Chapter 42
After settling Zhao Di in, Xu Gui left.
It was already 2 p.m. at this point.
Because Xu Gui hadn't started broadcasting all afternoon, the production team had called several times, so Xu Gui had no choice but to start the live stream halfway through his journey.
Xu Gui is no longer the newcomer in the entertainment industry who only received insults from haters and had no fans. She now has fans who like her. Even before she started broadcasting, these fans were already waiting in the live broadcast room. As soon as Xu Gui started broadcasting, everyone greeted her and their attitude was very enthusiastic.
In no time, the number of viewers in Xu Gui's live stream had exceeded 200,000, and the number of viewers was still rising rapidly, soon approaching 500,000.
Seeing this scene, the person filming couldn't help but feel a little emotional.
You should know that when he was first assigned to follow Xu Gui, Xu Gui's live stream was incredibly "lively". It was full of haters having a blast, and if one or two random people accidentally wandered in, they would be scared away immediately.
At that time, Xu Gui was also a bit dazed. When others asked her to wash dishes at a restaurant, she actually went. The people filming at the time seemed to want to say something but held back.
Fortunately, all of that is in the past. Xu Gui is different now.
I don't know when it started, but her live stream became more and more lively, and she gained fans who would speak up for her and love her very much.
Now, Xu Gui is holding his phone and interacting with everyone in the live stream.
When will GuiGui start giving fortune readings to random people in her livestream again? This unlucky guy really needs a fortune teller to change his fate!
[I really want to have my fortune told +1! I'm really interested in this and want to know if Xu Gui is really that amazing. Unfortunately, I live in G province, which is a huge distance from A province. If I could have my fortune told online, that would be so great!]
My dog is missing! I really want Xu Gui to help me find out where he is. He's been our family's dog for thirteen years! Waaaa, my daughter is crying her eyes out!
Now, whenever I see someone say their dog is lost, I get terrified. I'm really afraid it was killed by its family. Thankfully, the other woman's story didn't involve that.
So, could Xu Gui really not hold another fortune-telling event where people are randomly selected to have their fortunes told? He could also take care of us half-siblings!
…
Two days ago, Xu Gui was on the highway and unable to set up his stall, so he did a live stream to tell fortunes for people. This made many netizens from other places very eager to try it out. They were also very curious about Xu Gui's fortune telling skills.
Seeing that Xu Gui was still in the car, everyone couldn't help but feel tempted, and they all said: "What netizens in City A have, we netizens from other places should have too! So, let's do a live fortune telling! Let's do a live fortune telling!"
With everyone so enthusiastic, Xu Gui thought, "It's not a bad idea." After all, it doesn't matter who gets the calculations, whether it's online or offline.
Thinking this, Xu Gui nodded and said, "There's still some time before I set up my stall, so let's pick three people..."
Her words immediately drew cheers from countless netizens in the live stream, who eagerly expressed their desire to participate. Meanwhile, the guy filming her once again became a moderator and began preparing for the lucky draw.
The first lucky person quickly emerged, a netizen with the ID "[Where did Da Bao go?]". To facilitate communication, with the other party's consent, the camera was put on the microphone for the two of them.
After the wheat is cooked.
"Hey! Master, can you hear me?" As the little speaker icon under the profile picture of the user "[Where did Da Bao go?]" flashed, a somewhat hoarse female voice rang out in the live stream. The person's voice sounded a bit older.
Xu Gui nodded: "I can hear you."
【Where did Da Bao go?】Excitedly: "I never thought I'd actually be selected. I was thinking that if I hadn't been selected, I would have just bought a plane ticket and gone to City A to find you..."
More than 400,000 people participated in this lottery. [Where did Da Bao go?] participated in the lottery just to try his luck, but he didn't expect to actually win.
"Master, I'd like you to help me find out where my dog is..."
【Where did Da Bao go?】 She quickly explained her purpose. She had seen Xu Gui looking for Zhao Di's dog before, and she was somewhat interested. However, her home was in City C, which was too far from City A. Fortunately, she won the lottery.
【Where did Da Bao go?】The group begins by introducing their dog.
