Neon Tokyo, Nerima Ward – Kenkita Elementary School.
It was another crisp autumn afternoon. A gentle breeze swept across the empty schoolyard, lifting a lone fallen leaf as it drifted slowly toward an open classroom window.
Second-to-last row, by the window — the classic anime protagonist seat.
Lin Yu slouched at his desk, chin propped on one hand, absentmindedly watching the leaf dance outside. His eyes were dazed, lost in thought.
Sure, in anime, that seat is always considered "the chosen one's throne."
But today, that magic wasn't helping Lin Yu's sour mood.
He had transmigrated.
Yep. Just two months ago.
One moment, he was your average overworked corporate drone. The next — after yet another exhausting night of overtime — everything went black... and he woke up somewhere entirely different.
As someone who dabbled in anime and webnovels in his free time, Lin Yu should have been thrilled. Isn't this how all those epic journeys start?
But then he figured out where he was.
Doraemon.
Yes. That Doraemon. The beloved, nostalgic classic from everyone's childhood.
If it had just been a normal isekai into this world, maybe he could've coped.
But no. Fate wasn't done screwing with him.
Not only had he crossed dimensions — he'd de-aged.
He was ten. Again.
His dreams of being a hero? Starting a business empire? Saving the world?
All crushed by the cruel reality of nap time and multiplication tables.
Other transmigrators get cheats: divine blessings, magic systems, maybe a talking sword or two.
Lin Yu?
Nothing.
Just a baby face, a student ID, and absolutely no way to prove he ever paid taxes.
"Lin Yu? Lin Yu?!"
A voice snapped him back to reality.
He turned from the window to the front of the class.
There stood Mr. Terakoya — their teacher, dressed in a mustard-colored suit, hair slicked back like he time-traveled out of the '80s. He adjusted his glasses and frowned.
"Lin Yu, please read the nursery rhyme we just covered — by Mr. Hakushu Kitahara."
Sighing inwardly, Lin Yu stood, staring at the textbook like it was an alien artifact.
He hadn't paid attention all class.
Having a full-grown adult mind trapped in a fourth-grade classroom was more torture than any dark fantasy dungeon. He had no idea what they'd just learned.
The class turned to look at him. Whispering started.
"Was he spacing out again?"
"Maybe he's just not used to the school yet."
"But he's really cool-looking... kinda mature."
Just what he needed. Attention.
Mr. Terakoya looked like he was about to intervene when Lin Yu finally spoke.
"Bitter orange blossoms."
"The bitter orange tree is blooming, blooming..."
"Snow-white petals, blooming, blooming..."
His voice was clear and confident, reciting the poem perfectly.
When he finished, the teacher gave a small cough.
"Not bad. Just try not to zone out next time, alright?"
"Yes, Mr. Terakoya."
Lin Yu sat down again.
In front of him, a girl in a pink blouse and twin-tails turned around with a bright, playful smile and sparkling eyes.
She winked.
"Thanks, Shizuka," he whispered.
That was Shizuka Minamoto — Nobita's longtime crush in the original series.
Yep. Not only was Lin Yu stuck in a child's body, attending elementary school again...
He was now classmates with Nobita and the Doraemon gang.
The only one he had actually talked to was Shizuka, and even then, only casually.
After all, how was a grown man supposed to bond with literal children?
Time passed quickly, and soon the lunch bell rang. The last class of the morning was over.
Mr. Terakoya left, and the classroom exploded into noise — kids laughing, shouting, forming lunch groups.
Lin Yu didn't join in. He sat there, watching the leaf outside drift further and further. Just when he was about to space out again...
"Lin Yu? You always seem kind of out of it. Is it hard adjusting to a new school?"
Shizuka had turned back around, her head tilted with curiosity.
Her cheeks had a rosy glow, full of youthful energy.
She was still a kid — but it was easy to see she'd grow into the elegant girl everyone remembered from the show.
"Maybe," Lin Yu said with a yawn. "It's already autumn. Hard to stay energized."
"That's true," Shizuka giggled. "But you're really smart — your grades are always perfect!"
'It's elementary school. If I didn't ace it, that'd be the real problem,' Lin Yu thought to himself, but didn't say anything.
Two months in this world... maybe it was finally time to make a plan.
He had a second chance at life. He couldn't just keep drifting.
This world might be wildly different from his last, but if he played it right, maybe he could become a "copywriter" of sorts — borrow ideas from the anime and stories he remembered, write light novels, live comfortably.
And if he could get in good with Doraemon and the gang... maybe even borrow a few gadgets.
He didn't need to be a hero.
But living comfortably, free of worries, sounded pretty good.
'Still... if only I had a system...'