Wen Chunhan finally gave up on trying to recall the memories.
That feeling of familiarity without any clues was somewhat unsettling, making her restless.
If she insisted any longer, she wouldn’t get any sleep tonight.
She drew closer to Chu Yin’s neck, her beautiful face full of collagen pressed gently against him.
Their foreheads touched as she confirmed his body temperature.
“Your forehead is still a bit hot, but not as bad as during the day. You should have no fever by the time you wake up tomorrow morning. You need to sleep early tonight.”
She didn’t even mind when her nose touched Chu Yin’s; the breath they exhaled mingled into a warm haze.
Chu Yin tilted his head back slightly, but the gentle, motherly beauty continued to lean in, thinking the child wanted to play.
“Aunt Wen, you should sleep early too. Tomorrow we still have to wait for the sleep data.”
“You’re the patient now. Aunt Wen can’t sleep well without seeing you fall asleep… Come on, lift your neck a bit. It’s been years since I last coaxed you to sleep.”
Chu Yin went along with Wen Chunhan’s arrangement.
Just as he lifted his neck, a silky arm slithered under it and pulled him into a warm embrace.
Then, the plump and mature Aunt Wen gently patted his back while humming a lullaby.
It was treatment fit for a baby.
If he were a little shorter, Aunt Wen probably wouldn’t be patting his back but soothing him to sleep with pats on the butt…
However, seeing Aunt Wen enjoying herself and seemingly satisfied, Chu Yin remained silent and let himself be cared for.
Without realizing it, listening to Wen Chunhan’s soothing humming, Chu Yin actually fell asleep.
His consciousness felt like a feather, first becoming light, then swiftly dropping.
From afar came the melodious tolling of bells, and the sweet chanting of the Cathedral’s Choir—innocent, clear, and uplifting to the soul—
No, wait!
I’m f**king in a hospital, aren’t I? Where are these bells and chanting coming from?!
Chu Yin suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. He snapped his eyes open sharply, the blinding white light outside the window forcing him to squint.
Beside him was the familiar woman, Wen Chunhan, and the faint scent of medicine lingered in the air. He was still in the hospital room.
Looking at the clock, it was already seven o’clock the next morning.
Thanks to the cold sweat, Chu Yin seemed to have completely broken his fever. Now he felt refreshed, and his body was light.
He steadied himself and went to the bathroom to wash his face, still feeling the aftershock:
“It probably wasn’t a hallucination. That feeling was definitely entering a ‘new’ dream.”
He had just finished the Esper Trial in Luoshui City and didn’t want to be dragged into another dream so soon.
Still, recalling the Cathedral’s chanting just now, Chu Yin had a vague impression. During this summer after moving out, many dreams had been cycling through, disturbing his sleep.
“The one related to the Cathedral… I think it involved a nun. Aunt Wen wouldn’t be dreaming about that too, would she? Forget it, there’s no use thinking about it.”
These strange dreams weren’t something he could control; as long as they didn’t interfere with his daytime, it was fine.
Chu Yin had been living like this all summer and was almost used to it.
“Since the fever’s gone, I should cast a divination to deal with last night’s attack…”
Ten minutes later, Chu Yin came out of the bathroom.
The noise of his washing woke Wen Chunhan. The beautiful woman, half-awake and with sleepy eyes, exuded a lazy charm as she opened her arms toward Chu Yin.
“Chu Yin, come here so Aunt Wen can see if your fever has broken.”
“It’s gone. Aunt Wen, how did you sleep last night? No more dreams, right?” Chu Yin took Wen Chunhan’s jade-like hand and pressed it against his forehead for her to check.
“No, I wanted to coax you to sleep, but I fell asleep first. I slept quite soundly.”
Chu Yin relaxed. He had been worried Aunt Wen might say, “I think I dreamt of the Cathedral,” which would have left him helpless.
“Aunt Wen, you go back to sleep in with Lingqi a little longer. I’ll go buy breakfast for you.”
“Okay, just buy whatever. Don’t take too long, though.”
After reminding him, Wen Chunhan pulled her daughter close like a pillow, pressing her face into two soft, fragrant mounds. Yan Lingqi’s breathing became muffled.
“Mom, why is it dark?”
“Lingqi, you overslept. It’s already night. Just keep sleeping~” Wen Chunhan showed no sign of letting go.
At the same time,
Secretary Pei tidied her appearance, preparing to go to work.
She was in a good mood today, and it seemed this mood would last a while longer. After the announcement period ended, her rank in the guild would be officially promoted.
When she entered the garage, a lewd man waved at Secretary Pei, instantly cutting her good mood in half.
“Yo! Congratulations on your promotion, Secretary Pei. Interested in chatting for a bit?”
This frivolous man was Jin Genxian, sporting a “natural birth hairstyle,” hair slicked and oily as if still wet with amniotic fluid on his forehead.
Among some women, he was a popular trendy oppa, though others mockingly called him a “trend scoundrel.”
He was an A-Level Esper certified by the Guild and also Wang Yi’s boyfriend.
Secretary Pei had no interest in him and replied coldly,
“If you have business, say it. No idle chatter.”
Seeing the beautiful secretary ready to leave by car, Jin Genxian hurried to state his purpose. He pulled out his phone and showed her some content.
Secretary Pei quickly glanced at it, her expression turning serious. She looked at him coldly and asked,
“What do you mean by this? Are you trying to challenge the order the Guild has established?!”
On the phone screen was a chat log between Jin Genxian and his girlfriend Wang Yi discussing hiring a hitman and framing Secretary Pei to sabotage her promotion.
Chu Yin’s name appeared blatantly in this plan.
Secretary Pei had thought she would no longer be involved with that kid, yet his name now appeared in front of her in this form.
