“Brother, who’s that outside? Are you hiding from Mom and me and secretly seeing other women?”
“Don’t be so sharp-tongued. Just hide in the wardrobe first, or else you’ll get tangled up too!”
After much coaxing, Chu Yin finally got the beautiful girl with suspicious eyes in front of him to hide inside the wardrobe.
When Chu Yin opened the door, several elegantly dressed secretaries were standing outside, making him laugh bitterly:
“You really are tireless!”
Lately, he had been frequently harassed, and the culprits were these composed and beautiful secretaries!
“No choice, this is our job. We hope you understand, Chu Student~” one of the secretaries apologized with a smile, bowing slightly.
“My answer is still no. You’ve completed your daily task.”
Chu Yin’s deceased parents left him the Original Shares of T Company in their will, which was exactly what these secretaries were after.
They had persistently pursued him for over a month.
Once, while Chu Yin was using a public toilet, they appeared like ghosts, “considerate” to surround him—two of them supporting him, one discussing acquisition matters.
Their methods grew increasingly ruthless and aggressive.
Unable to persuade him, they started meddling around his surroundings.
The breakfast shop Chu Yin often visited got caught up in this and went bankrupt.
At peak business hours, troublemakers would show up, and the landlord was convinced to raise the rent.
Soon, the shop was forced to close.
Worse still, whenever he casually chatted with some elderly men playing chess in the park, the old men were soon forcibly relocated to various nursing homes under strange pretexts like “community management.” Their social circle vanished, and their spirits plummeted.
Chu Yin felt both guilty and angry about this.
“Today, Secretary Chief Pei is here to discuss with Chu Student.”
The secretaries stepped aside, and only then did Chu Yin notice a familiar yet new woman among them.
This Secretary Chief wore her hair in a neat bun, her beautiful face framed by thin glasses, exuding both intelligence and professionalism.
Her figure was graceful and full, and her attire didn’t reflect a secretary’s—she looked more like a sophisticated urban woman.
Moreover, she radiated an aloofness that made her difficult to approach—a workplace elite’s arrogance.
One might even think Chu Yin was her subordinate.
“Hello, I am their supervisor, from the Abilities Users’ Guild Headquarters, Pei Enmei.”
Secretary Chief Pei entered, crossing her arms and sitting down, her shapely legs clad in silky black stockings crossed, revealing the red soles of her high heels.
She was determined to succeed this time.
Things had dragged on too long before; she had to conquer Chu Yin’s stubbornness before anyone else did.
Once this was settled, she could step from the fringes of her family into its core.
Just one step left!
“Let’s get straight to the point. Those shares mean nothing to you—not even dividends. Why not convert them into cash? Tell me your asking price, and I will pay double out of my own pocket. This is my personal sincerity.”
Chu Yin waved his hand expertly to refuse, his attitude firm:
“No sale. I’m supported by my own guardians, not short on money.”
The Secretary Chief’s beautiful eyes narrowed slightly, showing a hint of hostility.
She kept composed and subtly pressed:
“Forgive my bluntness. The Abilities Users’ Guild already owns ninety percent of T Company’s shares and has the means to use some unsavory business tactics. We just don’t want the trouble. Understand?”
Chu Yin seemed not to see her pressure, calmly countering:
“Why bother pretending? Isn’t the Guild supposed to be better at using abilities?”
“What do you mean?” The mature woman’s expression turned puzzled.
Huh?
Her reaction suggested she had no idea.
Could it be that the strange dream experiences I’ve been having recently have nothing to do with the Guild’s ability users?
Fearing further probing, Chu Yin quickly shifted the topic:
“Force, threats, and temptation—you’ve already used the ‘force’ and ‘threat’ parts. Secretary Chief, when are you going to use ‘temptation’ and ‘enticement’ in the negotiation? I’ve been waiting a long time!”
“…?”
A flash of surprise crossed the Secretary Chief’s usually calm face, then her brows furrowed and eyes flashed with irritation.
She had only heard greasy businessmen pull these moves in deals, yet this kid dared to mention such demands!
She studied Chu Yin.
Despite the slick talk, his handsome features naturally gave a fresh impression.
His tall, fit frame showed signs of regular training—his short-sleeved shirt even revealed muscle contours… actually, he looked pretty good?
“I’ve been itching to get laid, do you know how repressed this young man is?”
Chu Yin kept teasing, noticing the Secretary Chief’s lingering gaze assessing him without disgust or disdain.
Even the anger in her eyes seemed to be fading.
Wait, Secretary Chief, I’m just trying to give you a warning shot, don’t take me seriously!
