Unbridled 8
Although Ding Ji’s guess made his heart skip a beat, Lin Wuyu still insisted, “Can’t you just tell my fortune?”
“You’re not even gonna ask me how I guessed it?” Ding Ji looked at him. After waiting for a while, Lin Wuyu not speaking a word, he clicked his tongue again, “Okay, I’ll tell your fortune.”
Then, he went to the cashier and asked for a pen and paper.
“…Your method of fortune-telling,” Lin Wuyu looked at him. “Are you using a formula? Do you really need a pen and paper?”
“Don’t disturb me,” Ding Ji said.
“Oh,” Lin Wuyu responded, as he picked up a small biscuit and ate it slowly.
Ding Ji began to draw lines on the paper. After Lin Wuyu took a look, he saw that the drawings were the Eight Trigrams. He didn’t know what kind of hexagram he drew, so he felt like Ding Ji could really deceive people like this.
“If it was my grandmother, she could do it with her eyes closed. I’m just a hobbyist, so I have to make a draft.” Ding Ji paused after drawing for a while, stared at the paper, and then raised his head.
Lin Wuyu stuffed the biscuit into his mouth, looking forward to it. “Have you figured it out?”
“Mmn.” Ding Ji nodded as he crumpled up the paper and threw it into the trash can next to him.
“What am I here for, then?” Lin Wuyu asked.
“You’re looking for someone.” Ding Ji said.
Lin Wuyu didn’t speak. He took two sips of milk tea before turning his head around and laughing.
He couldn’t stop laughing.
“You told me to tell your fortune,” Ding Ji leaned back on his chair and hugged his arms. “I already said that I don’t need to.”
“Okay,” Lin Wuyu smiled, and he cleared his throat, “What else did you manage to guess?”
“This guy was born in ‘95,” Ding Ji said. “I’m not sure about anything else. I’m sure after you mentioned this number.”
“Really?” Lin Wuyu thought for a while. “I originally wanted to say 1995, but it felt too obvious, so I changed it to 95.”
“It’s because you hesitated for 0.000000…1 seconds,” Ding Ji spun the pen in his hand, “that made it more obvious.”
“That means you still guessed it,” Lin Wuyu said,
“That’s the result of my fortune-telling!” Ding Ji yelled at him. He then turned his head and pointed toward the trash can. “Come, come, you should take another look, and I’ll tell you…”
“Hey, hey, hey!” Lin Wuyu hurriedly pulled him back. “You foretold it, you foretold it, you don’t have to tell me, I don’t understand.”
Ding Ji glared at him and sat upright again.
Lin Wuyu tapped his cup of milk tea lightly on the table. “Do me a favor.”
“How can I help with this kind of feudalistic superstition?!” His grandma shook her head while chopping the meat, and shoved him aside.
“There’s always some general direction,” Ding Ji stepped aside. “Didn’t you help someone find a child before?”
“Can this kind of thing be predicted casually?” Grandma frowned. “Of course, it’s good to be sure, but it’s not a hundred percent accurate. If you aren’t sure, aren’t you just giving people false hope? I’m not some random street scammer.”
Ding Ji sighed.
“You used to be the same,” his grandpa said with a smile while watching TV in the living room.
“The hell do you know?” his grandma turned her head. “I used to do it to survive! Can you even survive for much longer?”
“Argue later, you two,” Ding Ji stood between them. “Let’s talk business.”
“Did you promise someone?” His grandma asked.
“I didn’t promise anyone anything,” Ding Jii said, “I said I’ll go home and try.”
“With the little that you know, you can try,” his grandma was very disdainful. “If your mother finds out, she’d say that we didn’t raise you well… Did you even tell them that you won’t be going home for dinner today?!”
“I’ll tell them now.” Ding Ji said.
“You doomed child,” she sighed. “Let your grandpa tell them, if you tell them now you’re only going to start fighting with them.”
His grandpa picked up the phone, put on his reading glasses and started dialing.
That night, Lin Wuyu was in the classroom for self-study. His desk was covered in books and papers, and his head was lowered, engrossed.
He wanted to mix the box of two-colored ice cream in his hand with a small stainless steel spoon.
“If you hold it for a bit, wouldn’t it be easier to handle after it melts a little?” Chen Mang said. “Usually your brain works so well, how come it’s like vegetable oil right now?”
“I don’t want to eat melted things,” Lin Wuyu replied.
“Then you can scrape some from the cream side to the chocolate side, then eat it all in one bite,” Chen Mang advised.
“Go read your book.” Lin Wuyu glanced at him, “If you can’t understand, how about we do some competition questions?”
Chen Mang leaned back on the table. “I’m not looking to be abused. Your brother Lin said so already, don’t challenge yourself too often. It’s easy to hurt your self-confidence.”
