Chapter 1: After the soul swap, I switched back.

As soon as Si Qi arrived in the new world, a dense, piercing pain swept through his body, and he involuntarily let out a low groan.

Before he could even process what was happening, a video call projection appeared in front of him, with the contact name in the corner being "Mom".

Si Qi looked up and saw the woman on the other side of the screen, with a gentle temperament and soft features, her hair and skirt exuding elegance. Looking at Si Qi through the screen, she saw his pale face and cold sweat, and instinctively frowned.

"Speak quickly if you have something to say!" the woman said impatiently.

"..." Si Qi didn't expect the other party to have this attitude. Since he hadn't accepted the memories of this body yet, he first found a way to avoid making mistakes and got by: "My body is in a lot of pain."

“I know you’re in pain, but what’s the point of calling me? I’m not a doctor.” The woman lost her patience after a few words: “If you’re not feeling well, take painkillers. You’re an adult now. Don’t call me for everything. I have a lot of things to do and I’m very busy.”

Si Qi tried his best to block out the pain in his body and listened carefully to what the woman was saying.

According to the other party, painkillers might be helpful for his current condition. So Si Qi, despite the excruciating pain, went to find the painkillers.

Then, I saw the empty medicine box that was open next to me.

It seems the original owner called her mother for help because she ran out of medicine.

"Medicine—"

The projection on the other end disappeared as soon as two words were uttered, clearly indicating that the other party had hung up.

“…” Si Qi paused for a moment, then dialed back.

This time the call rang for three seconds before being disconnected before it could be answered.

I called again, and the call was disconnected.

The last time I called, the projector didn't show a black screen, but instead displayed the message, "Your contact number has not been registered by the other party, and this call cannot be completed."

"..." Si Qi was speechless.

So he was directly blocked.

Giving up on seeking help from the other party, Si Qi lowered his eyes slightly and began to receive the original owner's memories, trying to find a way to resolve the current situation.

In his memory, the original owner was a young master from a wealthy family. His parents were in an arranged marriage, their relationship was lukewarm, and they rarely saw each other at home.

On the original owner's sixth birthday, he heard that his parents would be coming back to celebrate his birthday. Overwhelmed with excitement, he ran too fast when he went out to greet them, lost his footing and fell down the stairs, hitting his head and losing consciousness.

Upon waking, the original owner found himself not in the hospital, but in a dimly lit room filled with a sour stench. He was wearing dirty clothes, and his hands and feet were thin and frail, unlike his actual appearance.

Because she didn't know how she suddenly ended up there, the original owner was frightened and cried out for help, which angered a drunk man nearby. The man completely ignored her questions and pleas for help, picked up a bottle, and smashed it down on her.

The original owner was seriously injured as a result, and it took several days of fever to get through it. One of his broken legs was completely crippled.

During his recuperation, the original owner saw his current appearance clearly through the reflection of the wine bottle. It took him a long time to understand his current situation and realize that he had become another person.

His first instinct was to call his parents for help. However, this body hadn't been implanted with a biochip at birth, so he couldn't connect to the internet and make calls using his consciousness. After his high fever subsided and he could move again, he borrowed a communication device from a neighbor and dialed his parents' number.

But the number was impossible to get through.

It was at this time that the original owner, who had lived in an ivory tower since childhood, learned for the first time that communication numbers were also divided into levels. The communication numbers registered by residents of the lower-level slums could never dial the numbers of the wealthy in the rich neighborhoods, unless the other party called first.

To escape from the slums to the uptown, or even to enter the homes of the wealthy to meet one's biological parents, is an impossible task. In this class-divided world, people are divided into different tiers, and even the streets are regulated by who can and cannot walk on them, not to mention the exclusive private residences accessible only to the rich.

It took the original owner a full eight years to finally find her way home and her parents.

