Chapter 126 Love-Struck

Chapter 126: Love-Struck

Yan Zhoubai was heading to the restroom. He had just taken off his headphones when a loud "clatter" echoed from the other side, as if Zhang Lin had slammed his phone onto the table.

*Is this guy always so hot-headed? Getting angry with himself—how peculiar.*

Yan Zhoubai muttered a silent complaint before stepping into the bathroom.

When he emerged, he found Zhang Lin staring at him with an odd intensity.

*This guy is truly strange. He wouldn't just lash out, would he?*

Yan Zhoubai quickened his pace, making a beeline for his desk and sitting down.

His phone screen, left on the desk, lit up. Someone had messaged him—it was Bu Qiran.

Yan Zhoubai was a little surprised. Their last chat was a week ago when Bu Qiran had invited him to the arcade, a message he hadn't replied to. What could he want now?

**185 Pure-hearted College Boy:** Is Zhang Lin your roommate?

**185 Pure-hearted College Boy:** Don’t listen to his nonsense. He’s got a short fuse and doesn’t know anything. If he said anything unpleasant, don’t take it to heart.

**185 Pure-hearted College Boy:** And don’t get mad at me because of it.

**185 Pure-hearted College Boy:** I’ve already given him a serious talking-to.

Yan Zhoubai was utterly bewildered by Bu Qiran’s rapid-fire messages.

**Xiao Baichuan:** So you know Zhang Lin?

**185 Pure-hearted College Boy:** …

**185 Pure-hearted College Boy:** So, did he not mention it, or did you just not catch on?

**185 Pure-hearted College Boy:** He’s a friend of mine from Lan City.

**Xiao Baichuan:** Oh…

It was only then that Yan Zhoubai belatedly understood why Zhang Lin had specifically emphasized being from Lan City, and why his own lack of reaction had provoked such anger.

Yan Zhoubai pursed his lips. *Well, my apologies.* If it hadn't been explicitly brought up, he wouldn't have even remembered that Bu Qiran was from Lan City.

**185 Pure-hearted College Boy:** You really didn’t remember I’m from Lan City.

**185 Pure-hearted College Boy:** Angry.gif

**Xiao Baichuan:** Why is your friend so hostile towards me? I didn’t provoke him.

**185 Pure-hearted College Boy:** Because he thinks you’ve taken my place.

**185 Pure-hearted College Boy:** I already explained to him yesterday when we met that it wasn’t your fault.

**185 Pure-hearted College Boy:** But when he gets emotional, he tends to be reckless, so he might have offended you.

Yan Zhoubai lost interest in the conversation the moment he read "taken my place."

**Xiao Baichuan:** It’s fine. We’ll keep to ourselves. As long as he doesn’t bother me again.

**185 Pure-hearted College Boy:** I’ve talked to him. He definitely won’t.

**185 Pure-hearted College Boy:** Why didn’t you reply last time when I asked you to go to the arcade?

**Xiao Baichuan:** I’m busy.

**185 Pure-hearted College Boy:** How can you be busy on the weekend? Zhan Jiayu’s company can’t be working you that hard.

**Xiao Baichuan:** Because I’m going on a date with Zhan Jiayu.

**185 Pure-hearted College Boy:** …

**185 Pure-hearted College Boy:** Damn!

**185 Pure-hearted College Boy:** Yan Zhoubai, are you completely love-struck?! What’s so great about that Zhan Jiayu?

**185 Pure-hearted College Boy:** Just date for a bit and then break up. Are you really planning to stay with him long-term?

**185 Pure-hearted College Boy:** Let me tell you, he’s not a good guy. Not like me—my background is spotless.

…

Bu Qiran sent several more messages, but Yan Zhoubai couldn't be bothered to read them. His only thought regarding Bu Qiran’s incessant texts was: *What the hell are you yapping about?*

Since leaving the Yan family, his online chats with Bu Qiran had become more frequent, perhaps because they no longer saw each other constantly as they did before.

Although after that argument with the Yan family, Yan Zhoubai would only reply to one out of every five messages from Bu Qiran, their conversations invariably circled back to Bu Qiran urging him to break up with Zhan Jiayu. When it reached that point, Yan Zhoubai would simply stop responding.

Sometimes, he would even deliberately use such topics to shut Bu Qiran up, just like this time.

Bu Qiran was simply meddling. His relationship with Zhan Jiayu was absolutely none of Bu Qiran's business. His parents and older brother, as elders, might have some right to comment, but Bu Qiran had no justification whatsoever.

…

Zhan Jiayu sat in his office chair, idly toying with the peace charm Yan Zhoubai had given him during their first meeting at Cangru Temple, while listening to Chen Chu report on the recent activities of his "uncles."

“That’s the general situation. Several projects have fallen through due to their interference. Two projects ended up in Fourth Master’s hands,” Chen Chu stated.

“So these old fools have recovered and are stirring up trouble again, huh?”

Zhan Jiayu’s slender fingers tapped lightly on the desk, creating a crisp sound.

