Huang Ying stood at the gate of the Wei family home, feeling as if she had been transported to another world.
She turned to look at the gate behind her, wondering with some doubt: Had she really left the Wei family? Had she really asked Wei Yunkai for a divorce? When did she become so bold?
Countless thoughts flashed through her mind, and Huang Ying felt dazed, with an extremely unreal feeling, until she saw Xu Gui and the other three beside her.
"Ah, I really left the Wei family..." she suddenly thought.
She looked up at the sky, the bright sunlight falling on her, and Huang Ying involuntarily closed her eyes.
The sunlight today was extremely bright and intense; the sun shone on her, and her exposed skin felt burning hot, but even under this intense sun, Huang Ying had a feeling that she was truly alive.
Many times in the Wei family, she felt like she wasn't really alive; more like a walking corpse than a living person. But now, standing in the sunlight, she realized for the first time that she really seemed to be alive.
Her body was hot, and the sunlight was hot too…
Before she knew it, Huang Ying was in tears. She slowly squatted down, hugged her knees, and suddenly burst into tears.
Her crying wasn't elegant or beautiful; it was just a cathartic outpouring of years of pent-up grievances.
For the first time since marrying into the Wei family, Huang Ying felt alive, and for the first time, she felt free.
…
Xu Gui and the others didn't comfort her; they let her cry until she was exhausted, her eyes swollen and red, unable to cry anymore. Only then did they go over and take her away.
Back in the van, after Yuan Lu turned on the air conditioning, Xu Gui eagerly shoved herself into the vent, feeling the cool air rushing towards her face. Only then did she feel alive again.
—For a turtle that loves water, standing in the sun like that felt like she was being dried out.
Seeing her like this, Huang Ying, who had just vented her emotions with tears, couldn't help but smile.
Xu Gui turned to look at her and asked, "Ms. Huang, do you have somewhere to go?"
Hearing this question, Huang Ying fell silent and seemed lost. After marrying Wei Yunkai, he hadn't lacked her materially, so she actually owned quite a few properties. However, these properties held no meaning for her; they didn't give her any sense of belonging.
So, when Xu Gui asked if she had anywhere to go, she couldn't think of anywhere to go.
Go to her parents' place? Ha! If they knew she had filed for divorce from Wei Yunkai, they'd probably go crazy and would immediately try to persuade her to go back.
"You have a life like this that other women would kill for. What more could you want? Why are you still arguing with Yunkai?"
"You're just ungrateful. You'll only realize how enviable your life is when you experience hardship outside..."
Huang Ying felt suffocated just thinking about her parents' possible reactions.
Just then, she suddenly heard Xu Gui say, "If you don't have anywhere you want to go, why don't you visit our orphanage?"
Huang Ying was taken aback and subconsciously looked at Xu Gui.
Xu Gui smiled at her and said, "If you don't mind that the conditions at our orphanage are austere..."
Huang Ying smiled wryly and said, "Even the austere conditions are better than at the Wei family's, right?"
Xu Gui nodded in agreement, "That's true."
In that case, let's go back to the orphanage.
On the way back to the orphanage, Xu Gui went online to explain to her fans—she had suddenly ended the live stream at the Wei family's house, and her fans were all a bit confused. If she didn't come up and explain, they would suspect that she had been "assassinated" by the Wei family.
Xu Gui didn't say much, only that there was a problem with the machine, and finally said, "...I'll continue the live stream this afternoon!"
As for now, let's go back to the orphanage first.
It took about two and a half hours to get back to the city. Xu Gui and the others arrived back at the orphanage without incident. Under Qin Zhongyi's arrangement, the renovation of the orphanage was in full swing. One side of the building was being demolished and rebuilt, while the other side was where the people were living. The two sides were separated by iron sheets, though dust occasionally drifted in.
Xu Gui only remembered this when she returned and looked at Ms. Huang with a slightly apologetic expression.
"...How about I arrange a new place for you?" she said. "I forgot, our orphanage is currently undergoing renovations."
Ms. Huang looked around curiously and said unconcernedly, "It's okay, if everyone can stay, I can stay too."
Xu Gui: "...Let me show you around first."
She led Ms. Huang and the others inside. The directors were pleasantly surprised to see her return—in fact, after the orphanage was transferred to Xu Gui's name, Xu Gui was now the actual director of the orphanage, although she also hired other directors as the director of the orphanage.
So, on the surface, the director of the orphanage was still the former Director Xu.
"...Why did you suddenly come back?" the director asked happily.
Xu Gui said, "I just suddenly had some time."
