Tieshikou Middle School's library wasn't far from Huang Yifan's home; it only took around a ten-minute walk to get there.
Taking out his library card, Huang Yifan entered the library.
Originally, Huang Yifan had planned to study online. But after some thought, he realized that online learning materials were far too scattered, making it difficult to find reliable information; on top of that, there was no way to tell what was real and what was fake.
If he learned something wrong, that would be a problem. Even when the information was accurate, it often lacked detail and was too fragmented. In the end, he decided it would be better to come to the library and study systematically.
History.
Huang Yifan walked toward the history section of the library.
Because this world differed somewhat from Earth, the first thing Huang Yifan wanted to read was history.
Five Thousand Years of Chinese History.
This was a historical work with the same title as one from Earth, mainly introducing over five thousand years of Chinese history.
Huang Yifan began flipping through it from the first page.
The first page described the formation of early humans in China.
As he continued reading, he soon entered the age of legends.
These belonged to mythology and were not considered orthodox history.
However, because these legends were closely tied to the culture of Huaxia, they were still included in official historical records as myths.
What surprised Huang Yifan was that some of the classic ancient myths within the Five Thousand Years of Chinese History, such as Pangu splitting the heavens and the earth, Nuwa creating humanity, Jingwei filling the sea, Kuafu chasing the sun, Gonggong angrily crashing into Mount Buzhou, and others, were either described very briefly in this world or not recorded at all.
With questions forming in his mind, Huang Yifan temporarily set them aside and continued reading.
Before he knew it, it was already five in the afternoon, and the library was about to close.
At the same time, Huang Yifan had roughly flipped through the entirety of Five Thousand Years of Chinese History.
He now had a deeper understanding of this world.
It turned out that this world not only differed from Earth in terms of Jin Yong's novels and the Four Great Classical Novels, but also differed greatly in poetry, traditional literature, opera, and many other areas.
Figures like Li Bai, Du Fu, and Bai Juyi did not exist in this world.
Naturally, without Li Bai and Du Fu, there would be no widely beloved classic poems such as "Quiet Night Thought" or "How I wish I could get mansions of countless rooms."
In addition, aside from literature, this world was also very different from Earth in music, film, and cuisine.
However, Huang Yifan had no time to think about music or film for now, let alone delve into food.
He could only set those topics aside for the time being and explore them later when he had the chance.
…
Huang Yifan put Five Thousand Years of Chinese History back on the shelf and prepared to head home.
"Student, what's your name?"
The librarian was an elderly man, around seventy years old. Normally, someone of his age should have long since retired, but for some reason, he was still working in the library. Seeing Huang Yifan about to leave, the old man called out to him.
"Sir, my name is Huang Yifan."
"Sir? You're calling me, sir?"
Hearing Huang Yifan address him as "sir" the old man suddenly became very interested.
"Oh, isn't that what I should call you?"
"Hahaha, yes, yes, you can also call me old sir."
"Old sir, old sir."
The old man muttered to himself, then his brows relaxed, and he smiled.
"Student Yifan, in all these decades, you're the first one to call me 'sir.' Hehe, hearing that actually makes me feel nostalgic. I remember that when I was studying, we also addressed our teachers as 'sir.' But just now, when I saw you reading Five Thousand Years of Chinese History, sometimes frowning, sometimes lost in thought, do you have any questions?"
There were already a few people in the middle school library to begin with, and as it was getting late, everyone who had come earlier had already left.
The only one remaining was Huang Yifan.
That was why the old man had noticed this last student staying behind.
"I just find it a bit strange why the ancient mythological stories are written so superficially. For example, when the Yellow Emperor met the Flame Emperor, why did the two tribes simply merge into one, making us descendants of Yan and Huang? When they met, wasn't there a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering battle? And then there's Hou Yi shooting the suns. Was it really because there were ten suns in the sky, and Hou Yi thought there were too many and that only one was needed, so he shot down nine of them?"
When the old man asked, Huang Yifan casually voiced the doubts he had earlier about ancient mythological stories.
