Chapter 35
"...Are you going to call the police and have me arrested now?"
Wei Qilin looked at the old man with a defiant gaze, displaying a "what's the use" attitude that came from someone whose conspiracy had been discovered.
The old man pondered.
“...Grandpa.” Zheng Feibao looked at him pleadingly. Although Zheng Fulai didn’t speak, his expression was hesitant. Only Zheng Feiran had a stern face, and his emotions were unreadable.
Several seconds later, the old man suddenly sighed, looked at Wei Qilin, and said, "I won't call the police to arrest you. You can go now."
Hearing this, Wei Qilin didn't show any joy on his face. He stared at the old man expressionlessly and said, "Do you think I'll be grateful to you if you let me go? You're dreaming!"
He made no attempt to hide his hatred. "I will always remember that it was you, Zheng Qi, who betrayed us and caused the destruction of our Wei family... Given the chance, I will repay you a hundredfold for what you did to our Wei family!"
After saying that, Wei Qilin turned to leave.
"Qilin," Zheng Feibao suddenly called out to him, her eyes filled with sorrow yet stubbornness, and asked, "Did you marry me back then just to get revenge on the Zheng family? Don't you really have even the slightest feeling for me?"
“…No.” Wei Qilin took a deep breath. He stood there without turning his head, and his cold voice said, “Do you know how much effort I have to put into controlling myself every day in front of you and everyone in your Zheng family, so that I don’t show even the slightest bit of hatred?”
“I will always remember that it was Zheng Qi, your grandfather, who killed my grandfather and my father…” He sneered and asked, “And you, as his granddaughter, do you think I would like you?”
Zheng Feibao blinked lightly and quickly again, and tears quietly rolled down her cheeks.
She took a breath, turned her head to wipe away the tears streaming down her cheeks, and said, "I understand."
Then, in a calm tone, he said, "In that case, there's no need for our marriage to continue. Get ready, and we'll go through the divorce proceedings in a couple of days."
Xu Gui saw that upon hearing Zheng Feibao's words, Wei Qilin's hand, which was hanging by his side, trembled slightly. He clenched his fist lightly and then quickly relaxed it.
"I understand..." Wei Qilin said, then left without saying anything more.
After Wei Qilin left, Zheng Fulai hurried over to Zheng Feibao's side and asked her worriedly, "Sister, are you alright?"
Zheng Feibao was actually feeling rather heavy-hearted, but seeing Zheng Fulai's teary eyes, she smiled and couldn't help but ask, "Why are you crying?"
Zheng Fulai wiped away his tears and stubbornly said, "I didn't cry." Even though tears were still welling up in his eyes.
Zheng Feibao laughed first, then sighed and muttered, "Silly child, what's there to cry about? This marriage was a mistake from the beginning, and now we're just correcting that mistake."
...
The old man had just fainted due to an allergic reaction and was now looking tired. Dr. Fu, who was keeping his eyes down and seemingly oblivious to everything, reached out and helped him back to his bedroom.
"Grandpa, let me help you." Zheng Feiran walked over.
The old man turned around, glanced at Xu Gui first, then looked at Zheng Feiran in front of him, and said, "No need, Dr. Fu is enough to help me. You should stay and properly entertain our distinguished guests..."
Distinguished guest?
Zheng Feiran looked at Xu Gui, who smiled at him, but then seemed to suddenly remember something, and his expression froze.
The old man looked at Xu Gui with a kind face and said, "This time, I really owe a lot to Master Xu. My old bones escaped a disaster. If it weren't for my failing health, I would have personally treated Master Xu well!"
He sighed, "Now, I can only ask my good-for-nothing grandson for help... Master Xu, if you need anything, just tell him, and he will do his best to meet your needs!"
Xu Gui glanced at Zheng Feiran, whose expression was becoming increasingly stiff, and said in a calm tone, "I won't stand on ceremony with Mr. Zheng."
"I, I will also treat Master Xu well!" Zheng Fulai said eagerly.
The old man looked at him, reached out and patted his head, and said, "Good boy."
Watching their "grandfather and grandson being kind and filial," the photographer felt uneasy. He couldn't help but lean closer to Xu Gui and whisper, "Teacher Xu, do you think what Mr. Wei said just now was true or false? Did the old man of the Zheng family really do those things back then?"
Xu Gui replied, "What does that have to do with us?"
Her tone was very casual: "We're just doing our jobs for money, helping people solve problems. So, as long as we resolve the 'abnormalities' that have been happening in their family recently, we've already achieved our goal here. As for the truth of the matter, why should we delve into it?"
Instead of pondering whether Wei Qilin's words were true or false, she might as well think about how to spend the two million that was about to be in her hands... Hmm, this was a very serious matter.
Xu Gui pondered.
After hearing what she said, the person following her couldn't help but glance at her.
“…Master Xu.” Zheng Feiran came over, and this time his tone towards Xu Gui was much more sincere and respectful, without that sharp, sarcastic tone anymore.