Jin Genxian explained casually,
“No, no, no, I’m not provoking. I want to offer Secretary Pei a gift. I can hand over the evidence of Wang Yi hiring a hitman to frame you. You can deal with it however you want, even send Wang Yi to the Esper Court for sentencing.”
“I just hope Secretary Pei will do me the honor of a dinner appointment sometime. I’ve admired you for a long time and have been disgusted by Wang Yi’s terrible personality for a while now!”
“If you personally take her down and drag that nuisance Wang Yi into the abyss, wouldn’t that be a double joy?”
These two really were a perfect match, each treating the other as a stepping stone.
Wang Yi wanted Jin Genxian to frame Secretary Pei to damage her career and open up a chance for herself.
Instead, Jin Genxian turned on his teammate, planning to offer his girlfriend as a gift to Secretary Pei, to be dealt with at her discretion.
Wang Yi was probably still dreaming sweetly, imagining that negative public opinion would soon ruin Secretary Pei, unaware she had already been sold out by her boyfriend.
But Secretary Pei was far from pleased. She frowned,
“Have you already carried out the plan to hire a hitman?”
“Yes, the order was placed last night. I heard it was completed in less than three hours.” Jin Genxian shrugged casually, showing no regard for human life.
He likely hadn’t expected the Esper who accepted the contract to fail. Even the Underground Gang didn’t bother to verify closely—once the sound of police sirens arrived, the job was considered done.
The target was just an ordinary person. If the police showed up to collect the body, could the victim still be an Esper?
“An A-Level Esper like you doing such dirty work alone—you’re not afraid of becoming a wanted person by the Guild?” Secretary Pei’s face hardened, anger simmering beneath her chest. The buttons on her white blouse were strained tightly over her ample chest.
“Of course I’m afraid~ But since I’m standing here chatting with you, I’ve already erased my traces! What if Secretary Pei hands us both over?” Jin Genxian laughed heartily.
In this era, alongside Espers emerged supernatural crises, roughly analogous to “Copies” or “Random Spawn Points.”
These crises required Espers to handle them, granting Espers near-privileged immunity under the law.
The higher the Esper’s rank, the greater the immunity.
Even if a hired killing implicated Jin Genxian, as long as he behaved well during the trial, confessed, and showed genuine remorse, he’d basically get off.
He was an A-Level Esper after all—how could he be treated the same?
“You’re really a good match with Wang Yi. Dining with you would feel like eating amniotic placenta!” Secretary Pei didn’t hide her disgust, cutting off the conversation and driving away.
Earlier, during the secretarial department’s acquisition talks, she had patiently spent a whole summer with Chu Yin, which showed how much she detested those who used Esper powers to coerce.
Jin Genxian watched the beautiful Secretary Pei leave, shrugging regretfully.
“Such a pity.”
“Hello, to avoid misreading the divination, let me confirm: Were you the one who hired someone to attack Chu Yin last night?”
A strange voice came from behind Jin Genxian. He turned to see a young man wearing a baseball cap stepping out from behind a pillar.
Jin Genxian assumed this was a messenger sent by the Underground Gang.
“I left the client’s name as ‘Wang Yi’ and the payment has been settled. What’s your business with me?”
“First, let me introduce myself. I’m Chu Yin. And damn you!”
As Chu Yin’s words fell, Jin Genxian’s left knee suddenly buckled, nearly dropping him to his knees.
His key was suddenly controlled by someone’s power, piercing through his kneecap!
“An Esper with telekinesis? Wait, you said your name is Chu Yin… that’s—” Jin Genxian sensed the enemy’s intense hostility and an abnormal presence.
Chu Yin, the target of last night’s hired hit? How was he still alive? Was he an Esper?!
“This A-Level Esper is different indeed. His kneecap was shattered, yet he didn’t lose mobility immediately and can still stand and talk,” Chu Yin thought in surprise.
Jin Genxian didn’t sit back. Proud of his A-Level status, he raised his hand, controlling a shockwave to crash down on Chu Yin’s head.
This was Jin Genxian’s ability—one blow enough to severely injure or kill opponents below A-Level!
But unexpectedly, Chu Yin took a few steps forward and dodged the shockwave by a hair. The shockwave slammed into the ground, cracking and denting the hard surface as the fissures spread downward.
“What?!” Jin Genxian hadn’t expected the dodge. How did he know the attack was coming from above?
“Your turn to dodge now!”
Using his [Cloud Water · Flying Sword Technique], Chu Yin controlled the flight path of the key. Jin Genxian dodged repeatedly—A-Level Espers really were formidable.
Suddenly, Jin Genxian fell to the ground. One leg lost control. He looked down in shock: the leg bone had been torn out and was being manipulated by Chu Yin.
The bone struck Jin Genxian’s skull like a hammer, fracturing his head and splattering his brain matter. His neck was crushed into his chest.
The A-Level Esper met a hasty, bizarre death!
Chu Yin glanced at the time: “Two and a half minutes, not bad. Time to buy breakfast. I’ll find time to deal with that Wang Yi.”
He had just overheard the conversation between Jin Genxian and Secretary Pei. The reason Jin Genxian hired a hitman to attack him was to help his girlfriend frame Secretary Pei and gain an edge at work.
It was truly absurd that their safety was used as a disposable pawn in workplace politics.
Secretary Pei drove back to the Guild building and sat in her office chair, lost in thought.
Although that kid Chu Yin had played her once and wasted a whole summer, she held no ill will toward him.
She considered Chu Yin just a passerby with whom she had a coincidental intersection. Once it passed, it was over. But she never expected things to turn out like this…
At that moment, her phone pushed an urgent message. Secretary Pei thought she was seeing things:
“What?! Jin Genxian died in the parking lot? Counting the time, that means he died right after I left?”