TGA Chapter 10

Chu Qianli quietly stared at Tan Muxing upon hearing his words.

Tan Muxing, under her scrutinizing gaze, inexplicably started to feel nervous and uneasy.

This is bad.

He had spoken the truth.

Tan Muxing was different from Qiu Qingkong. He had no passion for astrology, tarot, or any similar things. He only got involved because Chu Qianli was constantly fiddling with them, so he ended up participating by default.

In fact, all of his interactions with Chu Qianli were like this—he just went along with whatever she said, following her lead. He didn’t know how to interact with his new seatmate, so he figured it was fine as long as he didn’t conflict with her.

As the “invisible person” in class, Tan Muxing often didn’t know where he might annoy people, so he wasn’t sure if his words had upset her.

Under her focused gaze, Tan Muxing became tense and instinctively wanted to apologize. “Well…”

Chu Qianli exclaimed, “You really have nothing to do with metaphysics, yet you accidentally interpreted it correctly!”

Tan Muxing froze. “Huh?”

“I think the meaning the dice revealed is about the same as what you said.” Chu Qianli moved the book aside, revealing the dice underneath, and calmly said, “Because the question was phrased incorrectly, and the dice only reflect short-term fortune, the information is very vague, almost as if the stars didn’t speak at all.”

Astrology dice are generally difficult to provide accurate times or numbers. For example, if you ask for the answer to a math problem, the result from the dice would be meaningless.

Of course, the stars also struggle with handling subjective questions. For instance, praising Chu Qianli as “the best in the world” would be nearly impossible for them to express.

Chu Qianli, caught in the act, puffed her cheeks. “Hmph, I thought I could fool you.”

Seeing that she wasn’t angry, Tan Muxing immediately relaxed and let out a sigh of relief. “That’s great. I thought you were mad…”

Chu Qianli rested her chin on her hand, looked at him, and played with the astrology dice, puzzled. “Why would I be mad? You said you’re not interested in astrology, but I wouldn’t be mad about that.”

Tan Muxing, overcome with a sudden urge to survive, quickly turned his gaze away and nervously said, “No.”

“Lie!” Chu Qianli decisively called him out. “I’ll throw the dice and see what your thoughts are.”

When Tan Muxing heard the sound of the dice rolling, his body stiffened. He awkwardly lowered his head and slowly confessed, “Sorry, I really don’t have that much interest…”

Qiu Qingkong exclaimed, “Huh? But I feel like you’ve been listening more seriously than I have!?”

Tan Muxing usually just silently listened, memorizing their entire teaching process. Occasionally, he would ask a curious question, but now he was saying he wasn’t interested in astrology.

Chu Qianli replied, “His astrological chart has nothing to do with metaphysics, so he’s definitely not interested in it. He’s probably just pretending to believe it.”

Although Tan Muxing didn’t have the strong attitude of He Shichen, he was inherently skeptical of metaphysics. He had once asked her whether she “believed everything the stars said,” then later searched for astrologer Isaac Newton in a physics class. He had also expressed many doubts about Qiu Qingkong’s divination, but his style was just softer.

Tan Muxing’s forehead broke out in sweat. He hadn’t expected her to already know. He weakly confessed, “…I thought you cared about this.”

Chu Qianli valued astrology, and Tan Muxing saying he didn’t believe in it was quite rude.

So, every day, he pretended to listen with great interest and maintained a supportive attitude.

“I do care about astrology, but I don’t use it as a criterion for making friends.” Chu Qianli muttered, “If someone likes astrology, then I can talk with them. But I won’t fight with other astrologers.”

If someone called astrology superstitious or feudal, Chu Qianli would definitely argue back on the spot. But she wouldn’t force everyone to like astrology.

Chu Qianli couldn’t understand why Tan Muxing was so nervous. She explained, “And from the perspective of synastry, it’s normal for my friends not to be interested in the mystical arts.”

Qiu Qingkong asked, “Synastry perspective?”

“Yes. One type of synastry is when there are many similar traits, and shared topics are abundant. You can talk a lot, like how I am with you.” Chu Qianli looked at Qiu Qingkong sitting opposite her, then turned her head to look at Tan Muxing seriously. “The other type is when the star charts are completely opposite, and that can work well too.”

“Humans tend to subconsciously seek to complete themselves, to make up for what they lack or have lost. They are often attracted to completely opposite people, which makes the relationship more stable.”

Chu Qianli patted Tan Muxing on the back casually and said, “Since I’m so obsessed with astrology, it’s normal that you’re not interested!”

She had already known he wasn’t very interested, and was surprised by how well he had been cooperating recently.

Tan Muxing hadn’t expected her to say that. He had been anxious inside, but now he appeared stunned.

By the window, Chu Qianli’s shoulder-length hair swayed in the soft light, her usual carefree and indifferent expression as though she hadn’t taken the matter to heart at all.

When she talked about astrology, her eyes would always light up, and she would want to talk endlessly about it, full of spirit and energy.

She really loved the stars.

But now she said it was normal for him not to be interested in astrology.

Tan Muxing often wondered why Chu Qianli wanted to be friends with him. Maybe it was because she was new and didn’t know anyone else. Or maybe she needed him to do some insignificant things, and perhaps she would lose interest in a while and treat him the same way as the other people in class.

Without Chu Qianli, Tan Muxing had no interaction with Qiu Qingkong. In fact, he had already mentally prepared for the possibility that his new seatmate might know more people and naturally drift away from him.

