Chapter 28

After lunch, the group traveled by car to the market to buy decorations.

Seafood, dried local specialties, and seashell ornaments filled the stalls, while a gentle breeze carried the salty sea air and the warmth of everyday life.

Not long after they got off the bus, passersby recognized them and took out their phones to take pictures.

Zong Linhan stood beside Wen Zhiling and simply greeted the fans. Li Xu and Li Wan waved generously to the fans, while Lu Siyi took the opportunity to get closer to the shop owner, hoping for a discount. Lu Qin looked down and picked out a seashell necklace.

The small market was quickly packed with people, far exceeding expectations. Fearing a stampede, the production team decided to choose a different market.

The area is only so big, and someone predicted their change of route and arrived earlier, so they had no choice but to suspend filming and rest briefly at a tea shop.

Lu Siyi, with her sharp eyes, spotted a fortune-telling shop at the entrance of the alley.

Seashell wind chimes adorn the entrance, with wooden signs hanging that read "No Photography Allowed," "Divination, Metaphysics, Eight Characters, Qiankun, Zodiac, Twelve Palaces," and "No Photography, No Money Back Guarantee."

Li Wan: "This business covers a wide range of areas."

Lu Siyi squinted: "There's a connection between us, shall we go and give it a try?"

Li Wan laughed: "Aren't you afraid of being photographed and having your story used against you?"

Lu Siyi: "We can't film in this shop, let's go, it's break time now, thirty minutes, right, Director Zhang!"

Lu Siyi took the lead and ran off before the production crew could react, with the other guests following closely behind, much like students leaving school early. The cameramen, realizing what was happening, caught up, but just as they reached the gate, a wolfhound rushed out from the yard, barking loudly.

An employee came out of the fortune-telling shop and said, "Filming is not allowed here!"

The group was granted a brief moment of freedom. Lu Siyi pointed to the doorway like a megaphone and said, "Don't worry! I'm here! I'll report any gossip I hear on the truth!"

There was only one fortune teller present today, and Lu Siyi humbly declined, but was granted her wish to be the first fortune teller.

This house has a Chinese-style structure, square and upright, and combines Chinese and Western aesthetics. It is difficult to define whether it is innovative or incongruous.

There is a very tall green tree in the park, casting interlaced shadows.

Wen Zhiling leaned closer to admire it, with Zong Linhan beside her. The others, feeling hot, gathered under the corridor to stroll slowly. He looked away, grabbed Wen Zhiling's arm, and whispered, "Something doesn't feel right here."

Wen Zhiling looked up: "Something with supernatural abilities?"

Zong Linhan said in a low voice, "Okay, I'll check the area. If anyone comes looking for me, you hold them off."

Wen Zhiling nodded: "Okay."

This was even more nerve-wracking than filming a TV show. Wen Zhiling's heart was in her throat. She was about to hide in the south courtyard when someone called her from behind, "Zhiling, where are you going? Aren't you going to get your fortune told?"

Wen Zhiling turned around: "I don't really believe in this, let's not count it."

Li Wan adjusted the brim of her sun hat. "Alright, where's Xiao Han? Isn't he going to play too? Hmm, where is he?"

Wen Zhiling casually pointed, "There's an ancient tree over there, he went to take a look."

Li Wan jumped down the steps. "Really? I'll go take a look too. I was in the Ancient Architecture Research Association when I was in junior high!"

Wen Zhiling quickly said, "But it's so hot over there, it's much cooler under the eaves."

Li Wan had only taken two steps when her skin started to burn, so she retreated back under the eaves. "That's true, it's not worth getting sunburned just to look at a tree."

Having just seen Li Wan off, and having hidden under a tree in the south courtyard for less than three minutes, Lu Siyi greeted him, "Hurry up and go get your fortune told, it's incredibly accurate!"

Wen Zhiling had no choice but to repeat her lines. Lu Siyi blinked her big eyes and repeated the question as well: "What about Brother Zong? Isn't he going to play too? Hmm, where is he?"

"This world must be fake." Wen Zhiling said calmly, "He went to the North Courtyard to look at the trees. He's always been very interested in ancient buildings and trees."

