Zhuang Lan had been quiet for a while, not because he was shocked but because he began to reflect.
Did he really have such heavy dark circles from staying up late recently?
Hua Miaofu waited for Zhuang Lan’s response, but he shook his head and repeated.
"I don’t believe this!"
Jun Feifei looked at the shop owner with some embarrassment. Although this response was very much in line with Zhuang Lan’s identity as a socialist successor, it was also quite disrespectful.
Instead of getting angry, Hua Miaofu pulled open a drawer and took out a deep blue pouch.
"Alright, this is for you. Put it under your pillow tonight and you can see your true inner thoughts."
Zhuang Lan stared at the blue pouch and finally squeezed out a sentence.
"Just tell me straight, how much are you planning to swindle from me?"
Jun Feifei: "..." Is he that blunt?
Zhuang Lan wasn’t surprised that the female shop owner could see something. He had read some books before that said many swindlers were actually masters of psychology.
They would say things that seemed plausible, and in the end, no matter the result, it could all be explained.
Just like it was written in the books, three scholars were on their way to the capital to take the exams when they happened upon a fortune teller.
The scholars asked, "How many of us will pass the exam on this trip to the capital?"
The fortune teller pretended to calculate for awhile, raised a finger, then shook his head saying that the will of heaven must not be revealed, leaving the scholars to ponder for themselves.
But that single finger held much knowledge.
It could be broadly summarized as: one passes; one fails; all pass or one fails, encompassing all possible outcomes.
Zhuang Lan had clearly classified Hua Miaofu as this kind of swindler.
Hua Miaofu’s hand was left hanging in the air for quite a while, getting no response, and her brow gradually furrowed.
Jun Feifei hurriedly took the blue pouch and tried to smooth things over, "I’ll hold onto it for him, how much is it?"
"It’s free." Hua Miaofu, having been ignored by Zhuang Lan multiple times, lost her smile, "Since this student says I’m a swindler, how could I possibly take money? Whether it works or not, you’ll know tomorrow."
Zhuang Lan didn’t respond to her, instead he turned to Jun Feifei, "It’s about time. Even if I don’t go home to study, I have to go home for dinner. Let’s go."
Jun Feifei coughed lightly and took out a banknote from her wallet and placed it on the table.
Then followed Zhuang Lan out.
After this indescribably awkward encounter, Jun Feifei was no longer in the mood to continue shopping.
The two walked all the way back to the residential area, Zhuang Lan seemingly contemplative.
"Thank you. I really did learn a lot today."
Jun Feifei was puzzled, "What?"
"Without effort in youth, one relies on fortune-telling as an adult. It seems I need to make sure you study hard, so you won’t be duped by such people."
Jun Feifei stamped her foot in anger, "Who got duped!"
Zhuang Lan insisted, "If you believe in this sort of thing, isn’t that being duped?"
Jun Feifei speechless, "That’s because you have a narrow view of the world. You don’t know what I’ve experienced. There are many things in this world that science can’t explain."
"Yeah, yeah." Zhuang Lan replied perfunctorily, not really listening to her, and reached out, "Give me the test papers."
Jun Feifei grudgingly took out the test papers from her backpack, "Turn around, I’ll put it in for you."
Zhuang Lan this time complied, letting Jun Feifei open his backpack and place the test papers inside.
Jun Feifei’s eyes flickered, and she slipped the deep blue pouch into the backpack as well.
After all, she had paid for it when leaving, and she couldn’t let it go to waste.
It wasn’t until after dinner, when Zhuang Lan was working on the test papers, that he discovered what Jun Feifei had done.
"Put this thing under the pillow and you can see your true inner thoughts?"
Zhuang Lan scoffed at the idea.
But after a thought, he tossed it onto the bed carelessly.
Sleeping was just sleeping; he didn’t believe anything would actually happen.
"I’ll mock Jun Feifei at school tomorrow."
Zhuang Lan was ready to personally challenge and dispel these feudal superstitions.
No, that’s not right, Tarot Cards originated from abroad, so that means he’s promoting the spirit of science and breaking through Western superstitious culture!