Chapter 77
About an hour later, the Zhou family members arrived at the hospital.
After receiving the dean's call, Xu Gui went downstairs to meet them. When Lin Xiaoyun saw her, her expression was somewhat uneasy, perhaps because she remembered their impolite attitude towards Xu Gui before.
However, when she arrived at the ward and saw the child on the bed, all her thoughts vanished, and all she could see was the child on the bed.
“…Xiao Bao.” Lin Xiaoyun hurried to the bedside, and when she saw the child’s appearance, her eyes instantly reddened.
Xu Gui slightly raised her chin and asked, "Isn't this your little treasure?"
"Yes!" Lin Xiaoyun nodded vigorously, her eyes unwilling to leave the child for even a moment. "This is my Xiaobao, my child... You, Ms. Xu, where did you find her? How is she now? What did the doctor say?"
Xu Gui, wanting to keep her in suspense, answered directly: "As I said before, she was thrown into the water. I found her in the artificial lake in the park. When she was pulled out, she was already soaking wet."
Although it's summer and the weather is hot, the water is still a bit cold for a three-month-old baby. It would be strange if he didn't get a fever.
"The doctor said the child is too young to take medication; we can only use physical methods to lower the fever temporarily. He'll only consider medication if that fails," Xu Gui said, recounting the doctor's words. "Furthermore, the child needs to stay at the hospital for observation tonight. They said the water in the artificial lake is very dirty, and they're worried about her getting an infection..."
Lin Xiaoyun nodded repeatedly.
"Oh, right." Xu Gui remembered something and took out a payment slip from his pocket and handed it over: "This is the hospital payment slip. It's for the child's examination fee and medical expenses. Here, take a look. It's a total of 1,800 yuan."
Zhou Tai took the payment slip without looking at it closely, and simply thanked her, saying, "Ms. Xu, thank you so much for my daughter's situation!"
Xu Gui looked at him and said, "You do need to thank me, but more than gratitude, I think your family should apologize to me first and say sorry!"
Zhou Tai: "Huh?"
He looked at Xu Gui with a blank expression, clearly unaware of the feud between his mother and Xu Gui.
Of course, there was a reason for this. Zhou Tai had been working at the company until his wife called him, at which point he rushed back and learned about his daughter's disappearance. He was unaware of what had happened before that.
Xu Gui looked at him and said bluntly, "I told your wife and your mother before that your daughter was secretly taken away by your son, and that your son also secretly threw his sister into the water, but your mother didn't believe me and said I was a liar."
"It's one thing that she didn't believe me, but she even hit me!" Xu Gui still felt wronged when she thought about it. She pointed to the scabbed scratches on her left cheek. "Look! These scratches on my face were inflicted by your mother. She almost disfigured me. So tell me, shouldn't your family apologize to me?"
That's right!
Yuan Lu nodded in unison, sharing the same hatred for the enemy.
Hearing this, Lu Baiyi's gaze fell on Xu Gui's face. He had been wondering why Xu Gui had a scar on his cheek, but now he realized it was because he had done a good deed but was mistaken for a liar and had his face scratched.
Lu Baiyi thought to himself: No wonder she looked so aggrieved and angry.
After hearing Xu Gui's words, Zhou Tai looked at his wife questioningly. Lin Xiaoyun nodded gently to him, her expression somewhat embarrassed.
Now, Zhou Tai's expression turned somewhat awkward. He said, "I didn't know about this, Miss Xu. I'm so sorry, I apologize on behalf of my mother!"
Xu Gui snorted lightly, glancing sideways at Lin Xiaoyun, and said, "Back then you called me a liar, said I was superstitious... Look, I helped you find the child, do you still think I'm a liar now?"
Lin Xiaoyun felt embarrassed and ashamed. She said, "Miss Xu, I'm sorry, I misunderstood you as a swindler... But I know now, Miss Xu, you are not a swindler, you are a real fortune teller. I am really grateful to you for saving my little treasure."
"Thank you for putting aside past grievances and still being willing to save my child..."
Lin Xiaoyun never expected that after what happened, Xu Gui would still be willing to help them find their child.
Even now, when she thinks back on it, she still feels lingering fear. She doesn't dare to imagine what would have happened to her little baby if Xu Gui hadn't found him.
