Chapter 49

In Yan Xiu's office, Liu Mumu dawdled for most of the day. Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly heard a barrage of sharp voices outside, sounds that were somewhat familiar.

She poked her head out and saw Fang Chuan walking into the office with a few people.

The two people walking beside him were likely police officers, explaining the identities of the newcomers to him with troubled expressions.

As for the other two, one of them, just as Liu Mumu guessed, was the old woman from her neighboring family, Mrs. Zhang. She was gripping someone's arm, as if afraid they would run, and strode in aggressively.

The person she was holding was an old man with a layer of black silk tied around his eyes, appearing to be blind. However, judging by his gait, the silk band might have just been for show.

He was dressed in a black long gown embroidered with cranes, sporting a long beard. Today, he seemed to be going for the aloof Taoist priest look, complete with a Taoist bun, making for a very striking appearance.

No wonder, with such an appearance, he had stolen who knows how much business from her grandfather over the years.

All the familiar faces were gathered here. Wasn't this Blind Liu from the street next to her hometown!

When they left, Liu Mumu had thought Blind Liu would finally have the market to himself. Who knew he would also come to Qing City? Could it be that he had failed back home?

Seeing Liu Mumu leaning on the doorframe, engrossed in watching, and showing no signs of leaving, Yan Xiu walked up behind her and glanced outside. "What are you looking at?"

"That old woman is Lü Yao's mother-in-law," Liu Mumu pointed him out.

Yan Xiu swept a casual glance over them, showing no reaction.

"The other one is a fortune teller from my hometown. We all call him Blind Liu. He's very famous," Liu Mumu then lowered her voice and said, "Let me tell you a secret, my grandfather always considered him a business rival, yet this man's customer base is five to six times larger than ours."

This was truly a sad story.

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

"No."

"So he's exceptionally accurate?" According to Yan Xiu's guess, Liu Mumu's grandfather should have had a high level of skill in fortune-telling.

Besides Liu Mumu's Diviner's License, the after-effects she experienced every time she told fortunes also seemed to be handled by her grandfather.

Liu Mumu thought carefully and shook her head, "He's about the same level as my usual divination."

He could guess correctly five out of ten times; the rest was pure guesswork.

In short, he had some skill, but not an overwhelming amount.

Yan Xiu's lips twitched, and he couldn't help but look at Blind Liu a few more times.

Outside, Mrs. Zhang was still tugging at Blind Liu's sleeve, raising her voice to Fang Chuan. "Comrade Police, this man is a swindler. He came to my house before to cheat me, saying that the child in my former daughter-in-law's womb had a great destiny. If he hadn't deceived me, I would have had them abort the child long ago. It caused my son to have to pay extra child support when he divorced that woman!"

She spoke with righteous indignation, making the surrounding police officers frown.

Blind Liu spoke slowly, "Younger sister, it was your son and daughter who took money and hired me to perform a play. Calling it a deception is going too far."

Mrs. Zhang's eyebrows shot up. "What younger sister? You dare to take liberties with me!"

The blind man before her was clearly younger than her. He was shamelessly trying to get closer.

Blind Liu sighed helplessly. He turned to Fang Chuan, cupped his hands towards him, and said, "Leader, I'm telling the truth. That day, this old woman's daughter came to me asking for help. I didn't want to agree at first, but when I heard it was to save an innocent child, I agreed."

"What does our child have to do with you? You just wanted to seize the opportunity to cheat money. Comrade Police, you must arrest him. It's people like him who are corrupting Qing City's atmosphere."

The three police officers present remained silent.

They had seen many bizarre cases, but never such shamelessness.

The two police officers who brought them in asked in a low voice, "Captain Fang, how should we handle this?"

In the past, these so-called masters brought to the police station were basically swindlers, usually dealt with by fines and detention.

However, this time, the old woman was unbearable, and the fortune-telling old man had a surprisingly good reputation. They had inquired with the owners of several shops near the fortune-telling stall, and these people actually thought the man was capable. Therefore, they decided to send them up.

After all, such unconventional professions were linked to the Special Case Division.

Fang Chuan waved his hand at the two officers, signaling them to just watch.

He spoke, "What both of you are saying has merit, but the police station is not a place where whoever shouts the loudest wins; it's a place that requires evidence."

Mrs. Zhang immediately chimed in, "Comrade Police is right. I've always been the most evidence-based. If there's no evidence, I wouldn't go around arresting people."

After speaking, she glared at Blind Liu.

Fang Chuan said expressionlessly to Mrs. Zhang, "This is no longer just between the two of you. You feel you were deceived, and he claims he was invited by your children to help. Therefore, your children need to be present."

"How can that be? My son is very busy every day," Mrs. Zhang immediately refused.

"If your son is busy, then have your daughter come. One of the two must be present."

Mrs. Zhang's eyes darted around, and she changed her tune. "Comrade Police, neither of them can come. Otherwise, I won't accuse him of fraud. But he is spreading feudal superstition, isn't he? I'm reporting a crime, so you'll have to detain him for a few days, right?"

She wasn't foolish. This old man kept saying her children had hired him, so it was likely true. Back then, she wasn't feeling well and hadn't thought much of it. Now that she thought about it, her son didn't usually believe in such things. How could he suddenly bring a master home and believe him so readily?

It turned out that for the sake of the child in that woman's womb, her son and daughter had colluded with this fortune teller to trick her.

"Old woman, once you're at the police station, it's not up to you to decide whether to press charges or not. We must investigate this case thoroughly. If you refuse to contact your children, we will have to find other ways to contact them." Captain Fang's tone was very firm.

