Chapter 25
Chapter 25
Old Deng hadn’t expected Xia Sheng to see through his background at a single glance. He froze, and then his face flushed with indignation.
“You little girl, you just spout nonsense. I make an honest living with real skills. Who are you calling a fraud?”
He usually chatted with the other fortune-tellers nearby and would occasionally mention that he lived alone with his grandson. Therefore, after Xia Sheng deduced his family situation, he was only surprised for a few seconds before calming down, not taking her words to heart.
A nearby fortune-teller couldn’t stand it anymore and spoke up. “Old Deng, weren’t you the one who first questioned if the little girl was a fraud?
“Last time you were being just as sarcastic, and she didn’t even pay you any mind. Today, she just retorted a few words and you’re throwing a tantrum. Isn’t that a bit pathetic?”
Old Deng was choked by the man’s words. His old face turned beet red, but he remained silent.
Xia Sheng didn’t dwell on the matter. After accepting the man’s silk banner, she sat down on her small folding stool.
Before long, a young woman walked over and sat on the small stool in front of Xia Sheng.
“Hello, I heard your fortunes are very accurate. Can you do a reading for me?”
Xia Sheng’s gaze landed on the woman.
The woman had a clean, pure, and beautiful face, but her clear, bright eyes were currently clouded by a shadow, as if something was weighing heavily on her mind.
Xia Sheng asked, “What do you want to calculate?”
“I want to ask about my marriage prospects.”
“He doesn’t love you. He’s only with you so you’ll bear his children. Break up with him.”
Hearing this, the woman’s eyes widened in shock.
She hadn’t even said anything yet, and this master had already figured it out?
After the initial surprise, the woman’s mood sank even further. “But I feel like he should love me. He said that as long as I can get pregnant, he’ll marry me once we have a child…”
Lu Xin was twenty-two years old and had been in a relationship with her boyfriend for six months.
Recently, her boyfriend suddenly said he wanted a child. However, Lu Xin had just been accepted into graduate school and didn’t want to get married and have children too early, which would interfere with her studies.
But her boyfriend was already twenty-seven, and his family was pressuring him. She didn’t want to disappoint him, so she had been agonizing over the matter lately, unsure of what to do.
Xia Sheng said, “The fact that he would say something like ‘have a child first, then get married’ shows that he doesn’t truly love you.
“I can see that he is not a good match for you. Even if you have the child, he won’t marry you. He’ll even fight you for custody, and you will delay your studies because of these matters, wasting several years of your youth for nothing.
“However, if you insist on not breaking up, I won’t try to persuade you further.”
Xia Sheng had no romantic experience and didn’t understand the feeling of being blinded by love.
Everyone was an adult. Once a choice was made, one had to be prepared to face the consequences.
She had said what needed to be said; how she chose to proceed was up to the woman herself.
Although she hadn’t seen the man’s face, judging solely from the woman’s features, she would likely be treated quite miserably by that man in the future.
The woman opened her mouth, unsure of what to say. Finally, she paid the Divination Fee and left, looking soul-crushed.
After the woman left, Xia Sheng finished the remaining few readings, packed up her stall, and headed back.
That evening, Fang Rong returned from work humming an old song, clearly in a good mood.
It seemed she was very satisfied with her new job.
Seeing that her mother no longer had the gloomy dullness she’d possessed when they first met, Xia Sheng felt happy for her as well.
Fang Rong walked in carrying a bag and called Xia Sheng over. “Sheng’er, you have military training tomorrow. Mom bought you some sunscreen and cooling patches. Come take a look.”
Xia Sheng’s school term started tomorrow, beginning with a two-week period of military training.
Xia Sheng had already completed all the enrollment procedures. She had heard from an upperclassman that they didn’t check the dorms during military training, so it was fine for her to live off-campus. Consequently, she hadn’t moved her luggage into the dormitory.
She walked over to Fang Rong and looked at the small items her mother had bought, most of which were for sun protection and heatstroke prevention.
