It was a quiet night at Kyutie Bay River. Tourists and pedestrians wandering past the bridge all paused to see a wedding procession taking place below.
"Are they filming a drama?" Some questioned as they passed. The bride was sitting alone in a glass boat. It was too beautiful and concerning a scene for anyone to think much else. A yacht seemed to be trailing behind after her.
"Want to take a closer look?" Young girls ran over to take pictures but the band soon disappeared from sight due to the mountain structure. Below, the procession traveled through a cave leading out to open waters.
The waters were still, the starry night sky met the sea. Sitting on the surface of a glass-bottom boat, a beauty dressed to the nines in a red shoulder sleeve wedding dress, embroidered with golden threads. with a flower crown veil draped over her head, one could easily miss the red rope tied around her waist and arms that blended in, that same rope was tied to all the presents and treasure chests in her boat.
Cui Ruiling lifted her gaze to the sky.
Who would have thought her life would turn out like this?
From the very beginning, her parents had strongly believed in superstitions, she had also been guilty of this but up to a certain point...
But no matter how she reassessed her situation she still found it somewhat ridiculous.
It was all thanks to that day her mother took her to see a shaman about her love life.
It was the same shaman who had predicted that Cui Ruiling would grow up to be a talented child that would free her parents from poverty.
Thanks to this, no matter what she wanted to do in life, her parents fully supported her 100%. Cui Ruiling had inherited her love of music from her Mother and Father and became a famous idol after debuting in a High-school Musical Drama called LoveLIES. The show became a bestselling hit that ended up becoming global. Her future works became just as popular.
So it would make sense that her Mother who became concerned about her future brought her back to see that same shaman again. Her daughter was always busy and because of this she barely had the time to form proper relationships, it did not help that her child had always been cold and quiet, despite the public's opinion of her for playing emotional characters. At the rate she was going, her mother feared she would not be able to confess the obvious interest she still harbored for her childhood crush!
The shaman still looked to be in her late twenties even after seventeen years. Looking over the cards, she glanced at Cui Ruiling and cocked her head. Even she looked confused.
"This child's husband... doesn't exist in this world."
The news struck Mother and Daughter like thunder.
"P-p-pardon?" Her Mother nearly fell out of her seat as she leaned forward on the cushion. Cui Ruiling pursed her lips. Her crush's face came to mind and she balled her hands into fists in her lap. She knew they did match each other, but that did not stop her from liking him nonetheless! To think even the heavens were against it! It felt like a great conspiracy.
"The cards are saying that this child's destined man awaits her in another world. On her twenty-first birthday, she will be brought to him."
"Another world, are you saying... .he's poor? Or...maybe something like a foreigner?" Her Mother tried to re-interpret the shaman's words the best she could. "If he's poor it doesn't matter. I don't care if he's a foreigner either. I just want-"
But the shaman shook her head.
"Another world... as in a different time and space."
Hearing this Ruiling's Mother became pale. Lately, she had been fixated with a Historical Chinese Documentary about Shamans that matchmade living people with the deceased.
"You mean. . .death, will. . ." Gulping, her Mother shook her head. She reached over to hold her daughter's hand. "W-will my precious Rui die?"
The shaman paused as she looked at the cards. She tilted her head.
"Mmmm...Hard to say."
"What is he like?" Cui Ruiling spoke up. It was rare that she ever showed signs of visible frustration off camera. "What is it that you see exactly?"
"I see a warrior."
Hearing this Cui Ruiling let out a sigh of relief.
"Then you mean an actor?" She had a historical drama coming up, she figured her destined one could be one of the actors.
Eyeing her the shaman seemed to consider this and nodded.
"...Perhaps, either way, the way you meet this man will be very. . . unnusual. Whether he is an actor or someone else from another plane, that I can not be certain of. But what I do know is that on your twenty-first birthday, you will disappear from this world."
"The cards have to be wrong." Cui Ruiling politely smiled and stood to leave."There's no way that's even possible! Thank you for your time, but as for this matter, we'll solve it ourselves. Let's go, Mom... Mom?!"
She glanced to the side to see her Mom clutching onto her handbag, seemingly frozen from shock. "Then, will my Rui die? Reincarnation?" She muttered.
Ruiling held in a sigh.
To this, the shaman lady bitterly laughed.
"I wish the best of luck, to you."
When the two went home, her Mother spilled the beans to her Father as soon as he returned from his fishing trip. Everything became a lot more complicated once other shamans were consulted and in the end and a similar reading was told.
Her family prepared a lot for this day. Cui Ruiling expected a few, but she did not expect them to invite everyone she knew! In the case, the shaman's prediction came to pass everyone that knew her would agree that she had died. This way fans and the public eye wouldn't find her death suspicious.
She glanced over her shoulder. Not too far off was her Father's yacht. There she could make out the white suit of her childhood crush. An annoying bug was hugging his arm and he wasn't brushing her off.
Cui Ruiling faced forward. She had never seen that girl before. What if...
"Hah!" A dry laugh escaped her. She never had any chances, not in love or her true career. Unbeknownst to her parents, she finally realized her dream. It took twenty years for her to figure it out but the moment she had, it became time for her to go.
How odd. As much as Cui Ruiling wanted to deny her situation, she believed it, or rather she could feel the truth tingling all over her body...
As she glided down the sea in her little glass boat. She faded from view like a willow wisp.
Watching the sight from the yacht, her Mother nearly collapsed had Ruiling's Father not caught her by the arm in time. The two sank to the floor of the boat deck, as they watched their only daughter fade from view.
"Rui! Ruuuuuuuuuuuuui!" Eyes watering, her Mother buried her face into her husband's chest and wailed, overpowering the gasps and chattering of the crowd around them. Her Father too, knitted his brows, his eyes reddening as he tried to hold in his tears but eventually a sob escaped him.
The wails of her parents ascended into the air of the night sky.
Cui Ruiling heard their loud wails as if they were right behind her, yet when she turned around she was met with pitch black.