36: Chapter 36 Master Shen tells the fortune of a pretty girl

Shen Weiyue, sound asleep, would not know that what he thought hadn't caused any trouble, had in fact caused trouble.

However, Liang Yuting was a woman of strong character after all. After a moment of contemplation, she acted as if nothing had happened and silently tossed the quilt into the washing machine.

She believed that Shen Weiyue hadn't done it on purpose. Based on her understanding of him over this period, he wasn't the type of wretched person to do such a thing.

This must have been an accident.

Liang Yuting decided to bury this secret deep in her heart.

...

Sundays were always short. For fun-loving teenagers, this amount of time was never enough—not enough to beat a game, not enough to stroll through an entire street.

Six o'clock in the afternoon.

Shen Weiyue returned to school on time. During the evening self-study session, Teacher Liang was supervising. When he walked in and saw her, he gave a relaxed smile, and Liang Yuting became even more certain.

Regarding the quilt, he definitely hadn't done it on purpose.

This guy must have run back home before dawn due to some normal physiological reason.

Thinking of how embarrassed Shen Weiyue might have looked, Liang Yuting also started to laugh.

The scene of the teacher and student sharing a smile was keenly captured by Zhao Qingyan, and her gaze deepened.

"Shen Weiyue, why does Teacher Liang smile as soon as she sees you?"

"How would I know? Teacher Liang smiles at everyone. I guess girls who love to smile are never short on luck."

Shen Weiyue sat down in his seat and explained casually.

Zhao Qingyan was displeased and said coldly, "I don't like to smile. Do you mean my luck is bad?"

"This theory doesn't apply to you. You are someone kissed by God; you've been given everything good, so you don't need luck."

"Hmph."

"Don't doubt it. First is fate, second is luck, third is Feng Shui, fourth is accumulating virtue, and fifth is reading. Your ability has reached a level where you don't need luck; you have a standard, innately formidable destiny."

Zhao Qingyan felt better and spat, "You're acting all mysterious. Are you into Fortune-telling?"

"Don't say that, really, don't say that. I know a thing or two about the I Ching and a little bit of Plum Blossom Divination. Do you want me to tell your fortune?"

"No, you're just acting like a charlatan."

Zhao Qingyan scoffed and even shot him a glare.

Just a little brat, acting like a street-corner fortune teller. Why not poke your eyes out and wear sunglasses? That would look more convincing.

However, while she didn't believe it, Ning Xi in the back row was full of interest.

The young girl had overheard the conversation in the front row and couldn't help but poke Shen Weiyue's back. "Shen Weiyue, can you really do Fortune-telling?"

"I know a little."

"Can you take a look for me?"

"I can, but Fortune-telling is prying into the secrets of heaven, which shortens one's life. If you want me to tell your fortune, you have to pay a price to compensate for my loss."

Shen Weiyue spoke as if it were a serious matter, and Ning Xi asked nervously, "Ah? How do I compensate?"

"Each time I tell a fortune, a sliver of my vitality is drained away, and I become weak. At such times, I need to replenish my nutrition to build my body back up. So, unless you bring me a bottle of milk every day for forty-nine days..."

"Why forty-nine days?"

"That's a profound topic. The I Ching says, the number of the Great Expansion is fifty, and its application is forty-nine. So the Great Tao is fifty, Heaven derives forty-nine, and one escapes..."

Shen Weiyue turned his head, stared at Ning Xi, and said with extreme seriousness, "The I Ching has the concept of 'return in seven days.' The ancients believed that the development of things follows a small cycle of seven days. Forty-nine days is exactly seven cycles of seven days, representing a major cycle of change."

"Do you remember in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, when Zhuge Liang sought to borrow life from heaven and had to light seven times seven, forty-nine lamps?"

"I remember, I remember." Ning Xi nodded vigorously.

Although Zhao Qingyan hadn't turned around, her fox ears were already perked up. She was clearly pretending to be disdainful, but in reality, she was eavesdropping.