Looking at the child whose face was flushed from the fever, Lin Xiaoyun felt her breath catch in her throat whenever she thought of that scene. She was certain that she could never accept that fact.
She would definitely break down at that time.
Xu Gui was indeed very angry that the Zhou family called her a liar, but seeing Lin Xiaoyun sincerely apologizing to her, she suddenly wasn't so angry anymore. After all, who told her to be such a magnanimous turtle?
*
Now that the child's parents have arrived, Xu Gui and his group can finally make their way back.
However, as they were leaving, they saw Lin Xiaoyun's parents-in-law, along with their eldest grandson Zhou Dabao, arrive. Xu Gui paused, naturally stopping in his tracks.
Lu Baiyi: ?
He turned to look at Xu Gui, but saw that Xu Gui's expression was normal, and he couldn't tell what emotions were on her face. However, her eyes kept glancing at the Zhou family members.
As soon as Lin Xiaoyun's mother-in-law entered the ward, she went straight to the child on the bed, shouting, "Oh my, Grandma's little treasure! I was so worried about you! I'm so glad you're alright!"
The expression on her face looked genuinely distressed, and it didn't seem fake at all.
When she saw that Xiao Bao's cheeks were flushed, she reached out and touched them, then quickly withdrew her hand and anxiously asked Lin Xiaoyun beside her, "Xiaoyun, why is Xiao Bao so feverish?"
Lin Xiaoyun glanced at Zhou Dabao standing at the door and said with a somewhat unpleasant expression, "Xiaobao was abandoned in the artificial lake in the park before. When Miss Xu rescued her, she was soaking wet. How could she not catch a cold or have a fever when she is so young?"
"The doctor also said that the water in the artificial lake is very dirty, and if Xiaobao drinks too much water, it could cause a lung infection, so he needs to stay in the hospital for observation tonight."
"Xiao Bao is only three months old. If Miss Xu hadn't saved her, she might already be..."
Lin Xiaoyun couldn't continue. She wanted to question her son in anguish, "Dabao, tell me, why did you secretly take your sister out and throw her into the artificial lake? Did you... did you want to kill your sister?"
She spoke her last words softly and with great difficulty—to admit that one of her children wanted to kill the other was like stabbing herself in the heart.
However, she was determined to get to the bottom of this matter. After all, what if something like this happened again if she didn't get to the bottom of it now? Miss Xu had saved Xiao Bao, but what would happen after that?
Therefore, she had to figure out what her son was really thinking.
After entering the ward, Zhou Dabao stood at the door, unwilling to come over. He kept pacing around on the floor and occasionally looked up at his parents with pleading eyes. When Lin Xiaoyun questioned him, his expression became even more aggrieved, making him look incredibly pitiful.
Unfortunately, Lin Xiaoyun was not puzzled by his expression. Seeing that he did not speak, she immediately stood up and walked towards him, saying angrily, "Tell me, why did you want to hurt your sister?"
Seeing that things were not going well, Grandma Zhou quickly reached out to stop her, saying, "Alright, Xiaoyun, don't get agitated! This... this isn't even certain that Dabao did it..."
"Mom, at a time like this, you're still speaking up for your grandson!" Lin Xiaoyun looked at her mother-in-law in shock and confusion. "He's murdering someone, and he killed his own sister!"
Grandma Zhou looked embarrassed, but said, "Xiao Bao is alright, isn't he?"
Lin Xiaoyun said angrily, "What if something happened? If it weren't for Miss Xu's kindness, Xiaobao might already be dead!"
The moment the word "death" was uttered, Lin Xiaoyun could no longer hold back her emotions, and tears streamed down her face. She looked at Zhou Dabao with anger and disappointment and asked, "Dabao, why did you want to hurt your sister?"
Zhou Dabao pursed his lips tightly and remained silent.
Seeing this, Zhou Tai suddenly rushed over and kicked the child in the stomach, sending him flying.
"ah!"
Grandma Zhou screamed in surprise. Grandpa Zhou panicked when he saw this and rushed forward to stop his son, shouting, "What are you doing? What are you doing?!"
Zhou Tai gritted his teeth and glared at Zhou Dabao, cursing, "You beast! How could you even harm your own sister?"
