Chapter 80
"?"
Xu Gui asked doubtfully, "Does this Mom Bell know me?"
Otherwise, why would the other party specifically request that they be the model for "fashion" magazine?
“He doesn’t know you,” Kuang Ming said. “But he has seen your photo and was amazed by it. After that, he went around claiming that you were his muse and that you gave him tremendous inspiration.”
As he spoke, he found the photo he had saved on his phone and pushed it in front of Xu Gui.
Xu Gui looked down and, upon seeing the photo, exclaimed in realization, "Oh, so this is the photo."
She was very familiar with this photo because it was now her screensaver. In fact, not only was she familiar with it, but many netizens on the internet would also find it familiar—the photo was clearly the one captured by the camera when Xu Gui was interacting with several betta fish.
Everything was perfect at that moment: the light, the image, the angle. The lens, through the rippling water, focused on Xu Gui's delicate, snow-white profile. Under the lens, the ethereal and beautiful fighting fish seemed to be kissing Xu Gui's cheek. Xu Gui had black hair and red lips, and her appearance was so otherworldly and monstrous that it seemed to exist in another dimension.
Viewers who witnessed this scene in the live stream were absolutely amazed. Countless people instinctively pressed the screenshot button to save the moment. Later, some even saved high-resolution images, and that image was wildly shared and saved online that very night.
Even now, this photo is still circulating online and is hailed by countless people as this year's "divine photo." It has gone viral, and many people, whether they know Xu Gui or not, have seen this picture.
Xu Gui looked up at Kuang Ming and said, "So, it's just because of this photo?"
Kuang Ming said, "This should only be one of the reasons. As for the other most important reason... as far as I know, the theme of the 'fashion' fall press conference is 'sea', which means the sea."
He pointed to Xu Gui: "And you, they think you and the theme of the ocean are a perfect match."
And the sea?
Xu Gui nodded in agreement and said with a "shameless" tone, "That's true. No one in this world is more suited to the theme of 'sea' than me. It seems that this company has quite a good eye."
Kuang Ming smiled – he liked Xu Gui's inexplicably confident demeanor, which meant she wouldn't suffer from internal strife, a characteristic that suited her well in this circle.
"In short, that's the situation. Fashion magazine really likes you. As a sub-brand of [Denla], Fashion magazine has a very high status in the fashion industry. For a newcomer like you, this is a great opportunity to break into the fashion world!"
In the entertainment industry, celebrities and fashion are always linked. Celebrities compete not only in terms of fame, status, and works, but also in terms of fashion resources. In recent years, fans have placed more and more emphasis on the latter, and fashion resources have become an important factor in judging celebrities.
For Xu Gui, a newcomer without any works yet, to be able to get the resources of "fashion" right away is something that everyone would say is amazing.
After listening to Kuang Ming's analysis, Xu Gui concluded, "So, this job is quite good for me?"
Kuang Ming nodded.
"How much will they pay me?" Xu Gui asked curiously. "They can't expect me to work for free, can they?"
Kuang Ming said, "It's about 1.2 million after tax. After deducting the share given to the company, you can get about 600,000 to 700,000."
Upon hearing that he would be paid, Xu Gui didn't hesitate and immediately nodded, "Then I'll do it! I'll take this job."
Kuang Ming: "Aren't you going to think about it again carefully?"
Xu Gui gave him a strange look and said, "Didn't you say that this is the best job I can get right now? What's there to hesitate about?"
Kuang Ming: "Although that's what I say, I still hope you're interested in this job..." But from what he sees now, Xu Gui has no passion for this job, only a strong desire for money.
Well, okay, having desires means having motivation, which is better than having no desires at all... Kuang Ming convinced himself.
“Then I’ll give them a reply…” Kuang Ming said, then looked at Xu Gui: “Of these three scripts, which one do you think is better?”
Xu Gui pulled out a book: "This one!"
Kuang Ming looked closely and realized it was an ancient script. He couldn't help but ask Xu Gui, "Why this?" Did Xu Gui foresee something? — He handed the script to Xu Gui, partly hoping she would use her fortune-telling abilities to make some predictions.
Since Xu Gui can tell fortunes, he must be able to predict which of these three scripts will become a huge hit, right?
However, Xu Gui's answer was somewhat beyond his expectations.
Xu Gui said, "Because this script gave me the most amazing role, the number one in the world! I love being number one!" Her tone was completely matter-of-fact.
Kuang Ming: "..." He hadn't thought of this reason.
He reached out and took the script from Xu Gui's hand. The script was called "All Under Heaven is Bright," a tale of monsters and demons. It told the story of a young female Taoist priest who, on her journey to find her father, vanquished demons and monsters and made countless companions along the way.
