TGA Chapter 88

Facing He Shichen’s loud questioning, Chu Qianli hurriedly covered her ears and whispered in protest, “But everyone has a means of transportation for college.”

“How far is home from the university? Your school is even closer than the airport!”

He Shichen was utterly shocked. The most ridiculous part was that the plane Chu Qianli had chosen wasn’t even cheap. He had no idea where she got so much money. Was scamming people really this easy nowadays!?

Now, He Shichen was so furious that his head ached. He rubbed his temples and forced himself to stay calm. “Seriously, couldn’t you use this money for something else? Why did you have to buy a plane?”

Chu Qianli replied innocently, “Because I don’t have one.”

“You don’t even need one!” He Shichen scolded her, utterly exasperated. “The interest alone from this money would be enough to buy you a pile of useless golden trinkets. If you invested it even slightly, the returns would be much higher. Why do you always have to spend every last cent you have?”

He Shichen had always known that Chu Qianli was a big spender, but her recent purchase had set a new record. It even made him feel a little uneasy and confused.

Even if she hadn’t been exposed to high levels of spending since childhood and had only recently returned home, it still shouldn’t have reached this point. She was acting like a reckless gambler with no limits.

It was as if she had no sense of fear, treating money as nothing more than numbers. It was a bizarre mindset.

Chu Qianli said, “I understand your point, brother, but I have no intention of investing or managing finances.”

“Then you should start considering it now…”

Chu Qianli argued confidently, “Investment and financial management are your job. I can’t steal your livelihood—otherwise, we’d overlap in our family roles!”

He Shichen gritted his teeth. “…I really appreciate your thoughtfulness.”

“Besides, financial management is about pursuing long-term returns. That’s the rule normal people follow, but I don’t need to follow it.”

He Shichen was stunned, his expression turning suspicious. “Why don’t you need to follow it?”

Chu Qianli paused for a few seconds, her eyes flashing slightly before answering, “Because taking money directly from investors is faster.”

The outstanding investor, He Shichen: “…”

Great.

He Shichen felt his blood pressure rising again.

The two of them argued back and forth in the living room over their differing views on spending habits before finally negotiating a way to co-finance the plane.

Chu Qianli got what she wanted. Satisfied, she happily skipped back to her room, looking utterly delighted.

He Shichen watched her disappear into her room, his irritation fading, replaced by a furrowed brow. His fingers tapped rapidly on his keyboard as he searched: “Why do some people overspend?”

He had originally thought Chu Qianli was vain, that she liked to show off, or that she had a preference for luxury goods. But now, he realized she wasn’t even that attached to the golden artifacts she had bought. It was the same with the private jet—she would probably forget about it soon.

It wasn’t that she was completely reckless either. She would never ask their parents for these things, which meant she knew the difference between right and wrong.

She seemed to love money, yet at the same time, she didn’t care about it at all.

There were many answers online. A common explanation was that people under a lot of stress use shopping as a way to relieve their emotions, seeking short-term excitement to distract from emptiness and anxiety.

He Shichen was speechless.

If even Chu Qianli wasn’t feeling happy, then there wasn’t a single happy person in the entire world.

[It’s true. Everyone around me thinks I’m very happy, but I actually don’t feel excited about anything. The things I truly want are impossible to get, so I just buy other random stuff instead. Honestly, I don’t even need them. But I’m aware of it now and trying to adjust.]

[I don’t know how long I’ll live. Before I die, I just want to own things. Money is fake, but objects are real. Who cares about the future?]

[Shopping as a coping mechanism is real. I used to be like that too—felt kind of pathological, but I’m working on controlling it now.]

He Shichen read through the posts thoughtfully before silently closing his laptop.

He recalled the agreement he had made with Chu Qianli—due to the way their identities were mixed up, she was entitled to a share of his income. Thinking back on their discussions and all the things she had purchased along the way, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.

As her account balance grew, her spending became more extreme and more frequent. It carried an undercurrent of anxiety, as if she was afraid she wouldn’t get the chance to spend the money in time.

—

In her bedroom, Chu Qianli was overjoyed now that the plane maintenance was settled. She walked in, sighed softly at the sight of the Red Crystal Tarot spread out on her desk, and sat down to study the puzzle-like images.

The Major Arcana could be pieced together to form a stunning starry sky, while the Minor Arcana created a blood-red underground scene.

The Major Arcana had 22 cards, and the Minor Arcana had 56 cards. When Chu Qianli arranged the Minor Arcana according to the starry sky’s proportions, she was left with 12 extra cards that didn’t fit anywhere.

The Minor Arcana formed an underground red crystal map, but these 12 leftover cards weren’t simply the last ones in the deck. Instead, they were single, unconnected pieces that didn’t match the surrounding images—like puzzle pieces that just wouldn’t fit.

The stars shone high above, while the red crystals filled the earth below—like a reflection of light and shadow.

Chu Qianli suspected that the Red Crystal Tarot was actually a map. In feng shui geomancy, people often observed the stars to locate dragon veins (energy-rich landforms), and the dual imagery of the tarot deck seemed to follow a similar logic. It was as if the starry sky on the Major Arcana was meant to point towards the fiery crystals on the Minor Arcana, guiding those who came after.

However, she didn’t know where the map was pointing, nor what to do with the extra 12 cards.

A compass determines direction. Tarot cards can serve as maps. The Three-Clear Bells are used underground. They all had a common purpose—to help locate things hidden beneath the earth.

She had a strong feeling that the location was somewhere in Country H, where the sample stones had originated. At the same time, she had an inexplicable sense that these red crystals were somehow tied to her fate.