"Dabao!" Grandma Zhou rushed to her grandson, crying out, "Grandma's Dabao, are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?"
After showing concern for her grandson, she looked up at her son and began to berate him: "Are you trying to kill yourself?! How can you hit a child like that? He's so young, can't you talk to him nicely about things?"
Zhou Dabao hid in his grandmother's arms, looking somewhat flustered and frightened.
Veins throbbed on Zhou Tai's forehead as he pointed at Zhou Dabao and said, "Mom, why are you still defending him at a time like this? He's a beast worse than a pig or a dog! He's so young and he already knows how to kill people, and he killed his own sister!"
Zhou Tai took a deep breath.
As Zhou Dabao's father, the news that his son had deliberately thrown his three-month-old daughter into the lake in an attempt to kill her was like a hammer blow to his brain. The blow he suffered was no less than that to his wife.
The more unbelievable it was, the angrier he became, until he saw Zhou Dabao, at which point his anger finally burst forth uncontrollably.
"Why did you want to hurt your sister? She's only three months old, what did she do to you?" Zhou Tai was shocked and disappointed. He looked at Zhou Dabao with grief and asked him, "Zhou Dabao, tell me! What are you trying to do?"
Lin Xiaoyun didn't say anything, she just covered her mouth and cried.
Grandma Zhou cried, "Da Bao is still so young, what does he know? Why are you all scolding him like that?"
Zhou Dabao was hiding in Grandma Zhou's arms. He had been looking scared, but when he heard what Zhou Tai said, he couldn't help but show a hint of hatred on his face. Suddenly, like a little calf, he broke free from Grandma Zhou's arms.
He glared angrily at Zhou Tai and his wife, shouting, "She's not my sister! I don't want her as my sister! Because of her, you all stop liking me. Now you only have eyes for her! You only like her now!"
"I hate her, I want to kill her. Once she's dead and gone, you'll all treat me like you used to!"
When he said this, his tone was full of resentment, anger, and accusation towards his sister. By the end, he seemed to feel wronged, and tears streamed down his face.
He reached out and fiercely wiped away his tears, trying to open his eyes wide and stare at his parents.
Lin Xiaoyun and Zhou Tai were both stunned, and Grandma Zhou cried out, "How could we only like your sister and not you?"
Grandma Zhou felt wronged.
Lin Xiaoyun found it even more absurd and couldn't help but say, "Hasn't Mom always told you that Mom loves you very much?"
Zhou Dabao cried out in grievance, "But you love your sister too!"
Lin Xiaoyun was speechless for a moment, then said, "But, my sister is also my mother's child..."
Zhou Dabao wiped away his tears and said, "No, she's not Mom's child. Only I am Mom's child. Waaah, I hate her! You all used to only like me, but after she appeared, you stopped liking me! So, I hate her, and I don't want her to be my sister."
Lin Xiaoyun explained, "Mom loves your little sister, but Mom loves you just as much. Your little sister is Mom's child, just like you."
To her, her two children are like the palms and backs of her hands, both flesh of her flesh, and she loves and cherishes them both.
However, for Zhou Dabao, the situation was different. He pursed his lips and looked stubbornly at Lin Xiaoyun.
All he knew was that before, his mother, father, and even his grandparents only had eyes for him, but now, the one in their hearts had become two.
Seeing his complete lack of remorse, Zhou Tai trembled with rage and shouted, "No matter what, you can't just take your sister out and abandon her! You even threw her into the water... Do you know what you're doing? You're murdering her!"
"I'm going to kill her! I hate her, I want her dead. If she dies, no one will be able to take my parents away from me! So, next time, next time I have the chance, I'll still throw her away!"
"Smack!"
Hearing this, Zhou Tai finally lost his temper and slapped him hard across the face, cursing, "You little beast, do you know what you're saying? Xiao Bao is your sister... How could I have raised such a despicable child like you?"
He pointed at Zhou Dabao and said, "Let me tell you, you better pray that your sister is alright, or I'll break your legs! Also, if you dare to do something like this again, don't call yourself my son. I don't have a son as bad as you!"
Zhou Dabao covered his burning face, staring at Zhou Tai with red, bulging eyes.
At that moment, he felt despair.
