The Real Heiress Just Wants to Be a Lazy Fish - Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Celestial Fate

Mindful of the drunkard back at the food street, Tao Yitong didn’t plan on lingering. “This involves a high-profile case. You’ve worked with the Special Affairs Bureau before, so I don’t need to lecture you on confidentiality protocols, right?”

“Understood, don’t worry.” Qian Ran flashed an ‘OK’ sign. Back in her prime, she was the renowned genius of the Shensha Sect, collaborating frequently with both official and private sectors. Usually, when the Bureau sought her out, it was for critical cases that demanded absolute secrecy.

She also hoped to use this opportunity to convince the Bureau to lift her ban, so she intended to perform well.

“But here, hey… I’ll need a little deposit upfront.” Qian Ran rubbed her thumb and index finger together.

Tao Yitong’s face stiffened. Her pocket money hadn’t even had time to get warm yet.

“Give me your card number,” Tao Yitong squeezed the words through her teeth. “This is practically half my life savings. You’d better do a damn good job.”

Qian Ran wasn’t sure if it was an illusion, but she felt as though she could vaguely see the silhouette of that monster looming behind Tao Yitong. Right, understood, she thought. Tao Yitong was definitely not in a good mood.

“Relax, this will be small change for you in the future.” Qian Ran beamed as a notification popped up on her phone. She let out a soft whistle. “You’re a VIP client. I’ll give it my all. If I can’t pull this off, honestly, looking for anyone else would be useless.”

Knowing this was true, Tao Yitong had exhausted her connections to find her. As long as the money was well spent, her expression softened slightly. “I’m counting on you.”

“No problem. I’ll set up the Star-Gazing Array at the old place first.”

Tao Yitong nodded and vanished back into the crowd.

Once the “Living Ancestor” was gone, Qian Ran let out a long sigh of relief. She rubbed her forehead, her smile replaced by a look of helplessness. She knew she couldn’t refuse; meeting Tao Yitong never meant good news. Her earlier hesitation was just a ploy for more benefits, but she hadn’t expected a windfall. This stingy Captain Tao who usually rivaled her in penny-pinching actually had such a generous day.

Years ago, Qian Ran had read the girl’s fortune: a turbulent path and a thin thread of wealth. Meanwhile, Qian Ran herself suffered from the “Three Deficiencies,” specifically a lack of money. Despite being on opposite sides, they shared a sort of kindred spirit in their poverty but now, Tao Yitong had defected from their “Broke Club”!

Tao Yitong’s current wealth was entirely “bestowed,” meaning someone was willing to share a fraction of their own fortune with her. Qian Ran watched the spot where she disappeared with envious eyes. Must be nice. When will a pie like that fall into my lap?

Sigh, forget it. She didn’t expect a miracle; she just hoped this wouldn’t bring trouble. It wasn’t easy for her to earn a living.

Back at the hotel.

After dragging the drunkard back and tossing her into her own room, Tao Yitong returned to her suite with her bags of snacks. She waited while eating, and just as the sky began to dim, the “Workaholic” finally returned before the dangerous night fully set in.

Exhausted after a long day, Jiang Zitan felt an almost telepathic pull and glanced toward Tao Yitong’s door just before swiping her card. She locked eyes with a certain someone peeking out.

Tao Yitong shook her trophies from the food street. “Sister, want some?”

Seeing her, Jiang Zitan instinctively smiled. “How was your day?” She led the girl into her room.

“The food street had so much variety! The flavors were great too.” Tao Yitong smacked her lips, savoring the memory.

“Just the food street?” Jiang Zitan knew Xiao Ran was familiar with Rong City; her goal was to have her friend take her sister sightseeing. Did they really spend the whole day at a food stall?

“Mhm. Miss Xiao got drunk, so I brought her back early. We didn’t go anywhere else.”

“Drunk…” Jiang Zitan felt a slight headache. She had been careless; she shouldn’t have trusted Xiao Ran so much. She wondered if her sister had even filled her stomach while taking care of a drunkard.

