Chapter 21
Lu Boyi changed his clothes before coming. He was only wearing a regular short-sleeved shirt and shorts, with sneakers on his feet, dressed like an ordinary passerby.
However, he was handsome and had a noble and aloof temperament. So even though he was dressed like an ordinary person, he still stood out from the crowd, attracting the attention of passersby.
A girl's voice, barely containing her excitement, drifted from somewhere: "...Holy crap, I saw a man with such an amazing aura and looks!"
Lu Baiyi was carrying a paper bag. When he got to the old man's table, he put the bag on the table with a soft thud.
The old man reached out and took the paper bag, peeking inside with his fingers.
Lu Boyi watched his grandfather's actions and asked, "Why did you call me here in such a hurry?"
The old man had already taken the contents out of the paper bag; it turned out to be a food storage container containing prepared jujube and yam cakes.
The snow-white yam cakes were shaped like flowers and neatly arranged in a food storage container, making them extremely pleasing to the eye.
As the old man opened the food container, he said, "It wasn't me looking for you, it was that little girl Xu Gui who contacted you. She said she needs your help..."
Xu Gui?
A vague impression surfaced in Lu Baiyi's mind, and the word "glutinous rice ball" automatically popped into his head.
Oh, it's Miss Xu, whom I met once before.
The old man took a piece of yam cake and ate it. After finishing, he raised an eyebrow and asked, "You didn't make this snack, did you?" He could tell from the taste in one bite.
Lu Baiyi came to his senses, sighed, and said, "I made egg yolk pastries last night, and you all divided them up this morning. There are none left... When you called, I was at the company and didn't have time to make any, so I had the chef at home make them."
Their chefs are all five-star chefs, specially hired, and their skills are all excellent. However, the family still prefers his cooking, always feeling that his food tastes better.
If this were to get out, I doubt many people would believe it.
As the general manager of a large listed company and the future successor of the Lu family, Lu Boyi's greatest hobby is not stock trading or watching the clock, but cooking. When he was only five years old, he was already standing on a stool, his chubby face serious, learning how to make desserts.
Even as he grew older, he retained this hobby, and he loved to spend his free time in the kitchen experimenting with food.
The old man ate two pieces of yam cake and then stopped. He put the lid of the food container back on, handed it to Lu Boyi, and said, "That girl is right across the street. Give this to her when you go over. She should like it."
After all, that girl is the kind of person who can be amazed even by eating braised chicken.
Lu Baiyi glanced across the table and saw Xu Gui sitting behind it. She seemed to have noticed his arrival long ago. When Lu Baiyi looked over, he met her expectant gaze.
The next second, the person opposite seemed to see him looking at her, and immediately reached out and waved gently at him excitedly, showing complete obedience.
Lu Baiyi walked across the street with the insulated food container in his hand. When he got closer, Xu Gui looked up and called out excitedly, "Mr. Lu..."
“Miss Xu.” Lu Baiyi nodded slightly to her, placed the food container in front of her, and said, “This… is jujube and yam cake. I don’t know if it suits your taste.”
Xu Gui glanced at it, then nodded without hesitation: "This will definitely suit my taste!" If it doesn't suit her taste...
"It must be my taste that's wrong!" she declared confidently.
Lu Baiyi smiled.
Xu Gui smiled at Lu Baiyi, her eyes crinkling, and said, "Mr. Lu, thank you for giving me this yam cake. You're such a kind person! Don't worry, I'll enjoy it!"
After giving her a "good guy" card, she looked around and said, "Mr. Lu, would you like a seat?"
However, after taking a look, she found that there were no extra seats left.
They only brought two stools, one for Xu Gui to sit on and the other for the guy filming.
Xu Gui hesitated for a moment, then silently turned his gaze to the man filming beside him.
She tried to open her eyes wide, looking at the cameraman with an innocent and pitiful expression, and gently bowed to him with her hands clasped together.
At this moment, from head to toe, her entire being screamed: Please, please! Please, cameraman, help her out!
The cameraman: "..."
Lu Baiyi glanced at the only two stools and said, "No need, I'll stand."
The photographer silently stood up and said, "Sit here with me. I've been sitting here for a while, and I just remembered to get up and move around a bit." As he spoke, to demonstrate the feasibility of his words, he stood up, moved his limbs, and actually strolled off in one direction.
