It’s rare to get a second chance at life, and Brian Bolton hopes to live a carefree life this time. The first step is to start by changing his hairstyle.

The shampoo girl’s technique was terrible, and her nails were a bit too long. She barely managed to wash Brian Bolton’s hair. After finishing with another customer, the barber finally started cutting Brian Bolton’s hair. Using electric clippers the whole time, he shaved almost right against the scalp. After one round, Brian Bolton’s head instantly changed from a square shape to a round one.

Brian Bolton’s hairline was inherited from his mother—very low, with a sharp point, commonly known as a widow’s peak.

He’d heard people say before that men with a widow’s peak are prone to being flirtatious, but after all he’d been through, Brian Bolton scoffed at such talk.

Now, with the buzz cut and the accent of the widow’s peak, his whole look was completely transformed from old-fashioned to energetic and spirited. Paired with a brand-new T-shirt and jeans he’d bought especially for the start of school, he suddenly looked fashionable, as if he was walking at the forefront of trends.

Brian Bolton wasn’t exactly handsome, but he wasn’t ugly either. With the sharp haircut, he actually became quite pleasant to look at.

“How much?” Brian Bolton looked at himself in the mirror from every angle, very satisfied.

“Five yuan.”

“Totally worth it.” Brian Bolton smiled, then suddenly asked, “Boss, do you have membership cards?”

The boss replied cheerfully, “Yes, recharge one hundred and get fifty free.”

Little Grace looked at Brian Bolton eagerly, as if she was already getting ready to help him sign up for a card.

But Brian Bolton just nodded, “Alright, I’ll get one next time.”

Then, under Little Grace’s disdainful gaze, he left the beauty salon.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to get a card—a buzz cut like this needs frequent maintenance, and a membership card would be convenient. But he didn’t have much money in his pocket, and he still didn’t know if writing novels could make him any money. If he spent recklessly, how would he afford to eat?

Food is the most important thing for the people!

“Next step, hmm, go online for a bit and gather more information.”

He headed purposefully in the direction of the Sina Internet Café he remembered. That place held so many wonderful memories for him back in the day.

Chapter 005: The Elder Number

Jin Yong, Gu Long, Huang Yi, Liang Yusheng, and Wen Rui’an are all great masters of wuxia.

Unfortunately, in this world, not a single one of them exists. Instead, there are second-tier wuxia authors like Wolong Sheng, Sima Ling, and Zhuge Qingyun—none of them are missing, along with some authors Brian Bolton had never even heard of.

“Tsk tsk, if only I had Baidu in my brain, this would be a surefire chance to become a grandmaster of wuxia. Unfortunately, I’m only familiar with a few classics, mostly because I watched too many TV dramas. I honestly don’t remember the original novels. Still, my writing isn’t bad. Even if I just retell the TV versions, I could probably write a few decent novels.”

After getting online and learning about the world, Brian Bolton felt more and more confident.

The effect of returning to the past was that many familiar people and works had disappeared.

“But maybe it’s for the best that they’re gone. I’ll inherit your brilliance—rest in peace.” Although he felt a bit guilty about this, deep down, Brian Bolton couldn’t help but feel endless delight.

“So, let me think about what to write for my debut novel.”

To be honest, Brian Bolton couldn’t remember the less classic ones at all. The ones he did remember were the more famous ones, especially those adapted into TV dramas.

Jin Yong’s “Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils,” “The Legend of the Condor Heroes,” “The Deer and the Cauldron,” “Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber,” “Smiling Proud Wanderer,” and “The Return of the Condor Heroes”—these were on TV every summer, impossible to avoid.

Gu Long’s “Lu Xiaofeng,” “The Proud Twins,” “Little Li Flying Dagger,” “Chu Liuxiang,” and “Meteor, Butterfly, Sword”—although the TV adaptations weren’t aired as often, the original novels were very re-readable, and Brian Bolton had gone through them many times.

Huang Yi’s “Twin Dragons of the Tang Dynasty,” “A Step into the Past,” “Rain-Covering Clouds,” Liang Yusheng’s “Seven Swordsmen from Mountain Tian,” “The Bride with White Hair,” and Wen Rui’an’s “The Four Great Constables” were all brilliant in their own right.

There were also others like “Ode to Gallantry,” “Sword Stained with Royal Blood,” “Full Moon Scimitar,” “Wulin Wai Shi,” “Xiao Shiyi Lang,” “End of the World, Bright Moon, Blade,” “Cloud Sea Jade Bow Fate,” “Book and Sword, Gratitude and Revenge,” “Iron Blood Banner,” “Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain,” “Against the Cold Current,” “Sentimental Swordsman, Ruthless Sword,” “A Deadly Secret,” “The Third Master’s Sword,” and so on. Brian Bolton had already forgotten many of the details, only remembering the general storylines.

“I’ll take some time to write down the outlines of these novels from memory, and when I have time, I’ll gradually fill in the content.”

“Besides Jin Yong, Gu Long, Huang Yi, Liang Yusheng, and Wen Rui’an, there are also some new school wuxia novels I can write… Feng Ge’s ‘Kunlun,’ Xiao Ding’s ‘Zhu Xian,’ Sun Xiao’s ‘Heroic Legend,’ Xiao Duan’s ‘Cup of Snow’…”

Thinking this way, Brian Bolton’s mind became clear.

Write wuxia novels, submit them, earn his first pot of gold, learn to compose music, write songs—sing if he can, go behind the scenes if he can’t. Then plan variety shows and entertainment, accumulate initial capital, and finally learn to shoot TV dramas and movies. If he’s lucky, start a company, create things like YY Voice, WeChat, and Weibo, and in the end, marry a rich and beautiful woman and reach the pinnacle of life.

“Yeah, I guess that’s the extent of all my ambitions.”

Leaning back in his chair, Brian Bolton felt his mood getting better and better.