Chapter 57
Upon hearing Xu Gui's words, Fu Xia couldn't help but give her a resentful look—tell me, who's to blame for this?
Of course, she didn't steal anything last night; she just spent the whole night hopping around in the melon patch, running here and there.
There was nothing she could do; there were just too many scandals, one after another being exposed. She couldn't possibly keep up with them all. So by the time she came to her senses, it was already dawn. She hurriedly went to sleep, only managing to get an hour or two of sleep in total.
Fu Xia looked Xu Gui up and down and said in surprise, "You seem to have slept very well last night."
Xu Gui proudly declared, "Of course, my sleep quality has always been excellent!"—As a mild internet addict, she already knew that many people nowadays have some sleep problems, but she was different; she slept well anytime, anywhere.
Therefore, Xu Gui felt very proud of this.
Upon hearing her words, Fu Xia couldn't help but twitch her lips slightly, and retorted, "You dropped so many bombs last night, and you just went to sleep like that?"
Is this because she's carefree, or because she simply doesn't take it seriously? Fu Xia thinks that if it were Xu Gui, it would definitely be the latter.
The two arrived at the restaurant on the first floor of the hotel. By then, many guests and staff from the program were already eating. When Xu Gui and her companion entered, the once lively restaurant suddenly fell silent.
At that moment, even Fu Xia, who wasn't very sensitive to people's gazes, could feel countless complex gazes sweeping over them the instant they entered.
Fu Xia: "Hiss..."
She pulled Xu Gui through the crowd, and amidst the gloomy and subtle glances of others, they found a booth further inside and sat down. After they were seated, Fu Xia let out a sigh and said to Xu Gui, "You're really famous now."
Last night, Xu Gui became famous overnight. She went viral on the trending topics and is still trending now, attracting countless netizens who were new to the internet and unaware of what had happened to go and admire her, leaving behind their footprints of respect.
Fu Xia felt that after this incident, no one would dare to provoke Xu Gui again. After all, three reckless individuals had already shown them the consequences of offending Xu Gui through their own experiences.
Well, it's definitely not going to end well.
As they chatted, they scanned a QR code to order breakfast. Suddenly, the restaurant fell silent again. Fu Xia looked up and saw Qiu Nai, one of the main characters she had been gossiping about the night before, walking into the restaurant.
Compared to his usual appearance, he looked rather haggard and tired, with thick dark circles and bags under his eyes, clearly indicating that he hadn't slept all night.
When he entered the restaurant, the people around him cast gloomy glances at him from near and far. Of course, while they called them gloomy, they were actually much more blatant than the way they had looked at Xu Gui before, and some of them were mixed with gloating.
Feeling the stares, some skeptical and others filled with malice, Qiu Nai gritted her teeth but ultimately didn't pursue the matter. Instead, she quietly found a seat and prepared some breakfast.
Fu Xia leaned closer to Xu Gui and whispered, "I didn't expect that after what happened, Qiu Nai still hasn't quit the show... and even showed up at the restaurant at this time."
She gossiped with Xu Gui: "Tang Xu was taken back by the Tang family last night and has withdrawn from the filming of the show. As for your agent, he just left our hotel last night and his leg was broken. He was taken to the hospital by ambulance... I heard that the person who broke his leg was his brother-in-law."
Xu Gui looked at her with some surprise and asked, "How do you know so much?"
"So what?" Fu Xia said nonchalantly, "When you have money and connections, even if you don't want to know these gossips, plenty of people will chase after you and tell you them."
Xu Gui understood.
Fu Xia muttered, "I heard that Tang Baozhu immediately took the person to get a paternity test. Let me tell you, people who don't know Tang Baozhu's mother might think she's love-struck, but once you get to know her, you'll find that Ms. Tang is truly a remarkable person!"
She clearly admired and respected Tang Miaoxin, saying, "My dad once said that he wasn't afraid of the rich second and third generations enjoying life, but he was afraid of the rich second and third generations being blind and ignorant!"
Tang Miaoxin, though her eyesight was not sharp enough, was very discerning. Although she was captivated by Lin Hai's good looks, she knew best who was the best to her in the world. If it had been someone blind and unaware, Lin Hai's plan to exploit her might have succeeded.