Shen Weiyue didn't expose her, just found it amusing internally. He continued to control his serious expression and kept bluffing, "The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon has a saying that the human body's essence and blood need a certain amount of time to renew, and forty-nine days is exactly an ideal cycle."

"Besides, nine is the extreme of Yang. For example, the Double Ninth Festival is on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month; when two nines overlap, the Yang energy reaches its peak... Every time I cast a hexagram, I lose Yang energy, so I must replenish it over a major cycle."

Shen Weiyue was spouting nonsense with a straight face, and Ning Xi was completely taken in. The adoration in her eyes was incredibly devout; she was just short of pressing her palms together to ask the master for a blessing.

"Master Shen, please tell my fortune. There are exactly forty-nine days until the College Entrance Exam, and I will bring you milk every day."

"Very well. Given your sincerity, I shall cast a hexagram for you."

Comrade Rinpoche Shen closed his eyes with a solemn expression, holding an English book in one hand as if discussing problems with Ning Xi, while stealing glances at Liang Yuting from the corner of his eye to see if she had noticed them.

Liang Yuting had, of course, noticed him, but she truly believed they were discussing English, so she didn't come over to interfere.

"Hold out your hand."

Shen Weiyue said in a low voice with his eyes closed.

Ning Xi obediently reached out her small hand, which was grabbed by him the next second, causing her to reflexively pull her smooth little hand back.

"Don't move! I'm reading your palm."

Shen Weiyue frowned and barked, and Ning Xi didn't dare to move again.

He pulled her hand back and used his index finger to trace the lines on her palm while chanting, "Heaven, Earth, and Man, the three realms; the Five Elements and Eight Characters determine... What do you want to calculate?"

"I... I want to calculate my marriage prospects." Ning Xi's little face turned bright red.

Shen Weiyue glanced at her in surprise and almost couldn't hold back his laughter.

He squeezed his eyes shut tight, chanted for two minutes, kneaded her hand for two minutes, then suddenly opened his eyes and drew a hexagram on a piece of scratch paper.

"This, what is this?" Ning Xi asked in surprise.

"The Hexagram of Gradual Progress, Wind over Mountain."

"What does it mean?"

"The maiden returns, auspicious and favorable for perseverance. It means your marriage prospects are destined by heaven; you only need to proceed step by step, seeking progress in stability, and you will achieve your dreams."

"Really? I'm so happy."

Ning Xi suddenly beamed like a flower, looking incredibly well-behaved.

Zhao Qingyan had been listening for a long time and was itching to know more, but her pride kept her from speaking up.

Shen Weiyue released Ning Xi's little hand, turned back around, and took the opportunity to glance at Liang Yuting again.

Very good, he hadn't been caught.

The corners of his mouth curled up slightly; he seemed to be secretly happy about swindling forty-nine bottles of milk.

Suddenly.

Zhao Qingyan nudged him with her elbow.

"What do you want?"

"Tell my fortune too."

"You're a fox, a spirit; what the hell are you asking for a fortune for?"

"Are you going to do it or not? If you don't, I'll go tell the teacher you're engaging in feudal superstition!"

Zhao the Fox furrowed her brows in anger.

"Alright, alright, I'll do it." Shen Weiyue sighed helplessly. "You heard it too; every time I cast a hexagram, it consumes a large amount of my essence. How do you plan to compensate me?"

"I give you my meat every lunch, and you're still not satisfied? You donkey, you're so greedy!" Zhao Qingyan was furious.

"Uh, fine, fine. I guess I owe you, damn it. This must be fate."

Shen Weiyue instantly deflated and said indifferently, "Give me your hand."

Zhao Qingyan generously handed over her hand, but not on the table; after all, the first row faced Teacher Liang directly, and no matter how bold they were, they weren't that brazen.

Shen Weiyue held her hand and pulled it slightly toward his side as if holding hands, placing it on his knee to touch her palm lines.

Zhao Qingyan trembled all over, forcing herself to stay calm and wait quietly.

Whether it was real or not didn't matter; she wanted to see what this donkey surnamed Shen could come up with.