Seeing this, Xu Gui couldn't help but give the cameraman a grateful look: "You're a good person, cameraman."
And the viewers in the live stream:
[Who understands? Seeing this scene actually brought tears to my eyes, sob sob, the guy filming is such a good person!]
[Who can argue with that? Hey, big brother, have a good time eating and drinking!]
[So who exactly is this Mr. Lu? With my years of experience judging handsome men, I'm certain he's a real heartthrob! Look at those pecs, those broad shoulders and narrow waist, and those long legs—a top-tier man!]
So, what exactly does Xu Gui want from this Mr. Lu? How does he want him to help him? Absorb his luck? This sounds like something out of a novel, involving some kind of shady dealing.
*
Lu Baiyi was also curious about what Xu Gui needed his help with.
"...Because of some things, I've been having really bad luck lately, so I want to absorb some of your luck!"
Xu Gui sat upright with her hands on her knees and said honestly, "Mr. Lu, you are very lucky. I only need to absorb a little bit of your luck, which will not have any effect on you!"
She swore she absolutely didn't want to inhale "turtle mint"... well, maybe a little bit, after all, it's like how people can't help wanting to pet a cat.
Xu Gui muttered to himself: But mainly, it's to avoid being so unlucky!
After listening, Lu Baiyi fell into deep thought.
Xu Gui looked at him expectantly and said, "I understand if you don't want to, I'm fine with it. It just means I'll have a few more unlucky days, like falling a few more times and getting hit on the head by flowerpots falling from above..."
Lu Baiyi: ...Are you sure this is really okay?
He looked at Xu Gui, and Xu Gui was looking at him too. Her eyes were black and white, clear and bright as if washed clean, and seemed to contain only straightforward and pure expectation, without any other malice.
Lu Boyi pondered for a moment, then asked again, "Will this really not have any side effects on me? For example, if you absorb my luck, will I become unlucky or something?"
Besides, is it really possible for anyone to actually steal someone's luck? This doesn't sound like something a decent person would do.
In an instant, countless eerie, feudal, and superstitious images flashed through Lu Boyi's mind, each one a potential crime scene.
"No, it won't!" Xu Gui said earnestly, "Mr. Lu, you may not know, but your luck is really good. I'll just take a little bit, and there won't be any problems! I can guarantee that to you."
Lu Boyi continued, "May I know, Miss Xu, what happened to make you so...unlucky?"
Xu Gui gripped the fabric of her skirt and hesitated, "It's because of an elder. She has to do something that might endanger her life, so I shared some of my good luck with her."
"But I can't tell you the specifics..."
That was Aunt Tuanzi's private matter, and she couldn't tell anyone without her permission.
After listening, Lu Boyi nodded slightly and said, "I understand... So, how are you going to absorb my luck? Do you need to bleed me?" He had seen this kind of thing in TV dramas, and it seemed to be quite bloody.
He was genuinely asking, since he had never heard of such a thing before and didn't know what to do. However, he didn't expect that as soon as he said it, Xu Gui's eyes widened instantly, as if he had said something terrifying.
Lu Baiyi: ?
"You, how could you think that?" Xu Gui asked him in horror.
“…Uh, is bloodletting not necessary?” Lu Baiyi said apologetically, “Sorry, I don’t know much about this.”
Xu Gui shook her head vigorously, puffing out her cheeks: "Of course not!" She wasn't the kind of turtle who would do bad things, why would she bleed someone else?
Lu Baiyi: "Then how are you going to absorb my luck?"
Xu Gui said, "Stretch out your hand."
Lu Boyi obediently extended his hand. Xu Gui grabbed his hand, glanced at it, and couldn't help but exclaim, "Mr. Lu, your hands are so big..."
Lu Baiyi is tall, so his hands are naturally quite large. Xu Gui stretched out her hands to compare, and felt that her two hands were only as big as his one hand. Moreover, her hands were a bit fleshy and soft, and the contrast between them and Lu Baiyi's hands was quite striking.
Xu Gui glanced at him, held Lu Baiyi's hand, and suddenly brought her cheek close to his palm.
Lu Baiyi: !
He quickly withdrew his hand as if it had been burned.
Xu Gui was caught off guard, and when she looked down, she found that the large hand she was holding was gone. She looked at Lu Baiyi with some confusion.
Lu Baiyi's face flushed slightly, and he leaned back a little. He grabbed the hand that Xu Gui had just grabbed and stammered, "...What you mean by absorbing luck is..."
