Pleasing Start-Over Chapter 2

T/N: I finally finished reading the much lauded "Quickly Wear the Face of the Devil" and I absolutely loved it! Reviews said "Pleasing Start-Over" is similar to FOD so I had to check it out. Sadly there weren't any translated chapters on the page when I checked, so I started translating this story myself about two weeks ago. I didn't expect to find that another translator had picked up this project when I checked back today.
I'm so excited! ⁽(◍˃̵͈̑ᴗ˂̵͈̑)⁽ Thank you to ! Since I already translated up to chapter 2, I thought I might as well put it up to help shorten the wait a bit. Happy reading everyone, and I look forward to Eggtranslates' work in the future.

Arc 1 - Powerful Turtledove Occupy the Magpie Nest
Chapter 2

Qiao Chen was in the bathroom performing a quick wash up of his person. In the room outside they were already making preparations for his soul crossing. At that time, he would fall into a coma state like General Andri. He had no idea when he would be able to wake up, so he wanted to clean himself up a bit first.

On the counter there were three sets of clothes laid out for him to choose from. One was a set of loose hospital garments. One was a set of pajamas. And the last one was a set of casual at home wear. Qiao Chen didn't have a habit of wearing pajamas and even as a doctor he didn't like wearing hospital garments. It was a bit superst.i.tious, but there was a feeling of cursing himself if he chose the hospital garments, so he put on the casual clothes and walked out of the bathroom.

The general's bedside was filled with a lot of new equipment. Qiao Chen lay down beside the general and he could see the empire's war G.o.d only half a meter away from him.

Various equipments were attached to his head and his arms, which lay outside of the quilt that covered him. The officer named Mutter Folly had already explained to him about the system connected to his brain and how to operate it. With this system he should have no problem surviving no matter what world he landed in. It might even be a very wonderful thing, but he couldn't help feeling a bit nervous.

When everything was set up and ready, everyone else left the room. Folly went over to the bed and said to Qiao Chen, "Don't worry, our equipment and system are perfect. Just pretend you're going on a trip to another time and s.p.a.ce, but don't forget to bring back the general's soul."

Qiao Chen chuckled. Going on a trip to other time and s.p.a.ce with such a big responsibility on his back, in the entire universe, he was probably the first person.

Gradually he fell into a drowsy state, but Qiao Chen still maintained a sense of lucidity. His brain suddenly felt dizzy. It felt like he had been riding on a bus for a long time, and experiencing motion sickness from the starting point to the destination. The discomfort of dizziness and chest tightness made him feel a little nauseous.

Qiao Chen slowly opened his eyes. His vision was a little blurry. When the scene in front of him gradually became clear, he saw a completely unfamiliar room.

He supported his still dizzy head as he sat up. After looking around the room he guessed that his soul had crossed over successfully, but he did not know whose body he occupied.

Qiao Chen was preparing to get out of bed, but suddenly dozens of images a.s.saulted his head like a reel of film. He had to lie back down and process the information with his eyes closed. This was due to the system connected to his brain. It automatically read the body and the world for him.

The name of this body was Qi Bei Chen. He was accidentally swapped with another baby called Qi Yu Xuan at the hospital when he was born. The families of the two babies were as different as night and day, so they grew up in completely different environments.

When the two children entered their twenties, Qi Yu Xuan had an accident and needed blood transfusion. That was how Qi Bei Chen's biological father knew that Qi Yu Xuan was not his child. Upon investigation they found out that the babies were accidentally swapped, so they found Qi Bei Chen and brought him back.

Qi Yu Xuan's biological parents died a long time ago in an accident. Qi Bei Chen's birth mother was sickly and died when Qi Yu Xuan was very young. His current mother was his stepmother. The mother and father have raised Qi Yu Xuan for so many years, so there were deep feelings among them. Qi Yu Xuan was a child that they were proud of since his childhood, so even if Qi Bei Chen was brought back, they had absolutely no intention of sending Qi Yu Xuan away, and they intended to continue to treat him as if he was their biological son.

When Qi Bei Chen returned to the Qi family, that was when his tragedy began, and the main culprit of these tragedies was Qi Yu Xuan, who wanted to inherit the Qi family property and a.s.sets.

