In a small and shabby room, A young man with messy hair and a stubble was lying on his bed, scrolling mindlessly through his phone at 3 AM.
He was surrounded by takeout boxes, dirty clothes, unopened books.
The only light in the room came from the screen on his phone. The blue light outlining his unshaven face.
Suddenly he got a message: "You could've done great things, I hope you figure it out again after this New year." It was a message from his younger brother who used to admire him.
He scrolled again and blinked slowly at a message left unread for weeks.[Mom: Just checking in. Are you eating well?]
He didn't reply. Again.
Qin Ye stared at it until the screen went dark again.
He had once been the name whispered in competition halls, applauded for by his classmates, a prodigy in physics and mathematics, gifted beyond his years.
And then?
He chose to sleep in. Chose games over skills, fake friends over real ones, Comfort over struggle and decadence over change and improvement.
He didn't even finish his college yet.
All because, trying hurt. Afraid of failures and a wish to be unique. And failure, he thought, was impossible as long as he really tried hard just once. But, it turns out there are only so many chances to try.
The result? His entire life had been a monument to wasted talent.
"I was always told I was born special. Gifted. Chosen. But where did it get me? I kept waiting for life to happen. I thought talent was enough. It wasn't."
"It turns out humbleness and hard work were even rarer"
He heard the still continuing fireworks outside — New Year's Eve, symbolizing new beginnings — but he feels nothing.
Just as he stood up to plugin his phone, his legs failed him and he fell down.
'Bang'
A sharp pain pulses through his left hand, while a hollow and stiff tightness flashes across his chest.
A sudden heart attack!
He tried reaching for his phone, but it was already broken with the fall. As the fear of death engulfed him, he lay there trying to to take in as much air as possible. Desperately hoping for a rescue.
He held his chest tightly with his eyes falling into darkness.
"The lazy life finally caught up with me physically." He thought
As he was losing his consciousness, memories flash:
His mom crying.
A friend succeeding.
His younger self saying, "I'll do it tomorrow."
"If I had just… tried…""If there's a next life… I swear… I'll never waste a second."
"If there's a next life…""I swear… I won't waste it. I'll never be lazy again."
And then it was Darkness. Cold, Silent and Eternal
Until... he heard a sigh.
"Sigh...live well my descendent"
"Heaven has heard.""Reincarnation initialized."