Who says I can't become a Grand Master?

Chapter 28 Brother, you smell like her perfume.

The waitress stood behind the counter, reflexively tidying up the glasses while staring at the handsome men and beautiful women below the window.

Seeing the two's awkward interaction, she couldn't help but purse her lips and reveal a maternal smile.

It feels like watching an idol drama that's way too sweet.

Although the waitress had never been in a relationship, she was already a big "romantic expert".

Based on her experience running the shop, the more passionate and enthusiastic a couple is, the harder it is for them to maintain the relationship in the long run.

For example, when she first joined the company, she saw many college couples who were deeply in love in the store.

She enjoyed it very much at the time, but when she came back the next time, she found that her partner had changed.

The feeling of failing to ship a couple left the waitress feeling utterly heartbroken.

After experiencing more things, she developed her own set of experiences.

She now only watches slow-paced, youthful romance dramas.

Because this kind of feeling not only has a sweet aftertaste, but also a rich and lingering aftertaste, it will never end in abandonment after starting something.

Gu Xintong and Zhang Qingzhe were completely unaware that they had become the center of attention, still immersed in their conversation.

"So, you and your sister have a good relationship?"

Gu Xintong raised a slender white finger and gently poked her soft cheek.

"Of course," Zhang Qingzhe replied matter-of-factly. "She's my sister."

"But she's a witch." Gu Xintong blinked. "I've heard that many witches... don't actually have very harmonious relationships with their families, you know?"

"Really? I don't know about other witches, but she's my sister, so I definitely have to get along with her."

"Is your sister good to you?" Gu Xintong pressed, her tone tinged with curiosity. "A witch... isn't very good at handling interpersonal relationships, is she?"

"She's so good to me," Zhang Qingzhe's lips unconsciously curved into a smile. "She'll pick me up on rainy days and even said she'd take care of me for the rest of my life."

Gu Xintong pursed her lips and muttered softly, "This doesn't sound like a responsibility that a younger sister should bear."

Zhang Qingzhe didn't take it to heart, saying, "As long as she's good to me, that's enough."

"Okay, okay," Gu Xintong drawled, a hint of envy in her eyes, "I really envy you, being able to get along so well with the [witch]."

"Um?"

Zhang Qingzhe finally showed some interest, looked up at Gu Xintong, and asked, "What do you mean? You have a 'witch' in your family too?"

Gu Xintong, who is usually lively and cheerful, suddenly became inexplicably downcast when this topic was brought up:

"Um... I don't want to talk about it."

"Oh, okay then." Zhang Qingzhe nodded, not pressing for details. "Looks like everyone has secrets."

"Mmm-hmm!" Gu Xintong nodded repeatedly, her previously dim eyes brightening again.

She suddenly realized that the boy in front of her, who seemed a bit aloof... wasn't actually that bad.

He's quite considerate and knows how to take care of other people's feelings.

"So——"

Gu Xintong drawled out the last syllable, leaning closer again, "So you still can't tell me the secret about instantly filling five cards?"

"Didn't you just guess? It's a special family secret technique. Of course, it can't be passed on to outsiders, right?" Zhang Qingzhe said with a smile, turning the tables on him.

"All right."

Gu Xintong sighed in disappointment, then suddenly remembered something, "Oh, there's one more thing! I heard you're quite skilled at card making?"

If someone else had asked him, Zhang Qingzhe would probably have denied it outright.

But today he and Gu Xintong got along quite well, and when he learned that she also had relatives who were "witches," he inexplicably felt that the distance between them had narrowed.

So Zhang Qingzhe nodded, and said with a hint of frank confidence:

"I do have some insights into card design."

"Could you teach me?"

Gu Xintong immediately looked up, her beautiful eyes sparkling, "It can be paid!"

"Paid?" Zhang Qingzhe raised an eyebrow and looked at Gu Xintong's face.

Gu Xintong frowned slightly, then added, "I mean... financial compensation."

"Yes," Zhang Qingzhe nodded with a smile, "that's exactly what I think."

Gu Xintong glared at him.

Suddenly I realized that this quiet guy wasn't as honest as he seemed; he actually knew how to tease girls.

The two looked at each other for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter.

The waitress felt her heart melt at the sight, and her eyes crinkled with a silent smile.

***

When Zhang Qingzhe returned home, his younger sister was indeed opening blind boxes again.

