HRMCF Chapter 1

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🍋‍🟩 Completed Chapter

The lights at the park basketball court lit up the four corners brightly. A group of people of varying ages were playing a nighttime game.

Outside the net, a crowd had gathered to cool off and watch the action. Every now and then, someone would cheer, especially a few kids on rollerblades—their shoes sparking with tiny flashes of light, gripping the net and shouting excitedly, turning the scene into something like a mini nightclub.

Accompanied by a long cheer, the basketball swooshed cleanly into the hoop—a perfect swish.

The scorer was a tall guy. His body leaned back lightly as he landed, and under the fluttering edge of his jersey, faint abs flashed into view.

Amid the boiling cheers, a female voice called out from some unknown direction, “Handsome guy——,” triggering another round of hoots and laughter.

The guy didn’t turn his head toward the sound, just laughed along, his expression calm and unbothered.

After playing for half an hour, Shen Yan finally came off the court. He grabbed a towel from the bench to wipe his sweat, downed more than half a bottle of water in one go, and felt his parched throat ease. It felt like days of bottled-up frustration had been washed away.

Awesome.

He hadn't played ball in over half a month. Coming out for a game like this? So satisfying.

Screw it. It’s not like it’s the end of the world—life goes on.

Crushing his water bottle, Shen Yan watched another goal go in on the court. He clapped hard and shouted, “Beautiful!”

After the pickup game dispersed, Shen Yan waved goodbye to the others and walked home with his bag slung over one shoulder.

It was around 8 or 9 PM, prime time for people on the streets. After walking around hunched and sneaky like a thief for over a month, Shen Yan had had enough of feeling pathetic. He walked with his head high, bold and fearless.

Fortunately, he was pretty tall, so his line of sight was naturally above most others. With his chin raised like this, there weren’t many people who could meet his eyes directly.

Occasionally—“smack”—two pairs of eyes would meet.

Shen Yan stayed cool, completely composed, and moved his gaze away expressionlessly.

Didn’t see anything. Doesn’t matter. Don’t overthink it.

These nine words ran through his head, and Shen Yan quietly exhaled before striding forward again, full of unbothered swagger.

His apartment complex was just across the street from the park. After all that mental preparation, Shen Yan was walking more smoothly now, even powerfully, wind in his step as he entered the building. He almost kicked the security guard’s dog downstairs.

The dog was fine—just startled. It slipped around a little, then barked at Shen Yan twice.

“Sorry, scared you there.” Shen Yan squatted down to apologize. The dog didn’t hold a grudge. As soon as he squatted, it happily trotted over.

After petting the fluffy dog head a couple times, Shen Yan casually teased, “Jenny, huh? Is that your girlfriend?”

The mutt blinked its big round eyes and tilted its head, all innocence and confusion. The name Jenny hovered above its head and slid down like a slide as it tilted.

The dog technically belonged to the building’s security guard, but it was more like the mascot of the building. No one really knew its breed—a mix, probably. Small in size, yellow fur all over, quiet and well-behaved. It would often just sprawl in the shadows of the hallway and stay silent for hours, incredibly cute and obedient. Its watery eyes stared at people like a baby deer’s. Shen Yan was its biggest fan, always bringing meat snacks for it.

“Didn’t bring anything today,” Shen Yan said while rubbing its tummy. “Too much is bad for your health.”

The dog rested its head on the ground, looking surprisingly obedient.

After confirming no one was around in the hallway, Shen Yan chatted with the dog for five minutes, about anything and everything. By the time he finished, he felt mentally refreshed and emotionally unburdened. He said goodbye to the dog, thinking he really ought to do something nice for such a smart little guy.

“Jenny the dog?” Shen Shen cracked open a cold beer and raised an eyebrow at his little brother. “What happened, did a dog bite you?”

“No,” Shen Yan, fresh out of the shower and completely relaxed, ignored the name Chiba Riko floating over his brother’s head. “Just doing a friend a favor.”

“A friend’s favor?” Shen Shen took a sip and squinted. “Your friend got bitten by a dog?”

“No one got bit. Just ask in the building group chat, that’s all.”

Shen Shen nodded, indicating he’d do it.

Shen Yan silently turned to leave but paused. Looking at the name bouncing above his brother’s head as he drank, he figured maybe he should care about more than just the dog.

“Bro.”

“Yeah?”

“Gotta tell you something.”

“Shoot.”

Once he was sure his brother had swallowed his beer, Shen Yan calmly said:

“Take care of your health. Maybe watch less porn at night.”

“…Get lost!”

Shen Yan had finally come to terms with his reality.

If fate had made him this way, then so be it.

He had even asked his brother if there was any family history of unusual conditions. He asked so tactfully that Shen Shen thought he had cancer or something—shaking him and demanding to know what kind of bad test result he’d gotten.

Shen Yan: “No, it’s not a normal illness. I mean…” He gritted his teeth and decided to go all in. “Like mutant powers.”

Shen Shen was stunned speechless.

Judging from that reaction, Shen Yan knew he was alone in this.

Life was lonely like snow; he was apparently the only mutant in the whole family.

During that time, Shen Yan dove into online webnovels, devouring every mutation and superpower story he could find.

In the books, the protagonists who awakened abilities either soared to greatness and slapped everyone’s faces, or dramatically revealed their god-level powers and made everyone kneel to them.

They’d start off as supreme beings, dominate the world, punch planets into dust, rule the universe, and even beat up deities like the Jade Emperor, God, Jesus, and Cthulhu.

Novels made that life look glorious, but Shen Yan felt no comfort from them.

One book started with the protagonist awakening a so-called “useless” healing ability.

