I consulted a feng shui master in Hong Kong.

The next day, early in the morning.

The newly rented shop is almost ready.

The broken wall in the hall was demolished, the broken bricks were cleared to one side, a temporary wooden screen was erected inside the door, and the small door in the backyard was also changed in direction.

Huang Shouzhou squatted on the ground wiping an old incense burner, sweating profusely, while humming an off-key tune.

Now he completely gave up the idea of ​​learning any feng shui secrets from Chen Qinghe. He just wanted to live his life happily. Huang Shouzhou was very happy these past few days. The neighbors' attitudes had changed. Before, everyone regarded them as two ignorant outsiders. Now, when they mentioned Sanxuan Temple, their words carried a certain amount of respect.

As I was wiping, a black sedan suddenly stopped outside the door.

Huang Shouzhou looked up and saw that Su Yulian was the first to get off the bus.

She wore a light blue cheongsam today; the color was simple, but the simpler the color, the more well-proportioned her figure appeared.

However, her complexion was still not good, and the faint bluish tinge under her eyes could not be suppressed, as if she had not slept well last night.

Accompanying her was an acquaintance whom Chen Qinghe had met before.

Huo Qingtang.

The eldest daughter of the Huo family.

She was dressed more smartly than Su Yulian, wearing a white shirt with a dark thin coat over it, a long skirt that reached her ankles, and her hair was tied up neatly. She looked like a fine knife hidden in its sheath.

But the first thing she did after getting out of the car was not to look at the street or the shops, but to first smooth out the cuffs of Su Yulian's sleeves that had been gently wrinkled by the car door, and then to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

The movements were very natural, as if they had been done many times before.

Su Yulian glanced at her sideways without saying a word, but her gaze softened slightly for a moment.

Huang Shouzhou saw this scene and unconsciously slowed down his movements as he wiped the incense burner.

Then he hurriedly went to the shop to find Chen Qinghe.

Chen Qinghe was standing in the hall looking at the newly placed screen when he heard the noise and looked up.

Upon seeing Huo Qingtang, he paused slightly.

Huo Qingtang also saw him, and raised an eyebrow slightly: "It's you?"

She clearly hadn't expected that the "newly famous young master in Sham Shui Po" that Su Yulian had been talking about all along would actually be Chen Qinghe, whom the Huo family had hired a few days ago.

Chen Qinghe nodded, but his expression didn't focus on Huo Qingtang's words "it's you." Instead, he looked at Huo Qingtang's face and then at Su Yulian standing beside her.

Then he frowned.

He discovered that Huo Qingtang and Su Yulian's faces subtly reflected each other.

The two people's faces were originally quite different; one was gentle, the other cold; one's eyebrows were slightly sparse at the ends, the other's brow bones were slightly lowered. But strangely, when they stood together, their auras seemed to be connected.

Su Yulian looked exhausted and her expression was unsteady, but as soon as Huo Qingtang stood next to her, her fading spirit would stabilize somewhat. Huo Qingtang's face was cold and hard, with sharp eyebrows, but when he looked at Su Yulian, he couldn't suppress the softness in his eyes that he usually didn't show.

This is not the kind of behavior that ordinary relatives and friends should have.

It's more like a relationship that ended, but wasn't completely severed.

They don't look like husband and wife, nor like sisters; rather, they have lingering feelings for each other and their hearts are still connected.

Especially their positioning, one in front of the other, with no more than half a step between them.

As Su Yulian spoke, her fingers unconsciously touched Huo Qingtang's sleeve; Huo Qingtang had been keeping a cold face the whole time, but as soon as Su Yulian lowered her voice, her gaze would fall on her first, as if she was afraid that Huo Qingtang would not be able to hold on any longer.

A person's face can only reveal "deep affection" and "entanglement," but it cannot reveal where the word "affection" truly lies.

But the subtle details between people that cannot be hidden are more real than appearances.

Chen Qinghe understood what was going on when he saw this, but he didn't say anything.

"Mr. Chen." Su Yulian nodded to Chen Qinghe as she entered, her voice still soft. "Yesterday you said that my house not only has problems with feng shui, but also with the people in it. I thought about it all night, and I still feel that if you have a way to break this deadlock, I need your help."

Before she could finish speaking, Huo Qingtang interjected, "I know everything about Sister Lian's matter. If you have any questions, you can just ask me directly."

As soon as he uttered "Sister Lian," Huang Shou-zhuo's eyelids twitched slightly.

It's not Mrs. Su, it's not Yu Lian, it's Sister Lian.

Close yet restrained.

It's like how you get used to calling someone something when you're young, and even after many years, you still haven't changed it when you start talking about it again.

Upon hearing this form of address, Su Yulian's eyelashes trembled almost imperceptibly before she whispered, "Qingtang is not an outsider."

Chen Qinghe nodded, not rushing to respond, but instead inviting the two to sit down.

The shop hadn't officially opened yet, and the tables and chairs for customers were temporarily put together: an old wooden table, two long-backed chairs, and tea that Huang Shou-zhuo had just brewed—not the best, but hot enough. After Huo Qing-tang sat down, she first pushed her cup of tea toward Su Yu-lian, as if afraid she might forget to drink it while talking. Su Yu-lian glanced down at it, her fingertips lightly touching the rim of the cup, but she didn't pick it up immediately.

The shop fell silent for a moment.

In the end, Huo Qingtang spoke first.

"I've known Sister Lian for many years," she said calmly, as if recounting someone else's past. "Later, she got married, and I left Hong Kong for a few years, and we lost contact. I only found out a couple of days ago that her husband jumped off a building."

She paused here, her throat tightening for a moment.

Su Yulian kept her head down, her fingers gripping the rim of the cup, without looking up.

Huo Qingtang continued, "When I went to keep her company, I realized something was wrong with the house. She was afraid to be alone at night and was always suspicious during the day. I originally wanted to ask someone I knew to come and take a look, but she said... you're the one who can tell."

Huo Qingtang said "You're right" somewhat reluctantly, but without a hint of perfunctoriness.

For Huo Qingtang to say such a thing was already a sign of great approval of Chen Qinghe.

Su Yulian finally spoke: "Mr. Chen, I came here today not just to invite you to take a look. I wanted to ask, if you can really dismantle the scheme in that house, then... is there any way for me to maintain my position in that house?"

The moment this question was asked, the subtle, probing atmosphere in the room suddenly changed.

She wasn't asking "whether it can bring prosperity to the family" or "whether it can attract wealth," but rather—whether it can stand firm.

The single word "stand" already reveals seven or eight parts of her current predicament.

Chen Qinghe looked at her for a moment, then slowly said, "Yes."

Su Yulian and Huo Qingtang looked up at the same time.

Chen Qinghe said unhurriedly, "I will set up a 'Azure Dragon Protects the Master and Reverses Evil Formation' for you."

This was a plan he had prepared long ago.

He will take it out as long as Su Yulian comes today.

Huang Shouzhou stood aside, stunned by what he heard.

He hadn't heard of the name before, but he knew immediately that it wasn't the kind of ominous formation that was designed to plot against people.

Su Yulian was also taken aback: "What... is this game for?"

"Protect its master, don't harm people," Chen Qinghe said. "If a good person enters, it will treat them as a guest; but if a person with malicious intent enters, it will first disturb their own peace of mind. They will say the wrong thing, feel uneasy, and lose their composure. It's not the house that harms them, it's their own bad intentions that have already harmed them."

Su Yulian's eyes flickered slightly upon hearing this.