"...I just thought they were too noisy," Xu Gui said matter-of-factly.
The paparazzi was speechless, and somewhat exasperated: ...So, how am I supposed to make amends for this?
Before Xu Gui could finish speaking, she continued, "Besides, I don't even know them, so why are they acting like we're so close and talking to me? They all clearly hate me more than anyone else..."
But they hate her, yet they still try to talk to her.
"You humans are all like this, um," she thought, trying to figure out how to describe it, "...so two-faced?" she asked curiously.
The paparazzi teased her, "You make it sound like you're not human."
Xu Gui couldn't help but feel guilty: "Hehehe."
"...Speaking of which, how did you manage to convince the kitchen lady to make you instant noodles? She even added two fried eggs." The paparazzi asked a question she had been curious about for a while, her expression strange, "Did you pay her? How much?"
The hotel they were staying at had been booked directly by the production team, and now it was full of guests participating in the show.
Their show's motto is "money," so everything at the hotel revolves around money... Simply put, even asking the kitchen to boil a kettle of water costs money.
Especially the head chef, an older woman who's said to be picky and strict, always giving everyone a sour look. So far, none of the show's guests have gotten a kind word from her, and she doesn't allow anyone into the kitchen.
So, how did Xu Gui manage to sneak into the kitchen and get such a huge bowl of instant noodles cooked for her? She must have paid, right?
Hearing this, Xu Gui said, "No... the auntie is so kind. Not only did she not charge me, but she even gave me these two fried eggs!" Her tone was very proud.
The cameraman: "...How did you do that?"
Xu Gui blinked and said, "I just chatted with the auntie for a while, praising her hotel for being so well-run. She was really happy and not only cooked me instant noodles but also added meat and eggs!"
So her bowl of instant noodles was a super deluxe version.
The cameraman nodded at first, then suddenly paused.
"Auntie, your family's, hotel?" He felt that these words were easy to understand individually, but put together, they were so impactful.
The cameraman humbly inquired, "This hotel, it's not the auntie in the kitchen's family's, is it?" But he remembered that this hotel was a chain hotel, with branches all over the country, and a market value of several hundred million.
What could the kitchen lady have to do with it?
Xu Gui replied, "...The hotel owner is the auntie's son."
The cameraman: ? ? !! I was greatly shocked.
Xu Gui got up and went to the kitchen to return the bowl. When she returned, she had a large transparent food storage container in her hand. Opening it, she found a bowl of fresh and beautiful fruit salad.
Red strawberries, snow-white pears, and bright red watermelon, as well as plump blueberries... Most importantly, the quality of these fruits looked very fresh, and the sweet aroma seemed to waft out.
"Did the auntie give this to you?" the cameraman asked, his eyes wide—according to his colleagues, wasn't this auntie notoriously stingy?
Xu Gui nodded happily, and exclaimed again, "Auntie is such a good person! I really like her so much."
When she praised someone, her words were full of emotion and enthusiasm. Even through the camera, everyone seemed to feel the warmth and sincerity in her words. Immediately, many people were touched:
[If she's always praising this auntie, then I suddenly understand why that auntie likes her so much. Her praise is so genuine, it makes people so happy!]
[I wish I could be that auntie! If my daughter were praising me, I don't know how happy I would be!]
[Am I the only one focusing on that fruit salad? The fruit inside looks so plump and delicious, I want to eat it…]
[Hmm, I feel like Xu Gui seems to have forgotten something?]
But what exactly it was, she couldn't remember for a moment; she just felt like Xu Gui had forgotten something.
Xu Gui had the same feeling. She felt like she'd forgotten something, but her greatest strength was her ability to avoid internal conflict. If she couldn't remember, she wouldn't dwell on it. After all, if she could forget something, it probably wasn't important.
Yes, that's it.
…
After finishing the day's shoot with the photographer, Xu Gui carefully carried the fruit salad back to her room.
Hotel rooms were divided into several categories, each with different prices and accommodations. Xu Gui chose the cheaper option—a single room, though a bit small.
After entering the room, she casually placed the fruit salad on the table and took her clothes to the bathroom to shower.
Perhaps because she was originally a turtle, Xu Gui loved water. Soaking in warm water was incredibly comfortable for a turtle. However, after showering, she would feel very thirsty, instantly transforming from a happy little turtle into a parched, dehydrated one.
