Welcome to the Ability Shop!

Chapter 215 is not a bad thing
"Hello, hello." Mr. Chen smiled so much his eyes narrowed. "Miss Lin, don't your family have any objections to you not coming home for the New Year?"

“I have no home… I grew up alone since I was a child…” Lin Qing’s eyes dimmed slightly. “Before I met Chen Xuan, I always stayed in the city where I worked and spent the New Year alone.”

"Oh dear, what a question you asked!" Chen's mother glared at him. "I'm sorry, young lady, I've touched on something that hurts you."

"It's nothing, I'm used to it." She raised her head and smiled at the two elders. "So I'm quite happy to be able to come to Yuecheng with Chen Xuan!"

"Wow..." Chen Xuan thought in surprise. "This acting, while not necessarily professional, at least conveyed genuine emotions."

Furthermore, her backstory is quite far-fetched.

But in a sense, she wasn't lying.

In addition, not having a family background is the easiest option.

"Let's go, let's go home first. We can talk in the car," Chen's mother said.

Chen Xuan's home was about a forty-minute drive from the high-speed rail station. His father drove, while his mother chatted non-stop the entire way. Moreover, eight out of ten sentences were related to Lin Qing.

"You met Chen Xuan when you were working at the fast food restaurant?"

“That’s right! When I started working, I didn’t know anything, and he taught me little by little, which saved me a lot of scolding.” Lin Qing nodded. “Later, our shifts often overlapped, and we gradually became friends.”

"Oh, so where did you stay in Jiangcheng?"

"At first, I lived in Shajiang District, but later I moved to Tianlu District and rented a room in the same community as Chen Xuan."

“That’s great…” Chen’s mother’s eyes lit up. “They can take care of each other, and it will be convenient for them to go to work.”

Lin Qing smiled gently, "That's what I was thinking too. Since I became neighbors with Chen Xuan, I haven't been late for work anymore."

"What about before? Where did you go to university?"

"You're probably not a local of Jiangcheng, right... Where do you plan to settle down in the future?"

"What about a job? Working at a fast food restaurant all the time isn't a long-term solution..."

After forty minutes of this "torture," Chen Xuan finally dragged his exhausted body back to his hometown.

He helped Lin Qing carry her luggage into the guest room, closed the door, and said to Lin Qing with a slight apology, "I'm sorry, my mom does talk a lot."

"It's okay, she's a nice person and doesn't reject me at all," Lin Qing said dismissively. "Besides, it's normal to ask more questions; she only asks me these things because she cares. After all, in her eyes, I'm the one who's going to take away her precious son."

Chen Xuan choked on his saliva. "It's fine to act in the car, but when we're alone, please talk to me the way you do in the store."

“Yes, Mr. Manager.” She smiled slyly.

Lin Qing walked around the guest room. "I never expected... that the manager of the ability shop whose reputation has spread to multiple worlds used to live in a place like this."

"What, are you disappointed by how small it is?" Chen Xuan joked. The apartment building he lived in was only seven or eight years old, a ten-story building with an elevator, a standard three-bedroom, two-living room apartment of about 120 square meters, located on the edge of the city's commercial district, which was considered a pretty good place to live in Yuecheng.

"It feels quite cozy." She shook her head. "Take me to see your room."

"Sure, there's nothing much to see anyway."

His bedroom was next to the guest room, and its furnishings were a little more elaborate. In addition to the bed and wardrobe, there was a desk and display shelves, which were filled with old photos and trophies.

The moment Lin Qing stepped inside, her eyes were drawn to the old photographs.

"You were so cute when you were little."

"What do you mean cute? That's called handsome."

“You’re a big shot now, right?” Lin Qing retorted sarcastically. “If you were in our country, you’d be so unsophisticated you’d be unbearable to look at.”

Chen Xuan disagreed, "But my advantage lies in my naturalness."

“Natural things aren’t worth much. And even if truly wealthy people get implants, they’ll use extensive genetic modification techniques to make themselves look no different from natural people.” She examined the photo and commented, “Did you have any extraordinary experiences different from others when you were a child?”

