Chapter 201 Beauty's Schemes (4) - Reencounter with Graffiti
After finishing what was either lunch or dinner, Ning Shu checked the time.
It was almost time for Cui Zeyu to finish her mission, so she went to wait for someone.
She stood not far from the Dali Temple, staring intently at the temple entrance.
She doesn't need to see the other person's face clearly, because the system will give her a hint.
But she waited and waited, and it was already past 7 PM, and she still hadn't seen a trace of him.
What a waste of a day!
Ning Shu had no choice but to return to the manor, otherwise he would be arrested as a spy and be finished.
When she returned to the Prince's residence, there was still a quarter of an hour before curfew. She breathed a sigh of relief, as the Dowager Consort would usually be resting at this time.
Ning Shu had already inquired about the Dowager Consort's habits from Xia Ju. Her job was simply to go and pay her respects every morning and chat with the Dowager Consort.
If the Dowager Princess does not need to travel with her, she is free to move around as she pleases.
Although she wasn't from ancient times, she knew one thing: ordinary maids didn't get such good treatment; they all benefited from being relatives of the Imperial Concubine.
She went back, fetched a basin of water, wiped herself down, and went to bed.
In ancient times, it seems that apart from their masters, servants rarely had the opportunity to actually bathe or take a bath.
She naturally followed local customs, wiped herself down with Xia Ju, and went to sleep, instructing Xia Ju to wake her up the next day.
I woke up earlier than the chickens the next day.
Ning Shu grumbled inwardly as she ate breakfast with Xia Ju, then went to serve the Dowager Consort.
The Dowager Consort hadn't actually gotten up yet, but the servants had to wait outside until she woke up so they could go in to help her get ready and arrange her meals.
After going through the whole process, Ning Shu roughly knew what she needed to do each day.
She had inquired and found out that the Dali Temple staff usually start their shifts at 7:15 AM, which is around 7:00 AM.
She had clearly missed Cui Zeyu's work hours by the time she finished her work, so she needed to find a way to ask for leave and not have to serve the Dowager Consort for the next few days.
This matter isn't urgent; she plans to visit the Dali Temple this afternoon, but she can't waste this precious time.
She took a writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, stuffed them into her bundle, and went to stroll around the capital as soon as she left the mansion.
After strolling around for a while, we would find a shop to sit down and drink tea, while sketching a map of the capital on paper.
She actually only drew places related to her mission, such as the main route from Prince Rui's Mansion to Dali Temple, and the landmark buildings or shops along the way.
She even made a special trip to Yin Xinyue's uncle's house, but it was sealed off and she couldn't get in.
For Ning Shu, who has the skills, climbing over a wall is a piece of cake.
However, she still wanted to reunite with Cui Zeyu and join forces together, in case meddlesome people misunderstood that she was related to Yin Xinyue's case, which would be troublesome.
She spread the finished drawing paper out on a table in a shop to dry, and once the ink was dry, she would go back to the Dali Temple to be detained.
While waiting, I noticed that the fortune teller who had set up a stall outside the shop was behaving strangely, so I stared at him.
The other person kept muttering to himself, I couldn't tell what he was saying, and kept touching his beard.
It's less of a touch and more of a "press," as if he's afraid his beard will fall off.
Suddenly, he touched his stomach, frowned for a while, and then said to the passersby:
“Miss,” he paused, “girl, would you like your fortune told? It’s guaranteed to be accurate, no charge if it’s inaccurate.”
This line of dialogue... feels strangely familiar.
Seeing that no one paid attention to him, the fortune teller continued: "Fortune telling is guaranteed to be accurate, and it only costs 3 coins. You won't lose out or be cheated."
Hmm, this sentence is 90% similar to the advertising slogan "Don't pay 99, just 9.9 yuan, you won't lose out, you won't be cheated".
Could the other person be a player?
Should we go up and recognize them?
Ning Shu hesitated for a moment. She was unsure if there were any conflicts of interest among the players in this instance. After a thorough analysis, she concluded that there probably weren't.
After all, character B only needs to assist character A in completing the task, and the situation of other players is unknown.
Her task was simply to get Cui Zeyu together with the NPC, which didn't seem to hinder other players' quests. So, let's get to know each other.
After making her decision, she packed up the dried papers, put them in her bundle, and went outside to stand in front of the fortune teller.
The fortune teller looked at the girl standing in front of him, assuming she was a customer: "Young lady, would you like your fortune told?"
Ning Shu felt that the person in front of her looked familiar, but couldn't quite place him.
Hearing the question, and recalling the popular time-travel trope online, he tentatively replied, "Odd changes, even remains the same."
The fortune teller was clearly taken aback, as if she didn't know what she was talking about. Ning Shu doubted her own judgment. Could it be that she guessed wrong?
Just as she was about to leave in disappointment, she heard someone behind her say, "Does the sign indicate the quadrant?"
Ning Shu's spirits lifted, and he turned to look at the other person. Sure enough, it was a player!
The other person reacted even faster than her: "Are you a player?"
Ning Shu nodded frantically, as if he had met an old friend in a foreign land.
Suddenly, she recognized the other person and ripped off his beard; it was indeed glued on.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
The fortune teller was a little angry; that beard was something he had gone to great lengths to acquire for disguise.
"Sarcastic graffiti? Is that you?"
The fortune teller was taken aback again: "You...you know me?"
Ning Shu stopped, remembering that the other party couldn't remember her after she was resurrected. "I am Cheng Chuan and Wu Yi's new teammate. They mentioned you to me."
The graffiti suddenly realized something was amiss, then felt something was off: "Just because someone mentioned me, does that mean they recognize me?"
Ning Shu frantically searched for an excuse, and then she had it!
"Actually, we've met before. Once, when I was with them, I saw you in safe zone number 3. They told me that you were the friend they had run dungeons with."
That's a perfect excuse!
Graffiti, as expected, no longer suspected anything: "So, what's your name?"
"My name is Ning Shu."
The graffiti artist was delighted: "Let's add each other as friends first? We can keep in touch after we go out."
Ning Shu's smile froze; she somewhat regretted choosing this name.
If I had known it would be this troublesome, I should have chosen a different one.
She reluctantly added Graffiti as a friend, and as she expected, Graffiti looked at her strangely when he saw her nickname.
If she says it's a coincidence, will he believe her?
However, it seems unnecessary for her to explain this; it would only make things worse.
When the other person saw her nickname, they indeed frowned.
She preemptively questioned the graffiti: "What? You have a problem with my nickname?"
After she pointed it out, I suddenly felt like I was being petty.
How could that be? The girl from before is dead; he saw it with his own eyes.
"No, it's nothing."
Tuya assumed Ning Shu was unaware of what had happened before, so he simply kept quiet.
He suspected that Cheng Chuan accepted Ning Shu as a teammate because Ning Shu's nickname was the same as that of his previous teammates.
He had heard Wu Yi mention that Cheng Chuan seemed to like his former teammates.
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