CDJMM – Volume 2 – Chapter 1 The State Slaps and Teaches the Scum a Lesson (1)

Volume 2 Learn Your Maths, Physics and Chemistry Well; Let the State Slap You Back and Teach the Scum a Lesson

Le Jing’s first day in the new world began with loud swearing coming from outside.

“Big sister, what did you mean by what you told the neighbors yesterday? Who were you cursing? Whose son is a crazy gay? Your son is the gay one!”

“What did I say? Yesterday I only relayed what an expert in the paper said — the expert said introverted boys are prone to homosexual tendencies. That was the expert, not me.”

“You think you’re smart, so you can treat me like an idiot? What’s that phrase… talking about one thing while criticizing another! Who acts like this as an older sister?” The woman’s voice choked up as she spoke: “You just think we poor widows and orphans are easy to bully, don’t you?”

Then the eldest sister, Xie Yan, began to cry. Between sobs she pulled out every old grievance — from when, at five years old, she gave her white flour mask to her sister, to how she dropped out at fifteen to work and support the family, how she had sacrificed her whole life for her sister and the household, yet the sister didn’t understand and hurt her feelings. Xie Yan cried in wounded indignation; her complaints came out clear and fluent, and by the time she finished, the woman across from her had forgotten her earlier anger and was hugging the older sister and sobbing.

Listening to the muffled wails from outside the room, Le Jing rubbed his temples and felt annoyed.

The two people outside were the original owner’s birth mother and her aunt. Their personas were, respectively, an insecure, sensitive, resentful woman and a scheming, malicious white-lotus gossip. The two sisters performed this same quarrel-then-makeup routine almost every day. After inheriting the original owner’s memories, Le Jing was used to it — he only found it unbearably tiresome.

Yes — Le Jing had transmigrated again.

What did death feel like?

For Le Jing it had been like a long black dream; the dream was endless, containing nothing but icy stillness and tedious nothingness.

Then, after an unknown length of time, the dream was suddenly shattered from the outside. Le Jing opened his eyes and began a new life.

This time his name was Chang Jingchen — and yes, there was that character jing (景) in the name again.

Le Jing felt as if some great hand in the void had pushed him toward an unknown fate.

【Host detected. You have a new newcomer gift package. Do you wish to claim it?】 A voice resembling a male Siri suddenly sounded in his mind.

Le Jing rubbed his temples; his head hurt even more.

Unlike the last time when the soul-transference had been straightforward and uncomplicated, this time there were all sorts of messy settings attached — and the so-called live-stream system was one of them. When he first woke up last night, not only had he accepted the original owner’s memories, he’d also been involuntarily hit with a massive data flow from the system. That enormous shock made him faint as soon as he woke.

When he came to again, several hours had passed.

It took him a few minutes to sort out the background and character setup for this run.

First: he was now in 1989. The Soviet colossus hadn’t collapsed yet; the country’s big, sweeping “strike-hard” campaigns had only ended a few years earlier; state-owned enterprises were about to begin massive layoffs; the internet — that future behemoth — was still only a nascent idea. This was 1989: reform came with the pangs of the era, and confusion filled the social tide. Opportunity and danger went hand in hand — some people went into business and made fortunes, others were laid off and sank into poverty or died young.

Second: the original owner, Chang Jingchen, was an unremarkable high school student: average height and weight, a forgettable face, middling grades, timid, meek, and lacking any charismatic presence. In short, he was the kind of background extra every class has. The only slightly striking thing about him was his name — to someone who didn’t know the truth, it sounded like a novel’s male lead and carried a certain aura.

The truth was that his grandfather named him while listening to an opera on the radio — “The Peony Pavilion” — and hit the line “good times and beautiful scenes” (良辰美景) and thought, aha, two nice characters. So he slapped his thigh, chose two pretty characters, and the grandson became Chang Jingchen.

… If Grandpa Chang had picked different characters back then, Chang Jingchen might not be called Chang Jingchen at all. He might have been Chang Le Jing.

Then, for reasons nobody knew, ordinary nobody Chang Jingchen caught the attention of a so-called live-stream system said to come from the future.

The system’s full name was the “Face-Slapping & Scum-Bashing Live System” — a high-tech product designed by some future entertainment company to liven up the boredom of future users. Its purpose: travel into various small worlds, bind to cannon-fodder characters, and help those cannon-fodder hosts reverse their fate, humiliate and crush their scummy enemies. Each time a “slap-the-face-and-abuse-the-scum” task is completed, the host earns generous points, which can be exchanged for money, items, knowledge, etc.

【If you complete tasks diligently, becoming a billionaire in the future won’t be a dream!】

Chang Jingchen was taken in by that line. Without much thought — and against better judgment — he bound the system.

Then Chang Jingchen died.

His weak mental fortitude couldn’t handle the system’s enormous data stream, so he quickly lapsed into brain death. Almost simultaneously, Le Jing slipped into the body without anyone noticing.

Le Jing remembered clearly the system’s muttered voice at the moment: 【Sure enough, cannon-fodder are so easy to kill… huh? How come someone’s alive again?】 and then he fainted.

