Xu Gui's fan base grew rapidly, but so did her haters. These haters hadn't had a chance to openly mock Xu Gui before, but now that they finally had something to attack, they unleashed their fury.
[Doesn't Xu Gui have any self-awareness? Doesn't she even look at her current ranking? She's at least outside the top 40! And she thinks she can get first place? That's just wishful thinking!]
[That's incredibly arrogant. The first place is actor Zhao Yang, whose livestream has over three million viewers. Xu Gui's viewership is only a fraction of that.]
[Although the final ranking depends mainly on how much money the guests make, the actor has already made over two million through stock trading. What does Xu Gui have to compare? Does she think she can make two million in the remaining two weeks with her roadside stall?]
[This person has absolutely no self-awareness!] The trolls in Xu
Gui's livestream finally found their point of attack, seizing every opportunity to mock her as "daydreaming" and "delusional."
Xu Gui's fans were furious, but they didn't know how to refute her—Xu Gui was indeed quite a distance from first place… well, a chasm. She had only earned a little over 30,000 yuan so far, which was actually quite fast, but it depended on who she was compared to.
So, barring any unforeseen circumstances, she had no chance of taking first place.
But… out of spite, Xu Gui's fans couldn't help but chime in:
[Until the very last moment, who knows who the final winner will be? Maybe our Xu Gui will pull off a surprise and suddenly win!]
[Exactly! Our girl is so amazing! Before, she only earned 150 yuan a day, but now she earns 2,000 to 3,000 yuan a day—that's a 20-fold increase! Who knows, maybe one day her income will double again?] [
I've memorized all the IDs of those who swore to eat shit live on stream. If Xu Gui really gets first place, I'll tag you all one by one. No verification needed, not a fan, just someone who enjoys watching the show. After all, once you set a flag, it's bound to fall!]
[Whether my daughter gets first place or not, we support her and like her. How about that, you haters, aren't you going to be furious? Who cares about you?!]
They're just biased towards their idols, so what? They're proud
of their biased perspective! The "mommy fans" were attacking like crazy, and the haters had to admit they were being attacked. Their adrenaline surged, and they couldn't help but continue typing rebuttals and mockery.
But while the chat was noisy, notifications of donations kept popping up in the lower right corner. The gift effects looked extremely dazzling, and occasionally there were donations spamming the screen and announcements across the platform. The IDs of the donors were also very familiar.
[Stop arguing, haven't you noticed? This high school student has already donated almost 500,000 yuan in this short time!]
[!!] "Are high school students these days really that rich?"
One netizen couldn't help but type: "High school student, do your parents know you've spent so much money on online rewards? Aren't you afraid they'll beat you up if they find out you're spending so recklessly online?"
"I suspect she stole her parents' cards..."
The high school student replied: "My mom knows I have a favorite celebrity, so she gave me two million to tip for fun. I still have 1.5 million left to spend, I'll do that slowly later."
This filled the screen with question marks.
Finally, someone angrily commented: "The whole world owes me a dad and mom who look exactly like me!! Mom and Dad, look at your long-lost daughter!"
So, there are so many rich people in the world, what difference does one more make? It's outrageous!
At this point, the high school student posted another comment: "Xiao Gui is my daughter, my parents' granddaughter. Isn't it normal for grandparents to tip their granddaughter?"
Comments: ???
"No, do your parents even know they have a granddaughter older than their own daughter?"
At this moment, a comment suddenly appeared on the screen: "[Then, do your parents need a 32-year-old, single, and self-sufficient granddaughter? #shy#]"
Others: "The truth is out, sister."
*
Xu Gui, through the subtle yet direct explanation from the streamer, realized the gap between herself and the first-place winner.
Xu Gui was stunned. She glanced at the first-place winner's livestream, then at her own, and sighed—the gap was truly as vast as the ocean.
However, she wasn't without a chance… Although she was indeed far from first place, the competition wasn't over yet, so she still had a chance. After all, until the very end, no one knew if she could turn things around.
Xu Gui thought to herself.
But now, it was time for her to pack up, leave work, and go have dinner.
She carefully put the ledger back into her bag, preparing to pack up her stall. However, just as she finished, a person appeared in front of her stall. She was bending down to place the stool on the ground, so she didn't see the person, but she first smelled the fishy smell in the air.
Fishy smell?
Xu Gui subconsciously looked up and saw a figure with dampness in their eyes, followed by a big smile.
"Master, hello there! Do you remember me?" the person asked cheerfully.
Xu Gui looked at his distinctive and recognizable attire, nodded, and said, "You're the old gentleman from this morning!"
The old gentleman, Wu Lao, grinned and said, "That's me!"
Xu Gui looked at the large fish slung over his shoulder and hesitated before asking, "Old gentleman, what's this?"