Does consistently ranking at the top of one's class count?

"No, that doesn't count." Lin Qing rolled her eyes. "Isn't there anything more special?"

"I used to be a model student, so... I guess not." Chen Xuan shrugged. "Why are you asking this?" "I was wondering why you became the manager of the Ability Shop... or is it that this ability was really awakened randomly?"

"The devil knows."

Chen Xuan did not tell the other person about the strange dreams he often had as a child.

In fact, he had never had that dream again since the store never materialized, so much so that his memory of it was somewhat hazy when he tried to recall it now.

Speaking of awakening abilities... recently, more and more people with abilities have indeed emerged in Jiangcheng and even across the country.

Perhaps, as the dimensional mechanism explains, the expansion of the intrusion point leads to more frequent awakening phenomena.

The problem is that while he was dreaming, the mechanism was still hidden underwater, and his superpowers were nothing but wishful thinking.

Chen Xuan had also considered whether it was a memory imposed on him by some mysterious outsider.

However, this dream is not static.

It changes as its understanding changes... For example, the items in the glass display case, the appearance of the light bulb... even the coffee machine appeared later.

This dream seemed to accompany him as he grew up, until the day the tin box on the bar was opened.

Just as he was reminiscing about this incredible experience, his cell phone suddenly rang in his pocket.

Upon seeing the number, Chen Xuan was somewhat surprised.

"Hey?"

"Dr. Chen, I'm sorry to bother you. Are you still in Jiangcheng?" A soft voice came from the receiver.

The other party was Gu Zhaoning.

Lin Qing's ears perked up as well.

"I've already gone back to my hometown, what's up?" Chen Xuan asked curiously. He usually only received messages from the other person on WeChat and rarely called.

"Well, I have a friend... named Su Xingwan." Gu Zhaoning explained her situation in a soft voice.

In short, this friend hasn't been feeling well lately and has had people at the Northern Heavenly Academy examine him, but they couldn't find anything wrong. Gu Zhaoning has a good personal relationship with him, so she directly recommended Chen Xuan. After some persistent pleading, Su Xingwan finally agreed to take some time to see the miracle doctor her friend had mentioned.

"Uh..." Chen Xuan scratched his head. How come his side hustle is getting more and more popular? Now people are even recommending it to him.

Could it be another curse?
Although Beitian Hospital, in conjunction with the disease control department, had taken in the vast majority of patients, it could not guarantee that none of them would be missed.

"It's no problem to conduct a separate investigation, but I won't be able to return to Jiangcheng until after the New Year."

"It's alright! How could we trouble you to run around like this!" Gu Zhaoning quickly said, "As long as you agree, we can come to Yuecheng ourselves."

"you?"

"She was afraid to come alone and needed me to accompany her," the other person chuckled. "Besides, I also wanted to find an opportunity to thank you. Since you can't come to Shanghai, I can go to your place!"

Chen Xuan felt embarrassed to refuse after being addressed with such polite language.

"Alright then, but I must state first that I cannot guarantee a cure."

“I know that. You are a great doctor, but not a god. My friend is not the kind of person who would make trouble unreasonably, so you can rest assured,” Gu Zhaoning assured him confidently.

The two then agreed to meet three days later.

After hanging up the phone, Chen Xuan looked at Lin Qing and shrugged helplessly. "I didn't contact her first. Besides, if it really could save someone—"

"I didn't ask you to refuse." Lin Qing smiled and said, "Actually, it would be good for you to develop a relationship with her."

What kind of talk is that? She didn't say that before.

"What, now you think there's a possibility between me and the daughter of Dingsheng Pharmaceuticals?"

“That would be strange!” she scoffed. “What are you thinking? I was just reminding you that this company has a very close working relationship with government agencies. But now that I think about it… if you can gain her trust, you might be able to gather intelligence on Dingsheng Pharmaceuticals through her, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.”

(End of this chapter)