After a sleepless night, Kamiyā Yuu had mostly sorted out the chaos in his memories, quickly piecing together his current situation from scattered fragments.
Kamiyā Yuu, also known as Su Yang. His father, Su Yun, was Chinese, and he met his mother, Kamiyā Kaoru, while studying abroad in Japan. Kamiyā Kaoru appeared to be the heir of a prominent Japanese family, which strongly opposed their relationship. What followed was exactly like a cliché drama plot—
The rich young lady eloped with a poor foreign student.
But their ending wasn't a happy one.
When Kamiyā Yuu was five, his father, Su Yun, died instantly in a car accident while returning home late at night from work. The one responsible was a wealthy young man. With liability determined as 80-20, the culprit paid a large sum in compensation and served several years in prison. With no savings, his mother Kamiyā Kaoru relied on that compensation to live peacefully for a period of time.
The verdict was fairly just—helped, in part, by Su Yun's identity as a Chinese national.
What disappointed the current Kamiyā Yuu was that Kamiyā Sora was indeed his biological sister. Their mother, Kamiyā Kaoru, had passed away due to physical weakness after giving birth to Sora. Yet after both parents died, the siblings were not taken in by any relatives.
There was no need to mention the mother's side of the family. On the father's side, Su Yang's relatives also seemed unwilling to accept them.
After their mother's death, the siblings were shuffled between various orphanages across Japan. When Kamiyā Yuu turned eighteen, he fully inherited the massive compensation from his father's accident. Using that as a foundation, he left the orphanage with his sister and has been living independently ever since.
Now twenty-one, Kamiyā Yuu worked as a key animator at an animation production company.
Before her death, their mother had entrusted him with taking care of Sora. Carrying a vague sense of guilt, Kamiyā Yuu had always spoiled herself to an extreme degree. If it made Sora happy, he wouldn't hesitate to spend an entire month's salary on things that had no real value.
It was also worth noting that the history of this world diverged greatly from Su Yang's original one.
The turning point seemed to be when China accepted Japan's World War II reparations. From there, a series of correct policies and developments rapidly elevated China into the world's second-largest economy after the war, and the number one political, military, and economic power in Asia.
Even now, it firmly held the position of the world's second superpower, leaving third-ranked Japan far behind. Although its per capita GDP still lagged due to population size, its overall economic and military strength far exceeded that of China in Su Yang's previous life.
If in his previous world China could dominate Japan, then in this world—
China dominated all of Asia.
As for the number one superpower, that naturally remained the United States—the "beacon nation"—whose rapid development was no less impressive than before.
Because of China's rise, a chain of butterfly effects had placed Japan in a highly disadvantaged position within Asia. Whether in international standing or political dynamics, Japan could not afford to slight China in the slightest.
"…If I had transmigrated to China instead, that might've been even better. But I don't know how the web novel market is here. If it's still behind my original world, then with my experience, even if I don't become a top author, at least buying a house and a car should be easy."
Kamiyā Yuu's thoughts revealed a hint of greedy ambition.
Japan in this world was even more strained than in his previous life. Social pressure was higher, and as expected, its suicide rate ranked first not only among developed nations but even compared to developing ones.
According to statistics from Japan's Ministry of Health, over 100,000 people died by suicide the year before last, and the number continued to increase annually.
The root cause was simple: unless you stood among the capitalists, even white-collar workers were essentially "corporate slaves"—laborers endlessly working to sustain society.
Kamiyā Yuu himself had collapsed from overwork—working more than ten hours a day nearly every day, then returning home to take care of Sora.
"Key animator" sounded respectable, but in reality, his salary placed him at the bottom tier of society. After supporting Sora, the money he saved each month wasn't even enough for a single proper restaurant meal.
Because of this high-pressure society—and the butterfly effects caused by China's rise—Kamiyā Yuu, as someone in the animation industry, realized something that might count as good news.
This world also heavily promoted the animation industry.
But for various reasons, Japan had not yet become known as an "anime powerhouse." The Japanese anime style was still a niche category.
The distorted high-pressure society had caused the industry to grow in a warped way, similar to early Chinese animation in his previous world, but even worse due to the lack of predecessors to learn from.
