Lu Baiyi had changed his clothes before arriving. He was dressed simply in a short-sleeved shirt and shorts, with sneakers on his feet, looking like an ordinary passerby.
However, his outstanding appearance and noble, aloof demeanor made him stand out even dressed like a stranger, attracting the attention of passersby.
A girl's suppressed excited voice drifted from somewhere: "...Damn it, I saw a man with such an amazing aura and looks!"
Lu Baiyi was carrying a paper bag. When he reached the old man's table, he placed the bag on it with a soft thud.
The old man reached for the bag and rummaged through it with his fingers.
Lu Baiyi, watching his grandfather's actions, asked, "Why did you call me here in such a hurry?"
The old man had already taken the contents out of the bag; it was a food storage container containing freshly made jujube and yam cakes.
The snow-white yam cakes, arranged in flower shapes, were neatly stacked in the food storage container, looking extremely pleasing to the eye.
The old man opened the container, saying, "It wasn't me looking for you, it was that little girl Xu Gui. She said she needs your help..."
Xu Gui?
A vague image flashed through Lu Baiyi's mind, and the word "glutinous rice ball" automatically popped into his head.
Oh, that's the Miss Xu he'd met once before.
The old man took a piece of yam cake and ate it. After finishing, he raised an eyebrow and asked, "You didn't make this dessert, did you?" He recognized it immediately.
Lu Baiyi snapped out of his reverie, sighed, and said, "I made egg yolk pastries last night, but you all divided them up this morning. There's nothing left... When you called, I was at the company and didn't have time to make any, so I had the family chef make them."
Their family chefs were all five-star chefs, specially hired, and their skills were excellent, but his family still preferred his cooking, always thinking it tasted better.
If this were told to others, few would believe it.
As the general manager of a large listed company and the future successor of the Lu family, Lu Baiyi's greatest hobby wasn't stock trading or watching the clock, but cooking. He was already learning to make pastries at the age of five, standing on a stool with his chubby face.
Even as he grew older, this hobby remained; he loved spending his free time in the kitchen tinkering with food.
The old man ate two pieces of yam cake and then stopped. He closed the lid of the food container and handed it to Lu Baiyi, saying, "That girl is over there. Give this to her when you go over; she should like it."
After all, that girl was the kind of person who would be amazed even by braised chicken
. Lu Baiyi glanced across the table and, sure enough, saw Xu Gui sitting behind a table. She seemed to have noticed his arrival long ago; when Lu Baiyi looked over, he met her expectant gaze.
The next second, seeing him looking at her, she excitedly waved gently at him, displaying utter obedience.
Lu Baiyi walked across the street with the insulated food container. When he got closer, Xu Gui looked up and called out excitedly, "Mr. Lu..."
"Miss Xu," Lu Baiyi nodded slightly to her, placed the container in front of her, and said, "This... is jujube and yam cake. I don't know if it suits your taste."
Xu Gui glanced at it, then nodded without hesitation, "This will definitely suit my taste!" If it didn't suit her taste...
"Then it must be my fault!" she said confidently.
Lu Baiyi smiled.
Xu Gui's eyes crinkled as she smiled at Lu Baiyi and said, "Mr. Lu, thank you for giving me this yam cake. You're such a kind person! Don't worry, I'll eat it well!"
After giving him a "good guy" card, she looked around and said, "Mr. Lu, would you like to sit down?"
However, after looking around, she found that there were no extra seats.
They had only brought two stools, one for Xu Gui and the other for the photographer.
Xu Gui hesitated for a moment, then silently turned her gaze to the cameraman beside her.
She widened her eyes, looking at him innocently and pitifully, and gently bowed to him with her clasped hands.
At this moment, from head to toe, she was practically screaming: Please, please! Cameraman, please, help me out!
The cameraman: "..."
Lu Baiyi glanced at the only two stools and said, "No need, I'll stand."
The cameraman silently stood up and said, "Sit here, I've been sitting for ages, and I just remembered to get up and move around." To demonstrate the feasibility of his words, he stood up, moved his limbs, and actually strolled off in one direction.
Seeing this, Xu Gui couldn't help but give the cameraman a grateful look: Cameraman, you're a good person.
