Chapter 120: An Unintentional Favor

He blinked, taking a second look.

The little girl before him was, without a doubt, adorable—as if carved from the finest, most delicate jade.

Her expression, however, was far too severe for such a cherubic face. The solemn set of her features created a jarring, almost comical, contrast—the very definition of ‘gap moe’.

But for some reason, being stared at by her like this…

The familiar knot of guilt and tension that only ever tightened in the presence of Master Fu Xuan was coiling in her stomach right now, just as intensely.

“You… you are?” Qingque asked, her voice tentative and a little weak.

“Divination Commission, Apprentice Diviner, Xuan Fu.”

Without a flicker of emotion on his borrowed face, Chen invented a name—a simple reversal of his master’s—and a position, keeping his voice deliberately level and chilly.

“By order of Master Fu Xuan, I am conducting an inspection of the various districts within the Exalting Sanctum. Senior Qingque, your duty today was to organize the daily records. Why are you here?”

As he spoke, he began to walk slowly toward the card table. The small pink dress swayed gently with each measured step, but the business-like air of deep seriousness radiating from him was overwhelming.

The effect was immediate. Several nearby gamblers, who had been leaning in to enjoy the show, suddenly found reasons to shrink back into their seats, their necks retracting like startled turtles.

Qingque was struck speechless by the question, a cold sweat already beading on her forehead.

‘Apprentice Diviner?’she thought frantically.’I’ve never heard of one… but the Divination Commission is huge. It’s not impossible for a newcomer to slip under my radar.’

The real problem was, why was this little girl’s aura so terrifying? And that gaze… it was the exact same piercing stare Master Fu Xuan used when she was checking her work!

“I… I’ve already finished organizing the records! I swear!” Qingque sputtered, defending herself in a rush. “I just… I just came out to relax for a little while…”

“Relax?”

Chen reached the table. He extended a small, delicate hand and tapped his index finger lightly on the scattered Celestial Jade tiles.

“Relaxing with this? If Master Fu Xuan were to find out, how do you imagine she would handle it?”

Qingque’s face went several shades paler. She could already picture it: a salary deduction would be the best-case scenario. The worst-case would be forced overtime for a month.

“Little… Little Sister Xuan Fu…” Qingque forced a sycophantic smile, trying to appear friendly. “Look, I’ve only been playing for a moment, and I even won a little… How about I treat you to the best candy in the Exalting Sanctum?”

“There’s no need.” Chen refused, his face a stern mask, though his eyes swept calculatingly across the card table. “Since Senior Qingque is so skilled in this particular art, why don’t you…”

He raised his eyes, his gaze locking directly onto Qingque’s.

“Play a round with me?”

Qingque was stunned silent once again. Play cards with her? This tiny girl knew how to play Celestial Jade?

“What? You don’t dare?” Chen raised a single eyebrow, his demeanor a perfect imitation of Fu Xuan’s challenging posture.

“I dare! Of course, I dare!”

Provoked, the deeply buried competitive spirit within Qingque’s lazy soul roared to life. But a second thought gave her pause. Playing against such a little girl… there was no honor in winning. And if she really was sent by Master Fu Xuan… should she go easy on her?

The game was quickly reset. The other players wisely retreated to the sidelines to watch the spectacle unfold, leaving only two others to make up the required numbers.

Chen sat opposite Qingque. His small hands fumbled with the tiles, his shuffling clumsy and his arrangements clearly the work of a novice.

Watching this, Qingque’s confidence swelled. She really was just a beginner.

However, after a few rounds, a creeping sense of wrongness began to settle over Qingque. The little girl’s skills were indeed unpolished, and some of her plays were utterly chaotic.

But whenever she would frown in concentration, her eyes boring into the tiles before calling out “Pong!” or “Chow!” in that dead-serious voice, Qingque felt an inexplicable clench in her chest.

It was especially bad on the several occasions she held key tiles, on the verge of forming a powerful, high-scoring hand. She would see the little girl across from her purse her lips, her expression a mixture of intense effort and subtle frustration…

And then, as if possessed, Qingque would discard a tile. A split second later, she would realize with dawning horror that it was the exact piece the girl needed.

Once was a coincidence. Twice was bad luck. But after the third time, sweat began to pour down Qingque’s forehead again.

She couldn’t help but steal another glance at Xuan Fu. The little girl’s face remained a stiff, unreadable mask, her eyes as clear as water, showing no hint of cunning or calculation.

But the feeling was obvious… it was exactly like being evaluated by Master Fu Xuan. She subconsciously wanted to cooperate, to help her, to let her win… more easily?

‘This is insane!’Qingque wailed internally.’Why am I feeding tiles to a complete stranger? And why does it feel so… natural?’

Was it because she was cute? No, that couldn’t be it. It was that damned aura—a perfect, terrifying replica of Master Fu Xuan’s!

