The next day.
Near the hotel, at the breakfast shops, office workers and students were queuing up, the air full of the lively atmosphere of everyday life.
Ke Xue picked a nearby jidan guanbing (egg pancake) shop rumored to have been open for over a decade. After queuing, he emerged from the crowd holding a deluxe supreme egg pancake.
Truth be told, the food in this world was really delicious. Even street food had its unique charm.
The egg pancake was crispy, the egg fresh and fragrant, the chicken strips tender and firm, the vegetables refreshing, and the pickles appetizing. Eating it was extremely satisfying.
"Something this tasty, having another one wouldn't be excessive."
Ke Xue queued up and bought another one.
A familiar voice came from behind. "One egg pancake, extra egg and bacon!"
After ordering, Jiang Zhao turned around and locked eyes with Ke Xue, who was about to leave with his pancake. "Young Master!"
Ke Xue: "..."
"Fate brings people together from a thousand miles away!" Jiang Zhao shook Ke Xue's hands vigorously up and down.
Thinking Jiang Zhao wanted to talk about the previous Xuanxuan incident, Ke Xue reminded him, "Didn't you say it would take at least a week?"
Jiang Zhao nodded: "That's why I came alone!"
"Alone?" Ke Xue found it strange. "Why do I feel like it's two people?"
Jiang Zhao: "How could it be? Said alone means alone!"
Ke Xue and Jiang Zhao stood not far from the pancake stall, eating their food.
A car slowly pulled up in front of them. The door opened, and a handsome, elegant man in his thirties stepped out.
Jiang Zhao instantly straightened up and respectfully greeted, "Boss."
Ke Xue swallowed a bite of his pancake and asked, "Is he your colleague?"
Jiang Zhao first looked at Ke Xue in shock, then hesitantly nodded.
Ke Xue pondered, "You look somewhat familiar..."
"Should I praise you for not being blind?" Qi Mingxuan retorted, annoyed.
Ke Xue almost thought this person was another cheap relative from his scumbag father's side. Just as he was about to get angry, he suddenly remembered this person's identity and called out sheepishly, "Uncle."
Ke Xue's mother died early. As his uncle, Qi Mingxuan had taken good care of the original Ke Xue, even wanting to take him back to the Qi family. Ke Xue's father, for the sake of face, naturally refused. Qi Mingxuan had to settle for visiting his nephew at the Ke house.
Chi Rou, the stepmother, was very displeased with Qi Mingxuan, an outsider, frequently visiting the Ke house. She especially feared Qi Mingxuan would instigate Ke Xue to compete with her own son for the family assets. So, every time Qi Mingxuan left, Chi Rou would double down on abusing Ke Xue, causing the original Ke Xue to never grow close to his uncle. Over time, Qi Mingxuan stopped visiting.
Ke Xue suddenly realized: "So Jiang Zhao was sent by you!"
"Did you really think Ke Mao would kindly send someone to take care of you?" Qi Mingxuan said, exasperated.
Ke Xue understood now. No wonder when he previously said he was kicked out and Jiang Zhao didn't need to care for him anymore, Jiang Zhao refused without hesitation. Jiang Zhao was Qi Mingxuan's man!
Qi Mingxuan had Jiang Zhao apply as an assistant at Ke Father's company to take care of Ke Xue on the surface. This preserved Ke Father's dignity while allowing discreet care. As someone ostensibly working for Ke Father, Chi Rou couldn't easily dismiss Jiang Zhao. Qi Mingxuan had been quite decent to the original Ke Xue.
Feeling guilty for not recognizing the uncle who cared most for the original Ke Xue at first glance, Ke Xue said, "Uncle, have you had breakfast? This egg pancake is really good. Let me treat you!"
Qi Mingxuan was still sulking that his nephew didn't recognize him immediately. "...I'm not so poor I need your charity."
"Well then." Ke Xue decided to queue up and buy two more.
