The girl seemed genuinely surprised that her cat had become so well-behaved.
The paparazzi couldn't help but ask, "Isn't it good that it's become well-behaved?"
The girl replied, "Of course it's good that it's become well-behaved, but it wasn't like this before. It used to hate being touched. If you touched it, it would scratch you... It looked awful. These marks on my hands are from when it used to scratch me. But now, when I touch it, it even shows its white belly to me! This is really abnormal!"
The girl was likely prone to scarring. Xu Gui glanced at her hands and indeed saw many white marks left after the wounds healed on the back of her hands.
The paparazzi asked curiously, "This cat scratches you so much, haven't you ever thought about giving it away?"
Hearing this, the girl replied matter-of-factly, "Even if it scratches me, it's still my precious cat. I love it so much, and since I raised it, I should be responsible for it. Mainly, it's because I always bother it; otherwise, it would be very well-behaved and wouldn't scratch me."
The girl showed an embarrassed expression.
Anyone who owns a pet knows that sometimes people are just like that—they know what their pet doesn't like, but they still love to tease it.
(The person filming: ...Ah, sorry to bother you, it's a two-way street.)
The girl laughed, then sighed, troubled, "It's very well-behaved now, but I'm worried it might have some health problem...I took it to the vet, but the doctor said it's healthy."
Since the kitten was healthy, she wasn't too worried, but at that moment, she happened to see Xu Gui's live stream, and since she was in City A, she made the trip.
"I wanted you to tell me, Master, if my kitten is possessed, just to put my mind at ease," she said shyly.
Xu Gui, after listening: "...Did your cat run away before?"
"Yes." The girl nodded, saying, "I didn't expect you to be able to predict even that, Master. My cat did run away once before."
That was two months ago.
As a cat owner, the girl was very responsible; she sealed all the windows, so theoretically, the kitten shouldn't have been able to escape. However, her kitten was just too good at "hide-and-seek," and one day, when the girl opened the door to go out, it slipped out through the crack.
"I didn't even notice at the time; I only found out she'd run away after I came home from work and checked the security camera footage," she said. She searched for her cat for ages.
Of course, the girl had to look for the lost cat, but she couldn't find it for a long time. Then, one month later, she suddenly saw her cat downstairs.
Her cat had actually come back!
The girl said proudly, "My Baojuan is so capable; she actually found her way back! She's such a wonderful kitten!" And the only problem was that the kitten was a little thinner, but very healthy, which was even better.
The only issue was that it had become too docile, which made her feel a little uneasy.
"Maybe she was bullied by other cats while she was a stray," the girl guessed, her face showing heartache. "That's why Baojuan became so well-behaved."
Xu Gui looked at her distressed expression and sighed, "…Have you ever considered the possibility that the cat you found isn't actually yours?"
The girl paused, then shook her head. "That's impossible!"
she insisted. "It looks exactly like my Baojuan, and it responds when I call it Baojuan. It can't be someone else!"
Xu Gui suggested, "Why don't you go back and ask it?"
The girl: "…"
The girl hurried away, her back view showing a hint of panic.
Xu Gui looked at the five hundred yuan she had earned, stretched, and prepared to pack up and go eat—that was her last customer.
However, she had only closed half of her stall when a figure rushed up to her. When Xu Gui looked up, she saw Fu Xia looking at her with teary eyes, her face full of grievance.
Xu Gui: ?
Fu Xia said, "Xu Gui, you're right, he really is a primary school student... Waaah!" She couldn't hold back her grievances any longer and burst into tears.
Xu Gui was startled. Having rarely seen a human cry, she was completely taken aback and stood frozen in place.
"Wh-what do we do?" she asked frantically, glancing at the person filming her.
The person filming secretly rejoiced that they had quickly turned off the live stream; otherwise, with Fu Xia crying like this, people might think Xu Gui had bullied her, and Xu Gui would have no way to explain herself.
Seeing people around them staring at Fu Xia, the person filming said, "I remember there's a park nearby, Xu Gui, why don't you take Fu Xia there to rest?"
Hearing this, Xu Gui felt like she'd been granted a reprieve and quickly pulled Fu Xia towards the nearby park.
It was hot at this time of day, and the park was indeed very quiet, with hardly anyone in sight. Xu Gui pulled Fu Xia to sit down on a park bench.
At this moment, Xu Gui calmed down. She took out a tissue from her bag and handed it to Fu Xia to wipe her tears and snot. Then she asked, "So, you confessed to him?"
She spoke with a question, but her tone was very certain; otherwise, Fu Xia wouldn't be crying like this.
Fu Xia: QAQ.
"...Do you know what he said to me when I confessed?" Fu Xia's expression crumbled as she said this. She gritted her teeth and said, "He said, 'Auntie, my mom doesn't allow me to date early!'
" The words "auntie" and "dating early" had a devastating impact on Fu Xia, leaving her completely stunned.
...
Let's go back two hours.
