Chapter 1: This Leading Man

Dong! Dong! Dong—

A hurried knocking suddenly sounded in his ears, followed by a man's urging voice coming through the door, "Matthew Carter, why did you kick the makeup artist out? The director and the leading actress are already in position, the whole crew is waiting for you, the leading man. You have fifteen minutes left!"

The owner of the voice seemed quite forceful. "If you don't come out in fifteen minutes, I'll come in and kill you!"

These words buzzed around his ears, drilling straight into his head. Matthew Carter wanted to open his eyes, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't. Only when he heard footsteps leaving outside the door did he muster all his strength and finally open his eyes.

They were a pair of pitch-black eyes, filled with utter confusion.

The dark eyes quickly swept across the room, immediately confirming, "I've definitely never been here before!" He looked down at himself, "Huh? Why am I lying here?"

He was lying sideways on a wooden floor, with his head right next to the door—no wonder those voices had sounded so loud in his ears.

Right after, countless pieces of information suddenly flashed through his mind. Two completely different sets of images intertwined like movies playing on the same screen, so chaotic that he couldn't help but clutch his head.

As time passed, the confusion in his eyes gradually faded, his mind grew clearer, and he couldn't help but push himself up with both hands, slowly standing up. He stood in front of a huge makeup mirror and looked at the person in the reflection.

The person was only wearing a pair of boxers, about 1.85 meters tall, with a bare upper body showing clear, muscular lines—quite strong. Looking further up, his hair was dark brown, and his face had a high nose and deep-set eyes, features as sharply defined as if carved by a knife. Except for those pitch-black eyes, there was nothing about him that looked familiar.

Staring at the man in the mirror, he bit his lip hard. A sharp pain and the taste of blood hit him instantly. Then, he just stood there, dazed for a full five minutes, gradually realizing that something unbelievable had happened.

His last memory was very clear: he was working under the scorching sun and high temperatures at a construction site, smashing cement. While wiping his sweat and drinking water, a coworker's hammerhead suddenly flew off and, with perfect aim, struck him right in the face. He remembered nothing after that.

That miserable twenty-year life probably ended right there, huh?

He'd had a very tough life. Born in a poor mountain area, he was forced to work after graduating junior high to support his family. At eighteen, his long-ill parents passed away, leaving him all alone. He became a typical "four-nothing" newcomer: no education, no experience, no background, and no skills, only able to do manual labor. He originally wanted to save enough money to learn a trade, but was unlucky—wages withheld, boss ran off, and when he tried to get his pay, he was suppressed. With no resolution, he could only do the hardest jobs at construction sites, carrying bricks and smashing cement. Before he could earn any money, it was all over...

Maybe ending that miserable life and starting over wasn't such bad luck after all? Thinking of the hardships and struggles of his previous life, such thoughts surfaced unconsciously. After all, he really had nothing tying him down.

However, this brand-new life didn't seem much better...

Standing in front of the mirror, he slapped his tough, handsome face hard, confirming once again that this wasn't a dream or a hallucination.

The foreigner in the mirror was called Matthew Carter. To use a phrase from those xianxia novels he'd read, he'd successfully seized this body. In his hometown's words, he'd become a ghost possessing someone...

Luckily, the Matthew Carter who had probably gone to see King Yama... no, should be God, had left behind enough memories.

But as those memories flashed through his mind, his—or rather, Matthew Carter's—face twitched uncontrollably!

Because the past was really too painful to look back on!

This Matthew Carter came from the slums of Texas, born in 1980, just nineteen years old—which meant he was now back at the turn of the century, early 1999. Like most Americans, he was of mixed descent, with a quarter Chinese blood. Unfortunately, this heritage wasn't obvious in his appearance; the only sign was probably his black eyes.

Aside from the black eyes, his skin and features looked much more Western.

Nineteen-year-old Matthew Carter also had no skills. Since he only finished a third of high school, his education level was just enough to read newspapers and books. He couldn't understand complex English or grammar, and his writing was even worse.

It was easy to imagine what kind of life someone like that could have in this era.

In the memories left behind, Matthew Carter had delivered newspapers and milk, worked as a car washer, washed dishes in restaurants, became a driver after getting his license, and later swung a sledgehammer at construction sites for a while. The hard work and tough life had built up his strong muscles.