chapter 4 As if a world away

Nineveil Street in Jin Cheng City, was a street dedicated to antique calligraphy and paintings. Nowadays, the antique calligraphy and painting industry is mostly filled with fakes. There are even fortune-tellers and talisman sellers, so this street was a mix of all sorts.
Andrew Qi took out three peach wood magic charms and placed them on an old white T-shirt, which had a large black character "Charm" on it, seemingly flamboyant.
Unlike those who sold fakes and loudly hawked their wares, Andrew Qi did not shout or solicit customers, instead, he sat still like Grand Duke Jiang fishing, waiting for those willing to take the bait.
However, as the sun was nearly setting, not a single "fish" had took the bait, making Andrew Qi realize that even good quality wine needs advertising. Despite his charms being genuine, no one recognized their value, and he could only lament that the world was in decline, with good things buried in obscurity.
Just as he was about to abandon the dignity of a master of talismans and shamelessly drum up business, his phone rang.
The caller ID showed, Belle Tang.
Hesitating for a moment, Andrew Qi pressed the answer button and heard a familiar, crisp voice in his ear, "How dare you dawdle when answering my call, Andrew Qi! Have you forgotten about coming over to our house for dinner tonight? — Don't be mistaken that I’m concerned about you, its my dad who asked me to check on you, he's cooking right now!"
"I’m stuck in traffic, on my way now!" Andrew Qi had actually forgotten about this and quickly packed up his stall, then hurriedly made his way towards the Tang residence.
Although Andrew Qi no longer had any romantic interest in Belle Tang, he held great respect for her father, Bert Tang. In his ‘other’ set of memories, when the Qi family fell on hard times, it was Bert Tang who had gone all out to help his father, even to the point of being transferred to a dead-end job, ruining his political career.
If a person gives me an inch of respect, and I'll return a yard.
As a cultivator, Andrew Qi was clear about gratitude and grudges.
After reaching the stage of perfection in body refining, Andrew Qi walked swiftly, more relaxed than a leisurely stroll, thereby avoiding the traffic jam at its peak, and arrived at the Tang residence in half an hour.
Longquan Manor, located at the foot of the southern Longquan Mountain in Jin Cheng City, is nestled against the mountain and embraces the water, and is considered a high-end residential area of Jin Cheng City, with many officials and wealthy people settling there.
Belle Tang's house was here, in a small townhouse. Andrew Qi, carrying two bottles of Fengjiang special liquor and a bouquet of mixed carnations and lilies, rang the doorbell.
The door opened, and a fragrant breeze wafted in. Two youthful girls appeared in front of Andrew Qi. One of them, with a permed bob, who wore a fashionable white chiffon dress and red wedge sandals. A red ribbon tied lightly around her waist highlighted her slender waist and long legs. Her appearance was exquisite, a typical well-dressed beauty, even her toenails meticulously groomed like a porcelain doll, but her phoenix-like eyes always seemed a bit sharp.
This was Belle Tang, the girl who once made Andrew Qi's heart flutter, but the once fresh and charming girl next door had now transformed into a stylish young beauty.
Belle Tang and Andrew Qi were childhood sweethearts. Before university, he even thought she was the goddess he secretly admired. After all, Belle Tang was the fine, rich, and beautiful school belle, and their families were close. As for the once young and naive Andrew Qi, how could he not have fell for her?
Now, however, it felt like a lifetime had passed.
Because according to Andrew Qi's ‘other’ set of memories, Belle Tang would never have fallen for him. Even though Andrew Qi was very attentive to her, Belle Tang always looked down on him, and in the end, she fell in love with a young special forces lieutenant and thereafter had no further interactions with her.
The other girl, named Rachel Ni, was Belle Tang's close friend, and Andrew Qi had a deep impression of her because in his "memories," he was often belittled by Rachel Ni. Belle Tang's friend was a true materialist who always thought Andrew Qi was not worthy of pursuing Belle Tang.