Mrs. Zhang was somewhat intimidated by his strong attitude. After hesitating for a moment, she said, "Alright then, I'll call my son."

Not long after Zhang Shijing received the call, he rushed to the police station. His mother hadn't explained things clearly on the phone. Upon arrival, he learned that his mother had actually gone to a fortune teller and brought the man to the police station.

He really didn't know what to say. In the end, he could only repeatedly apologize to Fang Chuan. "I'm sorry, Comrade Police. It's our fault for not explaining things clearly to my mother at home. This old gentleman is telling the truth. It was my sister who found him and asked for his help. There's no issue of fraud; my mother misunderstood."

Mrs. Zhang patted her son's arm, seemingly displeased with his explanation.

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

Since her son said so, Old Mrs. Zhang could only drop it, but she still glared at Blind Liu.

Blind Liu returned a smile, unconcerned.

"It's good that it was a misunderstanding. Go home and explain it properly to the old woman, you can leave now." Fang Chuan didn't intend to make things difficult for him.

"Thank you for your trouble." After speaking, Zhang Shijing also apologized to Blind Liu, "Mr. Liu, I'm sorry for delaying your business."

"It's fine, it's fine, it was all a misunderstanding." Blind Liu chuckled, seemingly not taking such a small matter to heart.

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

"No, no, I can go back by myself."

"Why send him? He's pretending to be blind to cheat people. Hurry up and go," Old Mrs. Zhang said, pulling Zhang Shijing's arm.

Zhang Shijing nodded awkwardly at the others and left with the old woman.

After seeing off the mother and son, Fang Chuan was about to ask the fortune teller to leave when he saw Liu Mumu emerge from Yan Xiu's office.

She wasn't heading for him, but for the fortune teller.

"Master Liu, long time no see, wow."

Blind Liu was taken aback, then smiled, "Oh my, isn't this Little Mumu? You look good, like a fat lantern with legs."

Look at his rhetoric, he clearly didn't finish elementary school.

Liu Mumu immediately became unhappy, "Where am I fat?"

"Your face, it's gotten rounder than when you were at home. It seems Qing City really suits you."

Liu Mumu cupped her face, already looking around for a scale, wondering if she had really gained weight.

Seeing their familiar demeanor, Fang Chuan asked curiously, "Do you two know each other?"

"Yes, yes, we're from the same place. I heard before that Mumu and her grandfather came to Qing City to make a living, so I thought since it's easier to make money in big cities, I followed them," Blind Liu explained.

"And then you were sent to the police station. Your charm didn't work, did it?" Liu Mumu quipped.

Why could Blind Liu surpass her grandfather and become the number one fortune teller in their hometown? Of course, it was because he was good-looking!

Her grandfather wore the same old man's shirt from the beginning of the year to the end of the year, while Blind Liu changed into new styles every day and wore them exceptionally well, raising everyone's expectations for the appearance of fortune tellers single-handedly.

The angle was truly novel and impossible to imitate.

Speaking of which, Blind Liu had mixed feelings, "I've been telling fortunes for over twenty years, and this is the first time I've encountered someone so difficult. While it's easy to make money in big cities, people's hearts are complicated. Someone actually tried to freeload without paying me, that's too much!"

The old man even acted wronged.

Then Blind Liu asked Liu Mumu strangely, "Little Mumu, why are you in the station too? Were you also arrested?"

"No way, my boy... my future boyfriend works here," Liu Mumu said righteously.

Blind Liu looked at Fang Chuan with a hint of disdain, as if saying, "This is it?"

He pulled Liu Mumu aside and whispered, "His face is too square, no, no, it's not good for the facial structure of the next generation."

Fang Chuan, who was eavesdropping, almost laughed out loud. So, you're from the same place, and your aesthetics are highly unified?

"It's not him..." Before Liu Mumu could finish speaking, Yan Xiu walked out. The old man and the young woman both looked at him.

Yan Xiu nodded slightly at him. The old man's eyes lit up, tsk tsk, this physique, this appearance, it's only a little bit better than when he was young.

He patted Liu Mumu's shoulder, his eyes signaling: Is it him?

Liu Mumu nodded frantically.

Blind Liu tugged at his neatly trimmed beard and nodded, whispering, "His appearance is good, worth it."

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

In the end, Liu Mumu was lured away by the suddenly appearing Blind Liu, completely forgetting about Yan Xiu. Watching the two happily go to have a meal, they even forgot to say goodbye. Fang Chuan leaned closer to Yan Xiu and asked with a hint of schadenfreude, "What are your thoughts?"

Yan Xiu looked at him, "Are you very idle?"

"Very idle, yes. I'm not saying this, but if this old man were a few decades younger, he'd definitely be more popular than you."

Yan Xiu: ...

Walking out of the police station, Liu Mumu suddenly remembered that she hadn't said goodbye to Yan Xiu, and her steps hesitated.

"What's wrong?" Blind Liu asked.

"I forgot to say goodbye when we left just now."

Blind Liu shook his head and said with the tone of an experienced person, "You're too straightforward, child. When you're chasing a boyfriend, you can't be too clingy. You need to know when to hold back and when to let go. Sometimes you need to be a little cold."

"Huh? Is there such a saying?"

"Of course. When I was young, I liked a very aloof girl, and I finally won her over using this method."

"So, where is that aloof girl now?" Liu Mumu precisely hit his sore spot.

Blind Liu looked embarrassed, "Her family didn't agree to us being together, they broke us up, and the girl got married."

"That's too tragic," Liu Mumu said sympathetically.

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

"Why eat Japanese food in this cold weather? Let's eat hot pot."

"Alright, alright, then let's eat hot pot."