Put away your magical powers now!.

Chapter 269 [Fellow Daoist Above] (6000)

Chapter 263 [Fellow Daoist Above] (6000)

"Chen Yan, you sure know how to avoid taking it easy!"

When Lin Xianyu strode into the lounge, the top-tier actress's forehead was covered in sweat, and her pretty face looked as if she had just finished some physical labor carrying things, her cheeks flushed...

Of course, Chen Yan knew very well that she was faking it.

No matter what, she is a dignified fox demon. Even if she is a mixed-breed fox, her physical strength is far beyond that of ordinary people.

She was putting on an act, pretending to be sweating profusely, just to avoid attracting attention—of course, it was also necessary for the filming, to make it look more realistic.

After Lin Xianyu walked in, she rushed to the table, complaining as she picked up a water glass from the table in front of Chen Yan. She gulped down a glass of cold tea, let out a long sigh, and quickly said, "No, I'm still thirsty. Is there any more water?"

"Have."

Shen Shiqi quickly brought over a pitcher of cold water, which contained cooled boiled water.

After Lin Xianyu drank another glass of water, her assistant followed her in, chuckling, "Sister Xianyu, you've worked hard... Um, the photographer said he needs to do a couple more shots..."

"No more reshoots!" Lin Xianyu refused decisively: "We definitely have enough material. Tell the photographer that this isn't a TV series shoot, and the photos and videos we took today are sufficient."

"But...the photographer said that in a few shots, your image..."

"Hey! Get to work! What's with all the angle stuff? Do you think this is a photoshoot? Is this photographer new? Doesn't he know this? The key is authenticity, you know?"

Lin Xianyu waved her hand impatiently, as if shooing away a fly, and sent the assistant out.

Shen Shiqi pursed her lips and stepped aside without saying a word.

However, Dean Shen soon came in as well. She glanced at the cups and water pitcher on the table, hesitated for a moment, and said in a low voice, "Seventeen, go to my room and bring me the tea canister."

Shen Shiqi nodded and was about to go when Lin Xianyu immediately shook her head and said, "No, I don't like tea. Plain boiled water is fine. It's plentiful, filling, and thirst-quenching."

Dean Shen probably had never met such a "genuine" celebrity before, and was momentarily at a loss for words.

Chen Yan spoke up at the opportune moment.

"Dean Shen, you don't need to be so polite. That's just her personality," Chen Yan said with a gentle smile. "Just now, Seventeen showed me around your orphanage from top to bottom..."

At this point, Chen Yan paused, his tone very sincere: "You are a good dean, thank you for your hard work. The conditions here are so harsh, but you have taken good care of these children."

Dean Shen sighed and said with a wry smile, "We've taken good care of you... well, not really. Resources are limited, so we're just trying our best to maintain the status quo."

Shen Shiqi poured Dean Shen a glass of water. The woman remained calm and composed, even drinking the water slowly, sip by sip.

Chen Yan noticed that Dean Shen's hands, which were holding the cup, looked very rough.

A thought suddenly struck him: "Does the orphanage have a washing machine?"

Dean Shen was taken aback, then shook his head and said, "We had them before, but they broke down and we didn't have the money to buy new ones, so we wash things by hand here."

Chen Yan nodded, glanced at Lin Xianyu, and Lin Xianyu immediately understood, loudly proclaiming, "I'll donate two more... no, five more, five washing machines!"

Dean Shen smiled wryly and said, "I appreciate your kindness, but... we don't really need that many. Well, one or two would be enough. Besides... washing machines consume a lot of electricity."

"I just went to check the kitchen, and the freezer at the back of the kitchen is quite old and it's making noise," Chen Yan said gently.

"Sigh..." Dean Shen rubbed his forehead. "It's broken again... It was repaired just last month. The repairman said the compressor in the refrigeration unit was too old and suggested I replace it. But such an old model, the compressor has been discontinued for a long time. I plan to save up enough money in two months to buy a new one."

