Volume One, Chapter 13: Longing to Win the Lottery

An Yu received no reply from Ying Yuwei and pitifully lay by the bedside, lips pressed slightly together, his eyes moist and looking up at her. One had to admit, with that look and his delicate appearance, few could resist him.

No wonder Ying Yuwei had heard rumors at school calling An Yu the campus heartthrob.

But even so, she couldn’t agree to his request. Their line of work was fraught with too many uncertainties. So she deliberately set a few challenging conditions:

“If you want to be my disciple, it’s not impossible, but…” Ying Yuwei paused slightly. The moment An Yu heard a glimmer of hope, he immediately perked up, leaning closer to her. “But what?”

Ying Yuwei feigned a calm, serious demeanor and said solemnly, “First, a disciple must obey the master absolutely. If the master says go east, you cannot go west.”

She had expected at least some objection from An Yu—absolute obedience was something only a trained dog could manage. Yet to her surprise, An Yu nodded seriously and said earnestly, “Exactly. A disciple should listen to their master.”

Ying Yuwei could hardly believe what she had just heard, stumbling slightly. If he could tolerate this, she still had more to throw at him. Straightening up, she continued:

“Second, you must pay a yearly apprenticeship fee of ten thousand yuan.”

Ying Yuwei raised a finger sharply to emphasize the ‘one’. Taking money was like killing one’s own parents, she thought. She doubted An Yu could endure this.

But unexpectedly, An Yu agreed even more readily than before, mumbling, “It’s only right. Apprenticeship means paying tuition.”

Ah, she had forgotten this guy was wealthy—this was a mere trifle to him.

Forced to deploy her trump card, Ying Yuwei pulled a book from her small bag and placed it in An Yu’s hands:

“Third, you must memorize this entire book within one day.”

An Yu took the book, weighing it in his hand and eyeing its thickness. His thick black brows furrowed deeply.

Seeing this, Ying Yuwei’s lips curled slightly. Ha, I still can’t be beaten. It took her a whole week under her master’s daily pressure to memorize it. She was about to advise him to give up if he couldn’t manage it, but instead, he hugged the book and dashed out, leaving behind only:

“I’ll have it memorized by tomorrow.”

I didn’t take An Yu’s words too seriously, because I had more pressing matters to attend to.

The An family had already paid my hospital fees. After packing my things, I checked out. I recalled the address sent to An Yu’s phone and searched it immediately. That tomb was no ordinary place; the sooner I got there, the better.

“1070!” I looked at the ticket price, almost wanting to sing, “I dare not open my eyes, hoping this is just a hallucination.”

I had already received six million yuan transferred from the An family, plus 2.9 million from An Yu’s uncle. Altogether, I had 8.99 million yuan on me. As usual, I entered the charity organization’s account number and transferred all 8.99 million yuan away.

From the day I entered this profession, my master had taught me a rule: of the money earned through our skills as Taoist priests, only one in a thousand could be kept; the rest must be donated.

My master explained that this was because our work involved interfering with others’ karmic fate. Donating the money helped us atone for our own karmic debts.

After rough calculations over the past few days, Ying Yuwei realized she still owed a thousand yuan to charity. Oh heavens!

Could I just win a lottery and ascend to the pinnacle of life?

Pressed by financial reality, Ying Yuwei had no choice but to take the cheapest mode of travel: the slow train.

After leaving the hospital, she planned to return to the dorm to pack before leaving. Since this ghost-catching stint was a form of recuperation, the An family had even used their wealth to apply for a training exemption for her at school, saving her the trouble of asking for leave.

Back at school, Ying Yuwei found the gossip about her multiplying. From the school gate to the dorm, she overheard at least eight different versions of rumors.

Some said she disguised herself as a fortune teller to get close to An Yu, hoping to marry into a wealthy family; others claimed she cast curses on the entire An family; some believed she was the An family’s chosen star to launch their entertainment company; and the most absurd rumor was that both An Yu and his uncle had fallen for her, even fighting over her.

For the first time, Ying Yuwei truly felt the power of rumors. Even if she had a hundred mouths, she couldn’t clarify it all.

Upon entering the dorm, she immediately sensed hot gazes upon her. Almost instantly, three people surrounded her and pinned her to a chair, all wearing expressions as if interrogating a criminal.

Xia Yu crossed her arms and snorted softly, her tone tinged with reproach: “Confess quickly and honestly, resist and you’ll be dealt with harshly.”

Fang Zhizhi’s brows lifted, excitement clear in her voice: “Yes, yes, Yuwei, tell us! The gossip about you has been flying all over school these days. That day at the An family’s place, we were asked out early and didn’t get to talk to you.”

Even the most reserved Qi Qi looked at Ying Yuwei with some anticipation: “Is the An family grooming you to be a celebrity?”

Ying Yuwei shook her head, denying Qi Qi’s theory.

Xia Yu grabbed Ying Yuwei’s arm excitedly: “Then does An Yu like you?”

I brushed her hand away and poked her forehead, saying, “What are you thinking? Is it possible that I really am a feng shui master?”

The three wore expressions that said, “You’re not fooling me; I’m no fool.”

Before I could explain, a knock sounded at the door. Outside came a shout: “Is Ying Yuwei here? Someone’s downstairs looking for you.”

Before I could reach the door, Xia Yu had already gone to the window and looked down, exclaiming in surprise, “It’s An Yu! He’s waiting downstairs!”

The other two shot me looks that said, “Of course it’s him.” Fang Zhizhi crossed her arms and tapped her foot rhythmically: “Ying Yuwei, we expect a reasonable explanation.”

Xia Yu quickly pushed me toward the door, saying to Fang Zhizhi, “Let her go on the date first. We’ll interrogate her thoroughly when she returns.”

After shoving me out, the three of them pressed to the window, eager to watch my “sweet date” with An Yu.

I hadn’t even fully registered what was happening when Xia Yu pushed me out of the dorm and closed the door behind me. Standing there at the doorway, I felt a helpless smile.

Well, I might as well ask An Yu what he wants—hopefully it’s not about the last time’s Eight Evil Array gone wrong.