Chapter 113
Grandpa Li walked into the living room, followed by Li Zihao, who was clearly beaten and was wiping away tears as he walked.
When he reached Xu Gui and the others, he plopped down and looked at them somewhat embarrassedly, saying, "This matter has truly made Master Xu laugh."
He exhaled, glared at Li Zihao who was standing shrewdly to the side, and cursed, "We didn't expect this little brat to be so bold as to try and scare us with something like this! We were really fooled by him!"
After all, Li Zihao's act was so convincing that as an elder, seeing him like this, one would only worry that he might be sick, and would never suspect that he might be faking it.
Grandpa Li gritted his teeth and said angrily, "I, Li Erniu, have been so clever all my life, yet I was fooled by you, you little brat!"
The little rascal was as quiet as a chicken, not daring to utter a sound.
"Thanks to you, Master Xu," Grandpa Li said gratefully, looking at Xu Gui. "Otherwise, we don't know how long our family would have been fooled by this little rascal!"
You could tell the old man was really angry. Before, he kept calling his grandson "my good grandson," but now he kept calling him "you little brat."
Now, reflecting on Xu Gui's earlier words, they realized that every word she uttered was deeply meaningful. No wonder Xu Gui had said she would feel guilty if she accepted too much money, and that Li Zihao's illness was simple, even describing it as a psychological one...
In fact, almost every word the other party said was telling them: this child is faking illness.
Thinking of this, Grandpa Li couldn't help but rub his forehead, blaming himself for not thinking more deeply. Oh, it wasn't that he hadn't thought more deeply, but all he could think about was whether Xu Gui was a fraud or not.
Xu Gui looked at him and tentatively asked, "Even though your grandson is faking illness, will you still give me the 500,000 you mentioned before?"
Surely they wouldn't refuse to give him the money just because they think Li Zihao's "illness" is too easy to cure and that their job as the "curer" is too easy?
Xu Gui muttered to himself.
Fortunately, Xu Gui was clearly judging others by his own petty standards. After hearing her words, Grandpa Li readily agreed, saying, "Master Xu, please rest assured. I, Li Erniu, am an honest man in everything I do. I will not shortchange you a single penny of the 500,000 I promised! Here, I'll transfer it to you right now!"
As the saying goes, if you're not proactive in asking for money, there's something wrong with your thinking. So Xu Gui proactively found his payment QR code and handed it over.
When Xu Gui heard the sound of 500,000 yuan being deposited into his account, he felt as if he were listening to celestial music—indeed, the most beautiful sound in the world was the sound of money being deposited into an account; it was simply too beautiful to hear.
After resolving the issue of Xu Gui collecting money, the Li family, with stern faces, began questioning the child. They were genuinely curious about where Li Zihao had gotten his inspiration to pretend to be possessed and deceive people.
They were incredibly audacious and had absolutely no scruples.
In response, Li Zihao cautiously raised his eyes and glanced at them, then said somewhat awkwardly in a low voice, "Because as long as I'm possessed by an evil spirit or sick, you'll grant me whatever I want."
The Li family: "...That's it?"
Li Zihao nodded slightly.
The Li family members couldn't help but take a deep breath, clearly their emotions were very turbulent.
"How did you come up with the idea of pretending to be possessed to deceive people?" Grandpa Jiang was really curious about this. After all, why would a child think of pretending to be possessed to deceive people for no reason?
Upon hearing this, Li Zihao said in a somewhat innocent tone, "It's Nan Nan. Nan Nan was sick. We went to see him at the hospital the other day. His parents were so good to him. They bought him whatever he wanted. Nan Nan wanted to eat KFC, so they bought him a huge bucket..."
After saying that, he showed an envious expression on his face.
When Zhou Wenwen heard his words, her expression changed. Seeing that everyone was looking at her, she explained in a low voice, "Nannan is Xiaohao's classmate. She has a tumor, and it's already in its late stage."
"..." Everyone fell silent immediately.
Zhou Wenwen looked at the child with a stern face and said, "So, just because of this, you pretended to be sick and possessed to deceive us?"
Li Zihao nodded, then whispered, "Nan Nan's parents used to be very strict with him, but they became very kind to him when he got sick."
The children's thoughts are very simple. Seeing how their friend's parents doted on him after he got sick, they only had one thought in their minds: being sick = their parents would give them whatever they wanted.
"Then why didn't you pretend to be sick, but instead pretended to be possessed by evil spirits? Whose idea was this?"
"...It's Lin Zihan."
Without hesitation, Li Zihao betrayed his classmate, saying in a serious tone, "Lin Zihan said that if we pretend to be sick, our parents can take us to the hospital for a checkup and they can find out if we are sick. But being possessed is different; the hospital can't detect it."