So, the first thing Xu Gui did after showering was to drink water—a whole bottle at that—to feel alive again.
She was the same today.
But after drinking her water, Xu Gui did something else: she opened the fruit salad the kitchen lady had given her, sat cross-legged on a stool, and began to eat it.
As a newborn human, many fruits were new to Xu Gui. After eating, she had only one feeling: these fruits were incredibly delicious! She had never eaten such plump and juicy fruit before!
"How are humans so amazing?!" Xu Gui chewed, "Even the fruit is so delicious! Is this a strawberry? So good, I love it!"
Although she had the memories of "Xu Gui," those memories were like they were simply stored in a memory device; she could see them, but didn't have a real connection to them.
Therefore, many things were novel and unique first experiences for Xu Gui.
However, aside from that, she used this body extremely well, and the body and her soul were perfectly compatible, as if this body was tailor-made for her soul.
Xu Gui actually had a guess in her heart: "Perhaps, 'Xu Gui' herself was tailor-made for me?" With the Grand Elder's powerful abilities, this wasn't impossible?
Xu Gui continued scooping fruit salad without stopping.
"Ah!" Suddenly, Xu Gui's eyes widened. "I remember now..."
She finally realized what she'd forgotten—the old man was still watching her fortune-telling stall.
Xu Gui hurriedly put down her fruit salad, quickly dressed, and rushed out the door. On the way, she encountered other guests from the same program, and they all felt a gust of wind rush past them.
The guests: "...What ran so fast?"
Xu Gui ran all the way to the overpass. It was 10 PM, and the area under the overpass was already desolate and deserted. Looking around, only a few stalls belonging to Long Xing remained.
Xu Gui tried hard to search through the crowd: "...I wonder if anyone's still there."
Just then, a faint voice came from behind her: "So you do know how to come back."
"Ha!" Xu Gui was so startled that she jumped up and down, her body bouncing like a popping candy.
The old man looked at her in surprise and slowly clapped his hands, "Good skills."
Xu Gui wanted to say that he had scared her, but she had asked someone to cover for her and he had only just arrived. She felt a little guilty and could only say hesitantly, "Why did you secretly scare me?"
"Me? Scare me?" The old man pointed at himself and asked, then sneered, "I haven't even said you abused the elderly yet, and you're already bringing it up?"
Xu Gui felt guilty and said embarrassedly, "I'm sorry, I apologize. I didn't mean to, I just forgot."
"However, I didn't expect you to wait for me for so long! On my way here, I was wondering if you had already left." She added, "You're a pretty good person."
The old man snorted and said with some pride, "I'm the most trustworthy person, unlike you."
Having been told this...
Xu Gui lowered her head and obediently apologized again, "...I'm sorry, I was wrong. Next time, next time this will definitely not happen again!"
"You want a next time?" the old man asked incredulously.
Xu Gui could only hurriedly say, "I misspoke, there won't be a next time!"
The old man snorted again, slightly raising his chin, and said, "I put your things over there, pack them up and take them back."
Xu Gui glanced at them; she had very few things—a folding table, a folding stool, and a fortune-telling banner, that was it. The old man, on the other hand, had quite a lot of things, even small items like teapots and teacups.
"...Then where are your things?" Xu Gui couldn't help but ask, eagerly offering, "Old man, where do you live? I'll help you."
The old man snorted again, "You should worry about yourself. With your thin arms and legs, I have plenty of people helping me!"
As he spoke, he waved in a direction by the roadside. Xu Gui peeked over and saw a car parked on the side of the road. With her poor eyesight, she certainly couldn't tell the quality of the car, but it looked very valuable no matter how you looked at it.
A man stood by the car. Because of the darkness, his features were indistinct, only a cold, handsome silhouette was visible. It was a man, and a man with a very good physique.
He stood there, his posture ramrod straight, a crimson light flashing at his fingertips, accompanied by wisps of smoke dissipating in the air.
The old man waved in that direction, and the man extinguished his cigarette and strode towards Xu Gui and the others.
With a single movement, he emerged from the darkness into the streetlight. At first glance, he was tall, with long legs, especially those encased in perfectly tailored trousers, which appeared even longer as he walked. Above that was a lean, muscular waist…
Xu Gui's eyes widened, her expression somewhat dazed.
The old man, seeing her expression, proudly raised his head and said, "How about it, my grandson! Isn't he handsome and dashing?" Xu Gui exclaimed, "This man…"