Chapter 15: Supporting a Useless Brother? Not Happening!
According to the original storyline, Qin Jiaming was supposed to make his entrance when school started. But now that Lin Zhifeng has derailed the plot, the fates of the characters are being subtly altered.
Lin Zhifeng didn’t step forward. It was better that they met early—Bai Ruyue would have the loyal male lead’s help, which would make the family struggles smoother.
Father Bai and Zhang Qin soon walked over from nearby and happened to hear the young man’s words. Their expressions didn’t look too good.
Bai Jiaojiao’s face flushed red with embarrassment and anger—she felt humiliated in front of Qin Jiaming. Just moments ago, she had pointed at Bai Ruyue’s nose, calling her a thief and mocking her for being poor and shameless, all of which had clearly been seen.
As usual, Father Bai tried to smooth things over, telling Bai Ruyue not to take it to heart and just come inside for a meal.
A flash of disappointment appeared in Bai Ruyue’s eyes. She shook her head and left the food street on her own. Qin Jiaming happened to be heading in the same direction, so the two of them walked off one after the other.
Watching the golden couple walk away, Lin Zhifeng saw a black sedan slowly approach. “Always the second—the female lead’s already gone, and now he shows up.”
Lin Zhifeng was still mulling over the connection between Zhao Xiao and Wang Tingmei when the car door suddenly opened, and out stepped a very real Xie Laidi—so much so that Lin Zhifeng’s jaw nearly dropped.
Xie Laidi spotted her immediately, waved a hand excitedly, and dashed through the crowd toward her. The luxury car made a quick U-turn and drove off without even rolling down the window.
Lin Zhifeng took Xie Laidi to a stylishly decorated hot pot restaurant, got a private room, poured her a cup of tea, and calmly asked, “What just happened back there?”
Xie Laidi gestured animatedly to describe what had happened earlier, her little head full of confusion.
“I came downstairs and saw the car. The guy in the back seat said his name was Zhao Xiao and that he was an acquaintance of Mom’s. He didn’t look like a bad guy, so I got in.”
Lin Zhifeng held her forehead. What do you mean “he didn’t look like a bad guy”? So just being good-looking means you can do whatever you want, huh?
“Don’t ever get into a stranger’s car again. If someone sells you off, where am I supposed to find you?”
Xie Laidi hurriedly nodded, promising she’d never do it again. Then she gestured and continued:
“He asked about our family, and whether we’d ever entered an essay competition. Then he gave me a letter and asked me to pass it to you.”
The envelope had a faint fragrance. When she pulled out the letter, the paper and ink were clearly of fine quality. There wasn’t much written—just a single line of bold, flamboyant cursive.
“Meet me at the back gate of the Cultural Center on the 28th.”
Signed: Zhao Xiao
“Sister, what does he want?”
“I don’t know either. I’ll ask him when the time comes.”
Lin Zhifeng tore up the letter and tossed it into the trash. The hot pot base and ingredients began arriving one after another, the rich spicy aroma rushing into their faces. Both of them quickly forgot their worries.
—
The next day, Lin Zhifeng unusually got up early. She put on a loose white dress that Wang Tingmei had discarded during her pregnancy, and with her hair hanging down in disarray, she floated out the door looking like a ghost.
She was heading back to the village—to meet that so-called “immortal.”
After boarding the bus that ran to the village, Lin Zhifeng leaned against the window, watching the scenery. When she got bored, she summoned the system to kill time.
“How many talismans can I use in each novel world?”
“Ten of each category. Talismans can be unlocked as rewards when the host performs good deeds.”
Lin Zhifeng automatically ignored the last part. She continued asking, “How many categories are there in total?”
“Countless.” The system was far from modest, brimming with confidence in its store.
“Good. Then give me a Bewilderment Talisman and a Fire Serpent Talisman.”
The system went silent for a moment, then suddenly materialized two one-yuan bills next to Lin Zhifeng. Just as her fingers closed around them, they vanished again.
Ding—
“Detected: Host has repeatedly returned lost money without keeping it. Award: 1 Bewilderment Talisman, 1 Fire Serpent Talisman. Please accept!”
