Chapter 69: Let Me Divine Your Fortune

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When Li Wanyin actually pulled out a coin and intended to let him help her choose a job by tossing it, Chen Shian couldn’t hold back his laughter.

He was helpless; he had hoped Li Wanyin would boldly follow her heart and pick the job she liked, but he hadn't expected that, for Li Wanyin, her own preferences meant nothing when faced with the question of “which job is better.”

Perhaps she had always been like this since childhood—not daring to openly admit what she liked, guided only by sensibility and weighing the pros and cons.

“How about this, Wanyin, if you really don’t know how to choose, I can cast a divination for you.”

“Okay, okay!”

“Do you have paper and pen? Bring two sheets, write the names of the two jobs on them, and fold them up.”

“Alright.”

Wondering what he was up to, Li Wanyin obeyed, went to her room, wrote down the names of the two jobs on separate pieces of paper, and folded them.

When she returned, Chen Shian had already taken out three copper coins to prepare for the divination.

Copper coins are a common tool for casting divinations. The heads signify yang, the tails yin; different combinations produce a line, and repeating the process six times yields a hexagram. With the guidance of the Book of Changes and the interplay of the Five Elements, combined with facial analysis, one can delve into the details of fate.

“Are you done writing, Wanyin?”

“Yes.”

“Now hold the two papers in your left and right hands.”

“Which one in which hand?”

“As you wish.”

Li Wanyin didn’t understand the process, but found it novel and interesting. She shuffled the folded papers and held them in her hands.

“Ready?”

“Mhm!”

Chen Shian began the divination.

When people hear of Daoists, they imagine fortune-telling, feng shui, and rituals. Chen Shian was proficient in all these, but when it came to true fate calculation, he dared not claim mastery.

After all, the mysteries of fate are not easily discerned. Fate itself is complex and highly random; fortune-telling is the hardest to learn—it requires talent, a calm mind, and strong analytical skills. It’s the fusion of mysticism and technique, and conclusions are never fixed or simply quoted from books.

As his expression became serious and focused, Li Wanyin grew nervous, feeling as if the young man before her had undergone a subtle transformation; his deep eyes were impossible to read.

Chen Shian began casting the hexagram, shaking the three coins and tossing them. He interpreted the results swiftly, glancing at the coins, brushing his palm over them, and tossing again.

Once the hexagram was complete, he looked at Li Wanyin, combined it with her facial features, and after a few moments of contemplation, his severe expression relaxed.

“All done.”

“Ah… already?”

It was so fast that Li Wanyin hadn’t caught up. She was skeptical: “That quick?”

“It’s just a reading for career luck, not difficult.”

“I’ve seen fortune-tellers on the street use finger calculations…”

“That’s to help match the heavenly stems and earthly branches. If mental calculation isn’t enough, they use their fingers. Some frauds only pretend to be mysterious. Genuine practitioners rely on mental calculation; only with truly difficult cases do they use paper or other tools.”

“So that’s how it is! I thought it was some kind of secret ritual!”

Li Wanyin was enlightened, but also a little nervous: “So… what’s the outcome?”

“Both sides are auspicious. If you must pick the better, choose the one in your dominant hand. It will suit you best.”

“My right hand…”

Li Wanyin looked at her tightly clenched right hand. After shuffling, she had no idea which job it held.

“Aren’t you going to open it?”

“Hehe, I’m a bit nervous. Let me think.”

“You don’t have to look. As I said, you can just pick the one you like best.”

“Shian, do Daoists believe in fate?”

“No, I don’t believe in fate.”

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Chen Shian’s answer surprised Li Wanyin. “If you don’t believe in fate, why do you divine it?”

“That’s a question that needs a dialectical answer. First, you must believe in fate to divine it, then you must not believe in fate to change it.

“The essence of fate is ‘pattern,’ not ‘fixed outcome.’ Fortune-tellers understand the variables. So, those who can divine fate often don’t believe in it. They’ll tell you what they see—that’s belief in fate; then they’ll tell you how to change it—that’s disbelief in fate.”

“Those who blindly believe in fate and seek divinations end up lost. Fate is inscrutable, the world ever-changing, nothing is constant. Fate is the ‘innate foundation,’ but the heart, actions, and environment are the keys to the outcome. Cultivation itself is a path against destiny. If you ask what I believe, I believe in man triumphing over heaven.”

The youth before her, barely eighteen, had a depth of thought that left Li Wanyin speechless for a long time.

Such dialectical, paradoxical thinking needed time to digest, but she understood his last words—man triumphs over heaven.

“So, even the results of divination can change?”

“Yes.”

“And you said I have a destiny for wealth and prominence—can that change too?”

“It can.”

“...Ah?”

Suddenly, she felt the foundation of her beliefs crumble, and was at a loss.

Seeing her stricken expression, Chen Shian chuckled: “But, Wanyin, remember I predicted your fate through facial reading? The face follows the heart. As long as your true heart doesn’t change, you’ll achieve wealth and prominence eventually.”

“The true heart?”

“Yes, the true heart.”

