"..."

"...an..."

"...Yuan..."

"... Xiao Yuan!"

Lang Yuan slowly opened his eyes. The gentle shake on his shoulders woke him up. His mind is still in daze, blinking his eyes a couple of times to remove the dried dirt on the sides of his eyes. Both of his arms are dead, numb from staying in position for so long. Drool pooled over on his right arm and to the book that he used as a pillow when he fell asleep.

The gentle shake on his shoulders became a pat. He spun the office chair slightly while scratching his nape seeing a taller boy that has the same complexion. One hand reached for the circular glasses and wore it to enhance his blurry sight. A worried face of an older person occupied his view.

"Xiao Yuan, if you want to sleep, sleep in your bed. You will get cold if you sleep here," a gentle voice came from the older person. Lang Yuan only made a tired smile.

"I'm okay, Lan-ge. I just fell asleep. I still have homework to do," Lang Yuan muttered in an almost whispering voice. The person named Lan caressed his back gently.

"You're overworking yourself again. You only slept for two hours yesterday. How about you sleep today and I will help you with your homework tomorrow?"

"Don't bother, Ge-ge. You have to work until morning, right? I don't want you to help me and sacrifice your sleeping hours. I can still do it. I only needed to finish a few pages and I'm done. I already taken a nap. I'm ready to continue working again."

Lan do not want to argue and reluctantly nodded. He just patted his little brother's shoulder and naughtily shuffled the already messy hair. Lang Yuan playfully pushed his brother away. Lan evaded with a chuckle.

"Okay, I won't argue."

Lang Yuan watched Lan walk to the room where the boys are sleeping and went out with a bag on his shoulders. He followed Lan up to the front door where Lan sat down on the elevated floor to wear his shoes. Lang Yuan leaned on the wall with a yawn. Lan stood up with a hop and checked if his old shoes is well and still kicking.

"Oh? And here I thought this shoes is already beyond repair," Lan said as he checked out some new stitches on the vamp of the shoes. Lang Yuan only shrugged.

"Who else could have mended it? None other than your beloved Xiao Yuan," Lang Yuan said proudly.

Lan only chuckled and shuffled the young boy's hair again. He knows that Lang Yuan isn't really the boastful type. But the first twenty minutes after waking up shows a bold little brother, as if the courage to speak happens when his mind is still not clear. This bold Lang Yuan is fun to tease with because he would always answers back cunningly.

"Okay, okay, my cute little brother mended it," Lan said. He wore the bag on his back and headed to the door. Lang Yuan only watched him from his position.

"Xiao Jun texted me that he's already on his way. Since you're up, watch your little sisters and brothers for a while. If you want to sleep, make sure to lock the doors and windows. Don't let any strangers in. Mom and dad still have duties and will be coming home in the morning."

"Copy," Lang Yuan yawned. "No need to worry."

Lan opened the door and left. Lang Yuan lazily stayed on his position before walking towards the door and locked it. Each of the family members has a spare key so nobody is worried of locking anyone out. He returned to his desk where the drool-soaked book is still open with a few notebooks and pens scattered on the table. He looks up on the clock and reads the time.

11:28 PM

It was still early for his usual sleeping time at 1:00 AM. His older brother Junjie would come home at twelve, and older brother LanZhan leaves for his part time work at eleven. Both parents will come home at five in the morning, and his younger sisters and brothers will leave for school at eight.

Lang Yuan was not spared with the hectic schedule. As a college student, he has to attend classes and to work to pay for tuitions. Luckily, Lang Yuan managed to get a scholarship and was working in the library as a librarian. He can't handle a crowded place for a part time job so he only worked on typesetting theses. Right now, what he was working is a lesson plan for a client.

He returned to his seat and started writing when his phone vibrated. He reached out for the worn object that he won from a lottery. There was a message from a certain someone that not only made his day bad but also made him want to throw the phone away. Ah, why is that person always disturbing him? He should block his number-

"Yuan-ge?"

A small girl stood up at the door rubbing her eyes. She called his older brother who seems to be awake in this hour. Lang Yuan closed his phone and went to his sister. He crouched down to level their eyes.

