"I transmigrated?" Kevin Cross stared into the mirror, unable to suppress a sigh of awe at the impossibly handsome face reflected back at him.
Transmigration that overused trope from novels and anime had actually happened to him. No matter how he looked at it, the situation felt surreal.
He remembered it clearly: sitting in a restaurant, enjoying a bowl of noodles, when out of nowhere, a car had slammed into him. Just before he blacked out, he vaguely caught sight of a T-shaped logo on the car…
Everything had been perfectly normal, and then suddenly bam. Transmigrated. Kevin felt a twinge of frustration. Things had been going fine, and now this? What about his family oh. Right. He was an orphan.
Of course. In transmigration stories, it was always the orphans. Made things easier, narratively speaking. At least now, there was no one left behind to grieve for him.
He turned back to the mirror. Handsome didn't even begin to cover it. Sharp features, intense eyes, and a bone structure that could stop traffic even his messily tousled hair added to the charm.
"I'm seriously this good-looking? I'm making myself blush." He chuckled, a rush of satisfaction welling up inside him.
Back in his old life, he'd been average in just about every way decent looks, modest income, and a complicated personality. Nearly thirty and still single. Not even a real girlfriend to speak of.
But now? He might still be broke, but with this face, he could probably coast through life a little easier.
Sure, money mattered. A lot. But looks opened doors too. There were always people out there who appreciated a pretty face.
"I could totally debut as a kept man," he mused, lightly brushing his fingers over his new reflection. With this kind of appearance, maybe he really could follow the classic entertainment novel path.
Just as Kevin was indulging in his fantasy of entering a talent show or getting scouted, a sudden ding echoed in his head a familiar notification chime, like from a messaging app.
He froze. A moment later, he realized: there was a group chat. In his mind.
"…Wait a second is this…?"
His eyes lit up with excitement.
Before transmigrating, he'd been a fan of web novels especially those with group chat systems. On a whim, he'd once created a fake chat group called My Harem Group. He even planned to roleplay alternate characters like Rem, Yukari Yakumo, and Hinata Hyuga just for laughs.
He never finished setting it up. He got hit by the car right after.
A chat group! My golden finger! This is amazing! Kevin buzzed with excitement, ready to explore the possibilities of his cheat system.
Ding dong.
The doorbell rang.
Kevin sighed, dragging himself to the door.
Standing there was a blonde girl, bright-eyed and slightly flustered.
"Hey, Kevin, are you okay? I mean, um, are you alright? No, wait I meant, are you hurt?"
Kevin blinked at her awkward fumble. A name surfaced in his new memories: Gwen Stacy.
They'd been classmates in middle school. To be fair, Westerners always looked a bit older than their age. She was supposed to be a teenager, but her face and figure could easily pass for a college student.
"Yeah. I'm fine," he replied coolly.
"That's good. About your parents, I… I'm so sorry."
"Why are you apologizing? Their deaths weren't your fault, were they?"
"I-no, I meant, I just feel really…"
"I don't need your pity."
"No, no, I meant… I feel very… very look, your parents may be gone, but you're still"
"That's right. I'm alive. If I weren't, you wouldn't be talking to me right now."
"Um… I just came to comfort you."
"Thanks. But I don't need it."
Gwen faltered. Her words dried up, and for a moment, she just stood there.
Something felt off.
Kevin had just lost his parents. He should be devastated. She'd come to be a shoulder to cry on, hoping maybe it would bring them closer. That was supposed to be her moment the scene where sympathy turned into something more.
But Kevin wasn't playing his part.
He wasn't crushed. He wasn't in need of saving.
He was… calm. Detached.
And now he was staring at her in silence.
"Do you need something else?" he asked.
"N-no. That's it."
"Then goodbye."
"Goodb-"
Bang.
The door shut in her face.
Gwen stood frozen. Confused. What just happened? She hadn't even gotten a foot inside.
Which part of the plan had gone wrong?
Clutching her hair in frustration, she stood there, utterly lost.
Back inside, Kevin shook his head. He had just transmigrated. He didn't have time to entertain classmates with awkward timing and vague condolences. Not when there was a cheat system to explore.
Still, Gwen's visit had stirred more memories.
His name in this world was also Kevin Cross.
His parents had once been university students in Huaguo. After graduation, they immigrated to the United States, hoping for a better future.
The American dream, however, hadn't quite matched the fantasy. To make ends meet, they had taken up dishwashing jobs, scraping by on the lowest rung of the social ladder.
Years passed. They married, had a child, and eventually earned their citizenship. They clung to hope and worked hard, never considering going back. It wasn't pride it was survival.
They couldn't afford to admit that maybe, just maybe, the life they had imagined didn't exist.
Because if they did, it would mean all those years of struggle had been for nothing.