Huayu: This top star doesn't play by the rules.

Previously: This story takes place in a parallel world, and the timeline and certain major events will be adjusted and changed according to the development of the story.

On a certain day in February 2016, in a recording studio in Nanshan District, Shenzhen.

In the dimly lit recording studio, Chen Chao reached out and took off his monitoring headphones. After rubbing his slightly sore ears, he looked up at the other side of the soundproof glass.

On the other side of the glass, the sound engineer, with a smile on his face, raised his hand and gave him an OK sign, indicating that the previous take was done.

After casually hanging up his headphones, Chen Chao stretched his slightly sore body, then pushed open the heavy soundproof door and entered the control room.

As the sound engineer pulled the recorded vocals into the audio track, he muttered, "Your tone is really good, and your breath control is very stable, it's just a little tight in the high register... But to perform like this on your first time in the studio, you're quite a talented performer."

Faced with the sound engineer's words, which were tinged with praise, Chen Chao did not speak, but simply smiled in response.

With his eyes fixed on the waveform on the screen, Chen Chao was thinking about something else entirely—the song he was just recording wouldn't be released for another four years.

In 2020, JJ Lin released the single "Exchange of Lives". At that time, Chen Chao was sitting in front of his computer, facing a 3D model with no ideas for modification, looking for inspiration, when he unexpectedly came across this song.

As the melody looped through his headphones, he looked out the window at the night, which appeared somewhat impure due to the neon lights, and suddenly it occurred to him that perhaps in some parallel universe, he would be living a completely different life.

At least, they won't be like me, sitting in front of the computer every day designing toys that might attract children to buy, but which only make me feel increasingly bored.

Unlike myself, I won't suffer from "occupational diseases" common to office workers at a young age, such as cervical spondylosis, tenosynovitis, and lumbar disc herniation.

.......

After playing the initial mix, the sound engineer turned to Chen Chao, smiled, and asked, "How do you feel about it?"

After listening to the last line of the song, Chen Chao nodded slightly: "Okay, that's settled then."

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When Chen Chao finished everything and walked out of the recording studio, it was already past nine o'clock at night. The night wind in Shenzhen in February was a bit damp, giving people a bone-chilling cold.

After taking out his phone and calling a Didi, he looked at the date displayed on the screen and felt a little dazed. It had been more than a year since he was reborn.

But some things still feel like they happened just yesterday. Chen Chao clearly remembers that it was New Year's Eve before the Spring Festival. He had already finished his New Year's greetings and was lying on the sofa in his hometown, idly scrolling through short videos.

He happened to come across a marketing account's compilation of "The Top Celebrities We Followed Over the Years." Looking at those familiar yet unfamiliar names on the screen, for some reason, he suddenly felt a bit bored. It wasn't that he felt bored with those people, but rather that he felt his life had been rather meaningless.

After lying quietly on the bed for a while, Chen Chao got up again, changed his clothes, and went out towards the village's temple.

Because it was already night, although the temple was still brightly lit, there was no one there. As if by some strange twist of fate, he walked straight into the temple.

Holding three sticks of incense, Chen Chao knelt before the statue of the god, stunned for a long time. He couldn't think of what to ask for, and finally just blurted out, "My lord, if I could do it all over again, I would like to live a different life. I'm really fed up with this kind of predictable life."

After bowing respectfully three times and placing three incense sticks in the burner, Chen Chao went home to sleep.

But when he woke up again, he was in his bedroom in August 2014, when he was eighteen years old.

The sounds of laughter and playfulness from the neighbor's children could be heard downstairs. Not far from the bed, there was an easel with a half-finished sketch on it.

Lying on his old bed, staring at the familiar yet unfamiliar ceiling, Chen Chao was stunned for several minutes before he suddenly burst into laughter, laughing until tears streamed down his face.

What happened next was like a fast-forwarded event. Chen Chao directly confronted his family, saying that he no longer wanted to take the art college entrance exam and wanted to take the acting exam instead.

Chen Chao's parents were stunned for a while by their son's sudden idea. Finally, his father said, "Think it through yourself, and don't regret it later."

So he took the entrance exam for Shenzhen University, enrolled, studied acting, and audited classes in the music department.

Right after his rebirth, Chen Chao noticed something was wrong—his memory had suddenly become frighteningly good, and he could now recall those memories that had long been blurred with just a little thought.

His learning ability has also been enhanced dramatically. He can master the chord progressions after his piano teacher teaches him once, after playing them only twice. His physical fitness has also improved. Now, running five kilometers in the morning is as easy as taking a stroll.

Of course, the most special thing is the inexplicable luck. For example, I bought a lottery ticket on a whim and it solved my tuition and living expenses for four years of university.

Another time, when I went to Shanghai with my parents, we just wandered around and stumbled upon an audition for "The Legend of the Condor Heroes". I signed up to audition for the role of Ouyang Ke and got the part easily.

Chen Chao attributed this to the spirit of the master, which might be a special "golden finger" he gained after transmigrating.

Anyway, it's pretty good.

Chen Chao didn't have to wait long before Didi arrived. After getting in the car and giving the last four digits of his phone number, he leaned back in the seat and started scrolling through his phone.

On the music platform, his recently uploaded song "Exchange of Lives" already has dozens of comments in the comment section.

"Who wrote this song? I've never heard of this name before, is they a newcomer? The melody is amazing!"

"A singer-songwriter? That's a really nice voice, but I wonder what they look like?"

"Am I the only one who noticed that both the lyrics and music are by Chen Chao? That's a rather unique name..."

"I've already listened to this on repeat for the third time, and for some reason I feel like crying..."

Scrolling down the comments section, a new top comment caught Chen Chao's eye: "If time could turn back, which day would you most like to return to?"

With his eyes glued to the comment, he suddenly remembered a time in his past life when he was working overtime at his computer and had thought about the same question.

My answer at that time was, "I want to go back to before the college entrance exam, repeat a year, and then get into a better university."

As for the answer now—he thought about it but couldn't come up with one.

Neon lights flashed outside the window, casting flickering light inside the car. I put my phone back in my pocket, relaxed, and closed my eyes.

Now that the song release is all set up, all that's left is to wait for the platform to recommend it, for word-of-mouth to spread, and for more people to hear the song.

and then?

And there are still many more songs waiting for him to create, many more movies waiting for him to film, and many more people waiting for him to meet and get to know. The road ahead is still long.

Suddenly, Chen Chao remembered that when he was recording the song earlier, he secretly added a trill when he sang the line "Exchange the rest of our lives, perhaps, forget, which dream it is," which was not in the original melody.

He just suddenly wanted to add it, so he did. The sound engineer also said it sounded pretty good. Thinking about this, the corners of his mouth curved up.

This is his life now. He doesn't have to follow a fixed script. He can add vocal runs whenever he wants, and he can change his way of life whenever he wants.

Outside the car window, the night rushed past. Chen Chao opened his eyes and looked at his blurry reflection in the window. He suddenly felt that the person he had casually made a wish in front of the palace should be satisfied with the answer he had now.