“Fine. I’ll give you one hour, but if you decide in three minutes…”
Pei Enmei smiled teasingly, her bright red lips curling as she unbuttoned one button on her collar, revealing a surging snowy expanse beneath.
For a moment, it was impossible to tell who was the hunter and who the prey.
Chu Yin raised a hand to stop her, speaking sternly:
“When I say ‘deal,’ I mean the Guild must reverse the mess it caused recently around here.”
The Secretary Chief froze in mid-action, frowning in reply:
“That wasn’t the Secretariat’s doing but pressure from other factions within the Guild. Asking the Secretariat to overstep and fix that is unreasonable. If you had agreed earlier, none of this mess would have happened…”
“Then I can’t agree to the acquisition.”
“…”
The beautiful Secretary Chief realized she’d been played.
Her eyes cooled back to indifference.
She snorted coldly, stood, and strode out swiftly.
Her hips swayed dangerously as her pencil skirt stretched tightly over her curves.
Bang—
After slamming the door hard, a moment later, there was a knock again.
Chu Yin went to open it, puzzled to see Secretary Chief Pei returning.
She had been too angry before and forgot to finish her words.
Now, knocking again, her toes almost tore the black stockings inside her high heels, so she masked her embarrassment with a cold expression.
“Anything else?” Chu Yin asked.
“The Guild’s higher-ups have issued a death order on this acquisition. The Secretariat’s approach is persuasion, but other departments aren’t so gentle. They are full of ability users and have little patience. Think carefully about your family!”
“Try to resolve this before summer break ends. This isn’t a threat, but my personal advice.”
“Don’t let your stubbornness drag down your adoptive family!”
Pei Enmei spoke quickly, then turned and left.
The other secretaries apologized and followed.
Chu Yin pondered, sighing softly:
“Indeed, no matter what, I can’t let this affect my family…”
The wardrobe stirred, and the pretty girl hiding inside jumped out, eyes serious with worry:
“Brother, you’re hiding something from the family. What was that all about? Be honest, or I’ll call Mom over right now!”
Having witnessed the whole scene, she wasn’t about to let him off easy.
Chu Yin scratched his head: “Alright, alright. I’ll tell you. But don’t bother Aunt Wen.”
Chu Yin, an outstanding graduate who just finished the college entrance exams.
No abilities, yet living in a world full of ability users and dream techniques.
When he was eight, his parents’ company, T Company, developed a breakthrough method to help ability users surpass their limits!
Before the research was officially announced, the news leaked prematurely, igniting a frenzy among various ability factions.
In this world, an ability user’s power ceiling is locked the moment they awaken their ability, so everyone desperately seeks a breakthrough.
Soon after, Chu Yin’s parents and the core researchers died in a tragic “accident,” and the data Key went missing.
At that time, the Chu family’s eldest adopted daughter, Chu Yin’s elder sister, hadn’t even arranged the funeral when she immediately “sold off and fled,” selling their parents’ computers, phones, and data disks for a high price.
She took millions and left for another country alone.
Chu Yin was left with no support.
Fortunately, his mother’s fellow disciple knew about this and took him in, allowing him to grow up steadily.
As time passed, once-renowned T Company became a hollow shell—a deserted office building—with all research data auctioned off.
No one cared anymore.
But recently, the Abilities Users’ Guild acted strangely, buying up T Company’s shares at high prices.
Most shareholders agreed immediately—someone was finally willing to take over their bad debts.
Why not?
Only Chu Yin remained stubborn, refusing to sell his Original Shares.
Half a year after his parents died, the Guild announced a so-called “breakthrough technology” to help ability users transcend limits.
Previously, the Guild was in an awkward position, like a stray dog on the street, unable to rally ability users.
But with this technology, it gained authority over them and rapidly grew into a behemoth.
Incidentally, Chu Yin’s elder sister is currently a high-ranking Guild official, protected by top ability users.
Coincidence or fate?
Chu Yin knew as an ordinary person he couldn’t contend with the Guild.
But recalling his parents’ “accident” and his elder sister’s role in the Guild, he refused to hand over the shares, no matter their worthlessness.
Better not dwell on the past.
During the earlier confrontation with Secretary Chief Pei, Chu Yin tested something and confirmed—
The strange abnormality he recently encountered wasn’t related to the Guild.
In the past two months, he had been having bizarre dreams, as if living through almost real lifetimes.
Every time he woke, his physical abilities improved; his muscles swelled.
Chu Yin once suspected someone had injected him with the “Power of Nine Dragons” at night.
At the same time, he mysteriously learned some ancient arcane dream techniques.
