"What would you like to try? Dream interpretation or character prediction?"
Under the bridge peddling fortune-telling services was a young woman wearing sunglasses, her gaze falling on the man in front of her who seemed lost in thought.
"Predict, predict character," the man's eyes were vacant.
The young woman nodded, took out a printed QR code for payment, and handed it to the man, "Nine yuan ninety-nine cents, no deception to young or old."
"Okay." The man did as instructed.
The woman took a glance at the character the man had written - "forget".
She took a couple of light coughs to clear her throat, and spoke slowly: "Forget. To lose heart…..But how can one forget if their heart is not dead?"
"However, your strokes are weak, although you wrote 'forget', it gave off a desolate flavor like the twilight of a setting sun. My presumptive guess is that you want to know about your love life, and let me be frank. It seems like your romantic relationship is irretrievable."
It is usually quoted that a man should not easily shed tears unless he is absolutely heartbroken. Upon hearing the woman's words, the man couldn't hold back any longer and started sobbing loudly.
His cries were so loud that it attracted many people's attention. Even the two indifferent faces under the bridge couldn't help but look toward the bridge.
Xia Keco failed to notice the intense attention from others, focusing instead on taking a little bit more from the man in front of her.
"If you want to resolve this, ten yuan for another character prediction. I guarantee your love life will take a turn for the better and you will see light at the end of the tunnel!"
Upon hearing that only ten yuan was needed to turn his luck around, the man's crying volume lessened, and he promptly reached for his phone to make the payment.
Ling Sili, who had just walked onto the bridge and heard the "master's speech," couldn't help but crack a smile. He raised his eyebrows and walked toward Xia Keco's stall.
"Do you actually believe her words? If the matters of love can be controlled by divination, why would there be so many broken-hearted people under the heavens?"
With that, Ling Silii disdainfully glanced at Xia Keke, shaking his head at the fortune-telling man as if looking at a fool.
Suddenly the surrounding area echoed with agreement, and those who had stopped to watch the commotion started to point fingers at Xia Keke.
They said she looked only about seventeen or eighteen, at the bloom of youth with rosy lips, white teeth, and good-looking skin and bones. They didn't know how she had chosen the path of deception.
Xia Keke didn't refute, just pursed her lips, thinking: Well, I'm actually a true master who has a divination worth a fortune. Now because of market competition, I’m divining fortunes for you guys at a low price, you don’t appreciate it...
Thinking this, she raised her head and glanced at the man who had sabotaged her stand once again.
The man's facial features were chiseled and distinct, with voluminous black hair making his face appear extremely exquisite. The provocative textured suit and distinctive wristwatch he wore all displayed his sense of style.
Unfortunately, he was not a gentleman at all, narrow-mindedly tearing down the platform of a young girl.
However, looking at his deep, ink-like eyes, and indifferent, expressionless, cool complexion, he didn't seem like a good guy.
So, she packed up her payment code and showed a smile unique to a young girl: "Sir, with all due respect, I am a well-known semi-fairy in the world. I don’t deceive, I don’t do evil. I simply answer people's life questions and also make a bit of money."
"Oh? Which world?"
Ling Silii sarcastically asked a question without waiting for the answer, preparing to leave.
Xia Keke didn't want her reputation to be ruined so easily, so she called out to his retreating back: "Sir, allow me to do a reading for you free of charge; you can judge its accuracy."
Ling Silii didn't turn back, but his assistant, Qiao Yang, curiously glanced over. After all, hearing about his boss' destiny was probably similar to hearing his gossip.
So, he tugged at Ling Silii, "Boss, aren't we in search of someone anyway? Let’s try our luck with this fortune teller. It won’t delay our journey too much."
After saying that, he quickly went to the stall, encouraging Xia Keke to do a reading for his boss.
Xia Keke adjusted her sunglasses and took a swift glance at the man standing indifferently a step away from her, finding it odd that she couldn't discern his life's fate at all.
She had never encountered such a situation before.
"How about it?" Qiao Yang looked expectantly at Xia Keke.
"Uh, my eyesight isn't too good..." Xia Keke responded calmly, shifting her focus towards Qiao Yang: "You're standing closer — I'll read your fortune."
With that, she began to analyze Qiao Yang's features, from his broken right eyebrow to the pimple protruding from his lower jaw, meticulously warning him of his recent streak of bad luck that could lead to financial loss. She even went on to say he wouldn't be seeing any significant wealth or status in the next few years.
Qiao Yang clicked his tongue, while Ling Silie, standing not far away, unusually lifted his head to look at the girl who suddenly began speaking bluntly.
She wore a simple white shirt and jeans, appeared naive and innocent, yet while reading fortunes she seemed astute and experienced. Her manner of pointing out Qiao Yang's "flaws" was rather eccentric, carrying a certain rebelliousness and pride.
It was obvious she was skilled.
Sure enough, once her longwinded analysis ended, the girl produced a red pouch and passed it to Qiao Yang, claiming it could change his luck.
"How much is it?"
"The original price is eight hundred, but now it’s five hundred."
Qiao Yang, who initially believed the girl made some sense, exploded when he heard the price of the luck-changing pouch, "Why don’t you just rob me!”
Next to him, Ling Silie found it amusing, and squinting, stepped forward and said, “I’ve reported to the police for you, no need to thank me.”
As those words fell, the "saleswoman" sneered, yet remained unfazed. Casually, she put the pouch back in her pocket while packing up her folding table, grumbling, “If you don’t want to buy, then don’t, I didn’t force it on you.”
Meeting such humorless pair today was her bad luck.
She swiftly stowed the items in a large cloth bag, carrying it in her other hand, and headed towards the stairs leading to the overpass.
Her pace quickened, the braid swinging left and right under the sun, and was soon swallowed by the sea of people.
As soon as she disappeared, Qiao Yang couldn't help but whisper, "Such a young age, and not learning anything good."
Ling Silie, who was used to such happenings, remained expressionless, and merely stated quietly, “Instead of bothering about fraudsters, better to find our person quickly.”
