Chapter 78
They were still in the hotel lobby, and Xu Gui and Fu Xia were still sitting side by side.
The atmosphere in the lobby was somewhat restless. The guests who did not pass the elimination rounds were inevitably a little dejected, and their envious glances occasionally fell on the ten people who advanced, including Xu Gui, of course.
However, compared to the first elimination round, there were far fewer hostile and resentful glances directed at Xu Gui this time.
Fu Xia didn't make it through the elimination rounds either, but she didn't seem to care. She always had a clear idea of her role – she was just there for the fun of it all, and in the later stages, she even slacked off more than Xu Gui.
And it was obvious that she was more interested in gossip than the results of the elimination rounds, because as soon as she sat down, she couldn't wait to ask Xu Gui: "Tang Baozhu's fiancé is really hooking up with her best friend?"
Xu Gui nodded: "That's exactly what I predicted."
Fu Xia exclaimed, "Wow! I didn't expect Huang Yun to have kept it so well hidden..."
She shared some gossip with Xu Gui: "You don't know, Tang Baozhu and her fiancé are a well-known golden couple in our circle. They grew up together and are engaged... When the news you broke this morning spread, our whole circle was in an uproar. Everyone is talking about it."
She opened her phone and showed Xu Gui several of her group chats—the members of which were all people in their circle. Xu Gui glanced at them and, sure enough, saw that several groups were discussing this matter.
[Huang Yun really knows how to play games], [Is the Tang family having a run of bad luck?], [The Tang and Huang families are probably going to have a major falling out this time]... A few words vaguely caught Xu Gui's eye, but Xu Gui looked away uninterestedly.
Fu Xia whispered, "I heard that the Tang family has contacted the Huang family to break off the engagement. The Huang family is very anxious and is trying to plead with Tang Baozhu."
It should be noted that since Tang Baozhu and Huang Yun got engaged, the business ties between the Tang and Huang families have become much closer. If the engagement is dissolved, their businesses will obviously be separated.
If things really come to this, the Huang family will obviously be the most anxious. After all, the Huang family relies on the Tang family more than the Tang family, so the Huang family is the least willing to see Tang Baozhu and Huang Yun break off their engagement.
"I wonder what Huang Yun was thinking?" Fu Xia said with disdain when she mentioned Huang Yun. In her opinion, Huang Yun's move was obviously digging his own grave. She sneered, "Their business still depends on the Tang family, and he still dares to make a move."
Cheating is one thing, but the person she cheated with was Tang Baozhu's friend. Based on Fu Xia's understanding of Tang Baozhu, she definitely wouldn't reconcile with Huang Yun, and the annulment of their engagement was a foregone conclusion. After all, the decision on whether or not the engagement could be dissolved rested with the Tang family.
There was nothing they could do; the Tang family was in a better position than the Huang family, and the Huang family had no right to refuse.
However, the main reason for this incident was that Huang Yun was too audacious. As the key to maintaining the relationship between the Tang and Huang families, he clearly did not have the awareness to bow his head. Even with Tang Baozhu as his fiancée, he still dared to cheat on her.
Oh, no...
Fu Xia suddenly realized that Huang Yun wasn't without the resolve to back down, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to keep it a secret so well. He probably just didn't expect that this matter would be exposed so suddenly.
According to what Xu Gui said at the time, his friendship with Tang Baozhu was only revealed after he and Tang Baozhu got married... So the key point of this matter actually lies with Xu Gui.
Fu Xia couldn't help but look at Xu Gui.
"What's wrong?" Xu Gui blinked and looked at her.
"It's nothing." Fu Xia breathed a sigh of relief, then suddenly grabbed Xu Gui's arm, hugged it tightly, and rubbed it against her arm excitedly, exclaiming, "I just feel that Xu Gui, you are so good to me."
Xu Gui: ?
"By the way, is the child you rescued this afternoon alright?" Fu Xia remembered this.
Xu Gui's attention was diverted, and upon hearing this, he said, "I'm not quite sure either. Although we rescued her, she developed a fever later, so we took her to the hospital. The doctor said that if it's just a simple fever, that's fine, but we're worried about the possibility of infection."
Fu Xia asked curiously, "Was this child really thrown into the water by her brother?"
Xu Gui nodded.
Upon hearing this, Fu Xia couldn't help but hiss, saying, "This child is too cruel! His sister is only three months old... How old is he?"
Xu Gui replied, "Nine years old..."
"Nine years old?" Fu Xia was shocked again—Xu Gui stopped the live stream afterward, so no one saw Zhou Dabao, and Xu Gui didn't mention his age either, so Fu Xia only just found out that this Zhou Dabao was only nine years old.
Xu Gui thought for a moment and then explained for Zhou Dabao, "It's probably because his family paid less attention to him after his sister was born, so he became jealous of his sister..."