Zhou Wenwen and the others listened in disbelief: How could such a young child know this?
Zhou Wenwen asked subconsciously, "Then how did Lin Zihan come up with this idea?"
Li Zihao said, "He saw it at his maternal grandmother's house. He said that someone in his grandmother's village was possessed by an evil spirit, and the adults said that it couldn't be cured and the doctors couldn't find anything wrong with it! The only way was to find a master to exorcise the evil spirit."
He said quite reasonably, "So, we can only pretend to be possessed by an evil spirit so that we won't be easily exposed! After all, if we're sick, a check-up at the hospital will confirm it."
Zhou Wenwen: ...You guys are really thoughtful.
Zhou Wenwen had another question. Looking at her son, she asked suspiciously, "So, what exactly are you trying to do by pretending to be possessed? I've always believed that we've given you the best of everything!"
To reiterate, Li Zihao is their only son. The Li family only has one child, and they practically give him everything he asks for. Therefore, Zhou Wenwen really doesn't understand why Li Zihao is pretending to be possessed.
When Li Zihao heard her words, he secretly looked up at her and whispered, "But you won't let me eat KFC."
Zhou Wenwen had considered many reasons why Li Zihao might have done this, but she never imagined that his reason would be the three words "KFC". Therefore, when she heard Li Zihao's reason, her mind went blank.
Ken, KFC... It's because of KFC? This is utterly absurd!
Zhou Wenwen was so angry she laughed. Then she suddenly stood up, picked up the child, and walked to a corner where the camera couldn't see her, and started beating the child.
The viewers in the live stream couldn't see the screen, but could hear Li Zihao's wailing. The sound was so heart-wrenching that it brought tears to their eyes. However, neither Xu Gui and the others in the living room nor the viewers in Xi Gui's live stream felt any sympathy.
At this moment, everyone had only one thought in their minds: Serves them right!
After beating the child until he cried and screamed, Zhou Wenwen returned. At this time, the expression on her face looked much happier, with the satisfaction of finally venting her anger.
Looking at Xu Gui and the others, she smiled calmly and said, "The child was disobedient, making you all laugh at him!"
But I've seen so many jokes already, so nothing else really matters.
"Waaaaah..."
Li Zihao walked over, clutching his burning backside, tears welling in his eyes. He glanced at his mother furtively and whispered:
"I'm sorry, Mom, I know I was wrong, please don't be angry." He
Zhou Wenwen just sneered.
Grandma Li, who was standing nearby, suddenly said, "Didn't they say that the children who played with Xiao Hao were all possessed by evil spirits? Those families probably don't know the truth yet, right? Also, we need to tell Ah Jun that he doesn't need to go to Master Wu anymore, nor does he need to go to the shaman in our hometown!"
Upon hearing this, Grandpa Li nodded repeatedly and said, "You're right... Then I'll go contact Ah Jun, and Wenwen, you go contact the parents of Hao Hao's friends?"
Zhou Wenwen nodded.
The two went to make phone calls. Grandpa Li told his son to come back, while Zhou Wenwen went to contact the parents of the other children who, like Li Zihao, were "possessed" by evil spirits.
Seeing this scene, viewers in Xu Gui's live stream couldn't help but sigh:
These kids are incredibly brave and have absolutely no inhibitions. Aren't they afraid of getting involved with something unclean?
[You said it yourself, it's just a few kids. What do kids know? All they know is that if they pretend to be possessed, they can eat KFC whenever they want!]
These kids are really infuriating, and they're so bold. Other kids just pretend to be sick, but they're pretending to be possessed. Even I, an adult, wouldn't dare to do that.
[This person is not only brave, but also truly daring. Have you forgotten? This kid went to the kitchen in the middle of the night to eat raw meat. Could most people do that?]
[It's not just about eating raw meat; didn't another child say they wanted to eat poop?]
[…This is certainly an intriguing topic.]
*
The Li family informed the other families that the children were a lie, and it seems that these children have now experienced what it means to share both hardship and happiness.
By the time the matter was resolved, it was already past 1 p.m. When the Li family learned that Xu Gui and the others had not yet had lunch, they hurriedly invited them to eat at their home.
During the meal, despite strong opposition from netizens, Xu Gui remained ruthless and resolutely shut down the live stream. Even after she ended the stream, many netizens stayed in the chat room, exchanging messages via live chat.
Meanwhile, Xu Gui, who had earned over three million yuan that morning, became number one in the program's rankings.
At this point, the ten guests were mostly taking a break. When they saw Xu Gui, who had seemingly shot up to first place, they were all dumbfounded – mainly because the gap between Xu Gui and the second place was too big. The second place only earned a little over three thousand, but Xu Gui had actually earned three and a half million.
