That night, Chen Xuan’s family prepared a steaming hot pot feast.

Lin Qing’s bowl was never empty, always piled high with food. She accepted everything Chen Xuan’s parents gave her with a big smile, never refusing a single dish.

Moreover, she was quite outgoing, able to chime in on all sorts of topics, making the dinner extremely lively.

It had been a long time since Chen Xuan had enjoyed such a bustling meal.

Not to mention that after the meal, she even insisted on doing the dishes, showing an eagerness that was almost terrifying.

He even wondered if Lin Qing was deliberately trying to make a good impression.

"Are you still working at the fast-food place?" Chen Xuan’s dad asked as the four of them sat chatting in the living room after dinner.

"Yeah." Chen Xuan hesitated for a moment, then nodded. It wasn’t the right time to reveal his own store to the family; for one, he didn’t know how to explain the origin of the Ability Store, and his parents would certainly ask more questions. If they found out there was a significant risk involved, it would only add to their worries.

"Wouldn’t you consider coming back?" he suddenly proposed.

"Huh?" Chen Xuan was taken aback, "Why bring this up all of a sudden? I’ve still got my place rented over there."

"Just let go of that little rent money," his mom chimed in, "Fast-food places are everywhere; there’s no need to insist on Jiang City. It’s so dangerous there... hundreds of people die just like that."

So that’s it, Chen Xuan realized. They weren’t looking down on him for working odd jobs; they were worried he might get caught up in Ability User disasters.

When he quit his corporate job, his family did grumble, and relatives couldn’t understand, but now it was clearly not about career prospects.

"It’s fine; I have a fixed routine, so there’s no chance of going to any dangerous places," Chen Xuan replied nonchalantly, "If you don’t believe me, you can ask Lin Qing."

"Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on him if he tries to go to any dangerous places," Lin Qing said, patting her chest.

"I’ve been worried about you ever since I saw the news," Mom Chen frowned, "Sweetie, those Ability Users don’t care whether the places you work at are safe or not. The incident at Jiang City TV Station is the best example."

Chen Xuan sighed, "Mom, you must understand, awakening abilities aren’t just happening in Jiang City; Ability Users are emerging all over the world. Yue City must have them too. There’s at least a Dimensional Limit Mechanism branch there which can handle superpower crimes immediately, which might not be the case elsewhere."

He never expected to speak positively about the agency one day.

"What if there’s a better job here?" his dad interjected.

"What kind of job?"

"I heard about a teaching position in a company, related to your field."

Chen Xuan froze for a moment. He wasn’t unfamiliar with the concept of company teachers. In essence, some colleges collaborate with enterprises to offer highly specialized courses, like drone photography, live streaming, or online store planning. Because these subjects couldn’t easily find trained teachers, experienced professionals from companies are hired as temporary instructors, and students can intern or apply to these companies, a move to adapt to rapid industry development.

But his family wasn’t in this business, making it unlikely they had arranged a connection. Plus, the way his dad said he "heard" about it gave Chen Xuan an unreliable feeling, "Who did you hear this from?"

"That kid from the Zhao family said he could recommend a job for you. You have Zhao Jin’s number, don’t you? Call and see what he says."

Chen Xuan couldn’t help but twitch his mouth; he knew him, living in the same neighborhood and attending the same school from elementary to high school. Their parents were acquainted too. The problem was, he and Zhao Jin weren’t very close, having only met once at a reunion after college. Why would he suddenly want to help him with a job now?

"Did you tell them about my situation?"

"Oh, your dad didn’t bring it up intentionally," Mom Chen quickly acted as a mediator, "He just bumped into Zhao’s parents while strolling through the neighborhood and casually mentioned your job. You don’t know, they’re doing well now, working as leaders in a big company. If you could become a company teacher, it would be better than working in Jiang City."

Chen Xuan was at a loss whether to cry or laugh.

