Miss Heir wasn't very kind to me.

Chapter 179, Section 20: "A Glimpse into My Miyako Island Trip: Fortune Telling"

"Wow, what a spacious room! It could easily fit ten people, let alone six! No, it could even fit twenty!"

Upon entering the guesthouse, Mami expressed her innocent and romantic thoughts.

"Although the house is spacious, there are only three double rooms," Masumi said.

"Huh? So who will Masumi-kun be sharing a room with?" she asked, blinking.

"Of course I'll have my own room."

"Wait a minute! This is so unfair! Why is Masumi-kun staying in a double room all by himself?" Asami puffed out her chest in indignation. "This is discrimination! Discrimination!"

"Don't say such silly things."

Masumi casually reminded him, "Besides, I paid for the guesthouse."

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it then," she said dejectedly.

"The way you are, I think I'm a tyrant," Masumi sighed.

Mami ignored his complaints, her face breaking into a smile again as she turned to face the group of girls.

"Okay, everyone, let's assign rooms."

"I share a room with Mio."

Without hesitation, Rinne finished speaking, her face as indifferent as ever, and looked at Kurokawa Mio, asking, "Mio doesn't have any objections, right?"

"What if I said yes?"

"Then let's bear with it for the sake of the trip," Rinne replied calmly.

"As expected of the store manager, he's really meticulous."

Kurokawa Mio chuckled but said nothing more.

Mami nodded. "Then I'll share a room with Chiai and Umizuki."

"Eh! Is this Mami-nee?" Chiai's smile froze, and she looked at Rinne pleadingly, "How about I share a room with Rinne and Mio-nee too?"

"What does this mean?!" Asami protested in dissatisfaction.

"It's because Asami and Kaigetsu are such terrible sleepers, I experienced it firsthand in Kyoto last time."

"Don't worry, I'm a completely different person now."

"Really?" Qian Ai squinted her eyes suspiciously.

"really."

Mami nodded rapidly.

"Well... let's trust Mami-nee one more time."

The overlapping voices of several girls faded into the distance as Masumi pushed open the door to the room.

The landlord had someone clean the place before I moved in, so it was very clean.

He closed the door, put down his package, and plopped down on the bed as if exhausted. Before lying down, he hesitated for a moment, took off his shirt, and then lay down with peace of mind.

Although the weather on the island was very hot, the sheets felt strangely cold.

Masumi warmed it with his body heat, when suddenly there was a knock on the door from outside. He stood up to open it.

"Rinne? Is something the matter?"

"We're planning to go to the market and buy some groceries for tomorrow. Would you like to come along?"

"Huh? The market should have been closed long ago at this time."

“Drive towards Hara Port, and you’ll find Miyakojima’s public market, which is open until 9 p.m.,” Rinne replied.

"Nine o'clock? That's so late," Masumi remarked unconsciously.

Even in Kobe, apart from bustling areas like Sannomiya, most shopping streets close early.

"I'm fine with it. I don't have any other plans today. Shall we leave now?"

"Ah."

"Then let's go."

The heiress looked him up and down, then asked calmly, "You're really planning to go out dressed like this?"

"Hmm." Masumi belatedly realized her attire. "Wait a moment, I'll go change my clothes."

The sunset glow melted into the sea like an oil painting, spreading out; it was now the blues.

When we arrived at the market, it was more bustling than Masumi had imagined.

As dusk settles, a cacophony of languages—including the completely incomprehensible Okinawan dialect, the familiar Kansai dialect, standard Mandarin, and English and Chinese—mingles in your ears.

"There are so many strange things here."

"There are lots of tropical fruits, and they're so cheap."

"It's probably because it's imported."

The girls walked ahead, chattering away.

The shelves were filled with a wide variety of goods.

The near-shore catches, tropical fruits that are cheaper than those on Honshu and are hard to find, and local specialties of Miyako Island, such as snow salt that is said to contain 18 kinds of minerals.

Haiyue licked the snow salt ice cream she bought for 400 yen. This person's ice cream intake today was definitely excessive.

"Look over there, everyone!" Qian Ai waved to them with bright eyes from a short distance away. "There's a fortune-telling stall here!"

"You still believe in this?" Masumi asked as she approached.

"Just a little bit of curiosity."

"Fortune telling, huh?" Asami nodded with her arms crossed. "Generally speaking, fortune telling events that occur during a trip are just like a preview for the next episode, right?"

"Hey, is that so?"

Qian Ai was stunned, looking completely captivated.

"If you care so much, why don't you just go and take a look?" Masumi said casually.

"Great idea, let's go!"

