A New Beginning

Living is such a strange concept when you do not know what to do with yourself. According to the rest of the world, you are supposed to have ambitions and connections that keep you tethered to life.

Technically, Meng Mei has ambitions and connections. She thinks she would like to be an author one day and she loves her friends and family. But those things don't give her any great sense of purpose.

‘A-Mei, A-Mei’ Her best friend would pout, poking her in the cheek whenever Meng Mei zoned out mid conversation. ‘You're ignoring me again.’

‘No I'm not.’ Meng Mei would laugh, pulling her mind back to the present.

She experienced slips like that often. It was like a fog settled in her mind. Muddying her thoughts and causing her to space out and fall silent.

It's not even like she was particularly unhappy with her life. She has amazing friends, a loving family, and a comfortable life. There's nothing for her to be particularly unhappy with.

It was more like she felt that she doesn't belong amongst her loved ones. For a few years she attributed this feeling to teenage angst and she desperately tried to work through it.

She did all of the right things. She attempted therapy even though her parents heavily disapproved of it, worrying about her future employers finding out. She even went to various shamans to try to settle her spirit.

‘A-Mei surely there's something else to do. We could go out to the countryside if that would lift your spirits.’ Her mom would plead, twisting a handkerchief in her hands.

‘Mom, I really think I need to talk to someone.’ Meng Mei pushed back gently. She didn't want to seem unfilial by arguing with her mother but by that point she was just so tired of the disconnect she felt.

But as the years progressed, nothing changed. Even now at nineteen, Meng Mei still felt like there was a wall in between her and the world. And no matter how hard she pushed against the wall, it refused to move.

The only things that granted her reprieve were novels. Whether they be fantasy, adventure, romance, or even horror. Novels helped her scale the wall and feel present in her life.

That's how she found Seasons of Sorrow.

By now it was a chart topping webnovel with a rumored drama being filmed. But when Meng Mei found it, Seasons of Sorrow was like any other webnovel. Despite that, the story hooked her immediately.

She read all eight hundred and sixty-three chapters twice over. Even with all of her years online or reading, she'd never felt so attached to a story.

Her best friend found it sort of strange but she supported Meng Mei's devotion whole heartedly.

‘Ugh if I was the protagonist I'd never do something so stupid.’ Meng Mei complained once. Her best friend laughed as she offered Meng Mei a rice cake. It was a day like any other.

The two girls sat underneath the lone Sakura tree on their university campus. Not many petals littered the grass at this point. The tree was just beginning to turn that beautiful shade of pink that everyone adored.

‘Oh please A-Mei. You'd spend more time chasing mythical beasts than furthering the plot.’ Her best friend snorted as she bit into her own rice cake. The package sat precariously on her lap. One wrong move and they would lose their snack.

‘That’s not fair! You'd want to see a dragon too if you had the chance!’ Meng Mei protested hotly.

‘I guess.’ Her friend conceded with an indulgent smile.

It was two days later that Meng Mei was found dead in her dorm room.

Later, the aunties would console her family by saying that Meng Mei wasn't built to last in the modern world. ‘Her heart never really belonged to it.’ They would say at her three days of visitation. ‘She’s happier now.’

In truth, they were not completely wrong. Her death had been a long time coming.

It didn't really surprise her when she closed her eyes for the last time. Death did not scare her in the slightest. Even if there is no God to greet her after her final breath, she would be free from the constraints that came with being alive.

And if a God does greet her in the next stage, maybe she would find something interesting to do in her afterlife.

Either way she might finally be satisfied.

These were the thoughts that Meng Mei had as she closed her eyes and took her final breath. She was at peace with her death, no matter if it was premature.

But that changed when she opened her eyes again.

Meng Mei was met with neither the weightlessness of death nor the expected feeling of a hospital. Instead she was greeted with an open sky and grass reeds looming over her.

She still felt very alive. But where in the world was she?

Blinking, she shifted a bit. She could feel all of her limbs but she felt strangely restricted. Like she had been layered in blankets.

[Welcome New User! Welcome New User! Welcome New User! Important things must be said three times! (≧▽≦)/]

She blinked at the blue screen that suddenly appeared in front of her face. It was oddly reminiscent of a video game quest pop-up. Experimentally Meng Mei sat up and watched as the screen readjusted itself until it was in her clear line of sight again.

"Huh."

‘Is this the afterlife?’ She wondered, looking around. The reeds loomed so far over her head. Even as she sat up she couldn't see anything other than the sprawling grass. In the distance she thought she heard running water.

Maybe this peacefulness was what the end looked like. Weird blue screen and all.

[User!! Please let this system explain everything before you get up!! \⁠(⁠>⁠o⁠<⁠)⁠ﾉ Once you leave this spot you will be spotted by your new body's mother and you will have no time to get acclimated to your new world!!]

Meng Mei stared blankly at the screen as the text changed. System? New body? New world?

Her mind spun as she tried to make this information fit. No afterlife she had read about behaved like this. She definitely doesn't remember this in any religious teaching.

She raised her hand to rub at her eyes. The last thing she remembered was dying and now she was in some strange field with a strange blue screen spouting nonsense.

Her hand was halfway to her face when she realized that something was seriously wrong.

The most noticeable thing was the long red sleeve hanging off of her arm. Golden thread decorated the cuff in intricate patterns.

The next thing she noticed was just how small her hand was. Meng Mei was nineteen when she died. She was nearly a fully grown woman, but the hand in front of her face now was clearly that of a child's.

“What.” She breathed.

Slowly, with a pounding heart, Meng Mei looked down at herself. The sight of her clothing almost made her faint. She was covered in layers upon layers of red robes that belonged in a museum. Red gems and golden embroidery decorated her outermost layer in patterns of phoenixes and flowers.

Suddenly the screen’s words came back to her.

New body. New world.

“No way.” She gasped, her mind finally connecting the dots. Had she actually—?

[It is exactly as you suspect dear User!! After your death in your original world your soul was transported here!! You are currently in the world of 'Seasons of Sorrow']

Meng Mei stared at the screen in disbelief. Has it finally happened? Had she really been….transmigrated?

[Welcome to your new life User!! Shall this system gst started with the introductions?]