We Weren’t Fated, I Just Played My Cards Right - Chapter 41

After returning home, Liu Mumu handed the antidote recipe for the gu to Dong Zhenghao. After studying it for a long time, the old man asked the same question his daughter had: “Do we really need this much strong liquor? Can’t we just dilute alcohol with water?”

Liu Mumu sighed in disappointment. “No.”

Dong Qi nearly burst into tears and yelled at his father, “Am I even your son?!”

“Enough, enough. No need to shout. I was just asking,” Dong Zhenghao grumbled, displeased with his son’s attitude. “If you hadn’t been running around everywhere, would you have gotten into this mess?”

“It’s your fault for not letting me come home! And hers too!” Dong Qi pointed angrily at Liu Mumu.

Dong Zhenghao glared. “What about her?”

Dong Qi shrank back timidly. “…Th-thanks to her.”

The amount of liquor needed to cure Dong Qi was substantial. Fortunately, Dong Zhenghao had plenty of connections and managed to get over a dozen barrels of strong alcohol with the help of friends. He even bought a new mini-fridge specifically to freeze the iron pieces.

When the liquor was delivered to the Dong household, Liu Mumu went out to the yard to watch the commotion. Their neighbors, the Zhang family, also came out—Zhang Yang supporting his grandmother.

The grandmother and grandson both looked unwell. The old woman seemed listless, needing support to walk, a far cry from her previously energetic self.

Zhang Yang was in slightly better shape, likely due to his youth, but even he had dark circles under his eyes.

Seeing them, Liu Mumu suddenly realized—Zhang Yang had been staying at his grandmother’s house with Dong Qi. He might have been infected too.

And after returning home, he might have passed it on to his family.

Liu Mumu quickly pulled out her phone and typed rapidly: Forgot to mention—Dong Qi might have infected others at his grandparents’ house.

The notification sound broke the silence of the crime scene. Fang Chuan glanced at Yan Xiu, who was holding his phone as he walked out of the room.

The next moment, Liu Mumu received a call from Yan Xiu.

She found it a little strange—Yan Xiu rarely called her unless it was something important. She picked up and asked, “What’s up? Is this serious?”

“Not serious. Are you at home?” Yan Xiu walked into the living room with his phone. The sunlight streaming in cast a faint golden glow over him, his handsome yet indifferent profile making him seem almost otherworldly.

“Yeah. Just found out today that he infected my next-door neighbor. There’s a pregnant woman living there too—nothing bad will happen, right?” Liu Mumu suddenly remembered that Zhang Yang’s stepmother was pregnant and couldn’t help but ask.

“Don’t worry. Once the mother parasite is eliminated, the offspring will gradually die off. You can leave it alone.”

“Really?” Liu Mumu still wasn’t entirely reassured.

“Really. Besides, dream parasites only target those with malicious intent. Ordinary people don’t have that much ill will—at most, they’ll just have more frequent dreams.” It was rare for Yan Xiu to waste words explaining things to her.

“Alright, then. Go back to work, I—”

“Wait.” Before Liu Mumu could finish, Yan Xiu suddenly stopped her. “It’s not safe outside lately. Try not to go out too much.”

“You should be saying that to the bad guys who have ill intentions toward me.” Liu Mumu giggled.

She wasn’t worried about her own safety, but she was still pleased that Yan Xiu had gone out of his way to remind her.

The corner of Yan Xiu’s lips lifted slightly. “Be good.”

“Got it.”

After hanging up, Liu Mumu glanced next door again. Old Lady Zhang seemed particularly interested in the Dong family’s cart full of wine barrels and tried to ask what was inside. Jiang Li could only vaguely explain that it was hot spring water shipped from outside—good for soaking in, and she planned to use it for baths at home.

Old Lady Zhang shook her head. “You young people these days have no idea how to save money. If your mother-in-law were still alive, she’d never let you waste like this.”

Jiang Li wasn’t happy about the older woman’s scolding, but she didn’t show it. After all, they were neighbors—it wasn’t worth making things awkward.

Old Lady Zhang hadn’t expected a response anyway; she was just venting her dissatisfaction.

She continued, “That woman in my house, taking advantage of me feeling unwell these days, dares to talk back just because she’s pregnant. Won’t even make breakfast anymore.”

Jiang Li actually sympathized with Lü Yao—her situation wasn’t much different from what Jiang Li had gone through back then.