After waking, he tested whether world-crossing was common in the system’s future. The system told him something he found absurd: in the future where the system exists, citizens traversing into various small worlds is routine. Some citizens even seal their memories to experience life as natives, and they usually perform a body-hosting, not a soul-transfer. Injecting your consciousness into an indigenous body is too dangerous; one wrong move can cause brain death.

That was why the system didn’t realize the shell it’d bound to had a new occupant.

【Host detected. You have a new newcomer gift package. Do you wish to claim it?】 the system asked again.

Le Jing gathered himself and replied mentally: “Claim.”

【Newcomer gift: 100 points have been credited to host account. Points may be redeemed in the system shop.】

Le Jing closed his eyes and let his consciousness drift into the system shop. The dazzling commodities made his eyes spin.

The system’s voice sounded in his mind at the right moment: 【The newcomer gift is the only one-time benefit each UP host can enjoy, so use it wisely. One hundred points is not much — I don’t recommend cashing them out. Redeeming skills is the most reasonable choice.】 Skills and knowledge can’t be taken away by money, after all.

He nodded inwardly. He was in the second year of high school and the college entrance exam was coming up. He wondered if there were any skills in the system shop that could help his studies.

The system paused, as if giving Le Jing a few seconds to think, then said: 【Considering the host’s family situation, I recommend redeeming the “Household Intrigue” skill — to back your birth mother and humiliate that dreadful relative!】

Le Jing: … ????

【Of course, the Household Intrigue skill costs 200 points; your current balance isn’t enough. But!】 The system’s tone suddenly swelled with theatrical fervor as though possessed by a motivational speaker. 【Detected a face-slap/scum-bashing opportunity within three meters of the host. Complete this newcomer task and you will earn 100 points! This is the extra-high reward only available for first-time tasks!】

Le Jing: …

【So host, open your live room now! Use your superb Household Intrigue skills to attract viewers! Between us, the more delightfully you humiliate the scum, the more generous the audience tips will be!】

“…No thanks.”

The system for a moment nearly thought its database had gone haywire. 【…Host, what did you say?】

“I said forget it. I don’t want to do that task, so I’m not opening the livestream.”

The system blanched. 【Host, you really aren’t going to open the livestream? Domestic-drama plots are very popular with some of the female viewers! If you ruthlessly humiliate the original owner’s awful relatives, you can earn a 100-point reward!】

Le Jing tugged at the corner of his mouth and replied coldly, “Sorry, I’m not interested.”

What’s a high school kid doing playing at household intrigue? If he had the time for that he’d rather read more books and do more problems — what’s the point of squabbling with a middle-aged woman? It’s a pure waste of time and energy.

The system’s voice immediately turned serious. 【The host is new, so you must complete one ‘humiliate the scum’ task today to attract viewers to the livestream. If by 24:00 today the host still hasn’t completed such a task, a punishment will be imposed.】

Le Jing was unsurprised; he asked calmly, “What punishment?”

【The first two punishments are added misfortune. If you fail to complete tasks three times in total, the system will automatically unbind from the host. All the benefits brought by the livestream will be lost forever, and the host will no longer be able to change his tragic fate in the book world!】

“Oh.”

The system felt deflated.

It had traveled through so many worlds and been bound to so many hosts, and this was the first time it had encountered someone so stubbornly unaffected by bribes and threats. The previous hosts, when confronted with punishment, were at least startled or anxious — but this time the host remained impassive and totally unconcerned even after hearing about the penalty.

After seeing the dazzling variety of goods in the system shop, the system didn’t believe anyone could resist the lure of the livestream rewards!

Refusing to give up, it continued to persuade: 【I already told you, host — your little world was created by a future world based on the plot of a book. In that era-novel’s storyline, you are a cannon fodder. A week from now you’ll rescue the girl you secretly like from a bunch of thugs; that girl actually turns out to be the novel’s heroine. She’ll soon meet the male lead and develop a sweet school romance; both of them will go on to university… Of course, those main plotlines have nothing to do with you, and the book never mentions what becomes of you. But the world’s rules will logically extrapolate follow-up plots for side characters. Your subsequent storyline is: because of your heroic rescue, you attract the thugs’ revenge and suffer severe campus bullying, which causes you to drop out of high school. Without a high-school diploma and with your temperament, you’ll keep hitting walls in job hunting. At that time your aunters gets you a civil-service job but demands a 50,000-yuan deposit. Your mother drains the family savings and even mortgages the house to borrow the money from your aunt to make up the deposit. But it turns out your aunt and a shell company are running a scam; the shell company absconds with the money, and your mother is devastated and dies soon after. Your aunt comes to collect the debts; with compound interest the original 50,000 yuan becomes 150,000. You can’t pay; your aunt throws you out and seizes your family house. You go to your father for refuge but are driven away by his new wife. In the end you starve to death under an overpass.】

The system pleaded earnestly: 【You humiliating the scum isn’t just about earning points, and it isn’t just to boost livestream ratings — it’s to change your tragic fate in the book!】

This classic transmigration-into-a-book revenge setup had already been roughly explained to Chang Jingchen (the original host) when the system tried to motivate him to livestream. Back then the system had only sketched the outline, mainly to encourage him to better expose and humiliate the villains so he could change his fate.