"I heard that last night, when Ms. Tang found out that Lin Hai had been in contact with Tang Xu's biological mother all these years, she went to the hospital that night for a full-body checkup, fearing that she might have contracted a disease. This angered Lin Hai so much that he fainted!"
When Fu Xia started gossiping, she became very enthusiastic. Her originally tired face looked refreshed, and even when their breakfast was served, she would share what she knew with Xu Gui from time to time.
Clearly, her information network is incredibly efficient; she even knows about the Tang family's private affairs.
Xu Gui, intrigued by her words, also became curious about the storm she had stirred up last night. She took out her phone and opened Weibo to take a look, but as soon as she opened Weibo, the app froze and crashed, as her phone screen went completely black.
Xu Gui: "..."
She patted her phone—in her memory, whenever electronic products, whether phones or computers, patted them was the first method of troubleshooting.
Seeing her actions, Fu Xia couldn't help but ask, "What are you doing?"
Xu Gui's attention was still on his phone. He said, "Oh, my phone seems to be broken. The screen is black, and it crashes as soon as I open Weibo."
She's been using this phone for three years. It's a domestic brand that costs a little over 3,000 yuan, and it's still very smooth to use. But today it crashed as soon as she opened Weibo. Could it be because it's been used for too long?
Hearing her words, Fu Xia said with a wry smile, "Is it possible that you have too many messages on Weibo, which is why it crashes as soon as you log on?"
Xu Gui: ?!
She had never considered this possibility.
At this moment, her phone finally lit up again. Xu Gui unlocked it with her fingerprint and successfully opened Weibo. As soon as Weibo opened, she was attracted by the bright red notifications on the phone screen.
Clearly, Fu Xia was right; her Weibo account really did crash due to overloading with too much information.
She glanced at it and found that not only was her private message inbox overflowing, but her follower count was also overflowing, all bright red. She glanced at it, not paying much attention at first, but just as she was about to look away, she suddenly seemed to notice something and abruptly turned her head back.
"Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands..." She counted her followers, her eyes widening in surprise. "Eight million seven hundred thousand followers?!"
Is this her number of followers? If she remembers correctly, when she checked yesterday, she only had a little over 700,000 followers. She just slept, and it's increased tenfold?
Seeing the somewhat bewildered expression on her face, Fu Xia chuckled softly, finally feeling that Xu Gui was her peer—although she had previously thought Xu Gui was her age, Xu Gui's ability to tell fortunes always made her feel that he was unfathomable and she dared not get close to him.
But Xu Gui's expression now made her feel that the other person was just an ordinary person, not so unapproachable anymore.
“You became famous overnight last night,” she told Xu Gui. “You have no idea how lively the internet was last night.”
Indeed, it wasn't just Weibo that was buzzing, but the entire internet. Especially after Xu Gui's broadcast ended, the gossip about Tang, Qiu, and Rong spread like wildfire among netizens who were present at the time, attracting even more people to join in the fun. The atmosphere on the entire internet was incredibly heated.
Xu Gui, who caused all this commotion, went to bed early last night and didn't participate at all. He didn't even know that he had become famous overnight.
Xu Gui: "So, I've become famous?"
Fu Xia nodded vigorously: "That's right, you're famous!" And a huge one at that.
Xu Gui's eyes crinkled with delight, and she exclaimed, "Could this be what they call 'after the worst comes the best'?" She felt quite pleased with herself.
*
The two chatted and gossiped until they finished breakfast, then got up to go out.
Unfortunately, when they went out, they ran into Qiu Nai, who had just finished breakfast and was also about to go out. When Qiu Nai saw Xu Gui, she gave the two of them a personal demonstration of what "pupil earthquake" meant, and even took several steps back.
Xu Gui: ? ? ?
When Qiu Nai came to his senses and realized his reaction, his face turned pale and then red. He seemed a little angry, but after a few seconds, he chose to turn around and leave.
Fu Xia turned her head and chuckled a few times.
However, when she started filming, she couldn't laugh anymore. She forgot that she was also being laughed at yesterday, one of the many people gossiping about online.
Fu Xia's expression immediately fell.
Xu Gui, after having breakfast and changing his clothes, was also ready to start today's filming and continue his live stream.