"What is it? Want to pee?" He asked.

The girl shook her head.

"Uh... are you thirsty?"

The girl shook her head.

"What is it? Did your sister kick you again?"

"Yuan-ge," the girl called. "I have a bad dream."

"Oh..." Lang Yuan pulled the little sister in a hug and patted her back. "It's okay. I'm here. You want gege to sleep with you?"

The little girl pushed him slightly. Her eyes are teary. She looks at Lang Yuan crying.

"But Yuan-ge... you are dead, aren't you?"

[... you are dead... aren't you?]

[... you are dead...]

[You're dead.]

A sudden pain struck on his head as Lang Yuan fell down to the floor. The pain in his head is too much that he wanted to bang his head until his brains would come out. He looked at his younger sister and saw the girl crying. She started to sob then wail loudly, adding more pain to his part. Lang Yuan wanted to coax the sister to stop her from crying but his consciousness started to fade.

Vivid images of his past life played in flashes. He saw himself sitting on the class, choosing the farthest chair from all the students occupying inside. The scene shifted to the library where the teacher scolded him for not properly arranging the books in order. There is also this scene when he was kicked by a bunch of people, brought him to the toilet, and pushed his head to the urinal. There is also that memory of crossing the street to save a child from dying...

[... Lang Yuan... wake up...]

[... Lang Yuan....]

[... Yuan ...]

[Did you know why you transmigrated?]

Lang Yuan sucked in an ample amount of air when he felt his lungs dying. He opened his eyes in a flash, surprising all the worried people surrounding him. A strong tug on his stomach slapped his senses as the small creator crushed his body. JiDan is on his chest, crying loudly while gripping his clothes tightly. Lang Yuan moves his hand to pat the boy's head. JiDan felt the movement and looked up to see his mother's crimson eyes again.

"Mama!" JiDan cried, digging his head deep to his mother's chest.

"Hush... Hush... I'm here," Lang Yuan sat up. He found Zhong Song and the emperor on the side watching him and the small child cuddling. "What happened?"

"You suddenly fainted," Zhong Song, answered.

"Oh... why?"

"We don't know. You just fainted with no cause," Zhong Song took his hand and reads his pulse. He almost said thanks when he felt the pulse normally moving. "But you died for a few minutes."

Lang Yuan: ???

"You have no pulse, no heartbeat. You stopped breathing and responding. Your body started to flatten down. We thought that you died," Zhong Song said. "The prince is worried saying that you are still alive. Then your heartbeat suddenly returned."

Lang Yuan was surprised when he heard that. He died?

"But I am still here..."

"Your soul returned before your body started to reject it," the emperor said. He walked closer and touches the youth's head. "We are not sure why you suddenly fainted but we suspected that it must be due to you travelling to the higher realm. A human tend to hallucinate when near the border. It can also make some of your organs malfunction due to the sudden change of energy."

Lang Yuan remembered the dream that he had. That was his life before he transmigrated to this world. However, on that last scene... He can't recall what happened on that part. What was he doing before he died? How did he die?

Why did he die?

[Did you know why you transmigrated?]

Yu XueQin noticed the youth tense. Lang Yuan might not be showing it on his face but those fast beating of his heart only means that he is scared. Zhong Song also noticed the abnormality. JiDan detected it from the start that's why he never let go of hugging Lang Yuan. The focus of their attention sat silently unable to say anything.   "Are you still feeling dizzy?" Zhong Song asked.

"Uh... no, no. I'm okay," Lang Yuan forced a smile.

"Well... we have to continue. We forgot about his constitution. There are reasons why humans can't simply enter our realm. Your highness..." Zhong Song looked at Yu XueQin.

"I know," the emperor carried Lang Yuan in bridal style. JiDan jumped down, holding unto the emperor's clothes as he followed from behind.

They went inside the carriage. Lang Yuan was placed to the soft bed. He noticed that JiDan did not follow but remained in front of the door standing. Yu XueQin nodded to his son before he closed the door. Lang Yuan is about to ask why they left the dragon boy behind. But eventually no words came out because his lips was suddenly sealed close by a kiss.