Although my bet with Bai Zhigao had been made in the heat of the moment, it wasn't entirely unfounded.
It was a deduction drawn from several aspects of physiognomy considered together.
Besides the facial features and palm lines we usually talked about, physiognomy also covered the body, voice, movements, and so on.
Broken down further, movement analysis included how someone stood, sat, walked, slept, ate, and more.
In fact, every one of us knew how to read people.
Put a bunch of strangers together, and we could easily tell who was hardworking, who was lazy, who was easygoing, who had a bad temper, who was quick on the uptake, who was impatient, and so on.
Basically, we all knew how. Most people simply weren't thorough or systematic enough about it.
The most distinctive feature of Bai Zhigao's face was his thin skin-so thin that you could see a great many fine lines.
People with thin skin were sensitive.
People who were too sensitive couldn't bear the weight of good fortune.
As far as his voice went, his breath hovered in his throat, his vocal cords were taut, his voice was shrill, and he spoke rather quickly. He was easily agitated, restless, and impatient.
His gait matched his voice. His breath rose upward, and he bounced as he walked, lacking steadiness.
In fact, Taoism, Buddhism, and the various schools of spiritual cultivation all emphasized breathing, partly for health and partly because it could also adjust one's fortune.
With the breath sunk into the dantian, the upper body relaxed and the lower body grounded, the voice deepened, the gait steadied, and fortune flowed freely.
Health and fortune might seem like two separate things, but they could also be considered one and the same, each reinforcing the other.
As the old saying went, a weak body cannot bear wealth.
("Bear" here meant to carry the burden.)
It was like a frail man being unable to handle a whole household of wives and concubines.
There was a saying in Words of Wisdom: a sharp blade wounds others; great wealth harms the body.
One yin and one yang constituted the Way. It was the path of balance and moderation.
Whether facial features, palm lines, voice, physique, or movements, all of them could change.
When I saw Bai Zhigao again many years later, he bore the signs of good fortune from head to toe. More on that later.
Arguments were arguments, and squabbles were squabbles. Even when our opinions differed, Bai Zhigao and I still hung out every day, dropping in on classes at CAT whenever we had time.
During a break that day, Du Le pulled me out into the hallway with a grin, found a quiet corner, and waggled his eyebrows. "Bro, you're something else. You called it again!"
"Why do you always talk without giving me any context?" I shot him an annoyed glance.
"Heh heh heh!" Du Le chuckled, not taking it to heart at all.
After laughing for a while, he put a hand beside his mouth and said secretively, "Sister Feng got beaten by her husband."
"Huh? How do you know?"
Domestic violence generally didn't happen in front of outsiders.
"I got back early yesterday. As soon as I walked in, I saw her husband grabbing Sister Feng by the hair, pinning her against the wall, and hitting her.
"Right there in the living room.
"When he saw I'd come back, he slapped her once more before heading out."
"Why?" My appetite for gossip flared up too.
"Because she was late walking the dog."
"?!"
What kind of reason was that?
Seeing that I didn't believe him, Du Le added, "After her husband left, Sister Feng sat in the living room crying for a while. She told me herself."
"And then?" I asked.
"Then? After a few hurried words with me, she quickly wiped away her tears and went out to walk the dog."
"..."
Impressive!
She knew when to bend and when to stand tall! A true stalwart!
I had to admire her!
I didn't feel sorry for her, nor did I take pleasure in her misfortune.
The moment I moved out, I had let go of every debt and grievance between us.
Now it was like hearing some inconsequential story about a stranger. It didn't stir so much as a ripple in me.
After a brief chat, I returned to the classroom with Du Le.
The teacher hadn't arrived yet, and everyone was still chatting away animatedly.
Amid the noisy voices, I heard a stifled exclamation. "Does that mean you're being kept?!"
It wasn't very loud, but since it came from right behind me, I happened to overhear it.
I glanced at Du Le. He was staring back at me with wide, astonished eyes. It seemed he'd heard it too.
Then I glanced at Bai Zhigao beside us. He was chatting excitedly with Weiwei and the others, gesticulating wildly and spraying spit everywhere. It looked as though none of them had heard.
Before you continue