CH 1

The phone rings again. Chen Ying looks down, and it’s still Cheng Jiangyi calling. He glances at the time: 22:23.

This late at night, what reason could this person possibly have to pester him, insisting that he answer the phone?

“Hello,” Chen Ying answers the call in a very bad tone, pushing open the door of the convenience store. Once outside, he lights a cigarette and takes a puff. After working overtime, he is exhausted; he only stopped to buy a pack of cigarettes on the way home, and now finds himself harassed by people he doesn’t care about. It’s really annoying.

After listening to the person on the other end of the phone, he is even more upset.

“Go away, how can I help you raise your child.”

“She’s not my child, nor is she for me to raise. You should raise her. It’s fate.” 

Cheng Jiangyi is so thick-skinned that he dares to continue, “How about I put it another way. Take this as an early warning call. I don’t know when but it should be soon. A little girl will appear near you. She may be a little weird, such as wearing ancient costumes, and her accent and vocabulary could be different from ours, but don’t worry, she is a normal human being. It’s just that the times she’s from are a little different from ours. You are a man of broad knowledge, courage, and curiosity—you will definitely be able to accept and handle this well. When you meet her, please take her in and take good care of her.”

“You’re not dead yet, so don’t ask me for help.” And just to get him to agree, saying such a hypocritical compliment won’t make him happy at all, okay?

Cheng Jiangyi ignores him and continues, “Right now, a young man named Yue Lao is rushing to meet you. His number is 2238. He will tell you the truth. What he says is real. With your wisdom and patience, you will definitely be able to understand; all you have to do is trust him, and then be ready to deal with this matter.” 

“Cheng Jiangyi, you’re out of your mind—does your wife know?” Before Chen Ying could finish speaking, he suddenly hears a loud ‘BANG!’ right next to him, very close.

Chen Ying is startled and turns around to see that there is a person standing on the roof of his brand-new car, his baby that he’d only been driving for a week!

Wearing a wide-sleeved robe and dress, ancient costume-style; long, black, straight hair gently blowing in the breeze; a very young face, fair, beautiful, with striking temperament and imposing aura— a girl.

Her legs are half bent. She stands up straight and looks around.

That posture, it’s as if she just dropped down from somewhere.

No, there are no aliens or Terminators; she must have jumped up. Chen Ying thinks so at least.

It’s just that the surroundings are empty, and he didn’t see anyone at all just now. And even if she jumped, she couldn’t have jumped up so high, so neatly, with such a loud noise and— damn it, his car roof is dented! Chen Ying’s face turns green. This brat stomped on his car!

“Chen Ying, you have to trust me. Think about it. Your brother and I are partners and have started a company together. We’re hard-core buddies. Can I still prank you with this kind of thing?”

The girl finally notices Chen Ying. She looks terrified and stares at him with wide eyes.

Chen Ying hangs up the phone, throws away the cigarette in his hand, and glares at the girl. Who should be terrified ah! The unknown person is not him, okay? Isn’t she the one who can dent the roof of someone’s car with just a jump?

The girl’s expression changes from panic to vigilance, and Chen Ying acquires a sullen look. He’s the one who should be vigilant!

“Hey, you smashed my car,” Chen Ying says.

The girl frowns, confused and hesitant, then looks around, as if planning to make a run for it.

“Where did you come from?” Chen Ying asks again.

The girl doesn’t answer, but instead jumps off the roof of the car. Her agility is too unbelievable, her movements light but powerful. The small face is stiff and upright, as cold as ice— her long hair flutters with her every move, black and shiny under the streetlights. Damn, she’s incredibly beautiful.

Fortunately, she is not tall, and Chen Ying can look down at her. He is taller than her, and he is more imposing than her—but he’s already a fully grown man at his age, so it’s really nothing to be proud of that he has the height advantage.

Two people—you stare at me, I stare at you—look at each other for a long time. 

Chen Ying points to his car and says again, “You smashed my car.” He pauses and emphasizes, “My new car!” 

The girl glances at his car, but there is no reaction. From the  expression on her face, she doesn’t seem to take his car seriously at all. 

Chen Ying is very upset, really quite unhappy. Which family’s brat is this? He lowers his head to call back and settle accounts with Cheng Jiangyi. Did this guy find a little model or cosplayer to mess with him?