“My dog, Da Bao, is thirteen years old, a real senior dog. It went missing a month ago. It opened the door and went out by itself, and never came back. My daughter is eight years old and has practically watched it grow up. Since it went missing, she has been refusing to eat or drink, and doesn't even want to go to school. She just keeps asking for our dog.”
【Where did Da Bao go?】She said her daughter was very worried about the dog, but when she herself mentioned the dog, her tone was also very anxious and worried. Obviously, she was just as worried about the dog as her daughter.
However, netizens generally expressed their understanding of this situation.
[A thirteen-year-old dog! To this family, this dog could practically be considered "family," right? And it's so old! No wonder the auntie was so worried. If my dog got lost, I'd be just as anxious.]
[Great! It's a normal family with pets; we're saved! Yesterday I heard that the girl was looking for a dog whose parents killed it and made it into dog meat hot pot. I don't know if the world has gone mad, or if I'm the one who's abnormal. How can there be so many hypocrites?]
Auntie, don't worry, Xu Gui will definitely be able to help you find your dog!
...
Netizens offered words of comfort to the anxious aunt, who stared intently at Xu Gui, hoping he could truly help her find her dog. Her family had already searched almost the entire surrounding area, and the search area was still expanding outwards.
But more than a month has passed, and Da Bao is still nowhere to be found. Da Bao is an old dog, and his health was not very good to begin with. Now that he's gone... Auntie simply doesn't dare to think about what happened after he got lost. Just thinking about it makes her feel suffocated.
After hearing what his aunt said, Xu Gui didn't speak immediately. Instead, after several seconds, he said, "Actually, your family has already guessed what Da Bao is going to do, hasn't it?"
Aunt:"……"
The aunt didn't speak; all the netizens could hear was her breathing becoming somewhat rapid during the live stream.
Xu Gui sighed and said, "Someone once told me that when pets sense they are about to die, they will choose to 'run away from home' to prevent their families from worrying and being sad..."
Xu Gui's words were easy to understand, so everyone in the live stream understood her meaning almost instantly. The auntie also clearly understood, because everyone heard her sobbing.
When the aunt spoke again, everyone heard that her voice was even hoarseer.
"Yes, regarding Da Bao's 'running away from home,' our family has actually had some suspicions," the aunt said. "Its health hasn't been good for the past two years. It's getting old, and various organs in its body are showing signs of failure. It used to be very lively, but in the last two years, it has become increasingly lethargic..."
The aunt kept talking about Da Bao, and Xu Gui didn't interrupt, just listened quietly. The other people in the live stream were also quiet, listening silently to the aunt's narration and sorrowful outpouring.
“Sometimes our family members worry that one day it will fall asleep and we will never be able to wake it up again… In fact, our family had already prepared ourselves for its departure, but we never expected that it would leave home on its own.”
As the aunt spoke, she began to sob.
As for the reason why Da Bao left, the family had a vague idea of it. However, on the one hand, they dared not think about it, and on the other hand, they were worried that if it ran outside, it would be beaten or scolded, or that it would be taken away by dog traffickers.
So they never gave up the search, and lost dog posters were posted everywhere.
The sound of an aunt wiping away tears and snot could be heard in the live stream. She took a breath, seemingly trying to calm herself down and prevent her emotions from collapsing.
"Master, Da Bao, is it dead now?" the aunt asked.
Xu Gui nodded silently.
"Then, Master, can you tell where it died?" the aunt asked again, her tone becoming somewhat urgent. "Dabao is a member of our family. Even if it's dead, we want to find it and at least, at least give it a proper grave."
Xu Gui said, "The place Da Bao went to is actually a place that everyone in your family knows."
Aunt: "Huh?"
Xu Guidao asked, "Did your mother-in-law bring Dabao back? Does it have a good relationship with your mother-in-law?"
Auntie didn't understand why Xu Gui suddenly brought up her mother-in-law. She nodded blankly and said, "Yes... Da Bao is a mongrel. My mother-in-law picked it up on the road when she went back to her hometown."
Their hometown is in the countryside, where dogs aren't treated like precious pets. Da Bao and its brothers and sisters were abandoned by the roadside. When the aunt's mother-in-law found them, the other puppies had already died, and only Da Bao was still alive. So the mother-in-law brought it back and named it "Da Bao".
