The night sky was clear and the curtains danced in the wind. Moonlight shone through the window and on the bed.
Qi Yan was a messy sleeper. He’d kicked his blanket to the floor and the moonlight was shining on his stomach. The atmosphere was peaceful.
Being able to sleep through the night and wake up naturally was one of the best feelings in the world. Unfortunately, Qi Yan was not able to enjoy this today. Looking at his good friend sitting on the sofa, he gave him a plate of breakfast in annoyance, “Explain why you came knocking on my door so early in the morning.”
Wang Hang did not mind Qi Yan’s resentful expression. He smilingly took a sip of porridge and started peeling the salted duck egg, “If you didn’t switch off your phone, I wouldn’t have showed up so early.” He took out his phone and played a video for Qi Yan, “Qian Qian, are you the hero in this video?”
Qi Yan glanced at it and realized that someone had filmed the scene of the proposal that became kidnapping. He coughed and said, “I was just passing by and decided to help. My dream is to have a peaceful world.”
“Bullsh*t,” Wang Hang joked around, then said seriously, “Qian Qian, I know that you could tell fortune, but that’s not an invincible ability. When you encounter a crazy person like this in the future, you must be careful. I was so nervous for you while watching the video. Luckily he was holding a knife. How dangerous would it be if he was holding a gun?”
“I only dared to step forward because I saw him holding a knife,” Qi Yan gave Wang Hang a doughnut and noticed that he had dark eye circles, “Did you stay up playing games again?”
“I am not doing any real work in the company and the others probably look down on me,” Wang Hang bit at the doughnut angrily, “It’s so much better to be you, you could do what you like and no one would disrespect you. I heard that the Cen family treats you as an important guest now. If others knew, they would be so jealous.”
Hearing him complain, Qi Yan lowered his head and ate his porridge quietly.
After Wang Hang finished complaining, he had also finished his doughnut. Then he said shyly, “Qian Qian, do you think that my situation is bad?”
“Why do you ask if you already knew?” Qi Yan and Wang Hang were never tactful with each other. He raised his eyebrows and looked at Wang Hang, “Do you want me to say some encouraging words like those in Chicken Soup for the Soul?”
“No need for that,” Wang Hang rubbed his nose, “I just feel envious that you’re so free.” As the young director of the company, the employees were eager to please him. They were so afraid to offend him when they talked which made him feel very uncomfortable.
“You don’t appreciate your privilege. There are so many fresh graduates who still haven’t found a job and you can’t even endure a bit of discomfort. Be careful not to get kidnapped.” Qi Yan saw that Wang Hang liked to eat salted eggs, so he gave him another one, “Don’t eat too many salted eggs, it’s not good for you.”
“I can’t, the salted eggs you make are too delicious. I can’t find it anywhere else.” Wang Hang cracked the shell and peeled it off quickly, “Love you, muah!”
“Ew,” Qi Yan waved his hand as though he was swatting flies, “Don’t act cute.”
The two of them soon finished a whole pot of porridge. Wang Hang helped Qi Yan do the dishes and said hesitantly, “Qian Qian, a lot of netizens are now asking about the identity of the person in the video. Be careful when you go out. Don’t let others recognize you.”
If Qian Qian worked in a different field, it would be fine if that’s the case. However, he is a master. He was afraid that he might be criticized if others found out. “The young lady you saved had written the entire incident down in Weibo and kept thanking you. As she couldn’t find you, she and her family had donated to charity on your behalf. They want to bring kindness forward.”
When Qi Yan heard this, he smiled, “Isn’t that good?”
Wang Hang shrugged and slumped on the sofa, “Qian Qian, why don’t you teach me Feng Shui. Perhaps I’m also a hidden master.”
“Stop saying nonsense,” Qi Yan knew that Wang Hang had something in his mind and wanted to rant. So he took out a bowl of dried fruits and settled comfortably on the sofa, “Come on, entertain me with your troubles.”
When he heard Qi Yan ask that, Wang Hang suddenly could not speak and looked at Qi Yan from the side, “Qian Qian, is it difficult to work in this field?”
“It’s not difficult. At around 3-4 years old, I had to learn to recite charms and specific hand gestures. At 5-6 years old, I had to learn how to borrow nature’s energy. At 7-8 years old, learn how to cast spells. From 10 years old, learn about relics. From 12 years old, space theory, old superstitions and deception, the relationship between natural changes and the weather, position of mountain ranges, the impact of regional times on fate, human psychology, face-reading, how to calculate life span…”
“Wait, wait, I thought you just needed to meditate and chant?” Wang Hang saw that Qi Yan was still going to continue and he almost knelt down, “Why do you need to learn so many things?”
