A Farce

Shen Qiong immediately followed the other person's gaze and spotted an old acquaintance skulking in the crowd, winking at the young man.

Without another word, he stepped forward and hauled the woman out of the crowd. "Granny Wang Er, what are you sneaking around here for? I saw you winking at this kid!"

Everyone who lived on Shili Street knew Granny Wang Er. Whenever someone had a wedding or a funeral, they would ask her for advice, and she never failed to collect a generous fee.

"I know her! When my grandma died the year before last, she came to our house to perform a ritual. She had a brazier and acted all mysterious, and she charged our family a ton of money!" a child with a schoolbag shouted.

"Right! Half a year ago, when I got married, my mom insisted on getting my wife's and my birth dates so someone could check whether we were compatible. When she came back, she forced me to break up with my wife. Granny Wang must've been behind it!" A young man, red with anger, burst out of the crowd.

Someone laughed and asked, "So, did you end up getting married or not?"

"Of course I did! We even had a huge banquet. I wasn't going to let some crazy old woman tell me what to do about my marriage!" It was clear he had suffered plenty over the matter. The moment he saw Granny Wang, he launched into a furious tirade.

Shen Qiong hadn't expected the crowd to be so supportive. He immediately turned to Granny Wang and demanded, "Tell me, did you hire this young man to slander me?"

With everyone pointing fingers at her, Granny Wang was already pale with fear. She waved her hands frantically. "It's got nothing to do with me! He came to me and said he'd help me get my business back!"

In an instant, everyone's eyes turned to the young man, who had been pretending to be pitiful.

Shen Qiong cursed him for being shameless. "Everyone knows that you and I are the only ones on Shili Street who make a living this way. If my business does well, you're bound to have fewer customers. And now you're trying to pin the blame on someone else?"

"It really wasn't my idea! He—he lost a ton of money gambling and said that if I helped him pay off his debts, he'd help me get my business back." Granny Wang, who was over seventy, cried out that she was innocent.

Sun Wenbin hadn't expected Granny Wang to be so unreliable. One little bluff, and she'd confessed to everything.

He hurriedly shifted the blame back onto her. "That's nonsense! You came to me and asked me to put on a show to ruin Master Shen's reputation. I refused, of course! How could I slander Master Shen? But you kept shoving money into my hands, so I had no choice but to agree."

Granny Wang's face flushed red with rage. She pointed at Sun Wenbin. "You... you..." The fury was too much for her, and she fainted on the spot.

"Damn it!" Sun Wenbin had no idea the old woman couldn't take the shock. His made-up excuse had angered her into fainting, and now he was panicking. An old person's body wasn't like a young person's; a fainting spell could easily turn into a serious matter.

Shen Qiong saw that the matter was settled. No matter whose idea it had been, they had all slandered him. He raised his voice and shouted, "Call an ambulance! The old woman's fainted!"

The onlookers pointed at Sun Wenbin and whispered among themselves. "What kind of person does that? He lost his own money and tried to hurt Master Shen, and now he's made Granny Wang faint instead of getting any money."

"Right! Master Shen is innocent. I knew he couldn't be a fraud."

There were plenty of people gathered to watch, and soon they were all talking at once. "Master Shen really is something. His competitor's so jealous he's gone crazy."

"That's real skill for you. Everyone around here knows Granny Wang just puts on a show. People go to her for peace of mind, but Master Shen is different. If he says you're going to step in dog shit, you'll step in dog shit." The speaker was clearly one of Shen Qiong's die-hard fans.

Shen Qiong's rule had always been that he only read fortunes for those he had a connection with. He also charged whatever people were willing to pay, so compared with Granny Wang, it was no surprise everyone supported him.

Not long afterward, the ambulance arrived. Someone had apparently called the police, too, and they took Sun Wenbin back for questioning.

Shen Qiong had originally been expected to go along and give a statement, but the passersby were eager to explain what had happened. They had already laid everything out right there on the street, and the crowd had witnessed the whole thing, so they could serve as witnesses.

Shen Qiong checked his phone and was thrilled! His Reputation Value had shot up from 106 to 237. Even after Zhu Deshou had given him a huge publicity boost, he'd only gained 100 points.

