“Hmm, let’s see what troubles are weighing on your heart, meow…”
The fortune-teller caressed the crystal ball, her eyes tightly closed as if sensing something. I glanced at the crystal ball—it didn’t display any images like in TV dramas.
“Hm… ohh, so it’s about that boy. I never expected to meet you here—what a fateful encounter, meow~”
What’s she talking about? I didn’t understand a word of it.
Her muttering left me confused, unable to grasp the meaning behind her words.
After speaking, she lifted the crystal ball, her eyes gleaming as she looked at me through it.
“If I’m not mistaken, your troubles are about love, right?”
“…Well, sort of.”
I initially wanted to dodge the topic of love by claiming it was about friendship, but recalling my wild yet heartfelt actions from yesterday, I couldn’t keep avoiding my feelings. I vaguely admitted it.
My tense shoulders slumped. I had been deceiving myself for so long, but in the end, I lost to a stranger fortune-teller, and the psychological defenses I’d built crumbled completely.
“Hehe, anyone who sees the way you look at that boy would know what’s on your mind, right? Looks like I’m finally getting some business!”
When she got serious, the fortune-teller dropped the “meow” at the end of her sentences. She rubbed the crystal ball excitedly, clearly eager to make some money off me.
But seriously, are my feelings that obvious? It seems like only the store manager and this fortune-teller have noticed.
No one else has directly pointed out that I like Gu Fan, right?
I still think the store manager and this fortune-teller might just be guessing. They don’t really know what’s on my mind—I’m the one who took the bait.
“How does the fortune-telling work? Do I show you my palm? Or give you my birth date and time?”
“No, no, no, no need for such outdated methods. Of course, if you insist, I can do that too.”
The fortune-teller cleared her throat, glanced around, and then leaned closer to me. As I puzzled over her actions, she extended her hand toward me.
“…?”
“Uh, well, since I correctly guessed your troubles are about love, that counts as your free session, okay?”
Wow, really… Is she actually just a scammer who got lucky with a guess?
I furrowed my brows, looking at her serious expression and bizarre outfit, already considering backing out.
“I told you, I didn’t bring any money today.”
“No worries! Modern folks always have their phones, right? We accept QR code payments, meow.”
The fortune-teller pulled out a printed QR code sheet from somewhere and placed it on the stall, smiling at me.
“…How much?”
“Ten yuan per session, or a hundred yuan for as many questions as you want.”
I wasn’t thrilled about paying, but seeing her eager gaze and the way she slowly inched the QR code sheet closer, I figured she wouldn’t let me leave without paying. Of course, there’s always a catch behind “free.”
Besides… just like buying the lemonade earlier, as long as there’s a chance to get closer to Gu Fan, spending a bit more money isn’t a big deal.
“Let’s do five sessions for now.”
I pulled out my phone and scanned the QR code to pay fifty yuan. Then I watched as the fortune-teller excitedly ran to the stall next door, pointing at the QR code sheet and saying something. The vendor handed her fifty yuan in cash.
So she doesn’t even have a phone? And she was just talking about how modern people always carry one… My confidence in her fortune-telling results was dwindling fast.
“Alright, let’s get started officially. Tell me what you want me to divine for you.”
“My best friend’s birthday party is this afternoon. Should I go or not?”
Unless absolutely necessary, I don’t like sharing my personal worries in detail with others—unless it’s Gu Fan, of course.
So I kept it brief with that one sentence. After saying it, I gave a self-deprecating smile, finding it amusing how I wanted to spend money for reassurance but was too timid to explain the situation clearly.
I expected the fortune-teller to toss out some generic, all-purpose phrases to brush me off. To my surprise, she didn’t answer my question directly but instead pressed for more details about Gu Fan, which piqued my interest a little.
“What kind of person is this friend of yours?”
“Gentle, considerate, emotionally intelligent, a perfect existence like the center of everyone’s attention, and… he cares about me a lot.”
It’s hard to pick the perfect words to describe Gu Fan on the spot. If I had to use stats to describe him, he’d probably be maxed out in every category—a truly all-around perfect being, right?
So I hastily came up with these few adjectives—the best I could think of. Forgive my limited vocabulary.