And the viewers in the live stream:
[Who understands? Seeing this scene, I actually teared up, sob sob, the cameraman is really a good person!]
[Who says otherwise?] "Hey, follow me, have a good time eating and drinking!"
[So who exactly is this Mr. Lu? With my years of experience judging handsome men, I'm sure he's a total heartthrob! Look at those pecs, those broad shoulders and narrow waist, and those long legs—a real gem!]
[So, what exactly does Xu Gui want from Mr. Lu? To absorb his luck? This sounds like something out of a novel, all sorts of weird stuff.]
*
Lu Baiyi was also curious about what Xu Gui needed his help with.
"...Because of some things, I've been having really bad luck lately, so I want to absorb some of your luck!"
Xu Gui sat properly with her hands on her knees, honestly saying, "Mr. Lu, you're very lucky. I only need to absorb a tiny bit of your luck; it won't have any effect on you!"
She swore she definitely didn't want to absorb "turtle mint"... well, maybe a tiny bit, since it's like someone can't help wanting to pet a cat.
Xu Gui muttered to herself: But, mainly, it's to stop being so unlucky!
Lu Baiyi listened, lost in thought.
Xu Gui looked at him expectantly and said, "I understand if you don't want to, I'm fine with it. It just means I'll be unlucky for a few more days, like falling a few more times, getting hit on the head by flowerpots falling from above a few more times..."
Lu Baiyi: ...Are you sure this is really okay?
He looked at Xu Gui, who was also looking at him. Her eyes were clear and bright, black and white, as if washed clean, containing only straightforward and pure expectation, without any other malice.
Lu Baiyi thought for a moment and asked again, "Will this really not have any side effects on me? For example, if you absorb my luck, will I also become unlucky?"
And can anyone really absorb someone's luck in reality? This doesn't sound like something a decent person would do.
In an instant, countless eerie and superstitious images flashed through Lu Baiyi's mind, each one a crime scene.
"No, it won't!" Xu Gui said earnestly, "Mr. Lu, you might not know, but your luck is really good. Taking a little bit won't cause any problems! I can guarantee you that."
Lu Baiyi continued, "May I ask, Miss Xu, what caused you to become so...unlucky?"
Xu Gui gripped the fabric of her skirt, hesitating, "It's because of an elder. She has to do something, but it might be life-threatening, so I shared some of my good luck with her."
"But I can't tell you the specifics..."
That was Aunt Tuanzi's private matter; she couldn't tell anyone without Aunt Tuanzi's permission.
Lu Baiyi nodded slightly, indicating, "I understand... So, how are you going to absorb my luck? Will you bleed me?" He'd seen this kind of thing on TV dramas, and it always seemed quite bloody.
He was genuinely asking, since he'd never heard of such a thing before and didn't know how to do it. However, he hadn't expected that as soon as he said that, Xu Gui's eyes widened instantly, as if he'd said something terrifying.
Lu Baiyi: ?
"You, how could you think that?" Xu Gui asked him in horror.
"...Uh, is it not necessary to bleed?" Lu Baiyi looked apologetic and said, "Sorry, I don't know much about this."
Xu Gui shook her head vigorously, pouting, "Of course not!" She wasn't the kind of person to do bad things, why would she bleed someone else?
Lu Baiyi: "Then how are you going to absorb my luck?"
Xu Gui said, "Hold out your hand."
Lu Baiyi obediently held out his hand. Xu Gui grabbed his hand, glanced at it, and couldn't help but exclaim, "Mr. Lu, your hands are so big..."
Lu Baiyi was tall, so his hands were naturally not small. Xu Gui held out her hands to compare, feeling that her two hands were only as big as his one hand. Moreover, her hands were a bit fleshy and soft, and the contrast with Lu Baiyi's hands was really stark.
Xu Gui glanced at it, held Lu Baiyi's hand, and suddenly brought her cheek close to his palm.
Lu Baiyi: !
His hand seemed to be burned, and he quickly pulled it back.
Xu Gui, caught off guard, looked down and found the large hand she had been holding was gone. She looked at Lu Baiyi, somewhat bewildered.
