I don’t know about other people’s destinies, but now that I’ve crossed fifty, I’ve begun to “know my own destiny.” I have a few major missions in life: a minor one is gossiping, and a major one is critiquing all people and events on Facebook.

Today, I’ve picked two old classmates to vent about. The key reason I’m doing this is: I’ve already blocked them. I won’t give them a chance to see me venting here.

Let’s start with Classmate No. 1. She is 12 years older than me. Based on the fact that I’m slowly approaching old age myself, she is, by all definitions, a full-blown senior. Usually, when I encounter seniors, I politely compliment them on how well they’ve maintained themselves, telling them how beautiful and elegant they look.

But this classmate is very special. Every time she sees me, after the initial greeting, she just stares at me and laughs. Then she says, “How did you get so fat? It’s really terrifying! Weren’t you really thin in high school?” And then she proceeds to laugh for a good two or three minutes.

At first, I thought her reaction was just nostalgic closeness among old classmates. But after hearing it about three times, my face went stiff. I couldn’t even force a smile anymore. I’d respond politely: “Yes, this is me now. It’s amazing how your looks and figure haven’t changed at all.”

Since then, for some reason, she’s been stuck in that moment. She’s been mocking me for getting fat ever since, bringing it up every time we meet. It’s incredibly awkward. I’m honestly shocked that someone over 60 can still maintain the bullying habits of a toddler. It’s amazing how some people can stay exactly the same from birth—even their IQ hasn’t changed at all. Truly incredible. She’s a “Wonder Woman” in that regard.

Then, for a while, we used to go cycling together. She’s very impressive—an athlete who never gets tired. Every time I wanted to sit down for a coffee, a snack, or just to chat, she would say, “You know, I just hate the kind of people who come out and act like high-society ladies, just wanting to sit there and talk without moving. You come out to play, so play! What’s the point of just sitting there? It’s so annoying.”

Fortunately, I ride an e-bike, so her human-powered stamina didn’t bother me much. But another classmate, six years my senior, wasn’t so lucky. He seemingly strained his back trying to keep up with her on a YouBike during a climb. Another time in the mountains, she suddenly wanted to climb a very steep trail. I refused, but that same six-year-senior classmate pushed through and struggled to the top with her, only to apparently get injured again on the descent.

Since then, I’ve deeply realized: you can be friends with anyone, but never go out with someone who enjoys “training” everyone’s physical endurance. Life can be boring sometimes, but truly, most of the time, it’s better to remain solitary.

Also, when going out with this “eternally vigorous” classmate, I can’t even pass by a temple. If I politely want to pay my respects, or if she even sees a temple-like building from a distance, she starts mocking my profession. She’ll say, “You actually believe in this stuff, don’t you?”

The worst was when we passed a fortune-telling shop. I turned my head to look and casually read the sign aloud. She suddenly gave a blank, idiotic laugh and said, “You really like fortune-telling, don’t you? You really believe in this!”

I find Classmate No. 1 to be a very strange “kindergarten athlete.” Her unchanging ways and underdeveloped IQ over the years leave me completely defenseless. I never spend time telling her off directly because I usually don’t bother with people I dislike. I’m very careful to avoid correcting her with a harsh attitude—if I accidentally raise her IQ and she stops being so annoying, I’d be the one dying of anger.

Next is the annoying Classmate No. 2, the one who is six years older than me. Like Classmate No. 1, she is completely non-superstitious. However, once when she was in a bad mood, she came to me for a Tarot reading. After I put in a massive effort to solve her problems, she started believing in Tarot.

So, one day, she brought her recently widowed sister—who was struggling to accept her fate—hoping to pay the price of a “single Tarot question” to have me comfort her sister’s grief and answer why her partner passed away early, a question that was causing her agonizing pain. Because the topic was so difficult and the sister was so emotionally volatile, it wasn’t something a single session could fully address. I had to ask the sister if she was willing to pay for a deeper session. Once she agreed, we proceeded, with both of them present the entire time.

Unexpectedly, after this event, Classmate No. 2 was clearly dissatisfied with me. During a trip together, I asked her about it. It turned out she had a big problem with the fact that I didn’t handle her sister’s case as a “single Tarot question.”

I asked her, “Did your sister have a problem with my fee? In fact, because of you, I even gave her two free readings without extra charge.” Classmate No. 2 said, “I mentioned this to my sister, and she thought the fee was very reasonable. She’s done other things like hypnosis before and considers your fee to be the market rate. She has no problem with it at all.”

Hearing this, I suddenly understood. The pricing issue didn’t come from the sister; it came from Classmate No. 2. If it hadn’t, she wouldn’t have gotten such a positive answer from her sister. She must have gone home and said some “self-righteous” things to her. So I asked again, “If the sister has no problem with the fee, then what is going on? Why do you seem to have such a problem?”

Classmate No. 2 said, “Well, because during the session regarding past lives, my sister worried it wasn’t entirely true and asked me what was going on. I couldn’t answer her, and it caused a rift between us.”

In other words, because Classmate No. 2 suspected I was a fraud, she couldn’t answer her sister. The grieving sister was mentally chaotic, and I had to give her answers directly from the reading, while also addressing specific details to let her verify what was true, providing her with some comfort. Hearing Classmate No. 2’s complaints, I could fully empathize with why a grieving sister would desperately grab onto any info about her late partner, leading to emotional and mental back-and-forth about what was real.

But because Classmate No. 2 is completely non-superstitious and likely doesn’t trust me, the sister’s questions didn’t get a positive response from her, leading to a fight and causing issues between the sisters. After hearing this, I felt it wasn’t my business. I gave a brief explanation and then ignored Classmate No. 2.

Since then, Classmate No. 2 has been acting like a victim around me. But honestly, when this happened, she could have just had her sister ask me directly whether those comforting words were true or if I was just placating her.

I think Classmate No. 2 is a very confused person. Because of her strangely “noble” non-superstitious attitude, she effectively sabotaged her own sister and directly showed me the deep-seated distrust she has for me. She doesn’t even understand reasonable financial exchange. It’s a real headache. I don’t feel like saying much to her anymore, because there’s no point in wasting time with someone who doesn’t trust you.

I still can’t understand Classmate No. 2’s situation. That is to say, she didn’t believe in my work from the start, yet she brought her emotionally explosive sister to see me—someone she considers a fraud—hoping I’d use Tarot to deceive her sister. Then, she assumed I gave a fake answer, which caused the sisters to fall out, and she blamed it all on me.

Give me a break! She caused all of this herself. I never deceived her sister; the sister was a perfectly reasonable client. The real problem was created by the person who intended to deceive her own sister from the beginning. Who are you trying to blame? A person like her deserves to be pestered and scrutinized by her sister every day until the end of time. It has nothing to do with me.

Such insincerity, a “self-righteous” person who would even deceive her own sister, is truly loathsome. I hope her sister continues to give her a hard time; it helps vent some of my frustration too.