"Mythological stories are, by nature, legends. They come from an extremely, extremely distant past. Moreover, in that era, there was no written language, so there was no way to record these legends. On top of that, there's an even more serious issue: throughout history, several dynasties, in order to control scholars' thinking and consolidate their rule, carried out large-scale book burnings. In the process, countless classics and vast amounts of culture were lost."
After thinking for a moment, the old man replied.
"So that's how it is."
The burning of books and the burying of scholars had also occurred on Earth in Huang Yifan's previous life.
He hadn't expected that in this world, it had happened several times.
No wonder so many legendary accounts in Five Thousand Years of Chinese History were wrapped up in just a few sentences.
"Thank you, old sir. If you hadn't explained it, I might have had to spend much more time figuring it out."
"You're welcome. You're always welcome to come here. But that's enough for today, Student Yifan. It's getting late, you should head home early, or your parents will worry."
"Yes, old sir."
Huang Yifan nodded and left the library.
"What an interesting student. I never expected that after retiring, such an interesting student would appear at the school."
Watching Huang Yifan's departing figure, the old man thought to himself.
A great battle between the Yellow Emperor and the Flame Emperor?
Is that really possible?
Ten suns in the sky, and Hou Yi shot down nine of them.
Hehe, what is this kid's brain made of, coming up with such strange and fanciful stories?
The old man shook his head, intending to dismiss the child's wild imagination.
But for some reason…
The stories of a battle between the Yellow Emperor and the Flame Emperor, and of Hou Yi shooting down the ten suns, seemed to possess a strange magic, lingering in the old man's mind.
It was as if these were the ancient mythological stories he had heard since childhood.
Just hearing them casually had already planted a deeply rooted seed within him. That seed quickly took root, sprouted, and bore fruit.
In the depths of his mind, a voice seemed to whisper beside him. Perhaps this was the version closest to the true myths and legends of Huaxia.
…
Rushing back home, Huang Yifan found that his mother, Li Shuhua, had already prepared dinner.
Seeing Huang Yifan return, she hurriedly called out to him.
"Xiaofan, you're back. You must be hungry, come eat quickly. I made your favorite, mei cai kou rou."
As she spoke, Li Shuhua took out a clean bowl and placed it in front of Huang Yifan.
Looking at all this, Huang Yifan couldn't help but feel his eyes grow moist.
In the past, he had taken everything his mother did for him as a matter of course.
Thinking back now, his former self had truly been far too immature.
Fortunately, heaven had given him a chance at rebirth.
Huang Yifan silently told himself, "In this life, I will never waste time again. Not only will I achieve my dreams, but I will also ensure that those who care about me and look after me live happy lives."
After finishing the meal, Huang Yifan rushed to wash the dishes.
Before Li Shuhua could marvel at how much her son had changed, Huang Yifan had already returned to his room.
During the day, he had finished reading at the library. As for his plan for the evening, it was to start writing a novel.
However, Huang Yifan didn't plan to write Journey to the West.
With his current lack of fame, even if he wrote Journey to the West, it probably wouldn't attract much attention.
He planned to first write an online novel to test the waters and accumulate some popularity.
For this purpose, Huang Yifan found an online platform for publishing novels, Lingdian Chinese Web.
There was a computer in Huang Yifan's room.
In fact, he could also play games at home, but since playing alone wasn't very fun, his past self often went to internet cafés to play with classmates.
Huang Yifan took a rough look and found that the online literature of this world was just as developed as that of his previous life, if not even more so. Various genres of web novels, such as xianxia, fantasy, history, and gaming, had all emerged.
This made Huang Yifan feel a bit depressed.
He had thought he could write a genre-defining novel, but now it seemed impossible.
Still, he only felt a slight sense of regret and didn't find it too hard to accept.
If he couldn't create a new genre, then so be it. He had far too many novels in his head anyway. Even without creating a new genre, writing any one of them would still allow him to accumulate some fame. What's more, there were countless classic masterpieces stored in his mind. As long as he brought them out, even if they didn't find a new genre, the entire Huaguo would be shaken upon their release.
