Chapter Six: The Unfortunate Prophecy (Part One)

Qin Xiaoya opened her eyes to find the morning light flooding the room. She stared blankly for a moment, then suddenly sprang from bed in a panic, rushing out of the bedroom without even stopping to put on her shoes—nearly colliding with her son in the hallway. She had intended to stay awake all night, eyes wide open until dawn, so how had she drifted off so unknowingly?

But when she saw her son, safe and sound, placing the freshly bought breakfast—soy milk and fried dough sticks—on the dining table, her heart eased, though she still could not fathom how, after drinking a large cup of strong tea the night before, she had fallen asleep without realizing it.

"Mom, are you alright?" Shi Jun poured soy milk into two cups as he asked.

"I'm fine, I'm fine! I thought I'd overslept..."

"It's still early, so I figured I'd let you sleep a bit longer," Shi Jun replied, sitting down and tearing off a piece of fried dough stick to chew.

Qin Xiaoya wandered to her son's bedroom door and peeked in. Suddenly, she turned around, her expression tense. "When did you open the window?"

Shi Jun was momentarily taken aback, then answered nonchalantly, "When I got up this morning. It rained last night, you know..."

Qin Xiaoya quietly touched the small jade talisman hanging around her neck, barely hearing anything else that was said. Her heart was heavy with secrets she could never confide in her son, just as she did not know he was hiding things from her as well. Still, she was relieved that she had weathered this second "calamity" unharmed.

Mother and son, each harboring their own worries, concealed them from one another, afraid that the other would become concerned.

* * *

Twenty years earlier, in the winter, during the temple fair at Longtan Lake in Beijing, Qin Xiaoya met Shi Jun’s father—Shi Li.

That year, Qin Xiaoya had just graduated from university and started her career. She was in her early twenties: young, beautiful, lively, living in a time free from worries. She had planned to visit the fair with a girlfriend, but the bustling crowd separated them. Alone and searching for her companion, she encountered the man who would steal her heart at first sight.

Beijing winters are bitterly cold, so everyone at the fair was wrapped in thick layers. Yet Shi Li stood beneath a tree, dressed simply in a sharp deep-gray suit that was not yet in vogue, his hands in his pockets, watching the passing crowd with a faint, mocking smile, as though he had never seen such bustle before.

As if sensing her gaze, he looked directly at Qin Xiaoya. Their eyes met, and Shi Li gave her a slight nod.

Qin Xiaoya’s face flushed suddenly; she unconsciously dropped the small pinwheel she was holding. Embarrassed, her neck burned with heat. Without picking up the fallen toy, she turned and hurried away.

Had things ended there, Qin Xiaoya’s life would have been entirely different. She would have lived like most women her age: working, falling in love with an ordinary man, marrying, and leading a peaceful life. Even if faced with life’s hardships, they would have been the usual kind.

That little moment of embarrassment would have faded quickly, leaving no trace—never setting off the chain of events that would rewrite her destiny.

* * *

At the park gate, Qin Xiaoya waited for a long time but did not find her friend, so she decided to leave alone. At that moment, Shi Li appeared before her again.

This time, it seemed he had come for her, for he held the little pinwheel she had dropped.

Seeing him approach with a smile, Qin Xiaoya stood rooted to the spot, as if she had been waiting for this stranger for centuries.

And so they met—and fell in love.

Shi Li seemed to have appeared out of thin air. He lived alone in a small, supposedly ancestral courtyard house in Beijing, with no neighbors or friends. He told Qin Xiaoya he dealt in antiques—in fact, he ran a small antique shop called "Jinshi Studio," though most of the time he left the business to his staff and amused himself at home with calligraphy and painting.

Qin Xiaoya had never met anyone like Shi Li. Everything about him was unfamiliar and intriguing, but what did it matter? When a girl is in love, she cares nothing for her beloved's background, fortune, or knowledge—only for the affection she sees in his eyes.

* * *

Yet their romance met fierce opposition from the Qin family’s matriarch—a devout old woman who could not read a word. On the first and only day that Qin Xiaoya introduced Shi Li to her family, the old woman, without even taking a proper look at Shi Li, frowned instinctively.

In truth, Shi Li surpassed his peers in appearance, demeanor, and knowledge. But the old lady, with the utmost severity, even ruthlessness, forbade their union. She declared, "If you keep seeing this boy, you can leave my house forever!"

Respected and feared as the family matriarch, her words carried the weight of iron. Not even Qin Xiaoya’s parents dared object.

Seeing this, Shi Li courteously rose, saluted the family, and took his leave with composure. Qin Xiaoya said nothing but took his arm and walked out with him.

To this day, Qin Xiaoya has never regretted her choice. In fact, every day with Shi Li felt like paradise. She had known the happiest moments a woman could wish for. Even if fate later took that happiness away, she would never settle for anything less, for the joy she had known was worth a lifetime.

The young couple concluded their affairs in Beijing and moved to a small town in the southern waterlands, settling by the scenic Taihu Lake. Qin Xiaoya worked at the city hospital, while Shi Li stayed home, entertaining himself with painting and calligraphy.

Soon after, Qin Xiaoya became pregnant.

Shi Li's astonishment and subsequent joy at the prospect of fatherhood was beyond what Qin Xiaoya had expected. The usually refined and composed Shi Li became as giddy as a child.

Just when everything seemed perfect, disaster struck.

* * *

That day, the couple went happily to a temple fair—though Shi Li had never liked such events, he agreed because his wife wanted to go.

For reasons she could not explain, though she was not usually drawn to crowds, Qin Xiaoya was suddenly compelled to have her fortune told when she saw the famous "Old Immortal" surrounded by a crowd at the temple gate.

"If you want to, then go ahead," Shi Li said gently, smiling as he took his wife's arm.

The "Old Immortal" was an unimpressive man in his sixties with a wispy goatee, who affected a mysterious air. After a moment of feigned meditation, he opened his eyes dramatically and proclaimed, "Madam, congratulations! A noble son is coming your way... No, wait... Ah! You are destined for two great calamities in your life!"

Qin Xiaoya, hoping for auspicious words, was displeased and tugged her husband's sleeve to leave. But Shi Li, unbothered, smiled and said, "Let’s hear what he has to say. They say he's quite accurate."

The old fortune-teller grew more animated, gesticulating and boasting, before growing solemn. He declared that Qin Xiaoya would face two great disasters: first, within six months, she and her husband would be separated forever—this was the first calamity; second, after giving birth to her son, she and the child would be fated to part—this was the second.

"Separated forever?" Qin Xiaoya’s eyes widened in indignation at such a curse. Shi Li, however, simply patted her back to calm her and asked, "What do you mean by 'forever separated'?"

"Separated by life and death, fated never to meet again!" the old fortune-teller intoned.

The surrounding crowd, curious, pressed in closer, eager to see the drama unfold.

"So be it," Shi Li said without anger, murmuring to himself before asking, "Is there any way to avert the child’s calamity?"

The old fortune-teller glanced at Shi Li, then at the displeased Qin Xiaoya, a touch of pity in his eyes. "There is no true solution. But if you wish to delay it for a time... well, since you ask, I shall risk censure and tell you: each year on the child’s birthday, you must hide away, avoiding all contact with outsiders and strangers. If the child lives safely to eighteen, mother and son may continue their bond; but if anything happens before then..." The old man shook his head.

The onlookers, finding the fortune-teller’s words mysterious and Shi Li’s serious demeanor a perfect foil, burst into laughter.

Furious at the old man’s nonsense, Qin Xiaoya dragged Shi Li away, vowing never to believe a word of it.