Chapter 679: A Million Times for You (41)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“It’s all your fault for making me give him the household register. Why did you have to rush me? It’s not like the booklet is going to turn moldy if we wait a few more days,” Mrs. Ling grumbled in annoyance.
“I just think that it’s time for Ciye to settle down since he’s already thirty-two years old. Now that there’s someone he wants to marry, do you really think we have a say in his decision? Besides, we watched Qingyue grow up. She was just unlucky to have met with a jerk whom she misjudged. It’s all in the past now, and there’s no point in harping on it. Didn’t you hear how she had already addressed us as her in-laws?” said Mr. Ling.
“If she falls pregnant now, we’ll get to have a grandchild by next year. Forget it, I’ll just let them get married.”
Unlike what Mr. and Mrs. Ling had expected, Jin Qingyue and Ling Ciye did not proceed to register their marriage immediately.
They decided to wait another few days to do it and to plan their wedding.
“I thought they would be dead against it. All is well now. I feel like a rock had been lifted off my chest,” said Jin Qingyue, feeling a huge sense of relief.
“Where would you like to live after we get married? We’ll settle down in wherever you decide,” Ling Ciye said, asking for her opinion.
“Wei Ni Estate, of course. I don’t exactly know why, but I feel much safer living near Brother. Besides, isn’t it great for you too? You’ll get to live in the same estate as Tianze and my brother. Since they’re your best friends, it’d be much easier to contact each other that way.”
“You have a point. Would you like to have a mansion like Tianze’s? Or do you prefer something else?”
“Let’s just stay in the apartment we’re living in now. We don’t have to move anywhere. I own a mansion that I lived in after divorcing Shi Shaochuan, and I’m planning to sell it. There’s no point in owning so many houses anyway.”
“I own other properties elsewhere too. Shall I sell them as well?” he asked.
“Sell them if they’re located in the city. In the future, your only place for refuge will be our love nest here.”
“Great idea, I’ll do just that, then,” Ling Ciye agreed.
——
As usual, An Xiaoning drove to Beijia Bay. She alighted from her car, after which the guard standing by the door whispered something into her ear.
An Xiaoning frowned slightly and instructed, “Continue to guard the house and look after her. Call me directly if anything happens when I’m not around in the future.”
“Alright.”
She entered the door to see that Xu Baizhi was sweeping the floor. Upon the sight of her arrival, the latter said, “I’m leaving this place today. Old Madam is already advanced in her years. Why don’t you hire a caretaker to look after her?”
Before An Xiaoning even responded, the elderly lady interjected, “There’s no need for that. I’m still healthy and able-bodied. Some exercise will be good for my health.”
“Teacher, is she… good to go?” An Xiaoning asked.
“Yes. I’ve altered her fate completely. The only thing I’m afraid of now is that the person who harmed her in the first place will continue to do so after they find out. So, she has to strengthen her will and determination to stay on the right track. Only then will she not be led astray.”
An Xiaoning knew what her mentor meant. She looked at Xu Baizhi and said, “My mentor can only help you this once. You’ve seen for yourself how much of a toll altering your fate has taken on her health. If you can’t even keep yourself in check, no one else can help you from now on. I hope you’ll know and do what’s best for you.”
“I do, of course. Thank you for helping me, Old Madam. I’ll always remember your graciousness and forever be grateful to you,” Xu Baizhi answered with a nod.
“Will Madam Xu be coming over to pick you up?” An Xiaoning asked.
“Yes, but she’s not here yet. I’ll just wait for her here.”
An Xiaoning expressed assent and returned inside the house with the elderly lady.
“Teacher, why don’t you move in with me in the city? The guards told me that there were some suspicious persons loitering around the vicinity of your house when I was away. I’m afraid that your safety will be compromised.”
Remaining unfazed, the elderly lady answered, “I understand that you mean well, but I can’t leave this place. I’ve been living here ever since I settled down in this place. I’ve never once left Beijia Bay throughout all these years, and I can’t bear to leave now. Xiaoning, I’m just like your first mentor, Nun Jingxin. We both remained unmarried and childless all our lives. There was a ton of things I wanted to do when I was younger. I had so many dreams and aspirations I wanted to achieve, but I got it all figured out when I was much older. I rarely read others’ fortunes and lived all by myself, up until now. I have many regrets, and not establishing a happy family of my own is one of them. However, there’s no way I can fulfill that anymore.”
An Xiaoning was suddenly flustered upon hearing her words. Although it had only been a short while since she became the elderly lady’s protege, the latter did her very best to teach her everything she knew. At the end of the day, the elderly lady was just hoping to fulfill her wishes vicariously through An Xiaoning.
“Apart from building a family, another aspiration I had was to save people. Ever since I became middle-aged, I began refraining from reading others’ fortunes because fortune-telling was detrimental to my health and I can’t do it continuously. However, I would often soften up and give in to the requests of those who seek help from me. Sometimes, I would reject them at the start but end up changing my mind when they beg me a second time. I can only tell you this: in the future, do render help to save someone’s life whenever you can, as long as it doesn’t cause too much of an issue to your health. It does pay to be kind.”
“Got it,” An Xiaoning acknowledged with a nod.
The elderly lady reached out to hold her hand and said, “You’re such a fast learner. You pick up everything almost instantly. How’s your progress with the summary?”
“I’ve already memorized everything by heart and burned the journal.”
“Very good.” The elderly lady turned around to retrieve another book from her bed and handed it to An Xiaoning. “Your grandmaster left me this. I didn’t burn it after I mastered the techniques taught inside the book. Fortunately, I kept it with me ’til now. You must safeguard this and memorize its content, like you did with the previous one I gave you. You may burn it after you’ve finished memorizing it too.”
An Xiaoning took the book from her hands, only to realize that it was much thicker and that the handwriting was vastly different from the one before.
“I’ll do as per usual,” An Xiaoning answered.
“There’s nothing much left for me to teach you. Your skills will be taken to greater heights once you’ve finished internalizing the content of this book.”
An Xiaoning held the elderly lady’s hand, which was cold and covered in calluses. “Teacher, why do I feel like there’s something odd about the way you’re behaving? Did you get a hunch that something is about to happen?”
Noticing the grave expression on An Xiaoning’s face, the elderly lady answered, “My time is almost up.”
An Xiaoning’s stomach twisted into a knot as she continued to ask, “Teacher, when’s your birthday?”
Well aware that her days were numbered, the elderly lady decided to reveal her birth characters to An Xiaoning. After reading her mentor’s birth characters, An Xiaoning stared at the latter in utter shock and dismay.
The elderly lady was initially supposed to have about half a year more to live. However, her lifespan had been shortened greatly because of Xu Baizhi…
She now had only a few more days to live.
An Xiaoning was filled with an inexplicable feeling.
After pondering for a few seconds, An Xiaoning looked up at the elderly lady and said, “Let me accompany you for the rest of your days, alright?”
“There’s no need for that, this is such a remote area of the suburbs, you…”
An Xiaoning interrupted her and insisted, “Teacher, you’ll forever be just like my mother. I can’t leave you alone now that I know that your days are numbered and you’ll no longer be by my side in the future. Besides, I’d like to spend more time with you as well.”