"Huh? I didn't say I wanted to come along."

"Don't be like that, I'm still a little nervous about going alone. Besides, doesn't Masumi-nii want to know what will happen next on the trip?"

"My travel plans are all written down for the rest of the trip," Masumi said, unmoved by any advice.

"Shin, Cheng, brother."

Chiai puffed out her cheeks as if she were being difficult, and seeing her resentful expression, Masumi nodded helplessly.

"Ok."

The fortune-telling stall is located on the corner of the first floor, next to a stall selling local specialties.

The fortune teller hiding behind the Japanese-style curtain was a middle-aged woman dressed entirely in purple gauze, who looked somewhat like a character from One Thousand and One Nights. After making eye contact with the approaching group, she waved to them.

"Oh dear, you gentlemen must be troubled? I can tell. If you don't mind, please come in and take a look."

Her voice had a hint of mystification about it.

"Hey, okay."

Qian'ai looked nervous and hesitated before stepping into the narrow fortune-telling stall. The other three followed her in, and the light suddenly went out.

As if controlled by demonic power, the curtain behind me closed automatically.

"Wow! That's amazing." Qian Ai exclaimed in surprise.

Ignoring the "buzzing" sound of the motor running in her ears, Masumi thought to herself, "It's really impressive."

"Miss, is there something you want to ask?"

Sitting behind the table, the fortune teller turned his gaze to Qian Ai's face, where the expression was most obvious.

"Yes, it is."

Qian Ai sat upright in the chair.

"Don't be nervous." The fortune teller smiled gently. In the dimly lit fortune-telling stall, only the crystal ball on the table emitted a faint glow.

Please give me your hand.

"Ok."

Qian Ai obediently extended her palm, and the fortune teller magically produced a magnifying glass, nodding as he carefully examined her palm.

"You are a hardworking and ambitious college student, no more than 20 years old. Although you have foreign ancestry, you grew up in an island nation. This time, you came to Miyako Island from Kansai with your friends."

“That’s right, you’re all correct.” Qian Ai said with admiration.

"Wow, Masumi-kun, this fortune teller is really skilled!" Mami said in a low voice.

Masumi stared at her dumbfounded. "Are you serious?"

Ignoring the two whispering beside him, the fortune teller continued.

"What do you want to know? Your studies? Friendship? Hmm... I guess it's love."

"Wow, that's amazing! You can even tell that?" Qian Ai was dumbfounded.

"I can just tell, that's divination."

The fortune teller's lips curled into an unfathomable smile.

"So, which type of divination would you like to choose? Besides the common tarot cards, I also have Chinese-style divination sticks available." "Let me think..."

"Masumi-kun, this fortune teller knows quite a lot."

Because of the darkness, Mami was closer than usual, her warm breath almost touching her skin.

"Be quiet."

Masumi kept her eyes straight ahead and reached out to push away Mami, who kept getting closer... Uh, she accidentally touched a place she shouldn't have.

Mami quieted down.

Qian'ai made up her mind: "I want to try the fortune-telling box."

"Okay, please draw any fortune stick, and I will interpret it for you."

The fortune teller handed her a divination tube with Chinese characters of unclear meaning. Qian Ai took a deep breath and pulled out a wooden stick from it.

"Do not pluck the lowest string, for it can express deep resentment."

It was made up of real Chinese characters, which the girl, who couldn't understand, handed over to a fortune teller.

"Excuse me."

"Well, leave it to me."

The fortune teller took the wooden sticks and then pulled out a thick book from under the table to look through. A magic dictionary? Masumi looked closer. It was a Japanese-Chinese dictionary.

She stared at the wooden sticks and the dictionary for a while, then frowned.

Qian Ai asked nervously, "What was the result?"

"It's alright, please tell me whether it's good or bad."

The young girl straightened her back, her palms damp with sticky sweat. From the fortune teller's obvious expression, she seemed to have already anticipated something.

"Then I'll be frank."

The fortune teller said with a sigh, "This is an ominous sign."

"Woo..."

Chiai's body immediately deflated like a punctured balloon, and Masumi quickly stepped forward to prevent her from slumping down.

"Let me explain the meaning of this fortune slip to you."

"Thank you."

The literal translation of "莫把幺弦，怨极弦能说" is: "Do not pluck the delicate strings of the pipa, for the deep sorrow that has lingered for so long is difficult to express."

"Drawing this fortune stick indicates that when you are in a relationship, you can't let go of a certain burden in your heart, making it difficult for you to open up to the person you cherish. There are some things you can't say even when they are on the tip of your tongue."

"If things continue like this, this good intention will eventually turn into resentment that is difficult to resolve."

