Chapter 4

No one spoke in the room. After a while, Shen Yan finally looked up and asked curiously,

“Mr. Shi, why are you still wearing a mask indoors?”

Shi Yu didn’t expect the second male lead to notice this. He didn’t really care about wearing it or not—he just didn’t want to get too close to the main characters. After this whole situation, he hoped they’d never meet again or even recognize each other.

But now that Shen Yan had noticed, Shi Yu gave a small cough and looked down.

“I have a bit of a cold, so I’m being careful.”

That made sense—he was a doctor after all, so Shen Yan didn’t insist. But what he didn’t notice was how strange Shi Yu’s face looked after mentioning the cold.

A wave of nausea suddenly hit Shi Yu, and he instinctively held his stomach.

The feeling came out of nowhere. Shi Yu hadn’t eaten anything that morning, but his stomach felt like it was burning, dry, and slightly painful.

Could it be that he ate too much last night and triggered his stomach problem again?

He had chronic stomach issues, which often flared up because of his food streaming. He hadn’t expected it to hit so suddenly this time. Thinking of the plate of chicken wings he had last night, his hands clenched.

Once the pain settled a little, he decided to get a glass of warm water and take some medicine later in his room.

Coming to this world really has its downsides. Even going to the hospital isn’t easy. Hospitals are risky places in this world, and Shi Yu wouldn’t dare go alone.

Luckily, after waiting a while, his stomach started to feel better.

At the Ability Users Association:

Han Chu Yi had just returned from school when he saw a message on the screen saying he got a point deducted. His face darkened.

“Damn it.”

“Again?”

“Is Shen Yan taking things personally?”

Wearing a basketball jersey, the rebellious young man licked his sharp canine tooth. His good-looking face now looked gloomy and annoyed.

Frowning, Han Chu Yi checked the reason Shen Yan gave for deducting his points. Apparently, it was because the info on the streamer he investigated last night wasn’t clear enough?

What do you mean not clear? It was clear enough! Shen Yan was just picking on him for no reason.

He scoffed, tossed his basketball aside, and muttered under his breath. He and Shen Yan had never gotten along.

Shen Yan didn’t like him, and the feeling was mutual.

Han Chu Yi looked again at his evaluation score and felt even more annoyed. He was a third-year university student and had been interning at the association for a year. If his score stayed too low, he’d fail the internship.

He had just finished playing ball and planned to shower and visit Sang-ge, but now he had to cool off and focus. He started scrolling through available missions on his holographic screen.

Since he lost a point today, he needed to take a case before tomorrow afternoon to make up for it.

But as an intern, there weren’t many strange cases he was allowed to take—either they weren’t in his assigned area or the level was too high.

Finally, his eyes landed on a case under Shen Yan’s command: the “Weird Delivery” case.

It was a match for his level, but it meant he’d have to work with Shen Yan. Normally, Han Chu Yi would avoid that. But today… after Shen Yan took off his point without warning, Han Chu Yi laughed coldly.

Fine, I’ll join this case.

They’ve been working on the weird delivery for a whole day and night and still haven’t solved it? Shen Yan really is useless.

Some people in the hall noticed Han Chu Yi’s shifting expressions and were spooked.

“What’s wrong with him now?”

A staff member nudged his coworker, who also looked confused.

“I don’t know. He looked at the screen and just flipped.”

“I thought he’d smash the screen with his basketball!”

Wouldn’t be the first time. On his first day here, he already fought with their captain Fu Nanyao. Everyone knew Han Chu Yi was trouble.

Except for Mr. Sang, there were barely any people Han Chu Yi treated kindly.

Then they saw him wash his face and walk out. The staff looked at each other, unsure whether to report this.

“He looks calm now, so maybe it’s fine?”

But just as someone said that, another staffer, Li Qing, suddenly gasped. She saw a change on her wrist display and was shocked.

“What the—did Han Chu Yi go crazy?”

“He applied to join Shen Yan’s case!”

Didn’t he just look like he was about to explode? Why suddenly apply to join his mission?

Due to how dangerous these strange cases were, the association had a rule: If a case goes unsolved for over 24 hours, anyone nearby has the right to apply to join it.

So technically, Han Chu Yi’s move was allowed.

Even though the staff were stunned and speechless, they had no choice but to approve it.

At the same time, the public screen showed a new update: one more person had joined the “Weird Delivery” case.

Shen Yan saw the update on his wrist device and frowned.

Wang Shan muttered, “Is Han Chu Yi a kid?”

“He just lost points and now wants to stir things up?”