But judging from her scrunched-up little face, she had obviously wasted her allowance again today.

"Ugh—I hate it!"

The younger sister ran her fingers through her long, smooth hair and tossed the empty box aside.

"Why can't I draw the last [World Card]?"

"I'm telling you," Zhang Qingzhe sighed, "can someone with your 'unlucky' constitution' please stop this money-burning behavior?"

"No!"

The younger sister clenched her little fist, her eyes unusually determined. "I must collect the entire tarot deck! Only then will I be qualified to apply for the [Prophecy School]!"

Zhang Qingzhe shrugged:

"You keep failing to draw the [World Card]... Could this also be a kind of 'prophecy'? Is it telling you that you're simply not suited for the [Prophecy School]?"

"ah?!"

The younger sister seemed to have been struck by lightning, instantly petrified on the sofa.

Zhang Qingzhe shook his head helplessly and pulled the quill pen out of his pocket.

"Do you recognize this? What are the chances of getting it from a blind box?"

The younger sister was still deeply confused when she finally managed to open her dazed eyes.

But she only glanced at it, and her eyes instantly widened to their maximum size.

In those jet-black pupils, the peacock feathers, shimmering with iridescent colors, were clearly reflected.

"My God! Bro, where did you get this?!"

She snatched the pen, examined it closely, and exclaimed, "This is a rare purple prize with an odds of less than one in a million!"

"Yeah?"

Zhang Qingzhe smiled. "Looks like I'm having good luck today. Look at other people's luck, then look at yours. I suggest you quit gambling as soon as possible!"

"What the hell!"

The younger sister puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction, her attention completely drawn to the quill pen. "Where did this come from?"

"The reward I won for helping the professor place a bet."

"Really? Do university professors really bet this high?"

The younger sister examined the pen in surprise, then suddenly realized something. "Wait, brother! What were you doing during the day? Helping your professor with a bet? Your professor is the 'Great Witch,' isn't she?"

"That's right."

"Brother! What happened to you?"

My younger sister suddenly stood on the sofa, tiptoeing like a ballerina, her slender white legs stretched long and straight.

She placed her hands on her brother's shoulders, looking down into his eyes:

"Didn't I warn you? Stay away from those 'Great Witches'! None of them are good people!"

"It's not that serious..." Zhang Qingzhe tried to argue.

"You actually didn't listen to my advice!" The younger sister's voice was tinged with grievance.

But before she could react, her small nose twitched, as if she had discovered something more serious:

"Brother! Why do you smell like perfume?!"

Zhang Qingzhe was taken aback.

He himself didn't even notice, but his sister was able to smell it.

Is my sister a police dog that has become a spirit?

The younger sister grabbed her brother's shirt, almost sticking her head inside.

After sniffing hard a few times, his eyes suddenly sharpened. "Is it from that [Great Witch]?"

"Oh, no," Zhang Qingzhe quickly explained, "She's just an ordinary female classmate."

"Didn't you just break up with your girlfriend?"

"Not that one."

"You've changed girlfriends again?!"

The younger sister's voice suddenly rose, "Brother, when did you become a scumbag?"

"Hey! How can you talk about your brother like that?"

Zhang Qingzhe was somewhat amused and exasperated. "Can't we just have a pure friendship between a man and a woman?"

The younger sister was speechless for a moment.

She just objected to her brother's contact with the "witch," so if she objects to him contacting ordinary girls as well... wouldn't that be forcing him to be gay?

But the scent of other girls on her brother still made her feel inexplicably uncomfortable.

-----------------

That night, Zhang Qingzhe did two main things:

First, he spent a lot of time reassuring his sister, repeatedly assuring her that he would be wary of the "Great Witch" and would never be tricked into becoming her apprentice.

Secondly, using the newly acquired quill pen, he successfully produced more [Ace Batteries], thus increasing the number of [Magic Circuits] in his body to forty.

Thinking about it carefully, this efficiency is indeed exaggerated.

To achieve the same effect using Wang Dong's money-burning methods, it would cost at least four million.

Thanks to the World brand, he only spent three or four thousand yuan in total.

However, there was one thing that bothered Zhang Qingzhe—

He didn't quite understand why his sister couldn't draw the [World Card].

Tarot cards are just ordinary cards with no real value; they were originally "junk cards" used to fill the card pool.

My sister drew so many cards, she should have gotten it long ago.

He simply couldn't understand what secret this was all about.