After the fortune teller finished speaking, he quietly looked at the dejected Qian Ai, whose beautiful emerald eyes were now dull and lifeless.

"Are you alright, Qian'ai?"

Masumi grabbed her shoulder and asked.

"I'm fine, Masumi-nii..."

This doesn't look like nothing's wrong at all.

"Is there some mistake?" Masumi asked, frowning.

My childhood sweetheart is always full of energy, unlike the kind of person who keeps everything to herself and doesn't confide in those close to her.

But when it comes to romance... Thinking of this, he was speechless for a moment.

"That's how the divination slip is interpreted." The fortune teller looked at him awkwardly.

"Never mind, Masumi-nii."

Qian Ai tugged at his sleeve slightly, trying to perk herself up a bit. The fortune teller suddenly spoke, asking:
"You two are childhood sweethearts, aren't you?"

This time, she didn't use that affected, cotton-like tone; her voice was friendly, sounding a bit like an auntie from the shopping street.

"Yes."

Masumi nodded, and then listened as she said, "If you don't mind, please let me also do a fortune telling for this gentleman."

Perhaps worried that he might refuse, the fortune teller added, "Just charge for one person."

Masumi thought about it and agreed.

"Please write down your date of birth on the paper."

The fortune teller handed over paper and pen, and then pulled out another thick book from under the table, this time a genuine Chinese divination book.

"Is this also a Chinese method of divination?" Masumi asked.

"That's right, it's something called 'birth date and time'."

As she explained, she closed the book and nodded. "I see. It's a time for making choices."

"According to the divination results, you seem to be dissatisfied with the current stagnation and want to make changes, but you are finding it difficult to make a decision due to certain burdens."

Masumi opened her eyes slightly in surprise, then composed herself.

He probably didn't reveal any flaws just now. If cold reading can achieve this level, then he must be a very skilled psychologist.

"What should I do?" he asked humbly.

"Walk towards Libra after sunset, and an encounter awaits you."

An air of mystery returned to her words, but this time it carried a greater degree of credibility.

How is that?

"...meeting".

Masumi pondered the word, "That's a bit too ambiguous. Could you please be more specific?"

"The secret cannot be leaked."

Masumi asked again, but the fortune teller only smiled and remained silent.

"Once a relationship is formed, it is difficult to take a new step. This is an opportunity for you, so please make your choice carefully."

She said finally.

"I see."

"Anyway, thank you."

Masumi bowed to express her gratitude and took out money from her wallet to pay for the divination. Chiai, standing next to her, looked preoccupied and seemed lost in thought.

"Would these two ladies like a fortune telling?" the fortune teller asked, looking at the two girls behind him.

The jellyfish girl quietly shook her head.

"Can it be free?" Mami asked expectantly.

◇

After leaving the fortune-telling stall, the four met up with Rinne and Kurokawa Mio, who had bought the ingredients. The market was now completely shrouded in night.

Wow! You two bought so much stuff, including lobster!

"Where were you just now?"

"There's a fortune-telling stall over there. Masumi-kun and Chiai both had their fortunes told, and judging from their reactions, it seems pretty accurate," Mami replied.

"Did the divination not go well?" Rinne asked. "Chiai looks so lonely."

"Kind of."

Qian Aixin nodded absentmindedly.

"The fortune teller said that Chihiro's fate in a certain aspect is a bit bumpy," Mami explained ambiguously.

"Really? I don't think it's necessary to get caught up in or bothered by such vague and unreal things."

Rinne's words sounded like a comforting statement, but also like a calm explanation of the facts.

"It's up to people to decide what to do. As for things like fate, they're just things that others arbitrarily interfere with and give to you."

"Thank you, Rinne." Chiai forced a smile. "It's just like something Rinne would think."

"Really? It's pretty ordinary," Rinne said casually.

"If you start to doubt yourself because of this kind of thing, you won't be able to see what you should really be doing."

"Yes, I think so too."

Kurokawa Mio nodded in agreement, a rare instance of reaching a consensus with Rinne.

“I have never believed in things like destiny. In my opinion, that’s just an excuse for weak people to run away from things. If it were me, I would never take such a thing to heart.”

"Of course, this excludes my destined marriage with Masumi."

"Cheer up, Chia! We can have a big meal when we get back!"

"Huh? You just had barbecue this afternoon, right? Can you still eat?"

"Masumi-kun, are you subtly mocking me?"

"I'm not that mean."

"……Um."

Qian Ai maintained a hesitant expression until the end, but seeing the others acting normally, she simply said some unimportant things and that was it.

(End of this chapter)