When the camera followed him, although he didn't have dark circles under his eyes, he looked a bit tired. This time, Xu Gui didn't ask him why he was tired, because she probably already knew why he looked so sleepy.
Yesterday, Xu Gui ranked 23rd out of 30 guests in the live stream. After the second round of eliminations began, their previous rankings were no longer valid, and everything started from scratch.
Xu Gui's ranking was consistently low from the start. After all, if you count 500 per session and 10 people per day, that's only 5,000. She usually only gets seven or eight guests a day, earning just 3,000 to 4,000. Naturally, she was overshadowed by the other guests who showed off their talents.
However, Xu Gui was not in a hurry about her ranking. According to her, the advantage was in her hands, so there was no need to rush.
As it turned out, the advantage was indeed in her hands. Before last night, her ranking was outside the top 25, fluctuating occasionally. But after last night, her ranking jumped directly to 18th, surpassing eight people in one fell swoop.
This is all thanks to Ms. Tang Baozhu, who spent a lot of money last night. She directly gave Xu Gui two million yuan. Although live stream rewards don't account for a large percentage, two million yuan, even if it only accounts for 20%, is still 400,000 yuan, which naturally made her surpass many people.
Yesterday's events brought Xu Gui even more benefits than that. Her Weibo followers exceeded eight million, and her viewership on Hunan TV's live streaming platform surpassed ten million. As a result, when she started her live stream today, the number of viewers in her live stream skyrocketed at an alarming rate.
However, within half an hour, the number of viewers in her live stream had exceeded three million.
Xu Gui wasn't quite aware of this, since her live stream wasn't under her control but rather manipulated by the production team backstage. As long as the camera was on, the live stream would start.
When she got to the bottom of the overpass, she first glanced at the spot where the old man had set up his stall. The table and chairs were still there, but the old man hadn't come out to set up his stall yet.
As for Xu Gui's stall location, it was a familiar place with familiar people, still Wu Lao and his group of fishing enthusiasts. However, today was a little different from usual, as in addition to Wu Lao and his fishing enthusiasts, there was also a group of young people.
The group of young people stood respectfully in front of Old Wu and his fellow fishermen, seemingly engaged in profound academic research.
"...People who don't know better might think we're here to set up a reading corner." A soft voice came from beside Xu Gui.
Xu Gui turned her head and saw a young man. When he saw Xu Gui looking at him, he immediately grinned at her, showing off his bright white teeth. His teeth might not have been that white, but his dark skin made them look exceptionally white.
"Master, I'm your fan," he said immediately, his voice cheerful. "I've come to have my fortune told!"
Xu Gui nodded: "Okay."
Once she arrived, they set up the stall and let the young man sit down.
The young man didn't sit down immediately. Instead, he glanced at the camera in the cameraman's hand and whispered to Xu Gui, "Master, could you not film me when I'm having my fortune told?" He had already tried to avoid the camera earlier.
Xu Gui glanced at him and gestured to the cameraman. The cameraman gave her an OK sign and pointed the camera at Xu Gui. Xu Gui then removed her recording equipment, so that although the live stream captured her, the conversation between Xu Gui and the guest could not be heard.
Seeing this, the young man relaxed and sat down directly in front of Xu Gui. After sitting down, he took out his phone and scanned the money for Xu Gui, paying very quickly.
After paying the money, he told Xu Gui about his troubles: "Master, I've always had a problem that no one knows. A few years ago, I won the lottery and won 20 million!"
He spoke his last sentence very softly, close to Xu Gui, so that only he and Xu Gui could hear it.
As he spoke, he watched Xu Gui's expression. Seeing that Xu Gui's expression didn't change much after hearing this, and that he seemed very calm, he breathed a sigh of relief: he knew that the master was no ordinary person and wouldn't be moved by such a "small amount of money".
Now he could continue speaking without any reservations.
He said, "I haven't told anyone about winning the lottery, including my family. What I tell them now is that I'm still working and working diligently at the company, but in reality, I stay at home playing video games every day."
The young man looked somewhat ashamed as he said this.
“My parents are farmers, both in their fifties and sixties. At this age, they are still working in the fields. Actually, after I won the lottery, I should have told them to come to the city to enjoy a better life, but I didn’t dare!”
