The dreadlocked youth somehow pulled a thick deck of tarot cards from some pocket on his person (Sheng Lin: My old classmate actually carries fraud tools on him?), and while shuffling the cards with practiced ease, asked Xia Yiyang: “Kid, are you familiar with tarot cards at all?”
Xia Yiyang nodded eagerly without hesitation.
He’d heard of tarot cards before. Back in high school, a girl in his class had lost her cat and couldn’t find it anywhere. She ended up paying a hefty fee to a tarot reader who divined the cat’s hiding spot, and she’d gone on and on about it in class.
Xia Yiyang’s curiosity about tarot hovered somewhere between “Isn’t this feudal superstition?” and “Better to believe than not!” Since fate had given him this chance for a reading (and best of all, it was free), of course he was going to jump on it!
“Because there are too many ‘unrelated parties’ and ‘disturbances’ here, this draw can only serve as a vague guide,” Qin Zaozao said, spreading the entire deck face-down in front of Xia Yiyang. “It could represent something that has already happened, or something that is yet to come.”
Sheng·unrelated party·disturbance·Lin: “So it could be past or future—with such a broad scope, aren’t you just gambling on luck?”
Qin Zaozao ignored him completely and continued speaking to Xia Yiyang: “Now, take three deep breaths, then pick six cards from these that you feel most drawn to.”
Xia Yiyang slowly closed his eyes, steadied his mind and breathed deeply as instructed, then opened his eyes again and randomly picked six cards from the dozens that all looked identical.
Qin Zaozao took each one in turn and flipped them over.
Though Sheng Lin didn’t believe in any of it, seeing how much theatrical gravitas Qin Zaozao was putting on, he leaned in with a hint of skeptical curiosity to look at the revealed cards alongside Xia Yiyang.
These cards were different from any poker deck or Sichuan long cards Sheng Lin had ever seen. Each one bore a different illustration, with English labels at the bottom, and they all faced in different directions.
“These cards are quite interesting.” Qin Zaozao studied the six cards carefully, pondered for a moment, then explained them one by one. “The first is the reversed ‘Magician.’ This suggests that a deceptive figure may appear in your life—someone who used smooth talk to fool you, and you trusted him too easily, leading to some kind of loss. It could be a loss of reputation, a setback to your personal plans… but since the second card is the reversed ‘Seven of Pentacles,’ it’s more likely to be a financial loss.”
Xia Yiyang: “!!!”
His eighteen years’ worth of New Year’s money had been swindled away by telecom fraud—wasn’t that exactly the result of trusting a con artist too easily?
This guy couldn’t hide a single thought on his face. Almost as soon as Qin Zaozao finished speaking, his expression screamed “He actually got it right!” and his eyes were practically overflowing with regret.
Sheng Lin: “…”
Alright, at least now he knew why this young master had ended up at his shop to “experience real life.”
Qin Zaozao flipped over the third and fourth cards.
“Reversed ‘Tower’ and upright ‘Hermit’—these indicate that you have to break before you can build. Although what happened disrupted your original plans, you quickly adjusted your mindset and decided to try a new path.”
Unable to contain himself, Xia Yiyang cautiously asked: “Master Qin, is this new path the right one? I’m feeling a bit out of sorts right now, like I’m tied down and can’t move freely. I can’t tell if I’m just being too sensitive, or if it’s…”
“Don’t rush,” Qin Zaozao said, his gaze shifting to the last two cards on the table with a smile. “These last two are both very good. The upright ‘Star’ indicates that you will meet a benefactor—someone who will help you selflessly. The reversed ‘King of Wands’ is a fire sign card—this benefactor’s personality will be different from the type of people you usually befriend. They may seem distant and unapproachable at first, but once you get to know them, you’ll find that you’re extremely compatible—you might even say kindred spirits.”
A new friend, but someone completely different from the people he’d known before?
Almost instantly, a figure popped into Xia Yiyang’s mind—Wen Sen!
Yes, it had to be Wen Sen!
Wen Sen had blond hair, a fiery temper, and a colorful vocabulary when it came to cursing. He’d dropped out of school early to chase his dreams in music, and the guy was just effortlessly cool.
Xia Yiyang thought Qin Zaozao was absolutely amazing—using just six cards, he’d accurately read everything that had happened to him recently: first the telecom fraud, then his decision to work and support himself, and later meeting his new friend Wen Sen at the youth hostel…
Earlier, Qin Zaozao had said his reading would be vague—that it could be something from the past or something yet to come. Man, he was so modest!
“Brother Qin, you’ve been doing my tarot reading for so long that your ice jelly’s not cold anymore.” Xia Yiyang bounced up and patted his chest. “Let me get you another bowl—this one’s on me!”
Before he’d even finished speaking, he’d already scurried off like a rabbit.
Watching his retreating figure, Sheng Lin had to admit—this was the first time he’d seen his little part-timer this fired up.
“Qin Zaozao, all that stuff you said earlier—you didn’t actually ‘read’ it from the cards, did you? You inferred it from his clothes, his speech, his mannerisms,” Sheng Lin said in a low voice. “But it’s not a bad idea—giving him some encouragement, telling him that no matter what slump he’s in right now, there’s a new kindred spirit waiting for him in the future. Having that goal in mind will make things easier for him.”
Qin Zaozao just smiled and said nothing.
Sheng Lin: “Why aren’t you saying anything?”
“Say what?” Qin Zaozao spread his hands. “You’re too stubborn to believe me anyway. No matter what I say, you’ll think I’m a big fraud.”
“Going that deep into character?” Sheng Lin shook his head. “It’s fine if you want to play fortune-teller and fool the kid, but it won’t work on me.”
Qin Zaozao: “If it won’t work, why not draw six cards yourself and find out?”
“…”
“What, scared?” Qin Zaozao reshuffled the deck and spread it face-down in front of Sheng Lin.
Sheng Lin raised an eyebrow: “Provocation doesn’t work on me. I don’t have time for these games.”
“If you don’t have time for six cards, surely you have time for one.” Qin Zaozao swayed his head. “I know what kind of person you are. If you really weren’t interested, you’d have walked out by now. You wouldn’t still be sitting here bickering with me.”
Sheng Lin let out an exasperated laugh.
Fine. He’d see what kind of story Qin Zaozao could spin from a single card.
With that thought, Sheng Lin pointed at random and picked one card from the row of tarot cards, flicking it into Qin Zaozao’s hand.
Qin Zaozao flipped the card over. The moment he saw the illustration, his expression froze.
Sheng Lin, seeing him stay silent, prompted: “What’s wrong? Can’t make something up?”
“No, I don’t need to ‘make up’ anything for this card.” Qin Zaozao barely held back his laughter and slid the card back across the table to Sheng Lin. “See for yourself.”
On the card, two figures were embracing, intertwined and inseparable.
Below them was a string of English text.
—THE LOVERS
Even Sheng Lin, who had no prior exposure to tarot, could understand what this card meant.
—The Lovers card.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” Qin Zaozao put his sunglasses back on, hiding the gleeful amusement in his eyes. “Looks like someone’s love life is about to heat up.”
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