Qi Yu Xuan deliberately introduced Qi Bei Chen to some rich young masters who only knew how to fool around and enjoy the pleasures of life. And many times he designed to frame and guide Qi Bei Chen to do the wrong thing. This caused the mother and father to lose patience with Qi Bei Chen and generated feelings of disgust.

In a kidnapping case set up by Qi Yu Xuan, the mother and father chose to save Qi Yu Xuan and give up Qi Bei Chen, so Qi Bei Chen died tragically in the hands of the kidnappers.

Qiao Chen cried when he saw the scene of Qi Bei Chen's tragic death. Qiao Chen felt a bit strange. He has been a doctor for many years and he was long used to witnessing death and partings. He thought he was numb to the tragedies of others, but he was sympathetic to the general resentment and sorrow of Qi Bei Chen's experience, as if these things were all his own experience.

However, Qiao Chen did not think much of it. He thought that this might be one of the system's functions, so that he could bring this physical feeling into the world to better integrate into this time and s.p.a.ce.

He went into the bathroom and stuttered to a silent halt when he looked into the mirror. Reflected on the gla.s.s was a head with a mane of non-mainstream yellow hair like that of a lion. It would seemed that he crossed over on the second day after Qi Bei Chen was brought into the Qi family. It wasn't strange for Qi Bei Chen, who worked at the hair salon, to have this kind of hairstyle.

He brushed back some yellow strands of hair that fell into his eyes, and carefully observed the face of the person in the mirror. To be honest, this face was still very good. There were some similarities to how he looked like in his previous life. Furthermore, their names both shared the 'Chen' character. To have crossed over into this body, it meant that the two of them have some fate together.

In his heart, Qiao Chen spoke to the person in the mirror. Since I am using your body I absolutely won't let you repeat the tragedy of before. I know there is hatred in your heart, but with just your abilities even if you repeat your life again you still can't beat Qi Yu Xuan. So let me help you get revenge!

After Qiao Chen's soul occupied this body, Qi Bei Chen's consciousness completely disappeared. A body could not have the consciousness of two people at the same time, but Qiao Chen could clearly feel the hatred that could not be dispersed in his heart.

Qiao Chen went out to find a very high-end barbershop. He had his yellow lion's mane dyed back to black, and then he got the hairdresser to give him a refres.h.i.+ng short hairstyle.

After the cut, the barber satisfactorily appreciated his own handiwork. He told Qiao Chen, "When you first came in I thought you ran out of a zoo. It was a waste of such a good face. Isn't it much better now?"

Qiao Chen ran his hand through his newly cut hair. The hairdresser's craftsmans.h.i.+p was good. This was indeed getting what one paid for. The results were much better than those cheap, small alley barbershops.

"It's very good. Thank you." Qiao Chen unreservedly took out one month of Qi Bei Chen's prior salary to pay the bill. Now that his brain was connected with a system like a cheat, it was easy to make money. The stock market was the fastest place to do so. This system could manipulate the stock market. He would be staying at the Qi family house for a period of time, but he did not intend to use their money. Since he promised to help Qi Bei Chen get revenge, he did not want to owe them anything.

Qiao Chen went out and bought two new sets of clothes. He threw his colorful t-s.h.i.+rt and shredded jeans in the trashcan of the clothing store. Qi Bei Chen had very little savings. He did not get to save much money from his job these past few years. Just a haircut and two sets of clothes nearly dried up all his available funds. No matter what he still needed some liquid funds. Even if he could manipulate the stocks he still needed starting capital.

When he returned to the Qi family house, it was just in time for mealtime. Moreover, the entire family was present. Qi Mother and Qi Father saw that the wild lion mane Qi Bei Chen from yesterday had become the gentle and elegant Qiao Chen of today, and where shocked speechless.

Qi Mother and Qi Father looked at each other. Then they smiled and waved Qi Bei Chen over. "Bei Chen? Quickly come and eat."

In accordance with how Qi Bei Chen acted in his previous life when he first arrived at the Qi family, Qiao Chen lowered his head, approached the table, and sat down silently.

Qi Yu Xuan looked Qi Bei Chen up and down. Then he smiled and said, "You went and bought clothes? I was planning to take you shopping in two days."