Lu Baiyi's face flushed slightly, and he leaned back, clutching the hand Xu Gui had just grabbed. He stammered, "...What you mean by 'absorbing luck,' do you mean...
literal absorption? "
Before he could finish, Xu Gui asked, puzzled, "What's wrong?"
Lu Baiyi coughed lightly and said, "Nothing." He was just a little startled.
He hesitated, then reached out to Xu Gui again—though he felt uneasy, rarely being so close to strangers, he had already promised to help. If Miss Xu needed to absorb luck this way, then he had no choice but to comply.
Seeing him reach out again, Xu Gui's eyes lit up. She grabbed his hand and pressed her cheek against his again.
This time, Lu Baiyi resisted the urge to pull away.
...
The live stream camera blurred Lu Baiyi's face, but not his hand. Under the program's high-definition lens, they could clearly see Xu Gui's cheek pressed against a large hand, her expression relaxed and content, like a cat being stroked on the neck, almost purring.
Netizens who saw this were: [???!!]
The first to go crazy in the live stream were Xu Gui's "mommy fans":
[Ahhh! Mom won't let you near that stinky man! Let go!]
[Waaaaah, my daughter is dirty!]
Then came the casual netizens who loved the drama:
[What are you all wailing about? It's clearly your daughter taking advantage of another man, the one crying is someone else!]
[Waaaaah, does Xu Gui even remember she's a celebrity? Pressing her cheek against a man's hand like that? And with so many people watching? Has she forgotten she's filming a show?]
Finally, there's a strange creature that snuck in:
[Hehehe, who understands? This scene is seriously killing me! It seems that as long as I ship everything, I can achieve a balanced diet!][
Sister, you have such good taste! I also find this scene inexplicably adorable. Mainly, don't you guys think it's a bit erotic? They're clearly not doing anything, the word "explicit" doesn't even come close, but I still blush and my adrenaline is pumping. It's so adorable!]
[Too explicit, too erotic, that's actually less appealing. It's this kind of ambiguous, subtle flirtation that's the best!]
[Sister, you have such good taste! I have an idea, let's just call their CP "Face-to-Face CP"!]
[Face-to-Face CP? What a great name, sister, are you a genius?]
Mixed in with the CP fans' exclamations are the screams of the "mommy fans": [No! Mom won't allow it! Our daughter wants to be beautiful on her own, beautiful on her own!! Get away from us, you stinky man!]
A random passerby who wandered into the live stream: [??] Why is this live stream so crazy? What's going on? Why do all the viewers seem a bit off?
Genuine bystanders: Don't ask, we're just here for the gossip. Who said this live stream is bad? This live stream is great, we feel like we're home here!
*
With someone pressing their cheek against his palm like that, especially feeling the warm, moist breath occasionally wafting onto his hand, Lu Baiyi wasn't a block of wood, how could he not feel anything?
But gradually, his expression became a little strange.
Why? He felt that Xu Gui's actions of rubbing his palm were very similar to his niece's actions of sucking on their ragdoll cat—a kind of affection without any intimacy, only love for a certain "creature." It wasn't that they were almost identical, but they were exactly the same.
So, this Miss Xu was sucking on him like a cat? No, was she sucking on his luck like a cat? He had previously felt that this Miss Xu seemed to really like the ethereal thing called "luck."
As Lu Baiyi was pondering, Xu Gui finally felt she had absorbed enough luck and raised her head. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, and her eyes were curved in a smile, looking content and satisfied.
"Thank you, Mr. Lu, you're such a good person!" she said, releasing Lu Baiyi's hand.
Lu Baiyi subtly withdrew his hand, his fingers unconsciously rubbing his palm. He smiled and said, "It's alright, I'm glad I could help Miss Xu."
Xu Gui nodded firmly, "Yes, my luck is much better now!"
Luck is an elusive thing; it clearly exists, but for many, it's something that doesn't exist because it's untouchable and uncaptureable. And in this world, only the Xuan Turtle clan can capture it.
Xu Gui said, "I thought Mr. Lu would refuse my request."
Lu Baiyi: "Why?"
Xu Gui said, "Because we just met, Mr. Lu, you don't know if I'm a good person or a bad person. What if I'm a bad person? Aren't you worried that I'm absorbing your luck to do something bad?"
