What the hell?! Jiang Xiaobai paused when she saw the message. We just met last night and now she wants to match our horoscopes? Who else still does that nowadays? Jiang Xiaobai thought to herself while replying to her mother’s message. ‘Mom, we’re living in the twenty-first century and we don’t need horoscopes anymore.’ As soon as her text message was sent, she immediately received a call from Mrs. Jiang. “This is a tradition that has been going on for generations. So, give me a reason why it should be an exception when it’s your turn.”
Upon hearing her mother’s voice, Jiang Xiaobai pouted and said, “Horoscopes were used to predict marriages in the olden days because people didn’t get to decide whom they would marry. They were betrothed by their parents, which meant they didn’t get to see their soulmates until the wedding day. Therefore, we don’t need to match our horoscopes now as we both are getting along well. What’re we going to do if our horoscopes don’t match? Break up?”
“Exactly,” Du Xiaoyu answered in a firm manner. Upon hearing that, Jiang Xiaobai was unhappy. “Then, it’s a ‘no’ from me.”
“Silly girl, do you really think I won’t be able to find out what I want to know? You know how desperate his mom wants you to be her daughter-in-law, so I’m going to ask her. I’m sure she’ll answer my question.”
“Go ahead then. You don’t care about what I need anyway, and neither does it concern me. I only trust myself.” Jiang Xiaobai’s reply made Du Xiaoyu’s blood boil. In the end, the former grew tired of her mother’s long-winded speech and decisively hung up the call. After that, Jiang Xiaobai slowly propped herself on the edge of the bed while holding her phone before she lay back down on the bed.
Meanwhile, Du Xiaoyu could only hear a busy tone just when she was planning to continue persuading Jiang Xiaoyu. In that instant, her anger got the better of her as she complained about her daughter to her husband, “Look at your daughter. It’s all your fault for spoiling her. Now, she won’t even listen to me. Which couple doesn’t match their horoscopes before getting married?” Soon, Jiang Yanke, who was sitting opposite her, faked a cough and said, “We didn’t.”
Upon hearing her husband, Du Xiaoyu expressed her objection by blinking her eyes at him. “Yes, we did.”
“We did?” Jiang Yanke sounded surprised, as if he didn’t know anything at all. “When did that happen? I thought we agreed that we were not going to match our horoscopes back then.” Du Xiaoyu appeared gloomy while putting her phone down on the table. “It was my mother who did it behind our backs. Like Xiaobai, I didn’t want to let her know my horoscope, but she somehow found out about it and went to match our horoscopes. Then, she came back to me and told me that we were a perfect match.”
A joyful smile appeared on Jiang Yanke’s face when he heard these two words—‘perfect match’. “A perfect match? But what if it turned out that our horoscopes didn’t match? Wouldn’t you marry me?”
“Why did you bring up the past?” Du Xiaoyu glared at the man and said in an abrasive tone, “Are you asking for trouble? Back then, I swore to be with you no matter what.” Upon noticing his wife’s angry look, Jiang Yanke didn’t dare to annoy her any further. Therefore, he tried to appease her irritation and said, “Take it easy, Xiaoyu. I was just asking because I was surprised. Furthermore, I think we should respect Xiaobai’s wish if she doesn’t want it. We didn’t want to match our horoscopes either back then.”
“But we did it in the end, didn’t we? It’s fine if she doesn’t want to do it. I’ll do it for her.” Du Xiaoyu finally understood the rationale of her mother’s action. I guess we never stop learning as we grow older. People change and see different needs at different stages in life. What we used to think was important when we were young may no longer be the same now. Similarly, what is important to us now may not seem the same way once we reach middle age. Back then, Du Xiaoyu didn’t understand why her mother interfered in her relationship until she became a mother herself. After all, she was doing it for her daughter just like how her mother did it for her.
I’m just worried for Xiaobai’s future, but I guess I need to give her some space. So, I think I’ll take care of it without letting her know no matter how it ends up. Not long after, Du Xiaoyu found the contact of Xiao Su’s mother and gave her a call. I doubt matching horoscopes will take long. All we need is a fortune teller to do the job. Although this is deemed to be superstitious considering the era of science and technology we’re living in, I suppose some things are better done the old-fashioned way.
Soon, Du Xiaoyu and Liang Yahe paid a visit to a fortune teller together. “I heard from our neighbors that there is one fortune teller who is known for predicting the future accurately. Let’s pay him a visit. Maybe he’ll help us predict a good future for our children.” Liang Yahe said with a smile while walking in the alley with Du Xiaoyu. She then pointed forward and said, “We’re almost there.” At the end of the alley stood a small shack with its wooden door left ajar. Inside the structure sat a crippled man who was serving his customers who happened to leave just in time. Therefore, it was their turn to consult the fortune teller.
As soon as the two ladies sat down, the crippled man’s assistant asked, “How can we help you, ladies?” Liang Yahe then gave the man a piece of paper with details of her son’s horoscope written on it. “We’d like you to help us predict the marriages of our children.” Du Xiaoyu followed suit upon hearing that, giving the written details of her daughter’s horoscope to the fortune teller.
The crippled man’s assistant took the papers and handed them over to him. Somehow, Du Xiaoyu began to feel nervous as she worriedly clasped her hands. Upon noticing her anxiety, Liang Yahe said with a smile, “Relax! Xiaobai and Xiao Su will make a perfect match!”
“Yeah, that’s right.” After taking a look at the horoscopes, the fortune teller closed his eyes and started to do his job. Soon, silence reigned the environment so much that Du Xiaoyu could even hear her own heartbeat. Deep down, she had a bad feeling that she couldn’t explain herself. While the fortune teller was still not done, Du Xiaoyu felt worried sick. Then, he opened his eyes just when she was about to rise from her seat and told him they would leave.
He then gazed at the ladies and asked, “You want me to predict their marriage, right?” Liang Yahe nodded in response and answered, “That’s right, Master. How is it? They’re a perfect match, aren’t they?”
The fortune teller didn’t say a word, but only shot a gaze at Du Xiaoyu, which unnerved her even more. She could only hold her breath silently at the moment. Why does he look like that? Don’t tell me the result is bad. But how should I ask him? Soon, Liang Yahe noticed her worried expression, whereupon she hesitated shortly before asking, “Master, how is it?”
“I wouldn’t advise them to tie the knot.”
“Both of their horoscopes don’t match. Their auras are even hostile to each other. If they get married, they’ll end up getting separated anyway,” The fortune teller said with a serious voice, as if there was nothing they could do to remedy the situation. For a while, Liang Yahe and Du Xiaoyu paused emotionlessly without showing any response. “Master, is this true? Both of them are rather close to each other. So, how could this be true? Could there be a mistake?”
