We Weren’t Fated, I Just Played My Cards Right - Chapter 39
Jiang Li fell silent for a moment. When it came to family drama, her mind worked quickly.
Old Lady Zhang, much like her own late mother-in-law, had a strong preference for sons over daughters. Zhang Shijing’s first wife had been pregnant with a girl the first time, but the child hadn’t survived. Rumor had it Old Lady Zhang hadn’t even visited her in the hospital.
Given her current attitude, the new daughter-in-law was probably carrying another girl.
Originally, Jiang Li would’ve just treated this as gossip, but since she had some rapport with Zhang Xueqi and the latter had come asking for help, she casually asked Liu Mumu, “Could you divine it for her?”
Then, realizing she might have overstepped, she quickly added, “Zhang Xueqi is quite generous—she’d definitely pay well for the reading.”
Liu Mumu scratched her chin. “I don’t mind, but I doubt she’d come to me for help.”
She wouldn’t say no to earning some extra pocket money, but lately, she hadn’t seen any signs of unexpected income. This job probably wasn’t happening.
Sure enough, after getting Liu Mumu’s consent, Jiang Li mentioned Liu Mumu’s identity as a fortune-teller to Zhang Xueqi. However, Zhang Xueqi on the other end of the line seemed hesitant, responding vaguely without clearly stating whether she wanted help or not.
Jiang Li immediately understood the other party’s implication and didn’t press further, exchanging a few polite words before hanging up.
After the call ended, she couldn’t hide her displeasure. “What’s Zhang Xueqi’s problem? I was trying to help her out of goodwill, and now she’s backing out.”
“She wasn’t really looking for a fortune-teller anyway. Rather than someone like me who doesn’t seem reliable, she’d be better off finding an old man in the antique market who looks the part of a grandmaster.” Liu Mumu was quite unbothered—mainly because she was used to it.
She regretfully touched her smooth, delicate face. In the fortune-telling business, appearance mattered, and hers was a disadvantage.
Just as Liu Mumu had predicted, Zhang Xueqi indeed went out and brought back a fortune-telling master. This master, if nothing else, certainly had the right look.
Not only did he have an air of immortal wisdom, but he was also blind—practically the standard for a grandmaster. Zhang Xueqi was especially pleased; he looked far more authentic than the young girl next door from the Dong family.
The inauthentic “Master Liu” felt particularly wronged.
As soon as the invited master stood in the Zhang household, a few words from him had Old Madam Zhang completely convinced. The old lady no longer mentioned the child being a jinx to her.
While this Master Liu was enlightening Old Madam Zhang, the whole family watched from the sidelines. Lü Yao stood behind her husband, listening as the master spun wild tales about how the child in her womb was the reincarnation of a golden lotus from the Buddha’s throne. She couldn’t help but shake her head with a smile.
Even Zhang Shijing, an educated intellectual, was shaking his head in disbelief. But what could he do? His mother believed in this nonsense.
Over there, Old Madam Zhang was still consulting with Master Liu: “Master, if this golden lotus is descending into the world, shouldn’t it be reborn as a boy?”
Master Liu replied mysteriously, “This is a spiritual fetus. The gender was undetermined at the time of conception. If you are sincere, Madam, it may yet become a boy.”
The money Master Liu had received was only enough to ensure the child’s survival. Once the baby was born, whether it was a boy or a girl, it couldn’t be stuffed back in. Whatever chaos ensued in the Zhang family afterward would be none of his concern.
“The master speaks wisely.” Old Madam Zhang clasped her hands together in an awkward imitation of prayer, murmuring a few Buddhist chants.
Having successfully fooled Old Madam Zhang, Zhang Xueqi and her brother respectfully escorted Master Liu to the door, presenting him with a thick stack of cash. Master Liu felt it, nodded in satisfaction, and tucked the envelope into his sleeve.
“Thank you so much for your help, Master Liu.”
Master Liu gave a reserved nod. “Think nothing of it. If you need anything in the future, you can find me in the antique market. Fortune-telling, geomancy, feng shui—I dabble in them all.”
“Take care, Master. We won’t see you out.” Zhang Shijing’s lips twitched as he sent the man off, certain he’d never cross paths with this master again.
Thanks to the master’s intervention, the Zhang household enjoyed a brief period of peace. Zhang Shijing, having pacified his family, had business to attend to and had to leave Qingcheng for a few days.
Not long after he left, the Zhang family was in turmoil again. This time, it wasn’t Old Madam Zhang but her daughter-in-law. It seemed that after Zhang Yang found out about his stepmother’s pregnancy, the situation escalated. She wanted to move out, but Old Madam Zhang refused outright.
For the past few days, the Dong family’s mealtime gossip had revolved entirely around the drama next door, which had taken on the flavor of a sensational soap opera.
Liu Mumu and Dong Yue listened with great interest as Jiang Li shared the latest gossip. Although Dong Zhenghao repeatedly claimed he wasn’t interested in other people’s affairs, he was actually the most attentive listener.
Only Dong Qi seemed listless, mechanically shoveling food into his mouth with dark circles under his eyes.
After dinner, Jiang Li glanced at her unusually quiet son and couldn’t help saying, “Qiqi, haven’t you been sleeping well lately? Should Mom take you to the hospital?”
Recently, when she got up at night, she often heard her son talking in his sleep.
A few days ago, she had also been dreaming frequently, and so had her husband, but they gradually improved. Dong Qi, however, seemed to be getting worse.
Jiang Li was worried that the pressure might have gotten to him, causing psychological issues, but she didn’t want to hurt his pride by saying it outright. She could only suggest a hospital visit indirectly.
Dong Qi looked up at his mother with vacant eyes, his whole demeanor dazed, his voice distant: “No need.”
