Chapter 64

Chapter 64

Ying An drove Lin Tingyue home. As soon as she saw Lin Xiawan, Lin Tingyue couldn’t wait to ask, “Xiawan-jie, where are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

Lin Tingyue’s eyes sparkled. “Is this another one of your surprises?”

Lin Xiawan pressed her lips together in a small smile.

Glancing at Ying An, who hadn’t left yet, Lin Tingyue asked, “Can Mr. Ying come too?”

Lin Xiawan paused, her gaze meaningful. “He could come… but probably shouldn’t.”

“Aaaah! I knew it was for me! Sorry, Mr. Ying~”

Ying An had no intention of spoiling the surprise. “I’ll head out then, Miss Lin. See you next time.”

Lin Tingyue waved at him. “See you next time!”

Once Ying An was gone, Lin Xiawan asked, “What did you and Ying An do?”

“We went grape-picking at a vineyard.”

Lin Tingyue pulled Lin Xiawan over to show her the boxes they’d unloaded from Ying An’s trunk—four in total. Lin Xiawan asked, “All grapes?”

“Plus grape juice and wine.”

“Wine?”

“That Ying An—always trouble.”

“It’s fruit wine, super light—you can’t even get drunk on it,” Lin Tingyue explained.

“Still, don’t drink too much.”

“Yeah yeah, I know.”

“If I drink it on the sly, no one’ll know~”

Lin Xiawan tried to put on her big sister act, but not a single word came out—Lin Tingyue was just too adorable like this!

Checking her watch, Lin Xiawan said, “We should get going.”

Lin Tingyue nodded obediently. “Okay.”

Once in the car, Lin Tingyue clicked her seatbelt and looked around curiously. “We have to drive?”

“Mm.”

“My upperclassman has a show tonight by the seaside. Thought you might like to come. If you don’t, we can skip it.”

“A performance?”

“The ocean?”

“Music playing as the salty ocean air hits my face—OMG that sounds amazing!”

Lin Tingyue announced, “I want to go!” Lin Xiawan smiled. “Glad you’re excited.”

"Sis Xia Wan, how come you're asking if I like surprises? Doesn't that ruin the whole point?" Lin Tingyue tilted her head, puzzled.

"Even surprises should be nice ones. If it's not liked, it becomes a scare or just plain awkward. Now that I've told you, Tingyue, are you still looking forward to it?"

Lin Tingyue’s eyes lit up like stars. "I’m even more excited now."

"Then this is a good surprise."

"So surprises can be good or bad too," she nodded, filing away this new life lesson.

---

The car couldn’t go any further, so Lin Xiaowan parked in the lot and walked down the steps with Lin Tingyue. The fiery sunset met the sea on the horizon, creating a view that was both beautiful and awe-inspiring.

Lin Tingyue was already bouncing with excitement. "Sunset! Ocean! Music! Handsome guys!"

Given Lin Tingyue’s personality, Lin Xiaowan couldn’t help but wonder—was *that* last part the real main attraction?

There were already quite a few people on the beach. It was the weekend, after all, and parents were out with kids, who played in the sand near the shore.

"Now I wanna play in the sand too!"

Couples confessing love and kissing were also common sights.

"I’ll pass on the kissing, thanks."

Everywhere was lively, but what surprised Lin Tingyue most was spotting an actual fortune-telling stall set up on the beach.

"You’re kidding me—here?"

The vendor wore sunglasses, and his banner read, “Your money back if I'm wrong.”

"...Now that's what I call modern."

Surprisingly, business was booming—he’d already raked in nearly a grand in no time.

"New side hustle unlocked! But I don’t really know how to tell fortunes… think I could crash-course it?"

Lin Xiaowan thought Lin Tingyue didn’t need to learn at all. Her little sister was basically a one-woman gossip encyclopedia—she knew everything about every drama going around. Fortune-telling should be right up her alley. She was just built different, that sister of hers.

But just as the fortune-teller’s business was taking off, he suddenly announced he wouldn’t be doing readings anymore—from now on, only for those with a fated match.

"Wait—is this some viral marketing play?"

At first, everyone assumed it was a trick to make more money, but shockingly, he actually turned people away. So was there truly someone fated among the crowd?

Soon enough, the fortune-teller found his fated one.

He made a beeline for her, banner in hand. "Miss, how about your fortune?"

"Me?" Gao Siqi pressed a hand to her chest.

"Yes, you. We’re cosmically linked, you and I—this one’s on the universe."

Since it was free, Gao Siqi’s friend egged her on, “Siqi, just try it. See what he says.”

“Yeah, come on.”

Gao Siqi’s best friend, Wei Pei, shared a knowing look with the fortune-teller before leaning in and whispering in her ear, “Besides, Siqi, you’ve got good fortune coming. Might as well get a blessing.”

That hit home for Gao Siqi. She said, “Alright then.”

She asked, “Right here?”

“Please follow me, miss.”

