“Where did this lunatic come from, daring to curse me?”
Su Yan looked at Li Man with undisguised disgust.
“I… I misspoke.”
Li Man’s heart was flustered. She had been secretly watching Su Yan this whole time — how was he not dead?
In her previous life, Su Yan would have long been nothing but ashes by now.
After Li Qiao grasped the meaning behind Li Man’s words, she suddenly found it all quite laughable. Since Li Man’s rebirth, so many things were no longer the same as before.
“Crazy woman. Qiaoqiao, don’t pay her any attention. Let’s go home.” After Su Yan brought Li Qiao home, Li Man stood behind them, staring at Li Qiao’s departing figure.
Her heart was a complete mess.
“Who is she? I’ve never seen her before.”
“She’s from the Xu family.”
Li Qiao briefly explained what had happened. Su Yan clicked his tongue disapprovingly. “Oh, so that’s her.”
“Is there something fishy going on?”
“Recently, word’s been going around the circle that some young lady from the Xu family has been going around telling people’s fortunes. Everyone thinks it’s pretty strange — is she some hidden master of the mystical arts too? Too bad nobody believes her.”
Li Qiao raised an eyebrow, waiting with interest for him to continue.
Su Yan said, “Normally, people wait for clients to come to them, but she’s different from the rest. She picks her clients. Anyone who voluntarily seeks her out gets ignored, under the pretty name of ‘heaven’s secrets must not be divulged.’ Personally, I think she’s just putting on an act.”
A master of metaphysics as formidable as Li Qiao didn’t flaunt it half as much as her.
Interesting!
Li Man wanted to use the things she knew from her previous life to change other people’s fates and establish her own status.
She wanted to rely on everything from her past life to trade for resources in this life.
A bit of a brain, but not much.
Su Yan grumbled about Li Man, then suddenly grinned. “You two actually have a bit of a connection — you’re both surnamed Li.”
“And what’s more coincidental is that I lived in her family for eighteen years.”
“…”
Su Yan’s face instantly darkened.
He had heard from Li Shaojin that Li Qiao hadn’t been treated well living there, that she’d almost been sold off by Li Man’s father for an exorbitant bride price.
If the upper beam is crooked, the lower ones will slant too. No wonder Li Man started talking about death the moment she saw him.
People like that had to be avoided from now on.
“Su Yan, you’re here. Why don’t you stay for dinner tonight before you go?” Liu Yusi came downstairs, and upon seeing Su Yan, she warmly invited him.
Su Yan readily agreed. “Sorry to trouble you, Auntie.”
“No trouble at all. Qiaoqiao, take good care of Su Yan.”
“No need for Sister Qiao to look after me, I can manage myself.” He wouldn’t dare ask Li Qiao to tend to him.
She was a master — he held her in the highest regard in his heart.
Li Qiao didn’t stay idle. She went to her room and began drawing talismans. Su Yan followed right on her heels. Finally, he was going to see Sister Qiao show her true skills.
Night fell.
A muggy, stifling evening.
At the Su residence, Li Nana lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.
Ever since Su Jianguo found out she was pregnant, he had insisted on sleeping in separate beds.
Li Nana never liked Su Jianguo to begin with, so sleeping apart was certainly good news. But thinking about the things Li Qiao had said made her terribly restless.
Suddenly, she sat up.
“That bitch! How dare she ruin my plans. I want her dead.”
She fumbled through the nightstand and found a jade pendant. A greedy glint flickered in Li Nana’s eyes.
She placed the jade under her pillow and drifted off peacefully.
But in her dreams, Li Nana’s sleep was far from peaceful.
Why was it suddenly so cold?
It was as if there were an air conditioner right behind her, waves of chill hitting her back. Wearily, she turned over.
Everything was quiet. Nothing unusual, was there?
Li Nana was confused. Was it just her imagination?
The cold gusts hit her back again. Suspicious, Li Nana sat up and studied her surroundings.
