Chapter 49

After hanging around in Yan Xiu's office for most of the day, just as Liu Mumu was finally about to leave, she suddenly heard a rapid-fire stream of rather grating voices outside. They sounded a little familiar, too.

She poked her head out to look and saw Fang Chuan walk into the office with several people.

The two people beside him were probably police officers. They were explaining the other two's backgrounds to him with troubled expressions.

As for the other pair, one of them was exactly who Liu Mumu had guessed: Old Mrs. Zhang, from the Zhang family next door to her. She was gripping someone by the arm as if afraid he might run off, and marched in with a fierce air.

The person she was holding was an old man with a strip of black silk tied over his eyes. He seemed to be blind, though judging by the way he walked, the blindfold might have been just for show.

He wore a long black robe embroidered with cranes and had a long beard. Today, he was apparently going for the aloof Taoist master look, complete with a Taoist bun. He looked the part exceptionally well.

How could he not? He'd relied on that look to steal God knew how much business from her grandfather over the years.

Well, would you look at that—all the familiar faces had gathered here. Wasn't this Blind Liu, from the street beside her hometown?

When they'd left, Liu Mumu had thought Blind Liu would finally have the place to himself. Who knew he'd come to Qingcheng too? Had he run into trouble back home?

Seeing Liu Mumu leaning against the doorframe, watching with great interest and showing no sign of leaving, Yan Xiu came up behind her and glanced outside. "What are you looking at?"

"That old lady is Lü Yao's mother-in-law," Liu Mumu said, pointing her out to Yan Xiu.

Yan Xiu gave her a casual glance, showing no reaction.

"The other one's a fortune-teller from my hometown. We all call him Blind Liu. He's really famous." Then Liu Mumu lowered her voice. "I'll let you in on a secret: my grandpa's always considered him a business rival, but he gets five or six times as many customers as my family."

What a sad story.

Yan Xiu asked with some interest, "Is he a diviner?"

"No."

"Then is he especially accurate?" Yan Xiu asked. From what he'd gathered, Liu Mumu's grandfather ought to have been very good at divination.

Besides the Diviner's License Liu Mumu carried, there were also the aftereffects she suffered whenever she told someone's fortune. It seemed her grandfather had always dealt with them.

Liu Mumu thought about it seriously, then shook her head. "He's about as good as I am when I toss coins."

He got it right five times out of ten; the rest was guesswork.

You could say he had a bit of skill, but not all that much.

Yan Xiu's mouth twitched, and he couldn't help taking another look at Blind Liu.

Outside, Old Mrs. Zhang was still tugging at Blind Liu's sleeve. Raising her voice, she said to Fang Chuan, "Officer, this man's a swindler! He came to my house and tried to scam me, saying that the child in my former daughter-in-law's belly had a great destiny. If he hadn't fooled me, I would've had them get rid of the child long ago. Then my son wouldn't have had to pay extra child support when he divorced that woman!"

She spoke with such righteous conviction that the police officers nearby all furrowed their brows.

Blind Liu spoke unhurriedly. "Dear sister, your son and daughter paid me to put on a show. Calling that a scam is going too far."

Old Mrs. Zhang's eyebrows shot up. "What do you mean, 'dear sister'? Don't you dare try to get fresh with me!"

The blind man was obviously younger than her. He really had no shame, trying to act familiar like that.

Blind Liu gave a helpless sigh. Turning to Fang Chuan, he cupped his hands and said, "Officer, everything I've said is true. That day, this old lady's daughter came to me and begged for my help. I didn't want to agree at first, but then I heard it was to protect an innocent child, so I accepted."

"What does it have to do with you whether our family has a child or not? You were just looking for a chance to scam money. Officers, you have to arrest him! People like this are the ones ruining Qingcheng's moral climate."

The three police officers present said nothing.

They'd seen plenty of bizarre things, but they'd never seen anyone this shameless.

The two officers who'd brought them in asked quietly, "Captain Fang, what should we do with them?"