She looked at the building beside her, its outline already faintly visible, and couldn't help but remark, "The construction speed is really fast..." It's only been a few days, and the basic structure is already complete.
"As long as money isn't a problem, anything can be done quickly." A voice suddenly came from beside her. Xu Gui turned her head and saw Qin Zhongyi, wearing glasses, standing there. She didn't know when he had arrived.
He looked as gloomy as before, exuding a sinister aura.
He looked at Xu Gui and said, "You're back just in time. I happen to have something I want to talk to you about."
Xu Gui nodded first, "Okay."
Then she introduced herself to the director and Huang Ying, and finally said, "Ms. Huang wants to stay at our orphanage for a while. Director, could you please arrange a room for her?"
The director nodded, "Okay, you and Zhongyi can talk first."
Xu Gui hummed in agreement, handed Huang Ying over to the director to entertain, and went inside with Qin Zhongyi to talk. As for Fu Xia and Yuan Lu, Xu Gui didn't need to worry about them at all. They were already very familiar with the orphanage and had "friends" they played with there.
When Xu Gui entered the room, they were already playing with the children, not even giving her a glance.
Xu Gui: "..." In the end, she had wasted her time.
*
What Qin Zhongyi wanted to talk to Xu Gui about was naturally the orphanage.
"...If you want to turn the orphanage into an amusement park, this place is far too small," Qin Zhongyi said. "Even if you build the orphanage to perfection, it will only look like a pretty neighborhood park at best."
Well, not even a large park, just a small one.
Xu Gui asked, "Then what should we do?"
She figured that given Qin Zhongyi's personality, he must have already arranged everything before calling her over—this guy was truly incredibly capable.
Sure enough, after she finished asking her question, Qin Zhongyi, as if prepared, took out a document and handed it to her, saying, "We need a larger area, so I suggest we buy the entire area, at least a hundred hectares!"
Xu Gui: "..." If she remembered correctly, land in China was very expensive, and houses were very expensive too. Back when she was still naive, she often heard the aunties at the orphanage talk about how house prices had gone up in various places.
Not to mention, she had spent over ten million just to buy the orphanage, and that was after the director gave her a discount.
"Although I admit I'm very capable and good at making money!" Xu Gui's tone was still very proud.
"But," she paused, then said very seriously, "asking me to buy such a large area of land in such a short time seems a bit too much to ask, doesn't it?"
In conclusion: Although she was capable, she hadn't reached that level yet.
Qin Zhongyi said, "Of course I know that."
Although he felt that with his boss's earning speed, making billions would only take a year or two, he wasn't arrogant enough to think she could raise that much money in a day or two, so...
"I suggest you find someone to cooperate with!" he said.
Xu Gui: "Find someone to cooperate with?"
"That's right!" Qin Zhongyi gestured to the documents in Xu Gui's hand and said, "I've already selected candidates: the Lu family, the Fu family, the Tang family, even the Li family... These are all well-known companies in City A. As long as you can persuade these companies to cooperate with you to develop the orphanage area, then all problems will be solved."
Money wouldn't be a problem either.
Xu Gui: "...Why would they want to cooperate with me?"
Qin Zhongyi smiled and said confidently, "Because you are Xu Gui, the only fortune teller in China, no, the entire world! As long as these companies have a little foresight, they won't refuse to cooperate with you."
Who wouldn't want to befriend a fortune teller who can predict the future?
Qin Zhongyi even felt that as long as Xu Gui announced her intention to build an amusement park, plenty of people would want to collaborate with her.
Xu Gui pondered, "Do I really care that much?"
Qin Zhongyi nodded confidently.
In this day and age, although everyone claims to believe in science and reject feudal superstition, they still harbor some doubts, especially the wealthy. Otherwise, why are so-called feng shui masters such honored guests of the rich?
Xu Gui's skills are no less than those feng shui masters, so naturally, many wealthy people want to befriend her.
Xu Gui understood, thinking gleefully: In short, she's just saying how amazing she is!
Qin Zhongyi: "...That's roughly the idea."
...
When it came to work, Qin Zhongyi became much more energetic, his gloomy face looking much more positive.
After receiving Xu Gui's permission, he turned and hurriedly left the orphanage, preparing to contact these families. As he left, his eyes were only focused on his career, devoid of any worldly desires.
The director entered, somewhat puzzled, and asked, "Why is Zhongyi in such a hurry? Isn't he going to eat lunch?"
Xu Gui pondered for a few seconds before saying, "He's probably chasing after his dream girl."
The director: ?? What's going on?
Xu Gui felt that for Qin Zhongyi, career = dream girl, so what he said was perfectly reasonable.
