To avoid running into her, the next day I walked over ten kilometers and set up my stall somewhere else.

I didn’t expect Mara to show up again with a whole crowd in tow.

This time, several influencers had come too, cameras rolling as they livestreamed, ready to capture the moment she ate the fortune cookie and got pregnant on the spot.

Mara dropped to her knees in front of me, clutching her late husband’s memorial portrait.

"Rainie, if this still isn’t enough, I can take out a loan! Whatever you want, just give me a fortune cookie. I’ll do anything for you, I swear!"

Someone in the crowd shouted that I was just trying to go viral, chasing attention and traffic.

I shot back immediately, "Even if I don’t make a single cent, I still won’t sell to her. If you feel so sorry for her, go have a kid with her yourself. And let me give you some advice: don’t get tangled up in someone else’s karma, or you’ll end up in serious trouble."

At this point, people weren’t even focused on Mara buying a fortune cookie anymore. They were fixated on one thing—why I refused to sell to her.

Someone speculated that I had been arrested before, and that I was deliberately refusing to sell to a police officer’s widow.

They looked into my record. It came up completely clean. No criminal history at all.

Still unwilling to accept it, people started making things up.

They said I was a fraud and that the fortune cookie was fake, that all the pregnancies were staged, and that I was too scared of being arrested to sell to Mara.

An elderly woman suddenly snatched a piece of fortune cookie straight out of my hand.

"I think this is all a scam! Something that costs a few dollars to make is being sold for a ridiculous price. This whole pregnancy thing is obviously fake!"

I didn’t even have time to stop her before she stuffed the entire fortune cookie into her mouth.

"It’s just a regular cookie. How could it possibly make someone preg—ugh!" She suddenly clamped a hand over her mouth and gagged violently.

A medic pushed through the crowd and quickly examined her. "She’s pregnant. That nausea you just had… That’s morning sickness."

The elderly woman’s face turned deathly pale. "That’s impossible… I’m 70 years old. How could I be pregnant? Ugh—"

Her eyes rolled back, and she fainted on the spot. Others quickly carried her away.

The crowd grew even more confused.

"If your fortune cookies really work, and you’re not some snob, and you don’t have a criminal record, then why won’t you sell to Mara?"

Seeing how stubborn I was, some people began to sense something was off and turned to look at Mara.

"Mara, did you do something to Rainie before? We all know Rainie. She’s not someone who would make things difficult for no reason."

"Rainie keeps saying you’re not worthy. Did you do something bad? Something that would bring punishment down on you?"

"I…"

Under everyone’s gaze, Mara’s face went pale, her expression filled with sorrow.

At that moment, someone from the livestream audience suddenly spoke up, righteous and loud, "Mara, you don’t have to beg like this. You helped her before. Honestly, she should be making you 100 fortune cookies, and it still wouldn’t be enough!"

"What?"

"Back then, you used your own money to sponsor several students from the mountains. One of them was her—Rainie Larkin. She used to go by a different name."

The commenter pulled up a sponsorship list, pointing to my name and photo.

Mara’s eyes lit up. "It really is you…?"

I fell silent for a moment. "I was one of those kids from the mountains. Eight years ago, someone anonymously funded my education. They helped me get out."

The commenter sneered. "That someone was Mara! Without her, you would’ve been sold off to some old bachelor by now. And this is how you repay her? You won’t even give her a single fortune cookie? That’s beyond heartless!"

The entire situation flipped in an instant. Now, everyone pitied Mara even more. The way they looked at me was practically venomous.

Nevertheless, I still didn’t waver.

"She cannot eat my fortune cookie. Not only will she fail to get pregnant, but something terrible will happen. I’m refusing her for everyone’s sake."

As for what that terrible thing was, I refused to say.

Mara suddenly dropped to her knees again, trembling with emotion. "Rainie, please. I don’t know why you hate me so much, but your fortune cookie is the only thing in this world that can help me get pregnant. I’m begging you. Please, will that be enough?"

She knelt before me, slapping herself menially.

I didn’t react.

I just stood there, letting her keep going until she finally collapsed and lost consciousness.

Because of Mara, my fortune cookie stall turned into a viral hotspot, and I became the face of cold-blooded cruelty.

Some people tried to sneak in and buy her a fortune cookie. However, the moment one of them handed me a birth chart, I saw right through it.

"That’s not yours. That’s Mara Kessler’s. I’m not selling."

Others tried to prove me wrong. They even brought a girl with the exact same name and birth details as Mara.

