Chapter 1: I Am… Barron?! (rewrited)
When he woke up, Chen Kai felt like his skull had been used as a drum in a rock concert. His head throbbed so badly that he swore—never again. No more alcohol. No more late-night parties. No more mysterious women—
Wait.
His sluggish brain caught up with his surroundings, and he turned his head slightly. Beside him, a girl stirred, her blonde hair a tangled mess, her face slowly shifting from sleepy to absolutely horrified.
Then came the scream.
"AHHHHHHH!"
Chen Kai barely managed to cover his ears before the sound drilled straight into his hangover-ridden soul.
"Why am I here?!" the girl shrieked, clutching the blanket like it was an ancient shield that could protect her dignity.
English? Her British accent was so pure it sounded straight out of a BBC documentary.
Chen Kai, however, had bigger problems. Like the fact that he didn't remember anything. Sure, he had vague memories of partying, some alcohol, a pair of sisters… but this girl? Nope. Total blank.
Had his friends played some bizarre prank on him? A last-minute swap? He wasn't ruling anything out. It wouldn't be the first time someone in their industry had pulled a stunt after one too many drinks. Investment banking was a pressure cooker, and their way of blowing off steam tended to be… questionable.
The girl, now slightly calmer but still muttering curses under her breath, scrambled to pick up her clothes from the floor. With impressive speed and efficiency, she bundled herself into the quilt, grabbed her bag, and made a beeline for the bathroom.
Chen Kai heard the shower start.
Okay. Think.
The morning light filtered through the curtains, gently mocking him for his poor life choices. He reached out for his phone on the bedside table, needing some kind of anchor to reality.
Then he froze.
What the hell is this?
A Motorola flip phone stared back at him.
He blinked.
This… this was nostalgic. A relic from the past. A true, ancient artifact. Was this some kind of joke? A themed hotel experience?
Then his eyes darted around the room. It wasn't his Ritz-Carlton suite. The decor was subtly different, the furniture unfamiliar.
And then—
ZAP!
A surge of information flooded his mind, like someone had dumped an entire hard drive directly into his skull. Images, names, voices—memories that weren't his.
His brain, overwhelmed, decided it had had enough.
And everything went black.
---
"Hey! Are you okay?"
When Chen Kai came to, the girl was leaning over him, her face etched with concern.
For a second, he thought she was kind. Then she glared at him like he was the devil himself.
"I… I think I'm fine. Just a bit exhausted from last night."
At this, her face immediately turned red.
"You—! Ugh, I shouldn't have checked on you. I'm leaving!"
She was already dressed, looking effortlessly stylish in a purple sweater, plaid skirt, and long boots. With a dramatic flourish, she grabbed her coat and turned toward the door. But then—right before leaving—she paused, gave him a very serious look, and said:
"Last night was a mistake. I was upset. I drank too much. You understand, right? Let's pretend this never happened."
And just like that—slam!—the door closed.
Chen Kai remained frozen on the bed.
Except… he wasn't Chen Kai anymore.
Because he now had two sets of memories. One of Chen Kai, 2023, a hard-working investment banker with a knack for bad decisions.
And one of Barron Cavendish.
A British noble.
…What.
With growing dread, he dragged himself to the bathroom. Hesitantly, he looked in the mirror.
Blond hair.
Sharp jawline.
Blue eyes.
Handsome, aristocratic features.
Chen Kai—now Barron—stared at the stranger in the mirror.
"…What kind of BS is this?"
---
He needed proof. Something, anything to confirm that this wasn't just a bad dream.
He grabbed the Motorola flip phone, which, unsurprisingly, was dead—just like his sanity. Luckily, Barron's memories informed him that a charger was in his bag. Plugging it in, he anxiously waited for it to turn on.
When it finally did, the display showed:
Date: May 20, 2002
Time: 8:00 AM
2002.
TWO THOUSAND AND FREAKING TWO.
He stumbled to the window, yanking open the curtains. Outside, the gloomy London skyline stretched before him. It wasn't 2023 London with its modern skyscrapers and insane rent prices. This was early 2000s London.
His brain short-circuited again.
"Who am I? Where am I? What the hell do I do now?!"
And just as he was about to start hyperventilating, a midi ringtone blared from the phone.
He nearly jumped out of his skin.
Glancing at the screen, he saw a name flashing:
Sean (Butler).
Sean? Butler?
Barron's memories immediately supplied the answer.
Sean was his family's butler—a man who had been serving the Cavendish family for forty years.
Oh. Right. Speaking of the Cavendish family—
He wasn't just any noble.
He was Barron Cavendish of the Cavendish family, one of England's twenty ducal families.
A family that had existed for centuries. A family full of politicians, scientists, and people who actually mattered. A family so rich they could probably buy a small country and rename it "Cavendishland."
And now?
Now, he was their very confused heir.
Barron—formerly Chen Kai—stared blankly at the ringing phone.
His past life? Gone.
His new life? Insane.
His best skill? Panicking.
This was going to be a disaster.
…But first, he had a butler to deal with.
With a deep breath, he flipped open the Motorola and prepared to face his new reality.