Reborn as a True Heiress and Becomes a Boss

Chapter 23: Human Traffickers Again

After many calm days, Yang Nianqing had very few customers, only a handful, and they were all coming because of Fan Ruichen. Fan Ruichen was in Jiangcheng for summer vacation and didn't have much to do. Knowing that Yang Nianqing was going to set up a stall on the East Street of the Fulin District Antique Street during the day, he would come to visit her every day.

Some girls came to Yang Nianqing's stall because they thought Fan Ruichen was handsome, as if they wanted to have their fortunes told. They all came hoping to get to know Fan Ruichen. They all wanted their fortunes told, and during the process, they kept trying to strike up conversations with Fan Ruichen. Yang Nianqing couldn't help but frown slightly, wondering if girls these days were all so unreserved.

However, Fan Ruichen's attitude was very firm. He ignored all the girls. He only liked Yang Nianqing and disliked the other women. Over time, people who liked to come here knew that there was a very handsome, aloof guy who was only gentle to his girlfriend.

"Qingqing, have you ever thought about doing other jobs? Fortune telling isn't good for you either. The internet says that revealing heavenly secrets will bring karmic retribution, like the Five Deficiencies and Three Lacks."

Seeing the obvious message in Fan Ruichen's eyes that he couldn't tell fortunes for others, Yang Nianqing felt somewhat helpless. These days, she wasn't without customers, but some curious people who wanted to have their fortunes told were turned away by Fan Ruichen's glare. Only some girls with their own agendas were unafraid of Fan Ruichen's gaze.

What could Yang Nianqing do? She was helpless. He was her only boyfriend in this life and the last one, so she could only spoil him. After all, he was still so young, so it was okay for him to be a little willful. It was a sweet burden. Fan Ruichen had been subtly telling her to stop telling fortunes for others, almost as if he wanted to kidnap her and not let her out. But Fan Ruichen respected her and didn't force her to do anything. He just kept trying to persuade her by talking to her in her ear.

Yang Nianqing was actually quite touched. She knew Fan Ruichen cared about her, which was why he acted this way. Yang Nianqing smiled and said, "Don't worry. Our line of work emphasizes balance. Although telling fortunes and predicting good and bad luck is considered revealing heavenly secrets, it's not as serious as you imagine. I charge people for telling their fortunes, so it won't disrupt the balance between the two. Naturally, I'll be fine. Even if one or two people are unwilling to pay, it's okay. Doing good deeds and accumulating merit will make you less prone to the five deficiencies and three lacks. Don't worry! Besides, I enjoy telling fortunes; it's my hobby." Actually, there was another situation that Yang Nianqing didn't mention, afraid that Fan Ruichen would worry even more if she did.

If Yang Nianqing were to forcibly help someone defy fate and interfere with the destiny arranged by heaven, he would be punished by the heavens. In severe cases, he might even die. It is often said that fate is determined by heaven and that one's character choices determine one's destiny. In fact, neither of these statements is wrong.

If it were just a simple matter of changing someone's fate, Yang Nianqing could simply accept some payment and do more good deeds to offset it. For example, her advice to Chen Jianbin and her calculation of Li Cuiyun's grandson Luoluo's whereabouts were both considered changing fate, but these were acts of merit. After she accepted the payment, the Heavenly Dao would not have any negative impact on her. However, if Heaven determined that a person's fate could only be this way and could not be changed in the slightest, and she forcibly changed it, then Yang Nianqing would have to bear the consequences herself. However, Yang Nianqing thought that she probably wouldn't encounter a situation where she had to use her own life to help someone change their fate.

After so many days of persuasion, Fan Ruichen knew he couldn't possibly dissuade Yang Nianqing from pursuing this career. Besides, it was one of Yang Nianqing's few interests. However, being a fortune teller was too dangerous for her. Even without the five deficiencies and three lacks (a concept in Chinese astrology), aside from Yang Nianqing's exceptional accuracy, those with extraordinary abilities could easily harm her, capture her, and make her work for them. Moreover, Yang Nianqing was so beautiful. The thought of her being imprisoned by greedy people made Fan Ruichen furious. He had to protect Yang Nianqing! "Alright, then I'll send someone to protect you. You can't refuse, otherwise I won't feel at ease. Just treat her as an assistant. That way, I can feel more at ease too."

Although he desperately wanted to protect Yang Nianqing himself, Fan Ruichen worried that he couldn't always be by her side. He also had his own things to do and work to attend to. School started in a little over a month, and he wondered if he should end his studies early and discuss it with his family. The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he became. He wanted to prevent any danger from happening!

Yang Nianqing thought for a moment. Although she wasn't the most skilled in martial arts, she wasn't someone anyone could easily defeat. However, given the current situation, she couldn't afford to fight. Life inevitably involves encountering vicious and unreasonable people, and she had originally planned to hire a bodyguard to avoid unnecessary trouble. This was simply an earlier-than-expected move, which would put Fan Ruichen at ease; otherwise, she wouldn't be able to do business. Yang Nianqing nodded: "Alright then."

Fan Ruichen smiled and kissed Yang Nianqing's cheek. He then took out his phone and called Zhao Yi, asking him to bring Qin Lan over later. The Fan family had a long history and was once a powerful warlord. After the reform and opening up, the Fan family transitioned to operating covertly. In recent years, the Fan family had successfully laundered its businesses. Although the Fan family had gone legal, it still held considerable prestige in the underworld. Qin Lan was an orphan adopted by the Fan family. She had been trained from a young age to be Fan Ruichen's assistant and possessed great talent in martial arts. She usually managed some of the Fan family's underworld affairs and was his capable subordinate, absolutely loyal to him. He felt at ease having her protect Yang Nianqing.

