“小颐, you also need to pull strings and give gifts for work over there. If you take out all the money, what about seeing a doctor? What about your back pain? You still need to get your medication every day.” Father James Thompson replied stiffly.

“We’ll just save a bit more later, and we’ll make it up soon, don’t worry. My back doesn’t really hurt much now, it’s fine.” Grace Foster urged softly, “Alright, alright, our daughter’s future is the most important thing. Don’t hold her back at a critical moment.”

“Got it, got it.” Father replied impatiently, paused, and let out a long sigh, seeming a bit helpless and upset.

Then the two of them started fiddling with their phones, studying how to operate them together.

William Thompson lay on the bed, eyes open, and let out a gentle sigh.

He couldn’t help but recall the scene from the day before yesterday, when he saw his father James Thompson on the balcony, humbly asking relatives for money.

Although he wasn’t yet familiar with his surroundings, the parental love from the parents of this body, so similar to his previous parents, still eased his inner unease a little.

Different body, different world, but the devotion of parents to their children seemed exactly the same.

Gradually, the sounds outside quieted down. Henry Thompson closed the door to sleep, and the parents also got up to wash and go to bed.

Everything outside slowly fell silent, with only the pure music in his headphones looping endlessly.

The music repeated over and over, seeming to grow fainter and weaker in his ears.

William Thompson lay still, and as he sorted through his memories, he began to feel a bit muddled in his mind.

Scenes of memories kept surging in his mind.

‘He’ had studied hard for twenty years, only to face unemployment after graduation.

All those certificates he worked so hard for now seemed worthless in the face of the army of the unemployed.

In the six months since graduation, he had sent out hundreds of resumes, with only a handful of responses.

All the ambition he had before graduation had now completely turned into confusion.

‘He’ didn’t know what he should do, or what he could do—no plans, no ideas, no expectations.

He just stayed at home every day, taking it one day at a time.

Besides all this, there were also memories of arguing fiercely with his sister Henry Thompson in the past.

His sister Henry Thompson had always seen the family as a burden and a drag.

Outside, she was outstanding and dazzling, with a bright future, strong abilities, and great ambition, looking down on anyone without talent.

And their parents, just ordinary factory workers, and her mediocre brother, were also objects of her impatience.

The former William Thompson had resisted, because of his sister’s attitude toward their parents and himself, and had argued, but it was all meaningless. The parents were willing to give, and his attempts to dissuade them were useless; instead, they turned it back on him.

On the single-log bridge of the college entrance exam, he gave it his all, but only got into an ordinary university. Compared to Henry Thompson, who was recommended to a top military academy in her second year of high school, it was worlds apart.

Even though he had built a decent internship record, the biggest problem was that, due to his own naivety, he had chosen the wrong major.

What the heck is a plant maintenance major? Although it’s said that high-end plant maintenance pays well, the competition is brutal...

For students from ordinary schools, the only way out is to get into the forestry bureau or a city landscaping company.

Earning three thousand yuan a month to barely get by is already considered good.

In this era, there’s so much automation, and many people can’t even find a job.

Turning over, William Thompson kept sorting through the memories of his predecessor. Although many parts were a bit blurry due to the natural forgetting mechanism of people.

But he could still extract a lot of useful information from them.

The night grew deeper.

Outside the window, another car passed by, honking its horn, accompanied by a man’s loud, angry shouting.

“Who the hell parked in the wrong spot again!”

“I’ll * your whole family’s ancestors!”

The shouting went on for a while, then gradually faded, and quiet returned.

The mixed sounds of guzheng and pipa kept repeating in his ears, again and again.

Other background noises slowly faded away, as if only the pure music remained.

Crisp, cold, quiet.

William Thompson’s consciousness kept sorting through, as if watching a movie, and as his mental energy was consumed, his body began to feel an inexplicable extra fatigue.

This drowsiness grew heavier and heavier, making his mind gradually blur, and he was about to fall asleep.

This was how his predecessor fell asleep every day. Long-term poor rest and the frustration of not finding a job made him more and more silent and inarticulate.

Time slowly passed, and William Thompson’s body grew more and more tired, his thoughts sinking into confusion.

He closed his eyes and adjusted his sleeping position, planning to take a short rest.

Click.

Suddenly, a crisp sound startled him out of his drowsiness.

His eyes slowly widened, and the sleepiness that had just come over him began to fade.

‘What was that sound!?’

He half-sat up, looked around, but found nothing. Then he noticed there was no sound in his headphones.

‘Why is there no sound?’ William Thompson picked up the tape player. This old-fashioned music player was a collectible his predecessor had found at a flea market.

Now, inside the grayish-white, slightly chipped tape player, through the glass-like plastic case, he could see the tape spinning, but there was no sound in the headphones.