In the past, self-proclaimed masters brought to the station were usually frauds. They were generally fined and detained.

But this time, the old lady was simply unbearable. On top of that, the fortune-teller seemed to have a decent reputation. The officers had asked the owners of a few shops near his fortune-telling stand, and they all thought he was the real deal. So they'd decided to bring him in.

In any case, unconventional professions like this fell under the Special Case Division.

Fang Chuan waved the two officers off, signaling them to just watch.

He said, "Both of you make fair points. But the police station isn't a place where whoever speaks loudest is right. This is a place where we need evidence."

Old Mrs. Zhang immediately chimed in. "That's right, Officer. I've always believed in evidence. I wouldn't have gone after him if I didn't have any."

As she spoke, she shot Blind Liu a glare.

Fang Chuan said expressionlessly to Old Mrs. Zhang, "This isn't just between the two of you anymore. You say you were swindled, and he says your children hired him to help. That means your children need to come in."

"How can that be? My son's busy every day," Old Mrs. Zhang immediately objected.

"If your son's busy, then call your daughter. One of them has to come in."

Old Mrs. Zhang's eyes shifted as she changed her tune. "Officer, neither of them can come. In that case, I won't accuse him of fraud anymore. But he really is spreading superstition, isn't he? I'm still doing you a service by reporting him. You're going to detain him for a few days at least, right?"

She wasn't stupid. The old man kept insisting that her children had hired him, and that was probably true. She'd been in a bad state of mind those days and hadn't thought anything of it. Looking back, her son never believed in this stuff. Why would he suddenly bring home a master and trust him completely?

So that was it. For the sake of the child in that woman's belly, her son and daughter had teamed up with the fortune-teller to trick her.

"Ma'am, once you've brought someone to the police station, you can't just drop the complaint because you've changed your mind. We have to investigate this properly. If you refuse to contact your children, we'll have to reach them another way." Captain Fang's tone was firm.

Old Mrs. Zhang was a little intimidated by his forceful manner. After hesitating, she said, "All right, then. I'll call my son."

Not long after receiving the call, Zhang Shijing hurried to the police station. His mother hadn't explained things clearly over the phone. Only after he arrived did he find out that she'd gone to see a fortune-teller and had gotten him brought to the police station.

He really didn't know what to say. In the end, all he could do was keep apologizing to Fang Chuan. "I'm sorry, Officer. We didn't explain things clearly to my mother at home. What this gentleman said is all true. My younger sister went to him and asked for his help. There was no fraud. My mother misunderstood."

Old Mrs. Zhang slapped her son on the arm, apparently dissatisfied with what he'd said.

Zhang Shijing helplessly called out to her. "Mom, can we talk about it at home?"

Since even her son had said so, Old Mrs. Zhang could only let it go. She still didn't forget to glare at Blind Liu, though.

Blind Liu smiled back, unbothered.

"If it was a misunderstanding, that's good. Go home and explain it to your mother properly. You can leave now," Fang Chuan said. He had no intention of making things difficult for them either.

"Sorry for the trouble." After that, Zhang Shijing apologized to Blind Liu too. "Mr. Liu, I'm sorry we held up your business."

"It's fine, it's fine. It was all a misunderstanding." Blind Liu chuckled, as if he truly didn't care about such a trivial matter.

"If you don't mind, Mr. Liu, I can give you a ride back."

"No need, no need. I can get back on my own."

"Why are you offering him a ride? He's just pretending to be blind to trick people. Let's go." Old Mrs. Zhang tugged at Zhang Shijing's arm.

Zhang Shijing awkwardly nodded to everyone else, then left with his mother.

After seeing the mother and son off, Fang Chuan was about to tell the fortune-teller to leave when Liu Mumu emerged from Yan Xiu's office.

She wasn't heading for him, though. She was going straight for the fortune-teller.

"Master Liu, long time no see!"

Blind Liu froze, then smiled. "Why, if it isn't Little Mumu! You look pretty good—like a fat lantern with legs."