He stood in the familiar garden, looking at the glamorous family of four across the way. The mother held tightly to the hand of the pampered young man beside her, while the father remained silent, his brow furrowed. The girl who used to sweetly call him "brother" now stood firmly in front of him, glaring at him with a wary expression, and shouted, "Get out of my way! I only have one brother!"

The original owner had accumulated years of grievances and bitterness, but before he could let them out with tears, this roar shut him up.

Having struggled in the lowest rungs of society for so many years, he is no longer the six-year-old child he once was, and he knows what the current situation means.

He stood there, watching the girl angrily pull the boy away, tears welling up in his eyes.

He repeatedly revisited his childhood memories, which he cherished like honey, and these memories, which he used to motivate himself, remained vivid. He proved his identity to his parents through numerous details from his childhood, and then, in a silence that seemed to freeze, he choked up as he recounted his experiences over the past few years.

He thought that after he told his parents these things, he would receive comforting words from his parents or a warm hug. However, under his expectant gaze, his mother's first reaction was to turn to his father with a stern face and say, "Xiao Qi can't go to that kind of place."

The original owner was stunned, thinking that his mother was talking about him, after all, his name was "Si Qi".

Before I could even rejoice, my father quickly added, "Of course he can't leave! He has my blood in his veins; he's my son! Who would dare let him go?"

"Feeling like falling into an ice cave" is not enough to describe the original owner's feelings at that time. It was only at this moment that the boy finally understood who "Xiao Qi" his parents were talking about was.

His body trembled, and he asked in a hoarse voice, "Then what about me? I am Si Qi!"

The mother rubbed her forehead, her tone irritated: "Nobody said you weren't."

The father's voice was calm: "You are also my child, I will take care of you."

There was no excitement, no heartache, and certainly no family of three embracing and weeping. The two adults reached a silent consensus, signaling to the housekeeper to take the boy to his room to rest.

The original owner understood that this meant giving the couple space to discuss things, and tactfully got up to leave. However, as he limped into the villa, dragging his crippled leg behind the butler, he heard his mother mention the guest room and couldn't help but grit his teeth: "I want to go back to my own room!"

Without even thinking, the mother refused outright: "That's impossible!"

After saying that, as if only then noticing the boy's scarlet and resentful eyes, she paused and then said, "It's not convenient right now."

Left with no other choice, the original owner could only clench her fists and reluctantly leave under the butler's urging.

When he finished showering and changing in the guest room, the couple had already finished their discussion. They sat on the wide, soft sofa, raised their chins to the boy standing stiffly in front of them, tears streaming down his face: "You have no blood relation to your family now, and you haven't shown your face to anyone for so many years. We can't explain your situation to outsiders, so we'll adopt you as their son."

The original owner bit her lip as she listened to the two people opposite her threateningly warning her: "You just said you have a genetic disease. Without sufficient medical support, it's difficult to live past twenty. During this time, you should rest at home and not go out unnecessarily. We will have a doctor come to take care of you."

"I have a genetic disease? That's inherited from his parents!" Rage filled her mind, and the original owner, already aware of what she was about to face, roared, "I want to switch back my body, my identity! I don't want this anymore! That was clearly mine, that was supposed to be mine!! Why are you doing this to me... I finally got home... Aren't you my mom and dad?"

He cried and wailed, trying to express his pain, but his resentment didn't reach his parents at all. The couple just frowned at him and criticized him with dissatisfaction: "Your voice is too loud. After wandering around for so many years, you haven't learned any manners at all. You still need to be disciplined before you go out, otherwise you will only bring shame to the family."

The original owner was ice cold all over, and his body was trembling uncontrollably.

He hadn't felt this helpless even when he saw his unfamiliar reflection in the bottle years ago.

It was after that that he became the adopted son of the Si family, changing his name from "Wu Ding" to "Si Ding". As outsiders observed the indifferent yet secretly annoyed attitude of the Si family parents, everyone tacitly confirmed Si Ding's status as an illegitimate child, mocking and pointing at him, their faces full of ridicule as they watched him get angry.