Fu Xia suddenly realized, "Oh, I see."
The two whispered to each other, and the director standing above glanced at them several times, his lips twitching involuntarily.
The director wanted to say something, but upon seeing the two of them—one a "talented" player and the other a spoiled rich girl—he knew he couldn't afford to offend either of them. After a couple of glances, the director decided to avoid the problem and looked away.
The viewers in the live stream noticed the director's actions and expressions and almost died laughing.
[The director's expression... who understands? I'm only just realizing now that the director actually has a bit of a sense of humor.]
[I'm so familiar with the director's gaze; it's the look he gives to a troublemaker—a mixture of disdain and helplessness. That's how my homeroom teacher looked at me too, huh?]
[I glanced in the direction the director was looking; it seemed like Xu Gui and Fu Xia were there?]
Our turtle is getting better! Look, even the director is giving her a second look.
[Was the woman in the previous post serious...?]
The live stream chat was lively, and Xu Gui and Fu Xia were having a pleasant conversation.
The director stood on top and first said some polite words, congratulating the ten guests who advanced and expressing his regret for the twenty guests who were eliminated. Finally, he announced that the filming of the final episode of the show would take place in two months.
As for Xu Gui and the other guests who advanced, they naturally went about their business for the next two months.
Xu Gui's first reaction upon hearing this was: Oh no, is my side job going to be unemployed?
As Xu Gui pondered, the official live stream ended, and the guests began packing their things to leave the hotel, awaiting the arrival of two months later. Xu Gui didn't have much luggage; just a few clothes and shoes, which could be packed into a suitcase.
As the assistant, Yuan Lu was in charge of the main tidying up. Xu Gui wanted to help, but Yuan Lu stopped him. She casually stuffed the fish tank on the table into Xu Gui's arms and said, "Teacher Xu, you just need to hold the turtle."
Xu Gui: ?
She glanced down at the turtle in the fish tank, picked it up and looked at it, then suddenly asked, "Have you gained weight? Do I have to put you on a diet later?"
The little turtle's beady eyes widened: ? Listen to yourself! Is that even human language? It's not even turtle language!
Xu Gui's new agent also came over. He drove there, so he could take Xu Gui to her place. While Yuan Lu was packing her things, Kuang Ming asked Xu Gui where she planned to go back to.
Xu Gui thought for a moment and said, "Let's go back to the company dormitory first."
Children in orphanages need to leave the orphanage after they reach adulthood. Of course, adulthood here does not mean eighteen years old, but rather that the children in the orphanage have the ability to live independently. Otherwise, if the children are not able to support themselves, they can't be allowed to starve to death outside, can they?
As for "Xu Gui", she left the orphanage after graduating from high school because she failed to get into university and had to leave school to make a living.
Xu Gui felt that the main reason she didn't get into university was that she was a bit slow-witted back then (she didn't admit that she was stupid at the time), but if she took the college entrance exam now, she would definitely get into university.
After leaving the orphanage, Xu Gui started renting a house to live in. After she signed a contract with the company and became Rong Yi's agent, Rong Yi arranged for her to live in the company's dormitory.
The company provides three-person dorm rooms, which means that Xu Gui has two roommates in the dorm.
"Ah." Just then, Xu Gui suddenly exclaimed. Under Kuang Ming's puzzled gaze, she said, "I remember who Su Ya is. She seems to be my roommate."
She gently scratched her cheek, then suddenly realized, "No wonder she asked me before that I didn't remember her." So that's the reason.
Kuang Ming: "..." You can't even remember the people. How can you maintain this roommate relationship?
Kuang Ming rubbed his temples and said, "You can stay here for now. I'll see if I can arrange a single room for you, or I can rent you a new place."
As they were talking, Yuan Lu had already packed up Xu Gui's things efficiently. The three of them went downstairs, and when they reached the hotel lobby, Xu Gui suddenly remembered something. He reached out and handed the fish tank in his arms to Kuang Ming, asking him to hold it for him, while he quickly ran to the hotel kitchen.
Non-staff members are not allowed to enter the hotel kitchen. Although Xu Gui was already quite familiar with the old lady, he still obediently stood outside and called out to her, "Auntie! Auntie..."
After she called out for several seconds, the old woman came out from inside, looked at her irritably, and asked, "Are you trying to call back your soul from here?"
Xu Gui smiled and obediently said, "I've come to say goodbye to Auntie. I'm going back to the company soon, and we won't see each other for two months."
She wasn't afraid of the old woman's stern face at all. She went over and hugged her, clinging to the old woman like a teddy bear, and said reluctantly, "Auntie, I'm so reluctant to part with you."
Hearing Xu Gui's words, the old woman's expression softened, but her tone remained harsh as she said curtly, "What, you're not planning to come back to see me after you left?"