Now that was some choice phrasing. He clearly hadn't even finished elementary school.

Liu Mumu immediately took offense. "Where am I fat?"

"Your face. It's a whole circle plumper than it was back home. Qingcheng must be good for you."

Liu Mumu cupped her face, already looking around for a scale. She couldn't help wondering if she'd really put on weight.

Seeing how familiar the two of them were, Fang Chuan asked curiously, "You two know each other?"

"Of course! We're from the same place. I heard earlier that Mumu and her grandpa came to Qingcheng to make a living. I figured it'd be easier to make money in a big city, so I came along too," Blind Liu explained.

"And then you got brought to the police station. Looks like your charm didn't work," Liu Mumu teased.

Why had Blind Liu managed to beat her grandfather and become the top fortune-teller back home? Of course it was because he was good-looking!

Her grandfather wore the same old shirt from the start of the year to the end. Blind Liu, on the other hand, wore new styles every day, and always looked good. He'd single-handedly raised everyone's expectations for a fortune-teller's looks.

It was a novel approach, and one no one could copy.

Blind Liu looked rather conflicted at that. "I've been telling fortunes for over twenty years, and this is the first time I've run into someone this difficult. It's easy to make money in a big city, but people's hearts are complicated. Someone actually tried to get a free reading without paying me. That's outrageous!"

The old man was the one acting aggrieved now.

Then Blind Liu asked Liu Mumu curiously, "Little Mumu, why are you at the station too? Did they bring you here as well?"

"Of course not. My fu—my future boyfriend works here," Liu Mumu said, perfectly matter-of-fact.

Blind Liu looked at Fang Chuan with a hint of disdain, as if to say, This guy? Really?

He pulled Liu Mumu aside and whispered, "His face is way too square. No, no. That won't do for shaping the next generation's face."

Fang Chuan, who'd overheard them, was so exasperated he almost laughed. So they were from the same place, and even their tastes were the same?

"It's not him..." Liu Mumu began, but Yan Xiu walked out. The old man and the young woman both turned to look at him.

Yan Xiu gave him a slight nod. The old man's eyes lit up. Tsk, tsk. That figure, that face—he was only a little better than the old man had been in his younger days.

He patted Liu Mumu's shoulder, silently asking, Is it him?

Liu Mumu nodded frantically.

Blind Liu stroked his neatly trimmed beard and nodded. "He looks the part. Not a bad choice," he whispered.

"I think so too," Liu Mumu said happily.

In the end, Liu Mumu was whisked away by Blind Liu, who'd suddenly shown up out of nowhere, and forgot all about Yan Xiu. Watching the pair cheerfully head off to get a meal, without even remembering to say goodbye, Fang Chuan sidled up to Yan Xiu and asked with a distinctly smug air, "How do you feel?"

Yan Xiu looked at him. "Are you that free?"

"I am, actually. I'm just saying, if that old gentleman were a few decades younger, he'd definitely be more popular than you."

Yan Xiu: ...

Only after they'd left the police station did Liu Mumu remember that she hadn't said goodbye to Yan Xiu. Her steps grew hesitant.

"What's wrong?" Blind Liu asked.

"I forgot to say something before I left."

Blind Liu shook his head and spoke like a man of experience. "You're too earnest, kid. When you're pursuing a boyfriend, you can't come on too strong. You have to know when to draw close and when to pull back. Sometimes you need to give him the cold shoulder."

"Oh? There's really a trick to it?"

"Of course. When I was young, I liked a girl who was especially aloof. That's how I won her over in the end."

"So what happened to that aloof girl?" Liu Mumu zeroed in on the sore spot.

Blind Liu looked awkward. "Her family didn't approve of us being together. They tore us apart, and she got married to someone else."

"That's so sad." Liu Mumu looked at him sympathetically.

"Ah, I'm in a good mood today, so let's not talk about that. I'll treat you to Japanese food."

"It's freezing out. Why eat Japanese food? Let's have hot pot."

"Fine, fine. Hot pot it is."