"I knew it! You only like my sister, not me... Fine, since you don't like me, then I won't like you either, and I don't want you anymore!"
"You guys can just go and like your Zhou Xiaobao!"
He cried and shouted, and after shouting his last words, he reached out and wiped away his tears in anger, but suddenly rushed straight towards the wide-open window of the ward.
When he reached the window, he climbed out without hesitation and jumped down.
Upon seeing this, Lin Xiaoyun couldn't help but scream, "Ah!"
The other people in the ward also had drastic changes in expression. Grandma Zhou called out, "Da Bao!" After a short shout, she rolled her eyes and fainted.
Grandpa Zhou helped his wife up and then looked anxiously at his eldest grandson, feeling like he was doing the work of ten people all by himself.
No one expected Zhou Dabao to suddenly jump out of the window. Just as his body was about to fall through the window, a hand suddenly reached out and grabbed his wrist.
"ah!!"
Lin Xiaoyun covered her mouth, her face pale as she watched this scene. Several seconds later, she suddenly came to her senses and realized what had happened.
"Da Bao! Da Bao..." She rushed to the window.
Zhou Tai had already rushed over the moment Zhou Dabao jumped down. Although he didn't manage to grab Zhou Dabao's hand, he was still able to help Xu Gui pull the child in from outside the window.
By this time, a large crowd had gathered outside their ward, standing at the door with surprised looks and discussing among themselves.
From the moment Zhou Dabao jumped out of the window to the moment Xu Gui reached out and grabbed him, it all happened in the blink of an eye. Lu Baiyi only felt a blur before his eyes, and Xu Gui was already leaning over the window, reaching out and grabbing him.
When Lu Baiyi came to his senses, he quickly helped her pull the child up. As for Yuan Lu and the others, they also came over to help after they realized what was happening.
With the help of several people, Zhou Dabao was finally pulled up and sat down on the ground. At this moment, Xu Gui finally let go.
"Hiss," she shook her aching hand, looked at Zhou Dabao who was actually quite heavy, and said with disdain, "Why is this kid so heavy?"
When she caught the person, she thought she had grabbed a heavy weight, which pulled her down and almost dragged her out of the window.
Lin Xiaoyun rushed over, her face ashen. She first grabbed the child's arm and carefully checked his body. After confirming that he was alright, she breathed a sigh of relief, but couldn't help but cry.
"You brat, what are you trying to do? What are you trying to do?!" she cried, no longer caring about being angry, and reached out to hug the child in her arms.
Zhou Dabao had acted foolishly on impulse, and after lingering by the window for a moment, he was rescued. His heart was filled with fear, after all, this was the thirteenth floor.
He was being held in his mother's arms, looking panicked and trembling, as if he hadn't quite come to his senses yet. But once he came to his senses, he couldn't help but burst into tears.
"Mom, Mom..." he cried out for his mother.
Zhou Tai was initially anxious and angry, but seeing this scene, all his anger vanished, and he couldn't help but feel a lingering fear as he hugged his wife and children in his arms.
When the family came to their senses, they found that Xu Gui and the others had already left.
...
Xu Gui and the others left when the Zhou family of three was crying their eyes out. After all, seeing the state of the two of them, they had no intention of talking to them.
Besides, what happens next is a family matter for the Zhou family, and it has nothing to do with them anymore, so there's no need for them to stay.
Seeing Xu Gui rubbing her right arm, Lu Baiyi went over and asked her, "Is your hand uncomfortable?"
Xu Gui shook her hand and said with disdain, "That Zhou Dabao doesn't look fat, but I didn't expect him to be so heavy..." Her arm was now sore from overuse.
Lu Boyi looked at her and asked, "Did you know that child was going to jump off a building?"
Xu Gui nodded: "I just had a feeling... Don't you think I should have stopped him from the beginning?"
Lu Boyi shook his head and said, "I think what you did was right. Even if you had stopped the child from committing suicide, he would have never experienced the fear of suicide and would have tried to commit suicide again later."
However, he was lucky this time because Xu Gui saved him. He might not be so lucky next time.
Therefore, it would be better to let him "successfully commit suicide" this time, so that he will experience the shock of suicide and will not try to do it again.