The production team invited Xu Gui to play the role of Si Xuan, a demon, and a very powerful one at that. When the world was in darkness and about to be destroyed, the female lead found her at the top of the suspended mountain.
Si Xuan is not a character with much screen time and only appears in a few scenes. However, in the world of the script "All Under Heaven is Bright," she is the most powerful demon in the world. In the end, she dies to save the world and transforms into the power to repair the "empty" world.
Kuang Ming initially had a lukewarm impression of the character, but after watching it closely, he now thinks the character is indeed quite good.
What kind of character is the most popular in the world? It's naturally the beautiful, strong, and tragic one. Whether it's a protagonist or a villain, as long as it's associated with these three words, if the show is a hit, then the character is bound to become a hit as well.
Upon closer analysis, the character [Si Xuan] is a classic example of a beautiful, strong, and tragic character.
Kuang Ming's gaze towards Xu Gui changed slightly. He didn't know if Xu Gui was genuinely interested in the character because of his "powerful combat skills," or simply thought the character would become popular.
Regardless of which one, this character is indeed quite good.
“Okay, this role it is!” he said immediately.
After finishing their business, Kuang Ming took Xu Gui out to dinner and told her about the series of resources the company had prepared for her, the first of which was a nanny van.
"...Yuan Lu can drive. In the future, if you need to go anywhere, you won't need to call a taxi. Instead, you can ask Yuan Lu to drive you there in her van." — Yuan Lu's ability to drive was a significant advantage that led to her being selected as an assistant.
"Then there's the styling team. From now on, for any event you attend, your outfit will be handled by a professional stylist, including your hair..."
Kuang Ming said, "If your collaboration with Fashion magazine goes smoothly, for a long time to come, all your clothes, including your jewelry, will have to be sponsored by Fashion magazine..."
This is a good thing for Xu Gui. At least when attending events, they no longer need to think about what to wear or which brand to borrow clothes from. As the spokesperson for this season of "fashion", she naturally has to unconditionally cooperate with the brand's promotion during the contract period.
Xu Gui responded with two "uh-huhs" to indicate that he understood.
“As for housing, I’ll have someone find a suitable place. From now on, it’s not really suitable for you to stay in the dormitory anymore,” Kuang Ming said.
Upon hearing this, Xu Gui blinked twice and asked, "Can't I stay in the dormitory all the time? I think He Yuan and I get along quite well."
Kuang Ming said, "Of course you can, but the privacy in the company dormitory is not good. After you become famous, some problems may arise... Besides, your other roommate is Su Ya. If I remember correctly, you and she don't seem to get along."
Suya...
Xu Gui pictured the other person's face in his mind, nodded, and said, "We don't really get along, mainly because she's the one who doesn't like me." She herself is very easy to get along with.
Kuang Ming said, "In that case, you should think about the dormitory issue again."
Xu Gui nodded again.
...
After dinner, it was already dark. Xu Gui had eaten a bit too much for dinner, so after parting ways with Kuang Ming, she touched her stomach and decided to take a walk near the company.
There's a park near their company, by the river, and at night the streetlights along the riverbank look beautiful.
This is the time when people come out after dinner, especially in the summer when it's hot during the day and everyone stays in air-conditioned rooms. It's only at this time when the temperature is slightly cooler that people can come out for a walk and enjoy the breeze.
So the park was packed with people. Xu Gui, wearing a mask, strolled around the park with everyone else—Kuang Ming had made her wear the mask, wanting her to feel a bit like a "celebrity."
Xu Gui's first reaction: A celebrity? Oh, me?
Although she was quite skeptical of the truthfulness of Kuang Ming's words, Xu Gui still listened to him and obediently bought a mask and put it on. Fortunately, there were other people wearing masks in the crowd, which made her look less out of place. She blended into the crowd naturally and strolled around the park casually like everyone else.
There are still stray cats in the park, not many, but not few either. When Xu Gui walked to the small square where people could rest, he saw many people playing with the cats and feeding them cat food.
They're called wild cats, but looking at their plump, strong bodies and big heads and ears, you'd think they were domestic cats if you weren't told.
"Meow~" A black cat with a round face and golden eyes suddenly approached Xu Gui's feet, tilted its body, and fell directly onto Xu Gui's feet. Xu Gui looked down and saw the big black cat meowing at her in a very charming manner.
Xu Gui: "..." This is a staged accident.
Hmph, then you've tried to scam the wrong person. I don't like furry things.
Xu Gui scoffed inwardly.
In her opinion, the Xuan Turtle is the most perfect and adorable creature in the world, and all other creatures should step aside. That's why she won't be seduced by any Tom, Dick, or Harry outside.
The black cat looked at her and meowed again.
The cat doesn't know, the cat doesn't understand, the cat can only meow.
Xu Gui slightly raised her head and glanced down. Seeing the big black cat lying at her feet, she couldn't help but move her feet. Then, she casually glanced around.