“Here is the hotel menu. If you’re not full, have the staff bring something up.” Jiang Zitan picked up the menu from a side cabinet and handed it to Tao Yitong.

Usually, Tao Yitong didn’t feel much hunger, but looking at the tempting pictures on the menu, she felt she could go another three hundred rounds.

The hotel was efficient. Soon, Jiang Zitan’s room was filled with delicacies and the aroma of food. Tao Yitong ate heartily, and even Jiang Zitan, who usually had little appetite, ate some salad.

Tao Yitong noticed that after two bites, Jiang Zitan stopped moving her chopsticks. A hint of worry lingered in her eyes. “Is work not going well?”

Jiang Zitan’s smile faded. “Something did come up. I’m afraid I’ll have to take a look at Mount Shuangyi later.”

“Mount Shuangyi? Isn’t that where Secretary Fang’s hometown is?” Tao Yitong found the name familiar. Thinking back, it was the name Xiao Ran kept muttering the place with the incredibly “effective” temple.

“That’s the place.” The original plan had changed, and she needed to conduct a fresh field survey.

Tao Yitong didn’t understand much about the business side, but confirming the destination was enough; she could quietly follow along.

But before that, she had to find a way to let Jiang Zitan meet Qian Ran. Jiang Zitan was so busy her feet barely touched the ground. Tao Yitong observed for several days before finding the right moment to suggest going out for dinner together.

Jiang Zitan’s attitude toward Tao Yitong wasn’t quite “ask and you shall receive,” but it was close. She checked her schedule, found a sliver of time, and accepted the invitation.

Not far from their hotel was the most prosperous part of Rong City’s city center. Even as the sky grew dark, the foot traffic only increased. Though Jiang Zitan had been to Rong City several times, it was always for work; she had never truly seen the sights. Thus, she didn’t know there were so many fortunetelling stalls under the pedestrian bridge.

Most of the vendors were elderly, but one looked completely out of place. She was very young perhaps not even thirty. Likely because she looked too young, while other stalls had tourists crouching around them, hers was completely empty.

Jiang Zitan took one look and dismissed it. She didn’t believe in this to begin with, and after seeing how her family had neglected Tao Yitong over an absurd prophecy, her distaste for such claims had only deepened.

She intended to walk right past, but her companion was too curious, peeking left and right before slipping over to the only empty stall while she wasn’t looking.

“Tongtong?” Before Jiang Zitan could stop her, Qian Ran spoke.

“What would you like to calculate? Marriage? Career?” As Qian Ran asked, she pulled a pair of sunglasses from her bag and put them on. It was already getting dark—what sane person wears sunglasses now?

Tao Yitong nearly lost her mask of innocence. Her eyes twitched. While Jiang Zitan wasn’t yet in earshot, she quickly mouthed: Too late to play blind!

Qian Ran gave a slight wag of her right index finger, indicating she wasn’t playing blind. Although it was dark, her eyes saw the trajectories of “Celestial Fate” and other special entities. The world she saw was different; everyone emitted a glow belonging to their fate. Some were dim, some vibrant; some were a golden hue of good luck, others a murky black.

For instance, Tao Yitong’s fate-light was relatively dim—a greyish blue. If it were just that, it would predict a life of hardship, though she might manage to reach old age. However, her body was entwined with a black-red Evil Aura. This aura contained the resentment of a powerful, ancient creature accumulated over thousands of years. Anyone else wouldn’t have survived childhood, yet Tao Yitong had somehow stumbled her way to the present.

And now, her grey-blue tone was mixed with a thread of golden light. This thread acted as a shield, separating her from that black-red aura. This, Qian Ran noted, was Tao Yitong’s greatest stroke of luck.

In Qian Ran’s eyes, the world was a kaleidoscope of colors, people like countless swaying colored lamps. However, if one lamp burned too brightly, it would drown out all other light. She had expected the person Tao Yitong brought to have a notable glow after all, a normal human couldn’t unknowingly shield themselves from a beast like Taotie but she didn’t expect the light to nearly blind her!