Hearing the system’s detailed account now, Le Jing’s responses were: “Oh.”

“I know.”

“I’m going to school.”

The system: ……

Seeing the host’s placid expression, it suddenly thought of an explanation: maybe the host hadn’t realized the gravity of the situation and assumed the system was just trying to scare him? If that were the case…

The system felt a bit mournful — it probably would have to switch to a new host soon. Hopefully the next one would be smarter and more resourceful.

While Le Jing and the system were talking, he noticed the crying outside had gradually subsided.

Only then did he push the door open and step out.

His bedroom faced the living room. He saw his body’s mother and his aunt clasping hands, tearful and whispering to one another in intimate tones.

Le Jing: ……

He sighed inwardly, feeling sickened.

When they saw Le Jing, his aunt, Mrs. Xie Yan, rose in surprise and concern. “Xiao Jing, why are you up so early? Don’t you want to sleep a bit longer?”

It was 5:40 in the morning. The high school the original body attended started morning study at seven; normally Chang Jingchen woke at 6:10.

Chang Jingchen’s father and Xie Yan both worked at the same steel mill; their families lived in factory-allocated housing. The original family lived on the third floor, Xie Yan’s on the second. After Chang Jingchen’s father and mother divorced, he rented elsewhere and left the house to the mother and child.

That’s why Xie Yan often popped in at their place early in the morning.

Chang Jingchen’s mother, Xie Chun, dabbed at her tearful eyes and looked apologetically at Le Jing. “Did we wake you up earlier when we were talking just now?”

Le Jing shook his head nonchalantly, smiling faintly. “No, I wanted to go to school early to study.”

Hearing her son say that, Xie Chun’s eyes filled up and she cried with joy. “My son has grown up and become sensible. He knows to study well. If your father knew how sensible you are now, he’d regret abandoning the two of us…”

Le Jing felt a headache coming on. That was why he called Xie Chun a perpetual mourner: ever since the divorce she never stopped complaining and wallowing in self-pity. Honestly, during their marriage the father hadn’t done anything particularly wrong to her; they divorced for incompatibility. But after remarrying, Chang Jingchen’s father gradually became a lousy dad.

Le Jing hurriedly cut off Xie Chun’s words. “Mom, I’m going to wash up.”

“All right, all right, hurry up!” Xie Chun kept saying. “I’ll make breakfast for you.”

…

After breakfast, Le Jing rode his bike to school. Their place wasn’t far — a ten-minute ride.

When he got to class, only a dozen or so students were seated, all reciting from their textbooks. Le Jing glanced at the classroom clock and saw it was only 6:20.

That made sense. It was 1989; college hadn’t yet expanded enrollment, and those who could get into university were top-tier elites. So high schoolers were very diligent.

Le Jing thought about it and realized the original body actually had some talent. He wasn’t very hardworking, yet he managed to get into high school and keep his grades around the class average — enough to prove he wasn’t stupid.

He sat down in his remembered seat.

His deskmate was a round-faced boy named Wen Wenzhong; his mother was the class’s Chinese teacher.

Wen Wenzhong looked surprised to see him. “You’re here early today.”

“Wanted to come early to study.”

Wen Wenzhong nodded and didn’t say much, only reminding him: “My mom’s going to randomly check yesterday’s assigned text recitation in Chinese class. Hurry and review — first period is Chinese.”

Reciting the text…?

Le Jing had transmigrated only last night and had been flooded with memories and information; he couldn’t for the life of him remember what text they’d studied yesterday.

“…Sorry, which text did we study yesterday?”

Wen Wenzhong stared at him incredulously. “You’re kidding, right? What were you thinking about in class yesterday?”

Le Jing kept his composure. “Maybe I spaced out.”

Wen Wenzhong sighed, looking at him like a corpse. “You’re dead meat. My mom won’t let this slide. You’re going to be punished to copy the text…” He indicated a number with his fingers: “At least that many slaps.”

Le Jing scratched his nose. “I’ll cram and memorize it now.”

Wen Wenzhong grabbed Le Jing’s Chinese textbook and flipped through it noisily, then pointed to a page. “There—this is the text. Hurry up.”

Le Jing followed Wen Wenzhong’s finger and his eyes fell on a line of huge, familiar characters — “The Last Person Who Didn’t Take Drugs.”

Le Jing: …Isn’t this a穿书? (He mentally: This is literally a book world, right??)

【I just checked with other systems — your era is quite in demand in the livestream world because it’s great for telling family and petty neighborhood stories. Some viewers who like pastoral or domestic novels really eat this stuff up.】 The system’s enthusiastic voice sounded suddenly in his head. 【Host, why don’t you just open a livestream and recite school texts for the audience? It might really suit their tastes!】