Wu Lao said, "I'm back from fishing... Master, look! Thanks to the divination you did for me this morning, it was truly miraculous! I caught such a big fish today, just as you said! I caught the biggest fish among all of us!"
Wu Lao never imagined he would have this day, that he would actually catch a fish, and such a big one at that.
It opened the eyes of everyone else, and it opened his own eyes too. However, he also knew very well that the biggest reason he was able to catch the fish was because of the master in front of him.
"Master, I caught a lot of fish today. Come, come, I'll give you a few. These are all wild fish. They're great for making soup!"
As he spoke, he put down his fishing gear and took out a string of small crucian carp from the bucket. There were about five or six of them, all strung together with water plants. Because they were wild, each crucian carp had a golden hue, and they looked to be of very good quality.
A string of crucian carp was handed to Xu Gui, who exclaimed in surprise, "Is this for me?" Although she didn't particularly like eating fish, mainly because she'd eaten too much, but...
"Thank you, Grandpa!" she immediately thanked him with a smile, taking the fish without hesitation. Then she asked, "Grandpa, can I share this fish with someone else? I can't cook, so I'll have to ask someone to prepare it for me. I'd like to give her two."
Old Wu waved his hand generously, "It's alright, since it's a gift, you can do with it as you like!"
With that, he packed up his fishing gear and said, "It's getting late, I have to go back now. Master, see you later."
Xu Gui replied, "Okay, take care."
She watched as Old Wu strode away, fish slung over his shoulder, his back straight and proud, like a victorious general. In other words, catching such a large fish was, among anglers, nothing short of a triumphant return.
Xu Gui glanced down at the fish in her hand and counted them. "Eight..." They were
strung together on the long reeds; you wouldn't notice there were eight unless you counted carefully. Since they were all small fish, only slightly larger than a hand, they weren't very heavy.
"Brother, do you want two?" Xu Gui asked the cameraman.
The cameraman: "Me?"
Xu Gui nodded and said, "That grandpa said the fish he gave me are mine, and I can give them away as I please. If you want two, I'll give you two... That leaves six. I'll give two to the kitchen lady, and I can eat four myself!"
She had already planned out the fish perfectly.
Having been filming her for a while, the photographer had gotten to know her quite well. Hearing
this, he didn't stand on ceremony and said, "These wild small crucian carp are hard to find now. They make amazing soup, so incredibly delicious." Xu Gui's mouth watered at the thought.
So when the two returned to their hotel, they had eight small crucian carp in their hands, still carrying a faint fishy smell. It was evening, and the guests were gradually returning. Xu Gui encountered many people on the way back.
She couldn't help but glance at one of them, because that person was the winner.
Xu Gui muttered to herself: To get first place, I have to crush this person.
Perhaps her gaze was too direct, because the person about to enter suddenly turned and looked in her direction. Their eyes met instantly.
Xu Gui instinctively wanted to look away, but remembering she hadn't done anything wrong, she stopped herself from turning, choosing instead to widen her eyes, her gaze defiant and unwavering as she stared back at the other person.
"Heh~" The other person seemed to chuckle softly. Seeing him suddenly laugh, the person next to him couldn't help but ask, "Brother Zhao, what are you laughing at?"
Zhao Yang replied calmly, "Nothing, just saw a rather interesting little kid."
The speaker was curious: a little kid? What little kid? They have kids here?
The person looked around.
Xu Gui walked into the hotel lobby and immediately saw many people standing or sitting, even the number one winner was there. Everyone looked radiant and beautiful, giving one the illusion of dazzling brilliance at first glance.
"...?" Xu Gui paused, almost backing away to see if he had gone to the wrong place.
So, why were there so many people in the lobby today?
"Ugh, why does it smell so strongly of fish here? Anyone who didn't know better would think they'd stumbled into a market."
Suddenly, a voice that was somewhat familiar yet jarring rang out. Xu Gui looked over and, sure enough, saw a familiar face.
Su Ya crossed her arms, scrutinizing her with a critical look, and asked, "What, you couldn't be a dishwasher, so you switched to cleaning fish at the market? Why do you smell so strongly of fish? Don't you find it stinky?"
She even dramatically covered her nose, as if the air was unbearably foul.
Xu Gui subconsciously sniffed herself. "Stinky? Then I'll take the fish to the kitchen first… Excuse me, these are fish my guests gave me, completely wild, very nutritious!"
She looked at Su Ya and said, "But I'm sorry, I've already divided up all the fish, I don't have any left to give you. "
She said this as if Su Ya had just been picking a fight over the few fish in her hand. Su Ya was so angry she almost fell over, retorting angrily, "Who cares about your few fish?" She sneered, looking Xu Gui
up and down, and said disdainfully, "You look like a country bumpkin, a few fish and you think you're something special ?" " You're so fascinated by this? Haven't you ever seen anything good before?"
she chattered on and on, but Xu Gui's mind was no longer on her. She was looking in one direction when her eyes suddenly lit up, and she called out, "Auntie! I'm over here!"