Although he knew his parents wanted to persuade him to return to his hometown, letting a classmate help him find a job was unexpected. It also convinced him that not telling his parents about the Ability Store was the right choice; otherwise, the entire neighborhood would know.

"Can you just contact him?" Dad Chen looked at him with hope.

Chen Xuan was about to refuse, but Lin Qing nudged him with her toe and subtly shook her head.

After some thought, he agreed, "Alright."

"Get in touch soon. After all, the New Year is approaching," his parents reminded.

"Got it, got it," Chen Xuan replied helplessly.

He could guess Lin Qing’s reason for prompting him. If he managed to get a decent job and also stayed away from the trouble-fraught Jiang City, it would seem like the perfect twofold benefit to his parents. Flatly refusing might appear suspicious.

However, being the manager of the Ability Store was a lifelong commitment.

From what it says, only death could free him from it.

If the main store couldn’t be relocated at will, he’d most likely have to settle in Jiang City for the long term.

Additionally, Chen Xuan knew very well in his heart that even if the "????th Store Manager" wasn’t a color-coded, restricted exchange ability, even if the store wasn’t completely bound to him, he wouldn’t want to give up this job.

While it might not be leisurely and the job content was rather risky, somewhat diverging from his initial laid-back aspirations, he now felt it was his favorite job—lucrative, full of challenges, and quite interesting.

After finishing the conversation and returning to his room, Chen Xuan rummaged through his phone before finally finding Zhao Jin’s number.

He hadn’t spoken in so long that he didn’t know how to start.

Forget it, better to sleep first.

There’s no rush to handle it till tomorrow.

Unexpectedly, just as he put down the phone, it rang.

Chen Xuan picked it up and saw that it was Zhao Jin calling.

Wasn’t that timely?

Timely, my foot! He sighed deeply. Clearly, his parents had tipped off Zhao Jin’s parents again!

But Chen Xuan couldn’t really blame them. In the eyes of the elders, this was a great opportunity to keep him in Yue City. Even if it meant begging, which might seem humiliating, they did it out of concern for him.

He answered the call, "Hello?"

"Chen Xuan? I heard you’re back in Yue City?" Zhao Jin’s voice was somewhat different from how it was in his memory—less soft and much more spirited, with his voice doubled in volume.

"Yes," he deliberately feigned surprise, "How did you know?"

"My old man just told me," Zhao Jin chuckled, "You didn’t come back the past couple of years, but this year you decided to show up? Let’s get together and discuss that work thing."

Since Zhao Jin brought it up himself, it saved Chen Xuan some trouble, "Alright, just let me know when you’re free."

"Hmm... I might not have time tomorrow, how about the day after tomorrow at noon? I’ll book a place where we can eat and have fun, and I’ll invite other classmates as well."

"Other classmates?"

"Yeah, all high school classmates. We meet up almost every year. Don’t you remember? You came along after graduation."

But that was when it was still not long after graduation.

Rather than reconnecting, it was more like saying goodbye to his high school years.

Chen Xuan didn’t have many objections. After all, he would return to Jiang City after the New Year, and meeting up would also fulfill his parents’ wishes. The issue was that Gu Zhaoning also scheduled to meet with him the day after tomorrow.

"I might have plans that day, so I probably won’t be able to make it—"

Chen Xuan was halfway through when Zhao Jin interrupted, "You can’t possibly be busy all day, can you? What sort of job in Yue City needs your constant attention just before the New Year? Besides... just come by, leave if necessary. We have plans for the evening, too, so you can come back after you’re done."

Coming back was out of the question, but the idea of being able to leave anytime did appeal to Chen Xuan.

"Leaving halfway isn’t good, though."

"We’re all classmates, who would mind? Besides, I’m hosting, it’s up to me," Zhao Jin responded indifferently.

Hearing that, he didn’t refuse further, "Since you insist, I’ll have to agree. It’s okay if I bring a friend, right?"

"Sure, bring as many as you like."

"Alright, I’ll wait for your notice," Chen Xuan concluded.

So, the plans for the day after tomorrow were settled.