Shen Yan was furious.

That’s weak? Some people really don’t know how good they have it.

After reading dozens more, Shen Yan came to a grim realization—there wasn’t a single reference point for his own ability.

At first, he didn’t understand what the names floating above people’s heads meant when he made eye contact with them.

Credit for the realization went to his brother.

His brother changed his anime waifu every two days, each one a top trending character from the month’s hottest hentai. To figure out the time limits of the power, Shen Yan had even snuck into his brother’s room at night to wake him up—and the moment their eyes met, he watched the name above his brother’s head refresh with a brand-new Japanese name.

Leaving his dazed brother behind, Shen Yan walked out of the bedroom thinking his life was officially over.

How was he supposed to make eye contact with people now?

He could see who everyone had fantasized about the night before—what the hell kind of power was that?

Other people awakened abilities to conquer the world. He got one that ensured total social death.

He barely left the house for an entire month. His skin turned two shades paler.

Eventually, Shen Yan reminded himself that life couldn't be ruled by bad luck. In the second half of the summer, he mustered the courage to go out.

Powered by the belief that he’d “died socially, but not completely,”—and since nobody else knew about his ability—Shen Yan decided to face the world head-on.

Didn’t see anything. Doesn’t matter. Don’t overthink it.

Just act like everything is normal. Maybe one day he’ll turn back to normal.

He put on a cap and went for a morning run. As he passed the hallway, he tossed the dog a piece of meat jerky.

“You’re really loyal, huh.”

Petting its head, Shen Yan’s fingers passed through the floating Jenny. “My brother says no dog named Jenny lives in this building. So where’d you meet her? Why so stuck on her?”

The dog couldn’t answer. Shen Yan had no choice. After a few more head pats, he left.

He could talk to the dog just fine, but when it came to people, he avoided eye contact whenever he could. He didn’t want to violate anyone’s privacy.

His brother wasn’t a big deal. But for others—better not to look.

After a few laps around the park, Shen Yan began to feel like himself again.

Once he’d come to terms with it, it wasn’t that big of a deal. Just pretend he saw nothing. Life goes on. He hadn’t moved much lately, and his bones were starting to feel rusty.

The hard beat of his music made his stride stronger and more relaxed. Breathing in the park’s fresh air, Shen Yan lifted his head. His gaze became calm again.

“Jenny—stop—stop—”

Ahead, a slim girl was holding back a dog on a leash. Shen Yan slowed and looked back when he heard the familiar name.

The girl had already stopped. The dog at the end of the leash had a black face and erect ears, its fur glistening like ink. As if sensing his gaze, it suddenly whipped around—sharp and alert—staring at Shen Yan, making his heart skip a beat.

A German shepherd? That thing’s huge!

Even sitting, it looked well over half a meter tall. Shen Yan was stunned.

“Alright, Jenny, let’s go home.”

The girl looked a little embarrassed as she pulled the dog away, stopping it from sniffing around Shen Yan.

Shen Yan stood frozen, watching the massive shepherd walk off before snapping out of it.

Must be a coincidence. Same name, that’s all.

There’s no way that’s the only dog named Jenny.

When he got back downstairs, the lazy little mutt perked up like never before, barking and sniffing around Shen Yan’s legs excitedly.

The Jenny above its head bounced up and down. The short legs energetically leapt at his knees.

Shen Yan: “…”

Wow.

Dream big. Everyone deserves that.

As for the little dog’s dream, Shen Yan couldn’t really help. He promised to bring extra jerky tomorrow and quickly fled the scene.

At 9 a.m., Shen Shen had already left for work. Shen Yan took a shower and grabbed his phone for an international call.

When the call connected, he tossed the phone on the table and dried his hair.

“What time’s your flight landing tomorrow?”

The voice on the other end chuckled, with a teasing tone.

“3 a.m. Come get me.”

“Hell no, that’s too late. Take a cab.”

“Up to you.”

Neither of them was the polite type. Shen Yan paused drying his hair.

“So how was it? You done digesting the imperialist sugar-coated bullets?”

“Sugar-coated bullets?”

Zhao Linsu laughed self-deprecatingly. “Came here to be exploited. Up earlier than chickens, sleeping later than dogs.”

Shen Yan chuckled. “You’re the one who fought for that exchange program. Who else to blame?”

Exchange programs sounded fancy but were a brutal grind. Shen Yan never planned on doing one. He just wanted to relax over the summer. After grinding through high school, he thought college would be easier—but it was still cutthroat. Rare chance to rest, so why not play more ball, game a little?

Too bad this summer wasn’t restful for him either.

He sighed.

Now it was Zhao Linsu’s turn to laugh.

Even without seeing his annoyingly smug face, just hearing his voice was enough to make you want to punch him.

“Stop dodging. You really just wanna know if I ran into Tang Yi, right?”

Shen Yan nearly choked.

“Screw you. I don’t need you to tell me about her. I have her on WeChat.”

“Then message her.”

“For what? To congratulate her on her engagement?”

Zhao Linsu chuckled again.

“So you do know.”

Shen Yan fell silent for a moment. “She didn’t block me. Of course I know.”

That long, knowing laugh came again. It was enough to make Shen Yan snap, embarrassed and annoyed.

“F*** off. Laugh at your own damn dad.” He hung up.

After furiously rubbing his hair some more, Shen Yan felt a pang of regret.

He never should’ve told that bastard he liked Tang Yi.

That one comment gave the guy two years of ammo.

Damn it. Just wait—now he had superpowers.

What goes around comes around.

If he ever found out who Zhao Linsu fantasized about…

He’d laugh him to death!