Diviners see coincidences differently.

An ordinary person watching fallen leaves drifting in the wind might see nothing but a simple autumn scene. But for someone trained in the mystical arts, even a small detail could be a crucial sign for a divination reading.

Coincidences weren’t really coincidences.

There was a reason she had encountered these things. But whether it was a blessing or a curse depended on her own choices.

What should she do now?

Should she go straight to Country H?

But what exactly were red crystals used for?

Even if she could conduct field research, this kind of geomantic exploration took time. Even constructing a railway required an entire project team. How could she alone possibly handle it all?

Chu Qianli slumped in her chair, taking a deep breath.

She wasn’t sure how much time she had left to plan.

—

The summer vacation passed quickly.

After receiving their college admissions results, Chu Qianli and Tan Muxing also received an invitation from Mei Rujing, who suggested they meet up if they had time.

Mei Rujing had avoided disturbing them during their intense senior year of high school. When Chu Qianli received her message, she suddenly remembered the Sanqing Bell she had borrowed and figured this was a good chance to return them.

—

It was the same familiar tea house where the three of them met again on the second floor.

Mei Rujing was still as glamorous as ever, but the difference was that the students no longer had to wear their school uniforms.

As soon as Mei Rujing sat down, Chu Qianli quickly took out the Sanqing Bell and explained, “Sorry, Rujing-jie, I went on a trip after exams and forgot to return the bells to you.”

After their project trip, Chu Qianli and Tan Muxing had immediately gone back to prepare for their exams, then rushed to the G City auction. Now, they finally had time to meet up with Mei Rujing.

She had assumed the invitation was about reclaiming the bells, which was why she had hurried to return them.

But Mei Rujing didn’t seem to care about that at all.

“Oh, I completely forgot about that,” Mei Rujing said in surprise as she casually took the bells. Then, hearing that they had just returned, she asked, “So, where did you guys go after exams?”

Tan Muxing answered honestly, “G City.”

“You must’ve bought a lot of stuff. Every time I visit G City, I end up spending a fortune.”

Chu Qianli pondered for a moment, rubbing her chin before responding, “We did buy a lot of things… but I think we made more money than we spent.”

Mei Rujing shook the small bell in her hand and asked in confusion, “You two aren’t studying this anymore? It really doesn’t seem to be of much use.”

Chu Qianli hurriedly defended the Sanqing Bell, “No, no, no, it’s still useful! Our research has made some breakthrough progress, and now we’re going to share our new findings with you, Sister Rujing…”

Chu Qianli cleared her throat and vividly described the scenes in the desert. She even had Tan Muxing help illustrate with simple sketches. The Sanqing Bell produced a crisp sound in high-rise buildings, but in open, unobstructed areas, its sound was deep and resonant. It seemed to be primarily used for underground detection.

“I’ve also developed a set of bell-ringing techniques! If we encounter different terrains, the rhythm of ringing the bell also changes!” Chu Qianli gestured enthusiastically as she spoke. “This is one method of ringing, and this is another.”

Mei Rujing listened carefully to the bell’s sound, her brows slightly furrowed as she seemed to struggle with understanding. She hesitated and said, “Hmm…”

Chu Qianli blinked and patiently asked, “Is there a problem?”

Mei Rujing admitted frankly, “Even though I’m trying really hard to listen, I still don’t quite get it. Maybe because I don’t have knowledge of geomancy, so I can’t apply it flexibly.”

Chu Qianli had explained using principles of feng shui and geomancy, but Mei Rujing specialized in Plum Blossom Divination.

Chu Qianli pondered and said, “Then I’ll think of another way to teach you?”

“So, can learning to ring the bell make money?”

“…I don’t think so?”

Mei Rujing decisively set the Sanqing Bell aside and declared, “Great! Then let’s stop talking about the useless bell. I actually called you both here today for another reason!”

Tan Muxing noticed the difference between Mei Rujing and Chu Qianli. Chu Qianli could talk about astrology all day, but Mei Rujing was much more straightforward and goal-oriented. Though both were practitioners of metaphysics, their attitudes were quite different.

Chu Qianli had discovered new techniques in the desert, and she could excitedly discuss them with Tan Muxing for hours. However, Mei Rujing was clearly uninterested.

Chu Qianli muttered, “Sister Rujing, this is a family heirloom from your house. If it heard what you just said, it would feel sad.”

Even though Chu Qianli had also joked about the Sanqing Bell being useless, Mei Rujing, as its original owner, was much more ruthless—she outright called it a broken bell.

Mei Rujing scoffed, “Don’t be silly. It doesn’t have ears, so it can’t hear what I said.”

The two soon-to-be university students immediately gave her disapproving looks, as if silently accusing her of lacking a childlike spirit.

Finding herself in a gathering of young people, Mei Rujing realized it wouldn’t be appropriate to say something as harsh as “Santa Claus isn’t real.” She had to adapt to their way of thinking, and suddenly, she had an idea.

Mei Rujing picked up a sun hat and placed it over the Sanqing Bell, smiling as she said, “There, is that better? Now I’ve covered its ears, so it can’t hear anymore. It doesn’t even know it’s a broken bell!”

Chu Qianli sighed, “Is this the real-life version of ‘covering one’s ears while stealing a bell’?”

Tan Muxing: “…”

I am just a novice translator and Chinese is not my native language. I try my best to translate the chapters as accurate as possible.
If there are any mistakes then kindly comment and remind me. Your support means a lot.