Seeing Xu Gui frown upon seeing her, Su Ya's expression immediately soured.
"What kind of expression is that?" she snapped.
Xu Gui didn't speak, but instead scrutinized her closely, his brows furrowing even more.
Seeing this reaction, Su Ya became even angrier, unable to resist saying, "What do you mean? Why are you frowning the moment you see me! Am I that bad for your eyes?"
"Ah, no." Xu Gui snapped back to reality, looking at her, and said, "I just wanted to ask, have you been to the hospital for a checkup recently?"
Su Ya's first reaction: "...Are you cursing me?"
Xu Gui's lips twitched slightly, and she said with a somewhat unsettling expression, "Why would I curse you? Curse you to be less famous than me, to earn less money than me? But that's already a fact, I have no reason to curse you."
Xu Gui's words were hurtful, but they were indeed true... Su Ya couldn't refute this at all, and therefore felt even more heartbroken.
Xu Gui looked at her and suddenly said, "You've been riding high lately, everything's going smoothly, is it because you've hooked up with a sugar daddy?"
Hearing this, Su Ya and her group's expressions changed drastically. Su Ya's assistant was so frightened that she looked around nervously, afraid someone might be nearby. Fortunately, there were only the two groups present, but the problem was that each group had a paparazzi following them.
Su Ya and her group: Oh no.
Su Ya immediately pulled Xu Gui to a corner, glaring at her hatefully, and asked through gritted teeth, "You want the whole world to know I'm being kept, don't you?"
Xu Gui: "Ah, not really, you haven't offended me."
Su Ya wanted to ask: So, if I offended you, you would make this public and tell everyone?
But in the end, she didn't dare ask, afraid that Xu Gui would agree.
Su Ya took a breath and asked Xu Gui suspiciously, "How did you know about this? Who told you?"
Xu Gui replied speechlessly, "...Have you forgotten what I do?"
Hearing this question, an answer flashed through Su Ya's mind: a fortune teller.
Then, she realized that her question was somewhat foolish, and at the same time, she felt relieved—thankfully, as long as no one else told her, it meant that this matter hadn't been widely publicized.
After all, even though she had found a sugar daddy and was being kept, she still had some pride.
She looked at Xu Gui and whispered, "Considering that we used to live in the same dormitory and are artists in the same company, please don't tell anyone about this, okay?"
Xu Gui thought to himself: What kind of friendship do we have? There's certainly the friendship of you glaring at me when we meet.
But thinking this, Xu Gui still nodded and said, "Don't worry, I don't need to tell anyone about this kind of thing."
Su Ya muttered, "I hope that's really what you think..." But although she said that, after hearing Xu Gui's words, the expression on her face softened.
Xu Gui looked at her, finding it strange, and said, "I thought you'd deny it to the death."
Su Ya glanced at her but said, "It's the truth, why would I deny it? Besides, even if I didn't admit it, wouldn't you know?"
Xu Gui nodded in agreement.
"Actually, I don't really mind if this gets out," Su Ya curled her lip and said disdainfully, "In this circle, who doesn't have connections if they want to get ahead? Everyone knows that, it's just that it sounds a bit unpleasant to say, and people might laugh at us."
Speaking of this, Su Ya was a little indignant and said, "Men who find rich women are considered enlightened, while women who find rich men are considered lacking in self-respect. Ha, it's as if men are so self-respecting."
Hearing this, Xu Gui began to look at Su Ya in a different light.
Su Ya glanced at her, then said angrily, "You still haven't told me why you cursed me just now?"
"I already said I didn't curse you," Xu Gui said speechlessly, "I was just sincerely reminding you."
Su Ya was confused: "Reminding me? Reminding me of what?"
Xu Gui: "...Well, is it possible that your sugar daddy has some kind of uncleanliness?"
"..." It took Su Ya several seconds to realize what Xu Gui meant, and her expression immediately changed as she stared at Xu Gui.
Xu Gui whispered, "I just felt that the smell on you was a little strange, so I did some calculations. Your sugar daddy has a disease, and it's contagious. I figured out, it seems to be called Mei... um!"
Su Ya suddenly covered her mouth.
The two of them were talking in the corner, with their assistants and cameramen standing a few steps away. Because they hadn't interacted much before, and the two bosses seemed to be at odds, the two groups were really unfamiliar with each other. They stood there looking at each other, no one speaking, the atmosphere was incredibly awkward.
Just then, they saw Su Ya suddenly and inexplicably reach out and tightly cover Xu Gui's mouth.
Yuan Lu's eyes widened: Murder?
"Teacher Xu!" She quickly walked towards Xu Gui.
