1: Chapter 1: Reincarnated as a Noble Family's Son, Embarking on a New Official Career

In a parallel world of China, on an ordinary day in May 1993, a passenger plane flying from the capital to Mingzhou City, the provincial capital of Jiang Province, was soaring through the clouds.

Inside the cabin, a young man sat in a window seat.

He tilted his head slightly, his gaze passing through the porthole and resting on the surging sea of clouds outside.

The cloud wisps looked like cotton combed by skilled hands, spreading out in layers across the horizon, sometimes turning into surging waves, and other times solidifying into dormant mountains.

Li Dakang's gaze wandered amidst the shifting clouds, but his thoughts had long since crossed the thin glass of the porthole, drifting back to that afternoon a month ago when his fate changed.

Thirty-five days had passed since he transmigrated into this both similar and strange parallel world.

From the initial panic to the current calm and determination, over these thirty-five days, Li Dakang felt as if he were leafing through a thick ledger of life, slowly sorting out the past of this body and gradually accepting this brand-new identity.

The memories of his past life were like faded old photographs; though blurred, they were still clearly distinguishable.

Back then, Li Dakang was an ordinary civil servant in a county in the south during the 21st century. From a callow university graduate to a retired cadre with frost-dusted temples, a full thirty-eight years of his life had been spent in that square, boxy office.

He remembered when he first started working, filled with the enthusiasm to "serve the people," riding a "28-inch" bicycle that rattled everywhere except for its bell, traveling all over the mountains and rivers of the township;

He remembered waiting an entire night in the hallway of the County Public Security Bureau to secure a poverty alleviation project, just to have three minutes to speak with the leader;

He remembered the year his son took the college entrance exam, he was stationed in the countryside for flood prevention, and he couldn't even offer a word of advice when the child entered the examination hall.

Yet even with such painstaking effort, without any connections, he was like a boat tracker rowing upstream, exerting all his strength only to spin in place.

It wasn't until the year he was nearing retirement that his name finally appeared on the public notice board of the County Party Committee Organization Department, promoted to a second-level chief staff member due to "diligent work and deep qualifications."

That day, Li Dakang stood before the notice board, staring at the ink that had yet to dry, and his eyes suddenly welled up with tears.

This "section-level" treatment was a "consolation prize" he had exchanged for the better part of his life.

His retirement banquet was held in a small private room in the unit's canteen, where a dozen familiar faces sat around together, the crisp clinking of glasses mixed with sighs and blessings.

"Old Li, your life has been worth it!"

An old colleague patted his shoulder, his tone full of emotion.

Li Dakang smiled and raised his glass, downing the white spirit in one gulp; the pungent liquid burned his throat and blurred his vision.

He drank a lot that day, until he slumped onto the table and lost consciousness; the last thought that flashed through his mind was the regret of not being able to go further in his official career.

When he opened his eyes again, blinding sunlight shone on his face through the carved window lattice, and the air was filled with a faint scent of sandalwood.

Li Dakang struggled to sit up, discovering that he was lying on an antique, traditional canopy bed, covered by a silk quilt embroidered with lotus patterns.

This was not the old apartment unit he had lived in for decades, nor was it a hospital ward.

A brass mirror sat on the bedside table; he picked it up with trembling hands, and a young face was reflected in the glass.

With sword-like eyebrows and star-bright eyes, a high nose bridge, and the fair skin unique to young people, there was only a trace of lingering childishness between his brows.

This face was both strange and familiar; it was clearly the look of someone in their early twenties, yet it bore a striking resemblance to photos of him when he was young.

Fragmented memories flooded into his mind like a tidal wave: the capital, the Li family, Shuimu University, the circle of young masters...

Li Dakang spent three full days before he finally pieced together the truth of this world.

It turned out that he had transmigrated into a parallel world and become a young man with the same name as himself in this world.

The initial confusion passed in a flash, replaced by an uncontrollable excitement.

The Li Dakang of this world was born in June 1970, had just turned twenty-two, and was in the prime of his youth.

What was even more astonishing was that he was a direct descendant of the Li family, one of the four top families in the capital.

His grandfather, Elder Li, was a founding father who had once held a position in the highest decision-making body of China; even though he had now retired to the second line, his prestige and influence continued to grow, with his students and former subordinates spread across the world.

His maternal grandfather, Elder Zhou, was also one of the founding fathers; although the Zhou family was slightly inferior to the Li family, it was still one of the eight top-tier families in the capital, wielding immense power.

The Li family had many branches and leaves; Elder Li had four sons and two daughters, and the eldest son, Li Hongji, was Li Dakang's father.

The fifty-four-year-old Li Hongji was currently serving as a minister in a ministry in the capital, with a bright official career ahead of him.

Li Dakang had an older brother, Li Daping; as the eldest grandson of the Li family, he had been regarded as the family heir since childhood, and at twenty-nine, he was already a division-level official with real power in a ministry, with a limitless future.

As for Li Dakang, who ranked third among the third generation of the Li family, he held the title of "Third Young Master" in the circle of young masters in the capital.

Having graduated from the economics department of the top-tier Shuimu University, he had easily entered a ministry to work as a nominal staff member, thanks to family arrangements.