Even his sister looked at him with disgust, as if he were some kind of filthy thing that had polluted the originally harmonious and beautiful atmosphere of the family.

He tried to explain the truth to people, using the absurd but true soul-swapping story to explain the reason, but his parents threatened him with a genetic disease and warned him to shut up without any politeness.

"You don't want to die young after the onset of the disease, do you? Since you're a patient, you should behave yourself."

Because he said things he shouldn't have, the next time he had a relapse, he didn't receive medical treatment for a long time. His mother slowly walked over, looked down at him lying on the ground, crying out in pain after the attack, and said these words—

Do you realize you were wrong?

"I...I was wrong, I'm sorry, give me the medicine..." The original owner didn't want to die; he desperately wanted to live. Hearing his parents' warnings, he could only keep apologizing and begging his mother to save him.

The doctor waited until he completely fainted from the pain before approaching to treat him with his mother's permission.

Upon waking up, he fully realized that he had no relatives in this family.

His parents were indifferent to his situation, and his only younger sister treated him like an enemy. Only the boy who had taken his place treated him with kindness and warmth.

But of all the people in the family, the one the original owner hated the most was this boy who took away his identity, never revealed the truth all these years, and caused him to suffer so much torment in the slums.

The other person, using their own face and body, offered him warm greetings and a "sincere" apology.

All the concealment and deception were attributed to his youthful ignorance and momentary lapses in judgment caused by fear. His apology immediately drew comfort and forgiveness from his parents. His younger sister, still unaware of the situation, even questioned him, asking why he deserved an apology from her brother and who he was.

Everything made the original owner feel suffocated. Although the home seemed harmonious and warm, it was more terrifying than the cold and silent atmosphere before the age of six.

He received treatment at home for a year, and after his condition stabilized, he chose to go to school to live on campus.

He wanted to leave this painful place, to learn knowledge, to complete the education that the poor dream of, and then graduate to become self-reliant and leave these people behind.

Because he hadn't even started elementary school when he was six, he had his soul swapped with someone else and ended up in the body of ten-year-old Wu Ding. After eight years of wandering and a year of treatment, at the age of nineteen, he only had the knowledge of a third-grade elementary school student. He had to reluctantly attend junior high school like his sister, and with his terrible grades and his status as an illegitimate child from the slums, he was bullied by those around him at school.

—His sister was one of the main bullies.

Several years have passed, and the original owner is now twenty-two years old, attending the same high school as his younger sister. His genetic disease has become extremely severe; every night, if he doesn't take special painkillers, the pain is so intense that he can't even walk.

This time, no one knew who stole his medicine. After school, the original owner searched the entire dormitory but couldn't find a single painkiller, so he had no choice but to ask his mother for help.

As Si Qi had just witnessed, the other party hung up the phone, not wanting to say another word to him.

The original owner was used to this situation, and Si Qi, who took over the original owner's body, also adapted well to it—after all, the original owner who was chosen by the Quick Transmigration Bureau to take over the future was in a generally terrible situation.

He retrieved the healing pod he had brought from the interstellar plane from his consciousness space, preparing to address his immediate problem. Just as he reached out, a communication call came in.

Si Qi looked up, and a handsome young man with a smiling face appeared in mid-air. He said to him, "Brother, I heard you're not feeling well?"

Si Qi didn't speak. The original owner's disgust made him not even want to look at that face, but he heard the other person laugh and say, "I saw that Mom hung up the phone several times just now and even blocked you. I knew you must have made Mom angry again. Brother, don't always bother Mom with such trivial things. Mom has her own things to do and doesn't have time. You can't just think about yourself. You have to understand how hard it is for adults."

As he spoke, the young man moved the camera to a wealthy woman sitting on a sofa not far away, leisurely sipping tea.

In front of the wealthy woman, several sales clerks with mannequins displayed the clothes and bags they were wearing, and introduced various clothing combinations to her with smiles on their faces.