Lin Wuyu laughed and continued to stir his ice cream.
It had been a day and a night since he asked Ding Ji to help find someone, and he still hasn’t heard from Ding Ji. Lin Wuyu guessed that it was difficult to cover up this matter since he didn’t give him any details, and Fortune Teller Ding was worried.
Fortunately, he didn’t really pin his hopes on fortune-telling.
However, Fortune Teller Ding still managed to send him a message the next afternoon after the second period was over.
[Ding Ji] This person definitely isn’t in the local vicinity, and he hasn’t been nearby for about a year or so
A video was attached to this message.
Lin Wuyu stood in the hallway and clicked on the video.
The camera was facing the ground, but it could be seen that it was filmed in a small park, and the tiles on the floor looked the same.
A hand stretched into the camera’s field of view, accompanied by DIng Ji’s voice. “Look, I didn’t lie to you.”
There were three copper coins in his palm. Then, the copper coins were thrown on the ground, picked up again, and thrown once more…
Since his classmates were coming and going around him, Lin Wuyu didn’t pay much attention. Anyway, after throwing them all, the video ended. It was cloudy.
Ding Ji sent another message.
[Ding Ji] Is there anything else you’d like to ask?
[Ding Ji] You didn’t go to school?
Ding Ji looked at the message on his phone, and it took him a long time before he reacted.
[Lin Wuyu] Can’t you focus on the key point?????
[Lin Wuyu] You don’t work either?
When DIng Ji saw this, he stuffed his phone into his pocket and sighed.
He wasn’t sure if what Lin Wuyu was going to say later was “If you’re so smart, why don’t you study?” But he knew that it would be something along those lines.
Although he didn’t stop going to school, he didn’t want to explain, and it took a lot of effort.
Hello, classmate Lin, I do in fact study. I went to No. 3 Middle School, and my grades were in the top ten…
Then he would hear his father’s voice in his ears.
You’re so smart, you could be doing so much better, but you just don’t work hard…
“Ah!” Ding Ji sighed, took out an exercise sheet that was handed out today from his school bag, spread it on the floor, and started to read it.
“An inch of time is worth an inch of old,” Da Dong’s voice came from behind.
“Doesn’t your life start at eight in the evening and end at two in the morning?” Ding Ji asked. “Why’d you come out at this time?”
“I’m passing by, take this.” Da Dong sat next to him and handed him a box of two-colored ice cream. “I’m a saint, aren’t I? Seeing you here, immediately going out to buy your favourite ice cream…”
“Say it.” Ding Ji looked at the paper under his feet.
“Say what?”
“What you want from me.”
“Shit, do I really need a reason to buy you ice cream?” Da Dong looked offended.
“Well, don’t you have something to say?” Ding Ji turned his head and glanced at him.
“… It seems that you’re right,” Da Dong said after he thought for a while.
“I didn’t have the time to talk to you before the college entrance examination.” Ding Ji opened the ice cream box and tried to mix the flavours with a spoon. “Find someone else.”
“Who’s lying on the ground right now?!” Da Dong shouted. “Who’s lying on the ground right now? Can you talk or not!”
“Are you guys trying to be street performers?” Ding Ji asked.
“Yes,” Da Dong replied.
“Do you guys take song requests for a fee?” Ding Ji asked again.
“… Yes.”
“Then do you guys…”
“Okay, okay, if you don’t have time, you don’t have time…” Da Dong interrupted him. “I’m just wondering, are you still aware that you have to take the college entrance examination? I didn’t notice you caring about it before. No, everybody knew that you were a professional slacker.”
Ding Ji clicked his tongue. “Do you see me every day? You’re spouting such bullshit!”
Da Dong performed in the small park at night. In order to prevent himself from being roped into it, Ding Ji packed up his things and left the small park.
Lin Wuyu didn’t ask him about finding someone again. He only said that the mall called to let him know the time that he had to pick up the induction cooker tomorrow. They made plans to meet at the gate of Xinjia at 6 PM.
However, whether it was divination through the Eight Trigrams or regular fortune-telling, sometimes it really was amazing. Ding Ji half-fortune-told and half-guessed that the person Lin Wuyu was looking for was his sibling.
Of course, even without doing any fortune-telling, he could pretty much guess the small details that Lin Wuyu hardly noticed when he talked about this person, as well as his reaction when they talked about brothers and siblings last time.
Ding Ji even felt that his indifference towards abandoned babies might also be related to this.
It was just inconvenient for him to ask more. No matter what kind of family you have, if someone disappears, it’s not an injury that a stranger can casually provoke.
“Am I late?” When Lin Wuyu arrived at the gate of Xinjia, he saw Ding Ji sitting at the steps of the gate with a bored expression on his face.
It looked like he had been waiting for over 20 minutes to be in this state.
