Where did the stooge come from?

"Honey, you can do it!" A beautiful young woman holding a child kissed Xiao Chengzhou lightly on the cheek.

The only thing Xiao Chengzhou was proud of in his life was marrying a very beautiful wife. He smiled and said, "Wait for my good news!"

After leaving, he went straight to the underground parking lot and stepped on the accelerator to get onto the highway.

His wife was four years younger than him. They met by chance at a dinner party. At that time, Xiao Chengzhou's career was just starting, and he was already quite well-known among his peers.

His friends were all envious when they learned he had married such a capable wife, praising his good fortune.

However, Xiao Chengzhou's married life was not as blissful as imagined. She was very vain, or in other words, too expensive to maintain.

She insisted on buying imported skincare and cosmetics, and would change luxury handbags every two to three months. What Xiao Chengzhou found most unbearable was her constant need to compare herself to others; if others had something, she had to have it too, and it had to be better.

Several times, Xiao Chengzhou vowed he wouldn't spoil her anymore, but a few soft words from her at night would always make him relent.

Recently, his business had hit a bottleneck, and they had just had a child at home, so finances were becoming tight. That's why he was considering the risk of dealing in this batch of "rat goods."

"I hope everything goes smoothly today!" Xiao Chengzhou muttered to himself as he drove on the highway.

Seeing the text message on his phone and recalling how his old classmate Junming had raved about it, he decided to go to Shen Qiong for a fortune-telling session first. Since he had already made an appointment, he figured he might as well go.

The east side of Shili Street was undergoing subway construction, and housing prices were soaring. The neighbors around were all beaming with joy every day.

Xiao Chengzhou drove his Audi A4 through the alleys of Shili Street. Suddenly, a child darted out from a corner, startling him into slamming on the brakes.

The child, who had nearly been hit, turned pale with fright and stood rooted to the spot, his legs trembling uncontrollably.

Xiao Chengzhou's mind went blank. He got out of the car and started yelling, "Can't you watch where you're going?"

With a wail, the child burst into tears.

"Cry, cry, cry! What are you crying about? You're not hurt..." Xiao Chengzhou glanced at his watch. There were still fifteen minutes before his appointment. Shaking his head, he got back into the car and took a detour.

At the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion, Shen Qiong was engrossed in a book, as if it contained something incredibly captivating.

Xiao Chengzhou parked his car by the roadside, glanced up at the plaque of the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion, and walked in.

Hearing footsteps, Shen Qiong looked up and saw a man storming in. He frowned slightly.

Xiao Chengzhou was already in a bad mood due to his earlier misfortune, and without waiting for Shen Qiong to speak, he found a seat for himself.

Shen Qiong recognized him as a scheduled client and pulled out his phone to check his information.

[Name: Xiao Chengzhou]
[Age (within 100 meters): 33]
[Height: 174 cm]
[Health: 75]
[Luck Value: 2 (Imprisonment Disaster)]

After reviewing the information, Shen Qiong looked at Xiao Chengzhou with surprise. The man didn't look like a criminal at all, so why was there a risk of imprisonment?

Xiao Chengzhou, already in a foul mood, turned to Shen Qiong and questioned him impatiently, "What are you looking at? I have an appointment with Master Shen at this time. Where is Master Shen?"

Shen Qiong coughed twice. "I am Master Shen."

"You are?" Xiao Chengzhou frowned, scrutinizing the man before him, who looked even younger than himself. "How is that possible? How old are you?"

"Do I have to be a white-haired old man?" Shen Qiong chuckled.

Xiao Chengzhou's face was stern. "Young man, do I look like someone who can be fooled by you? Hurry up and tell me if Master Shen is here or not. If not, I'm leaving."

He then crossed his legs and complained, "Why doesn't your shop even have a cup of tea?"

Seeing his disdainful expression, Shen Qiong felt annoyed. What, you come to me for fortune-telling, and I have to serve you like a VIP?

Shen Qiong couldn't be bothered with such people. He waved his hand. "Alright, sit if you want, or leave. You can go."

Xiao Chengzhou was taken aback. Was that how it worked? He had rushed all the way here, nearly had a car accident to avoid wasting time, and now he was being asked to leave without even getting his fortune told?

No way!

"You want me to leave, so I'll leave?" Xiao Chengzhou looked defiant, as if he wouldn't budge.

Shen Qiong sneered, "This is my shop. If you don't leave, do I have to? That's ridiculous!"

"Are you really Master Shen?" Xiao Chengzhou still couldn't believe such a young master existed.

"Genuine," Shen Qiong replied calmly.

Xiao Chengzhou gritted his teeth. "Fine, then help me with a reading."

Shen Qiong smiled. Which of his clients wasn't polite when seeking his services? He looked at Xiao Chengzhou, wondering if the guy had lost his mind.

"I have a business meeting this afternoon. Just tell me how my luck is today," Xiao Chengzhou said.

