Usually, it was she who had to drag others to have their fortunes told.
She spoke volus about things like "Red String of Fate" and "Destined lovers from miles apart", but it was a pity that no one believed her.
Even her close friends didn’t believe her.
"How rare, to finally et a young girl who understands at my old age, it makes so happy," the old lady said.
Auntie Li was old, and though her eyes were a bit blurry, she had no other ailnts and briskly poured Hannah so water and brought over a stool.
Though the exterior of the house looked sowhat shabby, the interior was well arranged, not lacking anything that should be present.
There was a television, a computer, air conditioning, a fridge, and in the corner, there stood a brand-new mahjong table.
Before the official business began, Auntie Li chatted with Hannah for a while, "Young lady, do you have a boyfriend?"
Hannah answered, "Yes, I do."
Auntie Li flipped through an ancient, yellowed book, muttering to herself, "Having a partner, then it’s not ’Red String of Fate’ anymore, need to change it."
Hannah: "..."
Is this a bit unreliable?
She ca today on a whim, not really intending to have her fortune told, but just wanting to visit the elderly lady and say goodbye on the side.
Before starting to shake the turtle shell filled with coins, Auntie Li asked again, "Young lady, how old are you this year?"
Hannah said, "Twenty-two."
Auntie Li closed her eyes, "You’re so young. When I was your age, I was still braiding my hair and confessing to the person I liked. I can’t believe so many years have gone by just like that..."
Ti moves too quickly, never stopping for anyone.
The clinking sound of the coins against the turtle shell was crisp, yet also a bit muffled. Auntie Li was mumbling sothing.
Hannah listened carefully.
Oh, she was reciting about that ti during the day when she lost to Sister Ping at mahjong, vowing to win it back tomorrow.
The shell shook for about half a minute before Auntie Li suddenly stopped, "I forgot to ask, young lady, what’s your surna?"
Without knowing the na, the fortune couldn’t be accurate.
Hannah’s smile curved, "My surna is Ji."
Auntie Li nodded, ready to continue, but then suddenly opened her eyes and smiled, "Young lady, that’s not your surna, right?"
Hannah looked up and t Auntie Li’s sowhat cloudy eyes.
In her ears, Auntie Li continued to chant, like a worried old person giving advice, or as if talking to herself, "Surnas are given by parents; to discard them is to be unfilial. It is said that loving parents have been many since ancient tis, filial children are there for all to see, but the subtleties within this, outsiders ultimately cannot discern."
So people grow towards the sun, standing amidst light and shadow, but there are also those who grow against the wind.
You don’t understand their beauty, and they don’t understand your suffering.
It’s not about who is right or wrong, just an inability to understand each other. However, imposing one’s so-called "good intentions" and "should nots" on soone else is truly not right.
In the room, the sowhat glaring light was scattered all over the floor, causing a person’s eyes to hurt when looking at it directly.
In the end, Auntie Li gave up on her turtle shell and coins and took out a lot-drawing tube for Hannah to draw from.
The lot Hannah drew was an excellent one, filled with auspicious words.
Before Hannah left, Auntie Li grabbed her hand and gently patted it, "One in the ga does not know the rules, but a spectator sees all. Yet once the spectator enters the ga, they beco a player too."
Hannah looked down, her lips curving into a smile, "Thank you, I understand now."
From the beginning, even though she was trapped in this narrative, she had treated it all as just a ga.
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