Si Tu Zhang stood at the restaurant entrance with a cigarette between his lips, constantly looking outside. During the New Year, restaurant business was booming everywhere, so the heat at the entrance made his face slightly flushed. The aroma of stewed lamb floating in the air intoxicated the nose, and upstairs in the private room he had reserved, a group of people was already drinking and making noise. These were friends from various walks of life he had met in society—insurance salesmen, long-distance truck drivers, all kinds of people. They naturally didn’t know what politeness meant and were just eating and drinking heartily, while Xiao Nanzhu, who had agreed to come today, still hadn’t shown up.

“This bastard… fooling me again.”

Muttering bitterly between his teeth, Si Tu Zhang, who had waited for more than ten minutes, took off the sunglasses he wore year-round, his upturned fierce eyes tinged with anger. Actually, he hadn’t really taken Xiao Nanzhu’s words seriously from the beginning, but since the man had made an unprecedented promise, Si Tu Zhang had reluctantly decided to trust him once. Reality proved that this person clearly had no credibility to speak of—he had not only been fooled once but twice. Thinking this way, Si Tu Zhang’s expression darkened as he pinched out his cigarette. Just as he was about to head back upstairs and forget about that bastard, he heard a familiar voice behind him.

“Oh, you’re still out here waiting for me? How embarrassing!”

The casual tone immediately identified which bastard was speaking. Si Tu Zhang’s expression changed as he turned to see Xiao Nanzhu standing there, smiling at him. This man was already twenty-something years old, but his straight posture, like a poplar tree, wasn’t concealed in the slightest by his heavy clothes. Just standing on the street, he was a beautiful sight. Logically, such a handsome man shouldn’t still be single at his age, but strangely, in Si Tu Zhang’s memory, Xiao Nanzhu had never had any lover…

With this sudden curiosity, Si Tu Zhang approached him while pondering this rare thought. Xiao Nanzhu didn’t know what he was thinking, just obediently endured Si Tu Zhang’s two perfunctory kicks before following him inside. Entering the restaurant, he looked up at the second floor.

Within sight, the chaotic dinner table and shouting made Xiao Nanzhu raise an eyebrow. Si Tu Zhang noticed his expression and patted his shoulder, feeling somewhat uncertain. Xiao Nanzhu glanced at him without saying anything, just put his hands in his pockets and smiled slightly. When the two of them walked upstairs together, the men at the table who were drinking and talking instinctively quieted down.

“Well! Si Tu, introduce us! Is this that childhood friend you’ve been hiding like a little wife? Come on! Introduce him to everyone, hahaha!! Did he not come yesterday because he didn’t want to eat with us? We embarrass you, don’t we?”

A fat man with gold-rimmed glasses, about thirty-five or thirty-six years old, burst into laughter before even finishing his sentence. The circle of people around him all laughed along, clearly trying to embarrass someone. Hearing this, Xiao Nanzhu showed no emotion, just casually walked to the dinner table, took a bottle of white liquor with one hand, opened it with his thumb, and poured a glass for each person, while skillfully handing out cigarettes.

“I was delayed by something yesterday. I’m really sorry to have kept everyone waiting… Let me apologize to everyone. Why don’t we have a drink first? Shall we?”

With raised eyebrows and a smile at the corner of his mouth, Xiao Nanzhu’s appearance carried a sense of righteousness and killing intent when he wasn’t speaking, but when he smiled, there was an indescribable rebellious aura. Plus, the cigarettes were good ones—Soft Zhonghua—making it hard for people to continue making sarcastic remarks. The atmosphere eased somewhat for a moment. Xiao Nanzhu’s accommodating attitude instantly dissipated the group’s resentment for having waited for him. Seeing this, Si Tu Zhang also smiled, pushed Xiao Nanzhu towards the seat beside his own, and then pointed at his head:

“Xiao Nanzhu, as I’ve told everyone, he just got out of the military. Brothers, please take care of him in the future. If there are any good projects or jobs after the New Year, please help him out. If things work out, he’ll definitely treat everyone to drinks…”

For a moment, everyone at the table nodded in unison, but whether they would actually help remained uncertain. Xiao Nanzhu thought this to himself while calmly sitting and chatting with these people about all manner of topics. After several bottles of wine were opened and most of the main dishes were served, he roughly understood what Si Tu Zhang’s friends did for a living.

The one who spoke first was called Cao Chong, a sales manager at a local insurance company, with excellent speaking skills and a joke-loving northerner. The crew-cut man sitting next to him was Zhao Tiansheng, a long-distance driver who frequently transported goods. Next to him was a slightly younger man called Li Mao, a small business owner in construction and decoration. The other three were foremen working under Li Mao. These people, judging from their conversations, all had decent personalities—they were used to the struggles of society, were shrewd, articulate, and sociable. Xiao Nanzhu’s back-and-forth conversations with them kept the atmosphere at the table lively. The men were quite interested in his military background and kept asking questions endlessly.

Speaking of which, it’s worth mentioning Xiao Nanzhu’s military service. He had entered military school nearly ten years ago, starting at a relatively higher position compared to regular conscripted soldiers. At that time, his grandmother had just passed away, leaving him without any attachments in this world, so he unhesitatingly enlisted, leaving behind his few possessions. In his fourth year at military school, due to his special circumstances, he was selected for a certain northern military base. Initially, he was on the receiving end of slaps and punches, but later, as an instructor, he began going on missions and training new soldiers. Because of his dark mentality and ruthless methods, every soldier under his command had to suffer tremendously. Had he not later broken the leg of a despicable yet influential person, he would have continued his repetitive and monotonous military career instead of being here doing things that even he found boring.