"My name and birth chart are identical to hers. If I eat it and get pregnant, then you have to sell her one. Mara, if this helps you, I’m willing to get pregnant!"

Mara’s eyes filled with gratitude as she held the girl’s hand.

I calmly handed over a fortune cookie.

The girl ate it. Within moments, she started experiencing morning sickness.

The crowd immediately turned smug.

"See? Nothing bad happened. Rainie, what do you have to say now?"

I said coldly, "It has nothing to do with her birth chart. I’d rather never make fortune cookies again for the rest of my life than sell to Mara."

The moment those words fell, everyone looked at me like I had lost my mind, as though I was heartless beyond reason.

No one came to buy my fortune cookies anymore. Even a mother who had once tearfully thanked me after giving birth to twins spat at me as she passed by.

Only Mara remained. She stayed kneeling in front of my stall, staying there for an entire day.

She developed a fever. Barely able to hold on, she clutched her husband’s memorial portrait and crawled toward me, pleading.

"Rainie, even if I don’t get pregnant, I won’t ask for a refund. Please, just let me try once…"

I stepped aside, avoiding her. My voice was as cold as ice. "Stop wasting your time. Even if you kneel here until you die, I still won’t sell to you."

At that moment, the crowd’s anger hit its peak.

Even the livestream viewers were flooding the chat, shouting for me to die.

I paused.

Under everyone’s stunned gaze, I folded my sign in half, tossed it onto the ground, then turned away.

"Fine. If I can’t deal with this, I’ll walk away. I’m done making fertility fortune cookies."

After that day, I shut myself away completely.

Mara grew desperate, searching everywhere for news of me.

However, I lived deep in the mountains, so there was no way she could find me so easily.

Until one day, after I returned from gathering herbs, the moment I stepped inside my house, everything went black.

When I opened my eyes again, I was in an unfamiliar room.

Several phones were set up in front of me, livestreaming. Mara stood there, along with the five online supporters who had helped her the most.

"Rainie, I’m sorry." Her eyes shimmered with tears as she pushed my fortune cookie cart toward me. "I didn’t want to kidnap you, but I had no other choice. Please, help me fulfill my husband’s final wish."

I closed my eyes, my heart hardening. "I won’t do it. If you want, kill me."

Mara’s expression changed instantly. "You—"

I looked at everyone, my expression deadly serious. "I’m not lying to you. Either let me go, or kill me. If she eats my fortune cookie, everyone here will suffer. The consequences will be worse than killing me."

One of the men stepped forward and kicked me. "So you won’t take the easy way, huh? Damn it! It’s just a biscuit with a lousy paper. I’ll do it myself!"

Another person stopped him. "No. It only works if she makes it."

They exchanged looks.

The next second, they tied me tightly to a chair with ropes. To make sure I couldn’t escape, they even prepared to break my legs.

A man raised a hammer high, about to bring it down.

"Stop!" My voice cracked with desperation. "I’ll make the fortune cookie for her!"

The moment I spoke, the room fell silent.

Mara stared at me, her eyes shining. "You’ll do it?"

The livestreamers immediately aimed their cameras at me, afraid I might take it back.

I gave a bitter smile and shook my head. "You’ve already kidnapped me. I can’t escape anyway. But let me make one thing clear. Since you’re all so determined to make her eat my fortune cookie, don’t regret it."

Mara and the others exchanged glances, then lit up with excitement.

"We won’t regret it!"

I nodded and told them to untie me.

"Follow the process. First, write your name and birth details on a piece of paper. Then burn it to ashes and wrap it inside."

One of the supporters, worried I might try something, quickly asked, "Mara, what do you want on the paper?"

She thought for a moment. "Something for delicate features and big eyes. Write that into the fortune. She has to be beautiful. And add a perfect test score. Write it in so she’ll be a genius child…"

"Mara, just one last step. Put your husband’s hair in."

I didn’t stop them. I mechanically wrapped the fortune cookie—crescent, fragrant, perfectly sealed.

Mara took it. A strange glint flashed in her eyes as she spoke softly, "Rainie, don’t worry. I’ll thank you properly."

I didn’t even have time to stop her.

She opened her mouth and swallowed the fortune cookie in one bite.

Too late.

And yet, nothing happened to her stomach.

Just as everyone turned to look at me, I spoke quietly, "Run. Someone’s stomach is about to explode.

"And everyone who has ever eaten fertility fortune cookies before… is going to die."