TGA Chapter 35

Qi Yan did not refuse Chu Qianli, but she informed her in advance that there would be a large crowd at the birthday banquet.

At home, Yu Shen and He Zhenghe were both quite surprised when they heard that Chu Qianli would be attending the birthday banquet.

He Zhenghe was puzzled and asked, “Your classmate’s grandfather should be Mr. Qi, right?”

Mr. Qi’s real name was Qi Yin, and he was currently the chairman of the group. His eldest son was Qi Chengji, who was Qi Yan’s father. His second son was Qi Chengliang, who was Qi Yan’s second uncle. It was said that Mr. Qi also had a younger son, but his health was poor and he didn’t appear in public often.

He Zhenghe was the CEO of a company, and although their industries were different, the CEOs would occasionally meet and thus knew a bit about each other. He didn’t expect his daughter to attend such an event, mainly because Chu Qianli usually showed little interest in these things.

Chu Qianli nodded obediently, without showing any change in expression: “She invited me to her grandfather’s birthday banquet.”

He Shichen raised his eyebrows slightly, thinking that she really could talk her way through any situation. She had turned it into Qi Yan inviting her in front of her parents, and she would say something different depending on who she was talking to.

Chu Qianli was mischievous with He Shichen, but she was always understanding and considerate with her parents. He was always annoyed, suspecting that she deliberately tried to irritate him.

He Shichen said faintly, “Then you’ll need an appropriate outfit.”

Chu Qianli lazily hesitated, saying, “But it’s not my birthday, so anything should be fine, right?”

Yu Shen fell into thought, “I’ll prepare some clothes for you, and also think about what gift to bring. We can’t go empty-handed.”

Chu Qianli cheered, “Yay! Being a mama’s girl is the best!”

He Shichen: “…”

After dinner, Yu Shen started preparing clothes and gifts, while Chu Qianli got ready with her divination tools. He Shichen watched as she dumped things into her bag with a frown, saying, “Why are you taking so many things?”

Chu Qianli wanted to pack everything she owned. She was carefully selecting and pondering, as if deep in thought.

Chu Qianli said, “Better safe than sorry. I did a reading, and I might need them.”

He Shichen crossed his arms and watched her, asking, “Isn’t it tiring to carry all that?”

Chu Qianli froze. She suddenly raised her head and seemed to realize something: “Ah, I didn’t think of that—it’s different when you travel with someone else…”

Chu Qianli awkwardly took out a few items. She was used to being lazy when going out with Tan Muxing, but she couldn’t expect Qi Yan to carry her bag.

A few days later, the birthday banquet of Mr. Qi arrived. Qi Yan specially came to pick up Chu Qianli and took her to the villa area where the Qi family lived.

As they sat in the car, Chu Qianli looked out the window at the familiar scenery and exclaimed, “You live here too?”

Tan Muxing and Qi Yan’s homes were in the same direction, but there was still some distance between them.

Qi Yan replied, “Grandfather said the feng shui here is good, and many years ago he got into real estate development, so most of the family lives here.”

Chu Qianli nodded thoughtfully. She remembered that someone at the dinner table once mentioned a villa area slightly to the east, and now she realized that it was the residence of the original female protagonist from the book.

The villa area had clearly been redecorated, with festive decorations everywhere. Even on the large screens, information about the birthday banquet was scrolling. In the parking lot, luxury cars were gathering, and numerous celebrities had come together.

Chu Qianli looked at the guests in their suits and leather shoes and suddenly felt a little dizzy, wandering aimlessly and starting to lose focus.

Qi Yan noticed that Chu Qianli seemed distracted. She chuckled lightly, “You don’t need to look at them. You’re here to get the painting. Just follow me.”

True to her character as the confident female lead, Qi Yan led Chu Qianli directly through the crowd without exchanging even a word of greeting.

Chu Qianli couldn’t help but admire her: “Reliable teenage girl!”

Qi Yan planned to take Chu Qianli to get the tarot painting and then arrange for her to leave, assuming that Chu Qianli had no interest in the banquet.

They arrived at the central building of the villa area and were met by a graceful woman dressed simply but elegantly. Her face carried a hint of sorrow, but she smiled when she saw Qi Yan and kindly greeted Chu Qianli.

Chu Qianli didn’t recognize this person. She obediently followed Qi Yan, remaining silent like a little shadow.

Qi Yan asked, “Aunt San, do you know where Grandpa is?”

