Chapter 8: Tianxuan Club

The next day.

Yu Lin went to collect that bonus.

It was unclear whether it was his threat yesterday or the Civil Affairs Bureau behind Su Qu that acted.

In short, the process of collecting it was quick, even skipping the customary reporter interview.

Just one night.

He went from a penniless kid to a billionaire with over a hundred million lying in his account.

What ordinary people call a miracle is nothing more than this.

"Mr. Yu, this is your property certificate......."

"Mr. Yu, the new furniture........."

"Mr. Yu........."

When the time came to evening.

【Welcome to the evening news】

【Yesterday's welfare lottery.......... busted major corruption........... our station's reporter continues to follow up】

Yu Lin sat on the sofa of his new home, after watching this evening news.

He picked up his phone and transferred an extra year's rent to the landlord.

Although the landlord urged him for rent, he also allowed him to delay three months, for which he felt grateful.

In response to the landlord's query about where he was moving, he casually gave two excuses, then opened the message box of his homeroom teacher Yang Yuren.

He learned from him.

Yu Lin's score of 600 ranked him among the top thirty in the school, so the school prepared a 3,000-yuan bonus for him to collect as an outstanding graduate.

If it were before, he would certainly have gone; his monthly rent was only eight hundred, and this three thousand would be enough to pay his rent.

Now then..........

Naturally, he declined.

He casually found an excuse about tutoring that kept him busy, and Yang Yuren believed it.

After all, this sort of thing isn't rare.

"I'm hungry."

Yu Lin suffers from a bit of decision‑making difficulty.

So he opened a food‑delivery app, closed his eyes, and picked a restaurant.

While waiting for delivery.

He decided to take a shower first to refresh himself.

It felt like night had come, or perhaps the bathroom was in the cool, shaded part of the house.

So the temperature inside was pleasantly cool, leading Yu Lin, who had intended to take a cold shower, to ultimately choose a warm one.

Yu Lin closed his eyes as warm water poured down from the showerhead.

The scent of shampoo filled the bathroom, white foam sliding slowly down his black hair.

He was massaging his scalp when he suddenly noticed something odd—a cool sensation gently combing through his wet hair.

That sensation was too real.

Slender fingertips, slick with water, massaged his scalp with just the right pressure.

Yu Lin's motion froze; foam slid down his brow and, just before it would reach his eyes, was wiped away by a strange hand.

He jerked his eyes open.

Water droplets trembled on his lashes; in his blurred vision, a hazy figure stood in the rising steam.

It was a woman—if one could call her a 'person'.

Her skin was a semi‑translucent porcelain white, as if condensed from the purest spring water.

Her jet‑black hair spread like a living thing in the water, the tips floating and creating tiny whorls.

"Who...... are you?"

Yu Lin frowned.

He had no information about this woman in his memory.

The woman tilted her head slightly, causing a few strands of wet hair to stick to her cheeks.

She lifted her hand, tucked the strands behind her ear, and her fingertips brought up a string of crystal‑clear water droplets.

When her fingers touched his face again, he felt not surprise but an instinctive shudder—as if standing at the edge of a bottomless lake.

He felt he could be swallowed at any moment!

"Little brother, the water temperature......." Her voice sounded like a stream lightly kissing pebbles:

"Still comfortable?"

Only then did Yu Lin notice that the bathroom water had somehow become unusually soft; each droplet seemed endowed with life, gently enveloping his skin.

He instinctively stepped back, his back hitting the cold tiles.

"Who the hell are you?! Are you from the Civil Affairs Bureau?!"

"Heh." The woman gave a light laugh.

"I'm not with the Civil Affairs Bureau; working for others—where's the comfort in being your own boss?"

"Let me introduce myself."

"President of the Tianxuan Club—Ning Ya, Yu Shui Authority."

Perhaps fearing Yu Lin wouldn't believe she was friend not foe, she stepped back a few steps and lightly sat on the washbasin.

"Don't worry, I won't do anything to you."

On the contrary, I came to invite you to join us.

Yu Lin casually grabbed a towel and wrapped it around himself, seeing her stare at him without blinking.

"You used to invite people like this?"

"Of course not; those guys aren't worth me doing that. I'm a very snobbish and realistic person."

"...... I also don't think I'm worth you doing that."

"No, you are worth it."

Ning Ya smiled faintly: "Second Sequence No. 02 Heavenly Authority—Awakener of Heavenly Fortune."

"Don't even mention me personally inviting you; even if I married you, I'd be willing........ How about it? Want to consider it?"

She licked her lips, looking very tempting.

Yu Lin, however, had no such thought at all, merely furrowing his brow slightly.

"How do you know?"

"Those guys from the Civil Affairs Bureau don't even know if they're raising ghosts at home."

"Aren't you afraid I'll tell them?"

"Not afraid; they also have people in our club. Although I don't know who, planting moles in each other...... is that hard to understand?"

"You're playing Infernal Affairs, huh........"

Yu Lin showed a thoughtful expression:

"I need to think it over."

"Sure." Ning Ya got down from the washbasin, stretched, and smiled faintly.

"To be honest, I really want to just kidnap you back and have things progress........"

"But who made you awaken as Heavenly Fortune? A few hundred years ago, you'd at least be an emperor."

"Heaven itself is backing you........"

A hint of regret appeared on her face, showing she indeed wanted to directly capture Yu Lin.

She waved her hand.

Water droplets condensed on the wall into a string of numbers.

"This is my personal contact number; call me when you've figured it out."

"Anytime works~"

"For you, I can give up my beauty sleep~"

Ning Ya threw a seductive glance at Yu Lin, then the body formed from condensed water droplets exploded with a bang.

It felt as if she had come from the future.

Yu Lin wiped the water off his face and muttered:

"I never expected that the first encounter would be a beauty scheme........"

"Hiss, this is troublesome."

"State meals and private enterprises........ Su Qu will come later; what should we say?"

Yu Lin's brows were tightly knit just as he was thinking of a solution.

The bathroom door was knocked:

"Yu Lin, have you decided?"