Literally, "suck"?
Before he could finish speaking, Xu Gui asked, puzzled, "What's wrong?"
Lu Baiyi coughed lightly and said, "It's nothing." He was just a little startled.
He hesitated before reaching out to Xu Gui again—although he did feel a little uncomfortable doing so, as he rarely got this close to strangers, he had already promised to help, and if Miss Xu needed to do this to attract luck, then he had no choice but to do so.
When Xu Gui saw him reach out his hand again, her eyes lit up, and she grabbed his hand and pressed her cheek against his again.
This time, Lu Boyi refrained from dodging.
...
The live stream camera blurred Lu Baiyi's face, but not his hands. Under the program's high-definition camera, they could clearly see Xu Gui pressing his cheek against a large hand, his expression relaxed and content, like a cat being stroked on the neck, almost purring.
Netizens who saw this scene were like: 【???!!】
The first to go crazy in the live stream were Xu Gui's mom fans:
【Aaaaaah! Mom won't let you near that stinky man! Let go of my hand right now!】
Waaaaah, my daughter is dirty!
Then came the casual netizens who never mind watching the spectacle:
[What are you all wailing about? It's clearly your daughter taking advantage of another man. The ones who should be crying are the other woman, okay?]
[Wait, does Xu Gui even remember she's a celebrity? Holding her hand like that, right in front of so many people? Has she forgotten she's still filming a show?]
Finally, there was a strange creature that had somehow infiltrated the area:
[Hehehe, who understands? This scene really shocked me! It turns out, as long as I eat everything, I can get a balanced diet.]
[Sisters, you have such good taste! I also find this scene strangely adorable. Mainly, don't you guys think it's a bit erotic? They're not doing anything, it's not even close to being explicit, but I still blushed and my adrenaline was pumping. It's just too good to watch!]
Too explicit or erotic content is actually harder to ship; it's this kind of ambiguous, subtle relationship that's the easiest to ship!
Sister, you have such great taste! I have an idea: let's just call their couple the "Cheek-to-Chest Couple"!
[A "cheek-hugging couple"? What a great name, sis, are you some kind of genius?]
Mixed in with the gasps of the CP fans were the screams of the "mommy fans": "No! Mom won't allow it! Our daughter wants to be beautiful on her own, beautiful on her own!! Get away from these stinky men!"
A random passerby who stumbled into the live stream: [?? Why is this live stream so crazy?] What's going on? Why do all the viewers seem a bit mentally unstable?
Genuine bystanders: Don't ask, we're just here for the gossip. Who said this live stream is bad? This live stream is great, they feel as happy as if they're at home here.
*
With someone pressing their cheek against his palm like that, and especially when he could occasionally feel the other person's warm, moist breath being exhaled into his palm, Lu Boyi wasn't a wooden person, so how could he not feel anything?
However, gradually, the expression on his face began to look rather strange.
There was no other reason than that he always felt that Xu Gui's gesture of rubbing his palm was very similar to the way his little niece sucked on their Ragdoll cat. There was no intimacy at all, only love for a certain "creature". It was not that they were not similar, but that they were exactly the same.
So, is this Ms. Xu treating herself like a cat? No, is she treating her luck like a cat? He had previously felt that this Ms. Xu seemed to really like something as ethereal as "luck."
As Lu Baiyi was pondering, Xu Gui finally felt she had absorbed enough luck and raised her head. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, and her eyebrows were curved, making her look content and satisfied.
"Thank you, Mr. Lu, you're such a good person!" she said, releasing Lu Baiyi's hand.
Lu Boyi subtly withdrew his hand, his fingers unconsciously rubbing his palm. He smiled and said, "It's alright, I'm glad I could help Miss Xu."
Xu Gui nodded firmly: "Yes, my luck has improved a lot since then!"
Luck is an elusive thing. It exists, but for many people, it is something that does not exist because it cannot be touched or captured. In this world, only the Xuan Turtle clan can capture it.
Xu Gui said, "I thought Mr. Lu would refuse my request."
Lu Baiyi: "Why?"
Xu Gui said, "Because we just met, Mr. Lu, you don't know if I'm a good person or a bad person. What if I'm a bad person? Aren't you worried that I'm using your luck to do something bad?"