Ji Yagen paused for a moment, then answered, “He should be in the main living room. Why, do you need to see him?”

“I just want to wish him a happy birthday in advance. There will be too many people at the banquet, so it’ll be hard to talk later.”

“That’s thoughtful of you, but he’s probably too busy to pay attention to you right now…”

“Why?”

“Sigh, it’s because of your second uncle. I don’t know where he found this master, and now your grandfather is off spending time with him.” Ji Yagen sighed.

Qi Yan frowned slightly. “Grandfather is really obsessed with these things.”

Ji Yagen’s face showed a hint of sadness. “It’s all because of the thing with Liyang. If it weren’t for him, your grandfather wouldn’t be so preoccupied with these matters. The masters from Mount Qian haven’t been willing to come out in recent years, so they had to find another one.”

“Don’t worry, Aunt San, Uncle San will be fine.”

“I hope so. A few days ago, Xixi even asked me about my dad. I didn’t know how to answer her.”

Chu Qianli quietly listened from the side. She could only remember the main characters from the original book, and the minor details like Qi Yan’s relatives had long since slipped her mind. However, it seemed that Qi Yan had a good relationship with Aunt San, and Ji Yagen wasn’t a villain in the original book either.

Qi Yan comforted Ji Yagen for a few moments, and soon both of them regained their composure and stopped talking about family matters.

Ji Yagen’s eyes reddened as she wiped away a tear and forced a smile. “It’s fine. You two go and have fun. Your grandfather and the master are doing divination, and I’m afraid if you go now, you might run into your second uncle.”

Qi Yan and her second uncle, Qi Chengliang, didn’t get along, but she hadn’t formally entered the company yet. Currently, the affairs of the group were being managed by her father, Qi Chengji, and her second uncle, Qi Chengliang.

Qi Yan remained silent when she heard this. She had suspected there was a reason why Chu Qianli insisted on coming, and now it seemed that it would be difficult to speak privately with her grandfather.

Chu Qianli’s eyes suddenly lit up when she heard this. “They’re doing divination?”

Ji Yagen replied, “Yes, they’re using a cover to hide objects and guessing what’s underneath. This master guesses incredibly accurately.”

Chu Qianli exclaimed, “That’s amazing! I want to see it too.”

“Ah, if Qi Yan is willing, she could take you to see it…” Ji Yagen hesitated. She knew Qi Yan disliked her second uncle, but Chu Qianli didn’t know about this.

The two said their goodbyes to Ji Yagen and headed towards the main reception room.

Qi Yan turned to look at Chu Qianli and, with a smile that was neither a smile nor a frown, said, “You want to see it too? Are you sure you’re not trying to disrupt the scene?”

Chu Qianli blinked innocently. “Don’t say it like that. Divination is just a game, and in games, winning or losing doesn’t matter!”

Qi Yan replied, “It’s fine. If you want to disrupt the scene, go ahead.”

Chu Qianli grinned. “Actually, I’ve never lost at games. What I said earlier was just to comfort the losers.”

Qi Yan raised an eyebrow. “?”

In the main reception room, everyone was gathered around a Huanghuali wood table, on top of which a bamboo cover was placed, hiding something underneath.

Mr. Qi and others were gathered around a man dressed in a Zhongshan suit. The man mysteriously counted for a moment and then said, “A teacup.”

The people around immediately lifted the bamboo cover, revealing a simple teacup underneath, which instantly garnered applause from the surrounding guests!

“Master Liu is amazing! He hasn’t missed a guess yet!”

Mr. Qi exclaimed, “This is indeed extraordinary.”

Qi Chengliang, eager to keep the momentum going, added, “Master Liu is a legitimate disciple of the Haomen school, and he is the personal disciple of the sect leader. It was no easy task to invite him here!”

The main reception room was crowded with people. Qi Yan pulled Chu Qianli and struggled to get to the front row to watch Master Liu’s performance.

Before long, someone brought over another tray, again with a bamboo cover placed over it, hiding an unknown item.

Everyone held their breath, watching as Master Liu calculated again.

After a moment, Master Liu shook his head and said, “A brush.”

Qi Chengliang eagerly lifted the bamboo cover and smiled with joy. “Yes! He’s right again!”

The people around were excited and began to praise Master Liu, elevating him even more.

Chu Qianli sighed dramatically, “This is too tragic. At home, I get scolded by the money printer when I do divination, and here he is, being showered with praise by a bunch of money printers. This is the disparity in the world.”