At that moment, Su Ya shouted, "Don't come any closer!"
Su Ya's assistant and cameraman instinctively stopped, but Yuan Lu and Yang Haolin ignored them, only pausing briefly before rushing over. Fortunately, Xu Gui turned around in time, pulled Su Ya's hand away, and said to them, "You don't need to come over, I'll talk to Su Ya and me for a while longer."
Yuan Lu looked at her worriedly, "Teacher Xu, are you really alright?"
Xu Gui: "I'm fine."
Since she said that, Yuan Lu and Yang Haolin could only retreat to their original positions—from where they couldn't hear Xu Gui and Su Ya's conversation.
However, just as Su Ya shouted, some guests happened to come down from upstairs and looked at them curiously. However, they couldn't hear what Xu Gui and Su Ya were saying, but they could see that the atmosphere between them was not pleasant.
Uh, or rather, heavy?
"...Did they have a fight?" This thought flashed through the guest's mind, her eyes constantly glancing towards Xu Gui and the others.
She should have gone out by now, but her steps were incredibly slow, as if she wished she could walk the entire distance from the hotel to the entrance forever, or even develop super hearing so she could overhear what Xu Gui and Su Ya were talking about.
Or at least let her get a little closer... Unfortunately, both Xu Gui and Su Ya's assistants were watching her intently. Although reluctant, the guest still slowly made her way out of the hotel.
"Sigh..." She missed a juicy piece of gossip.
Meanwhile, in a corner of the hotel lobby, the atmosphere between Xu Gui and Su Ya was indeed far from pleasant. However, contrary to Yuan Lu's concerns, there hadn't actually been any conflict between them; they were just silent.
Of course, it was mainly Su Ya who was silent. Xu Gui wanted to say something, but didn't know what to say.
After thinking for a moment, she comforted Su Ya, saying, "It's okay, think positively. You'll be a hero again in eighteen years!"
Su Ya: "..." Are you sure that's supposed to be comforting? I haven't thought about dying yet.
But thinking about it, this illness isn't going to kill anyone right now, so there's no need to worry so much. As long as you don't die, everything else is minor—in a way, Su Ya has a rather peculiar way of thinking.
"You can't tell anyone about this," she said to Xu Gui, her tone much more serious this time. "Really, you can't tell!"
Xu Gui nodded.
Su Ya sighed, her expression somewhat annoyed, but she didn't say anything more.
The two parted ways and returned. Yuan Lu quickly walked up to Xu Gui and asked worriedly, "Teacher Xu, are you alright?"
Mainly, Su Ya's expression turned sour whenever she saw Xu Gui, and she seemed quite hostile towards him, so Yuan Lu was worried that Xu Gui would be bullied by Su Ya… even though Xu Gui had always been the victor in their interactions.
The two groups didn't have much of a relationship to begin with, and after parting ways, they went their separate ways, the atmosphere cold, as if the two groups had never interacted at all.
After Xu Gui got into the car, she met Fu Xia's curious gaze. Once she was seated, Fu Xia asked her suspiciously, "What did you and Su Ya talk about just now?" She didn't remember the two having any connection.
To this question… Xu Gui shook her head.
"I can't say," she said.
Fu Xia was surprised for a moment, but didn't ask further. Instead, she nodded and said, "Okay…"
She then mentioned their plans for the day: "We're going to a friend's house first… She watched your livestream yesterday and learned about Yueyue's family situation. Now she suspects she's encountered something similar, so she asked you to come and check on her."
Xu Gui was surprised, and the viewers in the livestream were also somewhat surprised: A niche issue like the Qiao family's situation actually had a second episode? Was it something very mainstream?
"Don't her parents like her anymore?" Xu Gui asked curiously.
Fu Xia said, "No, not really. But she's also studying abroad, and when she came back, her parents insisted on taking her as a goddaughter. She's their only child, so she suspects that either her father or her mother might have been replaced."
Xu Gui: "..." She felt that such a niche matter shouldn't be common.
Fu Xia: "She's willing to give you 1.5 million!"
Xu Gui's expression changed, and she enthusiastically said, "Then let's go now!"
Her face changed expressions as quickly as flipping through a book, which was simply hilarious. At least at this moment, the chat in her live stream was filled with "hahahaha.
" Fu Xia continued, "After finishing my friend's matter, if there's enough time..."
She listed Xu Gui's arrangements for the day one by one. Her extremely organized attitude made Kuang Ming, who was watching the live stream, suddenly feel a little uneasy... Why did this Miss Fu seem more like Xu Gui's manager than he did?
Kuang Ming shook his head, shaking off this inexplicable thought.
