◎Keeping Up with the Times in the 21st Century◎
“I don’t know why all these things happened to me either, but once I knew about them, I thought that if I could stop them, then I should. The first few times went very smoothly. It’s just that this time, even though the white sedan was clearly stopped from going on the road, who would have thought it would instead implicate the owner of the sports car.”
Zhong Yao let out a sigh, her eyes dark and gloomy. “Does this count as me indirectly causing the death of the sports car’s owner?”
She suddenly thought that if she hadn’t meddled in the first place, the sports car’s owner wouldn’t have had to suffer such a calamity out of nowhere.
Although she still didn’t think there was anything wrong with her original intention, she couldn’t help feeling dejected.
“Yao Yao, this has nothing to do with you. You’ve already done everything you could,” Si Ning Qing said softly, comforting her. “The police had set up checkpoints at the intersection to inspect every vehicle for dangerous items. Logically speaking, no car should have had the chance to run into the tanker truck at that time. If the sports car had obeyed traffic rules, it wouldn’t have met with sudden disaster. That’s his own fault, it has nothing to do with you.”
“Besides, what you received was a prophecy, not some superpower to save the world. Doing your best is enough.”
Zhong Yao froze for a moment. Following her line of reasoning, she realized that it did seem to make sense.
Seeing her wavering, Si Ning Qing kept up her efforts, continuing to comfort her for quite some time. By the time night had fully fallen, the faint light of the stars reflected on the lake’s surface, and the warm yellow streetlights along the road had come on, the two of them finally headed back to school together.
Chen Xiang hadn’t returned yet. The dorm room was pitch-dark and empty. Si Ning Qing pushed Zhong Yao into the bathroom, telling her to hurry up and wash so that when everyone else came back later, they wouldn’t all be squeezed for time.
Watching Zhong Yao go in as the soft patter of running water gradually sounded, she then picked up Zhong Yao’s phone, skillfully entered the password to unlock it, tapped on the app with the musical note icon, and after browsing through all of their chat records, let out a cold laugh.
She spread her slender hand, a faint blue glow flickering at her fingertips.
Unlike the man on the antique street who used phosphorescent fire to swindle people, the flames at Si Ning Qing’s fingertips swayed with the air, vibrant and full of life.
The deep blue hue carried a bewitching, shadowy glow, yet its eerie color made people hesitate to approach, stirring fear in their hearts.
As Si Ning Qing opened and closed her fingers, a wisp of red gas was yanked out of the phone, slowly transforming into the shape of a tiny figure that knelt prostrate in the center of her palm.
Before she could speak, the little figure trembled and bowed respectfully. “Greetings, my lord.”
Si Ning Qing raised her brows coldly and snorted. “So you still know to call me ‘my lord’? Sneaking off behind my back to look for Yao Yao, what were you plotting?”
The little figure hurriedly cried out in protest. “My lord, my loyalty to you is as clear as the sun and moon! I was just too bored at home and wanted to come out and have a look.”
“Just having a look? And you ended up on Yao Yao’s phone?”
The little creature’s body trembled even more violently. As its eyes opened and closed, tears as big as beans spilled down. “My lord, there’s no food left at home, the children are going to starve. We’re not like you, born with innate merit. If we don’t work harder, we really won’t even have enough to eat.”
“The other children’s abilities are manageable, but I only have foresight, you know that, my lord. I have to rely on humans, so I had no choice but to come out!”
The little creature sobbed as it poured out the misery of its life, but Si Ning Qing had no patience for its pitiful act. Her gaze was cold. “So you chose Yao Yao?”
The little creature guiltily averted its eyes and stammered, “I didn’t mean to deliberately meddle with someone under your protection. It’s just that Zhong Yao has particularly good aptitude, she’s very compatible with my ability.”
Hearing this, Si Ning Qing suddenly laughed. A gentle smile flickered at the corner of her lips, like a red plum blossom blooming high on a branch in winter, beautiful and striking.
“So you kept everything from Yao Yao and used her like a sucker to run errands for you?”
With a thud, the little creature dropped to its knees, tears streaming as it begged for mercy. “I was muddle-headed! My lord, please have pity on me for being young and ignorant, I was blinded by greed!”
Si Ning Qing frowned impatiently. “Enough. Shut up. You’re being too noisy.”
“I won’t pursue what happened before. You can continue staying by Yao Yao’s side. From now on, for each prophecy you complete, the merit you gain will be split seventy–thirty between you and Yao Yao.” A trace of ill intent flashed in Si Ning Qing’s eyes. Her red lips parted slightly as she enunciated a few words. “You get three. Yao Yao gets seven.”
Like a bolt from the blue, the little creature froze on the spot. Then it let out another wail, its eyes turning into faucets as tears poured out endlessly. “My lord, you can’t do this to me! With only thirty percent, how am I supposed to survive?!”
“Keep yapping, and it’ll become twenty–eighty.”