Her first child had also been a girl, and she’d endured endless grievances for it. The worst part was that Dong Zhenghao was even worse than Zhang Shijing. Zhang Shijing was busy with work and rarely home, but when he was, he treated his wife well. Dong Zhenghao, on the other hand, always sided with his mother no matter what. Just thinking about it still made her angry.

So she couldn’t help but say, “It’s Lü Yao’s first pregnancy—morning sickness might be hitting her hard. It’s normal if she can’t get up early.”

Old Lady Zhang snorted unhappily. “Back in our day, we still worked in the fields even while pregnant. Since when is she so delicate?”

What upset her even more was that Lü Yao was carrying a girl. But the master had said the child had a special destiny, so Old Lady Zhang had no choice but to grudgingly accept it.

While they were talking, Lü Yao pushed the door open and walked out. Perhaps due to her pregnancy, she seemed to have gained a little weight, with a healthy complexion and rosy cheeks. Upon seeing Jiang Li, she smiled at her before respectfully saying to Old Mrs. Zhang, “Mom, dinner is ready. Come back and eat.”

Old Mrs. Zhang and Zhang Yang both looked at her with disdain, but the old lady was indeed a bit hungry and had her grandson help her back inside.

As they passed by Lü Yao, Zhang Yang deliberately didn’t move aside, bumping shoulders with her and causing her to stagger slightly.

Jiang Li watched the family and couldn’t help shaking her head, grateful that when she married Dong Zhenghao, there hadn’t been such a big stepson in the household.

With all the materials prepared, the whole family gathered in Dong Qi’s room that evening, waiting for the right time.

Liu Mumu lounged in a chair, resting her head on Dong Yue’s shoulder as she dozed off. On the first night, Dong Zhenghao, worried about his son, had dragged her out of bed to keep watch, promising her a sports car in return.

Yes, Old Dong had given the sports car originally meant for Dong Qi to Liu Mumu instead.

Liu Mumu wasn’t particularly fond of cars, but she wasn’t foolish enough to refuse such a windfall.

Half a basin of high-proof liquor had been poured into the bathtub, just enough for Dong Qi to lie in. When the time came, Dong Qi was pressed into the tub by his father.

What was supposed to be a simple bath turned into agony the moment his body touched the alcohol. A searing pain shot through him, and Dong Qi screamed, trying to jump out—only to be held down by Dong Zhenghao and Jiang Li, who had been prepared for this.

“Ahhh! Let me out!” he wailed.

Jiang Li, torn between heartache and reassurance, soothed him, “Bear with it a little longer. You’ll be out soon.”

Liu Mumu watched the spectacle, casually taunting him, “Still glad you faked your report card? Regret it now? Still want that sports car?”

“Waaah! No! Never again!” Dong Qi cried, already in tears.

The pain felt like his body had been smeared with chili juice before being dunked into scalding water—an exceptionally “refreshing” experience.

There wasn’t a single spot on him that didn’t hurt.

“Still planning to run away from home next time?”

“Never again, waaah…”

Dong Qi bawled, snot and tears streaming down his face, while Liu Mumu kept up her teasing. Dong Yue, holding Liu Mumu’s phone, recorded the whole scene—their coordination seamless, like true sisters.

When Dong Zhenghao glanced back, he caught his younger daughter quickly stashing the phone away. He couldn’t help but twitch his lips, feeling like she’d already been thoroughly corrupted.

Ten minutes later, Dong Qi finally crawled out of the tub, only to have a small iron block shoved into his mouth.

Half an hour later, when the block was removed, it was coated with a faint reddish layer—something resembling rust, except it was clearly alive, writhing slightly.

And all of it had come from inside his body.

No one in the family dared to touch it, so Liu Mumu had to use tongs to pluck the iron block from Dong Qi’s mouth and toss it into a prepared mini-fridge nearby.

Dong Qi stood there with his mouth agape, trembling all over as if trying to fire his own mouth from his face. He’d probably be traumatized for a while.

“Alright, bedtime.”

After an hour of chaos, Liu Mumu lazily dismissed the room and went to sleep.

The others gradually retired for the night too, leaving only Dong Qi still frantically rinsing his mouth with water.

Early the next morning, since everyone had slept late the previous night, Liu Mumu found the entire household still asleep when she woke up.

Having eaten little the night before, she now felt rather hungry and decided to go out alone to find food.

On her way back, she casually picked up a bag of steamed buns to feed her younger sister.

As she reached the neighborhood entrance, she suddenly noticed a man in a jacket and baseball cap pacing back and forth with his hands in his pockets.

