It should be made clear that Chu Yin and Yan Yi have always maintained a normal elder-younger relationship in the past, with Yan Yi treating him almost like her own son—she just never changed how she addressed him.
As his guardian, Yan Yi rarely played the stern “black-faced” role at home and had a very good relationship with both children, so good that Chu Yin sometimes had to remind her that some of her overly affectionate gestures might be a bit inappropriate.
For example, during a recent video call between Chu Yin and Yan Yi, she didn’t even mind the fact that her nightgown had ridden up—she just left it to Chu Yin to cover the screen himself.
But that was all; there was absolutely none of the out-of-line interaction seen in the dream!
Now that the dream was over, it was best not to bring it up again.
If Yan Yi had forgotten, then it was better to let the matter rot quietly in Chu Yin’s heart.
“All right, then let’s talk about something else. What do you want to eat later…”
Chu Yin deliberately tried to change the subject, but his younger sister was still curious, pressing on:
“Mom, do you still remember what you dreamed about last night? Why were you suddenly worried about brother? Didn’t you say before that your nightmare was about getting married? Did it change this time?”
The girl’s eager expression practically made her eyes shine; Chu Yin knew it would be difficult to shut her down, so he silently listened and watched Yan Yi’s reaction.
“I already told you, I don’t remember, yet you keep asking…”
The beautiful woman knew she couldn’t suppress her daughter’s curiosity. Since they were just chatting anyway, what did it matter? She continued:
“The dream last night probably did have the wedding scene, I have a faint memory of it—lanterns and decorations, gongs and drums, everything red everywhere.”
“Oh, then it’s another nightmare, huh? Just happened to coincide with brother having a fever. I thought maybe it was a real message from a dream~”
Yan Lingqi’s face lit up with sudden understanding; she felt like she had discovered the truth—it was simply a coincidence!
Chu Yin nodded in agreement, fully supporting his sister’s conclusion.
Yan Chunhan rested her cheek on her hand, her skin delicate like a young girl’s. She shook her head slightly and smiled bitterly:
“There’s still a difference. The last one really was a nightmare; it messed with my sleep and left me drained during the day. But this time, it didn’t feel like that—mostly light and happy. It’s just that when I woke up, I felt a bit wistful and inexplicably worried about Chu Yin.”
Listening to Yan Yi’s description, Chu Yin held his breath, afraid to exhale until she finished speaking, finally feeling reassured.
Sure enough, Yan Yi didn’t remember the events in the dream, but the emotions and feelings remained.
“Lingqi, you and your brother have been living together for a few days now. Did anything fun happen?” Yan Chunhan asked.
Actually, Yan Lingqi had already recounted what she did during the day in their previous two video chats. But when it came to talking with the kids, Yan Chunhan didn’t mind hearing the same things again.
In parent-child relationships, emotional connection and sharing mattered most.
“Brother, you explain the guild stuff yourself. I’m not going to speak for you.” The charming young girl rested her chin on his shoulder.
“Guild stuff? Did the Esper Guild come looking for you?” Yan Chunhan’s tone turned serious as her delicate brows furrowed slightly, her mature and beautiful face leaning toward Chu Yin.
“Don’t worry, it’s already taken care of…”
Chu Yin didn’t dare to tease and quickly explained the sale of the company but omitted the guild’s underhanded tactics, afraid that Yan Yi would worry about him being wronged.
“No, no, you’re downplaying it, brother. That extremely cocky Guild Secretary… hmmph.”
Before the girl finished, Chu Yin covered her mouth and hurried to summarize:
“T Company is just an empty shell now. I don’t even know why I bought it. The guild kept pestering me, which annoyed me, so I just sold it. The payout was substantial. Later, I’ll have to trouble Yan Yi and Yan Yi to help me manage it!”
“Yan Yi trusts you not to waste money. Keep it yourself~”
Yan Chunhan had always thought Chu Yin was rather reserved about money; every time she tried to give him extra pocket money, he refused.
Now that Chu Yin voluntarily offered to let her manage the money, she saw through his intentions—most likely wanting to repay and cover his living expenses all these years.
But how could a family separate things so strictly?
Yan Chunhan’s attention shifted back to the Esper Guild.
She said earnestly:
“Selling T Company is good. Just don’t get involved with the guild. Watch out for the trouble that could come with it.”
“Hmm… right, since we’re already at the hospital and have time, Yan Yi, why don’t you ask a doctor from the Department of Sleep Medicine to come over for a consultation?”
Yan Chunhan had already tried consulting a doctor before; she had classmates in that field but didn’t get a clear diagnosis.
But Chu Yin was right—it wouldn’t hurt to check, especially since they had time.
“That works. I have to stay overnight with you in the special ward anyway. Monitoring your sleep for a night won’t hurt.” The mature and elegant woman nodded happily.
Then, the siblings accompanied Yan Chunhan to the Department of Sleep Medicine to get an appointment with a specialist.
The attending expert was a retired seventy-year-old lady who had been rehired. Thanks to an awakened physical Esper power twenty years ago, she had seemingly shed the shell of decay, living a second life.
Driven by curiosity about this new field, she had also studied the brainwave changes of Espers.
When Chu Yin and the others entered the Old Specialist’s office, they were all surprised and momentarily stunned.
Though she was a kind-looking elderly lady with white hair, her arm muscles were sharply defined, and even the muscles on her writing arm were taut and defined…
Yan Lingqi glanced at the Old Specialist’s résumé and couldn’t help but ask:
“Grandma, the sign says you research Esper brainwaves. Do Espers have sleep problems too?”