Lu Baiyi tapped his fingers lightly in the air. He said, "I don't think you're a bad person, Miss Xu. Besides, with your abilities, I think even if I didn't want to, you'd have plenty of ways to steal my luck."
Since Xu Gui chose to respect his wishes, he chose to believe her.
"I believe you have no ill intentions towards me," he said.
Hearing this, Xu Gui couldn't help but sincerely praise him, "Mr. Lu, you're such a good person!"
Lu Baiyi: "...I'll take that as a compliment, Miss Xu." He'd received more "good person" cards in one day than in a year.
He glanced at the camera beside him and said, "I never imagined you were a celebrity, Miss Xu. Later, I watched your live stream." So, he knew her somewhat.
Xu Gui looked at him suspiciously. Lu Baiyi explained, "A couple of days ago, you were trending on social media, Miss Xu."
Xu Gui paused, then asked softly, "...It wasn't because of Mr. Li's family's situation, was it?"
Lu Baiyi nodded.
Xu Gui: "..." So, Mr. Lu had also seen the scene where he almost got taken away by the police.
Xu Gui felt a little embarrassed—she had completely disgraced the turtle.
Xu Gui fell silent, and Lu Baiyi looked at her in confusion. Just as the two were caught in this strange silence, an excited voice suddenly rang out: "...Oh, I've finally found you, girl!"
Xu Gui subconsciously looked up and saw a somewhat familiar person standing in front of her stall. The person said quickly, "I've been looking for you for days. Luckily, I suddenly remembered that you seem to be a live streamer. I looked for my son and finally found you here!"
Xu Gui looked at the person, then realized something and exclaimed, "Boss lady?!"
The slightly plump woman in front of her was none other than the boss lady of the restaurant where Xu Gui used to work. She was still wearing an apron, clearly having rushed over.
Xu Gui immediately said, "Boss lady, I worked really hard before, you can't go back on your word and take your wages back!"
The boss lady was both amused and exasperated. She scolded, "I didn't come here to ask for your wages! I came here specifically to thank you!"
Xu Gui: "...Thank me?"
The boss lady said, "You were the one who called the electrician nearby to check our wiring, right?"
Xu Gui thought for a moment and vaguely remembered something like that.
The boss lady slapped her thigh and said, "Thanks to you! Otherwise, our restaurant would have been in big trouble!"
There was a reason the boss lady said this.
Before Xu Gui left, she had told her to find an electrician to check the restaurant's wiring. The boss lady hadn't thought much of it, but unexpectedly, that afternoon, an electrician suddenly came to the door, saying he had received a call from their restaurant to check the wiring.
The proprietress, somewhat embarrassed, said to Xu Gui, "I thought you were playing a prank..."
She was furious, berating Xu Gui mercilessly, even regretting paying her only eighty yuan, feeling she was an ingrate. But who knew that after the electrician's inspection, they discovered their electrical wiring really did have a problem.
According to the electrician, if they weren't careful, a slight touch to the wires would cause a crackling, sparking trails, like fireworks exploding.
Even more terrifying, the problem was in the kitchen wiring. What's in a restaurant kitchen? Gas. So, if the wiring didn't malfunction, it wouldn't be a simple fire; it could cause a massive explosion.
The proprietress still felt a lingering fear when she recalled what the electrician had said. She said, "...The electrician said the kitchen wiring was already very dangerous, and a problem would occur within a day or two."
Within a day or two, it would explode that very night, and then it wouldn't just affect her restaurant; it would be like a chain reaction, burning down many restaurants along the street.
Xu Gui added in his mind.
After speaking, the proprietress looked at Xu Gui with beaming joy and said, "That's why I came here specifically to thank you!"
Xu Gui: "Then, no need to thank me?"
The proprietress said, "This is a lifesaver, how can I not thank you? Don't worry, I've already thought of how to thank you... I heard from my son that you're participating in some strange money-making program and you don't have money for food. How about this! From now on, our restaurant will cover all your meals. Whatever you want to eat, just come to our restaurant, and I'll cook it for you!"
Xu Gui's eyes lit up: "Really?"
The proprietress said matter-of-factly, "Of course! You saved our whole family's lives!" "Even if you eat at our house for the rest of your life, that's fine!"
Xu Gui said shyly, "That's not very nice..."