*
Xu Gui and the others went to Fu Xia's friend's house as their first stop.
Her friend's family wasn't exactly well-off. While they couldn't compare to the residents of the Peony Garden area, they were still considered wealthy. They owned a small company with tens of millions in assets, and it was all in cash flow.
When Xu Gui and his group arrived, this friend warmly welcomed them.
This friend's surname was Lan, and her given name was Lan Xin. Judging from the name, she seemed like a gentle and kind girl, but that was just an impression. In reality, Lan Xin's personality was nothing like that. She was cheerful and outspoken, her voice clear and crisp, and she spoke very quickly.
Seeing Xu Gui, her eyes sparkled as she said, "Master Xu, I've watched your live stream! You're amazing! Are you really not God's daughter? You're so beautiful and so talented, you're practically a fairy!"
She spoke incredibly fast, almost without pausing, and it took everyone a few seconds to process what she had just said.
However, once they arrived at the Lan family's house, everyone sensed the difference between their family and the Qiao family's.
Yesterday, Xu Gui and his friends went to the Qiao family's house. The Qiao parents were still teaching Zhou Qingping to play the piano and didn't come out at all. But this time, as soon as Xu Gui and his friends arrived, Lan Xin's mother warmly welcomed them, her words filled with natural affection and tenderness towards her daughter. Lan
Xin herself, however, pouted in front of her mother, looking quite unhappy.
Seeing this, Lan's mother looked helpless and glanced at Xu Gui and his friends somewhat apologetically.
Lan Xin didn't want to stay in the living room any longer and said directly, "I'll take Xu Gui and his friends inside to play..."
Hearing this, Lan's mother simply said, "Alright, alright, go ahead. I'll prepare some snacks and juice for you and your friends."
Lan Xin led Xu Gui and his friends to her room, and after inviting them to sit down, she told them about her family's situation.
Her family's situation was quite similar to the Qiao family's. Like Qiao Xinyue, she was also an only child, and had been studying abroad for the past two years. When she returned this year, she found that her parents had a caring "god-daughter" by their side, someone she heard was also sponsored by a charity.
The viewers in the live stream were quite surprised after hearing this:
[No wonder this sister thought that way; this situation is exactly the same as the Qiao family's!]
[Could it be that one of this sister's parents was replaced by her twin brother or sister? Is it really that much of a coincidence?]
[Impossible. The probability of something like what happened in the Qiao family is quite low. Twins, and one of them dying unexpectedly—it's something that happens only once in a century, right?]
[Actually, I've always wanted to say that the claim that Qiao Xinyue's mother's death was an accident is just one side of the story from Qiao Xinyue's aunt. Was Qiao Xinyue's mother really killed in an accident?]
[Wow, sister, that's a scary statement…]
The live stream was buzzing with discussion, and everyone started speculating about conspiracy theories.
Xu Guilan said, "Don't worry, your parents are still your biological parents. No one has been replaced..."
Hearing this, Lanxin didn't know whether to be happy or disappointed. She asked, "So, there's nothing wrong with our family, right?"
Then, she said dejectedly, "But before, no matter what my parents did, they wouldn't insist if I objected. But this time, even though I said I didn't want it, they still want to take that person as their goddaughter! Is it because they think I'm too immature compared to that girl?"
"...It's not entirely without problems," Xu Gui replied, denying it.
Fu Xia and Lanxin both looked at Xu Gui in surprise.
"What's wrong?" Lanxin asked anxiously, then worriedly added, "Is there something wrong with my parents?"—Although she and her parents had had some disagreements about this matter recently, she was still very worried about their situation.
Countless unpleasant thoughts flashed through Lanxin's mind.
Then, she heard Xu Gui say, "It's not your parents who have a problem, it's that girl."
Hearing this, Lan Xin's heart skipped a beat, and she couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong with her?"
Xu Gui didn't answer her question directly, but instead said, "Have you ever thought about what would happen if you and your parents kept disagreeing about this, and things got increasingly unpleasant, and then you left the country in a fit of anger? At that point, your parents would only have that girl by their side."
"You thought that if you left in a huff, your parents would kick that girl out, but after you left, the girl would become even more considerate and gentle towards your parents. She would remind them to wear more clothes when it was cold, stay with them when they were sick, and take your place in their lives. Your
parents would like her more and more, trust her more and more, and become less and less guarded around her." "Finally, when you calm down, you'd find that they were the real family of three, and you were like an outsider. At that point, you'd be even angrier, and your relationship with your parents would become even more strained..."
"..."
Xu Gui's voice was so relatable. Lan Xin listened, following Xu Gui's words, her expression constantly changing. By the end, her face was quite pale, filled with both anxiety and anger.
