Chapter 220
Crescent Group
Ni Shao’an walked into Crescent Group with a bit of nervousness. Jin Jie came toward him.
“Mr. Ni, what brings you here?” she asked curiously.
“I accepted a commission from Miss Feixue.”
Ni Shao’an was also part of the National Bureau of Paranormal Abilities. The National Bureau of Paranormal Abilities had a platform where one could post jobs and rewards; if an ability-user was interested, they could accept. Earlier today, Zhuang Feixue had posted a commission there, and Ni Shao’an had accepted immediately.
Jin Jie looked puzzled. “A commission from Miss Feixue? She hired you to… make clothes?”
Ni Shao’an nodded. “Yes. I’ll head over now.”
Jin Jie nodded. “Alright.”
Zheng Xue came up beside her, curious. “Why would Miss Feixue suddenly think of having clothes made?”
Jin Jie shook her head. “No idea—maybe she’s run out of dresses.”
“Miss Feixue should have plenty of gowns, right?”
Jin Jie shot her a look. “Do you ever feel you have too many clothes?”
Zheng Xue: “…” Well, fair point.
Ni Shao’an’s ability was quite special. He had originally been a fashion designer and had created many outstanding garments. Two years ago, due to a plagiarism scandal, his reputation in the industry was destroyed, and he disappeared from the public eye—until a few months ago, when he awakened his ability and made a comeback. It was later proven that the plagiarism case had been a frame-up by a competitor.
His ability was unique—he could turn fabric into finished clothing with a single thought. Many intricate gowns that normally took months to sew could be completed instantly.
A few months ago, Ni Shao’an held a fashion show that caused quite a stir.
Not only was he a genius designer whose styles were novel and captivating, but the mere fact that the garments were created by an ability-user made them highly sought after.
Many in the entertainment industry were chasing the trend, and lately, quite a few had commissioned gowns from him.
“Let’s go take a look,” Jin Jie said.
Zheng Xue nodded. “Sure.”
When Jin Jie and Zheng Xue entered the lounge, they were startled by the sheer number of bolts of silk piled up inside.
Neither had expected so much fabric to be stored here—and they hadn’t seen anyone deliver it.
If the cloth hadn’t been brought in normally, it was likely Chu Feng had transported it.
Inside the lounge, Zhuang Feixue was chatting with Ni Shao’an.
“This fabric is very unusual. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
As a fashion designer, Ni Shao’an had worked with countless types of cloth. The finer the material, the more it fueled his creative passion.
Ever since awakening his ability, a single touch was enough for him to determine a fabric’s composition and origin—but with this material, he couldn’t identify it at all.
He privately wondered if this silk had something to do with the recently emerged great mountain. That place supposedly contained rare creatures… and perhaps some special silkworms.
“How is the fabric?” Zhuang Feixue asked.
Ni Shao’an looked at her. “It’s excellent—its quality is superb. And this color… it doesn’t seem dyed. It feels like…”
“Like what?” she prompted.
“Like the work of an ability-user,” he said after a moment.
Zhuang Feixue: “…” Her younger brother seemed to know quite a few other ability-users. If it was indeed an ability-user’s work, it wouldn’t be surprising.
“Miss Zhuang, where did this fabric come from? Is it related to an ability-user?”
Zhuang Feixue shook her head. “Chu Feng gave it to me. Whether it’s tied to an ability-user, I’m not sure.”
“I see. If there really is a color-dyeing ability-user, I’d love to collaborate,” Ni Shao’an said.
“I’ll ask about it some other time,” she replied.
Ni Shao’an pulled out the tablet he always carried. “I’ve got some design sketches here—if you see something you like, I can make it right now.”
Zhuang Feixue took the tablet, glanced at it a few times, and said with some amazement, “These designs are all excellent! Mr. Ni, you’re truly impressive.”
Zhuang Feixue found it hard to tear her eyes away from the sketches.
Ni Shao’an smiled lightly. “You flatter me, Miss Zhuang.”
Zhuang Feixue turned to Zheng Xue and Jin Jie. “You two can take a look as well and choose any styles you like.”
The two exchanged glances. “We can?”
Zhuang Feixue nodded. “Of course. With so much fabric, it would be hard for just one person to use it all.”
Ni Shao’an’s ability was remarkable—within less than an hour, he had created more than a dozen gorgeous gowns.
Zhuang Feixue and Ni Shao’an became so engrossed in discussing clothing that they completely lost track of time.
“Sis, it’s time to get off work,” Zhuang Cheng said as he walked in.
Zhuang Feixue looked at him. “Already? That was quick.”
Zhuang Cheng nodded. “Yeah.”
“Sis, did you know Second Brother went to collect nutrient soil?” he asked.
Zhuang Feixue looked puzzled. “Really?” She hadn’t been aware.
“It should be finished by now,” Zhuang Cheng said helplessly.
Zhuang Feixue nodded. “Chu Feng really works hard.” She suddenly remembered that Zhuang Feilei had called earlier, mentioning that the nutrient soil should be purchased at market price.
“How much nutrient soil did they collect this time?”
“Twenty truckloads in total,” Zhuang Cheng said with a shrug. “They split it evenly—ten truckloads each—but the ten with Brother Feng have disappeared.”
Zhuang Feixue raised her eyebrows. Again, huh? “If it’s gone, just leave it be.”
