Chapter 15: Prophecy Came True
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Zhao Zhicheng couldn’t argue with his mother, but that didn’t mean he’d willingly become someone with more money than sense. Even if he were to spend money foolishly, he should have at least found someone pleasing to the eye.
“Little girl, how much do you charge for a single divination here?” Zhao Zhicheng frowned at the beautiful, fair-skinned little girl in front of him, who was definitely no more than 18 years old. A girl her age should have still been in senior middle school.
“Have a seat, 500 for a single divination,” Chi Shuyan smiled sweetly. Regardless of her personality, her looks were extremely deceptive, with round, black-and-white eyes, fair skin, baby fat, and red lips. She looked cute and beautiful. Elders were very fond of her type.
As soon as Aunt Zhao sat down, although she had doubts about the little girl’s fortune-telling skills, she asked with a smile, “How old are you, little girl? What grade are you in? How did you get into this business at such a young age?” Not to mention Zhao Zhicheng, even Aunt Zhao was skeptical about her.
Aunt Zhao has a grandson and a granddaughter, and her grandson was about the same age as Chi Shuyan. Although they weren’t exactly pampered and spoiled, they certainly would be eating watermelon and cooling under the air conditioner in this heat. There was no way in h.e.l.l their family would let such a young child come out to make ends meet. Thus, Aunt Zhao thought that Chi Shuyan’s family wasn’t very well off.
“17 years old and I’m in high school.” The moment Aunt Zhao asked her, Chi Shuyan knew that she didn’t believe she was a fortune-teller at all.
Now, Zhao Zhicheng’s frown could even pinch a mosquito. Looking at Chi Shuyan’s delicate skin, with red lips and white teeth, he felt for his wallet, fished out several red banknotes and said, “Little girl, it’s not good for you to find a job, especially in this line of business. Besides, high school is a very important turning point and watershed in life. There’s no future for you after dropping out of school. You’re still too young to understand now, but it will be too late for regrets later. Take this money and go buy some food, and close this stall at once. It would be terrible if you suffer from a heatstroke in this heatwave.”
Zhao Zhicheng, himself, had a son and daughter at home. They weren’t exactly pampered and spoiled, but they were well-cared for. Watching this little girl come out to make a living in this heat, Zhao Zhicheng couldn’t help but feel a bit distressed.
Chi Shuyan was a bit helpless. Listening to this gentleman and his mother singing the same tune, she was certain that they must have been imagining something. She looked at the five red tickets on the table, smiled and said, “Since it’s fate that brought you two here, why don’t I read your fortune.”
“Okay, okay, do your calculations, then close up early after.” Zhao Zhicheng shook his head and let out a sigh. This child was considered a lost cause, but high school was the most crucial time.
“Aunt, you must have come for your husband this time. This uncle was the eldest in the family. His parents originally doted on him, but since they had a second son, his parents’ att.i.tude became cold and neglectful. Uncle and you had a few hiccups in your relations.h.i.+p, but you’re still on good terms. You should have a son and two daughters. Your eldest daughter unfortunately died prematurely. Uncle was admitted to the hospital because of an argument with his brother and accidentally rolled down the stairs. Plus a high blood pressure, he was now in the intensive care unit, am I right?” Chi Shuyan said slowly, looking at Aunt Zhao.
Aunt Zhao looked at Chi Shuyan in shock, obviously not expecting this little girl to be so accurate in her reading. She had countless fortune reading, but most fortune tellers had been ambiguous and never been so precise.
Her husband once told her that his parents had been good to him as a child, but since the birth of his brother, they’d started to take sides. Moreover, back when she and her husband fell in love and began dating, they almost broke up because his parents were against their relations.h.i.+p. That had been a bit of an emotional roller coaster. But since their marriage, her husband treated her very well and their first daughter she gave birth to indeed died prematurely. This time, her husband was also in the ICU for no apparent reason and remained in a coma.
“Master, then can you tell me when my husband will wake up? Will there be any sequelae?” Aunt Zhao grabbed her hand and asked anxiously, not daring to underestimate this young girl anymore.
Zhao Zhicheng witnessed how his mother first looked in shock and then in conviction. He sighed helplessly. It never occurred to him that this girl would have a few brushes to spare tricking others. He had read such fortune-telling posts on the Internet. In fact, it was simply a matter of understanding human psychology. Anyone with superb observation skills could tell that his mother was worried, so something must have happened to her family.
“Mom, calm down. You forgot that there is only me and Big Sister in our family. When has there been a son and two daughters?” Zhao Zhicheng found a flaw and looked coldly at the little girl to see her reaction.
However, he didn’t expect his mother to twist her head, rubbed her red eyes and said, “This girl is right. You did have an older sister. In fact, your current older sister is actually your second sister. Your eldest sister died early because she was born with a weak body. It’s been a long time ago and I haven’t told you about her all these years.”
This time, it was Zhao Zhicheng’s turn to stare blankly, incredulous at what his mother said. It turned out that his mother really had a daughter who died early. But despite this, Zhao Zhicheng was still a little skeptical.
“Master, don’t be offended. My son is like this. By the way, can you continue telling me about my husband’s illness, will he get better?” Aunt Zhao asked anxiously and worriedly.
Chi Shuyan paused for a moment, then hesitated.
Zhao Zhicheng took one look at her hesitance and was immediately unconvinced again. Was she mulling over how to scam them? His heart was distinctly on alert. This girl wouldn’t pull a pile of sh*t to win his mother’s trust, then sell them a bunch of ritual artifacts, right?
“After tonight, Uncle will certainly wake up in the morning. As long as he recuperates well, there will be no lingering effects.” Chi Shuyan swept the two with a complex glance, “I just have a word of advice. That Uncle’s brother has no blood relations.h.i.+p with your family and is of disagreeable character, so you’d best stay away from him.”
After saying this, Chi Shuyan looked at the sky and smiled, “You two are kind-hearted, plus it’s my first day of business today, so take this talisman Mister.” After that, Chi Shuyan stood up, still aloof and with the bearing of someone superior. Zhao Zhicheng stared at her in a daze. Did he really fail to recognize a great talent?
Until he saw the little girl pick up her big jar of White Rabbit creamy candy and hop away.
Zhao Zhicheng, “…” Why did he feel like they’d been cheated; was that girl really a fortune-teller?
The next day, Zhao Zhicheng and his mother went to the hospital to see his dad, and to their surprise, his dad was indeed awake and had been transferred from the ICU to the general ward. The doctor also said that as long as the patient wasn’t greatly stimulated, there wouldn’t be any problems.
Zhao Zhicheng apparently remembered yesterday’s fortune telling, so he asked his father how he fainted. His father sighed and replied, “Your second uncle almost lost his wife’s money in the stock market. He wanted to borrow 300,000 from me, but I didn’t have that much money to lend him, so we had an argument and I accidentally fell down the stairs.”
Zhao Zhicheng was inwardly alarmed. He knew his dad fell down the stairs, but he really didn’t know it was due to Second Uncle. That girl’s reading was amazingly accurate. It seemed like he’d have to take a DNA test in a few days to verify whether his uncle was truly a relative. If not, then the fact that his father had labored so hard all these years for that family, being filial to his eccentric parents, and raising his second uncle as his own son, would be the biggest joke of all.