The young man confided: "In our area, there was a family that won the lottery. When the news got out, the whole family was killed that very night. The killer didn't even spare their cat. It was a terrible tragedy."
This case was considered a tragedy in their area, and it is still a topic that is occasionally mentioned by people.
The young man grew up hearing this story and learned one thing from a young age: don't flaunt your wealth. So, after winning the lottery, he didn't dare tell anyone. He secretly redeemed the ticket, quit his job without telling anyone he knew, and started staying home playing video games.
Even when he resigned, the reason he gave his colleagues was that he was sick, which also gave him an excuse to stay home and play games afterwards.
To this day, apart from himself and the person who redeemed the lottery ticket for him, no one else knows that he won the lottery. In the past few years, the young man has lived a decadent yet happy life. At the same time, he also feels very guilty. After all, he is already so rich, but he did not tell his parents about it, leaving them to work hard in the countryside.
The young man sighed, "It's not that I haven't thought about telling them, but my parents' generation, especially my dad, is really vain. They want to tell the whole world about anything they have at home to satisfy their vanity. Under these circumstances, how could I dare to tell them?"
But he had kept it a secret for so many years, and now his parents were getting older, and his father's health was not good. He wanted to use the money to support them, but he was afraid of getting into trouble.
"Master, what should I do?" The young man wanted Xu Gui to make a decision. "Should I tell my parents about this?"
Xu Gui looked at him and said, "Indeed, you can't tell your parents about this. It's fortunate that you didn't tell them before, otherwise, you would have really brought this upon yourself..."
Just as he said, the young man's parents were a little vain, so even though he repeatedly told them to keep a low profile, they still couldn't help but let some of the news slip to their relatives.
And in this world, there are many people with intense jealousy who harbor endless malice because of it. You can't imagine what the worst things others are capable of doing.
The young man felt a chill run down his spine and couldn't help but feel a sense of lingering fear.
"...I...I've actually been thinking about whether or not to tell my parents about this," he said.
He was just an ordinary person after all. Even though he kept it from his parents for a while, he was constantly tormented by guilt and couldn't bear to see his parents working so hard because they didn't have money. So, one day, he would eventually tell his parents about it.
And that was the beginning of the disaster... But things are different now.
Hearing Xu Gui's words, the young man made up his mind and decided that no matter what happened in the future, he would keep his lottery win a secret. He really cherished his nickname.
Looking at the young man's dejected expression, Xu Gui suddenly said, "Don't you have a friend who's making games and really needs investment?"
The young man looked up at her, his expression surprised. He said excitedly, "Master, you even know this? I do have a friend who's been trying to get investment recently. He's my college classmate. We were roommates in college and have kept in touch since graduation..."
He graduated from university eight or nine years ago, but he has maintained close contact with the other party and they still meet up for meals from time to time, which is enough to show how good their relationship is.
"A few nights ago, when we were having barbecue, he seemed to mention that the game he was working on needed investment," the young man recalled. "But what does that have to do with me?"
Xu Gui said, "Didn't you ever think about investing money in him?"
The young man was taken aback.
Xu Gui said, "Your friend is your benefactor. If you invest in his game, he will give you a return in two years... and the amount he invests in you after that will be much more than you can imagine."
"By then, you will still not have to work, you can still play games at home, and you won't have to worry about running out of money, or about having too much money attracting unwanted attention."
Young man: "...Really? What if I invest in him and don't get a return?"
Xu Gui: "Then it depends on whether you believe my prophecy or not."
The young man pondered. He hadn't thought much about the investment his friend had mentioned before. On one hand, his friend had only mentioned it casually without going into details. On the other hand, although he was rich, he didn't have the self-awareness expected of a wealthy person. After all, apart from not having a job, his daily life was essentially no different from before. He wasn't a materialistic person.
Xu Gui's words have opened up a new world for him.
Xu Gui said, "You can keep enough money for two years of living expenses, and invest the rest in your friends. That way, even though you've spent the money, you can get it back, and you can also tell your parents about it directly without having to hide it from them anymore."
"Two years later, when your friend's game achieves success and starts giving you dividends, you won't have to worry about running out of money, nor will you have to worry about anyone eyeing your fortune."