The game continued in this bizarre, tense atmosphere. Qingque played as if her hands and feet were bound, her every move fraught with hesitation. Chen, relying on a combination of his opponent’s “friendly sponsorships” and a sprinkle of genuine luck, slowly but surely built a “ready” hand.

The final, crucial round.

Qingque drew a new tile. Her fingers caressed its surface as a war raged in her heart. This tile… it was useful. If she kept it, she could complete a decent pattern herself.

But… she looked up.

Across the table, the little girl was tilting her head, her gaze fixed on Qingque with an air of pure, unblinking expectation. That look… it struck a deeply buried chord. It was the same look Master Fu Xuan got on the vanishingly rare occasions she was genuinely satisfied with Qingque’s work.

That fleeting, precious look of approval…

‘Ah, forget it.’

Qingque gritted her teeth and, with a flick of her wrist, discarded the tile.

“Five of Dots.”

Chen’s eyes lit up. His small hands shot out to claim the tile, and with a swift motion, he pushed down his entire set.

“Hu! Pinfu, Concealed Hand, self-draw—ah, no, not self-drawn. You discarded it.”

A flicker of irrepressible joy entered his voice before he quickly clamped down on it, forcing his face back into its serious mold.

“Thank you for the game, Senior Qingque.”

Qingque stared at the winning hand laid out before her, then at the tiles in her own hand that could have been a major victory. She opened her mouth, but all that came out was a long, complex sigh.

She had lost. Utterly and inexplicably. And yet, somehow… it felt like the only possible outcome.

“Little Sister Xuan Fu’s skills… are quite gifted.” Qingque managed a few dry laughs as she pulled out a handful of coins and passed them over, her heart bleeding with every clink.

Not only had she lost all her winnings for the day, but she was now paying out of her own pocket.

“Thank you for your generosity, Senior.”

Chen accepted the money, his small face still a perfect, expressionless mask. But for a split second, a glint of pure cunning flashed in his eyes. He stood up and made a show of smoothing the wrinkles from his pink skirt.

His gaze swept over Qingque’s dejected face. Then, he suddenly reached out a small hand and patted her lightly on the shoulder.

“Senior,” he began, his voice still a cold, level monotone, though the very end of the sentence was tinged with an irrepressible, almost mischievous lilt. “You have a very bright future.”

The words were like a stone dropped into a perfectly still lake. Qingque froze on the spot, even forgetting to wipe the sweat from her brow.

‘Bright future?’Qingque’s jaw went slack. Her mind, once a swirling mess of strategy and panic, was now a perfect, silent void. In all her years of dedicated slacking at the Divination Commission, the only evaluations she’d ever received were’unlikely to achieve greatness’or’possesses top-tier slacking skills.’This was the first time in her life she had ever heard the phrase’bright future’—and it was coming from a tiny girl with the oppressive aura of a tyrant, delivered with the condescending tone one might use on a junior.

The bizarre contrast made the tension she had just released come surging back with a vengeance. She began to seriously wonder if she was dreaming.

The surrounding card players were equally dumbfounded, exchanging bewildered glances. Even their breathing grew softer, as if afraid to disturb the strange scene. Who in the world was this little diviner? One moment, she was possessed by the spirit of Master Fu Xuan herself; the next, she was spouting such out-of-place praise. She was even harder to read than Qingque’s card game.

Chen, ignoring the collective stupor, withdrew his hand after the pat. He resumed his prim, proper little steps and walked toward the entrance of the card parlor without a single glance back.

His back was as straight and unyielding as a young pine tree, a posture completely at odds with the frilly pink dress he wore. The contrast between solemnity and cuteness was stretched to its absolute, absurd limit.

He left in his wake a thoroughly demoralized Qingque and a room full of baffled gamblers.

“Qingque, just now…” one of the players finally dared to speak. “Weren’t you… going a little too easy on her?”

Qingque opened her mouth, wanting to defend herself, but she had no idea where to even begin. Could she tell them she was so completely suppressed by the aura of a little girl—an aura that was a perfect copy of her boss’s—that she subconsciously started playing social politics, observing etiquette, and even feeding her tiles with a hint of flattery?

Who would ever believe that?

She scratched her hair in frustration, her gaze fixed on the doorway where Xuan Fu had disappeared. Her heart was a whirlwind of confusion and a lingering trace of fear.

Just when had the Divination Commission recruited a little monster like that?

Meanwhile, Chen, having exited the card parlor and ducked into a dark alley, had already deactivated Fu Xuan’s form. He shifted back into his usual appearance as a black-haired young man.

He hefted the pouch of coins he’d just won, the metallic clinking a sweet sound in the quiet alley. A grin finally broke free across his face.

“Done,” he murmured to himself. “Qingque’s icon… should be unlocked now, right?”

With a mere thought, his consciousness sank into his system space.

As expected. In the gallery of unlocked characters, a brand-new icon was pulsing with a soft, steady light.

[Elysian’s Note:

Having a good time with the story?

Every single bit helps immensely:

Thanks a ton for making this journey possible!]