Xu Gui protested, "How could that be? I like you so much, how could I not come to see you?" She wasn't that kind of heartless bastard. It was all slander.
Hearing this, the old woman's lips curled up slightly, and she said, "Since that's the case, then what's there to be reluctant about? Anyway, transportation is so convenient now. If you want to come see me, you can just take a taxi. It's not like I'm not here."
Xu Gui nodded, feeling less reluctant to leave. She released her grip on the old woman, straightened up, and said, "My manager is waiting for me outside. Shall I leave?"
"Wait a minute!" the old woman said, turning and going into the kitchen. A moment later, she came out of the kitchen with a packaged bag in her hand. She handed the bag to Xu Gui and said, "These are boneless chicken feet I made these past two days. Take them home and eat them."
Xu Gui took the bag and looked inside. He found several disposable transparent takeout boxes inside. Through the lid of the top takeout box, he could see chicken feet soaking in broth.
Xu Gui looked up, his eyes shining as he gazed at the old woman.
The old woman felt uncomfortable being stared at, and her tone became even more stiff as she said dryly, "Alright, you can go now." She rarely had someone like Xu Gui around who wasn't afraid of her and was so close to her, so she felt quite uncomfortable.
Xu Gui spoke a few more words to her in a sweet voice before taking her things and walking away briskly. As she went out, a tall, slender figure brushed past her. After taking a few steps, the person suddenly stopped and glanced at Xu Gui's departing back with a puzzled look.
*
It took more than an hour to get from the hotel to the company dormitory. By the time Xu Gui and the others arrived, it was already 10:30 p.m.
At this time, the people in the dormitory were still awake, and the lights were still on. When Xu Gui and the others came in, they saw a person sitting in the living room with a book in his hand.
Hearing the noise, the other person looked towards the door. Seeing that it was Xu Gui and the others, she looked somewhat surprised and silently stood up.
"Xu Gui, you're back," she said.
Xu Gui looked at her, rummaged through his memories, and called out uncertainly, "...He Yuan?"
He Yuan smiled and came over to help. Together, they put Xu Gui's things away. After they were done, Kuang Ming and Yuan Lu left, leaving only Xu Gui and He Yuan in the dormitory.
Xu Gui glanced at the third room; the door to that room had been closed ever since she entered.
"Hasn't Su Ya come back?" she asked He Yuan.
He Yuan shook her head: "No." Actually, she hadn't expected Xu Gui to come back at this time.
Xu Gui stood in the living room, looking around curiously—although she had lived here before, she hadn't actually lived here properly for very long before being taken away to film a TV show.
The two stood in the living room, neither of them speaking. He Yuan seemed a little embarrassed and said, "I watched the show, and you did a really good job."
Xu Gui looked at her and thanked her, "Thank you... Oh, right! I have some boneless clams here, let's eat together."
She suddenly remembered the boneless chicken feet her aunt had given her. It was hot, so it was best to eat food sooner rather than later. She tossed He Yuan a sentence: "Wait for me, I'll go inside and get them!"
He Yuan: "Huh?"
She was about to refuse, but in the blink of an eye, she felt a gust of wind rush past her, and when she finished blinking, there was no one in front of her.
Five minutes later, He Yuan looked at Xu Gui sitting opposite her, and then glanced at the two open boxes of boneless chicken feet on the table, feeling a bit dazed.
Although they were from the same company and lived in the same dormitory, the three of them were not very familiar with each other. Before Xu Gui participated in "360 Trades", the three of them were just ordinary people in the entertainment industry, busy running around in various places during the day, so they could only see each other at night.
But after a long day, who has the time to chat at night? Naturally, everyone goes to sleep. So, although they have been roommates for almost half a year, this is the first time they have sat face to face to eat.
Hmm, there's a really strange feeling about it.
Seeing her sitting there motionless, with an expression on her face that seemed to indicate her thoughts were elsewhere, Xu Gui couldn't help but say, "Eat up, don't be shy! This was a gift from an aunt who really, really likes me!"
When she said she "especially liked" it, her face showed great pride—yes, she was indeed such an endearing turtle.
"...Auntie's cooking is amazing, you should try it." Xu Gui used his gloved hand to grab a chicken foot and put it on He Yuan's plate.
He Yuan snapped out of her daze, quickly thanked them, put on disposable gloves, and started eating the chicken feet.
After she put the boneless chicken feet in her mouth and took a few bites, her expression froze for a moment. Then she looked at Xu Gui and said with great surprise, "These chicken feet are so delicious!"
She had tried other boneless chicken feet before, but they always had one or the other flaws, either too fishy or not fragrant enough. But these boneless chicken feet were both fragrant and spicy.
He Yuan hadn't had much of an appetite before, but now the chicken feet had whetted it. She took off her disposable gloves and said to Xu Gui, "Wait for me!"
