After My Thoughts Were Read, My Master Led Me to Change My Fate - Chapter 26

Is it that… even the author didn’t know what she took it for, only that she took it?

But if this isn’t “transmigrating into a book,” what else could it be?

Why does the top of my head feel a bit chilly? How strange.

What is with Master’s sour, jealous tone…

Did she knock over a jar of vinegar?

Hmm… I feel like the topic changed a bit fast.

But, Master… is jealous…?

“You can’t be nervous, Xiao Ran. Bring your gaze back!” Fang Qing’s voice was cold, sounding somewhat displeased.

Ning Songwu sat with a faint smile, watching Fang Qing “discipline” Ran Fanyin through a screen.

Fang Qing did not allow anyone to feel that a scene was “difficult” while filming. In her view, the moment someone subconsciously thinks a task is hard, they become overly serious, which in turn affects the character’s natural state.

So today, she was determined to make this girl—who turned red at the slightest provocation overcome her psychological barrier.

“So what if your co-star is Ning Songwu? Even if she’s a celestial being descended to earth, you tease her when you’re supposed to tease her, you be dominant when you’re supposed to be dominant, and you kiss her when you’re supposed to kiss her. The Junior Sister is the ‘1’ in this dynamic; you can’t wimp out! Besides, what is there about Ning Songwu to make you nervous?”

Fang Qing didn’t hold back in front of the other person, throwing “straight balls” of blunt criticism. Ran Fanyin propped up her head, struggling to stay calm. Her ink-black hair was tied in a loose ponytail, and the bangs framing her face made her features look slender rather than round.

This image, paired with the audio, reached Ning Songwu’s ears and elicited a few soft chuckles.

Ran Fanyin subconsciously looked toward the source of the sound. The woman was leaning against a desk, her pale arm supporting her tilted head, her red lips slightly parted as she let out a few light laughs.

Ran Fanyin, you’re doomed.

She heard a voice in her heart say.

“Yes! That’s the look! Lingering, infatuated! But you can’t be that direct; it has to be more subtle. After all, there still needs to be a tiny bit of distance between the Senior and Junior Sister.”

Fang Qing’s voice was right in her ear, yet it gradually drifted away, fading along with the sound of her own breathing.

“You did a great job. You’re going to be an excellent actor.” Ning Songwu’s voice was gentle, like a mountain spring tinged with color, easily pulling her back to reality.

The woman had already withdrawn her previous expression and sat upright again. The smile on her lips had returned to its usual sense of distance, as if everything just now had merely been to help Ran Fanyin find the right “feeling.”

And indeed, that was the only possibility.

Those secret thoughts were once again tucked away by Ran Fanyin, stuffed into a corner of her heart that was already overflowing.

No one knew that at the moment their eyes met through the screen the moment the longing and obsession in Ran Fanyin’s eyes spilled over Ning Songwu’s heart had faltered.

Once the two of them regained their composure, the script reading went much more smoothly.

When the screenwriter and the singer entered the meeting room, the atmosphere was in a state of peculiar silence.

None of the three had muted their microphones, yet the only sound in the room was their breathing. The two leads, in particular, had their cameras on, staring directly at the screen.

“I’m having them look at each other across the distance to find the vibe,” Fang Qing said in a low voice. “You didn’t see it just now; that moment when the sense of attachment spilled over from both of them… tsk tsk tsk, they’re too perfect a match.”

Seeing everyone had arrived, Ning Songwu withdrew her gaze, gave a light cough, and said calmly, “Let’s begin.”

“Alright,” Ran Fanyin followed immediately.

Neither of their voices held the affection from a moment ago; they had cooled significantly, returning to a professional working state.

As expected.

After all, it was for the sake of work.

Teacher Ning was an excellent actor, and she, too, wanted to become one.

Probably.

In a place the camera couldn’t capture and Li Ke’er couldn’t see, Ran Fanyin’s fingers were tightly clutching the hem of her shirt.

Only this way could she remain temporarily calm.

For the first time, she regretted using Double Dreams to get close to Ning Songwu.

She was afraid.

She feared that everything was merely Ning Songwu’s preparation for the role.

Could it be? Would that Teacher Ning—who smiled gently, smiled wickedly, sent many emojis, and showed a state completely different from her daily self—be a “limited edition” reserved only for Double Dreams?

Even if she was, please let her finish this dream.

The script reading lasted from 4:00 PM until deep into the night. Although the final product would only be five minutes long, Fang Qing was clearly a perfectionist who scrutinized every detail.

Even though only Ning Songwu and Ran Fanyin were required to keep their cameras on throughout, Ran Fanyin could see the fine sweat on the screenwriter’s forehead even through his dark avatar.

The writer is the first creator of a script, while the director is the second. Fang Qing’s mastery of the material showed she was a highly responsible director.

Responsible to a point that was slightly terrifying.

Once everyone said their goodbyes, Ran Fanyin exited the meeting and shut down her computer. When nothing but static remained in her headphones, Li Ke’er, who had been sitting on the other side, finally let out a shaky sigh and groaned, “Heavens, that was terrifying!”

“What was?”

“All of you. You’re all terrifying. That director, that writer, Ning Songwu, and you. Just terrifying.”

“How am I terrifying?” Ran Fanyin teased, stretching her neck and shoulders which had grown stiff from sitting all afternoon.

“Fanyin, to be honest, when that director first started training you, the longing and desire in your eyes were too real. Watching from here, I felt like I was being sucked in—it was as if the person on the other side truly was the lover you were pursuing. You’re a good actor; keep at it, and you’ll be a huge star sooner or later!”

The person stretching froze for a moment. But as her friend said, she was a good actor; it wasn’t hard for her to suppress her emotions at this moment. So she just gave a playful smile. “Is that so? It’s mainly because Teacher Ning gave such a strong performance. You didn’t see her movements; anyone would have been deeply attracted.”