Gao Siqi sat down on the stool across from the fortune-teller, who told her to extend her right hand.

She did, but gave him a once-over first. “Sir, you look kinda familiar.”

“Miss, please don’t try to poach my clients when I’m not looking.”

“Funny guy.”

After taking a look at her palm, the fortune-teller exclaimed, “Looks like you’re destined for great wealth and honor.”

A friend behind her chimed in, “Of course! She’s the Gao family heiress.”

“Oh! My bad—didn’t realize who you were! Since fate looks good, let’s talk about your love life…”

Everyone knew Gao Siqi was getting married soon, so all eyes were on the fortune-teller, waiting.

But then he drew a sharp breath and frowned. “Not good.”

“What do you mean, ‘not good’?” Gao Siqi yanked her hand back, fuming.

The fortune-teller opened a folding fan beside him. On it were the words: *May cheaters be struck by lightning.*

“That’s a thing now?”

He went on seriously, “You think it’s a match made in heaven, but that man has ulterior motives. Your partner is disloyal, unfilial, unkind, and unjust—utterly… not a real person!”

“Damn, that’s brutal!”

Gao Siqi shot up from her seat, and her friends rushed to calm her down. Wei Pei snapped, “Who talks like that? Want me to trash your setup?”

“Miss, I’m just telling the truth. If you really care about your friend, don’t let her walk into a trap.”

Gao Siqi had finally had enough. “Cut the crap! If it weren’t for—”

She suddenly froze.

She meant to say, *If it weren’t for that mysterious voice in my head, I wouldn’t even be here,* but the words died in her throat.

Then the mysterious voice spoke again—

“Harsh or not, everything this fortune-teller said is true.”

True?

Gao Siqi stood there, stunned.

“Gao Siqi’s boyfriend isn’t some wealthy prince charming. His identity is fake, his face is fake, and even the ‘parents’ he introduced her to were hired fakes. In reality, he’s already married with kids in another city.”

Gao Siqi was practically unsteady on her feet.

Not far away, Chi Yangyun was searching everywhere for her. When he spotted her, he jogged over. "Siqi, the show's starting soon. Why are you still here? Let's go."

Gao Siqi didn't budge. Chi Yangyun cautiously tugged at her arm, but she laid him out with a slap.

Dazed, Chi Yangyun cupped his stinging cheek. "Siqi, what the hell? Why'd you just—"

Wei Pei suddenly shoved him hard. "What the hell? God damn it, you know exactly what you did. Stay away from Siqi!"

"I—"

Still acting clueless, Chi Yangyun asked, "What did I do?"

Unable to reveal the mysterious voice, Wei Pei dragged the fortune-teller forward. "She was just getting her fortune read here, and it said you're a lying, cheating, no-good scoundrel! Are you already married or not?"

"I..."

Chi Yangyun paled.

Seeing this, the jig was up—Gao Siqi had figured it out.

"We're through!" she snapped.

She slapped him again, then whipped out a card and shoved it at the fortune-teller. "Thank you."

The fortune-teller blinked in confusion: "?!"

"Why are you thanking him?" Wei Pei cut in. "He's in on it too—he's got his own agenda!"

What???

Gao Siqi raised her hand again, but froze when the fortune-teller took off his sunglasses.

Wei Pei put on a show of being shocked. "No way, Ning Jitong? What are you doing?"

"I'm here to show missy here what her man's really like."

Gao Siqi, Ning Jitong, and Wei Pei were childhood friends. Ning had always liked Gao Siqi, and their families had already arranged their marriage. But a month ago, Gao Siqi threw a fit to call off the wedding because she'd fallen for a guy named Chi Yangyun.

Ning Jitong dug up all the dirt on Chi Yangyun and came up with this whole plan. Wei Pei was just there to back him up.

Who knew their plan would work like a charm?

"Score!" Ning Jitong and Wei Pei high-fived. Wei Pei thought to himself—they really owed it all to dumb luck.

Gao Siqi couldn’t take it anymore. "Was it too much to ask for you two to just show me the proof?"

Ning Jitong and Wei Pei exchanged glances. Ning sighed, "Like you would've believed us anyway, princess."

"Get outta here."

Ning Jitong had the nerve to ask, "We still on for the show?"

"It's a big beach—go find your own spot."

"This feels like some sneaky PSA about marriage licenses. The rest is total BS."

Lin Tingyue and Lin Xiawan were done soaking up all the tea and coupley nonsense, and headed off to catch the show.

The performance hadn't started yet. Lin Xiaowan's senior, who was the guitarist, was tuning his guitar.

Upon seeing him, Lin Tingyue’s first thought was, “How can anyone be this good-looking?!” she thought.

“She thought to herself: But still, he does fall a bit short of Mr. Ying.”

Lin Xiaowan didn’t understand how Lin Tingyue could possibly connect him to Ying An.

After looking down at the gossip on her phone, Lin Tingyue was completely floored.

“This isn’t a hottie—this is gossip with a face!”