Chapter 19: Yellow Paper Cinnabar Talismans
Ji Weiyi certainly wouldn’t really ask as Yan Xiaowen had taught her. She glanced around, reminding Yu Lanlan, “Lots of people are watching.”
It wasn’t just watching. Xuan Xia noticed a few people had quietly raised their mobile phones.
The fun-watchers these days are very good at recording.
Ji Weiyi saw it too. She didn’t want the current scene to become tomorrow’s school gossip, so she advised, “Lanlan, let’s go back first.”
Although she was still affectionately calling her “Lanlan” on her lips, Ji Weiyi’s mood was very complicated at this moment.
She didn’t want to believe what Xuan Xia had said. She wanted to believe Yu Lanlan. But why didn’t Yu Lanlan directly refute it!
Between decisively tearing off the facade and listening to Ji Weiyi, Yu Lanlan chose to turn and run.
“Lanlan!” Ji Weiyi hesitated for a moment but still chased after her.
“Ji Weiyi, guard against fire, theft, and girlfriends!” Yan Xiaowen wouldn’t miss any opportunity to be sarcastic, shouting loudly at Ji Weiyi’s back.
After shouting, she turned to Xuan Xia with a cackling laugh and gave her a thumbs up. “Brilliant! Why didn’t I think of sowing discord? Not bad for my Xiaxia.”
“…”
Sowing discord?
Xuan Xia looked at her with a strange expression. “You think it was just sowing discord?”
After being stared at for a while, Yan Xiaowen reacted, then widened her eyes in disbelief and covered her mouth with her hand. “No way? Could everything you said earlier be true? Does she really like…”
“What do you think?”
Yan Xiaowen still covered her mouth without letting go. “I don’t know. I thought you said that on purpose just to drive a wedge between those two. I was just playing along with you. I was acting just now.”
Of course, she thought Xuan Xia was acting too.
But in the end, she was the only one acting???
Xuan Xia amusedly hooked her arm. “Then your acting skills are pretty good. Are you interested in acting?”
Sowing discord between Ji Weiyi and Yu Lanlan? It didn’t really matter now anyway.
But her sowing discord was well-founded.
Yan Xiaowen had no mind to deeply consider whether she was interested in acting. All her attention was on the fact that Yu Lanlan really liked Qin Yi.
“How could Yu Lanlan like Qin Yi?”
“It doesn’t seem like it at all! You can’t tell at all.”
“Do you think Yu Lanlan hid it really well?”
“Hey, Xiaxia, how did you see it? How are you so amazing?”
“Women are born Sherlock Holmeses, especially when in love. I buy it.”
“…”
Yan Xiaowen chattered all the way back to the dormitory.
Xuan Xia tried to interject several times, wanting to steer the topic back to acting, but never got the opportunity.
Back in the dormitory, the first thing Yan Xiaowen did was share this super juicy gossip with the other two roommates.
Then there were two more people with faces full of shock and disbelief.
The three of them kept this gossip shock going all the way until bedtime.
Xuan Xia, who also wanted to share her good news, was completely ignored. She couldn’t get a word in edgewise and ended up with no temper left.
For the sake of her roommates’ digestive systems, Xuan Xia decided to hold off on sharing her own matter for now.
To avoid these few eating too much gossip and getting indigestion.
At night, amid intermittent “Holy crap, Yu Lanlan hid it so deep,” “Holy crap! Yu Lanlan likes Qin Yi too?” and “Holy crap, Ji Weiyi must hate Yu Lanlan to death now,” Xuan Xia slowly fell asleep.
And slept soundly all night.
The next day.
When Xuan Xia got up full of energy to rush to the first class, she was greeted by three panda-eyed roommates.
“You guys… no way, right?”
Yan Xiaowen let out a huge yawn. Her image was panda-like, but her spirit was not wilted at all.
“Let’s go, to class. I can’t wait already.”
Xuan Xia: “?”
Which Monday class wasn’t full of grumbling? Suddenly this enthusiastic?
What Yan Xiaowen loved wasn’t this devilish Monday class, of course, but seeing what would happen next with Ji Weiyi and Yu Lanlan.
But to her disappointment, both Ji Weiyi and Yu Lanlan were absent.
“Oh my god. Ji Weiyi and the others must be crazy. They actually dared to skip the big demon king’s class.” Yan Xiaowen whispered her shock and regret to Xuan Xia.
The regret was of course that she couldn’t see the follow-up she was expecting.
Xuan Xia also thought Ji Weiyi and the others were crazy. After a while, she couldn’t help but sigh.
She hoped Ji Weiyi was just simply skipping class and nothing else. Otherwise, Qin Yi… would come to her again to stand up for Ji Weiyi.
Thinking of Qin Yi, Xuan Xia furrowed her brows.
She thought to herself: So annoying!
For the rest of the time, Xuan Xia’s mood wasn’t good, until she received a message from Li Xinze.
Following Daoist Master Qin’s instructions, Li Xinze had come to Jiangshi to deliver the talisman to Xuan Xia. He set off early in the morning and arrived just before noon.
Upon arrival, Li Xinze was afraid a phone call would disturb Xuan Xia’s class, so he sent a text message. Luckily, Xuan Xia had been paying attention and saw it right away.
Xuan Xia estimated when Li Xinze would arrive at Jiang University and arranged to meet him at the school gate near the food street.
He’d come all this way; it wouldn’t do not to treat him to lunch.
Yan Xiaowen had been waiting all morning, holding it in all morning, and still hadn’t seen any sign of Ji Weiyi or Yu Lanlan. By noon, she was at her limit and planned to go inquire about the specifics during lunch.
Xuan Xia didn’t stop her, because she was quite curious too.
So at noon, everyone went off to their own business.
***
School gate.
“Brother Li?” Xuan Xia looked at Li Xinze in a black suit and couldn’t help sizing him up from head to toe.
She’d thought Li Xinze would show up in daoist robes.
“Miss Xuan.” Li Xinze had changed into a new set of clothes, and his whole demeanor had changed too.
Straight suit pants, upright posture, plus a serious face—he clearly wasn’t one of those sales promotion guys in suits peddling insurance or real estate.
After the pleasantries, Li Xinze immediately took out Daoist Master Qin’s talisman and handed it to Xuan Xia.
“This is the talisman Mr. Qin gave you.”
Xuan Xia took the talisman, momentarily unsure what to say.
A yellow paper cinnabar talisman, folded into a small triangle shape, packed in a transparent little bag.
The little bag was a waterproof pouch specially for amulets, with a lanyard on one end.
Overall, it was all very small.
Li Xinze said, “This is a safety talisman. Mr. Qin said if Miss Xuan doesn’t mind, it’s best to carry it with you at all times. It can ward off evil and avert disaster.”
It was also for ease of carrying that Daoist Master Qin had made the talisman so small.
Xuan Xia thought, since he’d gone to the trouble of sending someone to deliver it, how could she mind.
Moreover, she didn’t believe this was just an ordinary safety talisman. Never mind the cost of drawing talismans and labor—just this trip by Li Xinze made the talisman’s value skyrocket.
Putting the talisman in her pocket, Xuan Xia sincerely expressed her thanks. “Thank Daoist Master Qin for me. I’ll definitely carry it with me.”
Just having Li Xinze relay thanks wasn’t enough. Xuan Xia decided to send a message to personally thank Daoist Master Qin later.
“I’ll definitely relay it.” Li Xinze said this particularly loudly.
Xuan Xia: No need to be that loud. Couldn’t he see quite a few people were already giving them gossip looks and sneaking glances?
Then she saw Qin Yi!
