Haoyun, due to his acceptance into Rongjin City National University, embarked on a solitary journey to the western part of Hua Country since the age of eighteen. By his third year of university, Haoyun had become a senior barista at Moonrise Coffee in Rongjin City, earning a monthly income of over ten thousand.
Fueled by his passion for coffee, after graduating, Haoyun immediately opened a diversified tea shop near the university specializing in milk tea, coffee, and pastries. Because both his beverages and food were delicious and reasonably priced, his tea shop thrived, earning him hundreds of thousands in pure profit within a short period.
Seeing the booming market around university campuses, Haoyun decided to expand further. He invested in several tea shops near universities in Rongjin City, intending to establish his own tea brand chain on the foundation of his existing shop.
Haoyun's business plan progressed smoothly, with several tea shops ready for operation. Now, awaiting the end of the university winter break and the return of bustling markets around the campuses, Haoyun could take further steps towards his grand vision for the tea brand chain.
However, fate had other plans. A sudden global weather disaster struck, causing extreme weather events such as typhoons and heavy snowfall worldwide. Like many areas, Rongjin City, with its multiple river branches, suffered severe flooding from continuous heavy rain, leading to inundation of numerous city areas.
Worse yet, the flooding directly caused many viruses to mutate, posing a significant threat to public health. To cope with the flooding and the outbreak of various mutant secondary infectious diseases, Rongjin City entered a state of emergency. Many residents chose to minimize outdoor activities to avoid burdening disaster relief efforts. Places with dense populations like universities extended their holidays to ensure students' safety.
With delayed school openings and reduced outdoor dining, Haoyun's newly opened tea shops faced significant challenges. Although his shops operated on a small scale, the capital he invested in opening several shops nearly depleted. Therefore, with the tea shops struggling to turn a profit due to decreased foot traffic, Haoyun reluctantly returned to Moonrise Coffee to sustain both his tea shops and his daily expenses.
Haoyun knew this wasn't a long-term solution. Soon, his funds would no longer support the daily expenses of several shops. The tea shops he invested in might have to close shortly after opening their doors.
Unfortunately, as the saying goes, "Misfortunes never come singly, and fortunes never come in pairs."
Just as Haoyun was exhausted from worrying about his tea shops, his girlfriend of several years suddenly left him. Due to the rare snow disaster during her visit to her hometown, which caused severe damage to the city's infrastructure and facilitated the spread of various mutant infectious diseases, she couldn't return to Rongjin City for some time for safety reasons.
So, Haoyun's girlfriend, persuaded by her family, found a temporary job in her hometown. However, unexpectedly, it was this job that reunited her with her first love. As a result, not only did their old feelings reignite, but they also officially got married less than three months later, just yesterday.
And then came today, with Haoyun learning about his ex-girlfriend's marriage to someone else while facing the difficult decision of whether to close two of his tea shops. He had intended to ease his mind by the river but accidentally stepped on feces and fell into the icy water.
As the story reached this point, Haoyun couldn't help but grit his teeth and sigh in frustration, "Sigh! I might as well change my name to Haomisfortune! What luck! Good luck, my foot!"
The old man listened calmly to Haoyun's story, then adjusted his expression and patted Haoyun's shoulder, saying, "Haoyun, right? My friend, I've long seen that you possess a unique constitution, with a gloomy aura and signs of misfortune. You're a natural-born unlucky fellow! So, how about becoming my partner, assisting me in vanquishing evil spirits, continuing to attract misfortune and blessings, and safeguarding this world together? Shall we embark on this ultimate journey?"
Haoyun widened his eyes incredulously, looking at the old man, "Are you kidding me? Are you trying to comfort me? What kind of comfort is this? Aren't you just cursing me?"
The old man innocently claimed his sincerity, insisting that he genuinely wanted Haoyun to join him.
Haoyun raised an eyebrow skeptically, "Old man, are you... okay up there? Maybe we should have the doctors check your brain while we're here at the hospital?"
Ignoring Haoyun's remark, the old man continued, "Hey, could you be a bit more serious? I genuinely feel that we're fated to meet, and I sincerely invite you."
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Then, glancing around cautiously and ensuring that no one was paying attention to them, the old man leaned in and whispered mysteriously to Haoyun, "To be honest, I'm a divine official! Do you know what that is? It's like your concept of a celestial bureaucrat."
Haoyun shifted away from the old man, giving him a look that said, "Are you messing with me?" and asked, "Are you serious? Are you saying all this with a straight face? Did you hit your head when we fell into the river earlier? Do you need me to knock some sense into you?"
Rolling his eyes at Haoyun's words, the old man retorted, "Far from it! I conducted a simple test based on your recent string of misfortunes and found that you truly are a natural-born candidate for misfortune. Since fate brought you to step on my feces and our fall into the river brought us closer, I decided to share this secret with you, so you don't waste your life!"