The people in the lobby instinctively looked in the direction she was calling, and just then they saw a middle-aged woman wearing an apron and with a serious expression walking out of the kitchen. When they saw this woman, many people felt a chill, especially the artists' assistants—so many of them had run into a wall in front of this old lady, and now they felt uneasy just seeing her.
However, compared to the constipated expressions of the others, Xu Gui immediately greeted her with a beaming smile.
"Auntie, look what I have here!" she said with a smile, while raising the small crucian carp in her hand, saying, "Wild small crucian carp, I heard it's especially delicious when used to make soup..."
Her voice was crisp and clear, not grating, and coupled with her natural and cheerful tone, it was very pleasant to listen to.
The old woman seemed to be a serious person, with deep nasolabial folds on her face. However, looking at Xu Gui, those folds seemed to fade considerably. Although she wasn't smiling, she certainly looked less serious.
The others watching this scene practically popped their eyes out—this wasn't how they expected it!
Xu Gui wasn't afraid of the old woman at all. From the first time she met her, she addressed her respectfully as "Auntie." She was cheerful and pure-hearted, and even the old woman, who considered herself hard-hearted, found it difficult to be stern with her.
At this moment, Xu Gui chattered on, "Auntie, didn't Uncle hurt his leg? Take two back and make him some soup. The guy filming for me said that wild crucian carp soup is very nourishing."
The "uncle" she was referring to was the old woman's husband, who used to be one of the head chefs at the hotel. He was called one of the head chefs because he had recently fallen in the kitchen and sprained his bone, and now he had to stay home to recover.
The old woman had only mentioned it to her occasionally, but she hadn't expected her to remember it. Feeling a surge of warmth, her expression softened even more as she looked at Xu Gui.
She glanced at the small crucian carp in Xu Gui's hand, examined it for a moment, and nodded slightly, saying, "It is indeed a wild crucian carp... Are you really giving this to me? These fish could sell for twenty yuan a pound outside."
Crucian carp are common, but these golden, purely wild small crucian carp are rare. If there's a woman in the family who has just given birth, this is a real treat.
Xu Gui looked down at the fish: "...I can't possibly sell these few fish at a stall, can I? Let's just prepare them and eat them!"
The old woman smiled. She glanced at the number of fish and said, "There are eight in total. Give me two, and I'll cook the remaining six for you."
Xu Gui immediately smiled and said, "Auntie, thank you so much! You're so kind to me, cooking fish for me is really too much trouble for you. I'll treat you to milk tea later!" Indeed, she now had a new hobby: drinking milk tea.
"However, two of these fish are for the guy filming us, only four are for me!" she added.
The old woman glanced at them and nodded, "Okay, I understand. I'll go get ours, and I'll bring them to your house when they're cooked… By the way, have you had dinner? If not, I'll make you something."
Xu Gui looked at her expectantly and said, "No, I just got back and haven't had time to eat yet."
The old woman replied, "Great, there's pigeon soup and chicken rice in the kitchen today. I'll also get you some fruit to make a set meal…"
"Wait a minute!" A person who had been eavesdropping on their conversation couldn't help but speak up, saying, "Auntie, you don't treat us like this at all. Does your hotel discriminate?"
Their tone was clearly dissatisfied.
The old woman glanced at them, saying, "If you're unhappy, you can complain about me. I have no problem with it."
With that, she took the small carp from Xu Gui's hand and walked away haughtily, leaving the person who had spoken standing there, utterly bewildered.
"Wait, how can she be so arrogant?" the person couldn't help but ask.
Someone next to him patted him on the shoulder, comforting him, "It's okay. If your son were the hotel owner, you could be just as arrogant."
The young man, clearly unaware of the old woman's background, was stunned by this.
"...This, this old woman is so down-to-earth!" Giving up a perfectly good old lady job to work in a hotel kitchen—what kind of pleasure is that?
Is this the exclusive happiness of the wealthy?
At this moment, Xu Gui was probably the only one completely oblivious, immersed in the joy of about to enjoy a delicious meal.
Just then, Su Ya suddenly narrowed her eyes and looked at her, questioning, "You knew about this old lady's background all along, which is why you went to such lengths to curry favor with her and get closer to her, right?"
Xu Gui, under her gaze, pointed at herself and asked, "Are you talking about me?"
Su Ya seemed certain of her suspicions. She looked at Xu Gui warily and said, "You're really cunning. You seem quite innocent on the surface, but I never expected your thoughts to be so complicated. Are you currying favor with this old lady to get her to give you preferential treatment? Or are you currying favor with her to get involved with her son and then marry into a wealthy family?"
