Chapter 3

"Me!?" Xiao Ze was taken aback, "I'm also going to school, but I haven't decided which university yet. I'm a recommended student, and several universities are competing for me. I'm still considering, still considering."

"Boasting!" Ye Rao immediately pouted, her face full of doubt.

"Xiao Rao, we're here. Why are you so slow with the luggage? Your aunt's car has already arrived." At this moment, a middle-aged woman's voice came from not far away. The voice was extremely pleasant, giving the impression of someone well-mannered. However, she still had the habit of being nagging.

"Oh, I'll be right there," Ye Rao's face immediately filled with a happy smile. She took a few steps but didn't see Xiao Ze following. Turning back, she saw Xiao Ze staring at her in a daze. Her heart raced, and she quickly averted her gaze. Two rosy blushes appeared on her beautiful cheeks, adding to her shy and innocent appearance, making her even more charming.

What a pure girl!

"Do you want to go to the city? My aunt is here to pick me up. Let's go together," Ye Rao invited.

"This is a bit too fast to meet the family. I'm afraid I'll be shy," Xiao Ze, who always thought he had a thin skin, said.

"Vain, if you don't want to, fine." Ye Rao's face immediately turned from sunny to cloudy...

"Sure, sure, sure. With a free ride and a beautiful girl for company, it would be foolish not to. Let me get my luggage," Xiao Ze said, quickly running toward the baggage claim area. However, he didn't see that Ye Rao, being scolded by a middle-aged woman, didn't even dare to lift her head, and then... the car left.

...

"What! Wait for a call! My phone and wallet are in my luggage. What call am I supposed to wait for? How can you work like this? How could you mix up the luggage?" Xiao Ze was speechless. When he arrived at the baggage claim area, he found that only his luggage was left. The most tragic part was that his best suitcase, the one containing all his essential items, was gone!

"Sir, we are truly very sorry. You can leave the phone numbers of your family and friends. Once we find your suitcase, we will contact you immediately. If it is truly lost, there will be a compensation procedure after fifteen working days..." A tall and pretty flight attendant began to explain with a mechanical smile, but Xiao Ze no longer found her beautiful.

"Okay, okay, okay. There's a beautiful girl waiting for me outside. I'll deal with this later." With that, Xiao Ze hurried back, but the beautiful and charming figure was already gone from outside the airport.

After searching back and forth several times, Xiao Ze finally had to face the reality—

"Ye Rao, I'm so handsome, and you stood me up. Is your heart broken?" Xiao Ze roared to the sky!

The only response he got was the surrounding people looking at him as if he were an idiot.

"Damn, just because I'm a bit handsome, is that a crime? Even the heavens are jealous!" From the elation of meeting a beautiful girl to the frustration of losing both the girl and his belongings, the change was too quick. The frustrated Xiao Ze didn't think twice and got into a taxi.

"Stop at any place in Lixia District." Xiao Ze said unhappily.

"Then I'll stop at a budget hotel for you." The taxi driver, who was about forty years old, gave Xiao Ze a strange look and then started the car.

The airport was quite far from the city. After driving for half an hour, they were already in a dark and deserted area. In the quiet of the night, Xiao Ze realized a very serious problem: he had no money left.

He did have six one-yuan coins in his pocket, but Xiao Ze used them as weapons.

Speaking of which, it was either a stroke of luck or fate, a blessing or a curse.

In his sophomore year, he was still a pure young man. One night, he got up to urinate and, seeing a shooting star, foolishly wished to get into a good university. After he finished urinating and made his wish, he opened his eyes to find the shooting star heading straight for him.

Xiao Ze ran, but it was too late. At the last moment, he saw a beam of light, a mix of gray and golden, shooting toward his chest. The light entered his heart, and a strange image flashed in his mind. He lost consciousness before he could see what it was.

When he woke up, he had been in a coma for three days and three nights. A half-black, half-white birthmark appeared on his chest, somewhat resembling a Taiji symbol, though not as neat. From then on, Xiao Ze found his strength increasing, his running speed getting faster, and his reaction time far surpassing that of ordinary people. Even his 350-degree myopia gradually improved until he no longer needed glasses.

No one knew what had happened, but Xiao Ze knew that he was always the star at school sports meets and that he had become increasingly skilled in fighting. He could handle knives, guns, sticks, and even hidden weapons. His highest record was taking down thirteen thugs from outside the school, and he did it with ease and pleasure.

But even with the strength of a bull, Xiao Ze still preferred using coins as weapons. With a mere thought, a powerful force would surge in his fingers, and he could shoot a coin like a bullet with just two fingers. The action was small, the power great, and it was completely undetectable—definitely devious!

This was the legendary Finger Flicking Skill. Xiao Ze often lamented that if he had been born in ancient times, he would have been a formidable martial arts master. Unfortunately, he was born in the wrong era, where martial prowess was no longer a major concern.

Normally, this would be a dream come true, a literal drop of superpowers from the sky! Unfortunately, not long after gaining these abilities, Xiao Ze discovered... they came at a price.

Ever since the light beam hit him, there was always one day each month when a shadowy, blurry figure would chase him. The state was very surreal, and the surroundings were unclear, lacking any sense of reality.

At first, Xiao Ze thought it was a dream and dodged it with a playful attitude. But during one chase, the shadow left five deep blood marks on his arm. When he woke up, he saw the bloody marks on his arm. From then on, Xiao Ze knew this was no joke.

From then on, Xiao Ze began his monthly ordeal. The shadow was extremely punctual, more reliable than a woman's period, never missing a beat, which greatly troubled Xiao Ze.

This situation continued until Xiao Ze returned home... His home and school were in different places, one in the countryside and the other in the county town, quite far apart. When Xiao Ze returned to his hometown, he discovered something amazing—the shadow was two days late!

From then on, Xiao Ze began his escape. If he stayed close, he could only hide for a day or two before being found. This time, he decided to escape far away, directly to Quancheng. Whether this would work, Xiao Ze didn't know, but according to normal calculations, the shadow should have appeared yesterday. However, after the continuous journey, the shadow still hadn't shown up, and the escape seemed to be effective.

Of course, Xiao Ze had another reason for coming to Quancheng. It was to deal with his parents, a matter that brought tears to his eyes just thinking about it.