He quickly glanced at the time.
“You’re not late,” Ding Ji stood up. “I’m just early.”
“Then let’s go in,” Lin Wuyu said. “It’s just the ID card and the coupon, right?”
“Yeah,” Ding Ji nodded. “I’m sorry for wasting your time.”
“Why are you so polite all of a sudden?” Lin Wuyu looked at him, a little confused. “You only brought me a bottle of Coke that day.”
“Speak with your conscience!” Ding Ji immediately raised his voice.
“There was also milk tea and desserts,” Lin Wuyu said.
“I even told your fortune!” Ding Ji said. “Then I fortune-told again! What a waste of my brain cells.”
Lin Wuyu didn’t interrupt.
Honestly, the news that Ding Ji sent that day disappointed him a little.
He didn’t really expect to find him all that much, but when Ding Ji said that this person hadn’t been in the local area for several years, no matter if it was true or not, he still felt a bit uncomfortable.
After taking the induction cooker and walking out of the mall, Lin Wuyu still couldn’t help but ask. “Are you accurate?”
“I’m really not sure,” Ding Ji hugged the induction cooker. “I can only say that this is the result I foretold, but if you still want to know where this person is, I definitely can’t help you, you need to find out for yourself.”
Lin Wuyu smiled. Just as he was about to speak, Ding Ji turned his head at him.
“Let’s go drink some water.”
“I don’t drink water,” Lin Wuyu said.
Ding Ji looked back at him. “We can drink something else, like milk tea, or…”
“I want to eat something,” Lin Wuyu replied truthfully.
“Want me to treat you to dinner?” Ding Ji asked.
“No,” Lin Wuyu sighed. “Forget it, let me treat you. Are there any good barbecue skewer places around here?”
“You’ve asked the right person,” Ding Ji raised his eyebrows. “I”m familiar with this area, let’s go.”
“I thought you only stayed in the small park.” Lin Wuyu followed him forward.
“I hang out in a lot of places,” Ding Ji said. “I have acquaintances in every place you can name.”
“Really?” Lin Wuyu smiled.
Ding Ji led him into a rather large shop, and the smell of grilled skewers filled his nostrils.
There weren’t too many people in the restaurant during dinnertime, so they found a small table and sat down. When the waiter brought over the skewers, Ding Ji ordered a few more bottles of beer, and then took out his mobile phone to pay.
“Let me.” Lin Wuyu reached out to block the QR code on the table.
“I”ll treat you,” Ding Ji said. “It’s an induction cooker!”
“Then that would be considered as you buying the induction cooker,” Lin Wuyu said. “Doesn’t your grandma not accept things that cost money?”
Ding JI started laughing.
“You don’t work either, do you?” Lin Wuyu took out his mobile phone and scanned the QR code, “Save some money.”
“Then do you have a job?” Ding Ji asked.
“I’m a student, so I have a legitimate source of pocket money,” Lin Wuyu said. “I also have a part-time job.”
To be honest, although Lin Wuyu had a deep misunderstanding of him, Ding Ji was still moved by his logic of being taken advantage of.
“Fine!” Ding Ji put away his phone, opened a bottle of beer and put it in front of him. “Thanks.”
“I don’t drink beer,” Lin Wuyu said.
“Driving?” Ding Ji asked.
“… I just don’t drink,” Lin Wuyu sighed. “And I have to study at night.”
“Poor you,” Ding Ji said smoothly.
“If you have so much time, go get a job,” Lin Wuyu said. “Or learn something.”
“Why?” Ding Ji picked up the bottle and took a sip.
“Then what do you rely on to make money?” Lin Wuyu said. “Fortune-telling? It’s not as easy to trick people now.”
Ding Ji laughed and wiped the beer foam from his mouth. “Don’t tell me that, sometimes it’s really funny. Let me tell you a story about my neighbour when I was young.”
“Hm?” Lin Wuyu was quite interested.
“This old man said he was a Maoshan Taoist priest who could cure diseases. There was a kid in our alley with a headache, so his mother took him to the old man’s place.” Ding Ji took a lamb skewer and started gnawing on it. “The old man wrote the three characters for “Wind”, “Fire”, and “Lightning” on the ground, then took a branch to poke a word, and asked him, does it still hurt?”
“Hurts,” Lin Wuyu replied cooperatively.
Ding Ji nodded. “The old man poked another word, and asked, does it still hurt?”
“Seems to be a little better?” Lin Wuyu continued to cooperate.
“Smart.” Ding Ji gave him a thumbs up. “He poked them a few more times, then stuck the branch into the soil. The child said it didn’t hurt anymore.”
“Subliminal hints,” Lin Wuyu said. “Kids are especially susceptible to subliminal hints.”