After a long and cryptic monologue that Haoyun couldn't comprehend, the old man reclined with an air of a sage gazing at the ceiling. Haoyun, restraining his urge to punch the annoying old man, begrudgingly muttered, "Fine, believe what you want! I'm just having a bad day! Bring me my clothes later, and let's part ways. I don't want to see you again!"
With that, Haoyun turned away, ignoring the apparently mentally unstable old man.
After a minute or so, Haoyun suddenly heard the old man loudly reciting behind him, "Haoyun, male, 25 years old, from Beidu City. Current address: Room 803, Building 2, Huanchenghe Garden, East Sanjie, Huanchenghe Road, Rongjin City. Ex-girlfriend from Beidu City. Separated at 10:07 a.m., three months ago."
"What are you talking about? Why—" Haoyun turned back, astonished, to the old man.
The old man continued to read aloud without paying any attention to Haoyun's protests, "Haoyun's first stroke of bad luck occurred at three years old. While watching others set off firecrackers at his doorstep, he was hit on the head by a skyrocket and needed two stitches. As a result, there's still a faint scar on the left side of your forehead. The second incident happened when you were six years old, in first grade. You had a sudden urge to pee and, without paying attention to the signs on the wall, accidentally entered the women's restroom, where you encountered a female teacher. After your mother found out, she gave you a good beating, leading to a lasting trauma regarding women's restrooms. Your third stroke of bad luck—"
"Enough! Shut up! Don't say another word!" Haoyun forcefully pushed the old man away, his voice filled with frustration.
Under Haoyun's strong demand, the old man finally closed his mouth. However, by this time, several other patients in the public ward had cast curious glances at Haoyun upon hearing his outburst. Especially a middle-aged woman in her forties, who, upon hearing the story of Haoyun entering the women's restroom, immediately looked wary and shot Haoyun a sidelong glance. Then, she tightened her collar, got up, and moved to a different bed further away to receive her infusion. Haoyun wanted to explain, but he feared making matters worse and being mistaken for a pervert. Moreover, he didn't know how to explain, as the incidents the old man mentioned were indeed vivid memories of his childhood mishaps.
Haoyun leaned close to the old man, nervously whispering, "How did you know about these things? Who are you exactly? What do you want? Do you believe I'll call the police?"
The old man shrugged indifferently. "How did I know? Isn't it all written down? Especially regarding your misfortunes, it's all clearly recorded."
As he spoke, the old man pointed to something in his outstretched palm.
Frowning, Haoyun approached and saw that the old man was holding a piece of paper no larger than his hand. Yes, that's right. It was just a blank sheet of paper. However, upon closer inspection, Haoyun noticed something peculiar. This blank sheet of paper actually displayed a 3D model of himself, dressed exactly as he was now, with many accompanying texts detailing key information about him. Despite the small size of the paper, Haoyun could still read every character on it.
However, those characters were composed of strange symbols Haoyun had never seen before, so without hearing the old man's reading, he would have had no idea what the paper said.
"What is this? It looks like a piece of paper but also like an ultra-thin handheld computer. It seems pretty high-tech!" Haoyun asked curiously in a hushed tone.
"Who exactly are you?" Haoyun didn't wait for the old man to answer before bombarding him with questions.
The old man glanced around quickly, ensuring that no one in the room was paying attention to them, then mysteriously whispered, "I am a divine official, specialized in capturing mold spirit energy. This display screen is just a system I disguised to show you. According to the rules, I can't directly show the upper realm's system to beings in the lower realm."
With that, the old man slightly withdrew his hand holding the paper. Then, Haoyun saw the strange paper rapidly shrink before disappearing into the old man's hand.
The old man looked smugly at Haoyun, who was utterly astonished, and asked, "What do you think? Would you like to become my partner and help me capture mold spirit energy? You know, becoming a divine official's partner is an opportunity that many people dream of!"
It was evident that Haoyun was genuinely intrigued by the old man's proposal this time. However, instead of rushing to answer, he rubbed his eyes and said in a cautious tone, "Um... those tricks you just pulled were indeed surprising. However, as far as I know, many great masters with telepathy or some spiritual ability can figure out strangers' secrets. Also, that weird paper of yours looks a lot like some kind of magic or illusion, so..."
Haoyun didn't finish his sentence, but from his tone, it was clear that even though he had calmed down, he still harbored doubts about the old man's identity.
The old man seemed unfazed by this, even appreciating Haoyun's cautious attitude. So, he gestured with a finger, indicating for Haoyun to wait a moment as he prepared to present some special proof to Haoyun. Haoyun remained vigilant but also filled with curiosity and anticipation as he looked at the old man.