Chapter 4

Aozumi's fortune-telling stall was destined from the start to have no customers.

One million yen was already enough for a white-collar worker's salary for nearly half a year. Who would spend so much money to get a fortune told by a roadside stall that looked so unprofessional?

From the complex expressions on the faces of those few people who occasionally glanced at the content written on the white paper in front of Aozumi, it was clear what they were thinking—mostly impolite thoughts, such as considering Aozumi a fool or an idiot.

However, Aozumi didn't care at all because these people had no idea what kind of opportunity they had missed! It was an opportunity that could change their entire lives. For just one million yen, Aozumi was already being very reasonable.

Soon, Aozumi had been sitting on the pedestrian bridge for a full hour. Although people occasionally looked at what was written on the white paper in front of him, no one wanted to get a fortune told.

On the contrary, the young female musician next to Aozumi had more and more money in her guitar case, even though it was mostly coins or small bills. Compared to Aozumi, who had nothing, the young musician was quite fortunate.

Continuous singing for two or three hours was also a very tiring activity. Hina Nakahara felt not only that her throat was about to smoke but also that she was getting hungry.

So she put away her guitar and took out her bento to have lunch.

During this time, she curiously glanced a few times at the boy of about her age who had set up a fortune-telling stall near her an hour ago.

In Hina Nakahara's eyes, that boy was truly a strange person. Not only was he young to be setting up a fortune-telling stall, but the price of one million yen per reading made Hina Nakahara categorize him as an incomprehensible oddball.

Laying a small mat on the ground, Hina Nakahara knelt down and held the bento she had prepared in the morning, ready to eat. But she stopped.

Looking at the strange person next to her, Hina Nakahara thought for a moment and offered the bento, asking, "Do you want to eat?"

"Give it to me?" Aozumi was taken aback, clearly not expecting this unfamiliar girl to suddenly share her limited bento with him.

"Sure, you must be hungry too! But I can't give it all to you, only half," Hina Nakahara said with a smile.

"Thank you." Aozumi nodded with a smile and accepted it without hesitation.

So the girl used her chopsticks to divide the bento in the box, placing half in the lid and handed it to Aozumi.

She also provided a spare pair of chopsticks.

Thus, the two teenagers, who didn't even know each other's names and hadn't introduced themselves, shared a bento that wasn't even enough for one person.

"Are you from Seikawa High School?" Hina Nakahara asked.

"Yes! How did you know?" Aozumi asked curiously.

"The junior high school I attend is not far from Seikawa High School, so I recognize the school uniform," Hina Nakahara replied with a slightly proud expression typical of a girl.

"Is that so! So you're a junior high student?" Aozumi asked.

"Yes, I'll be in third year this new semester," Hina Nakahara said, but her eyes dimmed, as if she was thinking of something sad.

"I'm one year older than you, I'm in first year now. You didn't call me senpai by mistake," Aozumi said with a smile.

"Senpai, can you really tell fortunes?" Hina Nakahara suddenly asked.

"Of course," Aozumi nodded.

"Unfortunately, I don't have one million yen," Hina Nakahara said with a smile.

"Do you want a fortune told?" Aozumi asked.

"Yes," Hina Nakahara nodded.

"What do you want to know?" Aozumi pressed.

"I want to know if I can become a real singer," Hina Nakahara said.

"You want to be a singer?" Aozumi continued.

"That's my dream," Hina Nakahara nodded forcefully.

"If it's a dream, then work hard to achieve it," Aozumi said.

"But I don't have the chance anymore!" Hina Nakahara replied.

"What happened?" Aozumi asked.

"My father is in the hospital, and my mother is working hard to pay for his treatment. I also need to help my mother, so I'm planning to drop out and work! Today is my last day of singing, and I'll have to give up music," Hina Nakahara said with a forced smile, but her smile was full of bitterness.

Aozumi nodded and said nothing, but lowered his head and quietly ate the bento.

The atmosphere between the two became somewhat silent until Aozumi finished eating the bento.

"The bento was delicious, thank you," Aozumi returned the empty bento box lid to Hina Nakahara.

"You're welcome," Hina Nakahara replied with a sweet smile.

"Then, as a thank you for your meal, let me give you a free reading," Aozumi said, looking at the girl.

"Sure, that's fine!" Hina Nakahara nodded naturally.

For her, the so-called fortune-telling was more of a comfort. She didn't think Aozumi's reading could change anything.

But Aozumi didn't care how Hina Nakahara viewed it. He just followed his heart and did what he wanted to do.

With a mental command, Aozumi's spirit, after four hundred years, began to operate again.

Although it was a bit awkward at first, Aozumi quickly regained his sense after a few breaths.

Through the mysterious rules of the universe, Aozumi glimpsed the fate of the girl in front of him.

Although it wasn't clear, it was enough for him to grasp a lot of information and change a person's fate.

"When you go home later, you'll pass by a small park, right?" Aozumi said with certainty.

"How did you know, senpai?" Hina Nakahara said in surprise.

"Not only do I know you'll pass by that park, but I also know you've never been inside it," Aozumi said with a smile.

"That's right, that park is full of playing children, so I've never been inside, only passed by," Hina Nakahara was even more surprised.

"So when you pass by the park later, remember to go inside and sing a song," Aozumi instructed.

With these words, the fate of the young musician subtly changed.

If there were fortune-tellers with some but not deep knowledge, who could predict a person's fate through the I Ching, Eight Trigrams, or physiognomy, they would be very surprised to see Hina Nakahara at this moment. After Aozumi's words, the girl's fate, which was originally bumpy, became incomparably noble. It was truly a matter of timing and destiny.

Unfortunately, unless they were true sages, ordinary people would never notice these changes and would never know that everything was related to Aozumi.