“I thought about it then,” Ding Ji held his chin. “What if I do the opposite?”
“What do you mean by the opposite?”
“I told the kid, and I said that I could do it too since I was the old man’s disciple,” Ding Ji said. “He taught me all of his life’s unique skills, and I also told him that the old man’s unique skills were all squeezed into my spirit.”
Lin Wuyu laughed so hard he couldn’t even eat a single chicken wing.
“Hey—” Ding Ji propped his hand on the table. “It was squeezed in just like that, and the kid immediately believed it. Let me write a few words for you.”
“What are you writing?” Lin Wuyu asked while laughing.
“Big, middle, and small,” Ding Ji said. “I was in kindergarten at that time, and even though I knew a lot of characters, I couldn’t write them. Anyway, he didn’t know then. I poked each word after writing them, and I asked the kid, “doesn’t your head kinda hurt now?””
Lin Wuyu straight up started laughing out loud.
“The kid said that it kinda did?” Ding Ji laughed. “I actually poked it three times, and when I poked the last time I said that he should have a headache by now! Then I jabbed the stick into it. Boom! So pitiful, that kid ran away with his head in his hands.”
“Did it hurt?” Lin Wuyu tried hard to hold back a smile.
“It hurt all night, and his mother came chasing to beat me.” Ding Ji took a bite of the lamb.
“You should’ve told him, just pull out the stick in the ground,” Lin Wuyu said solemnly.
“Damn,” Ding Ji laughed. “Have you done this before? You’re so accurate.”
“No,” Lin Wuyu shook his head. “I wasn’t as… clever as you when I was young.”
Ding Ji didn’t speak and took another bite of the lamb with a smile.
Lin Wuyu’s slight pause was probably to avoid calling him words like smart, since he knew that he didn’t like being called a child prodigy, so he probably wouldn’t want to be called smart either…
Ding Ji picked up the bottle of beer, tapped it lightly on Lin Wuyu’s hand holding the chicken wings, and took a sip.
When Lin Wuyu returned to the dormitory, he carried two bags of barbecue as usual and swept past the guard’s room like the wind. The only difference was that today he had an extra book in his hand.
Dng Ji didn’t know why, but he carried the Mystery of Palm reading with him the entire day.
Today, after eating the skewers, he came out and solemnly handed the book to Lin Wuyu. “Didn’t you want to read it? I’ll let you read it for three days. I’m not responsible for affecting your review.”
Lin Wuyu looked at his expression, and felt like what he had received seemed to be the last handwritten copy of a secret book handed down by the gods and goddesses of fortune-telling.
When he returned to the dormitory with the two bags of barbecue, the first quarter of evening self-study wasn’t over yet, so Lin Wuyu took a bag and prepared to throw it onto the other table.
Just as he opened the door of the dorm, the door next to him also opened. Xu Tianbo poked his head out. “I smell a scent that can drive one crazy at night.”
“Your nose is pretty good,” Lin Wuyu handed him the barbecue. “Didn’t you go to self-study?”
“I’ll go right away,” Xu Tianbo said. “I just took a shower, so I won’t be robbed by a bunch of people tonight… Are you going to self-study?”
“No, I’ll read in the dorm for a bit,” Lin Wuyu said.
“What book?” Xu Tianbo asked.
“A study book.” Lin Wuyu smiled.
“What book are you studying?” Xu Tianbo also smiled. “Your tone doesn’t imply that it’s a study book for reviewing for the college entrance examination.”
“Fortune-telling,” Lin Wuyu cleared his throat.
“… Not bad,” Xu Tianbo gave him a thumbs up. “You’re a legend.”
“An abundance of skills does not suppress the body. One should be able to take multiple paths.” Lin Wuyu replied solemnly.
“Fine,” Xu Tianbo patted him on the shoulder and walked towards the stairs. “Remember to give me a 20% off card when you open a shop.”
“No problem,” Lin Wuyu nodded.
After Xu Tianbo left, Lin Wuyu was the only one left in the corridor of the third-year’s dorm, and it was so quiet that one started feeling the pressure.
He leaned over the railing and watched Xu Tianbo trot towards the classroom.
A good student with a sense of urgency, self-discipline, and hard work.
He didn’t know if Ding Ji had tried to read people’s faces. Two people who look alike would still have different faces. They have similar looks, but they have completely different personalities and lives.
Lin Wuyu lay on the side of the railing for a while and was about to go back to the dorm when his phone vibrated in his pocket.
He took it out and took a look, and was surprised to find that it was Old Lin calling.
“Brother Lin?” He picked up the phone.
“Are you at school?”
“In the dorm.”
“I’ll come to find you.”
“What’s the issue?” Lin Wuyu frowned.
“Your dad came by in the afternoon,” Old Lin said. “I’ll come over and tell you what happened.”