*
At noon, *fashion* magazine posted a Weibo post, officially announcing their autumn theme.
The autumn theme for this issue of *fashion* is: sea. All their autumn designs revolve around this ocean theme.
*fashion* also announced their themed fashion magazine.
However, what surprised netizens was that the model for this issue of *fashion* magazine was none other than Xu Gui?! Afterwards, Xu Gui also reposted this post from *Fashion*, which directly confirmed the matter.
Netizens were astonished.
[Does Xu Gui really have no connections? His first resource after entering the industry is a luxury brand like *Fashion*, is that reasonable?!]
[Didn't you see what *Fashion* said? Their main photographer thought our Xiao Gui perfectly matched their theme for this issue! Their main photographer was extremely satisfied with our Xiao Gui! Two "extremely"s!]
[Industry insiders are secretly saying that the main photographer responsible for this *Fashion* shoot is Mr. Mom Bell, the main photographer for *Denla*. It's said that he saw Xu Gui's amazing photo, was inspired, and offered to be in charge of shooting *Fashion*'s autumn theme.]
[Amazing photo? Is it the amazing photo I know? This photo is still my phone wallpaper, it's really super beautiful (no verification needed, not a Xu Gui fan)]
[Mommy Bell? Is that the Mommy Bell I know? But didn't Mommy Bell stop working on *Dunla* a long time ago?] — In recent years, Mommy Bell has mostly photographed landscapes or highly impactful war scenes.
He hasn't participated in *Dunla* for many years.
But this time, he not only participated, but also in the autumn theme shoot for *Fashion*, a sub-brand of *Dunla*?
Netizens couldn't help but exclaim: [What has *Fashion* done to deserve this? What has Xu Gui done to deserve this?!]
At this time, Mommy Bell also posted a Weibo post, in which he praised Xu Gui repeatedly. At a glance, the entire post was filled with effusive praise for Xu Gui.
In summary: Ms. Xu is exceptionally good! She is simply my muse. "Wow!
" Mom Bell even added, "...Everyone can look forward to this issue of *Fashion* magazine. I think it definitely won't disappoint."
Mom Bell's praise for Xu Gui was so exaggerated that netizens were somewhat surprised and suddenly became more curious about this issue of *Fashion* magazine.
As for Xu Gui's fans, needless to say, they would definitely support her.
As for Xu Gui, *Fashion* was already a completed project, so she didn't care much. After forwarding the message, she stopped reading the online comments. Mom Bell, however, contacted her around noon, saying that they had already mailed the magazine to her.
Mom was clearly very satisfied with the photoshoot, her words filled with excitement and joy.
"I haven't produced such satisfying work in a long time!" he told Xu Gui. "Once the magazine is released, everyone will go crazy for our collaboration!"
He used many exaggerated words to describe this issue, interspersed with some foreign words, to which Xu Gui could only admit: she didn't understand a word.
However, she could hear Mom's excitement, which made Xu Gui a little curious about the final product—even though she was the main subject, what would the final product be like?
Xu Gui thought about it for a moment, but still couldn't imagine it. She shook her head and stopped thinking about it
.
The fall issue of *Fashion* magazine went on sale online at 9 PM. *Fashion* went all out, preparing three million copies.
For Xu Gui, a newcomer with few works to her name, this number was quite bold, and it made people curious whether they could sell out. After all, if they didn't, it would be truly laughable.
Even if Xu Gui was a genius, she would probably be ridiculed.
So, whatever the reason, there was a lot of online attention on this issue of *Fashion*.
Soon, the night of the magazine's release arrived.
Wen Meixin was one of Xu Gui's fans, a die-hard one at that. However, unlike those so-called career-oriented or looks-oriented fans, she was a "mommy fan" of Xu Gui. Regardless of her reasons, when she first saw Xu Gui, she felt he was very lovable and cute.
"He's my daughter, he's my daughter!" She was an absolute die-hard mommy fan.
"Mommy fans" are the kind of people who absolutely support their own children, so before 9 PM, Wen Meixin was already waiting on the *Fashion* magazine's official website, ready to frantically tap the buy button at 9 PM.
Finally, 9 PM arrived.
The instant the second hand struck, Wen Meixin pressed the left button. The next second, after a slow loading screen, the interface jumped to the payment page. Wen Meixin scanned the code and paid with her phone—the whole process was incredibly smooth.
After paying like crazy and seeing the page show "purchased," she finally breathed a sigh of relief. Then she clenched her fists and realized her palms were sweaty.