He seemed to be waiting for someone, or perhaps trying to figure out how to get inside.

This person…

Upon getting a clear look at his face, Liu Mumu couldn’t help but stop in her tracks.

There was a black mole at the corner of his eye—the very feature Dong Qi had emphasized when describing the professor who’d lectured at their pyramid scheme class.

Unless she was incredibly lucky today and had encountered another person with a mole in exactly the same spot, she’d just found the real deal.

Had this man come here looking for Dong Qi? Liu Mumu wondered.

Xu Yonglin didn’t notice Liu Mumu. He was preoccupied with figuring out how to get inside and reach the boy who’d taken his gu insects.

After finally tracking him down last time, the kid had suddenly changed locations, forcing Xu to spend several more days finding his home address.

These dream gu were meant to be feed for his other gu insects. Having painstakingly cultivated them, he couldn’t simply give up on them now.

The only thing Xu Yonglin hadn’t anticipated was how strictly guarded this boy’s residential compound was—they wouldn’t let him in at all.

Just as he was struggling with this dilemma, Liu Mumu approached him with a smile and asked, “Want some steamed buns?”

Xu Yonglin was taken aback. He glanced down at his outfit—he didn’t look homeless, did he?

During his most destitute days when he’d been truly homeless, kind strangers had occasionally given him bread or mantou, much like this young girl before him now.

After a moment’s hesitation, Xu accepted. “Thank you.”

He’d left home at six in the morning to avoid his brother and hadn’t eaten anything. Now he was both cold and hungry.

“I noticed you earlier,” Liu Mumu said curiously. “Are you waiting for someone here?”

Xu Yonglin stuffed an entire bun into his mouth and barely managed to swallow it. Perhaps finding Liu Mumu completely harmless, he answered without much caution: “Yes.”

“If you tell me who you’re looking for, I can call them for you.”

“Well…” Xu Yonglin looked embarrassed. “I don’t know his name. He’s a rather sturdy boy, about sixteen or seventeen.”

Noticing Liu Mumu’s slightly odd expression, he quickly added as if afraid of being misunderstood: “He took something of mine. I just want it back. We don’t actually know each other.”

“That might be tricky. There are quite a few boys that age in this neighborhood.”

While there were many boys that age, there were only so many troublemakers that size. The person he was looking for was almost certainly her so-called younger brother.

As for the “something” mentioned—it had to be the gu insects on Dong Qi, didn’t it? What a coincidence.

Liu Mumu found his words quite interesting. He didn’t seem like he intended to do anything to Dong Qi, though it was hard to tell if he was sincere or not.

This was her first time interacting with a proper gu master, so she couldn’t help being a little curious. She studied his face briefly—his fortune was truly terrible. Even someone like her, who only knew the basics, could see something amiss.

Judging by his features, his early life had been lonely and bitter, while his later years would bring imprisonment and a short lifespan. If nothing unexpected happened, he would likely be arrested soon.

But just looking at his face, his cheekbones were prominent yet not overly sharp—this wasn’t the face of a bad person. In fact, he might have even done some good deeds, slightly altering his fate. Though no matter how he changed it, the outcome would still be just as grim.

Xu Yonglin was feeling troubled when his phone suddenly rang.

He didn’t bother hiding from Liu Mumu and answered the call in front of her. “Brother?”

“Where are you? Running around at a time like this—are you trying to get yourself killed?” Xu Yongshuang’s voice crackled through the phone.

“I went out to eat.” Xu Yonglin didn’t dare tell his brother what he was really doing and just brushed it off.

“Get back here. Now.”

“…Got it.” After hanging up, he smiled at Liu Mumu. “I have to go.”

Without waiting for her to respond, he turned to leave.

Once he was several meters away, Liu Mumu called out from behind him, “Hey, mister, want a fortune reading?”

“Huh?” Xu Yonglin turned back in confusion.

“A fortune reading. Ten yuan per reading—I’ll tell you your luck. I’m really accurate.” Liu Mumu promoted herself with utmost seriousness.

Xu Yonglin found it amusing. Had he just run into a fellow practitioner? This was a familiar tactic—first, she’d used the buns to get close to him, and now she was trying to rope him into a fortune-telling session?

Still, the bag of buns she’d given him was worth about ten yuan anyway. He patted his pocket and actually found a ten-yuan bill. After a moment’s thought, he walked back. “Alright, let’s do one reading.”

He figured the girl had probably read a few fortune-telling books online and wanted to try it out on someone. Since he’d already eaten her buns, he might as well humor her for a bit.