“Fourth Master owns an entertainment club in Qingshui District, which is one of his main sources of income aside from the company’s revenue. Recently, Third Master and Fifth Master have been frequenting that club,” Chen Chu continued, relaying the information he had gathered.

There was a reason for bringing up this club. The boss’s dissatisfaction with his three uncles was clearly mounting once more. The incident in Jiang City last time had only quieted them down temporarily, and now the boss was evidently planning to take action again.

If action was to be taken, targeting Fourth Master’s club would be the most effective entry point, which was why Chen Chu had specifically mentioned it.

“Is his club clean?” Zhan Jiayu raised an eyebrow.

“It’s never had any incidents, but with such high revenue, it’s unlikely to be completely problem-free.”

While Chen Chu loved to complain, he always kept it to himself. Once in work mode, he was meticulously professional.

Although he said “unlikely,” he had already uncovered some clues. Moreover, if the boss truly intended to target this club, even if there were no existing problems, he could certainly create some.

“Let’s start with this club,” Zhan Jiayu declared decisively, then tucked the peace charm into his pocket.

…

After attending classes for a few days, Yan Zhoubai realized the philosophy department’s course load was incredibly light. Compared to his two roommates—one studying mechanical engineering and the other computer science—he had an abundance of free time every day.

Yan Zhoubai was genuinely quite bored. He noticed some classmates studying in the library, while others were even preparing for graduate school entrance exams as freshmen. Yan Zhoubai, however, had no interest in either.

He wasn't particularly fond of studying and couldn't bring himself to spend entire days in the library. Nor did he plan to pursue graduate studies.

In the end, he decided to set up his street stall again and resume his business.

This decision was made with a little "encouragement" from the system.

The system reminded him that some time had passed since the last "viral young Taoist" incident, and it was time to get back to his old trade; after all, this was his original profession.

Yan Zhoubai thought it made sense, so he retrieved his small cart and headed to Nantian Street once more.

Although, given the previous incident, he probably should have chosen a different location, Nantian Street undeniably attracted the most potential customers. While there were many antique streets in the capital, none could compare to Nantian Street's foot traffic.

So, after discussing it with the system, he decided to adopt a slight disguise.

"Will this really work? I mean, I feel so weird, and it doesn’t even look good."

Yan Zhoubai stood before a full-length mirror, examining the clothes he had bought online based on the system’s suggestion: a retro-style black vest and shorts, a black skullcap, and a pair of round-lensed sunglasses.

When Yan Zhoubai put on the entire ensemble, he felt as if he had some kind of cross-dressing fetish—it was just too strange.

"Not strange at all! What’s weird about it? It looks perfectly fine. Feng shui masters all dress like this," the system declared, quite satisfied with the outfit.

"Last time, we stood out too much. After all, you’re quite young for this line of work. If someone came to you, they might get distracted by unimportant details like your appearance or background. Wearing this set is different—it suits the role and won’t draw too much attention."

"…"

"I'll be the most noticeable one, seriously. How many fortune-tellers on Nantian Street dress like this? It’s just too weird."

Yan Zhoubai had no idea where the system got such a stereotypical idea, but he absolutely refused to go out wearing that outfit.

He even argued with the system about it. In the past, he had always followed the system’s suggestions without question. But lately, he found himself disagreeing more and more often.

Of course, Yan Zhoubai didn’t think this was a bad thing. On the contrary, he felt that arguing with the system actually brought them closer.

In the end, Yan Zhoubai opted for a simpler disguise: just a hat and a pair of sunglasses. Definitely not the black skullcap or the small round sunglasses.

After summer break, the foot traffic on Nantian Street had noticeably decreased compared to when he set up his stall during the summer. Still, there were plenty of people around.

Nantian Street was considered one of the must-visit spots for tourists in the capital, so it was never empty. Besides, summer break had just ended, and some people chose to travel during the off-peak season. As it turned out, so many had the same idea that they ended up creating another peak season, and the crowd remained sizable.

This time, Yan Zhoubai kept a lower profile. He put away his Cangru Temple signboard, wary of causing trouble for his sect again.

Even so, Yan Zhoubai still attracted many customers thanks to his solid skills.

Most of the people who came to him that day were there for fortune-telling. Since many were tourists, they were just looking for some fun. It was rare to encounter someone seeking feng shui advice.

Fortune-telling wasn’t particularly difficult for Yan Zhoubai, but he had to find the right balance—not saying too much, but also not saying too little.

Saying too little wouldn’t showcase his abilities, making it hard to attract customers. At the same time, he couldn’t say too much. His master had warned him against interfering excessively in others’ fates, as revealing heavenly secrets could affect many things.

But in reality, his master was worrying too much. To reach the level of revealing heavenly secrets, one would need to be as skilled as the master himself. Someone of Yan Zhoubai’s caliber simply couldn’t achieve that.

In fact, for some particularly hard-to-read individuals, he even had to rely on talismans to avoid exposing that his skills weren't fully developed.

"Yan Zhoubai?"

Someone sat down on the small folding stool in front of him. Just as Yan Zhoubai was about to ask what they wanted their fortune told, the person called out his name directly.