On an unremarkable weekend, in a morning that was no different from any other, Su Qing's home was filled with an awkward atmosphere.
Three men faced each other, one was panic-stricken, another was shocked, and the last one was full of confidence.
And Wang Xing finally realized how he had managed to get in over his head, it really proves the saying that the onlookers see the most clearly.
As for Su Qing, he learned from the narration that old Wang discovered gum on his lock and was furious. Coupled with the recent fright, he wanted to repeat his old trick to teach him a lesson. Unexpectedly, he kicked into empty air, putting himself in an awkward position instead.
"Haha, well, what can I say, I just found out that someone's been blocking my lock with gum. I wanted to come over and ask if you've seen anyone lurking around my door lately," said the man on the ground. He was in his thirties, round, and slightly bald—it was his neighbor, Wang Qiang.
In response, Su Qing feigned surprise at first and then slapped his thigh: "Yo, Brother Wang, you're asking the right person."
"Yesterday morning, not sure which jerk it was, but someone came banging on my door early in the morning. I chased them out, only to catch a glimpse of a back in a white T-shirt, quite like what you're wearing, Brother Wang. They ran off like a shot. I bet it was that rascal, maybe scouting the place!"
Hearing his sarcastic tone, Wang Qiang from next door sensed something was off. He feared Su Qing might realize what he did, so even though being ridiculed to his face, Wang Qiang could only pretend to be angry and replied, "No way, if that's the case, I need to be more careful."
"Definitely, I'm planning to report this to the property management. This behavior is extremely vile. I'm installing a hidden camera tomorrow. If I catch that rascal, I'll make them pay!" Su Qing paid no heed to Wang Qiang's expression and continued, "Brother Wang, be alert these days. If I catch someone, I'll call you; we'll beat them together, no worries, I'll cover the medical bills!"
Knowing the truth of the situation, Su Qing certainly didn't mind giving him a bit of lip service, just to teach him a lesson.
"Naturally, naturally, with that being the case, I'll be off first; I need to head out," Wang Qiang said, patting his belly with a forced smile.
"Care for some water, Brother Wang?"
"No, no!"
"Feel free to come by anytime!"
Wang Xing watched the two perform their little show, feeling it was jarring. Though everything looked normal, something just felt amiss.
"Qingzi, who was that?" Wang Xing asked after Su Qing shut the door.
In response, Su Qing turned around calmly, took a sip of water, and said, "Funny thing, this person lives next door to me and shares your family name, believe it?"
"Bullshit we share the same family name, how come I feel there's something off between you two?"
Upon hearing this, Su Qing recounted the events of Wang Qiang kicking his door and blocking his peephole with gum over the past few days.
"No way, we're all neighbors living together, and just because he's… not functional in that area, he'd kick your door?"
"And also, how do you know he's not functional!" Wang Xing was initially shocked, then he questioned.
"Of course it was calculated, wasn't it? Were I not to open the door just now, wouldn't he have kicked my door again?" Su Qing laid out the facts.
Wang Xing was at a loss for words, after all, he had seen what happened with his own eyes earlier. And at the moment Su Qing opened the door, he saw clearly from the opposite side that the man did it on purpose. But the question was, earlier Su Qing was obviously chatting with him, so how did he know.
Just like when he predicted Sister Jun would have an accident yesterday, he always seems to have foreknowledge.
Seeing the constipated look on his face, Su Qing hurriedly added fuel to the fire: "The facts are laid out in front of you, what more do you want from me?"
Wang Xing held it in for a long time, finally lifting his head to meet Su Qing's eyes and said solemnly:
"I still don't believe it, unless…"
Half an hour later, the two appeared in front of a lottery shop.
"Come on, aren't you skilled in Feng Shui Divination? Calculate my luck today. If you can guess it right, then I'll believe you," Wang Xing said proudly. In his mind, this move would surely expose Su Qing. Little did he know, Su Qing's mind was echoing with a familiar voiceover.
"Greed is human nature, excessive greed will lead one astray. This act will cost Wang Xing 90 bucks."
At this point, Su Qing was a bit frenetic. Yesterday, when he predicted his mother Zhou Hui's luck with cards, he had a flash of insight, but he was beaten out of it and had no time to think more.
But now he figured it out, if he could predict it, why not get involved himself, and perhaps he could make a living off the lottery shop from now on?
"Hey, hey, hey, what are you thinking? Can you calculate it or not, give me a word, I won't laugh at you, given our relationship!" At this point, Wang Xing prodded him twice, grinning mischievously.
Upon hearing this, Su Qing took a deep breath, raised his right hand, began pinching calculations like the Daoists on TV, muttering under his breath that outsiders couldn't hear, and then sighed:
"Hey, brother, it's not that I'm telling you, but your luck with money lately is not good. Although there's no disaster, there are minor mishaps. For instance, today you might suffer a small loss, not much, ninety bucks!"
Upon hearing this, Wang Xing grinned: "Good, don't say I'm bullying you. I'll buy 100 bucks worth today. If you guess it right, I'll admit you're right."
He said, and dragged Su Qing into the lottery shop.
"Boss, give me 100 bucks' worth of scratch cards!"
The shopkeeper, an old man, seeing customers come in, smiled and came forward. After all, these years, lottery sales have been sluggish.
Quickly, scratch cards of 5 bucks each were brought out. Wang Xing randomly picked 20 cards: "Watch closely, your Daddy is known for his luck, I refuse to believe my luck is so bad!"
With that, he used a keychain and vigorously scratched them. Quickly, all twenty lottery tickets were scratched with only one winner of ten bucks, totaling a loss of ninety.
Looking at the incredulous Wang Xing, Su Qing went up and patted him on the shoulder with a laugh: "See, didn't I tell you, just a small amount, haha!"
"I don't believe it, boss, give me another 100 bucks' worth!" Wang Xing shouted.
Upon hearing this, Su Qing immediately interrupted, "One hundred means one hundred, and besides, how much do you have to spend on this? Just try it once."
Then he turned to the shopkeeper: "Boss, give me two scratch cards to play with!"
After speaking, he looked excitedly at the scratch cards in front of him, but the narration didn't play in his mind, surprising him a bit. Why did the same behavior trigger a narration for Wang Xing but not for him?
"Young man, two ten-buck cards, WeChat or cash?" The shopkeeper smiled and asked.
Su Qing paused for a moment, he had thought if the narration said he wouldn't win, he wouldn't buy. But as it is, it got tricky.
However, after thinking it through, he scanned 10 bucks over, treating it as just a game.
"Ten yuan received via WeChat!"
As the notification sounded on the other party's phone, the narration in Su Qing's mind reappeared.
"Small gambling lightens the mood, big gambling ruins lives, luck is on your side, a small profit of 15 bucks."
Su Qing:...
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