After settling Zhao
Di in, Xu Gui left.
It was already 2 PM.
Because Xu Gui hadn't started her live stream all afternoon, the production team had called several times, so she had no choice but to start the live stream on her way home. Xu Gui
was no longer the newcomer in the entertainment industry who only had haters and no fans. She now had fans who liked her. Even before she started streaming, these fans were already waiting in the live stream room. As soon as Xu Gui started streaming, everyone greeted her enthusiastically.
In no time, the number of viewers in Xu Gui's live stream room had exceeded 200,000, and the number was still rising rapidly, almost reaching 500,000. Seeing
this, the paparazzi couldn't help but feel a little emotional.
He remembered when he was first assigned to be Xu Gui's paparazzi, her live stream room was incredibly "lively," filled with haters having a wild time. If one or two random passersby accidentally wandered in, they would immediately run away in fright.
Back then, Xu Gui was rather naive. When someone asked her to wash dishes at a restaurant, she actually went. The people filming her at the time were practically speechless with envy.
Thankfully, that's all in the past. The Xu Gui of today is different.
From some unknown day, her livestream became increasingly lively, and she gained fans who would speak up for her and were extremely devoted to her.
Now, Xu Gui is holding her phone, interacting with everyone in the livestream room.
[When will Gui Gui do another fortune-telling giveaway on his livestream? This unlucky guy really needs a fortune teller to change his fate!]
[I want a fortune teller too! I'm really interested in this. I really want to know if Xu Gui is really that amazing. Unfortunately, I live in G province, which is a million miles away from A province. If fortune telling were available online, that would be so great!]
[My dog is lost! I really want Xu Gui to help me find out where he is. This is our dog, which we've had for thirteen years! My daughter is crying her eyes out!]
[Now, whenever I see someone say their dog is lost, I get terrified. I'm afraid it's been killed by their family. Thankfully, the previous sister's situation wasn't like that.]
[So, Xu Gui, can you really hold another fortune-telling giveaway? Please take care of us half-siblings!]
...
A couple of days ago, Xu Gui was on the highway and couldn't set up his stall, so he did a livestream fortune telling session, which made many netizens from other places really eager to try it—they're also very curious about Xu Gui's fortune telling skills.
Seeing that Xu Gui was still in the car, everyone was quite excited and exclaimed, "What netizens in City A have, we netizens from other places should have too! So, let's do a live fortune telling session! Let's do a live fortune telling session!"
With everyone so enthusiastic, Xu Gui thought, "It's not impossible." After all, it doesn't matter who gets a reading, online or offline.
Thinking this, Xu Gui nodded and said, "There's still a little time before I set up my stall, so let's draw three people..."
Her words immediately drew cheers from countless netizens in the live stream, all eager to participate. The cameraman, once again acting as a moderator, began preparing for the draw.
The first lucky winner quickly emerged—a netizen with the ID "[Where Did Da Bao Go?]". To facilitate communication, with the other person's consent, the cameraman directly connected the microphones for the two of them.
After the microphones were connected...
"Hey! Master, can you hear me?" A slightly hoarse female voice rang out in the live stream as the little speaker icon under the profile picture of the user [大宝去哪了] flashed. The voice sounded older than her age.
Xu Gui nodded: "Yes, I can hear you."
[大宝去哪了] was very excited: "I never thought I'd actually be selected! I was thinking that if I hadn't, I would have just bought a plane ticket to City A to find you..."
Over 400,000 people participated in the lottery, and [大宝去哪了] had only participated on a whim, but unexpectedly, she was actually chosen.
"Master, I want you to help me find out where my dog is..."
[大宝去哪了] quickly explained her purpose. She had seen Xu Gui help Zhao Di find her dog before and had been interested, but her home was in City C, which was too far from City A. Luckily, she was selected in the lottery.
[大宝去哪了] began to describe her dog's situation.
"Our lost dog, Da Bao, is thirteen years old, a real senior dog. It went missing a month ago, opened the door and went out, and hasn't come back. My daughter is eight years old; she practically watched it grow up. Since it disappeared, she's been practically refusing to eat or drink, and doesn't even want to go to school, just crying for our dog."