A pretty girl never lacked special treatment anywhere.
The Old Specialist looked up at the lively, charming young girl and smiled with a warmth that went beyond formal politeness.
She spoke casually beyond the illness:
“Yes, many years ago I studied myself, trying to see if Espers’ brain nerve activity was different. But it turned out the same.”
“We’re all human. There’s no essential difference physically. Ordinary people get insomnia; so do Espers. Some even develop mental illnesses. It’s very dangerous!”
The girl was shocked; this was the first time she had heard such a thing.
“Do all Espers get mental illness?”
The Old Specialist nodded: “Yes. We just received a call half an hour ago. Our hospital admitted a Delirium Esper. He’s about to be transferred to the Special Ward for care. Ah!”
Small talk ended, and the Old Lady began asking Yan Chunhan about her sleep conditions and whether anything unusual had happened recently.
But Yan Chunhan’s life was peaceful. If anything was special, it was that Chu Yin had started summer work and moved out to live alone for the summer.
“Maybe you’re just worried because your child moved out to live alone. How about this? Let’s do a sleep monitor tonight. I’ll check the report tomorrow!”
After the consultation, the Old Specialist found nothing abnormal and said they would have to wait for the report.
Yan Chunhan remained calm and not disappointed, as her close friend had made a similar judgment.
On the way back to the ward, the beautiful woman joked:
“It’s been a long time since the three of us slept together. Tonight we’re in the same ward. We can push the two beds together and sleep!”
Yan Lingqi was a bit concerned:
“Will the three of us squeezing in together affect Mom’s sleep monitoring data?”
“If we chat too happily and get excited and can’t sleep, then we can just stay another night in the ward.”
Such a casual tone hardly sounded like hospitalization; an outsider would think they were just traveling with the kids.
Thanks to Yan Yi’s personality and her way of interacting with the kids, there had been no generation gap or conflicts at home all these years.
At most, Yan Yi’s “forced love” toward Chu Yin occasionally caused some awkward situations.
…
After resting in the ward for half a day, Chu Yin went out into the corridor to stretch his legs.
Suddenly, a passing nurse cried out. She had just taken a blood bag out of the cold storage, but it unexpectedly ruptured, spilling plasma onto the floor.
In the ensuing flurry, some medical scalpels, knives, and scissors fell out of the sterilization box, their metallic clinks sharp and clear.
In the past, Chu Yin would have treated it as an ordinary accident, but after self-studying so many mystical arts in his dream, he felt like he had caught a hidden clue.
A vague inspiration triggered his crisis awareness.
“Looks like even my intuition in this area has weakened. If I were in Luoshui City… no, can’t use [Da Liu Ren], it would slow the healing process.”
Chu Yin suppressed the urge to divinate, not noticing that Yan Chunhan had followed him out.
The beautiful woman heard his muttering and asked curiously:
“Luoshui City? Is there such a city? It sounds kind of familiar…”
Chu Yin shuddered and quickly covered up:
“No, Yan Yi, you misheard. I was talking about ‘Luo…luo sleep.’ If you and Lingqi were here, I wouldn’t be able to sleep so wildly.”
At that moment, the elevator opened, and nurses wheeled in a patient sitting in a wheelchair, his hands and feet bound with straps.
“Clear the corridor, we’re taking the patient to the ward.” The accompanying nurse warned.
Chu Yin pulled Yan Yi aside to make way, curious about the patient, only to find the patient staring at him with an off, unsettling look!
“Hey, buddy, we don’t know each other, right? Where’s this murderous intent coming from?”
[Dangerous. Avoid.]
Before Chu Yin could even form an omen, a warning flashed in his mind.
He immediately reacted, grabbing Yan Yi’s full, delicate body and throwing himself to the side to dodge.
When falling, he used his own body to absorb the impact, making sure Yan Yi wouldn’t be hurt.
Almost simultaneously, the special patient went mad, screaming wildly in rage.
The Delirium Esper condensed six Ice Spikes, apparently attacking recklessly, but two of the spikes targeted Chu Yin and Yan Chunhan with deadly precision.
Luckily, Chu Yin dodged in time!
This patient was the one the Old Specialist had mentioned—a Delirium Esper!
And he was clearly faking madness, deliberately coming after Chu Yin!
Chu Yin’s experiences in Luoshui City had cultivated an instinct to fight back against hostility.
He quietly formed a Sword Gesture, remotely controlling the fallen scalpels, scissors, and needles, sending them flying toward the Esper.
Swish!
The Esper tried to dodge but, bound hand and foot, was an easy target.
He helplessly watched as the sharp weapon pierced his heart.
The clash from start to finish happened in an instant.
Only after the fact did the patients, doctors, and nurses on the scene realize what had happened. They crouched, protecting themselves, screaming in panic.
“Ahhhh—!!”
Chu Yin covered Yan Yi’s eyes to shield her from the bloodshed, while also imitating the surrounding screams with a half-hearted “Ah.”
His expression was convincing, though his shout was perfunctory.
Yan Chunhan didn’t know if the danger had passed, but as a mother, she forced herself to get up, hugging Chu Yin tightly and shielding him with her own body.
“Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. Yan Yi is here! Are you hurt anywhere? If it hurts, just tell Yan Yi…”
A warmth bloomed in Chu Yin’s heart, but it wasn’t the time to explain. The threat was neutralized, and for now, he let Yan Yi hold him close.