Zheng Fulai followed him. Although the matter was resolved, Zheng Fulai did not seem happy. Instead, he frowned and looked dejected. When he saw Xu Gui, he tried to cheer up and called out, "Master Xu."
Zheng Feiran adopted a very humble posture in front of Xu Gui, and said sincerely, "Master Xu, I was blind before and didn't recognize your greatness. I mistakenly thought you were a fraud. I apologize to you here!"
Zheng Fulai, who had been listless, immediately perked up upon hearing his apology. He looked at the other man in surprise and said, "You actually know how to apologize to people?"
Zheng Feiran smiled, appearing every inch the gentleman, but the movement of his left foot was completely at odds with his expression. He ruthlessly stomped on Zheng Fulai's instep and ground it hard.
It's impossible to say that this action wasn't driven by some personal grudge.
"Awooo—" Zheng Fulai yelled instantly, unable to help but glare angrily at him.
Zheng Feiran's expression remained unchanged; he simply looked at Xu Gui sincerely.
Xu Gui blinked and said, "No need for an apology, but do you still remember our bet?"
Zheng Feiran was taken aback, then, remembering something, asked, "...You mean that one million?"
Xu Guifei nodded quickly.
Zheng Feiran smiled and said, "A bet is a bet. I did lose our bet. I will obediently hand over the one million I made later. I won't shortchange you a single penny... Also, you saved my grandfather, which is a great kindness to our Zheng family. To express our gratitude, our Zheng family will offer an additional five million as a reward!"
Upon hearing this, Zheng Fulai hurriedly said, "Me too. I also promised to give Master Xu one million. I'll transfer it to you in a bit."
One million, five million, one million...
Xu Gui felt that no amount of apology or sorry was as real as this cash, but...
“Then the five million is unnecessary,” she said. “Mr. Zheng Fulai and I have already agreed on the payment. As long as I can resolve your family’s issues, he will give me one million. After that, it will be the bet between you and Mr. Zheng Feiran.”
She concluded, "So, all you need to do is give me two million."
Upon hearing this, Zheng Feiran looked somewhat surprised. He gave Xu Gui a deep look but did not insist. He simply nodded and said, "Alright, since Master Xu says so, then we can only do as you say."
Zheng Feiran didn't delay. After finishing his sentence, he immediately transferred one million to Xu Gui. As for Zheng Fulai's one million...
Zheng Fulai was very worried. He stingily transferred the last million yuan in his bank account to Xu Gui. He whispered to Xu Gui, "This is my last savings. All the money I had before was swindled away by others."
Xu Gui couldn't help but glance at him a few more times, and almost had the urge to lie to him. After all, this person was so easy to fool, it was practically a challenge to his conscience.
However, Xu Gui eventually gave up on the idea of lying... She is a kind-hearted Xuan Turtle, really.
*
Perhaps knowing that Xu Gui didn't have much affection for him, Zheng Feiran later had Zheng Fulai entertain Xu Gui. However, Xu Gui did seem to have more affection for Zheng Fulai than for Zheng Feiran.
Xu Gui didn't intend to stay at Zheng's house any longer. When she said she was going back, Zheng Fulai drove her to the parking lot of his house. On the way, he couldn't help but say a few more words of thanks to Xu Gui.
"...I really didn't expect that everything that has happened in my family over the past month was just Brother Qilin playing tricks." — Even now, he still refers to Wei Qilin as "Brother Qilin".
"However, how did he do it?" Zheng Fulai was still puzzled. "The dead fish in the pond, the withered osmanthus tree... and the sound of a woman crying that my grandfather always heard."
He suddenly shivered, looked at Xu Gui nervously, and said, "Master Xu, is my house actually haunted too?"
Xu Gui: "..."
Xu Gui pondered for a moment and asked, "Have you ever thought that the fish in the pond died because he poisoned them? And that the withered money tree was poisoned with boiling water by someone he had someone pour on it? As for the woman's crying that your grandfather heard in the middle of the night... there is such a thing as a tape recorder in this world."
At that moment, she deeply felt the meaning of Wei Qilin's words, "I thought you were just ridiculously stupid"... This Mr. Zheng Fulai did indeed think very simply.
"Okay, it seems so." Zheng Fulai chuckled dryly, then his expression tightened as if he had just remembered something: "Wait! Does that mean Brother Qilin has accomplices in our house?"
—While he might be considered slow-witted, he has now keenly grasped the problem: "Who is it?"
Xu Gui said nonchalantly, "Mr. Zheng Feiran should be able to find out the truth about this." But this matter had nothing to do with them.
Zheng Fulai breathed a sigh of relief and said, "That's true." Fei Ran is so smart, he probably thought of this problem a long time ago.
After a few seconds, he sighed again and frowned, saying, "Brother Qilin said he doesn't like my second sister at all, but I don't believe he has no feelings for her at all. Master Xu, you haven't seen how he and my second sister get along. They've never even argued once since they got married."
Despite her aloof and unapproachable appearance, Zheng Feibao is actually a very gentle person at heart, while Wei Qilin is also peaceful and broad-minded. The two of them together are a perfect match.
