Chapter 4
Jiang Zhongqing was silent for a moment, then asked, “The money I gave you today-how do you plan to use it?”
Xia Sheng replied, “I’ll save it for now. Once I’ve saved up enough, I’ll donate a portion of it.”
Her soul was unstable. Her Master had said that her lifeline was short, and she needed to perform more good deeds and accumulate Merit to live a long life.
So in the past, every time she earned money, no matter how much or little, she would donate half of it to exchange for Merit.
Jiang Zhongqing was stunned.
The Little Celestial Master had earned a million today, and yet she kept so little for herself?
She clearly had a million, but only allowed herself to spend a few dozen yuan-a truly boundless love for the world!
Truly worthy of being called Master!
“When Heaven is about to place a great responsibility on a person, it first tests their will and exhausts their body. Little Celestial Master, your level of enlightenment is something I do not possess. I am deeply taught.”
Xia Sheng: “?”
What on earth?
Jiang Zhongqing searched for a fifty-yuan-per-night hostel on his phone, then had the driver take them on a drive of over an hour to the outskirts where city met country, finally stopping in front of an old, shabby guesthouse.
“Little Celestial Master, this is the kind of hotel you wanted.”
Xia Sheng opened the car door. “Have you transferred my divination fee?”
To save money, Xia Sheng didn’t enable SMS notifications on her bank card, so she didn’t know if the hundred yuan had arrived.
Jiang Zhongqing said, “I transferred it two hours ago.”
Xia Sheng nodded. Noticing an ATM nearby, she said goodbye to Jiang Zhongqing and walked over to it.
She inserted her bank card and selected ‘balance inquiry.’
Seeing the number on the screen, she froze, rubbed her eyes in disbelief, and, after making sure she wasn’t seeing things, trembled as she counted on her fingers.
Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, hundred thousands, million!
“!!!”
Is this what people mean when they say big cities are full of opportunities!?
Xia Sheng quickly calmed herself, withdrew ten thousand yuan, and headed to look for apartments near University A.
She had just graduated from high school this year and had been admitted to University A in the Imperial Capital. School started in about a week, and renting near the university would make commuting easier.
She didn’t know how to find an agent, so she directly asked local residents near the university if there were any rentals available.
A kindly old man said, “When you’re walking around, keep an eye out for the small ads stuck to telephone poles and on the walls under residential buildings-sometimes people post rental numbers there.”
“Thank you, sir,” Xia Sheng replied politely. She then asked, “What’s the usual rent in this area?”
The old man answered, “Depends what kind of place you want. The closer to the university, the more expensive. Generally, a one-bedroom apartment is over eight thousand yuan a month. If you share, it’s five or six thousand.”
Xia Sheng hadn’t expected the rent in the Imperial Capital to be so high.
Back in her hometown, there were tons of places for five hundred a month.
She thought for a moment, then asked, “What about a two-bedroom apartment?”
“Around twelve thousand.”
Xia Sheng patted the ten thousand yuan she had just withdrawn from her pocket.
She had thought she could live well, but now realized it wasn’t even enough for rent.
She pressed on, “What’s the cheapest rental nearby?”
The old man said, “The cheapest is a place south of the university-a three-bedroom apartment, right across from the university’s south gate, so it’s super convenient for students. Only a thousand yuan a month.
“But someone died there years ago, and it’s rumored to be haunted. It’s been vacant for years. Occasionally a tenant moves in, but they’re scared off in a night and leave…”
“Sir, do you have the landlord’s contact information for that place?”
The old man stared. “Miss, you want to rent that place? I advise against it. Last time, two young men shared it. That same night, who knows what they saw-they ran straight out.
“One of them was in the shower at the time, ran out without even getting dressed-completely naked! The girls on the street blushed when they saw him!”
Xia Sheng was amused by the old man and said, “I think I’ll rent that place. If you know how to contact the landlord, please let me know.”
The old man smiled sheepishly. “Actually, I’m the landlord.”
“Then please show me around.”
“Alright.”
Xia Sheng inspected the apartment. It had a great orientation and plenty of sunlight-almost every room was bright.
Because of the rumors about it being haunted, the occupancy rate in the area was low, and the upstairs unit was vacant as well. The environment was very quiet.
She walked around the apartment and made her decision on the spot.
The old man said worriedly, “Young lady, if you have any problems, just let me know right away and I’ll refund your rent.”
Because it was a haunted apartment, the old man didn’t even take a deposit. He just let Xia Sheng stay for a while to see how things went.
Xia Sheng agreed. After the old man left, she quickly dragged the Ghosts out of the apartment.
The one lingering here was a little ghost, about three years old.
His parents were often away for work, leaving only a nanny to look after him.
One day, the nanny went out to buy groceries and forgot to lock the bay window. The little ghost accidentally fell from the window and died.
He had been trapped here alone for several years. Whenever a tenant moved in, he tried to get them to play with him, but every time he scared them away.
Since the little ghost hadn’t done anything evil, Xia Sheng simply helped him pass on and reincarnate.
After tidying up her new home, she went to the food court behind the school for dinner. Then she received a phone call.
As soon as she answered, a man’s angry voice demanded, “Where did you go? Zhou Yichuan went to the train station to pick you up today, and you just left without a word!
“You have no manners at all. Is that how the dead Old Charlatan taught you?”
Xia Sheng replied lazily, “Yes, I suppose I have no manners. What can I do? My father has been as good as dead, never cared about me at all.”
Her Master had raised her for more than ten years. This father had been absent during the most important years of her life-what right did he have to criticize her Master?
“You!” Xia Yanzhi was furious at her words. “Forget it, I won’t stoop to your level.
“Where are you now? I’ll send someone to pick you up. We need to discuss your marriage to the Zhou Family.”
Xia Sheng had planned to return anyway, so she agreed.
Half an hour later, the car sent to pick her up arrived.
When she reached the Xia Family villa, no one came out to greet her.
She walked into the living room by herself and saw three people sitting on the sofa, waiting for her with an air of leisure.
Of the three, only one was related to her by blood.
That was Xia Yanzhi.
The other two, Yu He and Xia Zhiruo, had no blood relation to her.
She had seen the Xia Family’s family portrait before and had calculated her relationship with these people.
She was the result of Xia Yanzhi’s drunken night with a maid nineteen years ago.
Her mother was a lame woman who worked for the Xia Family. Xia Yanzhi, drunk, forced himself on her, and that’s how Xia Sheng was conceived.
At that time, Xia Yanzhi was already married to Yu He. He considered her mother lowly and ugly, and always saw Xia Sheng’s birth as a stain on his life.
When Xia Sheng was three, Xia Yanzhi deliberately abandoned her.
In fact, Xia Yanzhi always knew where she was; he just chose not to look for her.
This time, the only reason he brought her back was because Xia Zhiruo had found a man better than Zhou Yichuan, but the Zhou Family refused to break off the engagement. So Xia Yanzhi brought Xia Sheng back to take Xia Zhiruo’s place in the marriage.
She hadn’t wanted to return, but she had no choice if she wanted to take her biological mother away.
Yu He was dressed in a cheongsam. Though over forty, she was still well-maintained and elegant.
She looked Xia Sheng up and down, her eyes full of disgust for the child born of her husband’s affair.
“As expected of a bastard born of a mistress. You were born with a vixen’s face.”