Li Wanyin let out a long breath. Her confidence returned, and this time it felt more substantial than before.

If not for his age, it would be hard to see him as a younger brother—his maturity made him seem more like an older brother to her…

Everything was upside down!

“Alright! I’m unveiling the answer—!”

With that, Li Wanyin slowly opened the paper in her right hand, revealing the words she’d written not long ago—

[Administrative position at a foreign trade company]

Li Wanyin was stunned for a moment.

Then her shoulders relaxed, she let out a long breath, and her beautiful eyes sparkled.

It was the job she preferred in her heart!

Chen Shian blinked, and before he could ask, Li Wanyin unfolded the paper for him to see, her voice bright with happiness:

“From now on, I’ll have a nine-to-six job with weekends off!”

“An administrative specialist at a foreign trade company?”

“Yes! The salary ceiling is a bit lower, but it’s stable. I’ve just graduated, so I need a stable job to gain experience. Plus, the company doesn’t require overtime, and I get weekends off—I’ll have plenty of time for myself!”

“Oh, now you’re listing all the positives?”

Chen Shian couldn’t help but laugh, thinking: Who was the anxious, indecisive person just now?

“Don’t try to shake my resolve!”

He had to praise her adaptability; once she made her choice, she didn’t give herself a moment of hesitation, immediately picking up her phone to email the HR.

Since the next two days were the weekend, and knowing people might not be working, she had already agreed to both job offers in advance. For the foreign trade company, no reply was needed; she’d just show up Monday at nine with her documents.

For the e-commerce company, she politely apologized, expressing sincere gratitude for the opportunity, regardless of whether they minded her declining.

While she sent her emails, Chen Shian took it upon himself to clear the dishes.

“Shian, go shower first. I’ll do this.”

“It’s fine, won’t take long.”

“Hehe~ Thank you so much, otherwise I’d have agonized over the choice for ages.”

“I just helped you see your own preference. Even without divination, I believe you’d have chosen this job in the end.”

“How come you know me better than I do?”

The feeling of having someone so understanding was a new experience for Li Wanyin.

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Three months since graduation, Li Wanyin finally had a job she was content with. She was so excited she couldn’t sleep, so while Chen Shian was showering, she went to her room to prepare her documents for Monday’s onboarding.

She still wanted to talk to him.

So, when Chen Shian came out of the bathroom, she also emerged from her room.

Chen Shian hung up his clothes, while she watched TV. Fat Mo pressed the remote furiously, flipping channels until the screen was a blur, but Li Wanyin paid no mind; her eyes were on the TV, but her thoughts were drifting to the future.

Chen Shian hung up his school uniform and glanced at her.

“Still not going to bed, Wanyin?”

“Mhm~ Later. I can’t sleep yet.”

She picked up an apple from the table and began peeling it. Her fingers were deft, slicing the skin into a long, unbroken spiral. The physical task helped calm her restless thoughts.

“Shian, here.”

She pressed the knife down the middle of the apple, and with a gentle twist, it split into two crisp halves.

“What are you thinking about, Wanyin?”

Chen Shian took half and started eating. It was the first time someone had peeled an apple for him; as for his lazy master… he’d never been expected to peel fruit for his master, so that was fine.

“Nothing really. Just wondering about the new company, the work, the colleagues, and the probation month. I don’t know how strict their standards are…”

“That’s normal. Entering a new environment, you think about these things. It means you want to improve.”

“Do you get nervous too, Shian?”

“Of course. Before I left the mountain for school, I thought about it.”

“What did you do?”

“Just adapted as things came.”

“…You really are easygoing.”

Chen Shian smiled, “If you want to talk about being carefree, compared to Fat Mo, I’m nothing.”

He reached out and poked the black cat sprawled on the sofa, furiously pressing the remote. “You could learn from Fat Mo—wherever it goes, it’s content as long as it has food.”

“Meow?”

Li Wanyin laughed, “That’s true. Only Mo doesn’t need to work or study, but it’s probably bored at home every day.”

Shian: “Heh.”

Mo: “…”

“What do you want to do in the future, Wanyin?”

“I’m not sure…”

She was a bit embarrassed and spoke softly, “Don’t laugh at me. I actually don’t want to work for others… I hope someday I find something I’m good at, no matter if it’s a big or small business. I want to be the boss… earning for myself would be so motivating!”

“That’s great. I’m behind you all the way.”

“Haha, starting a business isn’t that easy, no capital, no experience, so right now it’s just a dream.”

“It’s more than a dream, isn’t it? You have a plan, don’t you?”

“…No, no!”

Li Wanyin blushed. Her impractical fantasies might sound silly, and even though Chen Shian didn’t laugh at her, his words made her feel a bit shy.

Though she wanted to keep chatting, she was sensible; seeing it was late, she took the initiative to end the conversation.

“I’ll head to my room. You should rest early too, Shian. Good night~”

“Good night.”

Li Wanyin rose and went to her room.

Chen Shian silently sent her a touch of tranquility.

Otherwise, as her life stepped into a new phase, she’d find sleep elusive tonight…