Lu Siyi walked forward, "Then I want to go see it too."

Wen Zhiling: "It's so hot over there."

Lu Siyi: "I'm not afraid of the heat and I don't get tanned."

"..." Wen Zhiling pulled the energetic girl like a bull, struggling to make up a lie, "I just heard the manager's assistant say that the magnetic field here is special, and people who have had their fortunes told should not wander around, or it will not come true."

Lu Siyi took a deep breath and quickly retreated to the bottom of the corridor, proceeding with extreme caution, as if following missile launch rules.

What you fear most is what happens. Usually, no one pays attention to where Zong Linhan goes, but now that the cameras aren't rolling, everyone's asking.

The people in the fortune-telling shop right now are either Lu Qin or Li Xu. Wen Zhiling doesn't really want to run into Li Xu. Without the cameras around, she doesn't know what threatening things he might say to her.

Wen Zhiling walked to the end of a green corridor in the North Campus. The sun was very strong. She waited for about twenty minutes, keeping an eye out for when they would leave while waiting anxiously.

Time passed by, but Zong Linhan still hadn't returned. Wen Zhiling estimated that everyone else had probably finished their divinations, so she decided to go back and pretend to want to do a divination on short notice to buy herself some more time.

She turned around and found Lu Qin standing less than a meter behind her.

His skin was very fair in the sunlight, and his gold-rimmed glasses gleamed.

He smiled, a slight smirk playing on his lips. "Did I scare you?"

"Brother Lu Qin, you... you walk so quietly." Wen Zhiling took a half step back to create some distance.

Lu Qin: "Actually, I make noise when I walk..."

She was so engrossed in her thoughts that Wen Zhiling awkwardly changed the subject, "Are you leaving?"

She was about to offer an excuse when Lu Qin shook his head. "Li Xu is still doing divination. Besides, we've finally gotten out for some fresh air, so there's no rush to go back."

He blinked, and the expression of this usually rigid and unsmiling person suddenly became lively.

Lu Qin wore a light brown linen casual shirt with an island vibe; a gentle breeze ruffled the collar, causing the seashell necklace around his neck to sway. He pulled a seashell bracelet from his pocket. "Want one?"

The bracelet lay quietly in her palm, its tiny seashells strung tightly together, carrying the damp scent of the sea. Wen Zhiling loved delicate and small things, especially those with a touch of shimmer, which easily caught her eye.

Lu Qin: "The fortune teller insisted that it would bring good luck. The room was dark, and I thought it was interesting, so I bought it. But when I came out, I realized it wasn't suitable. It was too girly. But Siyi doesn't like wearing bracelets. Li Wan just laughed at me for buying it randomly."

He sighed, feeling both helpless and amused.

Wen Zhiling was tempted. "Then I'll give you the money?"

Lu Qin handed over the bracelet, "No need, it's not much—try it on and see if the size is right. The fortune teller said if it's not right, we can get a larger one."

Wen Zhiling put the seashell bracelet on her left wrist, and Lu Qin reminded her, "By the way, the edges are a bit rough, so be careful when wearing it..."

As soon as she finished speaking, Wen Zhiling felt a sharp pain on the back of her hand, "Ouch..."

The edge of a small seashell was cut, leaving a tiny gash, from which tiny beads of blood oozed out.

Lu Qin grabbed her hand, his brows furrowed. "Are you alright?"

Wen Zhiling took the tissue he handed her. "It's nothing, just a little scratch. These kinds of small wounds will heal quickly."

She paused here, realizing the manner of the injury looked strangely familiar.

For example, the mysterious little nurse I encountered at the hospital before.

Later, she told Zong Linhan about this experience, and the two discussed it. Combining her subsequent fainting spell with his attack on the same day, everything pointed to the nurse's unusual behavior. It was also the injury that directly led to her marking Zong Linhan a second time.

She took a step back defensively.

The soft hand slipped from his grasp. Lu Qin slightly raised his eyelashes and looked at Wen Zhiling again, his eyes clear and filled with concern: "Does it hurt a lot?"