The sunglasses she wore were specially made. Only with them on could she actually see Jiang Zitan’s features. Without them, her vision was just a solid wall of white light, making her no different from a blind person.

Qian Ran thought she was well-traveled, but she had never seen anything like this. Did this person save the world in their past life? No wonder Tao Yitong needed her help. To calculate the fate of someone like this if your cultivation wasn’t deep enough, not only would you fail, you’d suffer a backlash!

Where did you find this ‘Living Ancestor’?! Qian Ran mouthed back.

“?” Tao Yitong didn’t understand.

Qian Ran sighed inwardly. She had undercharged. If she had known Tao Yitong was bringing someone of this caliber, she would have at least doubled her fee!

Jiang Zitan didn’t notice their silent exchange. But when Tao Yitong started chatting with Qian Ran about a reading, she saw the girl pinch her fingers to calculate. Suddenly, the vendor’s brow furrowed, her expression flashing with shock. The results seemed far from optimistic.

Fearing the woman was about to drop the “Lone Star of Death” label again, Jiang Zitan immediately found an excuse to send Tao Yitong away to buy snacks at a nearby stall.

“Oh, okay!” Tao Yitong replied obediently.

Hearing that syrupy tone, Qian Ran felt goosebumps crawl over her skin. She couldn’t help but shiver. Tao Yitong, who was usually as fierce as a monster, had turned into a docile kitten? As someone who had seen her true face, Qian Ran didn’t find this “sweet” Captain Tao cute at all; on the contrary, she found her terrifying!

But what terrified her more was what she had accidentally glimpsed just now. Tao Yitong’s “Red Phoenix” star (the star of marriage/romance) was moving?!!!

For real? Someone who eats that much and has such a bad temper can actually have a day where she gets off the “single” market? Qian Ran’s expression was full of self-doubt.

Once Tao Yitong was at a distance, Jiang Zitan crouched down to look at the cloth spread on the ground. Her face was cool and solemn, and the atmosphere grew inexplicably heavy. Perhaps because the light on Jiang Zitan was too strong, even a veteran like Qian Ran felt nervous.

What does she want now that she’s sent the girl away? Does she think I’m a scammer and wants to call the cops? Qian Ran had been through a lot in her years of stall-running. Sensing the bad vibe, she instinctively prepared to bolt.

“May I ask what result you calculated for my sister just now?” Jiang Zitan’s voice was distant but polite.

Qian Ran breathed a sigh of relief. At least the tone was calm, not the “I’m about to hit you” kind.

“Ahem, that lady’s situation… isn’t exactly ‘good,’ but it’s not ‘bad’ either. Her fate was meant to be turbulent, but she has recently encountered a Benefactor, so things are looking up.” Qian Ran was telling the truth.

Jiang Zitan fell into thought upon hearing a claim so different from her adoptive parents’. She then asked: “A previous fortuneteller said she was the Lone Star of Death, destined to bring calamity to her family and friends. Is there any basis for that?”

“Bullshit!” Qian Ran accidentally let a curse slip. Realizing her slip, she cleared her throat. “Impossible. That lady’s fate has absolutely nothing to do with the Lone Star of Death! Anyone who said that is either a scammer or an amateur hack who needs to go back to school!”

Hearing Qian Ran’s firm words, Jiang Zitan’s expression softened slightly. “Because of that person’s words, my family has a lot of prejudice against my sister, and she has suffered much injustice as a result. I don’t believe those words, but I’m worried she’ll be affected. So, please… pick some good things to say later. Comfort her.”

Because Jiang Zitan didn’t believe in gods or ghosts, she wasn’t affected by the prophecy, but she thought that if Tongtong heard a positive result, it might serve as good psychological counseling.

Qian Ran stared at the red banknotes tucked into her hand and struggled to control the upward curve of her lips. She had to maintain her “transcendental master” image and be dignified.

What a great sister! she thought. Did Tao Yitong use up a lifetime of luck just to meet her?

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