Wang Shuya and her boyfriend were classmates. They met in high school, started dating in their freshman year of college, and had been together for two years.
Recently, she noticed her boyfriend seemed off—distracted when talking to her, frequently zoning out when they were together, and often taking phone calls behind her back.
She had planned to look for clues herself to determine whether her boyfriend was cheating, but after seeing the baby-faced girl get her fortune told today, she suddenly wanted to ask the streamer to do a reading for her.
"He's not cheating," Shen Zhiyi said. "Your boyfriend is indeed keeping something from you, but he's not having an affair."
"Really?" Wang Shuya let out an obvious sigh of relief and pressed further, "What is he keeping from me?"
"His family wants to send him abroad for further studies." After a pause, Shen Zhiyi said, "He hasn't figured out how to tell you yet."
"Ab-abroad?!"
This news hit Wang Shuya like a bolt from the blue.
Her boyfriend going abroad meant the two of them would have to start a long-distance transnational relationship, and whether this relationship could survive had become a complete unknown.
"When your boyfriend finishes his studies and returns, he'll become a very accomplished ophthalmologist—he'll help many people. But before that, the two of you will break up because of the long-distance relationship," Shen Zhiyi said. "If you oppose it, he'll refuse his parents' proposal to go abroad."
"Wh-…"
Wang Shuya's thoughts became a tangled mess.
Her boyfriend had indeed mentioned wanting to become an ophthalmologist in the future, wanting to help more people regain their sight—it had been his dream since childhood.
If he went abroad for further studies, he would fulfill his dream and be able to help even more people.
But they would break up.
Yes, her parents were old-fashioned and conservative—they'd been urging her to come home and get married since her junior year… If they found out her boyfriend was going abroad, they would definitely not approve of them continuing to date.
Once her boyfriend decided to go abroad, their breakup was inevitable.
Wang Shuya's face grew paler and paler. After a moment of silence, she forced a smile and said in a low voice, "Thank you, streamer."
After the girl logged off and exited the platform entirely, the spectators in the chat began discussing animatedly.
"Is the streamer telling the truth? Is that girl's boyfriend really going abroad? Will they break up?"
"The girl should go talk to her boyfriend, right? The streamer said that as long as she speaks up, her boyfriend will stay."
"But the streamer also said the guy would become a great doctor after finishing his studies and would help a lot of people!"
"If the guy doesn't go abroad, does that mean it'll change the fate of many people in the future?"
"Don't overthink it," Shen Zhiyi said. "A person's life has many branching points. Every small decision affects the trajectory of fate, but no matter how an individual's fate unfolds, the overall Worldline will never be changed."
"What does the streamer mean by that?"
"I don't get it either. Sounds pretty profound."
"Everyone pay attention! The streamer is starting her mystical act again!"
"What the streamer means is, without this great ophthalmologist, there will be other great ophthalmologists. Without this girl's boyfriend, someone else will take that position, right?"
"Smart." Shen Zhiyi curled the corner of her mouth, glanced at the time, and said, "That's all for today. If you need me, you can contact me through the backend."
With that, without giving the barrage a chance to react, she ended the livestream directly.
……
In the bright and pristine villa, a girl stood at the foot of the staircase, watching her father play Ludo with a little boy in the living room, her grip tightening around the paternity test report in her hand.
The boy was eleven years old—ten years younger than her, just as the streamer had said.
The mother and son had moved into their home last summer. Her father claimed the woman was a distant cousin from their hometown, and her grandmother had even called her mother specifically, saying the pair were new to the big city and unfamiliar with everything, asking her mother to look after them well.
And so, the mistress and her son, under the guise of relatives, moved into their home without shame.
Her mother, kept entirely in the dark, gave the mistress and the illegitimate child her whole heart, afraid that any lapse in hospitality might upset the guests.
In truth, a little attention would have revealed her father's changes.
He no longer worked overtime, came home on time, and his temper had improved considerably. He frequently took this "distant relative" out for outings, claiming it was to help her get familiar with the area…
Her mother had been her father's sweetheart from university, standing by him through the early struggles of building the business that became their family's fortune today.
Because of all the hard work, her mother had suffered a difficult labor with severe hemorrhaging when giving birth to her, and the doctors said she could never have another child.
Her grandmother had always harbored resentment over this, at one point even urging her father to divorce, but he had repeatedly refused and had only grown more attentive to her mother.
Yet who would have thought—behind that gentle and considerate facade, his illegitimate son was already old enough to run errands!
"Mom has given so much to this family and this company. Just because she can't bear a son, she has to be deceived and humiliated by her husband and mother-in-law like this?"
The more she thought about it, the angrier she grew. She wished she could throw all three of those bastards out of the house right now.
But she couldn't.
Just as the streamer had said, her father didn't yet know she'd done the paternity test or that she held evidence of his infidelity during the marriage. She had to warn her mother to prepare before the divorce and secure the best possible outcome for herself.
…
As evening fell, the sun sank low, and rosy clouds spread across the western sky.
Yu Qing's car arrived at the community gate right on time. As Shen Zhiyi was about to get in, she ran into Shen Nianxin returning from her tutoring class.
"Sister, are you going out?"
"Yeah, going to a classmate reunion." Shen Zhiyi made up an excuse on the spot. "I've already told Mom and Dad."
Shen Nianxin nodded without asking further. "Be safe, and come back early."
"Mm."
Once Shen Zhiyi was in the car, Yu Qing said with a grin, "You and your biological sister get along really well."
Shen Zhiyi's face was expressionless. "You and Yu Jin get along pretty well too."
Yu Qing was left speechless.
How was that the same?
He and Yu Jin were biological brothers who had grown up together!
She and Shen Nianxin—weren't they just a pair of fake sisters who'd met halfway through life?
Yu Qing only dared to complain silently in his head, saying aloud instead, "Sister Zhiyi, what are you going to do at the Liang family banquet? Persuade Liang Qun to hold off on demolishing the orphanage?"
Liang Qun was Liang Yousheng's father, the current head of the Liang family, and chairman of Chenxing Group.
How could there be such a foolish and naive Spirit Cultivator in this world?!
A vein pulsed at Shen Zhiyi's temple. Instead of answering, she asked, "Did you find anything on that rune I asked you to look into?"
"Not yet." Yu Qing said, "That rune is pretty rare. I found nothing at the Jiangcheng branch, so I've already sent it to my older brother to help investigate."
"Yu Qing." Shen Zhiyi called his name sweetly.
Yu Qing shuddered, asking nervously, "Wh-what is it?"
"I remember saying last night that you should just go ask the elders of the Yu family directly, right?"
And yet this kid had gone off investigating on his own at the Spirit-Demon Association's branch office, only calling home for help after coming up empty-handed.
As if he'd find anything! If it were that easy to find, would this orphanage have been sitting empty for ten years?!
Yu Qing stammered, "I-I wanted to train and gain some experience on my own first…"
"Mhm." Shen Zhiyi took a deep breath. "Good, good. Keep it up."
For a moment, Yu Qing couldn't tell whether Shen Zhiyi was praising him or dismissing him. He blinked his big eyes, looking as wronged as a puppy scolded by its master.
"Sister Zhiyi, you're so fierce—even fiercer than my brother and my dad!"
The puppy glared with his doe eyes in protest.
Shen Zhiyi smiled faintly. "Big sister here has been gutting fish at the supermarket for sixty years. My heart is as cold as the knife in my hand. Don't expect any puppy-dog eyes to get you off the hook."
Yu Qing: "…"
Fine then, Auntie.