But now that she had bought it, Wen Meixin was relieved. She then went back to the purchase page and saw that the remaining quantity of the magazine was already starting with "one."
Wen Meixin was stunned: three million copies were available, and now only a little over one million remained?
She almost thought she was seeing things, but when she looked closer, she was sure she wasn't mistaken. The remaining magazine quantity was indeed at the beginning, and only forty seconds had passed since the magazine went on sale.
And perhaps because the quantity was dropping so quickly, those who hadn't bought it yet were panicking, so the remaining magazine quantity number was decreasing rapidly in real time.
Wen Meixin watched the numbers change with growing tension, keeping an eye on the timer and the magazine quantity decreasing.
Finally, all the numbers reached zero.
The moment she saw the quantity become 0 and the buy button change to "Sold Out," Wen Meixin subconsciously glanced at the time on the computer screen. It showed: 21:01:25.
A beat later, Wen Meixin realized what this time meant: it meant that all three million copies of the magazine had been sold in just two minutes!
Wen Meixin: ?! !!
"Ahhh!" Coming to her senses, she jumped up from her seat in excitement, then, amidst her roommate's bewildered look, hugged the person tightly and continued screaming wildly.
After her excited screams, Wen Meixin plopped back down at her desk, grabbed her phone, and entered a group chat named: [Protecting the Best Turtle Daughter].
Yes, it was a group for mom fans; all the members were Xu Gui's mom fans.
Wen Meixin entered and saw everyone screaming; most were excited, a few were wailing—those who wailed hadn't managed to get a copy.
[My God, less than two minutes, three million copies of the magazine sold out! What an achievement!! Our daughter is truly amazing!]
[Damn it, I only managed to get two copies each time. There's a CD option, but you can only buy one every fifty seconds. I was planning to buy ten more for my collection! Mom Bell, my favorite photographer, plus Turtle, my beloved daughter—this collaboration is just incredible!] [ I'm
so envious! I just went to get a glass of water, and when I came back, it was already sold out! You guys are such animals, you didn't even leave me a copy!]
[Hahaha! I got it! I got it! I'm such a genius!]
[My daughter is so amazing! If this keeps up, I'm really going to become a career fan! Being a career fan of my daughter must be so awesome!]
[I'm going to check out Weibo, Gui Gui is so amazing!]
At this moment, Xu Gui's fans on Weibo were also celebrating, even feeling very proud and smug . As for non-Xu Gui fans, they were just surprised.
Although Xu Gui's fan base had grown rapidly in the past few months, no one knew how much these fans actually spent. After all, just because netizens follow you doesn't mean they'll spend money on you.
But this issue of "Fashion" magazine undoubtedly showed capital and other netizens the spending power of Xu Gui's fans.
In this era of declining print media, three million copies of the magazine sold out in two minutes. Even top celebrities couldn't do that.
Meanwhile, at the Lu family mansion, Lu Baiyi was listening to his secretary.
"...We ended up buying about five hundred copies of Master Xu's magazine," the secretary said. "We didn't expect to need the CDs, otherwise we could have bought more."
The secretary was actually a little surprised. Around noon, his boss, Mr. Lu Baiyi, had suddenly asked him to do something for him. The secretary thought it was something important, but it turned out to be buying magazines at nine o'clock in the evening.
Secretary: Sure enough, their boss is a domineering CEO!
However, neither the domineering CEO nor his secretary expected that the magazine purchase would include CDs, which led to their lack of preparation, and they only managed to buy about five hundred copies.
"Sorry, Manager," the secretary apologized to Lu Baiyi.
Lu Baiyi: "It's alright, as long as we got them. Making you do this after work is the one who should feel bad."
The secretary didn't think much of it; after all, Lu Baiyi hadn't asked him to do it for free—he had given him five thousand yuan in overtime pay! Five thousand yuan for a mere magazine? He'd buy gold for their general manager, even if it meant that.
It was just a pity that he had disappointed their general manager.
"General Manager, this time I was unfamiliar with the entertainment industry, it was my negligence. But rest assured, next time I will be fully prepared and won't let you down again!" The secretary's voice was full of fighting spirit.
Lu Baiyi: "...No need for that."
Secretary: "Yes, yes."
He thought to himself: Their general manager is a domineering CEO! As the secretary of a domineering CEO! How could I let their general manager down?
The secretary was heartbroken, and promised there wouldn't be a next time.
Lu Baiyi: Occasionally, he would wonder what his secretary was thinking.
...
After hanging up the phone with the secretary, Lu Baiyi held his phone, hesitated for about eight minutes, and finally couldn't resist calling Xu Gui. "Hello, did I disturb you?"