Therefore, Zheng Fulai truly did not believe Wei Qilin's words that he had no feelings for Zheng Feibao at all.
“He’s definitely lying,” he said.
Xu Gui casually remarked, "Does it really matter whether he's lying or not?"
Zheng Fulai was taken aback.
Xu Gui looked at him and said, "They were separated by the hatred of their families being destroyed. How do you expect them to choose? Pretend they know nothing, that nothing happened, and continue to be together?"
Zheng Fulai was speechless.
“It is precisely because they are both very clear about this that they have made their current choice.” Xu Gui said clearly, “It can only mean that they are destined to be apart, and they are not each other’s true soulmates.”
Zheng Fulai: "...Even so." But he was still sad, and felt sad for them.
The chubby little boy, with a raised eyebrow, escorted Xu Gui and the others to the parking lot. He then instructed his family's driver to take them to the overpass where Xu Gui had set up his stall before standing aside and watching their car leave.
After getting into the car, Xu Gui first checked his bank account balance on his phone and carefully counted it.
"Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands... millions!" That's right, it's indeed two million!
She thought she was very calm, but in reality, to the person filming her, she was practically beaming with joy. The happiness in her eyes was almost tangible; one eye seemed to say "money," and the other eye seemed to say "money" too.
The photographer couldn't help but ask, "Teacher Xu, since you like money so much, why didn't you agree to Mr. Zheng Feiran's offer of an extra two million?" He thought Teacher Xu would agree without hesitation.
Hearing his words, Xu Gui regained some of her attention and said, "I do love money, but there's a saying: 'A gentleman loves money, but he acquires it in a proper way.' I won't take money that isn't rightfully mine."
Upon hearing this, the photographer immediately felt a deep respect for Xu Gui. He exclaimed, "Teacher Xu, you are such a principled person? I'm sorry, I underestimated you."
Xu Gui: "..." Her expression was somewhat guilty.
I'm sorry, she lied.
Actually, she wanted to accept the two million without hesitation, but she didn't want to have anything to do with the Zheng family, so she refused after weighing the options. In other words, her refusal of the two million wasn't due to any principle.
Xu Gui: This fact should be self-evident.
"Oh, right," the paparazzi remembered something and said to Xu Gui, "We turned off the live stream before because of privacy issues, but I recorded the key parts with my phone, which can completely prove that the two million was money you earned through your work!"
"I've already sent this video to the director. With these two million, you're guaranteed to break into the top thirty and won't be eliminated!"
Although she had already earned two million, Xu Gui's eyes lit up as she learned that money was a good thing. She said happily, "I told you, my luck has been on my side these past few days, I definitely won't be eliminated!"
Her ranking won't stagnate; she's going to take first place.
"My temporary goal is to earn 10 billion!" she calculated. "Although I'm still a little far from my goal..."
The paparazzi: ...You haven't forgotten your 10 billion little goal yet?
Just then, Xu Gui's eyelids suddenly twitched violently. She blinked and suddenly felt a little flustered.
"What happened?" She touched her still twitching eyes, feeling as if something had happened at that moment. However, since she couldn't count herself, even though Xu Guixin had a feeling, she didn't know what had happened, or who or where it happened.
Xu Gui frowned.
*
At this point, the program director had already received the video from the camera crew.
The assistant director looked over and asked, "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing," the director replied. "It's just that Xu Gui made two million by fortune telling..." To be honest, he wasn't surprised at all.
You know, the wealthier people are, the more they believe in fortune telling and feng shui. Therefore, the more skilled someone is in this area, the more money they can make. When Xu Gui started fortune telling and discovered that she was particularly accurate, the director realized that if she wanted to make money, it would be a very simple thing for her.
The director clicked his tongue.
The assistant director glanced at her and said, "Weren't you worried that Xu Gui would be eliminated? Now that she's earned two million, she's a shoo-in for the top thirty. You should be relieved now, so why the long face?"
The director, with a stern face, said, "Who said I was worried about her?"
Assistant Director: Hehe.
The director tried his best to evaluate Xu Gui with a fair and impartial attitude: "...Although some of her actions are sometimes puzzling, she is a very likable person. I have observed that the fans she has attracted are mostly mothers and career fans. These fans are not only loyal but also long-lasting. As long as she does not do anything illegal or disorderly, they will basically not stop supporting her."
In short, from all perspectives, keeping Xu Gui is a good thing for their program.
So, he wasn't worried about Xu Gui; he was worried about their production team!
Assistant Director: ...Hehe.
"..." The director suddenly turned to look at the others and asked, "Does our program's director have the right to fire the assistant director?"
Assistant Director: ?
"Director, you're always right!" he said righteously.
*
After confirming that Xu Gui had indeed earned two million, the director had the staff record the data. As a result, when Xu Gui started broadcasting at noon, countless viewers of "360 Trades" discovered that a live stream room had suddenly dropped to the thirteenth position.
Audience: ? ?
Is there something fishy going on?!
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