But his body also inexplicably bore some injuries.
This made him realize the dream was dangerous.
But he couldn’t stop sleeping; as soon as he nodded off, he fell into these dreams—no escape!
“This dream has nothing to do with the Guild, but where does it come from? Ability awakening isn’t like this.”
“Hopefully one day I can manifest a spell comparable to abilities.”
Chu Yin had no interest in the status and power that came with abilities; life wasn’t unlivable without them.
But without abilities, when many unexpected incidents happened…
You just had to endure!
In his rented room,
Chu Yin told his sister Yan Lingqi what had happened, leaving out the strange dreams since even he didn’t understand them well.
“The Guild is resorting to forced acquisition. What should we do?” The girl’s worry deepened, fretting over her brother’s situation.
“Sell, I guess. Holding those shares is useless, though I didn’t expect nearby businesses to be dragged into this.”
From the Secretary Chief’s words, reversing the Guild’s negative impact wouldn’t be easy.
Chu Yin could only use the proceeds from selling shares to compensate as much as possible.
He didn’t want to discuss it further and ruffled the girl’s hair.
Though she was the same age, Yan Lingqi still went barefaced, natural beauty without makeup—undeniably a little beauty.
Only two months apart, and the girl had secretly developed—her school uniform shirt was tight around the chest, subtly outlining her curves.
“How’s Aunt Wen lately?” Chu Yin changed the subject.
“My mom’s fine. She just went on a business trip yesterday. But Lady Chunhan isn’t well—she’s been dreaming a lot and looks exhausted during the day. Maybe it’s work stress.”
The family that adopted Chu Yin was unusual—two guardian aunts who were twin sisters: elder sister Wen Chunhan and younger sister Yan Dongnuan.
Due to family reasons, Aunt Yan Dongnuan was registered back on their grandfather’s clan records, but the two sisters were extremely close, sharing even their daughters.
So Lingqi called both “Mom,” often mixing up who was the real mother as a child.
“Aunt Wen keeps dreaming a lot?” Chu Yin raised an eyebrow.
“Yes. Aunt Chunhan said she often has the same dream every few days—getting married, then suffering misfortune.”
“…” Chu Yin was stunned.
The girl’s brief description stirred something in him.
He vaguely remembered one of his dreams also involved a wedding followed by tragedy.
Why did Aunt Wen’s dream sound so similar?
Night had deepened.
Before sleeping, Chu Yin glanced at his sister and found she hadn’t tucked in her blanket properly—her fair, smooth shoulder exposed, curling up from the cold air conditioning.
“Freezing like this and still not covering up~”
He smiled helplessly, then silently chanted an incantation, pinching his fingers to activate Object Manipulation, pulling the blanket up over Yan Lingqi.
It was a spell he learned in the dream—pretty useless, able only to move small objects remotely.
Chu Yin closed the door, lay down on the living room sofa, staring blankly at the ceiling:
“I wonder what dream I’ll have tonight. If it’s that wedding one again, I’ll try to remember more details to compare with Aunt Wen.”
Unconsciously, his eyelids grew heavy, his consciousness drifting, and a series of voices echoed in his mind—
【Chu Yin, as a child, lost his parents and family fortune to relatives, left with no support, forced to come to Luo Shui City to fend for himself.】
【A noble lady passing by in a carriage noticed your plight, took pity, and had her servant bring you to work in the city kitchens, securing your meals.】
【After inquiry, it was learned this benefactor was Lady Chunhan of Luo Shui City. The year she married in, during her wedding banquet, the City Lord was assassinated by an old enemy. Lady Chunhan became a widow before the wedding was completed, and took on city affairs.】
【Time flies, things change. Several of Luo Shui City’s core disciples, trained at great expense, grew ambitious and left after failing to seize the City Lord’s position. The city gradually declined to a second-rate force.】
【Two voices emerged among the city’s upper echelons. Some tried to salvage the situation; others advocated merging with a stronger faction while the city still had value.】
【Your talent emerged but did not fit the city’s cultivation system. Given the situation, leaving was wise, but you have not forgotten Lady Chunhan’s past kindness.】
【Repaying this kindness and unraveling Lady Chunhan’s obsession may also resolve your own.】
Chu Yin opened his eyes, looking around in confusion, realizing he was dreaming.
He muttered: “Was there ever an explanation for this dream’s setup? Seems like this is the wedding dream, huh?”
He couldn’t remember clearly.
Each time he woke, the details of the dream faded, leaving only vague impressions.
“Lady Chunhan shares a name with Aunt Wen? What a coincidence…”
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