Chapter 54: A Bit of Science—Creepy Stuff
Qin Xing suddenly felt a surge of regret. She really shouldn’t have asked Su Keke that question.
What if she got even more scared after hearing all this?
Seeing that both of them looked a little unsettled, Su Keke quickly said, “Don’t be afraid. I’m here.”
Qin Xing pulled a long face. “You can’t exactly stick to us twenty-four hours a day, can you?”
“Leaving aside the rarer corpse monsters and demonic spirits, let’s just talk about ghosts and malevolent spirits. Ordinary people usually can’t see them.
In fact, only people within the field and a small number of people with special circumstances can encounter them. Even among practitioners, many can only sense their presence and can’t necessarily see them,” Su Keke explained, trying her best to calm them down.
“What about you?” Luo Man asked. “Keke, are you the kind of practitioner who can see them, or the kind who can’t?”
The corners of Su Keke’s mouth lifted slightly. “My master taught me a secret technique. By circulating the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to the crown of the head and the area between the brows, I can see things that ordinary people can’t.”
Qin Xing swallowed and asked, “Then what do you mean by ‘people with special circumstances’?”
“People with extremely bad luck, patients seriously ill whose vital energy is too weak, elderly people nearing the end of their lives, newborn babies, and so on.
Even among these people, not everyone will encounter such things—it also depends on the environment and conditions at the time, what people call the right timing, the right place, and the right person.
All in all, the probability of an ordinary person encountering these things is extremely low.”
“Oh right! There are also people with very ‘light’ birth charts, like women born in yin years, yin months, and yin days—extreme yin constitutions. Those people can see them one hundred percent—”
Qin Xing abruptly cut her off. “Keke, you should really stop talking now. This is seriously creepy.”
Su Keke grinned. “Actually, these things aren’t as scary as you imagine. Take wandering ghosts, for example—they usually don’t harm people. Even some vengeful ghosts who refuse to reincarnate are just seeking revenge against those who wronged them. It’s all cause and effect.
If you’re really scared, I can give each of you a protective talisman. If your luck is bad and you really do run into something unclean, the talisman can block one disaster for you.”
“That’s amazing! Yes, yes!” Qin Xing agreed immediately.
Luo Man said, “Then thank you, Keke.”
Su Keke rummaged through her backpack and very generously took out two talismans, giving one to each of them, and kept another one for Zhao Kexin.
Qin Xing quickly stuffed it into her pocket. “Later I’m going to tie it with a red string and wear it around my neck.”
Su Keke advised, “It’s better to put it in a sachet. If you wear it around your neck and it gets sweaty, it might lose its effectiveness.”
“Forget a sachet— I’d even be willing to have it inlaid with gold!”
Su Keke said seriously, “Xing, if you inlay it with gold, the talisman’s power will be locked inside and won’t work properly. If you want to lock the spirit without affecting its effectiveness, you should use jade.”
Qin Xing: …
She finally understood—Su Keke was a little airhead, the naturally dense kind.
“Oh right, Manman,” Su Keke suddenly said, “I looked over the key problem types you marked for me today, but there are a few places I don’t quite understand.”
The little airhead pulled out her textbook.
In the morning, Su Keke had memorized the key math, physics, and chemistry problem types Luo Man marked for her, and during lunch she asked the two of them about what she didn’t understand.
But even though she could memorize everything perfectly, she still had to think things through. She found that some parts clearly meant the same thing, yet used different formulas.
After enduring a barrage of “why” questions, Luo Man was puzzled and asked her, “Keke, since your memory is so good, why didn’t you choose the liberal arts track?”
In the second year of high school, students had to choose between liberal arts and science. Liberal arts required more memorization and didn’t include physics, chemistry, or biology.
As soon as she heard this, Qin Xing chimed in, “Hey, hey, do you know why I chose science?”
The two of them looked at her together.
Qin Xing said, “Because my mom wants me to become a great scientist! Hahaha…”
After laughing enough, Qin Xing coughed lightly. “Okay, the truth is, I hate memorizing texts. Politics, history, geography—all of them require memorization. My brain capacity just isn’t enough.”
As she spoke, she winked at Su Keke. “Keke, is that why you chose science too?”
Su Keke made an “ah” sound, then shook her head. “It’s because I’m already very familiar with history and geography. Studying them again would be pointless. And I’m not interested in politics—I don’t plan on becoming a high-ranking official in the future.”
Qin Xing silently shut her mouth.
…That really hurt.
Luo Man laughed and asked, “Who told you that studying liberal arts means becoming a high-ranking official?”
Su Keke replied at once, “My uncle did. He said the highest level for liberal arts is becoming a national official, and the highest level for science is becoming a scientist.”
So when Qin Xing said earlier that she wanted to become a scientist, Su Keke had believed her—and even thought Qin Xing was very ambitious.
Luo Man said, “What your uncle said isn’t entirely wrong, but becoming a national official or a scientist isn’t that easy. People who study liberal arts often become management-type professionals, while those in science tend to become technical specialists.”
Su Keke didn’t care much about that. She was simply interested in the scientific knowledge her uncle talked about—physics and magnetic fields, biology and cells, probability theory in mathematics.
Qin Xing gave her a thumbs-up. “Keke, admirable courage.”
Su Keke smiled shyly. “Thank you for the compliment.”
Qin Xing: …
You really don’t hold back at all.
“Tomorrow’s Saturday,” Luo Man said. “Xing, you’re coming to school. What about you, Keke?”
“I’m not coming. I need to buy some things—and I also have to protect my uncle.”
Hearing that, Luo Man couldn’t help thinking: just how weak must Su Keke’s uncle be, to need her protection?
Qin Xing’s mouth twitched, but she said nothing.
When school let out that day, Qin Xing had planned to slip away as soon as she left the gate. Unexpectedly, Su Keke said she wanted to take the subway with her.
Qin Xing pretended to be curious. “Keke, isn’t your uncle picking you up anymore?”
Su Keke said, “I told my uncle there was no need. I can just take the subway with you.”
“Then where are you living now?”
Without the slightest guard up, Su Keke said, “At my uncle’s place—Xiaoqiao Liushui Villa District.”
Qin Xing’s expression changed instantly. Holy crap, that place!
She then forced a dry laugh. “Oh really? Everyone who lives there is rich. Your uncle must be a handsome, suave, romantic, elegant, jade-tree-in-the-wind kind of big tycoon…”
“Xing, you’re absolutely right. That’s exactly how he is.”
The two girls walked away arm in arm.
In a corner outside the school gate, an inconspicuous sedan rolled down half a window. Qin Mochen watched the two of them walking off for a while, then rolled the window back up.
“Assistant Wu, let’s go.”
Wu Zongbo responded and drove off along another road.
Taking a side road on purpose was just to catch a glimpse of the little cutie—and to take a look at her new friend. Strictly speaking, that was your niece.
Fourth Master, you really are…
Wu Zongbo suddenly felt like he might know a little too much.
When Su Keke got home, she found that her uncle still hadn’t returned.
“Keke, you’re back? Go wash your hands and then come eat some corn. Aunt Lin cooked some sweet corn today.”
“Wow—corn! I love corn the most! Aunt Lin, you’ve worked hard!”
“Haha, what hard work? You sweet-talking little thing. Oh? You’re wearing your school uniform now? Keke looks even better in it than the others.”
“Really? But I still think pink looks better, and this skirt is too short and too tight. When my uncle gets back, I’ll ask him—”
When Qin Mochen came home, what he saw was the little girl sitting on the sofa, holding a long ear of corn and gnawing on it. The two small front teeth she showed looked exactly like a little white rabbit’s—white and bright.