Dong Qi felt that doctors probably couldn’t save him, but Liu Mumu might be able to.
After being tormented by nightmares for so many days, he had finally decided to compromise with reality and suddenly understood his father a little better.
After dinner, Dong Qi lingered at the dining table.
As Liu Mumu passed by, she heard him call out softly, “Sis.”
Liu Mumu turned to look at him, astonished.
Since she had moved in, this was the first time Dong Qi had called her “sis”—it was practically as rare as Mars colliding with Earth.
“I need to talk to you,” Dong Qi said awkwardly, glancing around furtively. Seeing that his parents had gone to the living room and Dong Yue wasn’t around, he continued, “Privately.”
Liu Mumu sat back down, intrigued. “What is it?”
If the usually arrogant Dong Qi was humbling himself to ask for her help, she definitely wanted to hear what he had to say.
Dong Qi squirmed in his chair as if trying to wriggle out of his discomfort. He cautiously met Liu Mumu’s eyes and asked, “Do… do curses exist in this world?”
“Curses?” Liu Mumu raised an eyebrow. “What novels have you been reading?”
“It’s not from a novel.” Dong Qi scratched his head irritably. He hadn’t wanted to bring this up—after all, less trouble was better—but ever since attending that class, he had been plagued by nightmares every night. It was too much to be a coincidence.
Liu Mumu grew slightly more serious, waiting for him to continue.
“When I visited my grandma’s place, I went to a class with them. I overheard the two people running it talking about something called a ‘longevity curse’ and putting curses inside people.”
“What kind of class was it?” Liu Mumu pressed.
“It was for selling health supplements. Their pills were ridiculously expensive—over two thousand yuan per pill.”
Liu Mumu was greatly shocked. What kind of speed was this for making money? It was faster than selling medicine! Suddenly, she felt a bit tempted to change careers. She couldn’t help but think that all industries seemed to make more money than being a diviner.
After getting the address for the class from Dong Qi, Liu Mumu asked, “Did you take the medicine they were selling?”
She thought this kid shouldn’t be that foolish, knowing there was a problem and still taking it.
Dong Qi shook his head. “I didn’t take it, but my grandparents might have.”
Liu Mumu found it hard to express her feelings. “Didn’t you tell them not to take it?”
She remembered the last time, this couple was still inhaling pure oxygen, so how did they suddenly start taking medicine? That was too fickle.
“I told them, but they didn’t listen to me,” Dong Qi muttered softly. Not only that, but it seemed his grandfather thought the effects of the pills were particularly good and planned to buy two more boxes next time.
“So, you want me to help check on them?”
Dong Qi shook his head. “I want you to help me check. Ever since I finished the class, I’ve been having nightmares every day, and my grandparents and Zhang Yang have also been having nightmares during those days.”
“Nightmares?” Liu Mumu leaned closer to Dong Qi, feeling a bit curious.
Unfortunately, her experience was limited. Besides noticing that his dark circles were indeed a bit scary, she couldn’t see anything else.
This kind of thing was beyond her, but she knew professionals.
She took a photo of Dong Qi and sent it to Yan Xiu with the caption: My brother, please help check if he’s been cursed.
She treated Yan Xiu like an intelligent robot, the kind that answers questions.
Yan Xiu: Symptoms?
Liu Mumu: Having nightmares.
Yan Xiu: Check behind the left ear for a red line.
Liu Mumu held Dong Qi’s head down and leaned over to check his ear. Sure enough, she saw a red line behind his left ear that looked like a bl00d vessel.
He really had been cursed.
Liu Mumu: Oh no, there’s a line. Should I remind my dad to prepare for his funeral? By the way, are you coming to the ceremony?
Yan Xiu pinched the bridge of his nose, ignoring Fang Chuan’s curious gaze while driving, and replied.
Yan Xiu: No. Having nightmares won’t kill anyone. You’d better check if your family has been cursed; this kind of curse can be contagious.
Liu Mumu ran to the living room, held down Dong Zhenghao, and turned his head to check behind his ear. There was no red line, which was somewhat disappointing; it seemed father and son had no tacit understanding.
Dong Yue didn’t have it either, but Jiang Li had a faint red line behind her ear, as if it was about to fade.
She sent a photo of the red line behind Jiang Li’s ear to Yan Xiu.
Liu Mumu: Can this be saved?
Yan Xiu: This doesn’t need saving.
Liu Mumu: So there’s no hope? Shocked.jpg
Yan Xiu: If you had sent it a bit later, it would have already recovered.
Alright, it seemed she was short-sighted.
Liu Mumu: Didn’t you say it would be contagious?
Yan Xiu: Probably because they’ve been in contact with you more.
Liu Mumu had a Diviner License, so ordinary curses didn’t affect her and had a certain repelling effect. Usually, only Dong Qi would be around her, so he was the most severely affected in the family.
Liu Mumu: What about my brother? He said he might have been cursed during a health product MLM class.
Yan Xiu: Address.
Liu Mumu sent him a string of addresses, and Yan Xiu took a glance; it indeed matched their destination for today.
However, he didn’t directly tell Liu Mumu, only saying: Bring your brother to the police station tomorrow morning.
It had to wait until tomorrow morning? Liu Mumu pouted: “Uncle Policeman, I’ve given you such an important lead. Aren’t you planning to come over in person?”
Yan Xiu: “Can’t right now.”
Liu Mumu: “Why? Have you stopped loving me.jpg”
Looking at the chat interface where a white blob was frantically shooting hearts at him, Yan Xiu calmly typed: “Because Uncle Policeman is on his way to catch a criminal.”
Fine. Considering how busy Uncle Policeman was, Liu Mumu decided to forgive him—for now.