Chapter Eight: Natural Brother's Straight Shot

He Tianran lacked confidence in his appearance. Or rather, he had little confidence in himself as a whole. Having experienced his parents' early divorce and possessing a somewhat introverted personality, few people ever praised him or said anything to boost his self-esteem.

Even at school, although the teachers liked this well-behaved boy and occasionally complimented him, for the unusually precocious He Tianran, such remarks only made him feel more pitiful.

Port City was a first-tier metropolis where everyone lived at a fast pace. A single teacher was responsible for dozens of students. From the background information, He Tianran came from a wealthy family, so it was naturally assumed that he had no worries about food or clothing. As a result, any minor issues typical of adolescence were largely ignored.

At some point, everyone began to believe that society was the best school; once a person stepped into the real world, all their flaws would be corrected. Gradually, they would become a "normal person."

Isn't being introverted a good thing? It meant he wouldn't be as troublesome as mischievous kids or as spoiled as some rich second-generation heirs, always causing a fuss. Honest, introverted, and unlikely to hang out and misbehave after school, preferring to stay home—parents had no worries, and teachers had no concerns. It was practically ideal.

So, from elementary school through middle school and now high school, no one had ever told He Tianran to "change."

But now, someone had.

“Your appearance directly shapes the first impression you give to others. Occasionally changing it can also be refreshing. So your primary task now is to break the stereotypical image you’ve left behind,” Wen Liang said, bending over to rummage through He Tianran’s wardrobe.

All of his clothes were in dark tones—mostly black, gray, and brown—with occasional splashes of color featuring various anime character logos.

“Why is it all black, gray, and brown? Don’t you have a single bright-colored outfit?” Wen Liang exclaimed.

“I do!” He Tianran replied, carefully retrieving a suitcase from the top of the wardrobe. He cautiously pulled out a red-and-white stand-collar robe, unfolding it like a treasure. Wen Liang almost fainted upon seeing the five large red characters emblazoned on the back:

Fourth Hokage!

“Move aside,” Wen Liang said impatiently, brushing He Tianran aside and digging further into the suitcase. Eventually, she found an orange autumn sweatshirt adorned with an image of Goku in a spacesuit from Dragon Ball, with a NASA patch on the sleeve.

“This one’s pretty cool,” Wen Liang approved.

“Of course! It’s a collaboration between Japan’s Jump magazine and NASA. I queued up to buy it!” He Tianran said proudly.

“Put it on!” Wen Liang tossed the sweatshirt to him.

He Tianran frowned. “Can I wear something else? This one’s a collector’s item…”

“If you don’t wear it, who’ll know you’re collecting it?”

“…”

“What are you standing there for? Get moving!”

“Can you step out for a moment… I need to change…”

Wen Liang chuckled softly, then picked out some matching pants before leaving the room.

A moment later, He Tianran emerged. If one were to note any change, it was a rare hint of vitality—shifting him from a gloomy recluse to a sunny homebody, at best.

“Anime movies lie,” He Tianran muttered nervously. “Changing your look doesn’t mean you become a different person. That rarely happens! Only handsome guys look trendy; me? I just look like a mess!”

This outcome was no surprise to Wen Liang, who calmly asked, “Did you bring any money?”

“Huh?”

“I checked your bathroom earlier—you don’t even have facial cleanser. Let’s go buy some.”

“No need. I usually wash with soap. It works fine, though my face feels a bit dry afterward. I looked it up online; that’s just the clean feeling.”

Wen Liang was speechless for a moment, then said, “Google really does more harm than good…”

“The point isn’t that! Renovations cost money, you know? Are you trying to scam me? Your being reincarnated is already pushing my limits, but when it comes to money, I’m very cautious!”

He Tianran instantly became alert. This was one of the few traits he’d inherited from his father: anything involving money, games and anime didn’t work as bargaining chips. Let alone “mere” charm.

Wen Liang’s head twitched as she clenched her fists and ground her teeth. “I know you’re stingy, but I didn’t expect you to be this stingy! Fine, fine, consider it a freebie—I’ll pay for it, okay?”

Free? So happy?

He Tianran felt both guilty and surprised; after all, she was doing this for his own good. Suddenly, he had a question.

“Aren’t reincarnators usually good at making money? Copy songs, write novels... How come you seem…”

Wen Liang snapped, “I’ve only been reincarnated a few days! Nothing happens that fast!”

“Don’t you have some kind of system?”

“No!”

“Then what’s the point of your reincarnation?”

“…”

“Do you remember the next lottery draw…”

“No!”

“Then… who’s going to win the next World Cup?”

“Italy… huh? Why are you pulling out your phone?”

“Write it down! Wait, I have one last question…”

“Are you done yet?”

“Last one, last one…”

After setting “Remember to bet on Italy for the World Cup” as his phone wallpaper, He Tianran solemnly asked, “When is Jay Chou’s new album coming out?”

“…”

Hearing this, Wen Liang looked equally melancholy.

“When I crossed over, he was already in his fifties. He kept saying the album was in the works, but his latest song is still ‘MOJITO.’”

“…”

Their eyes simultaneously lost their sparkle.

This was truly a sadness deeper than sorrow…

Wen Liang shook her head, rejuvenated by her reincarnation. “Let’s not talk about that. Now, I’m going to tell you about the plan to transform you.”

“Aren’t you just changing my appearance?”

“That’s just the basic part. Um… you’ve heard the term ‘persona,’ right?”

He Tianran nodded. “Of course. I knew about it before it was used for celebrities.”

Wen Liang shifted her posture, resting her elbows on her knees and interlacing her fingers.

“The goal of your transformation plan is to make you more confident and prevent future tragedies. You need a direction for this transformation, which can be a persona—a clear contrast to the ‘homebody’ image. Only with such contrast can the makeover be thorough…”

“Now you can name one person—whether from anime or real life—and I’ll judge if that direction suits you.”

He Tianran thought for a moment. He hadn’t truly planned on changing, but seeing how earnest Wen Liang was, he opened his mouth and unexpectedly blurted out three words:

“Zhang… Zhang Zhifan?”

Wen Liang froze.

Well, well. The usually passive Tianran had suddenly mustered the courage to throw out a straight, harmless pitch like a chūnibyō!

“My persona is the one you secretly admire!”

Surprised, wasn’t it, reincarnator?

This was going to be my transformation route!