Darling, You Read Fortunes, and I Read You

Xuan Tang stood at the entrance to Yuying Middle School and looked up at the white sign with black lettering, casting a fortune for herself in her mind. A terrible omen. She had just turned into the school building's lobby when someone collided with her. The way he stared at her made Xuan Tang bristle. She had never been a mild-tempered person. Back in Zhongnan Mountain, whenever the village boys pushed her too far, she settled things with her fists. “Fine, you want the truth?” She pointed to the spot between his brows. “There's something hidden here. It's a bad omen. You'll bring disaster to your family and yourself. You'll face a major trial at twenty, and if you can't get through it, you'll die. Your fate is too forceful for me to handle, so what's wrong with keeping my distance?” “You just said we bring each other bad luck, so neither of us loses out.” “Mm.” “Then do you know what ‘overcome’ means?” He said nothing, only watched her. Xuan Tang took a deep breath and pulled the three copper coins from her pocket. “In fortune-telling, it means restraining and counteracting one another,” she said. “I counteract you, and you counteract me. If we stay together, neither of us will have an easy time.” She paused and clenched the coins in her fist. “But there's another way to look at it.” “What way?” “When it reaches its extreme, overcoming turns into generating,” she said, looking at him. “Water and fire counteract each other, but water can put out fire, and fire can boil water. In the end, either both sides are badly hurt, or...” She didn't finish. But Lu Shiqing understood. He looked at her, a glimmer slowly rising in his eyes. “It's not about prolonging your life,” the old man said. “It's a gamble with your life.” “We'll each put a drop of blood on this stone,” he said. “Then I'll tell you how to break the calamity he'll face at twenty.” “I don't want that!” he shouted. “I only want you!”