We Weren’t Fated, I Just Played My Cards Right - Chapter 31
“I can,” Liu Mumu answered. “How accurate do you want it? A standard divination gives general accuracy—I can only tell you whether you’ll stay together, nothing more.”
“There’s a non-standard version?” Everyone was curious.
Liu Mumu nodded: “The advanced method costs 10,000 yuan per reading, and I’ll only do it once.”
“How accurate is that?” Xue Lan asked.
“It can show your future experiences under both scenarios—breaking up or staying together.”
“That’s incredible! Can we try too?” Qian Xiaomeng was tempted—this sounded almost like foreseeing the future.
Liu Mumu shook her head: “I don’t recommend it. Knowing your future isn’t necessarily good.”
She’d make an exception for Xue Lan because she also wanted to know what Xu Anze truly intended.
Xue Lan bit her lip: “Okay, I’ll do it.”
It wasn’t small money, but fortunately she’d saved enough from New Year gifts. If spending this could buy her a convincing answer, she was willing.
Reason couldn’t tell her whether her feelings were right or wrong, but fortune-telling could.
“Then prepare ten thousand yuan for the divination fee on Saturday morning, and I’ll give you the answer.”
Early Saturday morning, Dong Zhenghao was dragged out of his home by his eldest daughter’s incessant phone calls, insisting he personally come to pick her up. Though inwardly reluctant, he obediently drove over.
What could he do? He was a doting father after all.
His car had been idling for nearly ten minutes when he finally saw Liu Mumu approaching with a girl her age.
Facing his daughter’s classmate, Dong Zhenghao put on his most amiable smile: “Hello there, I’m Mumu’s father.”
Xue Lan looked somewhat familiar, and after a moment’s thought, he remembered seeing her on the first day of school.
“Hello Uncle, I’m Xue Lan,” she greeted politely before they both got into the car.
Assuming his daughter wanted to invite a friend over, Dong Zhenghao was about to drive off when Liu Mumu said, “Dad, wait a moment.”
Puzzled, he turned to see his daughter holding Xue Lan’s hand and staring intently into her eyes.
Though he only saw her profile, Dong Zhenghao suddenly shuddered—his body reacting before his mind could process anything unusual. For that instant, Liu Mumu seemed like an entirely different person.
This unsettling feeling wasn’t unique to Dong Zhenghao. Xue Lan, locked in that gaze, felt it too.
Xue Lan’s reflection in Liu Mumu’s emotionless eyes stirred an inexplicable unease.
“Mumu…” Xue Lan hesitantly called her name.
Receiving no response, they remained hand-in-hand for a full five minutes before Liu Mumu finally closed her eyes.
When they reopened, she rubbed her eyes and instantly reverted to her usual self.
“Mumu, are you okay?” Xue Lan asked worriedly.
“I’m fine,” Liu Mumu replied, her gaze now complex as she looked at Xue Lan.
“Is… the result bad?” Xue Lan grew anxious under that strange look.
The outcome had nothing to do with being good or bad—it completely defied Liu Mumu’s expectations.
She hadn’t seen Xue Lan’s future. Instead, she’d seen Zhuo Ran’s.
Under what circumstances would two people’s fates become so entangled that even her eyes couldn’t distinguish them?
Liu Mumu recalled her grandfather’s words: fates could be exchanged. When someone steals another’s destiny, their life paths completely transform thereafter.
While sudden changes in fate could stem from various causes—most diviners wouldn’t dare claim someone had swapped destinies—Liu Mumu could. Her eyes never lied.
The conclusion was obvious: someone was tampering with Xue Lan’s fate, gradually replacing it with Zhuo Ran’s.
Such fate-theft wasn’t simple—its complexity couldn’t be achieved overnight.
A realization struck Liu Mumu. Between Zhuo Ran and Xue Lan stood Xu Anze. What seemed like a simple love triangle concealed this intricate conspiracy.
Her divination might not have provided clarity, but it had uncovered a shocking scheme.
At least one thing became clear: Zhuo Ran’s turning point would come next Saturday—her birthday.
Coincidentally, it was Xue Lan’s birthday too.
After gathering her thoughts for a moment, Liu Mumu said to Xue Lan, “I couldn’t determine whether the outcome would be good or bad. I only saw that on your birthday, you’ll make your own choice—and that will be the right one.”
“My birthday…” Xue Lan realized her birthday was next Saturday, just a week away.
Could she really make a decision in just one week?
“I understand. Although I don’t think I’ll figure it out that quickly, I believe in you.” Xue Lan took an envelope from her bag and handed it to Liu Mumu with a smile. “Master, this is half a semester’s worth of my living expenses. My future is in your hands now.”
Liu Mumu accepted the payment and smiled reassuringly. “Don’t worry, I won’t let you down.”
As Xue Lan got out of the car and waved goodbye, Dong Zhenghao, who had been watching from the front seat, was utterly stunned. What was this all about?
How could she charge so much money just for saying a few words—and to her own classmate, no less? If that girl came to her senses later, she might even report this to the school!
Hesitantly, Dong Zhenghao said, “Mumu, if you need money, you can always ask me. Maybe you should return that money to your classmate…”
Even rabbits don’t eat the grass near their burrows! If you’re going to scam someone, at least do it where no one knows you!