Zhuang Cheng tilted his head. “Alright then.”
Ni Shao’an kept his head down, lost in thought. He had heard rumors about Chu Feng working with the National Bureau of Paranormal Abilities to collect nutrient soil, but no one knew where Chu Feng was transporting it. From the look of things, even Zhuang Feixue didn’t know.
Zhuang Feixue glanced at Ni Shao’an. “Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Ni.”
Ni Shao’an quickly said, “Not at all.”
Zhuang Feixue opened a nearby safe, took out a bottle of elixirs, and handed it to him. “This is the payment I promised you.”
Ni Shao’an looked embarrassed. “But I haven’t finished the job yet.”
“Take your time,” Zhuang Feixue said with a shrug. “Consider it an advance.”
Ni Shao’an nodded. “Thank you, Miss Zhuang.”
Zhuang Feixue waved her hand. “You’re welcome. That’s all for today. I’ll be relying on you for the next few days.”
Ni Shao’an nodded. “Miss Zhuang, you’re too kind. I’ll take my leave now.”
“Alright,” Zhuang Feixue said.
Watching him go, Zhuang Cheng asked curiously, “Sis, what payment did you promise him? Nourishing Elixirs?”
Zhuang Feixue smiled. “Beauty Elixirs.”
Zhuang Cheng was surprised. “Not Nourishing Elixirs or Bone-Strengthening Elixirs, but Beauty Elixirs?”
“Yes,” Zhuang Feixue replied.
She had promised that he could choose any elixir he wanted, and Ni Shao’an had chosen Beauty Elixirs.
“I’ve heard that artistic men are often very vain—seems like it’s true. And isn’t it said that a lot of them are gay? You don’t think he’s gay, do you?”
Zhuang Feixue nodded. “Seems so.”
Zhuang Cheng: “He really is, huh…”
Zhuang Feixue shrugged. “Back then, Ni Shao’an’s reputation was ruined by a plagiarism scandal. But after he awakened his ability, it came out that his designs had actually been stolen—by his then-boyfriend, Bi Liang.”
Zhuang Cheng frowned. “That’s pretty unjust.”
“More or less,” Zhuang Feixue said.
After Ni Shao’an’s awakening, he re-entered the fashion scene, while Bi Liang was expelled from the fashion industry. With his ex-lover now an ability-user, Bi Liang probably wasn’t doing so well.
Zhuang Cheng ran his hand over the fabric. “Sis, this material is really nice.”
Zhuang Feixue nodded. “Very comfortable.”
She had already tried on a few of the dresses Ni Shao’an made earlier and found them extremely pleasant to wear.
Ni Shao’an left with a good amount of fabric and returned to the National Bureau of Paranormal Abilities.
Seeing that she had plenty, and noticing his fondness for it, Zhuang Feixue had gifted him some.
“Shao’an, you’re back,” Qian Duoduo greeted.
Ni Shao’an nodded. “Yes.”
“I heard you took on a job for Miss Zhuang Feixue?”
“That’s right.”
Qian Duoduo said enviously, “That’s amazing! A job from the Crescent Group is a real sweet deal.”
The Crescent Group had already finished recruiting, so getting in was tough. Even going there as an occasional external contractor was a good opportunity.
Ni Shao’an glanced at him. “I heard you just got a sweet gig too—three thousand pigs in Shanxi?”
Qian Duoduo crossed his arms. “Don’t even mention it. Not much of a sweet deal—the pay was mediocre. Sure, the pigs were fat, but so fat they could barely stand. One farm even tried to give me a few pigs, but I refused.”
Ni Shao’an: “…”
“These fabrics…?” Qian Duoduo asked.
“Miss Zhuang gave them to me,” Ni Shao’an replied.
Qian Duoduo looked at the fabric. “Looks really nice. When you make something from it, can you give me a set?”
“Sure,” Ni Shao’an said.
Not long after returning to the National Bureau of Paranormal Abilities, Ni Shao’an was summoned by Shen Yutong. She bought a bit of the fabric from him and let him go.
“Miss Shen, the test results are out,” someone reported. “This silk is similar to regular silk, but its composition ratio doesn’t match any known ability-made material.”
“Does it have the effect of concealing abilities?” Shen Yutong asked.
“No, it doesn’t.”
Shen Yuxing nodded and said, “I see.”
She took a deep breath, recalling what Delice had said before—that green silkworm silk was extremely valuable. The cloth Ni Shaoan had brought back was said to be in fairly large quantity, so it probably wasn’t all that rare.
“But this fabric does have some effects,” the researcher said.
Shen Yutong asked curiously, “What effects?”
“Energy transmission becomes smoother. Normally, clothing slightly hinders the use of abilities. This hindrance isn’t much and can usually be ignored,” the researcher explained, then added, “However, for high-level ability-users, even a tiny difference can mean a huge gap.”
Shen Yuxing nodded. “I understand.”
Deep in the mountains, where danger lurked everywhere, conserving even a little strength could matter. Sometimes that small bit of power could be the difference between life and death. That this fabric had such a property made it rather rare. Shen Yuxing took a deep breath and thought: Whenever Chu Feng takes action, it’s never with anything ordinary.
It seemed Zhuang Feixue wanted to use this silk to make uniforms for her company’s employees. That suggested it wasn’t too rare, so she could probably apply to purchase some.