Shen Qiong asked in surprise, "When did I agree to tell your fortune?"

"You..." Xiao Chengzhou's eyes widened as he stared at Shen Qiong.

"What about me? I was initially going to help you, but now I've changed my mind. You can leave! My shop doesn't welcome you," Shen Qiong said, taking a sip of tea.

"Heh? You really think you're a master, don't you? You don't even know your own limits," Xiao Chengzhou sneered.

Shen Qiong's brows furrowed. He said coldly, "Please leave."

Xiao Chengzhou stood up abruptly and cursed, "What a lousy shop! In this godforsaken place, a young brat barely out of his teens is acting like a master in front of me..."

He continued to curse as he walked out, shouting outside the shop, "Get lost! What Master Shen? He's clearly a charlatan. This shop is probably no good either."

The passersby stopped in their tracks. Someone chuckled, "Look, someone else is causing trouble at the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion again."

"Sigh, it's so hard to get an appointment with Master Shen these days. You even need to book in advance."

Recalling the time he casually took a photo that got five to six thousand reposts and comments on Weibo, Chen Yuxiang specially rushed to the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion to see if there was anything new.

Seeing someone cursing in front of that old shop, Chen Yuxiang quickly took out his phone to take pictures. He chuckled, "Heh! Weibo's going to be interesting tonight."

Xiao Chengzhou's heart leaped when he saw many onlookers stopping to watch the commotion. You want to drive me away? I'll ruin your reputation this time...

"Let me tell you, this so-called Master Shen is a complete fraud, he doesn't know anything! My friend was scammed, and I came here today specifically to expose him!!!" he said to the crowd.

Just as Xiao Chengzhou thought the crowd would help him denounce this "Master," their reaction left him dumbfounded.

A passerby remarked, "He looks so respectable, I didn't expect his character to be so poor."

"Sigh, what won't people do for money? Master Shen must be pitiful, I wonder who he offended to hire someone to cause trouble like this."

"I remember the last guy who accused Master Shen of being a fraud ended up in jail!" a knowledgeable onlooker chuckled.

Chen Yuxiang took pictures while jotting down the crowd's words in his notebook, excitedly saying, "This is too interesting."

Xiao Chengzhou was stunned for a moment. He anxiously explained, "I'm a paid actor hired to cause trouble? Don't be ridiculous!!! This shop is obviously a scam, and Master Shen is so young, what could he possibly know..."

The onlookers seemed to completely miss the point of his words and lamented, "That's right! Speaking of which, Master Shen is indeed young..."

"Young and promising! Master Shen is so accomplished at such a young age, it's no wonder some people are jealous!" a long-time resident of Shili Street praised.

Someone asked Xiao Chengzhou, "Hey, how much did they pay you! You're acting like it's real, are you a paid actor?"

Most of these passersby were old neighbors from Shili Street or Gudao West Road and had no doubt about Shen Qiong's fortune-telling abilities. They only doubted how much this troublemaker in front of them had been paid to speak so unscrupulously.

My god! Xiao Chengzhou felt like these onlookers had gone mad. He ran to his car and shouted, "I'm not an actor, I'm a businessman! This is my car, look closely everyone! This car isn't cheap either. I'm really not an actor, I swear on my integrity, that so-called Master Shen is definitely a fraud, a complete fraud."

Chen Yuxiang secretly gave himself full marks for his cleverness. He felt that just taking photos wasn't enough, so he specifically took a short video, which happened to capture this scene.

Shen Qiong arrived outside the shop and heard the crowd's trust in him. He couldn't help but feel thrilled; he never expected the neighbors to be so supportive.

The owner of the internet cafe on the third floor also came down to join the fun, laughing, "Not bad! I heard a few days ago that someone was specifically hired at the hospital entrance to cry for the deceased's family. They say they can earn tens of thousands a month doing that! I see your income isn't low either!"

Someone recognized Xiao Chengzhou's car and exclaimed in surprise, "That's an Audi, right? Even the cheapest ones are two to three hundred thousand!"

Someone else quipped, "Even beggars can afford cars and houses these days, what's so strange about that."

Xiao Chengzhou was completely bewildered. He realized that no matter how he explained it, it was useless. In the eyes of the onlookers, he was just a clown.

Even after he drove away in his beloved car, the crowd remained, pointing and discussing.

"They're all crazy, every single one of them. Everyone on this street is a lunatic..." Xiao Chengzhou cursed from inside his car.

Someone saw Shen Qiong standing at the shop entrance and teased, "Master Shen is so patient. If someone slandered me like that, I would have already gone up and beaten them to a pulp."

"Haha, you're a brute, how can you compare to Master Shen!"

Shen Qiong chuckled, "Everyone, don't worry. I've already divined for that person. He has ill fortune today and is bound to face calamities. He won't have an easy time."

"Hahaha, so Master Shen was already confident."