Xia Sheng was the type of person who never tanned. Beyond that, because her body was constantly filled with Spiritual Power, she didn’t sweat, and her physical constitution was significantly stronger than that of an average person.
However, Fang Rong had specifically bought sunscreen for her, so she didn’t mention any of this.
Fang Rong had nearly ten thousand yuan in personal savings. During this period, aside from the time Xia Sheng took her to buy clothes, she hadn’t been willing to spend any of Xia Sheng’s money, saving it all for her instead.
Everything she bought today was paid for with her own savings as a gift for her daughter.
“I heard from a colleague that her daughter’s skin darkened several shades because she didn’t wear sunscreen during military training. Then she recommended this one to me, saying her daughter used this brand and her skin turned white again in no time…”
Fang Rong chattered on quite a bit. She also had Xia Sheng change into her military training uniform; seeing that it was a bit large, she helped tailor it down to size.
Watching Fang Rong fuss over her, Xia Sheng suddenly felt a sense of fullness in her heart.
The next day, Xia Sheng allowed herself a rare lie-in, not getting up until seven o’clock.
After changing into her uniform and heading to school, the playground was a sea of people.
It took Xia Sheng a while to find her class’s formation.
Military training at a university was significantly more relaxed than formal training in the army, but many children these days hadn’t experienced much hardship. Simply enduring the scorching sun was enough to make it an ordeal.
The girls ducked into the shade whenever they had a spare moment, slathering on sunscreen as if it were free.
Seeing Xia Sheng standing alone to the side, a girl took the initiative to walk over and offer some of her own sunscreen.
“Hi, I’m Ning Xi from your class. Did you forget your sunscreen? Do you want to use mine?”
This girl’s eyes curved when she spoke, possessing a natural friendliness and a vibrant energy.
Xia Sheng politely declined. “Thank you, but I don’t use sunscreen.”
Ning Xi was a bit surprised. “Your skin is this good even without sunscreen? I noticed you didn’t seem to sweat at all this morning either.”
The sun had been intense that morning. No matter how much sunscreen or perfume the others used, it was inevitable for their faces to show red marks from the sun, and the hair at their temples was damp with sweat.
Only Xia Sheng remained perfectly dry and refreshed. Her skin glowed with a fair radiance, and combined with her exceptional features and figure, she stood out remarkably among the crowd of freshmen.
Ning Xi didn’t have many hobbies, but she loved looking at beautiful women. She had noticed Xia Sheng early that morning.
“It’s because I am a member of the Mystic Sect. I have Spiritual Energy protecting my body, so my constitution is a bit special.”
Hearing Xia Sheng’s words, Ning Xi froze for a moment. Thinking Xia Sheng was joking, she couldn’t help but laugh.
“Is that so? Does the Master take disciples? Can you introduce me to the path?”
“Cultivation requires talent. Your aptitude is too poor; you cannot enter the path.”
Ning Xi wasn’t offended by Xia Sheng’s blunt assessment of her lack of talent. Instead, she laughed even harder, continuing to chat along with the topic.
When the morning training ended, Ning Xi pulled Xia Sheng along to the cafeteria.
Ning Xi lived on campus and had already scouted the school out when she reported for registration yesterday.
However, because their class formation was at the very edge of the playground, they were the last to be dismissed. By the time they reached the cafeteria, it was already packed with people.
Xia Sheng hadn’t processed her meal card yet, so Ning Xi lent her own card first.
After eating, Ning Xi took Xia Sheng to get her meal card sorted out.
By the time they finished all that, most of the people in the cafeteria had already left.
As the two of them stepped out of the cafeteria, Xia Sheng was heading back to the dorms with Ning Xi when they were blocked by an instructor on a sparsely populated path.
This instructor was from the neighboring School of Economics, which was right next to the School of Computer Science.
Xia Sheng had locked eyes with him a few times that morning. Combined with the fact that many girls in her class were gossiping about how handsome this instructor was, she had a slight impression of him.