"...Is this reasonable?"
"How can we fight like this? We're not even on the same level!"
"Is fortune telling really that profitable?"
The nine guests couldn't help but be somewhat taken aback, and then a sense of powerlessness welled up within them. It was only the first day, and Xu Gui had already earned over three million. How were they supposed to compete with her? How could they possibly fight her?
With this gap, Xu Gui is basically already in first place, right?
The fans of the nine guests were also stunned. They were still cheering for their idols, but the competition had almost ended. The gap was so huge right from the start!
Even if their older siblings try their best to catch up, can they really close the gap?
Who exactly is this Xu Gui? Earning 3.5 million in one morning... Isn't that cheating? How can this show compete like this?
[I heard she's a fortune teller. Because it's a monopolistic business, she can set her prices however she wants. This time, for the competition, she specifically went to the Peony Garden residential area to make money off the rich! It's practically taking shortcuts.]
This is so unfair! Is this really not scripted? I think the show doesn't even need to be filmed anymore; they should just give first place to this Xu Gui.
Wait a minute, this person earns so much, do you think she pays taxes?
Are you perhaps a genius?
...
Xu Gui's score of 3.5 million is truly eye-catching. He stands head and shoulders above the rest of the guests on the show, leaving them all behind with an overwhelming advantage. This has left the fans of the other nine guests feeling somewhat uneasy.
How could this not break their spirits? The show has only just started, and Xu Gui has already earned so much money. This amount is simply beyond the reach of the other guests, who can hardly even dream of matching it. Although the show will be filmed for half a month, there are still fourteen days left to compete.
But if the first day is like this, what other big changes can there be in the next fourteen days? Unless Xu Gui suddenly loses his fortune-telling ability in the remaining fourteen days, but is that even possible?
Regardless of the attitudes of the nine guests, their fans simply cannot accept it—are their beloved older brothers and sisters participating in this program merely for participation? Or are they here to highlight Xu Gui's prowess?
So, the fans of the nine guests started to make a fuss and began to vent their dissatisfaction online. Soon, the topic "Does Xu Gui really have no backing?" quickly became a trending topic.
Under this trending topic, fans of the nine guests presented a series of evidence to show that Xu Gui has powerful connections.
According to their description, Xu Gui was directly portrayed as "royal family," and all the other guests were merely invited by the production team to serve as her foils. They spoke with such conviction and detail that even the director believed them.
Director: If I weren't the one involved, I would have believed your nonsense.
Fans of the nine guests commented:
[I've suspected something fishy about Xu Gui for a long time. How did she, a newcomer to the industry, land such a big role in "360 Trades"? Doesn't that mean she has powerful connections?] — They selectively ignored the fact that the program invited not only celebrities but also many ordinary people.
[Ha, this guy must have a sugar daddy. He's probably some pot-bellied middle-aged man. It's amazing Xu Gui could bring himself to do it.]
Don't you guys think she became famous too quickly? It's like there's someone pushing her from behind. I strongly suspect it's all scripted, and her so-called "divine predictions" are all part of the show's script.
So, Hunan TV invited so many guests just to make this Xu Gui famous. That's quite a big deal. It seems like Xu Gui's backer is really powerful.
[Haha, look at the mess this has made! If your Hunan TV had said earlier that this show was specifically created for Xu Gui, my sister wouldn't have played this clown.]
[Xu Gui's fans are really crazy. It's already abnormal that someone with no work can be so popular, but they still say there's nothing fishy about it.]
[Attention! Don't argue with those "miracle workers," focus on Xu Gui's taxes! Xu Gui charges three million for a single calculation! This is illegal business operation, and she hasn't paid taxes. You can report her to the tax bureau for tax evasion! Report Xu Gui for illegal profits.]
[That's right, everyone should report them. Don't argue with the "turtles"! It lowers your class.]
...
Xu Gui was suddenly bombarded with criticism, especially in the afternoon after she earned another 900,000 yuan. The online criticism intensified, and the topic of her "tax evasion" was pushed to the top, immediately becoming a trending topic with a "hot" tag.
Her fans, the "Turtles," were completely dumbfounded, and at the same time, somewhat panicked.
Are these people crazy? Is it our little turtle's fault that it makes so much money? They're clearly just envious and jealous.
But now they've reported Xiao Gui for tax evasion. I wonder if Xiao Gui has paid taxes on the money he earns from fortune telling.
[Mainly, what profession does fortune telling fall under? Is it taxed?]
Regardless of profession, shouldn't everyone who earns a certain amount of money pay taxes? The question now is, did Xiao Gui pay taxes...?
[I think she did, right? I remember Xiaogui mentioned this during a live stream before, she definitely submitted it!]
[With all this noise outside, what if they actually report Xiao Gui?]