After the ambulance and the police had left, quite a few neighbors stuck around, asking Shen Qiong to read their fortunes.

There was no way Shen Qiong could handle so many people. He smiled and said, "Thanks, everyone. I nearly got slandered by a scoundrel today. If any of you ever think I've cheated you or given you an inaccurate reading, feel free to come find me."

With WeChat in hand, Shen Qiong felt he could take on the world.

But there were simply too many people asking him for readings, and he was starting to feel overwhelmed. He could only point to the paper posted outside his door and say, "I'll write a character for those I'm fated to meet. Tips are up to you."

The crowd laughed. "We're all gathered here today. Isn't that fate enough?"

Shen Qiong could only put on a stern face. "I can't break the rules. You know that people in my line of work lose years off their lives, so please try to understand."

Since he'd brought up the cost to his lifespan, the crowd couldn't very well pressure him. They could only leave disappointed.

The show was over, and there'd be no fortune-telling today. Most people went back to their own homes, but Shen Qiong noticed one person still standing outside his door.

"Why aren't you leaving?" Shen Qiong asked, puzzled.

The man wore a suit and tie and looked like a businessperson. Shen Qiong didn't know much about brand names, but the man's watch looked sleek and expensive. Had Shen Qiong's reputation already spread to the city? That couldn't be right! Shili Street was a long way from downtown, practically in the middle of nowhere.

He Junming worked for a publicly listed company. He was in his early thirties, with a house, a car, and a wife. He wasn't rich, but he was doing pretty well. He'd grown up on Shili Street and had come back to visit relatives, but he hadn't expected to get stuck in traffic. When he got out of his car to see what was going on, he'd witnessed the whole farce.

"So you're the Master Shen they were talking about?" He Junming looked Shen Qiong over with some curiosity.

Shen Qiong smiled politely. "That's just what the neighbors call me. I'm no master." He knew his own limitations. If he ever met a real master of the trade, the flaws in his usual bluffs would be obvious.

"From the way they talked, you sound pretty amazing!" He Junming said with a smile, offering Shen Qiong a cigarette.

"Thanks, but I don't smoke." Shen Qiong used to smoke, but he'd quit after his father got sick. Smoking was bad for his health, for one thing, and back then he'd barely had enough money to get by.

He Junming lit a cigarette for himself. "How about giving me a reading, then, Master?"

Shen Qiong figured that if he made an exception for this man right after sending everyone else away, the neighbors might resent him. He immediately waved his hand. "That'll have to wait until tomorrow. If you're interested, come back then. Of course, whether I can read your fortune tomorrow depends on whether we're fated to meet."

He Junming hadn't expected there to be so many rules. "How do you know if we're fated to meet?"

"Well, Heaven knows, Earth knows, and I know. You don't," Shen Qiong said mysteriously. "You'll find out tomorrow."

He Junming laughed. He'd thought the young man might actually have some ability, but it turned out he was just all talk.

Shen Qiong only had himself to feed, and money had been tight before, so he'd had no choice but to scrape by however he could. Things were different now. He was a "master" with a reputation, so it didn't matter if he did a little less business.

Shen Qiong called after him, "If you don't believe me, why stay here? You should just leave!" With that, he turned and walked away.

He Junming froze. He hadn't expected the man to brush him off. He quickly called out, "Master, how about you give me a reading for ten thousand yuan?"

Ten thousand yuan? Shen Qiong stopped.

He Junming hadn't actually planned to give him ten thousand yuan. He just wanted to test whether this so-called "master" really had principles. When Shen Qiong stopped, he smiled. So the stories going around were all fake. Who would turn down money?

But Shen Qiong didn't even look back. In a quiet voice, he said, "Leave. Even if you offered me a hundred thousand today, I still wouldn't read your fortune."

So stubborn! He said he wouldn't do it, and he meant it.

Shen Qiong was hurting inside, too. Ten thousand yuan was a huge sum for him. On an ordinary day, he only made a thousand or two, since his neighbors weren't exactly wealthy.

He Junming stood rooted to the spot, watching Shen Qiong's retreating figure. He murmured, "Could someone really turn down money?"