Since it was Shen Yan who reported the update earlier, Wang Shan could easily guess the reason.

“What should we do, Dr. Shen?”

Shen Yan looked annoyed, but since Han Chu Yi followed the rules, he just said calmly,

“Ignore him.”

Shi Yu, still clueless, didn’t understand what was going on between the association members.

But soon, he found out.

A few minutes later, someone knocked on the door lazily. Shi Yu frowned and walked to the peephole to check.

The moment he looked through it, he was terrified—an eerie black eye was staring back at him right through the peephole.

“Holy sh*t!”

His heart jumped to his throat, and the curse slipped out before he could stop it.

What the heck?

Outside the door, Han Chuyi—wearing his basketball uniform—thought someone from the association was spying on him. So he deliberately leaned into the peephole with a creepy stare to mess with them.

He didn’t expect the person on the other side to suddenly jump back in fright.

Not someone from the association?

Han Chuyi raised an eyebrow and knocked again, clearly annoyed.
“Open up.”

Shi Yu: “…What’s wrong with this guy?”

He had never met someone like this before. Not only did the guy stare through the peephole to scare him, now he was demanding to be let in like it was normal.

His face turned green with anger. He pulled back from the door and decided not to open it.

Inside, Wang Shan and the others could barely hold in their laughter. The thought of the arrogant Han Chuyi knocking over and over without anyone opening the door was just too funny. Even Shen Yan, usually serious, looked a bit more relaxed.

Shi Yu didn’t understand why they were all smiling like that.

Clearly, the person outside wasn’t some creepy ghost. After all, the members of the Abilities Association were all here, and supernatural things wouldn’t be knocking so politely.

Shi Yu asked cautiously: “So… the person outside—is he with you guys?”

Wang Shan coughed. “Sort of.”

“But he’s really rude. You don’t need to bother with him. He’ll quiet down eventually.”

Just as he finished speaking, the knocking got louder—BANG BANG BANG—so loud it made Shi Yu’s ears hurt.

Shi Yu’s eye twitched. Then came the sarcastic voice from outside:

Han Chuyi: “Shen Yan, you’re bold enough to deduct my points, but not bold enough to open the door?”

“My application clearly says I’m allowed to join this case!”

Just as he was about to say something he shouldn’t, like exposing the Association’s inner workings, Wang Shan jumped up in a panic. He rushed to the door, gave Shi Yu an awkward smile, and opened it quickly.

Han Chuyi immediately pulled his hand back, looking completely unfazed—he knew no one would stop him.

Shi Yu: “…What kind of guy is this?”

Despite having a bright, handsome face, he was incredibly annoying.

Han Chuyi didn’t care what anyone thought. His eyes scanned the room.

Han Chuyi: “Tch, you’re all here. I thought you’d already gotten taken by the ghost.”

He gave a fake smile and then turned his gaze toward Shi Yu.

Since Shi Yu was the only unfamiliar face, Han Chuyi immediately figured he was just a regular person.

But in his mind, there was no difference between “normal people” and “ability users.” He strolled over casually, acting puzzled:

Han Chuyi: “Bro, why didn’t you open the door earlier?”

Fresh from playing basketball, the wave of heat and sweat from his body made Shi Yu instinctively step back.

Why is this guy acting so familiar? We don’t even know each other.

Shi Yu frowned and stepped away slightly, replying coolly:

Shi Yu: “I don’t know you. Why would I open the door?”

From Han Chuyi’s angle, all he saw was the frown on Shi Yu’s face.

Tch. He looked him up and down. Average height, skinny build, and even though his face wasn’t clearly visible, something about him just rubbed Han Chuyi the wrong way.

Han Chuyi: “You locked me out, and I’m not even allowed to ask about it?”

He hated being ignored. Even if Shi Yu’s voice sounded nice, it didn’t matter.

As Han Chuyi was about to snap back, a hand suddenly landed on his shoulder.

Shen Yan, who had been quiet while watching him act out, finally spoke:

Shen Yan: “That’s enough.”

“Did you forget the team rules?”

“Keep acting out, and I’ll deduct more points.”

The room fell into tense silence.

Shi Yu, stuck awkwardly between the two of them, could feel the temperature in the room drop. Han Chuyi’s expression changed instantly.

After a moment, he forced a smile, revealing two little tiger-like teeth.

Han Chuyi: “Relax, just a joke. Why so serious?”

He raised both hands and turned to Shi Yu, deliberately speaking slowly:

Han Chuyi: “Sorry… Mr. Shi.”