“Because he’s doing divination for others,” Qi Yan looked around, then suggested, “Let’s go to my grandfather’s side.”

Qi Chengliang noticed Qi Yan’s presence and, fearing that someone might ruin things, hurriedly leaned over to Mr. Qi and whispered, “Dad, Master Liu is here. If you need to ask anything, you should do it now.”

Mr. Qi came to his senses and was about to speak with Master Liu when he saw his granddaughter Qi Yan and her friend approach.

“Happy birthday, Grandpa,” Qi Yan beamed, then introduced, “This is my classmate, Chu Qianli.”

Chu Qianli, ever flexible for the sake of the tarot card, obediently bowed and casually said, “Happy birthday, Mr. Qi. May you have blessings as vast as the Eastern Sea, a life as long as the Southern Mountain, the sun and moon shining bright, and longevity like the pine and crane. May every day be filled with happiness!”

Qi Yan was taken aback, thinking to herself that He Shichen had scolded Chu Qianli for speaking in a provocative manner, but now, hearing her, she was actually quite eloquent.

Qi Chengliang chuckled and teased, “Qi Yan, your classmate speaks more intimately than you do.”

Qi Yan wasn’t fooled and casually replied, “Ah, she said her grandfather and my grandfather are probably the same.”

Qi Chengliang blinked in confusion. “?”

Mr. Qi smiled warmly and responded, “Thank you both!”

Chu Qianli, appearing like a little child, looked curiously around. She observed the bamboo cover on the table and asked, “Are we going to guess again?”

Mr. Qi was momentarily distracted and planned to speak with Master Liu later. He first greeted his granddaughter and her friend, smiling, “Yes, it’s quite interesting to watch. Master Liu will do another divination soon.”

A new bamboo cover was brought to the table, and Master Liu began his calculations, fully concentrating as he prepared for the next divination.

Everyone eagerly awaited Master Liu’s results.

Master Liu raised his hand and said, “Paper.”

Someone stepped forward, eager to lift the bamboo cover. “Let’s see what it is…”

But before anyone could touch the cover, Chu Qianli suddenly spoke, “It’s Xuan paper.”

Master Liu and Qi Chengliang were momentarily stunned and instinctively looked at the little girl.

The bamboo cover was lifted to reveal, to everyone’s surprise, Xuan paper.

Mr. Qi looked at Chu Qianli in astonishment and smiled. “The little one guessed it right too! Looks like you have some talent!”

Chu Qianli quickly waved her hands in a feigned modest gesture. “No, no, I don’t have any talent. My grades are terrible at school. I can’t compare to Qi Yan…”

Qi Yan thought to herself, He Shichen was wrong again. It seemed that Chu Qianli didn’t like to boast about herself. Not only was she humble now, but she also self-deprecated by saying her studies weren’t good.

Master Liu had a look of doubt, thinking that Chu Qianli must have made a lucky guess. He continued to calculate for the next item.

“A stone ink slab,” Master Liu said this time, not daring to be careless. His words were much more cautious as he added, “A jade ink slab.”

Chu Qianli blinked and, after thinking for a few seconds, expanded on the description, “An uncleaned jade ink slab.”

Under the bamboo cover, the jade ink slab glowed with a soft luster, clearly cleaned and spotless.

Qi Chengliang let out a long breath and picked up the jade ink slab, intending to show it to the crowd. “Master Liu really is accurate. As expected, it’s a jade ink slab.”

Qi Yan focused on the ink slab in Qi Chengliang’s hand. She noticed a small black dot and reminded him, “Second Uncle, there’s ink spilled under the ink slab.”

Mr. Qi, whose eyesight was poor, quickly leaned over to take a look. “Ah, really! What’s going on? You bring something that’s not properly cleaned…”

The household servants quickly rushed over and repeatedly bowed in apology, not expecting such an oversight.

Mr. Qi, now with a changed impression of Chu Qianli, couldn’t help but feel a little emotional. “But this little friend guessed it really accurately. Do you enjoy studying these things?”

Chu Qianli humbly responded, “It’s fine, really. I’ve read a little of the I Ching. I feel like anyone can learn it.”

Master Liu: “???” You say that as if it’s so simple?

Master Liu had spent years diligently studying in order to gain the accuracy and recognition from everyone.

Yet, Chu Qianli was so nonchalant about it. While her tone was modest, her expression clearly conveyed, “Isn’t this something everyone can do without special study?”

