At the beginning of September, Lin Yuan was successfully enrolled in primary school with Gu Xicao’s help.

Thanks to the preparation classes Gu Xicao had arranged for him earlier, Lin Yuan was able to catch up. Without them, even first grade would have been a struggle. Traditional Chinese characters and pinyin in Hong Kong were different from what was used in the mainland. After his first day at school, Lin Yuan excitedly told Gu Xicao, “Sister, this school is so nice! Everyone is really friendly.”

“That’s good. Did you make any friends?”

Gu Xicao placed a piece of roasted duck on his plate and asked.

Lin Yuan gnawed on the duck, his face beaming with joy. “Yes! My deskmates and I get along well. After class, we play football together. Our class teacher, TeacherHe, is also very kind.”

Hearing this, Gu Xicao felt reassured.

Watching Lin Yuan happily finish his meal and dive into his homework, she couldn’t help but reflect: children really do need to go to school. It’s where they find companionship. Lin Yuan had been a bit downcast before, but over the past few days, he had clearly become much more cheerful.

But her relief was short-lived.

A week after Lin Yuan started school, his class teacher, Teacher He, came to visit their home.

When Gu Xicao opened the door and saw an unfamiliar woman holding Lin Yuan’s hand, she froze. “And you are…?”

“Hello, Miss Gu. I’m Lin Yuan’s homeroom teacher, He Yi-Chuen.” Teacher He also seemed surprised upon seeing Gu Xicao, but with her years of experience, she quickly composed herself. Offering a warm smile, she continued, “Miss Gu, you’re Lin Yuan’s guardian, correct?”

Glancing at Lin Yuan, who stood with his head bowed and toes digging into the floor, sneaking nervous glances at her, Gu Xicao nodded. “Yes, that’s me. Oh, it’s Teacher He—please come in.”

Realizing this was the legendary “home visit,” Gu Xicao was a bit flustered but also amused.

She invited Teacher He inside and quickly prepared a cup of green tea. “Please have some tea, teacher He. Sorry, we don’t have much to offer, but I hope this will do.”

“No need to apologize,” Teacher He said, standing up to accept the cup. “I’m the one intruding unannounced. I hope I’m not disturbing you.”

“Not at all! I’ve already finished work for the day. Teacher He, did something happen at school? You came all the way here,” Gu Xicao asked, a bit nervous.

Lin Yuan pouted indignantly. “I didn’t cause any trouble!”

Teacher He looked conflicted, clutching the teacup as she hesitated. “It’s not a major issue. It’s just that…”

Before visiting, she hadn’t expected Lin Yuan’s family situation to be like this—a young woman acting as his guardian, with a house that was sparsely furnished.

Teacher He felt a pang of sympathy but remained professional. “Lin Yuan has been telling his classmates that you’re a fortune teller and that you’re very accurate. One of his classmates said that he was a liar, and they ended up in a fight. Although I intervened in time, I felt it was necessary to inform you.”

“Teacher, I wasn’t lying!”

Lin Yuan raised his head, clearly upset, his fists clenched. “My sister really is a great fortune teller! Lots of people want her readings! It was that chubby kid who started it—he called my sister a fraud!”

Teacher He sighed, rubbing her temples, but gently corrected Lin Yuan. “Lin Yuan, you shouldn’t call your classmate ‘chubby.’ It’s not polite.”

“Fine, I won’t call him chubby. But he has to apologize to me because I wasn’t lying! My sister is amazing, right, Sister?” Lin Yuan turned to Gu Xicao, his eyes full of admiration and trust.

For a moment, Gu Xicao wanted to facepalm.

She had thought it might be a serious issue, only to find it was about this.

Initially, she planned to brush off the matter with a few words to send Teacher He on her way. However, when she met Lin Yuan’s expectant, worshipful gaze, the words caught in her throat.

After a pause, she lowered her eyes in thought. Finally, she said, “Teacher He, Lin Yuan wasn’t lying. I am a fortune teller, and my predictions are indeed accurate.”

Teacher He was taken aback and couldn’t help but chuckle. This young woman was certainly stubborn.

“Miss Gu, there are things you can say to others, but you shouldn’t deceive children. Promoting such ideas at school is inappropriate. After all, there’s no such thing as ghosts or fortune-telling,” Teacher He said gently, hinting that Gu Xicao shouldn’t mislead Lin Yuan.

Hearing this, Gu Xicao wasn’t offended. On the contrary, she felt gratified.

A teacher who cared so much and thought so carefully was indeed a good teacher.

Lin Yuan was lucky to have someone like Teacher He as his class teacher.

“What a pity—Teacher He’s fate is not good,” the gossip system suddenly muttered in Gu Xicao’s mind.

Startled, Gu Xicao asked, “What do you mean? Is something bad going to happen to her?”

“Yes, she’s involved in a juicy scandal—one that even leads to a death,” the system replied dramatically.

Teacher He had just finished her previous remarks, intending to persuade Gu Xicao to “correct her ways,” when she noticed the young woman zoning out, seemingly indifferent. Frowning, Teacher He wondered if she had misjudged Gu Xicao, suspecting she might be an unreasonable guardian.

“Sister, Sister!” Lin Yuan’s voice interrupted.

Seeing Gu Xicao lost in thought, Teacher He frowned again. Lin Yuan quickly tugged on Gu Xicao’s sleeve, softly calling her name a few times.

