:: Strange Power ::

The rest of the semester had flown past in the blink of an eye. Despite having been reborn, I still remember the events of my first three years with Nexonia, and how similar it had been in the past. Professor Wang remains single, my final year project landed me with an A and some girl in my class still turns out getting pregnant with her younger boyfriend who is a freshman.

On the other hand, my best friend Xiaoxian seems to have drifted far from me ever since she started dating the man I detest. And from the looks of it, it's not so bad. Maybe if Shan Hanyu doesn't take on risky stock investments and puts in great effort to care for Xiaoxian, the outcome would be different. I don't want to remember the pain I went through in the final moments of my life without ever knowing where Shan Hanyu had left to.

This time, I promise myself that Shengyi Corporation will not fall. Although Fu Technologies has appeared as its toughest competitor, I will fight to the end. I believe in myself and Dewey's judgement. With him by my side, we will tough it out and show the world that Shengyi Corporation is worth their time and money. Just a month ago, Cullen Fu announced his desire to become the top market leader and slashed the prices he had set for Fu Technologies' products and services.

I want to know what this competitor of mine is thinking. He is trying to beat what Shengyi Corporation is offering, and yet, at the same time, he still smiles at me sexily whenever I pass by. I can't read what is on his mind. It's like he is messing with my mind all the time. He makes it hard for me and yet, he can't stop bothering me!

I remember Uncle Dou's words. He is probably right that I should not trust Cullen Fu, but something in me senses that there is more to it than him just suspecting Cullen Fu. Does he have anything to do with Cullen Fu?

Uncle Dou has a daughter who lives separately from him. I don't know much about this daughter, but I make a wild guess that his daughter was one of the girls who were either rejected or dumped by Cullen Fu. Thanks to social media, I might be able to find out something about that.

Since my rebirth, I have been enamoured by gossip and often read about it in my free time. In the past, I was a workaholic that I didn't have time to even read about what happened to celebrities. I even had sleepless nights because I was studying so hard that I didn't get enough sleep. Though this time, with the help of the gift from Cullen - my devil, not Cullen Fu - I have a sharp and photographic memory, thus allowing more beauty sleep and less time to prepare for exams.

Last night, I merely studied for a total of two hours in anticipation of the examination I would be having this afternoon. That is all I needed to revise for the entire semester. I just slip on a long dress that reaches up to my knees and top it with a lightweight jacket. The weather seems cold and rainy since last night.

Uncle Dou says a few words to me as I get into the car.

"Miss, had a good night's sleep?"

"I'm good," I answer. "What's special about today, that you are suddenly asking me?"

Uncle Dou was normally a silent person, and apart from the day that he had told me not to trust Cullen Fu, he had not been talking much. It was on the day when I heard my devil communicating with me, that I found my chauffeur a bit disparate.

"Nothing much."

He just stops talking and focuses on the road. I think I will do some digging later to get to the bottom of this. I check everything I need for the final exams is in my bag, namely, my identification card and writing materials.

As I enter the examination hall, eyes again face me. After being busy with Shengyi Corporation for so long, I have forgotten the fact that my reborn self is a sensation among single men. Eyes watch me as I take a seat at my assigned spot and ready my emotions for the exam. I am the type of person who takes time to settle her feelings, and this time is no exception.

I hear chattering in the background, and divert my attention to the couple who are just starting to enter the hall. They are almost late, and the exam is due to start in a minute.

Shan Hanyu and Xiaoxian are dressed in couple wear and looking adorable holding hands. I watch them for almost a long time until they realise how engrossed I am. Xiaoxian flusters, and greets me in embarrassment.

"Hello, Shengyi."

"How are you doing, Xiaoxian? Long time no see," I say, motivated. I don't show any signs of being uncomfortable or envious, because I like my freedom and uh, I don't want to end up jumping off a building again.

"I … I am good." She turns to Shan Hanyu and smiles at him shyly. I feel that I am about to throw up from the mushiness of my best friend with my ex-boyfriend from a past life.

"Shengyi, how are you?" The familiar male voice asks. Out of politeness and since everyone seems to be watching, I utter a hesitant reply.

"That's good. Best of luck."

"Good luck," I say, but my eyes are focused on Xiaoxian. Xiaoxian has never been great with this module, culture and ethics. I hope she does pull through in the finals. After all, the rate of failures with undergraduates has been on the rise. She needs to accumulate enough points to graduate, otherwise, she will have to retake her final year, and graduate only a year later.

The invigilator is a beautiful bespectacled woman with long legs, but the public still isn't paying attention to her. I don't know what charm my devil has granted me, but it is creepy that strangers keep staring at me. I try to pay attention to the paper in front of me. Back then, in my former life, the topic in the exam was on the cultural views on women in the twenty-first centuries and how it had evolved from the past.

"You may start," the woman announces, and the sound of papers being shuffled noisily encompasses the silence that follows.

I almost gasp. The exam topic is not what it was, and neither had I prepared for this topic. It is a completely different topic, on Spanish views of the Asian community. What in the world is this? I have not even encountered this topic in my classes.

The devil Cullen had mentioned that my power would be tenacious enough to command a horde. I wanted to test it and see for myself if my power could be used for smaller, trivial matters. Like, doing well in the exams!

Now, how should I work to call upon my power? Do I recite Cullen's name, or simply call to him? I question in my head, but I do not recall having been taught an incantation.

Fifteen minutes pass and my answer sheet remain blank. I close my eyes and calm myself down. Surely… there had to be a way that I could use the power I have been given!

I call the devil in my mind, but I don't receive a reply. This is infuriating! When I don't ask for him, he calls out to me, and tells me 'soon', but when I need him, where is he?

Cullen!

Cullen!

No answer. I open my eyes and sigh silently.

I want to give up. The exam questions are blinding me. Suddenly, there are sparks of light radiating outside, and some static electricity causes the fluorescent tubes overhead to spark with little tinges.

It gives me an idea. I call out in my mind, 'Cullen, I call upon my power!'

As if my prayers are answered, I see an abrupt flash of lightning, followed by a rainbow-like prism of light swirl before me. I feel that my entire body is enveloped with a strange and unexplained energy that feels refreshing. The power seems to fill me up. When I open my eyes again, I am astonished.

The entire sheet that was blank earlier is now complete with answers, all written in my handwriting!

Now, what sorcery is this? I stare around me, but everyone is busy filling their papers and making good use of the remaining time. Even Shan Hanyu is preoccupied with writing furiously on the sheet, while Xiaoxian scratches her head a few times to find her answers.

While I feel like I just cheated and relied on a strange force in me to pass my exams, it leads me to think further. If this power from the devil was capable of allowing me to get through an exam that I am completely unprepared for, what else could it give me as my wishes?

If I genuinely asked for a horde to overrun my rivals, would I have what I wished?