[Where is Da Bao?] While the daughter is clearly worried about the dog, the mother herself is also very anxious and worried when talking about it, showing that she's no less concerned than her daughter.
However, netizens expressed their understanding:
"A thirteen-year-old dog! To this family, this dog could practically be considered 'family,' right?" "And it's so old, no wonder the aunt is so anxious. If my dog got lost, I would be just as worried."
"Great, it's a normal family with a pet. We're saved! Yesterday I heard that the girl's dog was killed by her parents and used for dog meat hotpot. I don't know if the world has gone mad or if I'm the one who's abnormal. How can there be so many hypocrites?"
"Auntie, don't worry, Xu Gui will definitely help you find your dog!"
...
Netizens comforted the anxious aunt, who stared intently at Xu Gui, hoping he could really help her find her dog. They had searched almost the entire neighborhood, and the search area was expanding.
But more than a month had passed, and they still hadn't found Da Bao. Da Bao was an old dog, and its health wasn't good to begin with; now it was lost... The aunt simply couldn't bear to think about what would happen to it after it went missing; just thinking about it made her feel suffocated.
After hearing the aunt's words, Xu Gui didn't speak immediately. After several seconds, she said, "Actually, your family already had some guesses about Da Bao's whereabouts, didn't we?"
The
aunt was speechless. The viewers only heard her increasingly rapid breathing during the live stream.
Xu Gui sighed and said, "Someone once told me that when pets sense they're about to die, they choose to 'run away from home' to prevent their families from worrying and being sad..."
Xu Gui's meaning was easy to understand, so everyone in the live stream understood her meaning almost instantly. The aunt clearly understood as well, because everyone heard her sobbing.
When the aunt spoke again, her voice was even hoarse.
"Yes, regarding Da Bao's 'running away from home,' our family has actually had some suspicions," the aunt said. "Its health hasn't been good for the past two years. It's getting old, and its organs are starting to fail. It used to be very lively, but in the last two years, it's become increasingly lethargic..."
The aunt rambled on about Da Bao, and Xu Gui didn't interrupt, just listened quietly. The other people in the live stream were also quiet, silently listening to the aunt's narration and sorrowful outpouring.
"Sometimes our family worries that one day it will fall asleep and we'll never wake it again… Actually, we were mentally prepared for its departure, but we never expected it to leave home on its own."
The aunt was already sobbing as she spoke.
As for why Da Bao left, the family had a vague idea, but on the one hand, they didn't dare to think about it, and on the other hand, they worried that if it ran outside, it would be beaten or scolded, or that it would be taken away by dog traffickers.
Therefore, they never gave up searching, and missing dog posters were posted everywhere.
The sound of the aunt wiping away tears and snot could be heard in the live stream. She took a breath, seemingly trying to calm herself down and prevent her emotions from collapsing.
"Master, Da Bao, is it dead now?" the aunt asked.
Xu Gui nodded silently.
"Then, Master, can you tell where it died?" the aunt asked again, her tone becoming urgent. "Dabao is a member of our family. Even if it's dead, we want to find it and at least, at least give it a proper grave."
Xu Gui replied, "The place Dabao went to is a place that everyone in your family knows."
The aunt said, "Huh?"
Xu Gui said, "Did your mother-in-law bring Dabao back? Was it very close to your mother-in-law?"
The aunt didn't understand why Xu Gui suddenly brought up her mother-in-law. She nodded blankly and said, "Yes... Dabao was a mongrel. My mother-in-law found it on the road when she went back to her hometown."
Their hometown was in the countryside, and dogs in the countryside weren't so precious. Dabao and its brothers and sisters were abandoned by the roadside. When the aunt's mother-in-law found them, the other puppies were already dead, and only Dabao was still alive. So the mother-in-law brought it back and named it "Dabao."
Da Bao is very intelligent and obedient, and can even take care of children. It's just a little timid; when taken for walks, it avoids people and trembles at the sight of them.
