These words left Jiang Can completely confused.
She looked at the old lady with a puzzled expression, and was about to ask something when she was startled by Gu Mang beside her.
The man's face was gloomy, and his eyes were fierce, as if he could unleash a storm at any moment.
Jiang Can gently intertwined her fingers with his and whispered in his ear, "Grandma is probably getting old, and she doesn't even know what she's saying... Don't take it to heart."
Unexpectedly, the old lady had very sharp ears and heard what she said, and grinned.
"The young lady is truly kind-hearted; kindness will surely be rewarded."
"Thank you, Grandma." Jiang Can smiled gently. "Actually, my husband is a good person too. He just looks a bit fierce and is sometimes too serious, which is why he is often misunderstood."
"Oh, so you're looking for a marriage prospective partner, young lady?"
Jiang Can nodded quickly.
The old lady glanced at her palm lines and slowly took two red strings out of her pocket.
The tassels are woven so lifelike that each knot has a unique little bell hanging on it, which makes a crisp sound when touched.
"Tie this to your wrist," the old lady instructed, emphasizing each word. "No matter how far apart you are in the future, as soon as the bell rings, you'll know where you are."
"What kind of nonsense is this..." Shen Xiao frowned and muttered to himself, "If something this amazing existed, we wouldn't need cell phones anymore!"
Jiang Can paused for a moment, then turned to the old lady and smiled gently, "Grandma, my husband and I won't live far apart. We'll always be together!"
"You will have to part ways someday."
Jiang Can's face paled, and she gripped Gu Mang's hand tightly.
“However…” the old lady’s gaze was distant and profound. She smiled and said, “One day, you will be happy.”
The knot between Jiang Can's brows slowly untied, and her shallow dimples returned to her face.
Gu Mang was preoccupied. He squinted at the old lady, then put his arm around Jiang Can and turned to leave.
"Heh, this old lady!" Shen Xiao interrupted, "Is she getting senile? But that last sentence was quite nice, huh..."
"Hey, are you just going to leave like this?" the old lady suddenly called out to them.
The group stopped in their tracks. They saw that she had completely changed from her previous mysterious demeanor. She stood with her hands on her hips, her eyes wide open.
"I've said so much, and I've even given you red string! Aren't you going to pay me?"
"Wow... he really is a con artist?" Shen Xiao said, both amused and exasperated. "Grandma, how much do you want?"
The old lady immediately became serious and softly uttered two words, "Whatever happens, happens."
Shen Xiao's facial features were almost distorted from laughing.
Gu Mang, with an indifferent expression, took out a hundred-yuan bill from his pocket and gave it to her. The old lady smiled, gave Jiang Can a meaningful look, and left with satisfaction.
The rest of the journey was spent in silence.
Unable to hold back any longer, Shen Xiao broke the silence. "Don't mind what she said! Ha, I've been to many temples, and there are always these so-called fortune tellers at the entrance, just out to scam money. What she said isn't credible! You two will definitely be together forever, growing old together!"
Lin Yuqing glanced at him, her eyes showing a hint of approval.
Shen Xiao blushed and scratched his head sheepishly.
Jiang Can smiled, her little hand still tightly holding Gu Mang's. "Thank you, Dr. Shen. Actually, I didn't mind too much. Besides, what Grandma said was quite right, and she even gave us such a beautiful red string."
She turned to look at him, but he still had a serious expression, cold as ice, making him unapproachable.
She knew he never believed in such superstitious and supernatural things, and would never tie that red rope.
But when she tried to put the rope away, he preemptively put it into his own pocket.
"Husband, you..."
"That's what the old lady said," he said calmly. "You take one, I'll take one. So we'll each keep one, just in case we get separated someday..."
"Pah, pah, pah, we won't get separated!" Jiang Can said in fear.
It didn't matter what the old lady said, but the words "lost" coming from Gu Mang's mouth made her feel like she was facing a major crisis.
"Fool." Gu Mang said in a deep voice, his slightly hoarse voice unusually gentle, "Even if we get separated, I will find you!"
"Yes!" Jiang Can nodded vigorously.
Shen Xiao and Lin Yuqing exchanged a glance and laughed at the same time.
After strolling around for a while, the four returned to the guesthouse, where the manager personally came out to greet them and took them to the guesthouse's best restaurant.
Upon entering, Shen Xiao and Lin Yuqing were dumbfounded. Wasn't this the legendary Jin Yu Ge, where a single meal could cost half a year's salary? How could Jiang Can have booked this place!
"Manager, are you sure you haven't made a mistake?" Jiang Can asked, puzzled. "I ordered a standard meal online..."
"No mistake, this is the place."
The manager clapped his hands respectfully, and then a row of well-trained waiters appeared and served them exquisite dishes.
Jiang Can stared wide-eyed and held her breath.
She had only seen these dishes in pictures before; they were all signature dishes of Jin Yu Ge. Even if she ate her way into bankruptcy, she might not be able to afford such a feast!
"Manager!" she gasped.
"Ms. Jiang, you did indeed order the standard meal," the manager said with a smile. "However, we're having an anniversary sale these days, and we're randomly selecting lucky guests from among our guests to upgrade to the deluxe set meal. Your reservation number was the lucky one!"
"What?" Jiang Can had never heard of such a good thing before.
Shen Xiao and Lin Yuqing were also stunned. They looked at each other, as if they were dreaming.
"Really? That's incredibly lucky!" Lin Yuqing excitedly looked around, then frowned. "But if there's such an event, why is nobody here?"
“Yes!” Shen Xiao echoed, “It’s been so strange that there have only been a few of us since we checked in!”
"This..." The store manager smiled wryly; there was no way to salvage the situation.
Gu Mang coughed twice and casually put his arm around Jiang Can. "Since there's such a good thing, let's not ask so many questions and just enjoy it!"
Shen Xiao shook his head, "That's true... but it's really strange!"
“Hey,” he whispered, “could this be a scam? Some unscrupulous businesses use winning a prize as a lure, and then extort exorbitant fees after the customers have finished enjoying their prizes!”
Gu Mang: "..."
"I think we should be careful," Shen Xiao said, sounding increasingly serious. "Maybe there are hallucinogenic drugs in the food, and this shady restaurant will try to get our bank card PINs!"
Everyone: "..."
“Shen Xiao.” Gu Mang took a deep breath and said with a half-smile, “You’re really wasting your talents as a doctor.”
"Um?"
He enunciated each word clearly, "Why don't you go write novels!"
"Huh? You know that!" Shen Xiao laughed heartily. "My childhood dream was to be a novelist, but I listened to my mother and gave up writing to become a doctor!"
"Alright!" Lin Yuqing grinned from ear to ear. "Such a big restaurant would never mistreat its customers. We can only say that our Cancan is just too lucky! Everyone, let's eat! I'm starving!"
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