"My parents would never treat me like that!" she said angrily. "I'm their daughter. How could they possibly prefer an outsider to me?"
Xu Gui replied, "But relationships need nurturing. Even if you're parents and children, if your relationship remains strained for a long time, and someone is stirring things up, do you think it can be salvaged?"
Lan Xin opened her mouth, her expression somewhat bewildered.
Fu Xia suddenly said, "If your parents really do treat the other person as their own daughter in the end, given your personality, you definitely won't want to come back. Have you thought about who will end up with your family's assets?"
Lan Xin's expression changed again, and she stammered, "No, that's impossible, right? Would my parents really give their assets to an outsider?"
"Nothing is impossible," Fu Xia said. "Since you're not with your parents, there's a lot more room for maneuver." Especially as Lan's parents get older, the possibilities become even stronger.
Hearing this, Lan Xin panicked.
Xu Gui nodded, then looked at Lan Xin and said, "Your parents must have very good personalities, right?"
Lan Xin nodded; her parents were indeed kind, generous, and approachable—both were very compassionate people.
Xu Gui sighed and said, "If your parents are so kind, and a girl opens her heart to them and gets hurt because of them, do you think they wouldn't treat that girl with the utmost kindness? At the very least, they'd give her some money, wouldn't they?"
Lan Xin nodded firmly, then realized that what Xu Gui and the others said could indeed really happen.
For a moment, she fell silent.
Seeing Lan Xin's pale face, Fu Xia comforted her, "Don't worry, we're just assuming the worst. Things might not be as bad as we think."
Hearing this, Lan Xin forced a smile that looked more like a grimace. She said, "My parents want to take that girl as their goddaughter because she saved them and got taken straight to the hospital."
She looked at Xu Gui expectantly, saying, "That matches exactly what Miss Xu said."
Fu Xia was speechless.
"What happened with saving your parents?" she asked, puzzled.
Lan Xin composed herself and explained the incident to Xu Gui and the others. It had happened over three months ago. Her parents had taken the girl shopping when they nearly got into a car accident. In the nick of time, the girl pushed her parents out of the way and was hit herself. The girl
's leg was injured in the accident, and it was said that she would have long-term effects, possibly leaving her with a permanent limp in her left leg.
Lanxin became somewhat uncomfortable at this point. She hesitated, saying, "I know she paid such a high price to save my parents, I should accept her... But, but there are many ways to repay kindness! My parents could easily give her money!"
She pouted, choked back a sob, and said, "Anyway, I just don't want my parents to have any other daughters besides me! Not even goddaughters."
She thought that if she objected, her parents would give in to her as before, but this time, they didn't. Instead, they scolded her for being insensible.
Lanxin said aggrievedly, "I just don't want other children to call them Mom and Dad. They are my mom and dad! Not someone else's... Does my unwillingness mean I'm insensible?"
Lanxin was actually somewhat confused.
"...Maybe it's true, I'm not as considerate as that girl," she said dejectedly. "She's obedient, sensible, and considerate, while I'm willful, like to act recklessly, and talk back to them. Maybe in my parents' hearts, she's the kind of child they want most."
Many viewers in the live stream were touched by Lanxin's reaction:
[Families with two children really understand Lanxin's feelings. Before my brother was born, I was an only child; my parents only had eyes for me. But after my brother was born, I wasn't their only child anymore. That feeling is really painful.]
[Families with two children +1, especially when you're unhappy and they say you're not considerate enough, that you're not sensible enough. But before, my parents only had me as a child. Why did they have to have a second one?] [
What I think is even harder for Lanxin to accept is having to listen to her parents say she's not as good as that girl, watching her place in her parents' hearts being erased bit by bit by the girl… Parents will never know how much they hurt their children.]
[Although my parents didn't have a second child, I just imagined having to share half of my parents' love with my younger siblings, and I think I couldn't bear that either.]
Netizens, especially those who were originally only children but now have younger siblings, had a strong desire to speak out. Seeing Lanxin like this, they felt a deep sense of empathy and shared sorrow.
After Lanxin voiced her deepest thoughts, it was as if her psychological defenses had completely collapsed; tears began to stream down her face, and she cried harder and harder.
Fu Xia looked at her: "Lanxin…"
No one noticed that while Xu Gui and the others were talking, the door to this room was opened a crack from the outside. After Lanxin finished speaking, the crack widened, and after Lanxin burst into tears, the door was fully opened.
Bang!
The sound of the door opening startled the people inside. Lanxin turned her head sharply and saw her mother standing in the doorway, tears welling in her eyes.
"Lanxin, my precious daughter..."