Chapter 3: Calamity Without Cause

There was a note of delight in Zhang Xin’s voice.

She had already confirmed that the tall, slender young man before her, with his slightly tanned skin, buzz cut, and remarkably bright eyes, was indeed the delivery boy who had rescued Hanh Hanh the night before.

Zhang Xin hurried forward, her delicate, fair hand extended in greeting, a smile lighting up her face. “Hello, I’m Zhang Xin!”

The beauty stood close, a faint, pleasant fragrance drifting from her – whether it was her natural scent or perfume, he could not tell.

Chen Xian gazed at the lovely girl, momentarily dazed; this was the first time such a beautiful girl had ever initiated conversation with him.

By now, many students nearby had paused to watch. Wherever a beauty went, she drew eyes, and Zhang Xin was of the campus goddess level.

The male students looked at Chen Xian with a mix of envy, hostility, and jealousy.

“Damn, that’s our campus goddess Zhang! Why is she taking the initiative to talk to a guy?”

“Who’s that skinny, dark guy? What’s his background? How did he win Zhang’s favor?”

“I’m so jealous – that guy actually gets to shake hands and make friends with Zhang!”

The onlookers muttered in hushed voices.

“Hello!” Zhang Xin, long accustomed to being the center of attention, noticed the young man lost in thought and smiled, continuing gently.

Chen Xian snapped back to reality, his cheeks tinged with red, perhaps from shyness. He wiped his hands vigorously on his clothes before politely taking the girl’s small, smooth hand in his own. The soft warmth sent a tremor through him.

“Hello, my name is Chen Xian,” he replied, somewhat bashfully.

“Chen Xian, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Zhang Xin looked at him and continued, “Thank you so much for last night. If it hadn’t been for your help, my little niece Hanh Hanh would have been in danger. My sister-in-law and I would like to express our gratitude by inviting you to dinner tonight at 5 o’clock at Grand Mansion Hotel. I’ll come to pick you up after class.”

“It was nothing, you really don’t need to treat me to dinner,” Chen Xian declined.

He had planned to deliver food and earn some extra money after school that evening.

He hadn’t expected anything in return from saving the little girl named Hanh Hanh.

Hearing this, Zhang Xin appeared a bit displeased. All the other boys begged her for a meal and she never agreed; now she was the one inviting Chen Xian to dinner as thanks, yet he was refusing.

This Chen Xian really…

“You have to come, or my sister-in-law will blame me for failing to do such a simple thing as treating our benefactor to dinner.” Zhang Xin’s face took on a look of grievance, her eyes watery and pitiful.

Chen Xian could not bear to see a girl like this, and his heart softened. Almost involuntarily, he nodded.

Seeing his agreement, Zhang Xin’s stunning face lit up with another dazzling smile. “I’ll pick you up at the entrance to the residential area at 4:30 after class. Let’s add each other on WeChat, so it’s easy to contact you.”

Chen Xian reached for his phone in his pocket.

But Zhang Xin had already pulled out the latest high-end smartphone to add him on WeChat.

Chen Xian glanced at her phone – worth over ten thousand yuan, far beyond what an ordinary student could afford. He hesitated, his hand on the cheap counterfeit phone in his pocket, and finally let go.

His cheeks reddened further as he withdrew his hand, saying awkwardly, “Sorry, Zhang, I… I left my phone in the dorm.”

“That’s okay. Just tell me your WeChat ID and add me later,” Zhang Xin replied, her beautiful eyes flashing as she glanced at his slightly bulging pocket.

Chen Xian recited his WeChat ID to her.

Zhang Xin jotted it down on her phone, glancing once more at his pocket, but did not immediately send a friend request.

“All right, Chen Xian, I’ll see you this evening then. Don’t stand me up. Goodbye!” Zhang Xin waved, her mesmerizing smile lingering.

“Goodbye,” Chen Xian replied.

As he spoke, under the jealous, resentful glares of the surrounding boys, Chen Xian jogged toward the electric bike parking area to begin his food deliveries, his steps unconsciously light.

“Damn it, is there any justice in the world? The campus goddess actually invited that guy to dinner?”

“My goddess Zhang, and she even said ‘Don’t stand me up’…”

He could hear the anguished cries of boys behind him, and the corners of his mouth twitched into a faint smile.