To his surprise, after hearing Xu Gui and the others talk about it, he thought Zhou Dabao would be a child who seemed a bit abnormal, perhaps fierce or gloomy. But after seeing him just now, he realized that the child looked like an ordinary kid.
This ordinary child did something that no one else could have imagined: he tried to kill his sister.
Indeed, it's better to have only one child.
As Lu Baiyi was thinking to himself, seeing Xu Gui still rubbing his hand, he couldn't help but say, "Why don't you go to the orthopedics department? You might dislocate your hand." Since they were at the hospital, it would be convenient for them to get their hand checked.
"No need for that." Xu Gui shook his head. "I feel like there's nothing seriously wrong... Oh, right, I haven't thanked you yet. Thanks to you for your help today. Also, thank you for preparing my clothes and letting me take a shower."
Lu Baiyi smiled and said, "You're welcome. Since you're my grandfather's friend, you're also my friend."
When the group arrived at the hospital entrance, Lu Baiyi originally wanted to offer to take Xu Gui and the others home, but after looking at the number of people in their group, he realized that his car couldn't accommodate them all, so he had to regretfully abandon the idea.
"Then I'll be going now," he said, parting ways with Xu Gui and the others at the hospital entrance.
As for Xu Gui and the others, those without cars naturally had to take a taxi back. However, at this moment, the cameraman suddenly said excitedly, "Teacher Xu, the final elimination results of the show are out!"
Xu Gui was taken aback.
*
Today is the last day of the elimination rounds. At 4:30 pm, the data on the show's leaderboard was updated, and all the guests who were ranked outside the top ten were eliminated, leaving only the top ten guests to compete for the final number one spot.
With the three million yuan that Tang Baozhu spent, Xu Gui successfully advanced and ranked quite high, at eighth place.
The competition among the guests who came after her was extremely fierce, especially the three guests who were close to tenth place, each of them used every trick in the book.
At the very last moment, Su Ya secured tenth place with a difference of five thousand points, narrowly making it into the top ten.
And now, the list of the top ten guests has finally been released.
Their show was already very popular, and after the top ten list was released, it sparked a new round of heated discussions among netizens. Before long, it even trended on several online searches.
Meanwhile, countless netizens were discussing and debating the matter heatedly on the show's official Weibo account.
[As expected, the Best Actor truly held the top spot from beginning to end! His stock trading skills are incredible, he's practically a stock market god! If I had his abilities, I could dominate the stock market and wouldn't be a mere celebrity.]
Lin Yuxia has also been eliminated! She's truly amazing; after all this time, she still has so many fans. Fans are offering tens of thousands of yuan for a single song; she wouldn't have made it through the next round without it.
Tang Yusong is also good...
[Actually, the most surprising person for me on this show is Xu Gui. I think no one would disagree that she's the biggest dark horse of the show, right?]
[This is impossible to argue with. Who remembers that when this person first joined the show, he was a relatively unknown newcomer?]
[Not well-known? You're giving her too much credit. Back then, she was universally hated! The CP fans of the Tang and Qiu families were so fierce. When the show first started filming, I accidentally entered her live stream, and it was full of people cursing her. Luckily, the guests couldn't see the comments, otherwise I suspect she would have become depressed after seeing them.]
[Hilarious! The Tang and Qiu families were so high-profile back then, but now they've both disappeared. Xu Gui, on the other hand, has really become famous. In just over half a month, her Weibo followers have already exceeded ten million. She's probably the first celebrity in the industry to gain followers so quickly! Shouldn't other companies learn from her?]
I think other companies probably can't learn or replicate the method by which she became famous, unless there's another person in the world as good at fortune telling as she is.
When I first heard that she could tell fortunes, I thought it was just a publicity stunt. But after watching a few of her live streams, I realized that she really does have some kind of talent.
[...So, the biggest winner of this show is Xu Gui. Even if she doesn't win first place, based on her current fame, she's still the biggest winner.]
*
While the show featuring Xu Gui and his guests was generating a lot of buzz online, Xu Gui and his guests had already returned to their hotel.
At 7:30 p.m., the program's live broadcast officially started. At this time, all the guests' live broadcast rooms were closed, leaving only the program's official live broadcast room. Compared to the last live broadcast, the number of viewers increased again when the official live broadcast started this time.
The guests and netizens once again saw the director's cunning face.
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