The proprietress said, "It's almost lunchtime now, why don't you come to my shop to eat?"
Xu Gui was about to refuse when the proprietress said, "I asked my husband to cook a big pot of dishes, to make his best sauerkraut stew with pig's trotters, just to treat you!"
Hearing this, Xu Gui's words of refusal changed to, "Okay, thank you, proprietress, you're such a kind person."
Lu Baiyi, who had just received a "good person card," couldn't help but glance at Xu Gui, his eyes holding a rather ambiguous look.
The proprietress had already warmly invited Xu Gui to pack up his stall and come to their restaurant to eat. Xu Gui happily stood up, but his gaze suddenly swept over Lu Baiyi, who had also stood up, and he paused.
"…Boss lady, can I bring three more people?" She looked at the boss lady expectantly and said, "I can pay!"
Lu Baiyi realized she wanted to invite him and smiled as he declined, "I don't need to. I have work to do later. If there's a chance in the future, let's have dinner together again."
Xu Gui nodded, "Okay… Mr. Lu, thank you so much this time."
Lu Baiyi smiled at her, turned and left. Xu Gui politely watched him leave. After he left, she quickly turned and called over the cameraman standing in the distance.
"Cameraman, the boss lady is treating us to dinner. We can go home now!" she said happily.
The paparazzi had been eavesdropping and knew what was going on, but…
"It's only 10:30, isn't it a bit too early to have breakfast?" he said pointedly. "Besides, didn't you say you were going to work hard to earn money?"
Xu Guiyi said righteously, "The proprietress is being kind, how can we refuse her? It's okay, I can work harder this afternoon!"
The paparazzi: …I was afraid you'd say this afternoon, "I can work harder tomorrow," and tomorrow and tomorrow, how many tomorrows are there!
Xu Guiyi was completely unaware of the paparazzi's inner thoughts. With the proprietress's help, she neatly packed up her stall and placed it on the side where it wouldn't obstruct pedestrians—many stall owners here set up their stalls like this; as long as they don't block the road, the city management rarely bothers them.
After packing up, Xu Guiyi ran to the old man and happily invited him, "Old man, are you going to have lunch? Someone invited me to lunch, do you want to come with me? I'll treat you."
When she mentioned that someone was inviting her to lunch, her expression was full of pride.
Old man: "Are you going to have lunch?"
He glanced at the time. "Didn't you only arrive around nine? You've only been setting up your stall for less than two hours."
Xu Gui replied, "Two hours is already a lot... I'll try my best this afternoon!"
The old man rolled his eyes, thinking: I said less than two hours, but you rounded it up to two hours, didn't you?
Xu Gui looked at him. "Are you going?"
The old man immediately said, "Yes, someone invited me to dinner. Wouldn't it be a waste if I didn't go?"
Xu Gui wholeheartedly agreed: That's right, that's what she thought too.
*
The old man packed up his stall, and the three of them followed the proprietress to their restaurant.
The restaurant wasn't far from their place. After all, Xu Gui had found a job nearby; if it were too far, the transportation costs alone would be a huge expense, and her earnings, after deducting daily expenses, simply couldn't cover those costs.
It was only a fifteen-minute walk from the overpass to the restaurant.
"...This area is prime real estate," the proprietress said with a touch of pride. "There's a school not far away, and a hospital is just half an hour's walk ahead. The location is fantastic."
Properties near schools and hospitals are the most sought-after; the former is convenient for children's education, and the latter for medical care. That's why the proprietress called their location prime—it's right next to both, isn't it?
On the way to the restaurant, Xu Gui and her companion passed a nearby high school. It wasn't dismissed yet, so it was quiet and deserted.
However, as they passed the school, Xu Gui felt a strange unease and glanced towards the school gate. She saw nothing; the gate was empty except for the security guard sitting in his booth.
Xu Gui wondered, "Am I mistaken?"
But just after they passed the school, a figure emerged from under a large tree near the gate, peering into the school with an expression that seemed both sad and joyful.
Judging from her figure and appearance, if Xu Gui were here, she would definitely recognize her: this person is none other than Aunt Tuanzi from the orphanage.
However, why Aunt Tuanzi is here, only she herself knows at this moment.