Chapter 74: An Unexpected Encounter

“Oh dear, my memory is just terrible—I completely forgot about that.” Chen Fan, still groggy from sleep, had long since wiped the events of last night from his mind. He wondered vaguely why his sock was tied in a knot, but didn’t think much of it. He simply untied it and slipped his stinky foot right in.

The Elder shot him a mournful look. “Ahem, good thing you remembered. There I was, sitting peacefully in the card, when suddenly a foot descended from the heavens and pinned me beneath the Mountain of Five Elements—an aromatic one, at that.”

Chen Fan hurriedly pulled out two tissues, dampened them, and scrubbed the Elder’s card front and back until it was spotless, apologizing as he worked: “Heh, you see my sincerity, right? I really didn’t mean it. Next time, could you maybe be a bit nicer with your tongue? It’s better for everyone that way, don’t you think?”

The Elder was unimpressed. With a snap of his fingers, a large bathtub appeared behind him, complete with a showerhead.

“Young people do love making a fuss. These old bones of mine need a good cleansing. Farewell.” Draping a towel over his shoulder and, without removing his clothes, the Elder stepped straight into the tub and soaked contentedly.

“Good luck to you,” Chen Fan replied with a cheeky grin, slipping the Elder’s card into his pocket.

“Gypsy women, huh? That sounds familiar. I think my history teacher mentioned it back in high school.” After confirming his identity for the day, Chen Fan muttered to himself.

“That’s right, now I remember—Tarot cards are a Gypsy specialty, and so is crystal ball divination.”

Lost in thought, Chen Fan placed the blank card back into the deck and, feeling inspired, began to imitate a fortune-telling witch. He imagined himself as an old woman in a wizard’s hat, both hands raised high, eyes fixed on a sparkling crystal ball, chanting incantations with utmost focus, not daring to be distracted.

“Oh, crystal ball, crystal ball, can you grant me three wishes?”

“No,” the Elder’s voice interrupted from behind the shower curtain.

“Get lost, you’re ruining my mood.” Chen Fan promptly pressed the Elder’s card back down, tidied himself up, and stepped out the door.

The library at Abyssal Fish University was tucked away in a remote corner, inconveniently located for both the dorms and the classrooms. Usually, it was only packed during revision week.

“Are those two overdoing their nightlife? There’s no way they weren’t back by the time I went to bed, and I didn’t see them this morning either.” Chen Fan tried to recall—come to think of it, his two roommates hadn’t come back last night.

Not wanting to dwell on it, he took out his campus card, swiped through the gate, and entered the library.

“Students these days, each one more of a party animal than the last.”

The library was livelier than expected. Chen Fan guessed it was because the air conditioning was on—getting homebodies to move was no easy feat.

“Achoo! What temperature is this place set to?” Rubbing his arms, Chen Fan found a spot in a quiet corner.

The shelves overflowed with books, making his decision paralysis flare up. As a fake overachiever, he was there purely to kill time; even when he read, it was mostly for entertainment.

“Selected Novels of Mark Twain? That’ll do. O. Henry’s short stories, too. We had those in our Chinese reading class. Not bad, I’ll take them.”

Academic journals held no appeal for Chen Fan. He dashed over to the literary classics section, picked out a few favorites, and returned to his seat.

Someone had taken the seat across from him, but he paid no mind, absorbed in his books.

“Black humor, huh? Too bad all I know is dirty jokes—not my style. Hmm… the unexpected, but within reason. That’s useful for writing, better mark that down.”

Chen Fan pressed one book flat while flipping through another—a strange reading habit he didn’t know when he’d picked up. He’d always felt it sped up his reading. Back when he was cramming for exams, he did this all the time; the result was that everything got jumbled, and he’d blurt out stuff like Wegener’s ‘Illustrated Records of Overseas Lands’ during tests.

“Wait a minute, why does the girl across from me look so familiar?” His gaze lingered on her, and memories began to stir.

“Isn’t that the girl who argued with Wang Kehan before? His little girlfriend, right? What was her name… Yu Sanshui?”

“It’s Yu Miao, you idiot,” the Elder muttered under his breath.

“Go away, grumpy old man,” Chen Fan shot back quietly, leaning in a bit.

He bent low, nearly pressing his face to the table, staring hard at Yu Miao. The more he looked, the less certain he became. She looked the same, but her whole demeanor was different—her ponytail was still the same, but her spirit was brighter, more open, nothing like the timid, long-suffering girl from before.

“Why are you staring at me?” Yu Miao raised her head slightly, her tone annoyed but restrained.

Caught red-handed, Chen Fan wasn’t the least bit flustered. He straightened up and replied with gentlemanly poise, “Excuse me, are you Yu Meow—Miao—Miao?”

“Yes, Yu Miao, with the third tone. And you are?” She brushed her bangs aside for a better look.

“Well, what do you know, it really is you. Small world.” Chen Fan was so excited he nearly thumped his chest, but he composed himself and continued, “Do you remember me? I was the guy who got into a fight with your boyfriend a few days ago. You two were arguing on the campus path, remember?”

Yu Miao propped her chin on her hand, sizing him up. “I remember. My ex-boyfriend was detained because of you.”

“Oh, come on, what do you mean ‘because of me’? Your boyfriend strayed all on his own, picked up all those bad habits. I just happened to—how should I put it—lend a hand. No, that’s not right… turn the tide? No, not that either… righteous justice? That’s not it. Wait… just a second…”

Flustered, Chen Fan stumbled over his words, resorting to a string of ‘wait, wait, wait’ as he tried to recover.

Yu Miao smiled and nodded gently. “No need to feel guilty. I should be thanking you for stepping in that day. I’ve finally seen my ex for who he really is. There’s nothing between us now.”

“Huh? What do you mean, thank me? Wait…” Only then did Chen Fan realize she’d used the word ‘ex’ to describe Wang Kehan.

Could it be that his scapegoat luck actually worked out for someone? That day, a girl who’d just had her heart broken by a scumbag had—just like that—woken up? Suddenly, she’d seen the light?

Chen Fan shook his head, banishing any melodramatic soap opera plots from his mind, and grinned. “Breaking up was the right move. A fresh start in love, and life’s road is still long.”

Yu Miao shrugged, an awkward look on her face. “It’s just that idiot won’t let go—he can’t bear to lose his meal ticket. After all, he’s got a pack of girlfriends depending on my bank card to survive.”

Chen Fan’s eyes widened. He hadn’t expected Wang Kehan to be such a freeloader. He tried to comfort Yu Miao: “Don’t worry. When he gets out, just give him a piece of your mind.”

“Hey, who are you planning to give a piece of your mind to?”

A hand patted his shoulder. Chen Fan turned—and nearly jumped out of his skin.