She turned and ran into the small kitchen in her dormitory, grabbed a few bottles of chilled beer from the small refrigerator, along with some side dishes and braised food that she had originally planned to save for tomorrow's lunch, but now she simply took them all out to eat.
"What is this?" Xu Gui's gaze fell on the beer.
He Yuan glanced at it, shook the beer bottle in her hand, and said, "Beer, haven't you ever had it before?"
Xu Gui sat there, looking obedient, and said, "I haven't had any."
He Yuan gave her a playful smile, placed a bottle of beer in front of Xu Gui, and said, "In the summer, ice-cold beer goes perfectly with late-night snacks, do you want to try some?"
Xu Gui nodded vigorously: "Yes!" His tone was without the slightest hesitation.
"Snap!"
The beer cap was torn off, and some beer bubbles bubbled out.
Xu Gui took it, brought her mouth to it, and took a sip like a child drinking soda. Then, her face scrunched up, and her eyes were full of disgust as she looked at the beer in her hand.
He Yuan was amused by her expression—how come she had never noticed how funny Xu Gui was before?
"How does it taste?" she asked Xu Gui.
Xu Gui shook his head, his face scrunched up, and said, "It doesn't taste good, the flavor is too strange."
He Yuan said in a knowing tone, "Beer isn't something you drink like that. You have to drink it like me, taking big gulps while eating some snacks. That's how you really enjoy it."
She demonstrated for Xu Gui by taking a big gulp of beer, and after finishing it, she couldn't help but exclaim, "That's refreshing!"
On a hot summer day, a sip of ice-cold beer feels absolutely amazing.
Xu Gui watched her movements, frowned, and tried again. Then her face scrunched up again, and she pushed the can of beer aside with disgust.
He Yuan smiled as she watched her actions, then stood up and pushed the can of cola she had just brought over over to her, saying, "Since you don't like beer, then don't drink it. You can have this, the cola."
Xu Gui had drunk cola before, so he accepted it very well.
And so, the two of them started their late-night snack with one drinking cola and the other drinking beer. Half an hour later, as the number of beer bottles on the table increased, He Yuan also became drunk, her face flushed.
"Waaaaah..."
Suddenly, He Yuan, who was drunk, started sobbing, tears streaming down her face.
Xu Gui, holding the can of cola, looked at her in surprise.
He Yuan looked at her and said with a thick tongue, "Tell me, how can this world be so unfair? I've been in this industry for so many years and filmed so many dramas, but I'm still a nobody. If you say my name, nobody will know who He Yuan is."
"...Do you know, I recently managed to land a role with a name. I put in so much effort for this role. I read the script over and over again and studied the character very carefully. But someone else took the role away with just one sentence."
With red eyes, she looked at Xu Gui and asked, "Tell me, in this industry, is it true that if you don't have a background or a sugar daddy, you can't become famous? Nobody will respect you?"
She choked up and said, "I used to be so confident that I could make it in this industry, that I could become a big star! But now, I don't know anymore... I don't know if I should continue."
“My mom called me yesterday and told me how much money other people make in a year, but I’ve acted in so many movies and TV shows and I’m nothing. She said she’s embarrassed to say I’m her daughter!”
“I know she thinks I'm shameful, useless, and can't make money... She said that other girls at this age are already married, and told me to go home, obey her and my dad's arrangements, and obediently get married.”
"But, but I just don't want to get married. I haven't become a big star yet, I haven't become a movie queen yet."
As she spoke, He Yuan burst into tears again, sobbing uncontrollably. She cried, "I know I'm useless, but I really don't want to give up..."
She rested her head on her arm, closed her eyes, and murmured, "Maybe I'm really not cut out to be a star. I should have given up a long time ago, sob sob sob."
Xu Gui watched her gradually quiet down, leaving only the occasional sob, and softly called out, "...He Yuan?"
He Yuan's breathing was even and she was very quiet.
Xu Gui walked over, reached out and gently poked her face. She only frowned slightly but didn't react.
"Is she drunk?" Xu Gui murmured, looking around but finding no one to help. He could only reach out and help He Yuan up, then carry her into the house and put her on the bed.
After lying down on the bed, He Yuan sobbed twice more. Although she was asleep, she was still quietly shedding tears, and she looked very sad.
Xu Gui looked at her, wiped away her tears, reached out and pulled a blanket over her to cover her up, afraid that she would catch a cold if she lifted the blanket, and kindly tucked her into the blanket.
After finishing all this, Xu Gui left satisfied to clean up the mess outside. By the time he finished, it was already late, and Xu Gui was exhausted. After washing up, he buried himself in the covers, wrapped the blanket around himself, and fell asleep immediately.
The next day, she was woken up by loud banging on the door.
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