Ning Youguang saw the heavy confusion in her eyes and asked with a light smile, "Do you have a class next period?"
Fang Tian shook her head, "No."
"All right then, let’s go."
...
On the bustling street of the National Science University, in a tea shop with a trendy renovation style, there weren’t many people at the moment.
"Teacher, your berry berry tea." Fang Tian gently placed the freshly retrieved tea from the counter in front of Ning Youguang.
"Thank you." Ning Youguang smiled lightly, leisurely inserting a straw.
However, Fang Tian held her unopened tea and began to feel nervous.
She lowered her head, burdened with thoughts.
Ning Youguang took a sip of tea, quietly observing her for a while before asking in a soft voice, "Is there something troubling you that you want to talk about?"
Fang Tian looked up at her for a long moment before speaking in a muffled voice:
"Teacher, do you believe in fortune-telling?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean fortune-telling, mysticism, Feng Shui, do you believe in those, teacher?"
Ning Youguang took another sip of tea, lightly chewing the fruit inside, "I can’t say I completely don’t believe in them."
Fang Tian’s eyes widened instantly, "So the teacher also thinks that mysticism is not just feudal superstition, right?"
Ning Youguang thought for a moment and seriously replied, "Well, they say that at the end of science is mysticism; everything in this world is reasonable as long as it exists. Many people think mysticism is superstition because they don’t fully understand these subjects; they’re in a state of half-understanding, which is why they call them superstitions."
Hearing her words, Fang Tian deflated like a punctured balloon, her whole demeanor softened, and a look of perplexed gloom covered her face:
"Teacher, I didn’t believe it before, but now I have to."
"Is there a particular reason?" Ning Youguang asked gently.
Fang Tian nodded heavily, and then, she began to slowly articulate her confusion: "Last week, I went back home, didn’t I? My grandfather had brought a Feng Shui master to look at our house again. Before this, he had already invited several Feng Shui masters. They would just say things like ’uh-huh’, ’good’, or ’fine’, but last week that Feng Shui master explained things to my grandfather very thoroughly. I listened carefully beside them, and after hearing the explanation, I searched our house and was shocked, teacher, you know what? Related to our house’s Feng Shui, all the bad things were true, I couldn’t handle it afterward."
"What does this have to do with you believing it?"
"A lot!" Fang Tian’s eyes were filled with deep fear.
"Is it because something happened recently at home?" Ning Youguang’s voice became even softer.
"Yes, teacher, it’s all because of my mom." When mentioning "my mom," Fang Tian’s brow furrowed tightly.
"What happened to your mother?"
"Our house is newly bought, and we’ve lived there for less than three years. Previously, my mother always had health problems, not because of the new house, but because she’s been chronically unwell and always had to visit the hospital. She had a history of mental illness and was constantly on medication. Besides, she had gynecological issues so she was always on medication. But ever since we moved into the new house, she’s been repeatedly scammed by those selling health products, online shopkeepers, and pyramid scheme sellers." At this point, Fang Tian became agitated, "Any normal person would know those people are scammers, but my mom just believes them. Over the past two years, all her money has been swindled away. Not only that, after losing it all, she doesn’t even think she’s been tricked; now she’s even borrowing money to buy these therapies, health products, and medicines. My father and I have only recently found out about this."
"Is it really that serious?" Ning Youguang said in surprise.
"Yes, my mom has already borrowed a lot of money outside, and we’re all very afraid she’ll get scammed for more, so when I found out our house’s Feng Shui was like this last week, I got even more scared. If it weren’t for my mom’s situation, I might not have felt this way just from listening to the Feng Shui master’s words, but now I really can’t help but believe in these things."
"It seems like your mom’s issue is quite severe."
"Yes, teacher, what should I do? I don’t know what to do to stop my mom from being tricked; I’m also scared to go home now, afraid to stay in that house."