Of course, Chen Xian knew that Zhang Xin’s invitation was purely to express her thanks. He dared not harbor any improper thoughts about her.

After all, the gulf between them was too great – Zhang Xin was the heiress of a major corporation worth hundreds of millions, while he was just a poor college student struggling to make ends meet.

A toad lusting after a swan was nothing but self-delusion.

He reached the parking garage, and his phone chimed with a WeChat notification. Suddenly remembering something, Chen Xian let out a long sigh of relief.

“Good thing Zhang Xin didn’t try to add me right away earlier, or my excuse about leaving my phone in the dorm would have been exposed!” His face flushed with embarrassment.

He took out his phone to see a friend request from Zhang Xin.

Upon accepting, she immediately messaged him: “See you at the residential area entrance at 4:30.”

“Kid, you sure have guts, trying to hit on Zhang Xin!”

Before Chen Xian could reply, a group of burly young men strode into the parking garage toward him, led by a muscular youth with a brush cut.

They radiated hostility.

Chen Xian put away his phone, nervously looking at them. “Lan Chao, what do you want?”

The leader, Lan Chao, was a basketball athlete from the Physical Education Department at H Provincial University of Technology. The others behind him were also athletes.

Chen Xian had heard from his roommates that Lan Chao came from a wealthy family that ran a hotel chain and was something of a campus bully.

Not long ago, Lan Chao had broken another boy’s leg and settled the matter with some cash. He was also known to be one of Zhang Xin’s suitors.

“What do I want? I’m here to teach you a lesson!” Lan Chao sneered. “You need to know that some people are not for the likes of you to covet!”

With that, his large hand shot toward Chen Xian’s head.

Earlier, Lan Chao had seen Zhang Xin invite Chen Xian to dinner at the school gate and had nearly exploded with rage, feeling his territory encroached upon.

Chen Xian tried to dodge, but there was no time. Instinctively, he raised his hand to block.

Slap!

Lan Chao’s palm struck Chen Xian’s wrist hard.

Yet, Chen Xian felt no pain, even though the blow should have hurt given Lan Chao’s strength.

Puzzled, he looked at his arm and saw a red vortex swirling at the point of contact, slowly rotating as thin streams of red energy were drawn in, an eerie sight.

At the same time, Chen Xian felt a warm current flow from his arm up to his shoulder, then his neck, and finally into his mind.

He closed his eyes instinctively. There was a faint roar in his mind, and again he saw that misty space with the strange tree.

Streams of red energy poured into the roots, and the transparent parts of the trunk began to turn crimson and solidify.

“Damn, you dare fight back?” Seeing how easily Chen Xian blocked his blow, Lan Chao flew into a rage and began punching and kicking him.

He seemed completely oblivious to the red vortex on Chen Xian’s arm.

Chen Xian opened his eyes to find red vortices swirling all over his body, each absorbing red energy wherever Lan Chao struck him.

Each vortex appeared at the point of attack.

“These red vortices are absorbing the energy from external attacks and channeling it into that strange tree in my mind!” Chen Xian thought in amazement as he watched the bizarre scene.

“My god, this ability to absorb attack energy – how overpowered is that?”

“Am I about to become a superman? No, not even Superman could do this.”

“I wonder if there’s a limit to how much energy these vortices can absorb?”

“And when the whole tree turns red and solid, what will happen?”

“Are those fruits as mysterious as devil fruits?”

For a moment, Chen Xian’s blood surged with excitement. Not only was he unafraid, but he even looked forward to seeing the entire tree turn crimson and solid.

“Lan Chao, did you skip breakfast? That strength isn’t even enough to tickle me!” Chen Xian taunted deliberately.

He wanted Lan Chao and his crew to hit him harder, to speed up the transformation of the strange tree in his mind and see what would happen.

“Screw you, brothers, get him! Break his arms and legs!” Lan Chao roared.

Chen Xian’s words had deeply offended him.

At once, Lan Chao’s cronies rushed to surround and beat the skinny Chen Xian.

They weren’t worried about getting in trouble – Lan Chao had money and connections, and if they crippled a poor delivery boy like Chen Xian, compensation would settle it.

Yet, Chen Xian felt no pain, only a comfortable warmth as streams of energy flowed through his body.

And in his mind, the strange tree’s transparent parts were rapidly turning red and solid…