"Isn't it you who wants to marry into a wealthy family?" Xu Gui asked sincerely. "As far as I know, you've been in contact with five men, but two of them are your backup plans. The remaining three are your first choices. One of them is surnamed Chen, and another is surnamed Hong..."
"What nonsense are you talking about!" Su Ya couldn't help but shout, her face flushed. "Don't slander me."
Xu Gui looked at her innocently: "I'm not making this up. You're so interested in me, you must know what I do, right? I don't have any other special skills, but I'm pretty good at fortune telling."
As she said this, her innocent eyes swept over everyone present, and she smiled and said, "If anyone wants anything told, you can come to me. I can tell you anything, and I can give you a 10% discount!"
"Heart!"
While saying "heart," she raised her hands and actually made a heart shape for everyone.
Everyone: "..."
It has to be said that the impact of this scene on everyone was too great. So, this person must be threatening them, right?
But how could she use that innocent face to say threatening things... So, maybe they've got it wrong? What she said was just a simple introduction?
While everyone was still in a daze, Xu Gui had already strode towards the elevator, ready to go upstairs to take a shower.
After Su Ya's comment, she now felt as if she herself reeked of fish.
"Does it smell bad?" She lowered her head and sniffed herself.
The cameraman following behind her suddenly asked, "Teacher Xu, were you just joking with everyone? But your joke sounded like a threat, hahaha."
"No," Xu Gui said, "I was threatening them."
The cameraman: "..."
His silence was deafening.
How to describe the cameraman's feelings at this moment? It was like this: How did such a good kid suddenly turn bad?
Their Teacher Xu wasn't like this!
Xu Gui continued slowly, "They all look down on me. If I don't show some deterrent power, they will only look down on me more and more, and they will bully me more and more..."
This way of survival is exactly what the saying "a kind person is bullied" means. Xu Gui knew this principle when he was a turtle—whether in the sea or on land, this applies. And survival in nature is even more cruel than this.
"That Su Ya is a prime example. She targeted me before, and because I didn't react, she became emboldened and her actions against me became increasingly brazen."
She spoke clearly, but the paparazzi was quite surprised—he had always thought Teacher Xu was a naive and innocent girl who wouldn't say a word even when bullied.
But now he realized he might have been wrong.
At this moment, Xu Gui's voice rose, and she laughed, "Of course, it would be best if everyone could get along amicably. I'm a peace-loving turtle…"
The paparazzi's brain couldn't help but skip a beat: Peace-loving Gui? Peace-loving turtle?
A few seconds later, realizing what he was thinking, the paparazzi was speechless.
Xu Gui looked at the camera and asked in a friendly manner, "Can the live stream end now? I need to go back
and take a shower." The cameraman snapped out of his daze and quickly replied, "Yes, it's okay... Mr. Xu, please say hello to everyone, and then we can end it."
Xu Gui smiled at the camera, waved, and said, "Well, that's all for my work today. See you tomorrow!"
The viewers in the live stream, especially those who had been following Xu Gui's streams for several days, were somewhat dazed.
Looking into Xu Gui's clear, bright eyes, they felt a strong sense of unreality.
It was as if their pet rabbit had suddenly turned into a rabbit with steel teeth, capable of biting through steel with a single bite.
[…What do I do if I suddenly like Xu Gui even more? While rabbits are cute, steel rabbits are even cooler!]
At this moment, your viewers give you a thumbs up +1, +N.
That's right, steel rabbits are so cool, so classy!
*
Xu Gui went upstairs to take a shower. At this moment, the program director stood in the lobby, noticing the missing guest, and couldn't help but shout,
"Where's Xu Gui? Where's Xu Gui?! Where did Xu Gui go?!"
Thanks to Xu Gui's constant antics, he had a deep impression of her and could spot her in a crowd instantly.
But now, he immediately recognized her missing.
"Where's Xu Gui's cameraman? Didn't you tell her to meet here today?" the director snapped, starting to harass the cameraman.
He searched everywhere but couldn't find him.
The assistant director whispered, "Director, that cameraman went home after work. He was carrying two small carp when he left."
Director: ??
So, both of them stood him up?
"Fire him! Fire him! Our program doesn't need this kind of irresponsible cameraman!" the director roared, even angrier.
The assistant director kindly reminded him, "Have you forgotten? That's your nephew! Your sister repeatedly told you to take good care of him."
Director: ??
The director fell silent and closed his eyes.
Just then, Xu Gui, who was taking a shower, suddenly sneezed loudly: Achoo!
Her eyes widened in surprise, and she exclaimed in horror, "Could it be that after becoming human, I can still catch a cold? Did I catch a chill?"