Mr. Qi laughed heartily. “I’ve studied the I Ching for so many years, and I still haven’t learned it!”

Chu Qianli used the tricks she employed in front of her parents to act obedient and softly explained, “Grandpa Qi, when you read the I Ching, you’re focusing on the ‘Dao’ (way). You don’t need to get fixated on the ‘Shu’ (method). The Dao without the Shu can still be sought, but the Shu without the Dao stops at the method.”

Mr. Qi praised, “Your I Ching knowledge is not something you’ve just casually read!”

Qi Chengliang turned and gritted his teeth, muttering to himself, “Really knows how to flatter.”

Qi Chengliang found Qi Yan troublesome enough. Who would’ve thought she’d bring someone else along? What made Qi Yan troublesome was her sharp mind and overly cleverness, while Chu Qianli’s troublesome trait was flattering and pleasing people.

Qi Chengliang wanted to elevate Master Liu’s abilities and naturally allowed him to appear lofty and mysterious. Masters were invited by others, so they would certainly have some airs.

However, Chu Qianli was using all sorts of methods to please Mr. Qi, instantly making Master Liu seem not only incapable but also bad-tempered, completely ruining the atmosphere and the flow of the event.

Master Liu also sensed something was off. He suggested, “It’s getting boring just guessing these. How about we add something new under the cover or put in something difficult to guess? These are all too simple.”

Divination through the Shaofu (cover guessing) method determines the characteristics of objects based on their divinatory symbols. Some objects are too obvious, making them easy to guess. If it’s a more complex item, or if there are many items involved, it becomes much more challenging to interpret the divination.

Master Liu didn’t believe that increasing the difficulty would make Chu Qianli guess correctly. He still didn’t take her seriously, mainly because she was just too young and her overly flattering speech didn’t seem like something a talented genius would do.

Chu Qianli nodded. “Yes, the characteristics are too obvious, so Master must find it boring.”

After a moment, a new item was brought in, still covered with the bamboo cover.

Master Liu completed the divination and, seeing the symbol on the divination stick, realized it. He casually said, “Little girl, I’ll let you guess first so no one thinks I’m bullying you.”

Chu Qianli shook her head and deferred, “It’s fine, Master, you guess first.”

“If I guess it first and you say the same thing, people will think you’re copying me,” Master Liu said.

“It’s fine, I’ll assist Master and add some details,” Chu Qianli replied.

Master Liu, seeing her continue to refuse, assumed she wouldn’t be able to guess and let out a light scoff. “It’s a live spider.”

“What are you going to guess?” Master Liu looked at Chu Qianli. “Are you guessing a spider too?”

Chu Qianli thought for a moment before saying, “It’s a live spider, but it has only seven legs. The second leg on the right side is missing.”

The others lifted the bamboo cover, and indeed, they saw a spider trapped in a small glass dish. They leaned in for a closer look and murmured, “It’s definitely a spider, but not sure how many legs…”

Old Mr. Qi leaned in, trying hard to make out the details.

“Really! Only seven legs!” someone exclaimed. “The second leg is missing!”

Master Liu froze, then suddenly realized, his face darkening. “Did you wait until I said ‘spider’ before starting the divination!?”

Master Liu had recognized the spider through the divination, but he had never seen someone guess the number of legs unless Chu Qianli had already known about the spider. It was impossible for her to make such a guess otherwise!

Master Liu concluded that Chu Qianli had cheated. No matter what he guessed, as long as she added a few more details, she would always be in an invincible position.

Chu Qianli looked confused. “What did Master say? I don’t understand?”

Master Liu growled, “Why did you guess the number of legs on the spider?”

Chu Qianli asked in bewilderment, “Why can’t I guess the number of legs on the spider?”

Master Liu was furious. “Why do you care how many legs the spider has!”

Chu Qianli replied innocently, “The spider’s leg is missing, it’s so pitiful. Why are you angry? It’s not your leg that’s missing.”

Master Liu took a deep breath, then looked at Qi Chengliang with a cold sneer. “Oh, I see. You don’t trust me, so you specially brought in another fortune teller to ruin my performance!”

Chu Qianli widened her eyes. “Master, don’t slander me. I’m not a fortune teller! You need to be responsible for what you say!”

She was an astrologer, a follower of Marxism, and she refused to be called a “fortune teller.”

Master Liu was seething with rage. “You’re not a fortune teller, then what are you? Do you think anyone here would guess like you? You’re just trying to ruin my performance!”