Freezers are for storing food, and what we eat can't be taken lightly. If food isn't stored properly and spoils, children will get sick.

Before Chen Yan could speak, Lin Xianyu immediately shouted, "I'll donate another freezer!"

Chen Yan said with a smile, "The light bulbs in many rooms are also broken..."

Lin Xianyu: "I'll donate!"

"Several bed frames in the children's dormitory are wobbling and about to fall apart..."

Lin Xianyu: "I'll donate!!"

"In the upstairs restroom..."

Lin Xianyu glanced at Chen Yan with a resentful look and sighed, "Brother, why don't you just say it all at once? I'll have someone write it down, and you can make a list for me?"

Dean Shen was dumbfounded, finding the two people in front of him truly strange.

This young man surnamed Chen seemed afraid that his welfare home was not receiving enough donations, so he kept urging this big star named Lin Xianyu to open his pocket more.

This is very fresh.

Having worked at the welfare home for so many years, Director Shen has genuinely seen many people come to do charity work and make donations.

To be honest, more than half of them were just putting on a show.

They brought over several buckets of rice, flour, and oil, practically bringing three reporters with them. They pretended to help with the chores, but once they had taken enough photos, they'd just leave, making do with what they had.

Nobody is as sincere as this celebrity Lin.

They've almost finished filming, yet they still want to continue donating—this person is truly dedicated to doing good deeds!

Dean Shen made this judgment.

Next, there will be a filming segment where the famous actress Lin Xianyu interacts with the children at the welfare home—a routine that has been a staple of almost all charity projects.

Under the photographer's lens, Lin Xiaoyu let her hair down and tied it back into a neat ponytail. She looked completely unlike any of the glamorous young actresses, appearing as simple and down-to-earth as could be.

She went to the activity room, played games with a dozen or so children for a while, and even led them in singing two nursery rhymes.

She even performed a solo dance in front of the children and then taught them a few moves.

During this time, the photographer tried to cause trouble again, wanting to call a pause, saying that a certain part of the shot wasn't good enough and asking for it to be done again...

Lin Xianyu's face immediately darkened, and she took the photographer outside and gave him a good scolding.

"I told you, your job is to take candid photos! Don't you understand what 'candid photos' means? You keep calling 'pause' and 'let's do it again'? Do you think this is a TV series or a movie? If you like making TV series so much, go back to the company and wait for them to give you TV series to film!"
If I told you to film this, then film it properly! Are you trying to show off? Looking for attention?!
What, you finally have a chance to work with me, so you want to make a good impression and show off your connections?
"Can you do it? If you can't, get out of here right now!"

The photographer blushed with embarrassment.

Lin Xianyu is smart and has a sharp tongue; she saw right through the photographer's little schemes in just a few words!

The job of filming is actually quite simple. The photographer just needs to minimize their presence and capture some suitable shots.

No matter how many photos you take, you'll have to cut them out eventually. At most, you can just take a few pictures or one or two videos.

As Lin Xianyu said, he was indeed looking forward to the rare opportunity to work with such a big name as Lin Xianyu for a day, and he wanted to show off his skills and so-called "professionalism" and "artistic talent".

If he could be appreciated by Lin Xianyu, he, an unknown photographer in the company, might get more opportunities.

However, he did not expect that Lin Xianyu was actually there to do charity work, and not just to put on a show.

Seeing her employer get angry, the assistant quickly stepped in to smooth things over, coaxing Lin Xianyu to go back inside and continue interacting with the children. She then pulled the photographer to a more distant spot and gave him another scolding.

After a while, the assistant returned with the photographer to continue shooting. She then walked to the side and whispered something to Lin Xianyu, who was watching the children dance.

"This idiot was temporarily sent by the company. He hasn't been here long and his mind isn't quite right—oh, Sister Xianyu, today's appointment was a last-minute arrangement. The company just happened to have no one available, so we dragged him along at the last minute. I didn't expect him to cause so much trouble. Don't worry, I'll never let him appear in front of you again!"

