Rolling Beauty

Shi Xiaofeng was sleeping on a mat on the floor with his back facing up, his limbs spread out in the shape of a "big" character, snoring loudly like a dead pig. Around him were piles of barrels of instant noodles, biscuits, and bottled water, which occupied almost half of the rental house. He was sleeping soundly, his hair messy like straw, and his chin covered in thick stubble, as if he hadn't shaved for many days. He had once been somewhat handsome, but now he looked like a prisoner. Suddenly, his limbs trembled as though he were having a seizure, and finally, he woke up. He slowly opened his eyes, the sunlight blinding him, and he felt a severe headache. He couldn't remember if he had slept for 30 or 40 hours. Shi Xiaofeng wasn't a decadent person, and he hated pretending to be cool. However, after being dumped by his first girlfriend and losing his first job, he decided to embrace a "cool" persona. Shi Xiaofeng, 23 years old, from J City, graduated from ** University in W City. He stood between 178 cm and 180 cm tall and had been fond of martial arts and fitness since childhood. But after being cheated out of tuition fees by several qigong and martial arts classes as a teenager, his interest shifted to free fighting. By the time he was 18, during the second semester of his sophomore year, he defeated many professional players and won the championship of the first youth free-fighting competition in W City. He was never a top student, preferring idle books to textbooks, and often failed exams. Yet, he accidentally earned a genuine MBA. He admitted that his skills in picking up girls were terrible, leaving him single for long periods, with a peculiar habit of collecting Japanese love action movies. He was naïve, had a strong sense of justice, loved to fight for fairness, and often meddled in other people's affairs. He was the embodiment of a hot-blooded, 2B youth. The 2B youth got up from the mat, feeling sore all over. Looking at his disheveled face in the mirror, he suddenly felt like laughing. But instead of laughing, he muttered and cursed. He cursed an unknown old man. As he cursed, a wrinkled face with eyes that were always rolling upward appeared in his mind. He cursed the old man because he blamed him for his miserable state. The old man had once said he had "a life of adventures and an extraordinary destiny." He had no girlfriend, but the old man had declared he was "destined for romantic relationships, with women on both sides." The mention of "fated by peach blossoms" brought Shi Xiaofeng's memory back to twenty years ago. Shi Xiaofeng's mother had taken him back to her hometown, J City (then called J County), to visit relatives. There, she heard her sisters talking about a blind fortune teller known as "Half Immortal," said to be incredibly accurate, who resided in a small temple thirty miles outside the county town. Her sisters, uneducated but intrigued, managed to convince Shi Xiaofeng's university-educated mother to visit the fortune teller out of sheer curiosity. When they arrived at the small temple, despite her sisters' glowing descriptions of the "Half Immortal," Shi Xiaofeng found the man's wrinkled face and rolling eyes terrifying. He was ready to cry if he had to look at him any longer. After a few casual remarks, the mother's nonchalant expression changed, becoming serious. She nodded repeatedly at the fortune teller's words. Eventually, she grabbed her impatient son and said, "Master, please tell my son's fortune as well." The fortune teller listened to the mother recount her son's birth date, felt his bones, muttered to himself for a long time, and suddenly smiled. "Strange, strange! This boy has the rare 'nine-square peach blossom fate'! He is destined to enjoy the blessings of life!" The mother was confused and asked for clarification. The fortune teller explained that her son's fate was extremely rare, known as "nine-square peach blossom fate" or "fate of peach blossoms." He would attract many women throughout his life, not because he pursued them, but because they would pursue him. While he would enjoy the blessing of many wives, he would also suffer from the entanglements such relationships bring. Furthermore, he would experience adventures beyond what most people encounter in several lifetimes. The mother, recalling her own emotional entanglements and hardships, grew nervous. She asked hesitantly, "Then... Master, is my son's fate good or bad?" The fortune teller looked up, rolled his eyes toward the sky, and after a pause, replied, "How do I put this? If he chooses to live as an ordinary person, his life will be filled with ups and downs, thrilling and unpredictable. But if he refuses to be ordinary… Let me say this: if I could be reborn, I would practice diligently for a lifetime just to have his destiny!" Surprised and pleased, the mother wanted to ask more questions, but the fortune teller waved her off. "Enough! Don't pry into the secrets of the heavens. I leave this child with two lines of advice: 'I only envy the mandarin ducks, not the immortals. His beauty is like a flower in the clouds.'" Though puzzled, the mother dared not question further. The fortune teller concluded with a cryptic statement: "This child and I are destined to meet again." For the next ten years, his mother remembered the fortune teller's words. Worried that her son would face trouble too soon, she disciplined him strictly. Poor Shi Xiaofeng grew up without romantic experiences, let alone entanglements. Despite this, Shi Xiaofeng excelled in studies and fighting, rarely losing to others. At 18, he topped the liberal arts section in J County’s college entrance exams and was admitted to a prestigious university in W City. The cost of attending college was a burden on his family, so shortly after receiving his admission letter, Shi Xiaofeng left for W City, seeking his cousin's help in finding a job to cover tuition and living expenses. One morning, his cousin woke him up, saying, "Xiaofeng, hurry up! I found you a great job. It’s easy and pays well!" When Shi Xiaofeng asked about the job, his cousin grinned. "No questions! Just follow me, and you'll see." After a subway ride and several bus stops, they arrived at a grand office building. His cousin gestured at the building and said, "See those floors? Your job is to clean them and deliver water to the offices. Easy, right?" Shi Xiaofeng gasped. "What?! This is what you call easy? Are you even my cousin?" Laughing, his cousin replied, "Come on, you're strong and energetic. It's not a big deal. Plus, you'll earn 400 yuan a month. Interested?" Shi Xiaofeng, who had never seen so much money in his life, hesitated before gritting his teeth. "Alright, deal!" Smiling, his cousin added, "Also, you might enjoy the job more than you think. Look—" Shi Xiaofeng glanced up and saw a group of elegantly dressed women walking into the building. Dumbfounded, he asked, "Are they… working here too?" His cousin smirked. "You’re lucky, kid! This building houses a renowned nude art photography company. Those women? They’re all models." Though confused, Shi Xiaofeng was intrigued. What followed was a whirlwind of hard work, sore muscles, and an unexpected encounter that would mark the start of his extraordinary adventures.