She was her fan; therefore, she loved her and was attracted to her.

She was happy to see she could manage her emotions so freely.

That was all.

On the other side, after the meeting ended, Ning Songwu let out a long sigh of relief, ticking one more thing off her list.

After a tiring day, the first thought that popped into her head upon becoming idle was: What should I eat?

She didn’t come to Xincheng often—it was too dry—but there was no denying that Xincheng had a lot of delicacies she hadn’t finished trying yet.

Perhaps she should pack some to take back and share with the “little brats”?

As for Lin Xinran, she could buy her own.

As she was looking at her phone contemplating dinner, a familiar divine sense intruded into her barrier and then came to a standstill.

What a habit since they were already here, she supposed she had to go greet them.

In a breath’s time, the spot where she had been sitting was left with nothing but specks of starlight. In the small alley next to the hotel, a young girl in black stood quietly, her eyes blindfolded.

“Now that you’re here, are you still waiting for your Senior Uncle to come greet you?” Ning Songwu stepped out of the void as starlight converged. She appeared at the other end of the alley, her voice drifting over from a distance.

“I thought you wouldn’t come.” The girl tilted her head, her expression unreadable.

“Senior Uncle Ning, I was a poor host the other day. Please forgive me.”

“Is that the only reason you came?”

“No. Master told me before she left that Senior Uncle Ning would surely come, and that you could resolve the confusion in my heart.”

Ning Songwu’s expression changed slightly. “Jin Chen… has passed away (meditated into stillness)?”

“That is what I came to ask today: do you accept fate?” The girl raised her head arrogantly.

One side of the alley was a skyscraper, the other a low-rise house yet to be redeveloped. The moon hung by the skyscraper, half-blocked; the other half illuminated the sharp lines of the girl’s profile, adding a touch of cold arrogance.

“What meaning does that answer have?”

“If you believe, then you should know what your path of destiny is; there is no need to seek an answer. If you don’t believe, then the answer has no meaning to you, and even less need to seek it.”

Ning Songwu let out a low laugh. “What do you think? Since you cultivate the path of destiny, how can you not see my choice?”

“Then why did Senior Uncle Ning come to seek the answer to this question?”

“What if I said it was to temper you?”

The aloof girl finally lost some of her momentum, her expression becoming strange. After a moment, she spoke again: “You… should stop making fun of me.”

“It’s quite fun to tease you. Tell me about Jin Chen.”

“Master didn’t believe in fate. Twenty years ago, she plotted a path of reincarnation for a spiritual entity and suffered the backlash of destiny every day. She passed away last year.” The arrogant girl bowed her head, revealing a rare look of daze. “Tell me… was she right?”

“You know what Dao I cultivate, don’t you?”

“I know.”

“Then you should know that what I like most is to act as I please—as long as there are no regrets. Did Jin Chen regret it?”

“Never.”

“Then in my eyes, she was right.”

“Is that so?” A bitter smile touched the girl’s lips, but the distance was too great for Ning Songwu to see clearly.

She let out a long sigh and tilted her head slightly. “Then I shall return those words to you, Senior Uncle. As long as you have no regrets, it is enough.”

Ning Songwu smiled.

What she sought was now in her hands; it seemed she could begin her return journey at dawn.

The flight on Saturday would have Ning Songwu’s name on it, but she wouldn’t be on it. She was going back early; she needed to return to her own territory and have some peace and quiet.

“By the way, how many more days can you and that little brat survive?”

“The money Master left behind is enough to live for a year.”

“I warned her long ago that a shop in that location wouldn’t make money. She didn’t listen. Forget it!”

Ning Songwu walked over step by step, her iron fan resting lightly on Xu Yueping’s shoulder. “Pack your bags with the little one. Come with me tomorrow.”

“To where?”

“My Senior Sister’s orphanage. Don’t misunderstand—I’m not letting you eat for free. With healthy limbs like yours, finding a job to make a living is better than starving to death in Xincheng.”

Xu Yueping’s lips trembled, and she finally whispered, “Thank you.”

The “Heavenly Deficient”—natural cultivators of the path of destiny. She couldn’t see the roads of the mortal world, but she could see the paths of the stardust. Just now, when Ning Songwu’s iron fan touched her shoulder, she saw with her own eyes a dead end being unraveled, and the path ahead becoming incredibly clear.

That was her destiny.

So, this is the true meaning of ‘Senior Uncle Ning can resolve your confusion’? Xu Yueping raised her hand to her cheek and touched a patch of moisture.

Was this her tear, or a tear shed for her by her Master from the heavens?

Master, is this the final answer you wanted to tell me?

Then what is the value of the existence of the path of destiny?

In an instant, her Dao heart wavered. A sweetness rose in her throat, and she spat out a mouthful of blood, splashing it all over Ning Songwu who was standing right in front of her.

Ning Songwu didn’t pull away in disgust. She withdrew the iron fan into her body and quickly formed a hand seal with her other hand, pressing it against the top of Xu Yueping’s head. She said in a heavy voice: “Calm your mind. Don’t let your thoughts wander.”

“Okay,” the girl let out a shaky sigh of relief.

Is that really what it means?

If I suddenly say it, will Master think I’m a lunatic?

But if I miss tonight, there won’t be another suitable opportunity to say it.

On my own, the resources and connections I can mobilize are too few. I can still struggle to change some plot points now, but those later ones… I’m afraid I can’t do it alone.

Master is truly so gentle, boohoo… To have such a Master, what more could one ask for, boohoo…

How is my luck so good to meet someone so gentle, beautiful, and rich? Sister, if I offer myself to you in marriage, please don’t be disgusted by me, okay?