Liu Mumu shot him a sidelong glance and quickly stuffed the stack of bills into her bag, as if afraid he might snatch it away.
Old Dong sighed worriedly. Why hadn’t she inherited any of his shrewdness? What was he going to do with her?
Thanks to Liu Mumu’s good reputation, Xue Lan took her words to heart. Contrary to Dong Zhenghao’s fears, she didn’t report his daughter when the weekend ended.
During this time, Xu Anze had been messaging her, but Xue Lan hadn’t responded. Just as Wei Xue had suggested, she needed time to calmly think about her relationship with Xu Anze.
However, while she avoided contacting him, Xu Anze had no trouble finding her at school.
At noon on Tuesday, while Xue Lan was eating in the cafeteria with her three roommates, Xu Anze quietly appeared beside her.
She only noticed him when she saw the surprised looks on her friends’ faces. He seemed exhausted—his face was shadowed with stubble, dark circles under his bloodshot eyes. He looked completely worn out.
“Lanlan.” Hearing him call her name so tenderly, Xue Lan’s nose stung with emotion.
They had always been so close. How had things come to this?
“We’ll give you two some space. We’ll wait outside,” Wei Xue said, picking up her tray and signaling to Liu Mumu and Qian Xiaomeng, who followed her lead.
Once they were gone, Xu Anze sat down across from Xue Lan.
Xue Lan refused to look at Xu Anze, afraid she might soften. She kept her eyes downcast, staring at her plate.
Xu Anze gave a bitter smile: “Now you won’t even look at me?”
She remained silent.
“I know you’re angry that I kept things from you, and that I obeyed Zhuo Ran’s every whim in front of you.”
Xue Lan’s eyelashes trembled slightly.
“I didn’t want to tell you before because I didn’t want you to know how despicable I used to be. Did you know? I was actually adopted by the Zhuo family. I grew up by Zhuo Ran’s side—her playmate and her punching bag.”
Xue Lan looked up in surprise.
“When she was unhappy, she could hit or scold me as she pleased. But I couldn’t make her angry, or her parents would throw me out.” Xu Anze gazed at Xue Lan with bitter eyes. “Lanlan, you probably can’t imagine—those days after leaving the Zhuo family were the happiest time of my life. That’s when I met you…”
“You never told me any of this,” Xue Lan said softly, no longer deliberately avoiding Xu Anze’s gaze.
Yet she still felt that the past he described lacked a sense of reality.
Was it really just as he said?
“Because I didn’t want you to know that everything I have now was gained by pleasing Zhuo Ran’s parents. The only rebellious thing I’ve ever done was insist on coming here to attend university with you, despite their objections.”
Yes, Xue Lan had always known that Xu Anze’s grades were far better than hers. He could have gone to a university in the capital, but he chose the same school as her.
At the time, their teachers took turns trying to persuade him, but no one succeeded.
Classmates who knew they were dating would say enviously, “Xu Anze treats you so well.”
Xue Lan thought that this alone should make her believe in Anze, believe in his sincerity.
But just then, Wei Xue’s voice echoed in her mind.
Last Saturday night, when Mumu wasn’t there and Qian Xiaomeng had gone to the supermarket, only she and Wei Xue remained in the dorm.
She had told Wei Xue everything about their relationship, including how he had given up the chance to study in the capital for her.
At the time, Wei Xue had said: “In a few days, Xu Anze will come to apologize to you. To move you, he’ll probably bring this up.”
Xue Lan hadn’t paid it much mind then. Anze had done many things for her but rarely mentioned them.
Yet today, he had.
After that, Wei Xue added: “You need to think carefully—was all this really for you? Don’t forget, Zhuo Ran is also at our school.”
Yes, Zhuo Ran was at this very school.
How strange. Everyone said Zhuo Ran could have gone to the capital’s music academy but chose their school instead.
Did Zhuo Ran come for him? Or did he come for Zhuo Ran?
Was it really for her?
Doubt crept into Xue Lan’s heart.
She couldn’t tell how much of what he said was true.
Perhaps he wasn’t lying—she just didn’t want to believe it anymore.
Outside the cafeteria, Liu Mumu and Wei Xue each had a popsicle in their mouths—the school’s special, fifty cents each.
Both were perfectly calm, while only Qian Xiaomeng kept peering into the cafeteria.
“Aren’t you two curious about what he’s saying to Lanlan?”
Liu Mumu, who had already foreseen the outcome: Not only am I not curious, I’m a little bored.
Having anticipated Xu Anze’s move, Wei Xue remarked, “What’s there to be curious about? Men’s tactics are all the same—playing the victim and talking about how much they’ve sacrificed for you.”
“That’s bad. Lanlan is the softest-hearted. Xu Anze will probably sweet-talk her back in no time,” Qian Xiaomeng fretted even more.
“If Lanlan doesn’t know what he’s going to say, of course she’ll soften. But what if she already knows?” Wei Xue calmly bit into her popsicle.
It was like solving a difficult problem but having already seen the answer key. The initial twelve points of satisfaction would dwindle to just one.
The same logic applied here. How much of the original ten points of emotion would remain now?