"The liquor is for Uncle Han, the flowers are for Aunt Sylvia." Andrew Qi handed over the gifts he had bought on the way.
Belle Tang was slightly surprised, as Andrew Qi used to carefully select gifts for her whenever he visited her house, without exception, but today was different.
"Hmph — Andrew Qi, have you realized that wooing our Belle is futile, with you even saving on a bouquet of roses? But you do have some self-awareness. Our Belle has many suitors, especially Ben Qi—" Rachel Ni's was still herself, never missing an opportunity to insult Andrew Qi.
"Enough, Rachel, Andrew Qi was originally here to visit my parents today, it's normal for him not to bring me a gift." Although Belle Tang said this, she still felt a little disappointed in her heart. Andrew Qi always looked for opportunities to give her various small gifts in the past. Although she didn't care at all then, but not receiving a gift today made her inexplicably uncomfortable.
"Andrew Qi, sit down and have some tea, there are two more dishes, and they'll be ready soon! By the way, your Aunt Sylvia is in a meeting and will be back later—you guys should chat first." Bert Tang's voice came from the kitchen, he has always treated Andrew Qi as if he were his own nephew, and him cooking personally today carried a special significance. Otherwise, given Tang family's financial situation, they could have easily chosen to dine out at a restaurant.
With Sylvia Liang absent, the atmosphere at dinner was not as oppressive.
Unlike Bert Tang, Sylvia Liang had a smoother career pathway and was now the Deputy Mayor of Jin Cheng City in charge of agriculture and tourism. However, Sylvia Liang did not have such a good impression of Andrew Qi. Compared to some of the outstanding young men she had met, Andrew Qi was far from matching up in terms of family background or personal abilities. Therefore, she was quite opposed to the previous joke her father-in-law made about betrothing Belle Tang to Andrew Qi. Now that her father-in-law had passed away, her stance was even more firm.
Belle Tang's dissatisfaction with Andrew Qi was, to a large extent, also influenced by her mother.
The Andrew Qi in his "other memory" did not understand this, hence he was snubbed, but he would not make the same mistake now.
Upon entering the living room, Andrew Qi found a girl sitting on the sofa, her long hair cascading like a waterfall. She wore a white embroidered three-quarter sleeve blouse and a long pleated blue skirt, revealing a pair of impeccable feet wrapped in crystal sandals, giving off an artistic and retro vibe. When she saw Andrew Qi come in, she tucked her feet back under her skirt.
"Are you Andrew Qi? I often hear from Belle and Rachel about you, and today I finally get to meet you. It's a pleasure," Viola Su said, her speech pearl-like, her voice soft and crisp, much pleasant to the ear, and she carried an elegant demeanour like a figure straight out of an ancient painting. In terms of looks, she was not inferior to Belle Tang, but her personality seemed to be more serene.
However, Viola Su seemed a bit troubled today, probably weighed down by some worries.
"What a pleasure it is, Andrew Qi, this guy, is shameless, always harbouring ill intentions towards Belle. We can't let him succeed!" Rachel Ni was really making Andrew Qi look bad.
Andrew Qi wouldn't take it personally, but just as he was settling down, he heard Belle Tang say, "Andrew Qi, your counsellor called me earlier, saying that you've been brazenly skipping classes and not answering calls from school teachers, asking me to talk some sense into you—honestly, don't think that just because you got into college, you can relax! Do you not know how poor the job prospects are for your major?"
"You barely got into Southwest Associated University, and you don't know how to appreciate it! You don't know how to be diligent at all!"
"If it weren't for the sake of my grandfather and my father, I wouldn't bother with you..."
What's the deal here? Did "Freda Qiu" really call Belle Tang?
If that's the case, does Andrew Qi's family, as well as Bert Tang, know about this too?
Andrew Qi didn't want to listen to Belle Tang's reprimands, so he changed the subject and suddenly asked, "Viola Su, would you like to buy a charm?"