Most works fell into extremes:
children's educational cartoons, early-stage adult animations, or brainless fan service harems.
In an entire year, the number of truly outstanding works could be counted on one hand.
The anime industry here had only just begun—
and it had already grown crooked.
None of the classic anime from his previous world existed here.
"This is even worse than my old world. At least that one went through a development phase before declining. This one never even developed properly."
While Kamiyā Yuu felt a trace of disappointment, there was also a faint sense of excitement.
For him—
This might be an opportunity.
After all, he was already working inside the animation industry.
...
Having inherited Kamiyā Yuu's memories, he also retained some of his emotions.
In his previous life, he rarely interacted with women. Yet when he looked at his elf-like younger sister sleeping by the bedside, he didn't feel anything inappropriate. Instead, a faint warmth and sense of reliance welled up inside him.
To Kamiyā Yuu, Sora had always been his only emotional anchor—
a small flame of warmth in the darkness.
"Chirp~ chirp chirp~!"
The crisp sound of birds accompanied the rising sun.
Lying on the hospital bed, Kamiyā Yuu gazed out the window. At some point, strands of morning sunlight had slipped through the curtains, dancing across the bed. When they fell upon Sora's pale, delicate face, her skin took on a soft, jade-like glow—smooth and flawless like white porcelain.
Her beautiful profile could easily be called a work of art.
The warmth of the sunlight stirred the sleeping "Snow White." She drowsily raised a hand to rub her eyes. When she noticed Kamiyā Yuu looking out the window, the heaviness in her gaze eased slightly. Her voice—light, soft, and cool—flowed into his ears like a winter spring:
"Yuu, how does your body feel?"
Kamiyā Yuu turned back, sighing faintly in his heart.
He had hoped for transmigration—but unlike protagonists in novels, he couldn't remain indifferent to it.
Family, friends, unfinished games, and even his abandoned novel from his previous world—
They all lingered in his thoughts.
But he also understood that dwelling on such feelings was pointless. Quickly adjusting his emotions, he paused before replying in slightly stiff Japanese:
"Sorry, Sora. What did the doctor say? I still feel weak."
Kamiyā Sora lightly bit her lower lip. After staring at him for a while, she stood up, first pulling open the curtains to let the sunlight fully stream in. Then she walked to his bedside.
Her cool, soft hand brushed aside his bangs as she gently pressed her forehead against his. Closing her eyes, she carefully felt his temperature before speaking calmly:
"Overwork and physical weakness caused a high fever. The doctor said even after recovery, you'll need at least a week to recuperate—and you shouldn't push yourself like this again."
Her warm breath, smooth skin, and the closeness of her face felt strangely natural to Kamiyā Yuu. Only after she sat back did he lift his slightly weak right hand and clench it with a wry smile.
"Overwork, huh… A few days of rest should fix it."
"Not noticing your condition was my failure."
Sora frowned, clutching the bedsheet tightly as she shook her head.
"Yuu, in your current state, it's best you stay in the hospital for a few more days. I'll stay here and take care of you. If you think I'm less important than your job, then you can drag this body back to that company."
Though her tone was calm, a trace of restrained anger lingered beneath it.
Though she was his younger sister, Sora sometimes acted like an older one when disciplining him.
—She really understands "me"… She's probably already noticed the changes.
Kamiyā Yuu thought this, but he wasn't worried about her discovering the truth. Having merged the memories of Su Yang and Kamiyā Yuu, he was still fundamentally himself. He wasn't pretending to be Kamiyā Yuu—
He was Kamiyā Yuu.
Of course, he wasn't the same as before.
He no longer carried the mindset of a "corporate slave." Following Sora's wishes, he replied helplessly:
"Alright. I won't push myself until I've fully recovered. If I collapse, there'll be no one left to take care of you."
Hearing this, a trace of relief passed through Sora's expression. Her slender hand gently caressed his cheek as she shook her head lightly.
"Good. Even if I'm not as fragile as you say… in this world, you're the only one I can rely on. Only you."
As she said this, she lowered her head slightly, hiding the faint, unusual glimmer in her eyes from his view.