After the aunt's child was born, it even helped its owners take care of the baby. The aunt's family adored it and considered it family.
The aunt's mother-in-law especially doted on it, sometimes calling it "daughter," sometimes "baby," and even asking the aunt and her husbands to call it "sister." The bond between the dog and the person was truly the strongest in their family.
"But my mother-in-law passed away two years ago..." the aunt said sadly, but then suddenly realized something and stopped abruptly.
Xu Gui knew she understood and said, "Go to your mother-in-law's grave, and you'll find your Da Bao."
"..." After a few seconds of silence, the woman's slightly hoarse voice sounded again: "Okay, I understand, thank you, Master. I'll go to the cemetery now!"
Then the call was abruptly cut off; clearly, the owner on the other end had hurriedly left.
Meanwhile, in Xu Gui's live stream, the atmosphere was quiet, even the comments were scrolling by silently, a far cry from the previous hustle and bustle.
["Waaah, eyes welling up, the dog is good, the people are good, good people, good dog! Everyone is so kind, I hope the aunt can find her dog eventually."]
["Oh no, the aunt is so upset, I'm upset too. I also have a dog, it's six years old this year, and thinking about how it might leave in a few years makes me feel like I can't hold back anymore, what should I do?"]
["Life is full of reunions and partings, so just cherish the present."]
["Why is everyone so emotional? Moderator, hurry up and draw the next one, I hope the next person's question will be something happy, I like happy things, not emotional ones."]
As Xu Gui's live stream began drawing the next lucky winner, in a certain household in City C, an aunt sitting in the living room, wearing headphones and playing on her phone, suddenly stood up.
This aunt was the same one who had just asked Xu Gui for help finding her dog in the live stream; her surname was Huang, and her name was Huang Ailian.
As soon as Huang Ailian left Xu Gui's live stream, she called her husband.
"…Someone told me that Da Bao might be at Mom's grave, and I'm planning to go to the cemetery," she said quickly.
Upon hearing this, Huang Ailian's husband, Hao Zhigang, suddenly realized something. He said, "Right! Da Bao and Mom were so close; if it goes out, it's very likely it will go to find Mom! How come I didn't think of that?"
However…
"Does Da Bao know where Mom is buried?" he couldn't help but ask.
Huang Ailian said, "I don't know, but even if there's only a slight possibility, I have to go look for it. Maybe it's there!"
Hao Zhigang said, "You're right. Wait for me, I'll ask for leave from work and drive with you."
Huang Ailian said, "Okay."
Hao Zhigang's company was only half an hour's drive from their home. Half an hour later, Huang Ailian waited for her husband's car at the entrance of their residential complex. The couple met up, and the car drove towards the cemetery where Hao's mother's grave was located.
Two and a half hours later, their car stopped at the suburban cemetery, and after another ten minutes, they arrived at the cemetery where Hao's mother's grave was located.
Then, they saw a furry figure lying quietly beside Hao's mother. Seeing this, the couple stopped abruptly.
"It's really here..." Huang Ailian was both surprised and delighted, and the couple quickly went over.
"Da Bao?! Da Bao!"
they called out the dog's name, but when they got closer, they realized Da Bao was already dead. Its body was stiff and even emitted a foul odor, clearly having been dead for some time, its body already decomposing.
Although they had been prepared, seeing Da Bao's body, Huang Ailian's tears still streamed down her face.
Hao Zhigang's eyes also reddened. He hugged his wife and said, "We should be happy. Da Bao is reunited with Mom..."
Huang Ailian nodded, but tears still streamed down her face.
*
On the other side, Xu Gui had arrived at the overpass where she usually set up her stall. To her surprise, someone was already waiting for her at her stall. Seeing her arrive, they quickly got up to greet her.
"Master, it's me. Do you remember? My mom and I came to you yesterday, asking you to tell us about my mom's ghost encounter!"
Xu Gui glanced at her and nodded, "I remember."
—The two waiting there were none other than the mother and daughter from yesterday. It was only yesterday; how could Xu Gui have forgotten so quickly?
