he deserves to know the truth but I couldn't bring myself to tell him,” My mother replied with a shaky voice and I couldn't help myself but to feel nervous. 

"But the palace needs him. The people are waiting and he is the only hope," the stranger persuaded my mom then she started to sob. 

"I raised Xiao Bai alone and I've already seen him as my own son. That's why...That's why I can't just go and tell him that I'm not his real mother," after my mother finished her sentence, she immediately choked hard on her sobs and I was unable to process the situation. 

'What? I'm not my mother's son?' I thought, my tears falling down as I cried quietly and all of the food that I hunted slipped from my hands causing a sound that caught their attention. My mom, whom I had thought to be my real mom, saw me and I could see that she was petrified. Maybe it was due to my frustration but I shouted at her. 

"You lied to me?!" She tried to talk but her cries drowned her voice. Honestly, even though my mom lied to me I'm not mad at her I was just frustrated at the thought that all those years I actually was living in a lie. So, I ran past them at full speed and ran without knowing where I was headed to. All I wanted now was a peaceful place to help me clear my mind. And when I regained my sanity, I scolded myself for shouting at her. I was exhausted physically and mentally but I tried to find my way home since the sky was getting darker, but as the night took over the day the cold also reigned in the entire place. The chill was creeping its way into my body and I fell on the ground covered with snow, numb. I tried to stand up but my legs were weak and I slumped helplessly in the cold snow. I stared into the dark blue and cloudy sky as a teardrop escaped and slid on my cheek. 

"I'm sorry mom," I whispered into the cool wind wishing that it could deliver my message. 

…………………………………………

The author has something to say: I'm gettin' excited for our MC HAHAHA... 

Male Lead: I'm also excited to meet my wife. 

MC: You're wife? Sorry, but I won't fall in love again. EVER.

 Author: Are you sure? [Evil laugh] 

[ML also laughs at the background] 

MC: "..."

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