Da Bao is very intelligent and well-behaved. He can also take care of children. However, he is a little timid. When we take him for a walk, he avoids people and trembles when he sees them.
After the aunt's child was born, it even helped its owners take care of the little master. The aunt and her family loved it very much and had long regarded it as a member of the family.
The aunt's mother-in-law dotes on it the most, sometimes calling it "daughter," sometimes "baby," and even letting the aunt and her husbands call it "little sister." The bond between the woman and the dog is truly the best in their family.
“But my mother-in-law passed away two years ago…” the aunt said sadly, but then she suddenly realized something and stopped talking.
Xu Gui knew she understood what he meant, and said, "Go to your mother-in-law's grave, and you'll find your Da Bao."
After a few seconds of silence, the woman's somewhat hoarse voice rang out again: "Okay, I understand, thank you, Master. I'll go to the cemetery now!"
After he finished speaking, the live stream was suddenly cut off, clearly indicating that the person on the other end had left in a hurry.
Meanwhile, Xu Gui's live stream was quiet, with even the comments scrolling by silently, a far cry from the previous hustle and bustle.
[Sobbing, my eyes are brimming with tears. The dog is good, the people are good, such a good person, such a good dog! Everyone is so kind. I hope the auntie can find the dog in the end.]
【Oh no, I'm so sad because my aunt is so upset. I also have a dog, it's six years old this year, and the thought that it might leave in a few years is making me feel like I can't hold back anymore. What should I do?】
Life is inherently full of reunions and partings, so just cherish the present moment.
Why is everyone so emo? Moderator, hurry up and draw the next one. I hope the next person's reading will be something happy. I like happy things, not emo.
While Xu Gui was drawing a lucky winner in his live stream, in a household in City C, an auntie who was sitting in the living room wearing headphones and playing on her phone suddenly stood up.
This auntie is the same auntie who just asked Xu Gui for help finding her dog in Xu Gui's live stream. Her surname is Huang and her name is Huang Ailian.
As soon as Huang Ailian left Xu Gui's live stream, she called her husband.
“…Someone told me that Da Bao is very likely at Mom’s grave, and I plan to go to the cemetery,” she said quickly.
Upon hearing this, Huang Ailian's husband, Hao Zhigang, suddenly realized something. He said, "That's right! Dabao and Mom have such a good relationship. If it goes out, it's very likely to go to Mom! How come I didn't think of that?"
but……
"Does Da Bao know where Mom is buried?" he couldn't help but ask.
Huang Ailian said, "I don't know, but even if there's only a slight possibility, I have to go look for it. Maybe it's right there!"
Hao Zhigang: "You're right. Wait for me, I'll ask the company for leave and drive there with you."
Huang Ailian: "Okay."
Hao Zhigang's company was only half an hour's drive from their home. Half an hour later, Huang Ailian waited for her husband's car at the entrance of her residential community. Once the couple met, the car drove to the cemetery where Hao's mother's grave was located.
Two and a half hours later, they parked their car in a cemetery on the outskirts of the city, and after another ten minutes, they arrived at Hao's mother's destination.
Then, they saw a furry figure lying quietly beside Hao's mother. Upon seeing this, the couple stopped in their tracks.
"It's really here..." Huang Ailian was both surprised and delighted, and the couple quickly walked over.
"Dabao?! Dabao!"
They called out the big dog's name, but when they got closer, they found that Da Bao was already dead. Its body was stiff and even emitted a foul odor, clearly indicating that it had been dead for a long time and its body was already rotting.
Although she had made preparations long ago, Huang Ailian's tears still streamed down her face when she saw Da Bao's body.
Hao Zhigang's eyes also reddened. He hugged his wife and said, "We should be happy. Da Bao is finally reunited with his mother..."
Huang Ailian nodded, but tears still streamed down her face.
*
On the other side, Xu Gui had already arrived at the overpass where she usually set up her stall. To her surprise, someone was already waiting for her at her stall. When they saw her coming, they quickly got up and greeted her.
"Master, it's me. Do you remember me? Yesterday, my mother and I came to you to ask you to tell me about my mother's ghost encounter!"
Xu Gui glanced at it and nodded: "I remember."
—The two people waiting here were none other than the mother and daughter from yesterday. It was only yesterday, how could Xu Gui have forgotten so quickly?
