Chapter 3: System Hosting in Progress

He drew another picture modeled after his younger sister, then Xia Yu put down his brush, lay on the bed, and fell asleep.

The next morning, Xia Yu woke from a dream and checked the time.

It was only five in the morning; he usually got up at seven thirty.

This time he woke up early because he was no longer sleepy.

Sleep while his body was under system control still counted toward the body’s required rest.

So from now on, it would be convenient. Every day, he could let the controlled body do homework for eight hours, then sleep, saving a lot of time.

Playing with his phone in bed for a while, he heard the sound of the door opening and a low cough.

It was Xia Dongyang, the father of this body, returning.

When Xia Dongyang was young, he lived a dissolute life and thus had no proper job. Now he worked as a waiter in a night bar.

He also liked drinking and came back tipsy every time after work.

Luckily, the boss was his classmate, so the alcohol he drank was at cost price. Otherwise, with his meager salary, he wouldn’t even afford the cost of the alcohol.

Bang—

A loud sound suddenly came from outside the door, as if someone had fallen.

Xia Yu ignored it. Xia Dongyang was also a college student; a college student living in such poverty in modern society could hardly be a good person.

Now that he was aging and in poor health, he had improved somewhat. Back when Xia Yu was little, he had often been scolded by him.

“Yuxue! Yuxue!” Xia Dongyang seemed to have fallen badly, calling out the name of Xia Yu’s sister.

Five years ago, he always called Xia Yu by that name, but after Xia Yu beat him up once, he changed to calling her Yuxue.

“You damn girl, where are you! Come out and help your old man up!” His voice was accompanied by the sound of something hitting the floor.

Ten seconds later, Xia Yu heard the sound of the door opening again, and then the voice of his sister, Yuxue.

“Quickly come over here, your old man isn’t sleeping yet, but you’re already sleeping. You’re enjoying yourself!”

Yuxue seemed frightened and let out a soft gasp.

Getting up from the bed, Xia Yu opened the door.

Xia Dongyang’s voice stopped abruptly. He looked at Xia Yu and then spoke in a lower tone: “It’s only natural for a daughter to help her father!”

Ignoring him, Xia Yu looked toward his sister: “Yuxue, my room is messy. Come help me tidy it up.”

“Help your old man up first!” Xia Dongyang insisted.

Xia Yu punched the wall, and the man immediately shut his mouth.

Carefully walking past Xia Dongyang, Xia Yuxue entered Xia Yu’s room.

Closing the door, Xia Yu looked at his sister, who was wearing pajamas and appeared timid.

He reached out and gently touched the girl’s face.

Yuxue had a pretty face and a gentle personality. She was in the first year of middle school. Normally, a girl like her would live a princess-like life in another family.

“Brother,” Yuxue said in a pitiful voice.

“Go to sleep on the bed,” Xia Yu said.

After getting drunk, Xia Dongyang wouldn’t fall asleep immediately; he would usually keep making noise for at least another hour. If Yuxue left his room, she would definitely be caught by Xia Dongyang again.

However, Xia Dongyang wouldn’t get this drunk every day. He probably had been upset by a customer at the bar again.

He had no skills, but his pride was strong.

Smiling at Xia Yu, Yuxue climbed onto the bed and burrowed under the covers.

Looking at Xia Yu sitting at the desk, she asked, “Brother, aren’t you going to sleep?”

“I went to bed early last night, so I can’t fall asleep now,” Xia Yu replied. “Go to sleep quickly.”

“Okay,” Xia Yuxue closed her eyes.

After drawing a little and daydreaming about the body-swapping game at the desk, Xia Yu turned to look at his sister’s sleeping face.

Compared to the comfortable and harmonious family he had in his previous life, this life’s family could be described as extremely unfortunate. However, within this misfortune, there was still a bit of luck—the gentle and lovely younger sister.

In his previous life, Xia Yu, who wasn’t good at socializing, had never met a girl more endearing than Yuxue.

In his previous life as an only child, he had never had a girl so closely related by blood.

When he first crossed over, he had set some small goals for himself—for instance, becoming a wealthy person, a famous writer, or a charmingly handsome man—and then bringing his sister to live a happy life.

Unfortunately, he had no business experience, no photographic memory, and his looks were only slightly above average.

He might be able to do a bit better than in his previous life, but not by much. Without family support, he would have to work much harder.

Before yesterday, that was what he thought. But now he had the body-swapping game.

Last night, his improvement in painting had astonished An Siyao. According to the girl, his progress in one night had equaled her week of hard practice.

And her week consisted of more than eight hours of practice every day.

At this rate, becoming a painter whose paintings sold for millions didn’t seem impossible.

Moreover, this was only the level 1 bonus for painting. If there was a level 1, there must be a level 2.

A bright future was right in front of him.

But that was the future. Right now, he was still a poor guy working part-time at a convenience store, saving money to buy a notebook computer.

Sighing, Xia Yu picked up his phone and casually browsed some forums.

Two hours later, Yuxue got up from Xia Yu’s bed. She neatly folded the quilt and straightened the bedsheet before leaving the room to start preparing breakfast.

At seven thirty, Xia Yu began his morning routine and had breakfast with Yuxue before heading out to take the subway.

Their schools were in opposite directions. Xia Yu’s was eastward, and Yuxue’s was westward. The eastbound subway arrived first, so he waved goodbye to Yuxue and boarded the high-speed train.

At eight o’clock, it was the peak commuting hour, and the subway was very crowded.

Five minutes later, he got off the subway. The school was still a distance from the station, requiring a walk.

It would be great if he had a bicycle—no need to squeeze into the crowded subway or walk under the scorching sun.

But compared to a bicycle, a notebook computer was more important.

Of course, it would be even better if he had enough money for both.

At 8:20, Xia Yu arrived at the school gate.

The world had already unified, with various districts coexisting alongside the national government. Xia Yu was currently in District One, where many Chinese people lived.

Although there was competition among districts, it wasn’t intense, so national policies were relatively relaxed.

The education system was somewhat similar to that of Singapore, a major Chinese country in his previous life. Classes started at 8:40 a.m. and ended at 2:40 p.m. The remaining time could be used for club activities or going home.

The curriculum was also much simpler.

Of course, this only applied to public schools. Private schools, which charged high tuition fees, were sometimes even stricter than schools in his previous life in China.

They selected elites and provided enhanced education while giving the rest a basic education. There were only so many positions requiring elite talent. Whether a clerk learned about Capital by Marx or read Harry Potter made little difference. There was no need to make everyone an elite.

Entering the classroom, Xia Yu spent the day’s lessons daydreaming. After packing up, he went to his part-time job at the convenience store.

Although he had the body-swapping game, he still lacked money and couldn’t afford to lose his job.

If his plan with the pianist changed, it would be difficult to find another job as easy as this one.

At 5:30 p.m., he handed over the shift and returned to his bedroom, opening the Body-Swapping Game.

As the darkness faded, what appeared before him was a tall, slender vase with a bunch of flower branches placed beside it.

In his left hand was a flower, and in his right, a pair of scissors.

This was… flower arranging?

“Miss?” A maid beside him called out, noticing his daze.

“Mm.”

He coldly responded, looking at the flower in his hand.

I don’t know how to arrange flowers!