The person standing outside the door was Gu Qin's grandmother, Luo Wenfen. As soon as Gu Qin remembered her, several words came to mind: favoritism toward sons, mistreatment of her mother, unreasonable fussing. Gu Qin fell silent for a moment before calling out, "Grandma."
Behind Luo Wenfen were a few people whom Gu Qin didn't recognize, so she didn't greet them. Luo Wenfen glanced into the room and asked, "Where's your mom?"
Gu Qin replied, "Mom's at work. Is there something you need, Grandma?"
Luo Wenfen squeezed past Gu Qin into the room, and the people behind her followed suit. Gu Qin closed the door and followed them inside. Luo Wenfen looked around at the tidy house, but her thoughts quickly turned to her son, who had just been discharged from the hospital a few days ago. He was now alone at home, and the house was in a mess, which annoyed her. She couldn't help but start lecturing Gu Qin, "What's your mom thinking? Yuanjiang's business failed, and she rushed to get a divorce? Is this the kind of person your mom is? Has she found someone else? She secretly rented a place, and I had to ask around for two or three days before I found you. What's going on with your mom?"
Gu Qin asked, "Does Grandma not know the specific reason for Mom and Dad's divorce?"
Luo Wenfen shouted, "What other reason could there be? Your mom couldn't stand the hardships, seeing your dad drowning in debt, so she just divorced him, didn't she?"
"Did Dad tell you that?" Gu Qin asked. When Luo Wenfen fell silent, Gu Qin understood that her dad only told her that they divorced, but didn't explain why. She continued, "There is a reason for their divorce. Even though they divorced, the debt was split evenly, so Grandma, please don't make assumptions."
Luo Wenfen didn't know the full details. When she asked her son, he never shared much, and when pushed, he just got angry. So she speculated wildly, and then, with the relatives coming to collect debts, she searched for Cheng Yinxiang's whereabouts and brought them over. Seeing her granddaughter acting differently from before, Luo Wenfen got anxious and said, "What other reason could there be? Your mom couldn't handle the hardships, and that's why she divorced."
Gu Qin smiled, "Dad's business failed, and he even pressured me to donate a kidney and sell my heart to pay off the debt. Mom said that he would even sell his own daughter for money, so she divorced him. Don't worry, Grandma, Mom and Dad split the debt, and they made sure not to take anything from the Gu family. The house back home was built with Mom's savings over ten years, and she didn't intend to fight for it. Mom and Dad spent all these years together without enjoying life. She worked hard her whole life. If Dad hadn't gone too far, she wouldn't have divorced him, so please don't blame Mom."
Luo Wenfen was dumbfounded. There were these details, and now her relatives behind her were hearing it too. If this got out, it would tarnish Yuanjiang's reputation. "You little girl, what nonsense are you talking? How could your dad be that kind of person?" She turned to look at the relatives behind her, who seemed to be half-convinced, and she grew even more anxious.
Gu Qin nodded, "Dad is exactly that kind of person."
"You little brat!" Luo Wenfen was furious. She raised her hand to slap Gu Qin, but Gu Qin stepped aside slightly, moved her fingers a little, and murmured a few words. The voice was so soft that no one heard it.
Luo Wenfen felt dizzy and blacked out just before her slap landed. By the time she regained her senses, she was lying on the floor. It took her a few seconds to snap back to reality, and when her vision cleared, she realized the relatives had already helped her sit on the sofa. Her head was pounding, and when she touched her forehead, she found a large bump forming.
What happened? Luo Wenfen thought she might have fallen ill. She had always been in good health, even working in the garden without any issues. How could she suddenly faint?
Little did she know that her granddaughter was responsible for what had happened. Over the past 20 days, Gu Qin had been diligently practicing at Daishan and had now learned to guide her Qi into her body. The body was responding to the cultivation quickly. In her past life, it had taken her three months to do so.
When Qi enters the body, one gains the ability to perform simple magical techniques. What Gu Qin did was draw out Luo Wenfen's Yang energy. In the human body, Yin and Yang energy are balanced, and if Yang energy is lost, the body will face problems. Gu Qin's current cultivation was still limited, so she could only perform simple spells, which meant she could only temporarily extract the Yang energy from Luo Wenfen. Therefore, fainting was a normal consequence.
