He wasn't sure whether he'd gone to bed too early last night or was simply too excited about Ren Tianxue, but Shen Qiong woke up very early.
He heated up his favorite custard buns for breakfast, then poured himself a glass of milk and set it on the table.
He picked up his phone and saw that he'd had two missed calls last night. Both were from Li Mengqing?
Shen Qiong was about to call her back, but then he remembered that she only saw him as a customer service representative for Lucky 100%. He'd better not read too much into it.
He arrived at Heavenly Secrets Pavilion right on time at seven. First, he cleaned the place, then randomly selected a few names from the repeat-appointment box and notified them to come by that afternoon.
He was done by around eight and started brewing tea.
Just then, a white BMW sedan with a ninety-percent heads-turning rate slowly drove onto Gudao West Street. Normally, unless it was a million-yuan sports car, it was hard to attract that many glances.
Yet this BMW, which cost close to four hundred thousand yuan, drew the eyes of most people on the street. The reason was the woman behind the wheel: Ren Tianxue, dressed to the nines.
She wore a smile, and it was clear she was very pleased with her makeup that day.
Shen Qiong spotted the car pulling up outside his shop from a distance and murmured, "Could one of today's appointments be a big client?"
The moment he saw Ren Tianxue step out of the car, he froze.
He'd seen Ren Tianxue without makeup before, but this was his first time seeing her made up. Without makeup, she gave off an exceptionally pure and innocent impression. The Ren Tianxue standing before him, on the other hand, radiated the beauty of a sophisticated woman from head to toe.
Since she was coming to work, she wasn't dressed too flashily. Her plain short-sleeved dress ended two inches above the knee—not too short, not too long, just right. It revealed her shapely, slender legs, and it was hard to look away.
When Ren Tianxue smiled, she made people feel as if they were basking in a spring breeze. She greeted Shen Qiong, "Good morning, Master Shen."
He took a deep breath and told himself to stay calm. Then he picked up his teacup and downed its contents.
"Pretty, aren't I?" Ren Tianxue said with a beaming smile, twirling in place so Shen Qiong could get a better look.
Shen Qiong nodded, amused.
She seemed very satisfied with his reaction and asked with a grin, "Then tell me, how did you figure out what I'm good at?" She blinked like a curious little girl.
Shen Qiong grinned. He couldn't exactly tell her he'd figured it out by looking at her WeChat, so he replied with an indifferent smile, "Heaven's secrets must not be revealed."
Ren Tianxue pouted. "All right!"
Shen Qiong spread his hands, as if to say, believe it or not, it's up to you!
She crossed her legs and sat in a redwood chair nearby, then asked curiously, "What do I need to do?"
"I have two appointment boxes. The first-time appointment box needs to be sorted once every hour, and you'll give me the clients' information. I'll decide whom to meet." Shen Qiong took a sip of tea and continued, "As for the repeat-appointment box, you'll pick out some of the clients. I'll give you the final list, and you can call or text them directly to arrange a time to meet."
Ren Tianxue knew that a lot of people complained about how hard it was to book an appointment with Shen Qiong. Her eyes lit up, and she asked, "I get to choose?"
"Right. You'll organize all the information for first-time appointments, and I'll make the selections. That's the bigger part of the job. Then, you can pick around ten to twenty clients from the repeat-appointment box, and I'll give you the final list." Shen Qiong nodded.
"I usually see twelve clients a day, split evenly between first-time and repeat appointments. You'll need to schedule their fortune-telling sessions properly. Each one takes thirty minutes."
As Shen Qiong spoke, she took notes.
"That's about it. You'll also greet clients when they come in. That shouldn't be hard, right? A little smile from you is enough to brighten their day!" Shen Qiong teased with a laugh.
She grumbled inwardly, He certainly knows how to talk.
In the teachers' office at Xilin Elementary School, Yuan Jiancheng stared at his phone with a worried frown. Down again—down every day! If it drops any further, I'll borrow money to buy more. I refuse to believe this!
Yuan Jiancheng, who had been investing in stocks for five years, was in a terrible mood. The stock he'd bought had dropped again. Other stocks went up and down, but his had been falling for half a month straight, showing no sign of recovery.
He glanced at his watch, figured it was about time, and hurriedly said goodbye to his colleagues. He asked someone to cover two of his classes, then headed to Shili Street by car.
One Friday afternoon, Yuan Jiancheng had overheard some parents discussing Master Shen. Out of curiosity, he'd searched online for information about him—and that search had given him hope.
Whenever people online talked about booking an appointment with Master Shen, there were complaints everywhere. They all said it was incredibly difficult, like winning the lottery. Of course, that was an exaggeration.
The more Yuan Jiancheng learned, the more extraordinary Master Shen seemed. Maybe he could turn his luck around.
He'd lost too much money in the stock market. His luck was terrible, and he had to change it.
So every Saturday and Sunday, Yuan Jiancheng made time to book an appointment. He even went out of his way to wander around Shili Street, hoping to improve his so-called "chances of getting an appointment."
He'd tried everything to meet Master Shen. As his stocks kept dropping day after day, he grew more and more anxious. Finally, last night, he'd received a text saying his appointment had been confirmed. Yuan Jiancheng had been excited for hours.
But when he looked at his watchlist, nearly all the stocks were in the red. Only the one he'd bought was going against the trend, a single spot of green among a sea of red. It broke his heart.
Since most of the stocks on his watchlist were up, Yuan Jiancheng figured his stock picks weren't the problem. He must have fallen victim to the curse that so many investors complained about: as soon as you buy, it drops; as soon as you sell, it rises.
He sighed and finally reached Heavenly Secrets Pavilion. Yuan Jiancheng hurried inside.
Anyone seeing Ren Tianxue for the first time would be dazzled, especially in a poor outlying district like this, where it was rare to meet a beauty of her caliber.
He put on an awkward smile and greeted Ren Tianxue. When he learned that the beauty before him was Master Shen's assistant, his admiration for Master Shen surged like an endless river.
To Yuan Jiancheng, Shen Qiong was the only "lifeline" he could hold on to right now. Shen Qiong looked up and immediately saw the burning hope in his client's eyes.
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