Only then did Gu Xicao snap out of it.

She turned to Teacher He, her expression turning serious. “Teacher He, let me ask you something. Do you have a daughter?”

Teacher He froze for a moment. How did she know?

Instinctively, she nodded.

“Your daughter has been having a fever lately, hasn’t she? A strange fever that comes and goes—is that right?” Gu Xicao’s tone was grave, and her expression was tense.

Teacher He’s heart tightened. “How do you know this? No one at school knows about my daughter’s illness.”

“You need to go home with me immediately.”

Grabbing her coat, Gu Xicao stood up abruptly. “Your mother-in-law is trying to harm your daughter. If you don’t go back now, it will be too late!”

“What?!”

Teacher He was completely stunned. “This… you… what…?”

Her mind was in turmoil. The news was so shocking that she instinctively couldn’t believe it.

“There’s no time to debate whether I’m accurate or not!”

Anxious, Gu Xicao turned to Lin Yuan. “Lin Yuan, go check if Uncle Ho is home and ask him to drive us!”

“Okay!” Lin Yuan reacted much faster than Teacher He. He knew his sister’s words were never wrong, so he didn’t hesitate and immediately went to find Uncle Ho.

Uncle Ho, a taxi driver, usually finished work early to have dinner at home.

When he heard that Gu Xicao urgently needed help, he grabbed his keys without a second thought and asked, “Xiao Gu, where do you need to go?”

Gu Xicao glanced at Teacher He.

For some reason, Teacher He felt a jolt of panic and subconsciously replied, “Sai Kung, Biyun Tower.”

“Sai Kung?” Uncle Ho frowned. “We better hurry then. The roads might get congested soon!”

“Uncle Ho, this is urgent. Please drive as fast as you can!”

“Got it. Let’s go.”

Without hesitation, Uncle Ho nodded and started the car.

Pulling the still-dazed Teacher He along, Gu Xicao got into the car. Lin Yuan wanted to come along, but Gu Xicao stopped him. “Stay here and watch the house. Don’t wander off.”

“But I…” Lin Yuan was reluctant to let her go.

“Be good, Lin Yuan. I really don’t have time to explain right now,” Gu Xicao said firmly as she hurriedly closed the car door and mouthed, Go home.

Reluctantly, Lin Yuan nodded and watched as the taxi sped off like an arrow.

At this hour, the roads weren’t too crowded yet.

Uncle Ho, familiar with the area, took several shortcuts. Meanwhile, Gu Xicao frequently checked her watch, sweat forming on her forehead.

Teacher He couldn’t help but ask, “Miss Gu, how do you know about my family? And how could my mother-in-law want to harm my daughter? That’s impossible. She’s been taking care of her and seems even more worried about her than I am.”

As the light turned green, Gu Xicao finally turned to face Teacher He. “If you’re asking how I know, I can only tell you I divined it. You can choose not to believe me, but this matter is not up for disbelief. I wouldn’t say such things without reason. You’ll understand when we get there.”

Her tone was firm and sincere, causing Teacher He to falter.

Her heart suddenly ached with an inexplicable sense of foreboding, especially as she recalled Gu Xicao’s words about her mother-in-law intending to harm her daughter.

“Ah!” Uncle Ho suddenly exclaimed.

Both Gu Xicao and Teacher He turned their heads to see a chain collision of several cars ahead. The vehicles came to a halt, and their drivers got out, inspecting the damage and immediately starting to argue.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

The cars behind began honking incessantly as the traffic backed up. A traffic officer hurried over to mediate.

Rolling down the window, Gu Xicao could hear the curses flying between the drivers, none of whom seemed to take the officer seriously.

Damn it!

Suppressing the urge to curse, she turned to Uncle Ho. “Can we turn around and take another route?”

“We can,” Uncle Ho said hesitantly, “but this is the fastest route. Taking a detour will add at least ten to fifteen minutes.”

Ten to fifteen minutes?

Frowning deeply, Gu Xicao asked, “Can we go any faster? If we’re late, something terrible will happen.”

Hearing this, Teacher He’s face turned pale.

Seeing her expression, Gu Xicao felt a pang of sympathy.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of something outside the window, and an idea suddenly struck her.

In Room 1209 of Biyun Tower, Sai Kung, Xu Xinxin was sitting cross-legged on her bed, laughing uncontrollably at the cartoon on her small television.

“Xinxin, Grandma made some medicine for you. Drink it while it’s hot,” Yang Fengxia said as she entered the room with a bowl in her hands.

As soon as she stepped in, the bitter smell of the medicine filled the air.

Xu Xinxin immediately shook her head and rolled onto the bed. “Grandma, I don’t want to drink it. It’s so bitter, and it doesn’t even work!”

“You must drink it. This is very effective. Grandma went to great lengths to find the herbs from Lantau Island. You must finish it,” Yang Fengxia said, her face hardening.

But Xu Xinxin burrowed under the covers, whining, “I’m not drinking it! Grandma always lies. You said the last medicine would work too!”

“This time is different.”

Yang Fengxia’s wrinkled face twisted into a sinister smile that could frighten any child.

Previously, she had found a prescription and thought it would poison this “useless money-drainer.” But to her frustration, it hadn’t worked.

This time, Yang Fengxia had mixed pesticide into the medicine. She refused to believe this wretched child could survive drinking it!