[Ha, acting like nobody can't report them. Let's report them too! Hmph, we're all in this circle, I don't believe their older siblings can be clean. If we're going to fall, then we'll all die together.]
I've already left a message under the official Weibo account of [Xinghai], hoping they'll see it soon!
Xu Gui's fans were also panicked. As fans, they naturally wanted the best for Xu Gui, but they really didn't know whether Xu Gui had paid taxes on the money he earned from fortune telling.
The "turtles" have also gone all out: You reported us little turtles, so we'll report your older brothers and sisters too! Nobody will get away with this!
Xu Gui's fans went berserk, as did the fans of the other nine guests. Eventually, the number of people they reported was no longer limited to the ten guests, but rather the "war" spread to the entire entertainment industry.
You're a celebrity? Okay, I'll report you!
Oh, is this a celebrity too? Well, let's not let that go, let's report them too!
In short, almost every celebrity with a name has been reported in the past few days. The celebrities who were just watching the show were dumbfounded: Wait, are the fans of all ten of you crazy? Why are you dragging us innocent people into your fight?
In short, because of the indiscriminate attacks by fans of ten different groups, it's not just Hunan TV that's in chaos now; the entire entertainment industry is in turmoil.
Because today is September 13th, this day was later referred to by netizens in the entertainment industry as the "September 13th Entertainment Industry Incident," and countless celebrities were implicated in it.
However, although many celebrities have been reported, Xu Gui is the one who has been criticized the most because her name is trending on social media and she has become a target.
Xu Gui herself didn't realize she was trending on social media again until she got back to the hotel, but this time, she was being criticized.
Xu Gui: "..."
As soon as she returned, Kuang Ming called her over.
Kuang Ming had seen the trending topic on Weibo long ago, so he arrived at the hotel early and even arranged a room for Xu Gui—Xu Gui had earned so much money today that he could definitely afford a single room.
So now, the two of them are sitting in this luxurious single room talking, with Yuan Lu sitting beside them as their assistant.
Kuang Ming asked Xu Gui about the tax issue—when they re-signed the contract, the money Xu Gui earned from fortune telling was not part of the revenue shared with the company, so Xu Gui had to handle this part of the money himself.
"Tell me honestly, have you paid taxes on this money?" he asked Xu Gui with a serious expression.
Xu Gui nodded: "Yes."
Kuang Ming: "Are you sure?"
After asking the question, he took a breath and carefully explained the seriousness of the matter to Xu Gui. Finally, he said, "It's okay if you haven't paid your taxes. Just tell me honestly now, and we can pay them in time."
After all, Xu Gui earned this money through fortune telling, and there are currently no clear boundaries for the fortune telling profession. However, the amount Xu Gui earned through fortune telling is simply too large, and she is now considered a public figure who has attracted so much attention. Therefore, whether she has paid taxes is very important.
In this situation, if Xu Gui makes up the difference in time, it might still be possible to salvage the situation.
Upon hearing this, Xu Gui curled his lip in displeasure and said, "I really paid it. Look, if you don't believe me, you can check my tax records. I've paid taxes on every penny I've earned from fortune telling!"
Kuang Ming looked at her suspiciously, and Xu Gui actually pulled up his tax payment record. He looked at it and then looked at Xu Gui with some surprise, saying, "You actually paid it?"
Xu Gui looked at him strangely and said, "Isn't this the rule for you humans? Of course I have to follow the rules."
The turtle, who had only recently become human, said she had no idea that tax evasion existed. So, after remembering that she had to pay taxes on her earnings, she seriously went to the tax bureau to inquire about the issue and then paid all her taxes.
After that, she paid taxes on every single penny she earned. As for the money she earned as a celebrity, it was all after tax. Therefore, Xu Gui's accounts were spotless and impeccable.
After confirming that Xu Gui's tax records were indeed clean, Kuang Ming breathed a sigh of relief and felt at ease. At this moment, he couldn't help but feel a little emotional: Xu Gui really is a newcomer to the industry and hasn't been tainted by the entertainment industry's big dye vat yet. He does things properly and cleanly.
After all, he had been in this industry for so many years and knew very well what it was like. This industry was a big melting pot, and it was difficult for anyone who jumped in to leave clean.
So, seeing the farce unfolding online, he felt a surge of urge to watch the drama unfold.
After all, he was now certain that Xu Gui's taxes were absolutely clean; he could say with certainty that his Xu Gui could withstand any investigation. But what about the others in this circle?
Haha, these fans keep reporting each other, maybe they'll find out in the end that it's their own house that's collapsing.
Kuang Ming couldn't help but laugh as he imagined the scene: "Hmm, that would be really interesting!"
Right now, I wonder how many people are already drenched in sweat?
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