The young man began to think deeply.
If what Xu Gui said is true, then what she said is indeed the best solution. Money is something that attracts unwanted attention if you keep it in your possession, but once you spend it, you don't have to worry about it anymore, since it's all gone.
But who can guarantee that what Xu Gui said will actually come true? If it doesn't, then his money will be wasted.
Xu Gui glanced to the side and said, "Alright, I've said everything I needed to say. You can leave now."
The young man looked up blankly: "Huh? Oh!"
He quickly stood up, and saw that Xu Gui also stood up, saying somewhat embarrassedly, "Master, you don't need to see me off."
Xu Gui glanced at him questioningly, then walked past him and met the [Miaoyu] staff who were carrying things over. The young man who saw this was speechless.
The young man ran away awkwardly, but after walking off the overpass, he slowly stopped and turned to look at Xu Gui.
At that moment, Xu Gui's words kept echoing in his mind. He was actually a little unsure of what to choose, but after a few seconds, he gritted his teeth and decided to do as Xu Gui said.
This money was a windfall from the lottery; losing it means he wasn't destined for it. After all, even knowing something bad would happen if he kept the money, he might impulsively tell his parents about it someday.
The young man made his decision and immediately picked up his phone to contact his friend.
And it was his decision today that led to the emergence of a game that has remained popular for years to come, two years later. It also meant that he lost a disheartened person whose game achievements were stolen, gained a successful game developer, and became a self-made millionaire who lived a life of leisure but gradually became wealthy.
When the young man grew old, his descendants asked him about the secret to starting a business. He would sigh and say, "First, you need good luck; second, you need good luck; and finally, you need good luck to meet a wise and shrewd person!"
The descendants of the youth: ? So it's all about luck?!
*
The young man left quietly. Xu Gui watched as the people from [Miaoyu] set up the aquarium and the oxygenator. This time, the fish in the aquarium were not the betta fish from yesterday, but another kind of ornamental fish, like small goldfish.
This little goldfish has a plump body, a tail like seaweed, and beautiful colors. From the gills to the tail, the color gradually transitions from gold to red, especially the tail, which is extremely bright. When it swims in the aquarium, it looks like a vibrant oil painting.
Xu Gui glanced at it, his gaze immediately fixed on it, and he couldn't help but ask the staff, "What's this fish called?"
The staff member proudly stated, "It's a goldfish bred by our [Miaoyu], named Sunset."
Xu Gui examined the fish closely and thought the name was quite fitting. The color of the fish was just like the fiery red sunset on the horizon in summer.
"I'll leave today's promotion to you." The staff member smiled and handed Xu Gui the "Sunset Fish" brochure.
Besides the fish, the staff also brought over the little turtle from yesterday. It was kept in a small fish tank with tiny artificial rocks and aquatic plants inside, which Xu Gui could place on her fortune-telling table.
Staff: "Our boss said that this turtle has a spirit in your hands. If you're willing, we'll give it to you. This bag contains its turtle food. You can feed it when it's hungry... This turtle food has added fish and shrimp meat, so it's very nutritious. If you have time, you can also feed it some meat. That's enough."
Xu Gui was surprised for a moment, then leaned closer to the fish tank to take a closer look, and asked, "Are you really giving it to me?"
The staff member nodded.
Xu Gui: "Okay, please thank your boss for me."
The staff agreed, and as they were about to leave, Xu Gui glanced at them and asked somewhat guiltily, "Yesterday, I did try my best to promote your company..."
So even if the publicity isn't effective, the advertising fee can't be taken back—she's already transferred the money to the dean so quickly, there's no way to get it back now.
Upon hearing this, the staff member gave her a strange look, and Xu Gui asked warily, "Was the publicity effect very poor?"
"No, that's not it." The staff member's expression was subtle. "It's just that it's been too good. Yesterday, our company's 'Douyu' (a live streaming platform) sold out completely, you know..."
He looked at Xu Gui and said with some difficulty, "Many customers have asked us if it's true that our betta fish smell like dogs."
The staff responsible for online and offline sales were completely baffled.
Xu Gui: ?
Xu Gui was also full of question marks—she had no idea that the rumors about [Miaoyu] being pedantic and dog-like originated from her.
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