Lin Zhifeng: “…”
…
The bus rattled into the village and came to a stop on a flat stretch of road. Lin Zhifeng was the last to get off. Once everyone had walked off into the distance, she sped up, heading toward where the “immortal” lived.
“Shouldn’t an immortal live in some gloomy old shack? This flashy place is more over-the-top than a countryside inn!”
The immortal’s courtyard was glittering with gold and completely unrecognizable from its previous rundown state—clearly renovated with a ton of money. The moment she stepped inside, a cheerful electronic female voice rang out: “Welcome! Welcome!”
The immortal, pale-faced with bright red lips, was lounging in the main room munching on sunflower seeds. Seeing a strange-looking young girl in odd clothes, she impatiently waved her hand. “Shoo, go play somewhere else.”
“I’m here for a reading.” Lin Zhifeng stood in the shadow of the doorway, white dress billowing, black hair swaying—she looked eerily ghostlike.
But the immortal fancied herself worldly and unshakable. She spat out a sunflower seed husk that spun in midair and sneered, “Got money? If not, get lost.”
“I’m not here to read my fortune—I’m here to read yours.” Lin Zhifeng made a sweeping gesture in the air, and a thick stack of red bills appeared on the table in front of the immortal. “You have a death omen. Even if you’ve got money, you won’t live to spend it.”
The immortal was completely stunned by the sudden appearance of money, but upon hearing the last sentence, she nearly burst out in anger at what she assumed was nonsense.
Lin Zhifeng didn’t give her the chance to react. With a quick flick of her wrist, she discreetly activated the Fire Serpent Talisman. With a loud whoosh, a long red serpent of flame spiraled from her hand and darted toward the ground at the immortal’s feet.
The Fire Serpent Talisman didn’t actually have much attack power—it just looked dramatic enough to fool ordinary people.
The moment the flames touched the ground, they vanished. But the immortal was already terrified—she dropped to her knees with a loud thud, kowtowing repeatedly to Lin Zhifeng, too scared to even form a complete sentence.
“Do you want to escape your death omen?”
“Yes—yes!!”
Lin Zhifeng sat down in a chair, stashed the money back into the system, and grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds to snack on. Crispy and fragrant—no wonder even a self-proclaimed immortal couldn’t stop eating them.
“We have karmic ties from a past life. In this life, I must help you overcome your calamity. You must follow my instructions to the letter—no mistakes allowed.”
“Thank you, immortal! Please save me, immortal!”
The so-called immortal was already thoroughly convinced this was fate. After hearing what Lin Zhifeng said next, she was even more certain that this was an all-knowing deity.
“You once gave a fortune reading to a family surnamed Yang, saying their mentally challenged son needed to marry to ward off misfortune. That was a miscalculation on your part—you didn’t have enough cultivation. This one mistake is what triggered your death omen. Do you know how much trouble you’ve caused this divine lord? Sigh…”
The immortal now looked even more mystically earnest than usual. She quickly asked, “What should I do to resolve it? Can I still make amends? Will Heaven forgive me?”
“You must go to the Yang household by 5:00 a.m. on the 25th. Paste this talisman on Mother Yang and tell her the person chosen for the marriage ritual must be at least nineteen. If someone tries to fool her with an eighteen-year-old girl, they’re deliberately putting her son’s life at risk.”
Seeing how nervously the woman trembled, Lin Zhifeng nearly burst out laughing. She coughed once to hold it in, then continued with her instructions.
“After that, go to Yang San’s mother and tell her that fate has changed. She must take Yang San to the city hospital, or his life will be in danger. Doing so will undo the karmic burden caused by your incorrect reading.”
Lin Zhifeng dusted off her hands, stood up, and strolled toward the door with her hands behind her back. Just as she reached the doorway, she paused, as if suddenly remembering something, then turned to add a final warning:
“I also foresaw that a middle-aged man surnamed Xie will get entangled in this affair. He is a curse to you—be very careful around him.”
With that, Lin Zhifeng tossed down a Bewilderment Talisman and drifted away like a true celestial being. The fortune-teller, still collapsed on the ground, clutched the talisman with tear-filled eyes and shouted at her retreating figure:
“Thank you, immortal, for saving my life!”