The moment the words fell, the little creature immediately stopped crying, though the tears still wouldn’t stop flowing. It sniffled, nodded miserably, and said, “Yes… thank you for your generosity, my lord.”
Si Ning Qing grabbed a tissue and tossed it at the little creature. “All you do all day is cry. It’s hideous.”
Pouting, the little creature obediently used the tissue, several times bigger than itself, to wipe its face, silently roaring inside: This is tear incontinence, okay? It’s not like I actually want to cry.
Peeking at Si Ning Qing through the tissue, it quickly lowered its gaze when she noticed, grumbling inwardly, I really don’t know what Lord Su Luan sees in her, a fierce, tiger-like woman.
“I heard Yao Yao call you ‘Dou Dou.’ In that case, just change your name. It suits you anyway,” Si Ning Qing said, pursing her lips as she looked at how it shook like a sieve at the slightest movement.
Dou Dou clenched the corner of the tissue in its tiny hand. Despite being unwilling a thousand times over, under Si Ning Qing’s oppressive authority, it still agreed.
Zhong Yao had just finished her shower and climbed into bed when her head tilted and she fell fast asleep. In her dreams, however, she vaguely felt something crawling across her face.
She thought it was a mosquito and instinctively waved her hand to swat it away. After a short while, the sensation came again.
Furious, she snapped her eyes open, wanting to see what kind of mosquito dared disturb her sweet sleep. But the moment she opened them, she was shocked to find that she had unexpectedly entered a completely unfamiliar space.
The surroundings were a vast expanse of lifeless white, so silent that she couldn’t even tell whether she was lying on the ground or floating in midair. It felt as if, in an instant, she had returned to the time before heaven and earth were formed, an endless, pure-white chaos.
Looking around, there was nothing in the entire space except Zhong Yao herself.
Oh, and a little creature climbing up along her leg.
She lifted the little thing, which wasn’t even half the size of her palm, and raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Thumbelina’s Prince?”
Hearing that name, the little creature stiffened. 【What do you mean ‘Thumbelina’s Prince’? I’m the great being who provides you with foresight. I’ll allow you to call me ‘Boss’!】
This was the dreamscape it had woven, without having to worry about Si Ning Qing barging in, it immediately grew bold again and put on airs.
Zhong Yao rolled her eyes speechlessly. “So you’re the one who dragged me to this weird place? Do you know that disturbing a beauty’s sleep is extremely rude?”
Dou Dou snorted. 【I came to you for something serious. If you’re not interested, then I just won’t say it.】
Zhong Yao flopped down, closed her eyes, and nodded casually. “Then don’t say it. Better go tell someone else as soon as possible.”
After the tanker-truck incident, she had figured it out: even with the power of foresight, she couldn’t change much.
She was just an ordinary college student. Even if she had gained superpowers, she had no way to use them properly.
Zhong Yao lay flat and gave up completely. Saving the world and all that really wasn’t something she was meant to do.
Dou Dou was dumbfounded. After finally finding someone it liked, how had she suddenly lost all fighting spirit?
It planted one foot on Zhong Yao’s nose. 【Stupid human! I haven’t given up on you, how can you give up on yourself first? Get up!】
Seeing that Zhong Yao still didn’t react, it simply started hopping all over her face, determined not to stop until it stomped her awake.
【That was my mistake before, I skipped the newbie village and dragged you straight into fighting the boss. Next time, we’ll start from the newbie village.】 Dou Dou declared passionately. 【Zhong Yao, get up! This world needs you.】
“No, I’m only suited for lying flat. If the sky falls, there’ll be someone taller to hold it up,” Zhong Yao said without even opening her eyes, reaching out to flick the little creature off her face.
Dou Dou pressed on, trying to tempt her. 【Don’t you want to become stronger, richer, and prettier? I have a way to help you increase your talent points. Forget the distant stuff, even improving your English CET-6 and advanced math, I can manage that.】
The moment “advanced math” was mentioned, Zhong Yao’s eyes flew open. “You can help me pass advanced math?”
【No! My foresight can’t be used to do bad things. Helping with the CET-6 last time was already a violation. To pass advanced math, you’ll have to work for it yourself.】
Dou Dou sat on her forehead, propping its chin on its knees with its tiny hands, and explained: 【I can only raise your advanced-math talent points, turn you into an advanced-math ace. The rest is still up to you.】
Zhong Yao’s eyes lit up. There was such a thing?
“Deal! What do you need me to do?”
Everything else aside, advanced math was literally a lifesaver.
She really didn’t want to retake advanced math next semester!
Dou Dou froze. It didn’t expect the Zhong Yao who’d looked like a complete salted fish just moments ago to suddenly be so fired up. Stunned, it finished what it had to say. 【Then we’ll sign a contract, no backing out afterward.】
Zhong Yao looked a little surprised. “You spirits actually use contracts? In novels it’s always some kind of pact.”
【That’s old-fashioned stuff. It’s the 21st century, kid, keep up with the times!】 Dou Dou rolled its eyes at her, as if mocking her ignorance.