Lu Boyi tapped his fingers lightly in the air and said, "I don't think you're a bad person, Miss Xu. Besides, with your abilities, I think you have plenty of ways to absorb my luck, even if I don't want to."
Since Xu Gui chose to respect his wishes, he also chose to trust her.
“I believe you mean me no harm,” he said.
Upon hearing this, Xu Gui couldn't help but sincerely praise, "Mr. Lu, you are truly a wonderful person!"
Lu Baiyi: "...I'll take it as Miss Xu praising me." He's received more friend cards in one day than he has in a year.
He glanced at the camera next to him and said, "I never imagined that you, Ms. Xu, were a celebrity. Later, I also watched your live stream." So, he knew a little about her.
Xu Gui looked at him in confusion, and Lu Baiyi explained, "A couple of days ago, Miss Xu, you were trending on social media."
Xu Gui paused for a moment, then asked in a low voice, "...It's not because of Mr. Li's family's matter, is it?"
Lu Boyi nodded.
Xu Gui: "..." So, Mr. Lu also saw the scene where he was almost taken away by the police.
Xu Gui felt a little embarrassed—he had completely disgraced the turtle.
Xu Gui fell silent. Lu Baiyi looked at her in confusion. Just as the two were caught in this strange silence, a somewhat excited voice suddenly rang out: "...Hey, I've finally found you, girl!"
Xu Gui subconsciously looked up and saw a somewhat familiar person standing in front of his stall. The person said quickly, "I've been looking for you for several days. Luckily, I suddenly remembered that you seem to be a live streamer. I looked for my son and finally found you here!"
Xu Gui looked at the other person, then suddenly realized something and exclaimed, "Boss lady?!"
The slightly plump woman in front of him was none other than the owner of the restaurant where Xu Gui used to work. She was still wearing an apron, clearly having rushed over.
Xu Gui immediately said, "Boss lady, I worked very hard before, you can't go back on your word and take your wages back!"
Upon hearing this, the landlady was both amused and exasperated. She retorted, "I didn't come here to ask for your wages! I came here specifically to thank you!"
Xu Gui: "...Thank me?"
The proprietress said, "You were the one who called the electrician nearby to come and check our electrical circuits, weren't you?"
Xu Gui thought for a moment and vaguely remembered that there was such a thing.
The proprietress slapped her thigh and said, "Thanks to you, otherwise our restaurant would have been a huge success!"
The proprietress had a reason for saying that.
Before Xu Gui left, he told her to find an electrician to check the restaurant's electrical circuits. The proprietress didn't take it seriously, but unexpectedly, that afternoon, an electrician suddenly came to the door, saying that he had received a call from their restaurant to check the wiring.
The proprietress said to Xu Gui somewhat embarrassedly, "I thought you were playing a prank..."
The landlady was furious. She berated Xu Gui mercilessly and even regretted paying her eighty yuan, thinking she was an ingrate. But who knew that after the electrician's inspection, they found that there really was a problem with their electrical circuit.
According to the electrician, if you're not careful, touching this wire could cause the shop's electrical wires to crackle and spark, burning up like fireworks.
Even more terrifying is that the problem lies in the kitchen's wiring. What's in a restaurant kitchen? Gas. So, if the electrical circuits don't malfunction, it's fine, but if they do, it's not something that can be resolved with a simple fire; it could lead to a massive explosion.
The proprietress still feels a bit scared when she recalls what the electrician said back then, saying, "...The electrician said that the electrical circuit in the kitchen was already very dangerous, and that problems would occur within a day or two."
Within a day or two, it will explode that very night. At that time, it won't just affect the owner's restaurant; it will be like a chain reaction, and many restaurants on that street will be burned down.
Xu Gui added in his mind.
After the proprietress finished speaking, she looked at Xu Gui with a beaming smile and said, "That's why I came here specifically to thank you!"
Xu Gui: "Then, you're welcome?"
The proprietress said, "This is a lifesaver, how can you not thank me? Don't worry, I've already thought of how to thank you... I heard from my son that you're participating in some weird money-making program and you don't have money for food. How about this! From now on, our restaurant will cover all your meals. Whatever you want to eat, just come to our restaurant and I'll cook it for you!"
Xu Gui's eyes lit up: "Is that okay?"
The proprietress replied matter-of-factly, "Why not? You saved our whole family's lives. Even if you eat at our house for the rest of your life, that's fine with me!"
Xu Gui said embarrassedly, "That's not a good idea..."