It’s different from what’s depicted in movies!
“You think it’s easy to study Feng Shui and tell fortunes?” Qi Yan remembered his difficult childhood and couldn’t help but look at Wang Hang like he was a fool. “There is a saying that goes, ‘oranges from Huainan are oranges, but oranges from Huaibei are kumquats’. Even though two people might be born at the same time, their fate could be different. If we don’t learn enough, then the calculation will not be accurate. Isn’t this equivalent to lying and causing harm to others?”
At this moment, Wang Hang felt like Qi Yan looked bigger and taller. His own tiny struggles were nothing. If he had learnt all this when he was young, he’d probably have gone mad by now.
“Since you’re a proper master, why did you have to learn about deceptive techniques?”
“How could one expose the scammers if one doesn’t understand their techniques?” Qi Yan ate some seeds, “Know yourself and the enemy to protect the art.”
Wang Hang looked at Qi Yan in a daze and quietly took a handful of seeds from the bowl.
If all masters looked like Qian Qian, no one would have believed them. After all, the fake fortune tellers looked more mysterious and legitimate.
After hearing about Qian Qian’s childhood, Wang Hang felt like a crybaby. He held a bag of salted duck eggs by the door and said that he would make the employees in the company respect him.
Qi Yan looked at him and felt like he was looking at a man with mid-life crisis, “You might face some small conflicts today, but don’t worry, there won’t be any bad consequences.”
When Wang Hang heard that, he left with a peace of mind.
When the elevator he took reached the sixth floor, the door opened and a girl with a pale face walked in. Seeing her pale face without makeup, Wang Hang thought that she might be unwell. Just as he was about to ask if she needed help, the woman fainted.
Wang Hang stepped back in fright and called for help in the elevator. Then, he approached the girl slowly.
Qi Yan did not expect something to happen 5 minutes after Wang Hang left. He walked down to the property management office and saw a few aunties surrounding Wang Hang and not letting him go. On a couch beside them, a young lady lay unconscious.
“Mr. Qi,” The manager greeted him after he saw Qi Yan. “Mr. Wang said that he’s your friend. Is this true?”
Qi Yan nodded and walked to the front of Wang Hang, “What happened?”
“Just now when the elevator stopped at the sixth floor, this young lady came in and fainted soon after,” Wang Hang felt so helpless that his shoulders slumped, “I pressed the button to call for help and squatted down to check on her, but…”
He looked at the aunties, “And these aunties thought that I had bad intentions. The CCTV in the elevator malfunctioned.”
Some of the aunties recognized Qi Yan. Since his face was pleasant, it left a good impression on them.
After knowing that Wang Hang and Qi Yan are friends, Aunty Wang, who liked Qi Yan, said, “Don’t panic, let’s wait for the ambulance to come. When the young lady is conscious, everything will be cleared up. We shouldn’t accuse innocent people.”
Aunty Wang was a leading figure in square dancing, so she was well respected among the aunties. When she said that, the others stopped giving Wang Hang a sharp look.
The ambulance had yet to arrive. An aunty with first aid experience kept watching the young lady and prevented others from surrounding her so that she could get some air.
Qi Yan looked at the girl who fainted and realized that she was the one who was in the elevator last night. He furrowed his eyebrows and wondered why she was surrounded by bad energy even though she hadn’t done anything bad.
At this moment, the young lady opened her eyes in a daze. Seeing that she was surrounded by strangers, she retreated into the couch.
“Young lady, don’t be afraid. We are your neighbors.” Aunty Wang saw that she looked nervous and comforted her, “Someone saw you faint just now. Do you feel any discomfort?”
“Thank you.” Lin Yu felt that she shouldn’t speak to others while lying down, so she struggled to get up, but her body was weak, “I was planning to go to the hospital…”
“We have called for the ambulance for you. Don’t move,” Aunty Wang turned to look at Wang Hang and confirmed that he did not have any bad intentions, “Kid, sorry for the misunderstanding.”
“It’s ok,” Wang Hang saw that the aunties were almost the same age as his mother and were just worried about the sick young lady, so he no longer felt annoyed. “It’s just a misunderstanding.”
But Qian Qian was right, he did say that he would encounter a small conflict.
He felt that his life became a fantasy by having such a magical friend.