Chen Yan ignored all of that and simply moved a small stool to the side to watch the children sing and dance.

However, Shen Shiqi's younger sister, Shen Shijiu, was the most coordinated in all aspects of her movements and learned the fastest. Among the group of children, she was the most outstanding.

The interaction lasted for less than an hour before the assistant came with a large bag of picture books she had brought that day. Lin Xianyu distributed them to the children and then let them have free time.

With this, the donation event and interactive activities have come to a complete end.

After shooing the photographer outside, Lin Xianyu glanced at Chen Yan, then returned to the lounge with Dean Shen.

"Director Shen, in addition to the house I brought today, I also plan to make a financial donation to your welfare home."

Before Dean Shen could even sit down, Lin Xianyu finished speaking, and Dean Shen immediately stood up again.

"Really?"

Dean Shen's eyes shone brightly.

"Mm." Lin Xianyu nodded seriously.

Before Dean Shen could say anything, Lin Xianyu continued, "I will donate 500,000 yuan initially—this money will be used to improve the current facilities of the welfare home."

Repair what needs repairing, and replace what needs replacing.

Also, I think this house is quite old, and there must be places where it leaks water and rain – this money can be used to repair the hardware first.

In addition, there are now more than a dozen children here...

Based on an estimated monthly living expense of 1,000 yuan per child... I will donate 200,000 yuan annually to your welfare home for the children's daily living expenses..."

"Wait a minute," Chen Yan interrupted.

"Huh?" Lin Xianyu was taken aback.

Chen Yan sighed, thought for a moment, and said, "Two hundred thousand a year is not enough, let's add a little more, four hundred thousand a year."

Dean Shen, whose face was already full of gratitude and excitement, was taken aback upon hearing this.

This... there's an extra charge at the last minute?

Chen Yan said slowly, "The orphanage only has Director Shen as a full-time staff member right now, and she's too busy. We need to hire more people to help."

Yes, we need a full-time chef in the kitchen, since we have to cook for more than a dozen people.

We also need two more people to do housekeeping and cleaning. Otherwise, cleaning such a big house would be exhausting, and there are also clothes, sheets, and blankets for more than a dozen people that need to be cleaned and washed every day.

Previously, Dean Shen had been barely managing to handle all of this work by himself.

Let's estimate. Assuming we hire three people, the annual hiring cost would be around 200,000.

"No, we, we don't have a high income here, we can't afford such a high salary..." Dean Shen said, his face flushed.

"The wages for cleaning and sanitation work aren't high, but we still need to find a good chef," Chen Yan said with a smile. "What you said, Zhiqi, is very true. The food we eat can't be taken lightly; if we don't eat well, we'll get sick." "Alright! Then it'll be 400,000 a year!" Lin Xianyu waved her hand generously.

The assistant, who had been sitting next to him taking notes in a small notebook, immediately looked up and skillfully replied.

"I'll have my legal department draft the donation contract as soon as I get back, and I'll follow up on the rest. Dean Shen, I'll draft the contract for you, and if you're satisfied with it, we'll sign it. Um, there are some other procedures, and we'll also ask the local civil affairs department to get involved and endorse it."

Dean Shen's eyes reddened slightly. Her lips moved a few times, but she couldn't utter a single word. After several seconds of silence, she finally whispered in a trembling voice, "Thank you, thank you... thank you all..."

After a pause, Dean Shen took a deep breath: "Don't worry, I will keep all the accounts in perfect order, and you are welcome to come and check them at any time..."

Chen Yan looked at the woman and smiled, "We trust you completely."

The brief conversation then ended.

Given the poor conditions at the orphanage, they naturally wouldn't stay for a meal. Although Director Shen warmly tried to persuade them to stay, Chen Yan and Lin Xianyu were unwilling to add to the already struggling orphanage's burden and insisted on taking their leave.

