Chapter 75 Feng Shui

Chapter 75: Feng Shui

The system said that Bu Qiran was the so-called protagonist from the original storyline, while he himself was the villain destined to be defeated by Bu Qiran.

He didn't buy into this idea, and didn't think much of Bu Qiran either. He had no intention of provoking trouble, but if Bu Qiran continued to treat Yan Zhoubai this way, he wouldn't mind ensuring the so-called original plot ended up without a protagonist.

"Host, I think we can plan this out carefully."

Zhan Jiayu’s system, which had been silent for a long time, popped up when it sensed his thoughts.

If it weren't such a machine, if it had a physical form, it would probably be crying tears of joy.

The host finally had some fighting spirit and was willing to get involved with the main storyline.

Last time, over that fake cannon fodder cross-dressing incident, the host had gotten angry and wiped out the protagonist’s hard-earned underground connections in Jing City. The system felt that this wasn’t enough—they needed to step it up.

The protagonist was a typical "dragon-proud-sky" main character. For others, such suppression might be fatal, but for the protagonist, it might just be a small hurdle he could overcome. Unless he's completely crushed, it wouldn’t work.

Although it was jealousy over that fake cannon fodder that sparked this, that didn't matter now. What mattered was that the host had fighting spirit. As a system sent to this world with a mission, it was finally seeing progress.

"He’s really annoying, so annoying. Thankfully, in two months, we’ll both be heading off to university and won’t have to see each other anymore."

Zhan Jiayu’s simple "Oh" was meant to suppress his inner anger, but to Yan Zhoubai, it sounded more like encouragement, so he continued talking.

"When did he start bullying you? Doesn’t anyone in your family intervene?" Zhan Jiayu asked, trying to sound casual.

"Just these past few days," Yan Zhoubai scratched his head, as if recalling, "It seems to have started after we had dinner with Qi Hua and the others last time."

"Oh!" Yan Zhoubai suddenly slapped his thigh, his voice rising, "So maybe it’s because I messed up his date with Qi Hua that he’s angry!"

Though phrased as a question, Yan Zhoubai’s tone was completely certain, feeling he had finally figured it out.

"That might be it. Does no one in your family care that he’s bullying you? Doesn't Yan Anxuan watch over you? How could he, as the older brother, not intervene when his two younger brothers are fighting?"

Zhan Jiayu didn’t care why Bu Qiran had changed; he only cared whether Bu Qiran had bullied Yan Zhoubai. He also threw in a dig at Yan Anxuan.

"My brother has been really busy lately, getting home really late at night. I didn’t want to bother him, so he probably doesn’t know what's going on between us."

Hearing this, Zhan Jiayu’s brow furrowed deeply. And Yan Anxuan has the nerve to play the big brother in front of him?

But Yan Zhoubai hadn’t finished: "However, I complained to my mom. I won’t let Bu Qiran get away with acting so cocky!"

Yan Zhoubai clenched his fist and lightly threw a mock punch. Though he was complaining, it was clear his spirits were high, and he didn’t seem upset.

"Strangely enough, ever since Bu Qiran returned to the Yan family, my mom has been taking his side both openly and behind the scenes. But this time, she actually scolded him. She said if he bothers me again, she’ll ship him off to intern at the company."

Yan Zhoubai still looked puzzled as he spoke.

Zhan Jiayu’s expression remained neutral, but he scoffed to himself. Sending Bu Qiran to intern at the company was no punishment at all—wasn’t it more like a reward?

Glancing at Yan Zhoubai, Zhan Jiayu sighed silently. Yan Zhoubai simply wasn’t suited for managing a company; otherwise, he would have helped him.

But then again, Yan Zhoubai had never been interested in managing the company or running the Yan family. As long as he was happy, that was all that mattered.

"What he did was too much. Even your mom couldn’t stand it. If something like this happens again, you must speak up. If he doesn’t change his habit of getting handsy with people, it’s going to cause real problems sooner or later."

The first half of his statement was meant to comfort Yan Zhoubai, but the second half grew colder, making one wonder if the "serious trouble" he referred to would be of his own making.

But Bu Qiran was on his hit list now.

Moreover, after hearing this, Zhan Jiayu’s desire to take Yan Zhoubai away from the Yan family grew stronger.

First, he tricked Yan Zhoubai into wearing women’s clothing; now, he was getting hands-on. Zhan Jiayu didn’t know what Bu Qiran was thinking, but it wasn’t surprising that someone as gentle, soft, and fair as Yan Zhoubai would attract Bu Qiran’s attention.

Who could resist Yan Zhoubai? Especially someone like Bu Qiran, who grew up in an ordinary family with shady foster parents. Someone as pure as Yan Zhoubai would be impossibly attractive to him.

Just as he was to Zhan Jiayu.

Zhan Jiayu’s system:...

Sometimes, as a system, it would rather not know everything its host was thinking, especially regarding his love life, particularly after the host had fallen for a minor cannon fodder character with little role in the original plot.

Zhan Jiayu asked Yan Zhoubai if he wanted anything else to eat. He had specifically asked Chen Chu to buy snacks yesterday, stocking the cabinets full in preparation for Yan Zhoubai’s visit.

"No need, let’s get down to business."

Yan Zhoubai picked up the luopan from the table. He always remembered that he was a professional feng shui practitioner, not some scammer here to mooch. He had to be professional.