Seeing that no one was watching her, she quickly squatted down and reached out to touch the big black cat's warm body.
"Hmph, I admit, you do have something on you..." she muttered, stroking the black cat gently, "But let me tell you, the cutest creature in this world is still us Xuan Turtle! You cats can forget about taking our place!"
The black cat grabbed her hand. It had black fur, but the underside of its paws was white. At this moment, it was curling its nails and its soft paws were holding Xu Gui's hand. The paws looked especially nice to touch.
Xu Gui glanced at the others like a thief, then casually grabbed the black cat's paw and rubbed it. Then he saw the black cat's paw spread out in all directions.
Xu Gui: Wow, the claws have blossomed!
"Hey, so Big Black is with you!" Suddenly, a female voice came from the side. Xu Gui subconsciously let go of the black cat's paw and turned his head to the side a little guilty.
With a rustling sound, Xu Gui felt the person next to her squat down like her. Xu Gui glanced at them and saw that the other person was holding a bag of cat food and a cat bowl. She put these things down and reached out to pet the black cat.
"Meow!" The black cat, which had been lying on the ground, suddenly stood up and cautiously hid next to Xu Gui's legs.
The girl squatting next to Xu Gui said with some disappointment, "Sigh, I thought you had changed your ways and would let people touch you, but I didn't expect you still won't let anyone touch you."
Xu Gui looked to the side and saw a very young girl squatting next to him. She had round eyes and a pair of very large, protruding ears. Her ears were very eye-catching, and once people's eyes were on them, it was hard to take their eyes off her ears.
However, Xu Gui only glanced at it before politely looking away.
"This is the first time I've seen Dahei so affectionate!" The girl took the initiative to talk to Xu Gui, her tone quite unusual.
Xu Gui looked down at the black cat lying at his feet, purring at him, and asked, "First time?"
“It’s true.” The girl nodded firmly and said, “Big Black was abused before. When we first met it, both of its hind legs had been broken and glued together with 520 glue. Its body was covered in injuries… That’s probably why it’s so hostile to humans and never comes near them.”
To this day, the person who abused Dahei has not been found. Nobody knows who it is that could be so cruel as to do such a thing to an innocent and pitiful stray cat.
"This is the first time in so long that I've ever seen it approach people so proactively!"
While the girl was talking, she tried to tease the black cat, but the black cat was completely unmoved, its whole body exuding "indifference" and "resistance".
The girl couldn't help but feel a little regretful.
"By the way, my surname is Yan, and my name is Yan Xiaomi, like the rice in white rice. What about you?" the girl introduced herself.
Xu Gui: "...My name is Xu Gui, the 'Gui' in 'return'."
“Xu Gui…” Yan Xiaomi repeated Xu Gui’s name and nodded, “I’ve remembered it.”
Yan Xiaomi was clearly a very outgoing person. Although she only knew Xu Gui, she spoke to him in a very familiar tone, as if they had known each other for a long time and had a very close relationship.
According to Yan Xiaomi, she lives nearby, and because it's close by, she occasionally comes to the park to feed the cats when she has time.
Besides her, there are many other cat feeders living nearby, which is why all the cats in the park are so plump – it would be strange if they weren't plump with so many people feeding them.
"...Every cat I see here has been taken to the vet for a urination!" Yan Xiaomi said proudly, shamelessly proclaiming herself a "testicle-killing expert."
She pointed to Dahei's ears and showed them to Xu Gui, "Dahei is a neutered cat. You can see a triangle on its ear; that's a sign that it's been neutered."
Here, there are quite a few people like Yan Xiaomi who are very "compassionate," and many people will catch stray cats to be spayed or neutered. After all, although everyone likes cats, they don't want to see them going into heat and reproducing here at will.
This is not a good thing for either the cat or the surrounding ecosystem.
Of course, just as there are many people who like cats, there are also people who hate cats, and even people who like to abuse cats... Dahei is a cat that has been abused by humans and is now full of hostility towards them.
Ordinary people can't touch it at all. To feed it, you have to put down the cat food and wait until the person is far away before Big Black comes over to eat. It's very wary.
However, this big black cat, which Yan Xiaomi described as being very wary of humans, is now rolling around at Xu Gui's feet, behaving very affectionately.
Xu Gui silently looked at Yan Xiaomi.
Yan Xiaomi also found it strange and guessed, "Maybe it's because you and Dahei get along really well?"
As Xu Gui listened, his gaze fell on the black cat at his feet, and he couldn't help but think: Actually, this black cat isn't exactly being affectionate...to people, is it?
After all, she was originally a tortoise, and tortoises aren't exactly human, are they?
As Xu Gui was thinking, he suddenly heard an excited voice shout: "...Do you know what? I just came from the river crossing bridge, and there was someone crying and saying they were going to jump into the river!"
