Chapter 27: Can a Fish Tank Cure Illnesses?

How could he have ended up in the women’s restroom?

Li Sicheng was caught off guard by the question.

He wanted to tell the truth, to confess to Gao Zixi that he had rushed over to the teachers’ office building because he was desperate to use the restroom, and had stumbled into the ladies’ room by mistake, unfamiliar with the layout. But in the end, he suppressed the urge.

Even though that was the truth, who would actually believe it? It sounded absurd even to his own ears—how could he possibly convince Gao Zixi?

Not wanting to be mistaken for a pervert, he lied against his conscience: “I heard you calling for help inside the restroom, so I rushed in.”

Gao Zixi frowned slightly, trying to recall. “Did I call for help? Hmm… Maybe I did, just before I fainted. Wait, that’s not right. I remember calling out to someone in the next stall, not out loud…”

“Was there anyone else in the restroom? I didn’t see anyone. When I rushed in, you were the only one here,” Li Sicheng replied with such sincerity that he seemed incapable of lying.

This made Gao Zixi doubt her own memory. “Did I remember wrong?”

“Of course you did! People often have all sorts of hallucinations when they’re unconscious. You must have mistaken a hallucination for reality,” Li Sicheng said solemnly, making things up as he went along.

He quickly changed the subject, not giving Gao Zixi a chance to probe further. “Miss Gao, how are you feeling now? Is your lower abdomen still hurting?”

Her attention successfully diverted, Gao Zixi replied, “So much better now. Just a moment ago, it felt like icy blades were churning inside me—cold and painful. But now, I feel much warmer…”

As she spoke, her gaze involuntarily dropped to her lower abdomen, just in time to see her clothes pulled up and Li Sicheng’s hand massaging over her stomach.

“What… what are you doing?” Gao Zixi was startled. She thought Li Sicheng was taking advantage of her and tried to struggle to her feet.

“What else? I’m giving you a massage, of course,” he replied.

“A massage?” Gao Zixi was stunned.

Li Sicheng nodded. “Exactly. You fainted from menstrual cramps. Just pressing your philtrum can wake you, but it won’t relieve the severe abdominal pain. So I used massage techniques to ease it for you. Otherwise, what do you think stopped the pain?”

After hearing his explanation, Gao Zixi calmed down and said, a little embarrassed, “Oh, so that’s how it is… Sorry, I misunderstood you.”

Li Sicheng asked curiously, “Miss Gao, what did you think I was doing?”

“I thought you were…” Her face flushed, and she couldn’t finish the sentence. She quickly changed the subject. “Never mind, let’s not talk about that. Li Sicheng, I didn’t expect you to know massage techniques.”

He smiled faintly. “I have all sorts of skills.”

She laughed too. “You certainly do, you even know linear algebra!”

After the laughter, she grew earnest again. “Li Sicheng, I must thank you. If not for you, I don’t know how long I would’ve been lying unconscious in the restroom before anyone found me.”

“No need to thank me,” Li Sicheng waved it off. “I don’t have many hobbies, but I do love helping people.”

“Pfft.”

Gao Zixi, who had just gotten serious, was amused by this. “That’s a good hobby.”

She thought he was joking, unaware that for Li Sicheng, doing good deeds and accumulating merit was genuinely essential for the restoration and growth of his destiny.

Two minutes later, Li Sicheng helped her to her feet.

Just then, he suddenly asked, “Miss Gao, did you recently bring a new potted plant into your home? And is that plant placed directly facing the door to your bedroom?”

“You… how do you know I brought a new plant home?” Gao Zixi’s eyes widened in astonishment.

Half a month ago, she had bought a pot of narcissus for her living room, hoping to add a touch of green. She’d never mentioned this to anyone—not to her students, nor even to colleagues she was close with. And yet, Li Sicheng, who had only transferred to Nanshan Secondary School today and had just met her, knew the details of her home as if he’d seen it himself…

It was beyond explanation. How could this be?

Li Sicheng guessed what was on her mind. “Miss Gao, don’t misunderstand. I’ve never been to your home. In fact, I don’t even know where you live.”

His words didn’t dispel her doubts; in fact, they only deepened them.

“Then how do you know so much about my home, and with such detail?”

“I deduced it from your symptoms,” Li Sicheng replied.

“You must be joking.” Gao Zixi was clearly skeptical. “I know you can infer the cause from symptoms, but I’ve never heard of anyone deducing someone’s home situation from their illness. Li Sicheng, what’s going on? You have to tell me the truth.”

“I am telling the truth!” Li Sicheng spread his hands and gave a helpless smile. “I really did deduce from your symptoms that you brought home a new potted plant. And that’s exactly why you suddenly started having menstrual cramps. Before you brought in that plant, you never had this issue, right?”

Gao Zixi nodded instinctively.

She really had never suffered from menstrual cramps before. But to think it all started with a plant seemed just too bizarre.

“Miss Gao, I know you’re skeptical. But if you want to get rid of the pain, you should move that plant immediately so it’s not facing your bedroom door. Also, you need to put a fish tank in your bedroom with three little goldfish. Place the tank near the window, facing the foot of your bed.”

“What does a fish tank have to do with this?” Gao Zixi was growing more and more confused.

“You lack water in your destiny’s five elements. With a plant facing your bedroom door, it absorbs what little kidney water you have every day. As your kidney water depletes, both your liver and kidneys suffer, leading to the cramps. The fish tank and goldfish are to nourish your kidney water and free you from the pain.”

Gao Zixi’s mouth fell open. “Are you serious? Putting a fish tank and keeping goldfish can cure an illness?”

“I’ve said all I can. Believe me or not, it’s up to you. I’ll be going now.”

Not bothering to explain further, Li Sicheng turned and walked away.