Thinking about this, Xiao Nanzhu’s eyes darkened somewhat. However, he knew that the past was the past. After leaving the military, he hadn’t planned to dwell on certain matters. So when the group before him asked about it again, he just smiled casually, then narrowed his eyes, took a drag from his cigarette, and said:

“Me? I was in the kitchen unit. There’s not much exciting stuff, this isn’t a movie…”

His words disappointed the men, who collectively let out a disappointed “oh.” Seeing this, Si Tu Zhang laughed but didn’t expose Xiao Nanzhu’s obvious fib. Just then, Cao Chong asked what had detained Xiao Nanzhu yesterday that prevented him from coming. Si Tu Zhang coughed, intending to deflect the question for Xiao Nanzhu, but before he could speak, Xiao Nanzhu replied on his own:

“Well, there was a fire at home, the gas caught fire… Come to think of it, it was my own forgetfulness. Yesterday, my fortune was in conflict with fire, yet I still insisted on using fire at home. See what happened? It caught fire…”

As soon as he said this, the others instinctively looked at him. After all, talk of fortune was quite mystical. From Xiao Nanzhu’s tone, he seemed to understand something about it. These men, in their various professions, weren’t strangers to beliefs in fortune and misfortune, and some were slightly superstitious. So, Li Mao, the construction businessman, was the first to speak up:

“Oh, Old Brother Xiao, you understand fortune-telling? Why not read mine as well?”

“Yeah, Si Tu, Old Brother Xiao knows this too? He doesn’t look the type at his age… Why not give us a reading?”

The others chimed in, their expressions showing doubt and mockery. Xiao Nanzhu picked up his wine glass and glanced at Si Tu Zhang, the corner of his mouth bearing a meaningful smile. Si Tu Zhang, previously puzzled, immediately understood upon seeing this expression. Without delving too deeply into when Xiao Nanzhu had acquired this new skill, he immediately spoke up in an exaggerated manner:

“Hey! Don’t underestimate him! Having grown up with him, I can testify—his family has always been in this business! Whether it’s setting beams, arranging marriages, childbirth, traveling, breaking ground, or changing fortunes, it’s their family’s traditional business. Come on, Xiao Nanzhu, show them…”

After Si Tu Zhang’s words, everyone at the table became skeptical. Seeing these people staring at him curiously, Xiao Nanzhu remained composed. He unhurriedly asked the waiter for paper and a pen, pushed aside the wine glass and plate in front of him, then raised his hand and took the pen, naturally letting the ballpoint pen tip fall onto the thin A5 paper.

“It’s just a little trick. Since you all want to see, I’ll do a fortune-telling for fun. Brother Li, want to try? What would you like to know?”

Xiao Nanzhu’s words made Li Mao eager to try, and the others, loving to watch the excitement, quickly encouraged him to go up and try. Hearing this, Li Mao took a sip of wine, sat down beside Xiao Nanzhu, rolled up his coat sleeve slightly, and held the pen together with Xiao Nanzhu. Then, somewhat puzzled, he asked:

“How about today’s fortune? How does this work? Hold the pen together with you, and then what?”

“Oh? Fortune-telling? Alright, now you just need to say your birth date and time out loud, and then the thing that hears it… will tell you what it knows…”

With Xiao Nanzhu’s gradually slowing voice, the others couldn’t help but crane their necks to watch them. At this moment, the atmosphere in the private room was frighteningly quiet. Li Mao and Xiao Nanzhu together held the ordinary ballpoint pen with its tip on the paper, then the middle-aged man frowned and said:

“I… I was born on June 4, 1970.”

As soon as the words fell, the pen tip began to move. This force didn’t come from either of them but seemed as if a third person was controlling the pen. Seeing this, Li Mao widened his eyes and looked at Xiao Nanzhu, who just smiled without speaking. The others were bewildered, thinking Xiao Nanzhu was just being mysterious. After the pen quickly left marks on the paper and finally stopped, everyone saw a line of plump, large characters written on it.

“Today financial loss, inevitable loss.”

Cao Chong read out this line, and the others all exchanged glances with Li Mao. Li Mao’s palms had been sweating since earlier. Now, seeing this, he was stunned and quickly threw the pen back to Xiao Nanzhu, then exclaimed with surprise:

“Old Brother Xiao, what… what does this mean?!”

“The meaning of this sentence, Brother Li, you naturally understand in your heart. This is your fortune I’m reading, how would I know?”

Narrowing his eyes and keeping them in suspense, Xiao Nanzhu’s words made Si Tu Zhang uncomfortably push him. Li Mao’s face changed upon hearing this, but before he could ask this mysterious Xiao Nanzhu further, he heard his phone ringing in his pocket. When he answered, he heard his company’s accountant shouting at him:

“Boss Li!! It’s terrible!! Those forty-some workers whose wages were withheld are causing trouble at the company door!! Four loudspeakers are playing ‘Today Is a Good Day’ at the company entrance!! One of them is already preparing to commit suicide by drinking Sanlu milk powder on the spot!! Come save us quickly!! Σ(っ°Д°;)っ”

Li Mao: “…………”