Besides, wouldn’t the payment after the job be worth more than a few bags of snacks?

Right away, Yan Zhoubai took the luopan and walked into the courtyard. Zhan Jiayu followed eagerly, curious to see what Yan Zhoubai would discover.

The bronze luopan was densely inscribed with the heavenly stems, earthly branches, and the eight trigrams. Zhan Jiayu didn’t fully understand it but knew the basics.

People in Jiang City valued such things, and so did the old man. Though he grew up in America, he couldn’t avoid learning about these things.

"Stand in the Kun position, face Li direction, don’t disturb the energy field."

Yan Zhoubai mumbled under his breath. Though he was speaking to himself, Zhan Jiayu, standing nearby, thought he was being instructed and took two steps back.

This was the first time the young master was doing a feng shui reading for someone. Though Zhan Jiayu didn’t believe in it, he didn’t want to disrupt the young master’s focus.

Yan Zhoubai held his breath and concentrated fully, undisturbed by Zhan Jiayu beside him. He held the luopan flat in his palm, its needle trembling slightly before stabilizing and pointing due south. He walked slowly along the inner perimeter of the old residence’s courtyard, his steps steady and rhythmic, his gaze shifting between the luopan and the architecture.

"The foundation is square, facing north with the entrance in the Li position—it should be auspicious," Yan Zhoubai murmured thoughtfully. "But something feels off."

Yan Zhoubai had done thorough preparations. On the other hand, he genuinely believed that the Feng Shui of the Zhan family’s old residence wouldn’t have any issues.

People from Jiang City cared deeply about such matters, and the old man of the Zhan family, being from Jiang City, would surely have ensured the Feng Shui of his residence was impeccable. So, when he detected something wrong, Yan Zhoubai was surprised.

"What’s wrong? Is there a problem?"

Zhan Jiayu took two large steps forward, closing the distance to Yan Zhoubai’s side.

Yan Zhoubai had been muttering to himself earlier, and Zhan Jiayu, standing farther away, hadn’t caught the words, but he could tell Yan Zhoubai’s expression had shifted.

So, did the old man’s residence actually have a Feng Shui issue?

Zhan Jiayu wasn’t bothered by the idea; instead, he found it amusing.

Yan Zhoubai didn’t respond. His gaze swept around before settling on a pillar in the corridor leading to the living room. The pillar was carved with intricate lotus patterns, but upon closer inspection, some of the petals seemed unnaturally shaped.

Yan Zhoubai took three copper coins from his cloth bag and tossed them into the air. When they landed, they formed a triangular pattern, with one corner pointing directly at a specific spot on the pillar.

Yan Zhoubai’s expression grew even more puzzled. Based on the current observations, the Feng Shui of the residence had clearly been consulted by an expert, yet it wasn’t an exceptionally superior Feng Shui arrangement.

Yan Zhoubai felt uncertain, even starting to doubt himself. He knew he had received proper training, unlike some scammers on Tiannan Street who relied on deception. Yet, he was also aware that his skills were still underdeveloped—there might be more intricate setups beyond his ability to detect.

Returning to the living room, Yan Zhoubai lit three sticks of sandalwood incense he had brought. The smoke curled upward but, instead of dispersing at the beam, it drifted along some invisible path, slowly swirling into a weird spiral.

"Baby, can you handle this? Is there really something wrong with their feng shui?"

It was rare to see Yan Zhoubai so serious and focused on a task, which made the System nervous too.

"The residence has a 'Yin Embracing Yang' arrangement, using the corridor pillar as an eye to draw earthly energy and transform celestial light. It should gather wealth and blessings, but clearly, there's more to it."

Yan Zhoubai asked Zhan Jiayu to bring a ladder so he could climb up for a closer look, but Zhan Jiayu stopped him.

"Tell me what you need to see. I'll go up for you."

Zhan Jiayu didn’t believe in any of this to begin with, and he was worried Yan Zhoubai might fall—it wasn’t worth the risk. This whole thing was just an excuse to invite Yan Zhoubai over; if Yan Zhoubai got hurt, it would truly be more trouble than it's worth.

At first, Yan Zhoubai had been as relaxed as Zhan Jiayu was, but now he seemed tense and insisted on climbing up himself.

So, was there really a problem?

Zhan Jiayu didn’t argue further. He held the ladder steady, letting Yan Zhoubai climb up slowly while he held it firmly from below, ready to catch him if he fell—ensuring he’d only land in his arms.

The corridor in front of the living room was very high, so the supporting pillars were equally tall. The top was backlit, making it impossible to see the detailed patterns clearly from the ground.

Even after climbing onto the chair, Yan Zhoubai couldn’t see clearly—the upper part was covered in a thick layer of dust, clearly too high to have been cleaned.

Yan Zhoubai took out his phone, turned on the flashlight, and finally got a clear view of the patterns at the top.

The entire pillar was carved with lotus patterns, but at the very top, the lotus petals were carved with dense, unknown characters. Yan Zhoubai couldn’t decipher them and decided to snap a photo with his phone to examine later.

But the moment he aimed the camera at those characters, as if he remembered something, his face paled, and the next second, he fell backward from the ladder.

Author's Note: I don’t actually know much about feng shui—it’s all made up. Just enjoy it for fun, don’t take it seriously (shields up) [Let me see].

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