Xu Gui glanced at the old woman standing next to her daughter. Compared to her uncooperativeness and resentment yesterday, the old woman seemed quite "honest" today, which made Xu Gui take a few more glances at her.
The daughter nudged her aunt with her elbow and said, "Mom, didn't you say you were coming to apologize to the master? Why aren't you saying anything?"
The old lady: "..." You really are my good daughter.
Despite her inner turmoil, the old woman still looked up at Xu Gui and apologized to him.
"Master, I'm sorry. I misunderstood you yesterday. Because you were young and beautiful, I thought you were just a pretty face and a fraud."
The old woman raised her hand and gave Xu Gui a thumbs up, saying with some admiration, "I never expected you to be such a truly skilled master!"
Xu Gui raised an eyebrow slightly as he watched this scene and said, "Looks like you've already caught the cat?"
"We caught it!" the old woman's daughter said in a clear voice. "We searched for it for most of the day downstairs when we got back, and finally found it in a bush... You know what, this cat is really bewitching."
When the cat's appearance was mentioned, the old lady's daughter's expression became somewhat subtle, clearly indicating that the cat's appearance had greatly shocked her.
"We also brought the cat, just so you could see it!"
The old lady's daughter picked up a cat carrier from beside her feet, reached in decisively and nimbly, and pulled out a fluffy cow cat.
The old woman's daughter held the cat by the scruff of its neck. The cat's fate was in its throat, and it could only obediently stay in her hands.
The camera then focused on the cat, and everyone in the live stream finally got a clear look at it, and then...
Everyone:【……】
Yesterday they were wondering what kind of cat Xu Gui described, looking like a ghost face, and whether Xu Gui was exaggerating.
Now that they saw it, they realized that Xu Gui's description was entirely truthful, without any exaggeration.
It was indeed a black and white cat, but the black and white coloring was somewhat chaotic. Apart from the black and white patches on its body, its face was also marked with a few black and white spots.
The cat's furry face was mostly black except for its eyebrows, mouth, and nose, which were white and irregularly white. At first glance, it looked like a screaming ghost face.
Everyone: This face and the ghost face are not unrelated, but they are exactly the same.
No wonder the old lady was so frightened that she wanted to run away.
Xu Gui looked at the old woman's daughter and asked her, "What do you plan to do with this cat?"
“Keep it,” the old woman’s daughter said. “Although it’s a bit ugly, it followed my mother all the way from the countryside to the city. Just for that stubbornness, I’ve decided to adopt it!”
So after catching the cat yesterday, she took it to a nearby veterinary hospital to deworm it and get it vaccinated.
The old lady seemed a bit disgusted, saying, "This cat looks so strange. Don't you young girls all love Ragdolls and calico cats? You've got some strange-looking cat instead."
The old woman's daughter said, "Mom, you don't understand. As the saying goes, a beautiful face is a dime a dozen, but a distorted face is one of a kind. If my cat accidentally goes out, I don't have to worry about 'bumping into another cat'!"
The older woman shook her head, indicating that she didn't understand the woman's aesthetic sense, but expressed respect for it.
The mother and daughter came to show Xu Gui the cat and thank him. After they finished looking at it, they took the cat home.
After they left, Xu Gui set up his stall and prepared to start working.
However, compared to her leisurely situation, the other guests on the show were not as relaxed as she was. After all, today was the first round of eliminations, and all the guests who ranked more than 30 were eliminated.
Therefore, the positions around the thirtieth place are fiercely contested, even "in the blink of an eye"—the person in that position might change in the blink of an eye, so fast that you can't even react.
As for the guests ranked 35th and below, the gap between them and those ahead of them was too great, and they had no hope of "advancing" anymore. Therefore, they were more interested in watching this chaotic battle.
Some people noticed Xu Gui's "peaceful and quiet life" and couldn't help but feel a little envious, especially those who were previously at a similar low position to Xu Gui.
"Xu Gui is quite lucky..."
They're all minor celebrities, how come Xu Gui is the one who suddenly stands out? It's infuriating!
*
At 5 PM, the list of the 30 guests who advanced to the next round of the show was finally released.
Xu Gui's name was prominently featured among them.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