Qi Yu Xuan's words were not false. In the past life, he did bring Qi Bei Chen out to buy clothes, but the main purpose was to introduce him to Shu Wen Jie. Then the two of them bought him a lot of old-fas.h.i.+oned and tacky clothes.

When they returned, Qi Yu Xuan told their parents that Qi Bei Chen had chosen these styles of clothes himself, and that no matter how much he persuaded and advised, Qi Bei Chen did not listen to his opinions and insisted he buy these clothes for him.

Between a son that they raised for many years and a son that they just brought back a few days ago, of course their parents chose to believe in Qi Yu Xuan. Not to mention, that ghastly yellow mane that Qi Bei Chen sported. It was not difficult for them to doubt his aesthetic sense.

This was just the first step for Qi Yu Xuan to smear Qi Bei Chen in front of their father. Later, Shu Wen Jie became the biggest helper in blackening Qi Bei Chen's name in their father's eyes.

Qi Yu Xin came downstairs, saw Qi Bei Chen at the table, and was also stunned. Ridicule and disdain flickered through Qi Yu Xin's eyes. "Mom, did you give him money to buy new clothes? I also want to buy clothes."

Qi Mother looked at her daughter with doting and helpless eyes. "You already have a few closets full of clothes. You still want to buy more? Your big brother Bei Chen just came back to us, of course he needs some new clothes to change and wear."

"Those clothes are out of date. The season just changed and new styles of clothes just came out." Qi Yu Xin continued to act like a spoiled child with her mother.

"Just let her buy it. Our Qi family doesn't lack money for a few sets of clothes," the father said.

"Thank you, Dad." Qi Yu Xin thanked her father happily. Then she dismissively glanced once more at Qi Bei Chen before sitting down and beginning to eat.

Qi Yu Xin was Qi Bei Chen's half-sister. She has been admiring Qi Yu Xuan since she was a child. After learning that she and Qi Yu Xuan have no blood relations.h.i.+p, the happiest person was her, because now she has the opportunity to marry Qi Yu Xuan.

As for Qi Bei Chen, her half-brother, she loathed him. She always felt that he was an intruder who suddenly broke into their happy family. In the past, when Qi Yu Xuan did away with Qi Bei Chen, Qi Yu Xin also put in a lot of effort.

"Bei Chen, in the future, this is your family. You don't have to be too restrained. If there's anything you need, just tell me. If there's something you want to play with, you can also tell me." Qi Yu Xuan added a pair of chopsticks to the table for Qi Bei Chen. He spoke to Qi Bei Chen with a very gentle and considerate voice.

"That's right." Their father nodded. "In the future, the two of you will be like blood brothers. You can support each other. Bei Chen, you should follow behind Yu Xuan more and learn from him. Out Qi family is one with status and prestige. You have to change your quailing habits."

"En." Qi Bei Chen answered in a small voice.

"What blood brothers? There's absolutely no blood relation at all." Qi Yu Xin looked at Qi Yu Xuan with a shy look. Then, afraid that he would misunderstand her, she said quickly, "I think that big brother Yu Xuan is more like a member of our family. Even if there is no blood relation, he's still more like a member of our family than a certain person who is like thin spare ribs. Just look at our tall and powerful Dad."

Receiving the praise of his beloved daughter, Qi Father laughed out loud.

"Oh, you," Qi Mother patted her daughter's arm, but she didn't really blame her. She also added a lot more food to Qi Bei Chen's bowl and said, "Bei Chen, eat some more."

Since he was a child, Qi Bei Chen never got enough to eat, so his body was lacking in nutrition. Naturally, he could not keep up with Qi Yu Xuan's tall and strong body, but he still wasn't just some thin spare ribs like Qi Yu Xin had said.

Just look, this type of family, there really is nothing to recall fondly. So even when I avenge you don't think of my methods as being too severe. In his heart, Qiao Chen spoke to the body he now occupied and to the departed soul of Qi Bei Chen.

T/N: The author keeps mistyping Qiao Chen's name as Qi Chen. It's super confusing considering how similar it is to Qi Bei Chen. Translator wants to say: Author, please keep your characters' names straight… ?