However, as they stepped out of the house and into the courtyard, Shen Shiqi suddenly caught up with them.

He walked straight up to Chen Yan and Lin Xianyu, staring at them with his bright, sparkling eyes.

"Brother, can I have a word with you?"

"Hmm?" Chen Yan was slightly surprised.

However, he glanced at Shen Shiqi, smiled slightly, and still pulled him aside.

"What do you want to tell me?"

"Hmm..." Shen Shiqi hesitated for a moment, then took out his old cell phone from his pocket: "I'd like to add you on WeChat."

Chen Yan was taken aback.

Shen Shiqi said in a low voice, "This is the Dean's phone, but she hasn't been going out much lately. I've been going to the wholesale market to buy popsicles to sell these past few days, so the Dean gave me the phone to use."

Chen Yan nodded, took out his phone to add Shen Shiqi's WeChat account, and smiled: "Okay, if you encounter any difficulties in the future, you can contact me via WeChat... However, I am usually very busy and often don't turn on my phone. If it's urgent, you can contact Lin Xianyu."

Okay, you should add her on WeChat too.

“I’ve gained the authority of her assistant,” Shen Shiqi said quickly.

"okay."

Chen Yan glanced at Shen Shiqi, his eyes revealing a complex meaning, but he didn't say anything. He patted the child on the shoulder and turned to walk towards the car.

As the car drove away, Chen Yan saw Dean Shen standing by the large iron gate behind him, with Shen Shiqi and three other children, watching them leave...

Chen Yan sighed.

"What's wrong, Teacher Chen? Why are you suddenly feeling melancholy?" Lin Xianyu asked, turning to look at Chen Yan while holding a thermos.

Chen Yan lowered his eyelids: "Um... could you have someone go to a big hospital in the city, arrange a physical examination, pay the bill, and then forward the appointment information to that Dean Shen?"

Lin Xianyu was stunned.

Chen Yan slowly said, "If she is unwilling to undergo a medical examination, you should tell her that this is for the fulfillment of the subsequent donation contract, and you need to confirm the health status of the person in charge of the welfare home before you can continue to pay the donation funds."

In short, coax her into getting a medical checkup and providing the report as a condition for paying the subsequent fees.

Lin Xianyu opened her mouth, but she immediately realized what she was doing, the smile on her face disappeared, and she looked at Chen Yan seriously with a questioning look in her eyes.

Chen Yan remained silent, then slowly nodded.

The assistant was still in the car, and neither Chen Yan nor Lin Xianyu made their intentions clear.

Chen Yan then leaned back in his seat, his heart filled with a complex and solemn feeling.

That Dean Shen...

Today, Chen Yan carefully examined her destiny and fate using the Qi Observation Technique and the Cycle of Qi.

She... has at most three or four years left to live!
·
What a pity, such a good person.

Chen Yan recalled the orphanage he had just left.

With the arrival of our group today, it felt as if the beleaguered orphanage could finally see the light of day again.

Most of the children had a mixture of trepidation and expectation in their eyes.

Chen Yan could tell that these children were being well cared for by Director Shen at the orphanage. There was a strong sense of security in the children's eyes.

but……

The orphanage, seemingly a place of unexpected turns... was unknown to the children.

In three or four years at most, this welfare home will still fall apart.

When Dean Shen is no longer around, these dozen or so children will likely still have to be separated and go their separate ways...

Perhaps the next three or four years will be their last happy time in this "home".

·
Dean Shen doesn't appear to have any major illnesses, and from a fortune-telling perspective, he doesn't seem to carry any serious signs of illness.

Therefore, her situation is different from that of Lu Sisi's mother, Lu Xiuting.

Lu Xiuting was also unlucky, but at the same time her illness was severe, so Chen Yan could use the sap of the divine tree to prolong her life.

But... this Dean Shen doesn't seem to have a health problem.

Her fate may not have fully manifested yet, after all, she still has three or four years left before the end of her life.