Before he can make the phone call, out of the corner of his eye, he sees the girl turn away and prepare to leave. Chen Ying quickly reaches out to pull her. “Wait.”

Just as his hand touches her, she flicks her sleeve, and Chen Ying’s arm is flung away. Chen Ying is taken aback—the little girl’s physical strength is so unbelievable that his arm hurts a little from being thrown. After the girl moves her hands, she takes a step back and stares at him, looking wary.

“Are you dumb? Can you talk? Can you tell uncle what’s wrong with you?” Chen Ying is even more unhappy now. What an impolite brat, and quite fierce at that.

At this time, a young man suddenly comes running from a distance, shouting at them all the while, “Wait a minute, wait a moment.”

Wait what, they didn’t move at all, okay? Chen Ying and the girl both look at the person coming their way.

The man runs up to them gasping for breath. He takes a good look at the two, takes out his handheld device, looks at them again, then asks, “Chen Ying? Mi Xi?” 

If no one says ‘no’, then it must be ‘yes’. The newcomer seems very satisfied. He breathes a sigh of relief and says, “Hi, I’m Yue Lao, number 2238.”1

Damn, Cheng Jiangyi really did it; his actors are performing well ah! Chen Ying begins to think carefully about how he could have offended Jiangyi recently. He must have formed a deep hatred of him to drop him in this mess. But after thinking about it, no ah, he hasn’t done anything recently, and the last time they had a grudge was more than half a year ago.

While Chen Ying is thinking, the little girl named Mi Xi is already talking to Yue Lao 2238. She lowers her waist and salutes, “I see Mr. Yue Lao.”

She is really polite ah. Chen Ying is calm, simply watching the scene.

“Mi Xi, you came earlier than I expected—but it doesn’t matter; I have already made arrangements. As the Yue Lao you met over there has informed you, you don’t have to be sad, you will have a new beginning here. You can live again. Your parents know, and they are happy for you.”

So there is still knowledge even after death? This situation is quite dramatic. Chen Ying continues to watch the play.

“Mr. Chen, Cheng Jiangyi called you to explain the situation, right?” Chen Ying is now dragged into the play having watched it for a while. He doesn’t reply, but Yuelao 2238 has already seen the answer from his expression. “Mi Xi came early, so I wasn’t able to talk to you in advance, but it’s fine as long as Cheng Jiangyi explained it to you clearly.”

Clear, my ass! What the hell. Just as Chen Ying wants to say that this has nothing to do with him, Yue Lao 2238 pulls Mi Xi over. “Mixi ah, this is your future guardian. His name is Chen Ying. He is twenty-eight years old this year, and except for smoking and swearing, there should be no other bad habits.”

Wait a minute, what guardian?

“What do you mean by smoking and swearing?”

“Uh, smoking is…” Yuelao looks at Chen Ying, sees the stub of a half-smoked cigarette under his feet and quickly points to it. “It’s smoking that. That’s not good, you don’t want to imitate it.”

Mi Xi nods.

“To like swearing is, uh, to like saying vulgar words. This is also not good, so don’t learn it.”

Mi Xi nods again.

Damn, does this count as slandering a man in person, saying bad things about him, while pretending that he doesn’t exist? Chen Ying crosses his arms and says, “Hey, you two, I’m still alive.”

“Come on, come on.” Yue Lao’s smile seems to say since we’re all here, let’s introduce ourselves. “Mi Xi, meet your Uncle Chen Ying. Mr. Chen, come, meet Mi Xi. Mr. Chen, Mi Xi is an orphan who came from a long way. She is not familiar with this place and its language. She needs a guardian to take care of her. You have a fated destiny with her, so I entrust Mi Xi to you.”

“What is a guardian?”

“It’s the person who takes care of you. For example, your father and mother are your guardians. This is Uncle Chen Ying, so he can be your uncle.”

“Who is her uncle?” Chen Ying is about to explode from anger, why do these two treat him as if he’s invisible ah? Has he promised to be a guardian of orphaned children who came from afar? Did he agree??

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FOOTNOTES

1 I don’t know about this guy #2238, but Yue Lao — the ‘old man on the moon’ — is an immortal who “unites with a silken cord all predestined couples, after which nothing can prevent their union.” His legends serve as the basis for the ‘red thread of fate.’ He’s basically a godly matchmaker with 100% success rate!