Luo Dashu was walking and eating a bag of roasted chestnuts when he saw Yang Nianqing and Fan Ruichen. He quickly stepped forward and placed the chestnuts in front of them. "Little Nianqing, Little Chen, come and eat some chestnuts. The chestnuts from the Sun family are famous for being delicious. I've been queuing for ages to try them."

"Thank you, Uncle Luo," Yang Nianqing and Fan Ruichen said in unison. The chestnuts were cooked through and had split open; the outer skin was crispy, and the flesh popped out with a gentle squeeze. Yang Nianqing held a chestnut kernel to Fan Ruichen's lips. "Here!" Fan Ruichen let out a loud "whoosh" and popped the chestnut into his mouth, making Yang Nianqing chuckle. Fan Ruichen also took a chestnut kernel and held it to Yang Nianqing's lips, and Yang Nianqing quickly put it in her mouth. She really couldn't imitate Fan Ruichen's deliberate childish act of eating like a child; after all, her mental age was already that of a thirty-year-old auntie.

Fan Ruichen raised an eyebrow and mischievously curled the corners of his mouth without saying anything. He knew Yang Nianqing would be shy; she was just too adorable. Fan Ruichen chewed on the chestnut in his mouth; today's chestnuts tasted exceptionally sweet.

Luo Dashu was very open-minded. Many older people these days don't like their children dating too early, and he felt it was a good thing for them to find the right person sooner. Although Yang Nianqing and Fan Ruichen were dating at a young age, it was clear their relationship was genuine, and they looked very compatible. He had no children of his own and genuinely liked these two people he had only known for a short time, so he always thought of them when he bought something delicious. He even shared his experiences with Yang Nianqing. The two young people had good personalities and reciprocated his kindness. "Oh, by the way, Nianqing, I ran into Wu Xue on the way. She needs your help and asked you to wait for her."

Yang Nianqing nodded: "Oh, okay."

These past few days, Wu Xue has been bringing her fruit and chatting with her from time to time. She's been staying here having her fortune told, and waiting a while hasn't bothered her. No one knows what's wrong with Wu Xue.

Wu Xue arrived almost two hours later. "Master, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. Hey, where's your boyfriend?"

These past few days, Yang Nianqing had been asking Wu Xue to call her by her name, but Wu Xue insisted on calling her "Master" as it was more respectful. Yang Nianqing could only respond with a wry smile. "No, he went to buy me some food. He should be back soon." As soon as she spoke, Fan Ruichen returned carrying some small cakes.

"Mr. Fan," Wu Xue greeted him politely. Although Fan Ruichen was very young and older people wouldn't call him "Mr," Fan Ruichen was Yang Nianqing's boyfriend, and Wu Xue respected Yang Nianqing and naturally respected Fan Ruichen as well, so she used a respectful title when addressing him.

"Hello." Fan Ruichen greeted Wu Xue and placed the food on the table.

Yang Nianqing was hungry, so he quickly invited Wu Xueluo and Dashu to eat cake.

Wu Xue sat down, took a small cake, and took a couple of bites. She had been busy all day and hadn't eaten anything, so she was really hungry. Since everyone was familiar with each other, she didn't stand on ceremony. It just so happened that Chinese people liked to discuss business at the dinner table.

Fan Ruichen sat next to Yang Nianqing, watching her eat casually. His gaze would shift away, then unconsciously drift back to her. He didn't eat any cake; he didn't really like these small cakes—they were too sweet. But Yang Nianqing did. In her previous life, Yang Nianqing hadn't eaten many cakes or desserts; they were mostly made for guests and the Yang family. This life, she didn't have to live so hard, so of course she wanted to treat herself and eat what she liked. Yang Nianqing swallowed the cake in her mouth and asked, "Wu Xue, what do you need my help with?"

Wu Xue frowned slightly, her face full of worry, and said, "I have a good friend whose sister-in-law and her nephew encountered a kidnapper while shopping. Her sister-in-law was stabbed several times and died while protecting the child, and the child was also taken away. Her brother died in a car accident while looking for the child. My friend thinks it's all her fault because her sister-in-law had asked her to go shopping with her that day, but she didn't go with her sister-in-law because she wanted to buy something she liked to eat."

She sighed and continued, "She received a call from the police informing her that she had seen the entire process of her sister-in-law being killed and her child being snatched in the surveillance footage. Then she heard that her brother had been in a car accident while looking for the child. She felt extremely guilty, believing that if she had stayed with her sister-in-law and the others, none of this would have happened, because the murderer hadn't been caught. From that day on, she was filled with hatred and self-blame. She stopped going to work, stopped eating snacks, and spent all her time either practicing boxing and kickboxing at the gym or searching for the child. She didn't eat properly, and when she was starving, she would just eat a steamed bun. In just three months, she went from 160 pounds to 80 pounds. She was filled with hatred. Not long ago, she received news that a child looked a lot like her nephew, so she rushed over, but unfortunately, it wasn't him. I originally planned to bring her to you for a fortune telling when she came back, but she threw herself back into boxing at the gym. She looked even more haggard when she came back this time. Yesterday, her master told me that she hadn't slept for three days and asked me to go and persuade her. I'm really afraid she won't be able to hold on, so please come with me and help her!"

Yang Nianqing could understand Wu Xue's friend's feelings. Putting herself in her shoes, she thought she might go crazy if she encountered such a thing. Yang Nianqing nodded and agreed to go with Wu Xue.

Wu Xue quickly thanked them. Yang Nianqing asked Luo Dashu if he wanted to go with them. Luo Dashu had no children but loved children very much. He was quite disgusted by these bad people and wanted to see how things developed. He wondered if Yang Nianqing could help Wu Xue's friend and if he could help if he went along. "I'll go too," he said.

(End of this chapter)