So strange!
Thump, thump.
“Who is it?”
“Nana, open the door. It’s me.”
Su Jianguo’s voice came from outside. Flustered, Li Nana got up to open the door. Su Jianguo said excitedly, “Baby, tonight I’ll stay with you and our son.”
“Jianguo, you’re so good to me.”
“Of course I am. The baby in your belly is mine. Taking care of you two is my duty.”
Su Jianguo scooped Li Nana up, and the two went to bed together.
Tonight, Su Jianguo didn’t touch her.
“Nana… you set the air conditioning too low. Why does it feel so chilly?”
Su Jianguo was puzzled.
But when he saw it was set to twenty-three degrees, that wasn’t really that low. With a blanket, it should have been just right. Li Nana rubbed her temples. “The AC is probably broken. We’ll have someone fix it tomorrow.”
“Alright, let’s get some sleep.”
But that night, neither of them slept well.
It really was cold.
Su Jianguo thought to himself, tomorrow the air conditioner definitely had to be repaired.
The next day.
While the family was having breakfast, Li Qiao noticed the look on Li Shaojin’s face. She gave him a few words of warning.
“Big Brother — have you been somewhere you shouldn’t have been lately?” As soon as the words left her mouth, Li Shaojin immediately put down his chopsticks.
“A place I shouldn’t have been? Does a funeral count?”
“It does. It’s not a big problem. Just get more sun recently, Brother. You’ve just picked up a bit of yin energy.”
The worry in Li Shaojin’s heart eased somewhat.
“Qiaoqiao, I won’t run into trouble, will I? This project is very important to us.”
If the progress was delayed, the losses would be huge.
“If anything strange happens, call me. As for anything else, I can’t see it for now.”
“Alright.”
With those words from Qiaoqiao, he was now certain that something strange would definitely happen.
After Li Shaojin left, Su Yan couldn’t help but ask another question. “Sister Qiao, my dad — is everything alright on his end?”
“You really want to know?”
“Yeah.”
“There’s a good show tonight.” Li Qiao ate her steamed bun, a smile in her eyes.
Su Yan rubbed his arms.
He was so excited. His dad had never believed in Sister Qiao’s abilities, but tonight that perception was going to be completely overturned.
The look on his face was enough to say it all.
Li Qiao shook her head. What a truly filial son.
Next door.
Daoist Qingxu flicked his horsetail whisk and studied He Jingnian’s features. “Jingnian, I still can’t read your fortune, but your marriage destiny — I can glimpse a bit of it.”
He Jingnian, who was playing chess, gave a nonchalant hum.
“Aren’t you curious?”
“Not curious.”
He Jingnian answered honestly.
Daoist Qingxu smiled meaningfully. “You’re thinking about that little friend of yours, aren’t you? Don’t think I can’t see what’s on your mind. You’re the only one who would give your life for her.”
“Since the Daoist already knows, why ask such a question?”
“Sigh. I just — find it strange. Your marriage destiny does not lie with that little friend of yours.”
He Jingnian’s hand, which was holding a chess piece, paused for just a moment.
“What does the Daoist mean?”
“That little friend is not your lady fated by heaven. In other words, your names are not in the marriage registry together. In this world, whom a man or woman ultimately marries is long predetermined in the book of fates.”
In the past, he could never see He Jingnian’s marriage destiny clearly, but seeing it today, he was quite astonished.
He and Li Qiao were indeed a perfect match, but unfortunately, it was not a union ordained by the heavens.
“In the end, you two will not be together.”
“Who I want to marry is my own affair. Heaven’s way cannot dictate to me.”
He Jingnian’s gaze turned razor-sharp.
Daoist Qingxu let out a soft sigh and shook his head. “Going against heaven’s way will bring punishment. Jingnian, I’m just warning you.”
Most importantly, Jingnian’s heaven-ordained lady had already appeared.
And she was very close to Jingnian.
