Chapter 7
Fang Rong’s hand slowly tightened as she made a solemn promise: “Sheng’er, don’t worry. Mom will find a job as soon as possible and earn money to pay your tuition.”
Xia Sheng tried to reassure her, “I can pay my own tuition. You don’t need to worry too much.”
Fang Rong dismissed this. “You’re just an eighteen-year-old girl, how are you going to make money?”
Xia Sheng replied honestly, “I earned a million yesterday.”
Fang Rong thought her daughter was joking, and coaxed her with a laugh: “Really? Our Sheng’er is so capable.”
Just from Fang Rong’s expression, Xia Sheng knew she didn’t believe her.
Xia Sheng wasn’t in a hurry to explain. Instead, she had Fang Rong go to her rented room to pack her things, and took her to the apartment Xia Sheng had rented near University A.
Housing prices in Capital City were notoriously high. Even renting a single room cost a considerable amount.
When Fang Rong worked for the Xia Family, she lived in an external dormitory-six people to a room, with a rent of five hundred yuan, cramped and crowded.
So when she saw that her daughter had rented a well-appointed three-bedroom apartment, Fang Rong stood frozen at the doorway.
She asked in disbelief, “Sheng’er, did you really rent this place?”
Xia Sheng nodded, carrying Fang Rong’s luggage inside. “Yes, I just rented it this afternoon.”
Fang Rong asked, “How much is the rent per month?”
“One thousand.”
On hearing this, Fang Rong immediately grew anxious. “How could it be so cheap? Were you scammed? Did you sign a contract?”
Although she’d never lived near University A, she’d heard from others about the rent in this area. Because it was a school district, monthly rent was typically several thousand.
For a three-bedroom apartment with a balcony like this, it would be at least ten or twenty thousand per month.
Xia Sheng answered casually, “We signed a contract. The landlord said the place is haunted, so the price is lower.”
“Haunted?” Fang Rong relaxed.
As long as it wasn’t a scam, it was fine.
Sometimes, people are scarier than ghosts.
“Sheng’er, where did you get the money to rent this place? Was it left by the person who raised you?”
Xia Sheng took the toiletries from Fang Rong’s bag and put them in the bathroom. “I earned it myself. I did a fortune-telling for someone yesterday and made a million.”
Fang Rong sighed helplessly.
This child is talking nonsense again.
There were three bedrooms in this apartment, and Xia Sheng set up a room especially for Fang Rong.
Before going to bed, Fang Rong stood at the master bedroom door for a while.
Xia Sheng thought Fang Rong wanted the master bedroom and said, “Mom, if you want to stay in the master bedroom, go ahead. I’ll sleep in the guest room.”
Fang Rong shook her head, “That’s not what I meant.”
Xia Sheng was puzzled, “Then what is it?”
Fang Rong smiled helplessly.
This silly girl.
Can’t she tell that I want to sleep with her?
“It’s nothing, get some rest early.”
Fang Rong limped away toward the guest room, but Xia Sheng suddenly called out, “Mom, wait a moment.”
Xia Sheng took out Sterile Acupuncture Needles from her bag and brought Fang Rong to sit on the sofa.
“Mom, your leg trouble is due to a knee joint disorder, isn’t it?”
Because of her limp, Fang Rong had always felt self-conscious and was sensitive about it-she feared people bringing it up.
Now that Xia Sheng mentioned it, she unconsciously lowered her head. “Yes.”
Hearing this, Xia Sheng squatted down and rolled up Fang Rong’s pant leg.
Worried her daughter would dislike her for not being clean, Fang Rong had showered before coming. Still, with her daughter kneeling in front of her, rolling up her pants, she couldn’t help but feel nervous.
Xia Sheng reached out to touch Fang Rong’s somewhat deformed knee, then took a needle from its packaging and began acupuncture treatment.
Fang Rong was surprised that her daughter even knew acupuncture, but then said, “Sheng’er, don’t waste your effort. This leg has been useless since I was a teenager. I’ve tried both Chinese and Western medicine-it can’t be cured.”
Xia Sheng said with certainty, “I can cure it.”
In the past, she often followed her Master to tell fortunes and diagnose illnesses for the villagers.
Besides face reading and fortune-telling, she had also learned Zi Wu Liu Zhu, Ling Gui Ba Fa, and other techniques from her Master.
Combining these basic skills with Daoist Secret Arts, she could treat many problems that modern medicine could not solve.
Seeing the child so serious, Fang Rong didn’t want to dampen her enthusiasm, so she didn’t say much more.
While waiting for the acupuncture to finish, Xia Sheng found a TV drama for Fang Rong to watch. When the time was up, she removed the needles and let Fang Rong return to her room to rest.
When Fang Rong got up from the sofa, she wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination, but as soon as her foot touched the ground, she felt a deeper sensation than before in her previously numb foot, as if a blocked meridian had suddenly been cleared.
The next morning, when she woke up and got dressed, she was amazed to find that her shrunken, unsightly calf had gained some flesh, and her limp was much less pronounced than before.
Overjoyed, Fang Rong immediately strode out of her room, eager to share her happiness with her daughter.
But when she reached the master bedroom door, she stopped, worried she might wake the child.
When she worked at the Xia Family, she was also responsible for making breakfast and waking everyone up to eat.
Whenever Xia Zhiruo wasn’t in school, she would usually sleep until noon. Once, Fang Rong accidentally woke her up at eight in the morning while cleaning and was scolded for a long time.
Her own daughter was still young, and might also like to sleep in, so it was better not to disturb her.
Thinking this, Fang Rong decided to make breakfast first and wait for the child to wake up and eat.
Just as she reached the open kitchen, she saw Xia Sheng coming in from outside, carrying breakfast.
“Mom, I bought you breakfast. Eat it while it’s hot.”
Xia Sheng always got up at six thirty. Now it was seven thirty, and she had already finished her morning exercise.
Fang Rong was pulled to the sofa by Xia Sheng and sat down, still a little dazed.
She had spent almost her whole life taking care of others-looking after her younger siblings as a child, and working as a housekeeper when she grew up.
This was the first time someone had bought her breakfast, so she could eat as soon as she woke up.
It wasn’t a big thing.
But Fang Rong’s eyes still turned red.
As she ate, she asked Xia Sheng, “Sheng’er, did you major in medicine at university? After your acupuncture last night, my leg is much better now.
“Other doctors always said this was how I’d be for the rest of my life, but only your acupuncture worked… How did you do it?”
Chewing on a bun, Xia Sheng replied, “The acupuncture I learned was passed down from our ancestors. It’s different from what they do in hospitals.”
After that, she briefly explained the principles. Fang Rong didn’t really understand, but she still felt her daughter was amazing.
After breakfast, Xia Sheng packed up her things, took her small cloth bag, and went out to set up her Fortune-telling Stall to earn money.
Fang Rong thought Xia Sheng was going to sell snacks or daily necessities. Worried that her daughter had no experience running a stall alone, she followed her out, planning to see where she got her goods. If Xia Sheng couldn’t find a supplier, she would help her.
She followed her daughter for more than ten minutes, and finally saw her stop by the overpass, open her small cloth bag, take out a Bagua Divination Cloth, a Luopan, some Bamboo Sticks, and set a Small Folding Stool beside her. Once she sat down, the Fortune-telling Stall was open for business.
All the other fortune-telling stalls nearby were run by elderly men and women. Only Xia Sheng, a young and exceptionally beautiful girl, stood out and immediately attracted a lot of attention.