Chapter 47: Zhu Bocheng Is In Danger
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Seeing that he didn’t take her words seriously, Chi Shuyan frowned and really wanted to say something like: Brother, you’re going to die, so don’t wait until you need it. If you really wait until next time, I’ll be visiting your graveyard by then.
Chi Shuyan turned his head to look at Qi Zhenbai next to him and so happened to meet his sharp indiscernible scrutiny and measurement. He was wearing a trim, ironed, snow-white s.h.i.+rt and suit pants, with both snow-white sleeves rolled up revealing strong fair arms and his dark-ink hair was meticulously taken care of. He raised a brow and snorted softly, “Your family wouldn’t be fortune tellers and selling talismans, right?”
Chi Shuyan inexplicably palpitated at his strange, intrusive gaze. Subconsciously, she couldn’t bear to look away, but when she regained her senses, she reacted immediately. Well, that look in his eyes was treating her as a charlatan again.
Do I look much like a swindler?
Chi Shuyan stared back with her large, round feline eyes, unwilling to be outdone. “Of course not.” She s.h.i.+fted the topic. “Naturally, a sacred profession like fortune-telling is for highly qualified people with genuine talent. There’s just too many people pa.s.sing off fish eyes as pearls and ruining the reputation of this business. It’s a pity there are too many foolish and ill-informed mortals. This is probably the loneliness of a Master.”
Chi Shuyan shook her head and sighed. Reminded of her own Taobao shop that was without any buyers, she suddenly felt a moment of melancholy. There were too few people who could tell good from bad and too many glib-tongued cheats who pretended to be experts.
Chi Shuyan’s deadpan nonsense made Zhu Bocheng pound the table and his chest hurt from laughing. “Yes, yes, Sister Shuyan, theirs are all fish eyes and yours are all pearls!”
“Oh? Do you mean you are such a genuine Master?” Qi Zhenbai kept staring at her, his eyes like electricity, his expression cold and strange. What was wrong with this little girl? Of all things, she chose to swindle others and chose to deceive them of all people?
“Although, I’m trying to be modest, this is indeed the case.” Chi Shuyan replied.
Qi Zhenbai was amused at this little girl’s cheekiness. It was a pity that whether he was laughing or not, he had a deterrent pressure and a reserved smile. “So, can you tell my fortune?”
Chi Shuyan wasn’t afraid in the least, knowing that he was clearly trying to test her. She didn’t dare use such rhetorics before, but her fortune-telling now was different from the past, so she said, “500 for a divination. What would you like me to foretell?”
Qi Zhenbai didn’t hesitate to pull out a wad of cash from his wallet and tapped it on the table. “Whatever you like.”
Chi Shuyan took out a blank piece of paper and a pen from her bag and put it on the table. “Write a word and I’ll help you foretell your marriage destiny!”
Qi Zhenbai glanced at her wordlessly, picked up the pen, turned his wrist, and wrote the word “Bai” on the white paper. Chi Shuyan took a closer look. It was exquisite calligraphy, with iron strokes and silver hooks. The font sharpness was exactly the same as his temperament.
“The Bai character is a wonderful character that means ‘eternal youth’ and also implies longevity. Your fate is very good.” Even if it was good, he didn’t escape an untimely death in his past life, so it was fair to say that causal reincarnation in this world was fair. Chi Shuyan didn’t dwell much on it and began to calculate his marriage destiny.
Chi Shuyan’s brows suddenly furrowed as she stared at the character. A few minutes pa.s.sed in the blink of an eye and beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. She looked more closely at the word “Bai” carefully, and yet couldn’t make out anything.
Her face changed dramatically and her eyes were filled with incredulity. She refused to believe in this fallacy and continued to calculate, but to her surprise, no matter how she calculated, it was all blank!
Qi Zhenbai looked at Chi Shuyan with her head down and beads of sweat seeping at the tip of her nose. Her calmness just now had changed as she stared at the word on the white paper anxiously, as if there was a way she could see a flower out of that word “Bai.”
A scornful arc rose from the corner of his mouth. Up until now, this little girl was still as stubborn as a mule.
Chi Shuyan looked up and of course noticed the odd smile on Qi Zhenbai’s lips. She took a deep breath, somewhat freaked out. She still hadn’t figured out anything after a long time and wasn’t at all sure what the problem was. Was it because his fate was special? What was so special that she couldn’t figure it out?
“Did you figure it out?” Qi Zhenbai’s lips curled up unhurriedly, his smile growing deeper.