Judging from the woman's relaxed and contented demeanor, it was easy to see how much she was enjoying her shopping trip. There was no trace of what she had said about "having a lot of things to do and being very tired," or being so tired that she didn't even have time to take care of her son when he was in excruciating pain and asked her for help.

After showing all this, the boy smiled and said, "Don't worry, brother, we haven't forgotten you. I just asked Mom to buy you some clothes as a token of our appreciation. You'll see them when you come home for your next holiday."

After saying that, as if only then noticing Si Qi's cold sweat, the boy gave a fake smile: "Oh dear, brother, you look like you're in a lot of pain. Did you take your medicine? Hey, why don't you stay at home? Your parents and sister are there. Although no one has time to take care of you, at least you can find a doctor to treat you if you're not feeling well."

After saying that, he noticed the woman behind the image put down her teacup and looked in his direction. The boy changed his words from gentle but vicious to pitiful, and lowered his eyes with a look of heartache, saying with guilt, "If only I could switch places with you, I should be the one to suffer these hardships for you."

The words had barely left his mouth when the woman's voice rang out, filled with displeasure: "Xiao Qi, what are you saying! What does your brother's illness have to do with you? Why are you taking his place?!"

After saying that, the woman gave Si Qi a sharp look and warned, "That's enough! Don't cause me any trouble."

The boy didn't say anything more after hearing this, but stared greedily at Si Qi on the other end of the screen, wanting to see Si Qi's expression of collapse and pain when he heard these words, his eyes filled with intense malice.

Unfortunately, Si Qi did not react at all, which greatly disappointed the boy.

The woman's attitude changed, and she called to the boy in a warm voice: "Xiao Qi, come and help Mom take a look. How do you like this outfit? I feel like the previous outfits weren't enough. This one suits you very well too."

So the boy smiled apologetically at Si Qi: "Mom is calling me, I have to talk to you now." After saying that, he hung up the phone and walked towards the woman: "Which one is it? Mom has such good taste, the clothes she picks can't be wrong."

The woman's laughter drifted into Si Qi's ears just as the call ended, from the disappearing image.

"My baby is the most considerate."

In the quiet, dimly lit dormitory, Si Qi sat in place, the echoes of their conversation still lingering in his ears.

He sighed, shifting his gaze from the healing chamber in his consciousness space to the mountain of spirit stones piled up in the corner not far away.

That's something from the cultivation world, containing its own energy, so it can be used in this world as well.

Since the boy has said he wants to take on the pain that should be borne by him, then so be it.

Si Qi took out spirit stones and placed them on the ground, setting up a soul-guiding array.

His trembling hands, caused by the pain, caused him some trouble, and he didn't finish setting up the intricate formation until the early hours of the morning.

Seeing the array activated, shimmering with a pale white light that rose and fell slightly like breathing, Si Qi walked to the center of the array and activated the soul-guiding spell.

The next second, his soul was pulled out of his body, and he collapsed to the ground, limp and lifeless.

When I opened my eyes again, the nerves that had been throbbing with pain felt incredibly relaxed, as comfortable as if I were lying on a cloud—oh, it was a big bed.

Si Qi stretched out his body comfortably on the spacious and soft bed, letting out a silent sigh.

Clearly, his soul had returned to his (the original owner's) original body due to the formation.

Meanwhile, in a dormitory at a distant university, the body that Si Qi had briefly occupied suddenly opened its eyes and awoke on the floor.

Then, heart-wrenching screams, as if someone were being slowly tortured, echoed throughout the room.

A note from the author:

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I'm back!! [cheering emoji] [cheering emoji]

I wrote about the soul-swapping concept before, but the two characters didn't switch back then. This time, I'll write about a situation where they do switch back, hahaha.

To celebrate the start of this post, we're randomly selecting twenty lucky readers from the comments section to receive a red envelope! There will also be more red envelopes dropping in the coming days! [heart]