Qi, however, is not the same as Yin or Yang energy. The human body has Yin and Yang energies, but not Qi. Qi is a spiritual energy from nature, and to guide Qi into the body, one must cultivate.
Luo Wenfen, still concerned about her health, was startled when the living room door opened. Gu Jia entered, wearing a backpack. Upon seeing Luo Wenfen, he simply called out, "Grandma."
Luo Wenfen, who favored her son's son more, felt wronged when she saw Gu Jia. "Jia Jia, what's going on with your mom? Your mom clearly divorced your dad because she couldn't stand his business failure, and now this little girl is insulting your dad, saying he wanted to sell her heart."
Gu Jia remained silent as he threw his backpack on the sofa. Luo Wenfen grew anxious, "Jia Jia, your dad's been so good to you. If you wanted a new phone or a new laptop, he'd buy it without a second thought. And now, you're letting your sister slander your dad?"
Gu Jia finally raised his head and glanced at Luo Wenfen, "Dad gave me the money to buy things, but it was all Mom's salary. What Gu Qin said is all true."
Luo Wenfen was stunned.
The door made a sound as Cheng Yinxiang returned home. Luo Wenfen immediately stood up. Cheng Yinxiang wasn't surprised and asked Gu Qin and Gu Jia to go back to their rooms. As Gu Qin passed by, she whispered in Cheng Yinxiang's ear, "Mom, if someone comes to collect the debt later, there's 50,000 yuan in your card, which I earned today. You can use it in an emergency."
Cheng Yinxiang opened her mouth as if to ask something, but seeing Luo Wenfen still there, she could only nod.
After Gu Qin returned to her room, about ten minutes later, she heard Cheng Yinxiang leave the house. She was probably going to withdraw money nearby.
Half an hour later, Cheng Yinxiang came back and entered Gu Qin's room. "Qin Qin, how did you get this 50,000 yuan?"
"Mom, I went out and set up a stall today," Gu Qin didn't hide anything and told her everything that had happened. Cheng Yinxiang was stunned. She had thought the 20,000 yuan reward was just a coincidence. She never imagined her daughter really knew fortune-telling and considered herself a feng shui master.
"Qin Qin, who did you learn this from? Isn't this just a scam?" Such mysterious things, few people would believe them.
Gu Qin responded seriously, "Mom, I can't tell you who I learned this from. But this is not a scam. Maybe some people are frauds, but I won't deceive anyone."
Cheng Yinxiang wanted to say something but didn't know where to begin. In the end, she sighed and said, "I'm not going to force you to do anything, but I hope you stay safe. I won't interfere with what you want to do, but you need to remember, you're still a student, so focus on your studies. Got it?"
Gu Qin smiled, "I study every day, and I review my lessons in the afternoon at home. Don't worry, Mom." After a pause, she asked, "Mom, is everything settled with Grandma?"
Cheng Yinxiang nodded, "I've clarified everything with Grandma. The debt is divided fairly, and it's clearly written in the contract. I will repay what's owed, but I won't take responsibility for any debt that isn't listed. Your grandmother got scared and won't cause any more trouble, especially since it would harm her son's reputation. I've completely cut ties with her."
The mother and daughter continued talking before going out for dinner. Looking at the food on the table, Cheng Yinxiang felt a bit sorry for Gu Qin. "Qin Qin, you've been so busy every day and still have to review your lessons. You don't need to cook anymore. I'll do it when I get home."
Gu Qin smiled, "It's fine, I'll have it ready in a bit."
During dinner, Gu Jia didn't say a word. Ever since their parents' divorce, he had become more silent, speaking little to either Cheng Yinxiang or Gu Qin. Gu Qin understood that her brother was struggling to accept their dad's heartlessness. Though Dad had never been reliable, he had been good to Gu Jia, and it was normal for Gu Jia to have difficulty moving past that.
The next day, Gu Qin followed her usual routine: two hours of cultivation at Daishan, returning home by 7 am,
then practicing standing for an hour before having breakfast and heading to Wufu Bridge. For the next few days, no one visited her stall.
Unbeknownst to Gu Qin, someone had taken notice.