When he returned with the pancakes, Qi Mingxuan realized how foolish his earlier refusal was. Ke Xue then "accidentally" took out the extra one he'd bought and handed it to Qi Mingxuan, strengthening the bond between plastic uncle and nephew.
Seeing Ke Xue not try to persuade him further and just queue up by himself made Qi Mingxuan even angrier.
So, when it was Ke Xue's turn, Qi Mingxuan quickly stepped forward and said to the pancake auntie—
"I want the deluxe supreme combo, the most expensive one! He's paying!"
Ke Xue looked at Qi Mingxuan with an expression that said 'really, can't do anything with you.'
A few minutes later, Jiang Zhao, who had secretly sneaked away during Qi Mingxuan and Ke Xue's chat to finish his pancake elsewhere, returned, burping.
Then he stared at the absurd scene before him, deep in thought.
Truly something you see once in a lifetime—he actually saw President Qi standing by the roadside eating an egg pancake.
After finishing, Qi Mingxuan elegantly wiped his mouth with a handkerchief and got to the main issue. "I heard from others you're fortune-telling online?"
"If you're short on money, why not come to me? Why learn from those online scammers and fool people!"
Jiang Zhao hurriedly explained, "That's not it! Young Master really can tell fortunes, and he's quite popular online!"
Hearing this, Qi Mingxuan rolled his eyes. "Truly, bad company corrupts good morals. Since when do you believe in such nonsense?"
Jiang Zhao wanted to say, 'If you saw a ghost with your own eyes, I wonder if you'd still speak so righteously.' But facing his direct superior, he didn't dare talk back.
Qi Mingxuan took a bank card from his pocket. "There's one million inside. Take it for now."
Ke Xue: "Uncle, I have money!"
Freshly acquired—the five million from Ke Yang just yesterday.
"Take it when given. Stop scamming people online!"
Getting a one-million-yuan card for doing nothing made Ke Xue feel calling him 'Uncle' was totally worth it. As for the latter part—he's genuinely fortune-telling, not scamming. Of course he'll continue!
Qi Mingxuan then took out a key.
"Uncle, are you giving me this car?" Ke Xue's eyes lit up.
Qi Mingxuan glared at him. "You really dare to dream! This is my car!"
"You've fallen to living in a hotel and didn't even think to come find me at the Qi family. This is the key to Jinjiang Garden. Go live there for now."
Ke Xue was overjoyed. "Then I'll gratefully accept."
Qi Mingxuan coughed lightly twice. "As for a car... this one won't do. Wait until you have a driver's license; I'll buy you one then."
Ke Xue was moved to tears. "Uncle, you're so good to me!"
"After leaving the Ke family, you've changed quite a bit." Qi Mingxuan looked at the much more cheerful Ke Xue with relief.
Following the principle of reciprocity, Ke Xue gave the first talisman he'd drawn to Qi Mingxuan. "Uncle, this is for you."
"You're so thoughtful. This talisman..." Qi Mingxuan took it, noticing it wasn't from any of the familiar nearby temples or Taoist sites. "Looks different from others'."
Ke Xue nodded. "Uncle, you have a great eye! I drew this myself!"
Qi Mingxuan's hand holding the gift paused briefly. But after all, it was his dear nephew's first gift to him, so he accepted it.
"Don't let anyone scam you out of this money!" Qi Mingxuan warned, still concerned.
Ke Xue snorted lightly. "If anyone takes my money, I'll stick a misfortune talisman on their back. Let them know the consequences of taking my money!"
Qi Mingxuan took a deep breath, comforting himself internally: Being crazy is still better than continuing to be fooled.
Thinking Ke Xue's abnormality was due to being targeted by the Ke family recently, Qi Mingxuan's uncle-love overflowed. "From now on, tell Uncle anything you want!"
Jiang Zhao handled the luggage in the back while Qi Mingxuan helped Ke Xue move.
Ke Xue sensed a mass of yin energy continuously moving towards his direction and couldn't help stopping to look.
He'd seen plenty of yin energy, but such gentle, pure yin energy was rare here. It must be a natural-born spiritual entity!