Xu Gui looked up and saw that many people around him were slightly agitated by what he had said.
"Someone jumped into the river? Is it true?" someone asked.
"Really, why would I lie to you? If you go over there now, you'll see a bunch of people gathered there, all trying to persuade the girl not to jump... Someone has already called the police, and they'll probably be here soon!"
It's not common for someone to commit suicide by jumping into a river, so upon hearing the news, many people who were resting or feeding cats went over there to see what had happened.
"Someone's going to jump into the river?" Yan Xiaomi exclaimed in surprise, and enthusiastically called out to Xu Gui, "Xu Gui, let's go take a look. Maybe there's something we can do to help."
Xu Gui: ?
She couldn't resist Yan Xiaomi's insistence and was pulled over by her.
They didn't need to ask for directions, because many people who heard the news were heading in that direction. They just needed to see which way the crowd was mainly going and follow it.
After walking for about ten minutes, they crossed the park and arrived at the river-crossing bridge.
The Dujiang Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge suspended high above the Dongliu River. Vehicles flow across the bridge, and there are pedestrian walkways on both sides.
Meanwhile, on the sidewalk, a large crowd had gathered, peering into the throng and faintly hearing shouts coming from inside.
"Honey, don't jump! Whatever happened to you, let's talk it out, okay?"
At the far end of the crowd, on the bridge, sat a haggard-looking young woman, her body swaying precariously, as if she were about to fall into the churning river below.
About a meter away from her were several passersby trying to persuade her.
The woman's eyes were red and swollen, her face was covered in tears, and she looked disheveled and haggard. There were several empty bottles at her feet, indicating that she was heavily intoxicated.
Hearing everyone's words of advice, she gave a bitter smile and cried, "What do you know? I worked so hard to get that deal. For it, I smiled and drank with everyone, I even threw up several times. I worked on the plan all night long, and just when I was finally going to sign the contract, someone else snatched it away..."
"Just because she's the boss's niece! That's why she did something like this, and the boss didn't pursue it, even saying I was incompetent..."
The woman was both excited and sad.
"Waaaaah, that's bad enough, but my career is going badly, and now my love life is going badly too! My boyfriend cheated on me! He's the one who cheated, but he's blaming me, saying it's because I'm not considerate enough, that I don't care enough about him, that's why he cheated on me..."
"Ah, there's more!"
"And then there are my parents. They ask me for money every day, saying they raised me and it's time to repay them. Today they ask me for two thousand, tomorrow for three thousand... Do they think I'm a money-printing machine? Even money-printing machines need a break!"
The more the woman talked, the more agitated she became.
While others enjoy success in both their careers and love lives, she suffers double blows. To make matters worse, her parents interfere, further exacerbating her already rock-bottom emotions.
The woman was crying and laughing at the same time. She looked bewildered and said, "I don't understand why they're treating me like this. What did I do wrong? Huh?"
"I consider myself to be filial to my parents, caring towards my boyfriend, and hardworking at work... But why, why do people who are less successful than me live such thriving lives, while I, who have worked so hard, have been dealt a blow by life?"
The woman shook her head, wiping away her tears. Her agitated emotions gradually subsided. She turned towards the riverbank and murmured, "I'm so tired, I just want to rest..."
She carefully recalled her life and found that there was nothing worth remembering.
Ha, her life is truly a complete failure.
As she closed her eyes and was about to jump, the crowd became agitated, with many shouting, "No, don't jump!"
Among these voices, a clean and clear voice went straight into the woman's ears.
Strangely, despite the surrounding noise, this sound managed to squeeze past the other sounds and into the woman's ears, causing her to suddenly pause as she was about to jump. Even her previously depressed and desperate emotions seemed to have been put on pause.
Nothing more than the voice she heard saying, "...Ah, she just jumped into the river and died. What about the 30 million she won in the lottery?"
Lottery? Thirty million?
The woman's suicidal thoughts were abruptly halted by these words. She opened her eyes instantly, turned her head, and glanced at the people behind her.
These people looked concerned and anxious. Seeing that she didn't jump, they said even more urgently, "Don't jump! Don't jump! Let's talk this out!"
Some of them were still tense, as if they would rush to save her if she jumped.
The woman looked around, then couldn't help but ask, "Who, who said I won the lottery?"
The onlookers were bewildered: Huh? What is that?
Just then, a pretty figure stepped out from the crowd.
She looked at the woman and said in a relaxed tone, "Oh, I was the one who said you won the lottery."
Suddenly, many of the gazes that had been fixed on the woman turned to this man.
Standing in the crowd, Yan Xiaomi looked at the people who had stepped out, then at the empty seat next to her. She looked several times before finally confirming her decision.
"Xu Gui! What are you doing stepping forward?"
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