Perhaps we'll have to wait a while for the cause of her death to be revealed in her destiny.

Chen Yan decided that he would come back here again in the future, and if he could save them, he would definitely do so.

·
After the car dropped Chen Yan off at his hotel, Lin Xianyu said goodbye and left.

She only has one day off; she has to go back to the film set tomorrow. Earning more money allows her to donate more, and donating more money helps Chen Yan accumulate more merit.

Chen Yan declined Lin Xianyu's invitation to dinner and went back to his room to rest after seeing Lin Xianyu off.

Zhao Shanhe also called to invite Chen Yan to his home for dinner. Zhao Shanhe's parents knew that Chen Yan was coming, that Chen Yan was their son's good friend from university, and that he was also a shareholder and partner in their son's current business company, so they enthusiastically arranged to invite Chen Yan to their home for a meal.

Chen Yan thought about it and politely declined.

He had a vague premonition that something important was going to happen to him tonight.

·
After 9:30 pm.

Chen Yan had just finished showering, walked out of the bathroom, picked up his phone, and saw unread WeChat messages.

He initially thought it was sent by Lu Sisi, but when he opened it, he found out...

[Sunny and Breezy] (Dean Shen): Brother Chen, are you asleep?
Chen Yan was taken aback.

But he quickly realized that this was a message sent to him by Shen Shiqi's phone.

When I added someone on WeChat today, the WeChat account I added actually belonged to Dean Shen—after all, the phone originally belonged to Dean Shen.

Shen Shiqi himself did not have a mobile phone or a mobile phone number, so naturally he did not have his own WeChat account.

Thinking of this, Chen Yan casually changed the other party's WeChat nickname to Shen Shiqi and replied: "Not asleep, what's up?"

Shen Shiqi immediately sent a message: "Yes, I need to talk to you. Can I come over to meet you and talk to you?"

Chen Yan frowned and replied, "It's so late, can you come out of the orphanage?"

Shen Shiqi sent another message: "I'm not at the orphanage. I'm selling popsicles in the city today. I have to go to school early tomorrow morning. I told the director that I'll be sleeping at school tonight."

Although he had some doubts, Chen Yan thought about it and sent over the hotel address and room number.

Half an hour later, there was a knock on Chen Yan's door.

When Chen Yan opened the door, he saw Shen Shiqi standing outside with an old schoolbag on his back. The child was panting, probably tired from riding his bicycle all the way here.

Chen Yan let him in, then closed the door, turned around, took a can of cola from the table, and handed it to him.

"Have some water, catch your breath first."

Faced with Chen Yan's smile and the can of cola handed to him...

Shen Shiqi narrowed his eyes and looked at Chen Yan with a complicated expression. A few seconds later, a hint of determination flashed in his eyes.

He didn't take the can of Coke, but instead took a step back and took a deep breath.

Shen Shiqi suddenly clasped his hands together in a Tai Chi gesture, and solemnly bowed to Chen Yan, performing a salute!

Chen Yan was taken aback.

However, before he could speak, he heard Shen Shiqi speak.

The child's voice was young, but his tone was very sincere.

"Fellow Daoist, please accept my greeting! I have come tonight to ask for your assistance!"

Chen Yan was stunned!
"Wait, wait a minute! What did you call me?"

Chen Yan stared wide-eyed at Shen Shiqi.

Shen Shiqi's expression was solemn: "Fellow Daoist!"

Chen Yan's eyes narrowed into slits instantly!
He activated his Qi Observation Technique and stared intently at the boy in front of him!

However, under the Qi Observation Technique, Shen Shiqi's Qi appeared ordinary, just like a normal person, without any trace of cultivation or Daoist ability. Even his body showed no signs of any fluctuation in Yuan Qi!
Chen Yan's wariness: "You..."

Shen Shiqi's voice was solemn, but his voice was noticeably dry and trembling.

"Please, fellow Daoist, help me save my mother, the headmistress's life!"

(End of this chapter)