After all, there was no reason for anyone to interact with someone who wasn’t remarkable in appearance or ability. Even he couldn’t think of a reason for others to be friends with him. Besides his family background, he had nothing else of value—not even any use.

Tan Muxing let Chu Qianli do as she pleased, but at the same time, he felt like she might leave at any time.

But now, a new feeling was stirring inside him.

Tan Muxing remained silent for a long time. He couldn’t quite describe what he was feeling at the moment. He softly said, “Although I can’t fully believe in astrology yet, I believe in you.”

“I don’t know how the stars would evaluate your astrology skills, but since you say you’re the best in the world, I guess you must be the best.”

Tan Muxing still maintained a skeptical attitude towards metaphysics, but he didn’t doubt Chu Qianli. Or perhaps, he didn’t mind being fooled by her. Whether she was truly skilled or just talking big, he could accept it.

When Chu Qianli heard this, her tail seemed to shoot up to the sky as she proudly lifted her chin. “Ah, what you said is basically the same as believing in astrology! Since I’m the best in the world, believing in me is like believing in the stars…”

“And the most interesting thing about astrology is that, whether you believe or not, the stars can still see through you.” Chu Qianli’s eyes sparkled with a tiny glimmer of light, her smile gentle but clear. “Even the people who doubt and criticize astrology are actually fulfilling the patterns of the stars.”

Humans always perceive the world through their own subjective lens, but the stars in the sky exist objectively. Whether you believe in the stars or doubt them, neither can alter the vast starry sky above.

Qiu Qingkong, confused, asked, “What does that mean?”

“How should I put it?” Chu Qianli tapped her chin thoughtfully. “To simplify it, it’s like the stars predicting your predictions?”

“Or you can say ‘you’ refers to humanity as a whole.”

Qiu Qingkong was stunned, admiring, “I don’t fully understand, but it sounds impressive. I’m immediately signing up for the luxury copywriting package—next round, I’ll use these lines for the promotion!”

Chu Qianli was taken aback. “So this is how people from the material world think after hearing it?”

She remembered discussing this with her grandfather, and his response had been nothing like this. No wonder the two of them could never hold on to money.

People in the city had a much better sense of how to make money than those in the village.

Although Chu Qianli had no skills in marketing or operations, Qiu Qingkong’s strategy quickly showed results. At first, they needed Qiu Qingkong to fish for clients, but before long, word of mouth spread, new clients kept coming in, and repeat customers were piling up.

Qiu Qingkong and Tan Muxing both had multiple roles. The former mainly handled promotion, operations, and customer acquisition, while the latter focused on design, finance, and organizing feedback. Chu Qianli, aside from divining, couldn’t do anything else. Her part-time role was as a mascot and mystery-maker (?).

Within a week, Chu Qianli had gained some recognition within the grade, and even the teachers had heard of her.

In class, the teacher was supervising the students while they worked on problems. She wandered to the back of the classroom and noticed Chu Qianli curled up asleep. She walked over and gently reminded her, “Alright, no more sleeping, it’s time to work on the problems.”

Tan Muxing, unsure of what to do, looked helplessly at the teacher and then at Chu Qianli, unsure whether he should call her out.

The teacher, seeing the messy desk, kindly helped tidy up. She moved the playing cards aside and softly urged, “Alright, alright, get back to your work. You can sleep when you get home.”

Because the school had many students from affluent families, the teachers often struggled with discipline. If the students had motivation, it was fine, but if they were just there to waste time, the teachers couldn’t stop them.

Chu Qianli, still drowsy, opened her eyes. She shook her head to clear her thoughts, then glanced at the teacher, who had casually flipped through a deck of cards. Without warning, she said, “Teacher, don’t go drinking tonight. Your good fortune will disappear.”

“Huh? How do you know I was thinking…” The teacher quickly looked around suspiciously. Noticing that everyone else was quietly working, she quickly lowered her voice and said, “But I’ve already made plans with my friends.”

Chu Qianli replied, “Your friends will cancel on you. Don’t go drinking by yourself.”

The teacher was shocked, “No way, are they going to cancel again?”

Not far away, He Shichen, who had been looking down at his work, cleared his throat twice and subtly interrupted the unexpectedly developing divination session.

Hearing the sound, the teacher snapped back to reality and immediately stopped talking to Chu Qianli. She knocked on the desk to remind her, “Alright, no drinking, get back to your work.”

Chu Qianli clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction, thinking the teacher had forgotten about the earlier conversation.

Chu Qianli peeked at the side.

Tan Muxing, understanding her unspoken cue, silently showed her his answers.

Chu Qianli, satisfied, began copying them down.

Tan Muxing raised his eyebrows slightly and asked in a low voice, “Why do you sleep in class but still insist on copying the homework?”

Tan Muxing couldn’t quite understand Chu Qianli’s attitude. It didn’t seem right to call her a good student—she slept in class and constantly snacked. But at the same time, calling her a bad student didn’t fit either; she still found a way to complete her homework no matter what.

Chu Qianli buried her head in copying the answers. “Not knowing how to do it is a matter of ability, but copying is a matter of attitude. I can take responsibility for my life, but I don’t want to cause trouble for the teacher. I always have to put something together.”

If the teacher didn’t receive the homework, it would be a setback in her work, leading to more complicated issues down the line. As an astrologer, of course, she would choose the most efficient solution: the art of getting by.

Tan Muxing felt numb inside after hearing her reasoning. He didn’t know whether to commend his desk mate for being sensible or criticize her for being irresponsible.