Xu Gui glanced at the old woman standing next to her daughter. Compared to her uncooperativeness and resentment yesterday, the old woman seemed remarkably "honest" today, making Xu Gui look at her a few more times.
The daughter nudged the old woman with her elbow and said, "Mom, didn't you say you were coming to apologize to the master? Why aren't you saying anything?"
The old woman: "..." You really are my good daughter.
Although she thought this to herself, the old woman still looked up at Xu Gui and apologized.
"Master, I'm so sorry. I misunderstood you yesterday. Because you were young and beautiful, I thought you were just a pretty face, a fraud."
The old woman raised her hand and gave Xu Gui a thumbs up, saying with some admiration, "I never expected you to be a real master with real skills!"
Xu Gui looked at this scene, raised an eyebrow slightly, and said, "Looks like you've already caught that cat?"
"We caught it!" the old woman's daughter exclaimed, her voice clear and bright. "We searched for it for ages downstairs at my place, and finally found it in a bush... You know what, this cat is really... mesmerizing."
The old woman's daughter's expression became somewhat subtle as she spoke of the cat's appearance; clearly, the cat's looks had greatly shocked her.
"We even brought the cat with us, just wanted to show it to you!"
The old woman's daughter picked up a cat carrier from beside her feet, reached in decisively, and pulled out a fluffy black and white cat.
The old woman's daughter gripped the cat by the scruff of its neck; the cat, its fate sealed, could only obediently remain in her hands.
The camera then focused on the cat, and everyone in the live stream finally saw what it looked like, and then...
everyone: [...]
Yesterday they were wondering what kind of cat Xu Gui described, looking like a ghost face. Was Xu Gui exaggerating?
Now that they saw it, they realized that Xu Gui had described it truthfully, without any exaggeration.
The cat was indeed a black and white cat, though the black and white patches were somewhat chaotic. Besides the black and white patches on its fur, its face was strikingly marked with alternating black and white spots.
The fluffy cat's face was mostly black, except for its eyebrows, mouth, and nose, which were white and irregularly so, resembling a screaming ghost face at first glance.
Everyone commented: "This face isn't entirely unrelated to a ghost face; it's practically identical!"
No wonder the old woman was so frightened she wanted to run away.
Xu Gui looked at the old woman's daughter and asked, "What do you plan to do with this cat?"
"We'll keep it," the old woman's daughter said. "Although it's a bit ugly, it followed my mother all the way from the countryside to the city. Based on its stubbornness alone, I've decided to adopt it!"
So after catching the cat yesterday, she took it to the nearby vet for deworming and vaccinations.
The older woman seemed a bit disgusted, saying, "This cat looks so strange. Don't you young girls all love Ragdolls and calicos? You've got some good looks, raising one that looks so odd!"
Her daughter retorted, "Mom, you don't understand. As the saying goes, beautiful faces are a dime a dozen, but a distorted appearance is one of a kind. If my cat accidentally goes out, I don't have to worry about 'bumping into another cat'!"
The older woman shook her head, expressing her incomprehension of her daughter's aesthetic sense, but also her respect.
The mother and daughter had come to show Xu Gui the cat and thank her. After looking at it, they took the cat home.
After they left, Xu Gui set up her stall and prepared to start working.
However, compared to her leisurely pace, the other guests on the show weren't as relaxed. After all, today was the first round of eliminations, and all the guests outside the top thirty were eliminated.
Therefore, the rankings around the thirtieth spot were fiercely contested, even "lightning fast"—in the blink of an eye, the rankings could change drastically, so fast you couldn't even react.
As for the guests ranked below thirty-five, the gap between them and those ahead was too vast, and they had given up all hope of "advancing," so they were more interested in watching this chaotic battle.
Some noticed Xu Gui's seemingly serene demeanor and couldn't help but feel a pang of envy, especially those who had previously ranked similarly to Xu Gui.
"This Xu Gui is really lucky..."
They were all minor celebrities, how did Xu Gui manage to rise to the top? It's infuriating!
*
At 5 PM, the list of the thirty guests who advanced was finally released.
Xu Gui's name was prominently featured.