Having figured this out, Huang Yifan no longer dwelt on it.
After spending some time familiarizing himself with the Lingdian Chinese Web platform, Huang Yifan prepared to start writing.
How a Bad Guy Is Made.
This was an extremely blood-pumping underworld novel from his previous life, and also a quintessential wish-fulfillment, newbie-style web novel.
It told the story of a weak, bookish student who, after being bullied, eventually became a crime boss.
Although "How a Bad Guy Is Made" couldn't really be called a classic by the standards of web novels from his previous life, and could only be labeled as a newbie novel, Huang Yifan didn't think there was anything wrong with that.
From a reader's perspective, when Huang Yifan had read "How a Bad Guy Is Made" back then, he didn't know how exhilarating it had been.
People read web novels for one thing: excitement.
Since "How a Bad Guy Is Made" delivered excitement in full, whether it was a newbie novel or not didn't really matter.
Moreover, in his previous life, Huang Yifan had thoroughly studied commercial writing, his ultimate theory of newbie novels.
One could say that newbie novels were the best model for commercial writing.
Reborn in this world, Huang Yifan also wanted to see whether newbie novels could become popular here as well.
Huang Yifan typed extremely fast. In addition, after transmigrating, he didn't know why, but countless classic masterpieces from Earth seemed to be fully imprinted in his mind; it felt like a computer storing countless files. So, although he was technically writing, he was actually copying. And he was even faster than a typist copying text, because the words of these novels appeared in his mind the moment he thought of them, far faster than someone typing while reading.
In just one hour, Huang Yifan finished writing the first three chapters of "How a Bad Guy Is Made".
Afterward, Huang Yifan registered an author account under the pen name "Number One White Under Heaven" and uploaded the first chapter to the backend.
At that moment, perhaps even Huang Yifan himself didn't realize it.
This novel, "How a Bad Guy Is Made", which he had only used to test the waters, would, by sheer accident, become the foundational work of Huaguo's newbie novel genre.
==========
Glossary
1 - "安得广厦千万间" (Ān dé guǎng shà qiān wàn jiān) from Du Fu's poem means "How I wish I could get mansions of countless rooms," often translated by Xu Yuanchong as "Could I get mansions covering ten thousand miles, I'd house all scholars, poor and make them beam with smiles," conveying a deep wish for widespread shelter and relief for the poor, embodying a selfless, compassionate spirit in Chinese poetry.
2 - Mei Cai Kou Rou (梅菜扣肉) is a classic Chinese dish, especially associated with Hakka and Cantonese cuisine. It consists of slices of pork belly that are slowly steamed until tender, then served over a bed of preserved vegetables (Mei Cai) with a deep, savory flavor. The result is a rich and comforting delicacy, commonly enjoyed during celebrations such as the Chinese New Year, where it is believed to symbolize prosperity and abundance.
3 - How a Bad Guy Is Made (坏蛋是怎样练成的) is a popular Chinese web novel written by Liu Dao (六道). It is a modern urban crime story that follows the rise of an ordinary young man who gradually becomes a powerful underworld figure. The novel is known for its raw tone, moral ambiguity, and detailed depiction of gang life, loyalty, and power struggles. Due to its massive popularity, the novel was later adapted into a TV series, comics, and other media, becoming a landmark work in early Chinese online literature.
4 - The name that the protagonist uses, "Number One White Under Heaven" (天下第一白), is also the name of the author of the book you are reading (Reborn as a Book Maniac).
5 - "Huaguo" (华国) is a fictional name for China used in the novel. It literally means "Nation of Hua", with Hua (华) being a cultural term referring to Chinese civilization / the Huaxia people. Many web novels use "Huaguo" instead of "China" to: Avoid directly naming the real country, create a semi-fictional setting, and give the story more flexibility.
==========
Support the translation and help me keep the work.
patreon.com/Childish_Patriarch