“From your reaction, it’s clear he’s a great person,” the fortune-teller said, nodding knowingly after listening patiently.
“Since it’s a birthday party, let me first see what would happen if you don’t go.”
After speaking, the fortune-teller placed her hands on the crystal ball, squinting dramatically.
“Hmm, let’s see… Yo-ho, it’s quite lively! A group of people is gathered around a pretty handsome black-haired guy. His eyes are kind of striking. Let me take a closer look… They’re amber-colored!”
How does she know Gu Fan’s eye color? I looked at her suspiciously, but somehow, I started to feel a bit of anticipation.
The crystal ball showed no movement at all. The fortune-teller didn’t even fully touch it, just waved her hands over it in the air. I watched as the crystal ball slowly rolled to the side, yet her hands kept moving in the same spot as if nothing happened.
Fine… I’ll try to believe her for now.
“They’re singing! They’re singing the birthday song. Looks like I’m in the right place. A refined-looking girl is pushing a cake cart over and even puts a birthday hat on the black-haired guy’s head. They seem pretty close, huh.”
“…Who’s that girl?”
Though I only half-believed the fortune-teller, just hearing her describe this scene made my heart flare with unexplained anger. Subconsciously, I didn’t want this scene to become reality.
“Uh, let me ask… They’re ignoring me. Nothing I can do about it.”
Just as I was about to ask more about the party scene, the crystal ball, which had rolled to the side, didn’t stop due to inertia. It kept rolling until it fell to the ground with a loud crash, shattering into pieces.
The fortune-teller jumped in place, her eyes wide open. Apparently, even someone who could “divine” didn’t foresee the crystal ball falling.
“Ah… sorry, sorry, just an accident, haha. I can still do fortune-telling without the crystal ball—it’s just a prop anyway.”
“…Mm, I understand.”
I figured the scene she described was probably just made up to rile me up and make more money.
The fortune-teller rubbed her nose and quickly grabbed a cloth to clean up the debris on the ground. Before I could even register her movements, the crystal ball’s remains were gone, not a single shard left.
“Alright, time for the final summary. I’m planning to pack up and grab some food.”
The not-so-reliable fortune-teller dramatically pressed her fingertips together.
“I’ll be straight with you. After hearing my description, you’re probably thinking about going to the party to take that girl’s place or pulling the black-haired boy away from the crowd, right?
If you have the desire to claim someone for yourself, you need the action and boldness to match it. Since he cares about you too, you can try ignoring the gazes around you.”
After finishing, the fortune-teller looked up at the sky, then lowered her head to start packing her things.
“My fortune-telling is done. We’ll meet again if fate allows, but next time the fee doubles, okay?”
I was about to say some parting words when a sudden gust of wind blew, scattering roadside pebbles and dust, blurring my vision.
When I rubbed my eyes and looked ahead again, the stall was empty. Not far away, a sly black cat, clutching a fifty-yuan note in its mouth, hopped onto the earthen wall and scampered off.
What a peculiar person…
After the fortune-teller’s sudden disappearance, I stood there for a while, processing her words.
Boldness… Do I really need something so dangerous?
I took my phone out of my pocket, my thumb brushing over the dark screen. I lightly bit my lip, savoring the memory of kissing Gu Fan in last night’s dream.
The fortune-teller’s words woke me up. I should… I really do want to take things with Gu Fan beyond friendship.
I want to be his lover, to openly hold his hand while strolling down the street, to tightly embrace him in the privacy of our home, to taste the exquisite thrill of a kiss.
There are so many things I want to do with Gu Fan. If we’re limited to being childhood friends or just friends, the possibilities are so few.
Only by crossing that forbidden boundary can I fulfill those desires—actions that seem impure but are just the everyday intimacies of a couple.
After confirming my true feelings for Gu Fan, the gloom weighing on my chest slowly dissipated. My mind, no longer sluggish from anxiety and hesitation, felt clearer.
I lit up my phone screen, opened Gu Fan’s contact, and sent him a text:
“Can I come to your birthday party this afternoon?”
Gu Fan didn’t keep me waiting anxiously. Just ten seconds later, I received his reply.
“Of course you can.”