“No!” Chi Shuyan lowered her eyes and bit her lip. There was no need for her to look at his face. She knew very well that at this point, she was really taken as either a charlatan or a newly debunked charlatan. She was extremely unreconciled, but unfortunately she really couldn’t calculate his fortune, so she immediately pushed back the cash in front of her in dejection.
Zhu Bocheng was a little embarra.s.sed at the atmosphere, complaining about his friend being so serious. Why did he have to put the girl on the spot? This little sister Shuyan is so young. She might have also been tricked into wors.h.i.+pping some kind of charlatan master. Zhu Bocheng was more sympathetic and immediately eased her embarra.s.sment, “Haha, Sister Shuyan, forget it if you can’t figure it out. It’s just for fun, isn’t it? The food is almost ready to be served.”
Qi Zhenbai, himself, wasn’t a man who would ever bicker with a woman and his thoughts were similar to Zhu Bocheng’s, thinking that this girl might have also been cheated at a young age, but he’d never been much of a talker. This time, he glanced woodenly at the bills on the table, but reprimanded somewhat sternly, “Little girl, a Master would never claim to be a Master. You’d better behave honestly, lessen your curiosity, study harder, and believe in science!”
Hearing his last quip “believe in science,” Chi Shuyan almost broke her molars out of anger. Her eyes suddenly lit up and reached out to grab Qi Zhenbai’s arm, but he swiftly moved his hand away. His pair of narrow eyes flashed warily, looking at Chi Shuyan as if she were a lecher.
“Little girl, please conduct yourself with dignity!” Qi Zhenbai said stonily.
Zhu Bocheng, who was on the side, couldn’t help but argue for Chi Shuyan and spat out, “Zhenbai, she’s a girl, can’t you be a little more gentle with your tone?”
“No!” Qi Zhenbai answered faintly.
Chi Shuyan and Zhu Bocheng choked at the same time. Chi Shuyan was even more furious. How could there be such a narcissistic man who didn’t know how to treat women with tenderness? If she didn’t have a few vestiges of sanity left, she’d have gotten up and left.
Chi Shuyan was reluctant to admit defeat, so she gritted her teeth and said, “I couldn’t figure it out this time and I’m not learned in the art, so I admit defeat. I just hope that next time, when I am more refined in my art, Young Master Qi will give me another chance!”
Qi Zhenbai couldn’t help but purse his lips after seeing that the little girl in front of him hadn’t recognized the facts and was still immersed in superst.i.tion.
Seeing that Chi Shuyan was now like a defeated, little fox with drooping ears and a head hanging low, Zhu Bocheng hurriedly agreed on Qi Zhenbai’s behalf, “Sure, you have it, Sister. If Zhenbai won’t let you calculate next time, I’ll let you do it. This got off at the wrong foot. Let’s keep up the good work next time. By the way, Sister Shuyan, don’t you girls enjoy tarot cards and such? Tell us about it!”
When the food was served, Chi Shuyan ate her food without looking up, clearly depressed by her fortune-telling moments ago. Seeing her so dejected, Qi Zhenbai reflected on whether he’d spoken too harshly. After further reflection, he said, “Shall I buy one?”
When Chi Shuyan heard him, she felt even more depressed. Resisting the desire to hit someone, she looked up at him and said chokingly, “Forget it.” Qi Zhenbai was somewhat puzzled and amused seeing her panting with rage. She had obviously exposed herself, yet she was the one who felt wronged instead.
After they finished their meal, Zhu Bocheng wanted to give Chi Shuyan a ride, but she shook her head and refused. “It’s okay. It’s not on the way. It’s still early and pretty close to the school, just a few bus rides away.”
“So be it!” It just so happened that Zhenbai still had some things to do, so he had to send him away first. Zhu Bocheng said regretfully, “Shuyan, I’ll treat you to a meal again next time, just the two of us, no one else!”
Chi Shuyan’s gaze suddenly fell on the Fuzhou No.87 road sign nearby and almost as soon as she saw it, she fell into a trance. She suddenly touched Zhu Bocheng’s arm again, only to see a car driving away, and driving back shortly thereafter. On the way back, the same car as before collided with a truck and suddenly swerved straight into the bridge, bursting into flames. The gruesome picture of a man being burned alive immediately flashed in her mind with increasing clarity, clearer than what she had seen a couple of times before. She had only seen the silhouette of the man in the fire before resembling Zhu Bocheng very much, but now, the face of the burning man in the car conflagration crying for help was undoubtedly Zhu Bocheng. The road sign where his car crashed was also the Fuzhou No. 87 road sign. Chi Shuyan’s pupils constricted and her face went white.