The proprietress said, "It's almost lunchtime now, why don't you come to my shop for a meal?"
Xu Gui was about to refuse when the proprietress said, "I asked my husband to cook a huge pot of dishes, and he made his best sauerkraut stew with pig's trotters, just to treat you!"
Upon hearing this, Xu Gui changed the words of refusal that were on the tip of her tongue and said, "Okay, thank you, boss lady, you are such a good person."
Having just received a "good guy" card, Lu Baiyi couldn't help but glance at Xu Gui, his eyes holding a rather ambiguous expression.
The proprietress had already warmly invited Xu Gui to pack up his stall and come to their restaurant for dinner. Xu Gui happily stood up, but his gaze suddenly fell on Lu Baiyi, who had also stood up, and he paused.
"…Boss lady, can I bring three more people?" She looked at the boss lady expectantly and said, "I can pay for them!"
Lu Boyi could tell that she wanted to invite him, so he smiled and declined, saying, "I don't need to. I have work to do later. If there's a chance in the future, I'll have dinner with Miss Xu."
Xu Gui nodded: "Okay... Mr. Lu, thank you so much this time."
Lu Baiyi smiled at her, turned and left. Xu Gui politely watched him leave. After he left, she quickly turned and called over the cameraman who was standing in the distance.
"Hey, the boss's wife is treating us to dinner, we can go home now!" she said happily.
The person filming had been listening intently and knew what was going on, but...
"It's only 10:30. Isn't it a bit too early to have breakfast?" he said pointedly. "Besides, didn't you say you wanted to work hard to make money?"
Xu Guiyi said righteously, "The proprietress is being very kind, how can we refuse her? It's alright, I can try harder this afternoon!"
The person filming: ...I'm afraid you'll say this afternoon, "I'll try harder tomorrow," but tomorrow and tomorrow, how many tomorrows are there!
Xu Gui was completely unaware of the grumbling in her mind. With the help of the proprietress, she neatly packed up her stall and placed it on the side where it wouldn't obstruct pedestrians—many stalls in this area set up their stalls this way, and as long as they don't block the road, the urban management officers rarely bother them.
After packing his things, Xu Gui ran to the old man and excitedly invited him, "Old man, are you going to lunch? Someone invited me to lunch, do you want to come with me? It's my treat."
When she talked about someone treating her to dinner, she looked very proud.
Old man: "Are you going to have lunch?"
He glanced down at the time. "Didn't you arrive around nine o'clock? You've only been setting up your stall for less than two hours."
Xu Gui: "Two hours is already a lot... I'll try my best this afternoon!"
The old man rolled his eyes, thinking to himself: I said less than two hours, but you rounded it up to two hours, didn't you?
Xu Gui looked at him: "Are you going?"
The old man immediately said, "Go, someone invited me to dinner. Wouldn't it be a waste not to go?"
Xu Guishen agreed: That's right, that's what she thought too.
*
After the old man packed up his stall, the three of them followed the proprietress to their restaurant.
The restaurant wasn't far from them. After all, Xu Gui had found a job nearby. If it were too far, the transportation costs alone would be a huge expense, and after deducting her daily expenses, she simply couldn't afford those costs.
It's only a fifteen-minute walk from the overpass to the restaurant.
"...This area is prime real estate," the proprietress said with a hint of pride. "There's a school not far away, and a hospital is just half an hour's walk ahead. The location is fantastic."
Properties near schools and hospitals are the most sought-after. The former is convenient for children to attend school, and the latter is convenient for medical treatment. That's why the landlady said their location is a prime location, with both sides nearby. It truly is a prime location.
On their way to the restaurant, Xu Gui and his friends passed by a nearby school, a high school. However, it was still before school let out, so it was quiet and there weren't many people around.
As she passed by the school, Xu Gui felt a strange stirring in her heart and couldn't help but glance at the school gate. However, she saw nothing there; the school gate was empty except for the security guard sitting in the security room.
Xu Gui asked doubtfully, "Am I mistaken?"
Just after Xu Gui and his group passed by the school, a figure emerged from under a large tree at the school gate, peering into the school with an expression that seemed to be both sad and happy.
Judging from her figure and appearance, if Xu Gui were here, he would definitely recognize her: this person is Aunt Tuanzi from the orphanage.
As for why Aunt Tuanzi was here, only she herself knew the answer at this moment.
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