Pointing excitedly not far away, Ke Xue said, "Uncle, I want that!"
When the source of the yin energy appeared, Ke Xue realized it was a person. The person had fair skin, features like a painting. Sitting in a wheelchair added a touch of fragility.
Jiang Zhao followed the gaze and nearly died on the spot.
Qi Mingxuan looked where Ke Xue was pointing, his face twisting: This brat, what nonsense are you spouting?!
The person in the wheelchair was Jiang Qile, the youngest son of the Jiang family. If the Ke, Qi, and Xu families held some status in S City, the Jiang family was nationally prominent.
Jiang Qile was originally a favored son of heaven, but after a severe illness, he inexplicably began to become paralyzed. No renowned doctor could find the cause.
The reason for saying 'began to become paralyzed' instead of 'paralyzed' was that the illness was indeed bizarre—it progressed gradually. Initially, Jiang Qile only lost movement in one calf, then both. Now it was said his entire lower body had no sensation. Many speculated the illness would worsen until Jiang Qile became completely vegetative.
Jiang Zhao tried to dissuade Ke Xue from his dangerous idea: "Young Master, he... he... he's not suitable!"
Ke Xue thought for a moment and said, "It's fine. I want him, not whether he's suitable or not."
Jiang Zhao's legs trembled. Overbearing young master forces love?
On the other side, the Jiang family members were grumbling about Jiang Wenbo.
"Really don't understand why Great-Grandfather wants Qile to move here. Seems pretty ordinary to me."
"Why did Great-Grandfather only give this fool a dream visitation?"
Jiang Wenbo felt wronged, but he kept quiet.
After calling his family with Great-Grandfather's request a few days ago, he'd been asked the same question countless times. The problem was, explaining about the offerings made no one believe him.
"Does this place really benefit health? I never knew that."
At that moment, the Jiang family also noticed Ke Xue and the others ahead, their gazes sweeping over.
Qi Mingxuan stepped forward to exchange pleasantries with the Jiang family. Jiang Zhao seized the chance to drag Ke Xue away.
Joking! If we stay, I'm afraid the Jiang family might hear Young Master's outrageous words and get his platform banned.
Jiang Family: Dawn has broken. Time for Xingguang Platform to shut down.
Only when the Jiang family was out of sight did Jiang Zhao breathe a sigh of relief.
Shortly after, Qi Mingxuan returned.
Ke Xue complained, "Uncle, why didn't you take me along when you went to chat them up just now? I didn't even get a chance to ask for that person's contact info and home address!"
Ke Xue figured that person, shrouded in yin energy, didn't have much time left. Asking directly about future burial sites might get him labeled a creep and a lunatic. But if he figured it out himself through face-reading, that would be different.
Qi Mingxuan was grateful the Jiang family hadn't heard Ke Xue's words earlier. Otherwise, they'd have broken his legs for sure!
When it came to handling a brat, Qi Mingxuan had a knack. "If fate dictates, you'll definitely meet again. If not, it just means your connection isn't that strong."
Ke Xue nodded regretfully. "Alright then."
He'd heard similar things in his cultivation world. Someone in a secret realm found a spiritual herb and camped nearby waiting for it to mature. But after leaving for a few days, the herb matured early and was picked by a passing cultivator.
Seeing Qi Mingxuan calm Ke Xue down with just a few words, Jiang Zhao thought: As expected of President Qi, even handling people's minds is so skillful.
On the other side, Jiang Wenbo suddenly let out a sharp shriek: "Ahhhhhhhhh!"
"What's wrong with you now?!"
Jiang Wenbo pointed in the direction Ke Xue left. "His clothes!"
"Ke Xue's clothes are exactly the same as a streamer I watch!"
The other Jiang family members were confused. "So what?"
"You don't get it! You just don't get it!"
Jiang Wenbo was freaking out in a way only he understood.
The most tragic thing in life is finally finding an idol, only to discover that idol is the fool everyone talks about.