It was the weekend, and the "boy" Fu Xia liked didn't seem to be "working." He came to Fu Xia's cake shop at 9:30 to buy bread. Usually, he came in the evening.
Fu Xia was still the one serving him—something she had worked hard to secure. The other employees at the cake shop knew she was interested in this boy and were happy to oblige.
As usual, Fu Xia blushed as she paid for his bread, her eyes filled with unspoken words and shy timidity.
Unfortunately, he didn't seem to sense her obvious feelings and left after buying the bread.
"Actually, I hesitated for a moment..." Fu Xia said, sobbing.
But, she was a hopeless romantic, and when love took over, she lost all reason. By the time she came to her senses, she was already standing in front of him, looking at her with a puzzled
expression. In a moment of impulsiveness, Fu Xia
confessed, "I...I like you!" she blurted out, her face flushed, completely forgetting what Xu Gui had said.
After she finished speaking, she saw the "young man" staring at her in shock, or rather, utterly bewildered, confused and lost. Then, he uttered the same words Fu Xia had said to Xu Gui:
"But, Auntie, my mom doesn't allow me to date so young."
At that moment, Fu Xia didn't know whether to grieve for her lost love or be devastated by the other person's address of "Auntie." Perhaps her expression was too naive, because the child looked at her pitifully and said,
"Auntie, I'm sorry, I'm still too young to date you... But we can exchange contact information first, and I'll date you when I'm an adult."
Then, amidst Fu Xia's devastated and frozen expression, he raised his hand, revealing his Little Genius children's smartwatch.
...
"He's wearing a Little Genius children's smartwatch!"
Fu Xia said, gripping Xu Gui's hand tightly, her expression a mixture of despair and embarrassment: "Do you know how I felt at that moment?"
What made it even more embarrassing was that there were other people around, and even a TV crew with cameras following her. In other words, not only had passersby seen what happened, but all the viewers in her live stream had also witnessed it.
Fu Xia felt she would never forget those people's gazes. She didn't even bother exchanging contact information with the child; she simply covered her face and ran away.
Fu Xia clutched her head, muttering, "So embarrassing, so incredibly embarrassing. I've never been so humiliated in my life..."
The cameraman, sitting beside her, couldn't help but look at her with pity. Although he hadn't witnessed the scene, just thinking about it made him want to dig his toes into the ground. How embarrassed Fu Xia, as the person involved, must have been!
So, rather than saying Fu Xia was crying because her confession was rejected, it would be more accurate to say she was crying because she was so humiliated.
The cameraman then noticed something and looked around: "Teacher Fu, where's your cameraman?"
Fu Xia wiped away her tears and said, "I don't know, I just got in the car and drove off."
The cameraman: ...So the cameraman was left behind.
Xu Gui reached out and patted her, comforting her, "It's okay, a human's life passes by quickly."
Fortunately, Fu Xia wasn't a Xuan Turtle. If Xuan Turtles could live for thousands or tens of thousands of years, she would remember this humiliation for eternity... For the first time, Xu Gui realized that being human wasn't so bad after all.
Fu Xia regretfully said, "I should have believed you. You said he's a sixth-grade student, why didn't I believe you? Actually, I should have realized it sooner. How could a boy with such a clean-cut demeanor be an adult?"
In the end, it was her love-struck mind that was at play. When emotions take over, all reason flies away.
Just then, the person filming her suddenly hesitated and said, "Ah, Teacher Fu, you..."
Fu Xia looked up, her eyes blurry with tears, "What's wrong?"
The person filming her held up their phone and said, "You're trending."
Fu Xia: ? ?
As it turns out, there's no limit to how ridiculous things can get. Fu Xia thought that being seen by everyone in her live stream confessing her feelings to an elementary school student was already ridiculous enough, but she didn't expect that what would be even more ridiculous was that it would trend on social media.
Seeing her pale face, Xu Guizhen was afraid she might faint from grief, so she quickly comforted her, "It's okay, human lifespan is very short, just bear with it."
Fu Xia: "..."
She closed her eyes, looking at the netizens laughing heartily under the trending topic, and could only console herself that at least she was trending because she was funny, not because of torture.
Thinking this way, she finally felt much better.
"Come on! I'll treat you to dinner!" she said through gritted teeth, "When you're in a bad mood, you should eat and drink to your heart's content!" This was Fu Xia's code of conduct.
So, Xu Guizhen and the paparazzi were taken to dinner by her, and it was a high-end restaurant.
Fu Xia was clearly a regular at this restaurant. As soon as she entered, the manager greeted her with a smile, asking, "Ms. Fu, the usual place?"
When Fu Xia nodded, the manager led Xu Gui and the others to a secluded and quiet private booth. While the waiter brought the menu, Fu Xia expertly selected a few items:
"This, this, and this... I don't want these, bring me everything else!"
She was simply ordering food, yet she managed to create an air of extravagant shopping.
The waiter, hearing this, didn't show any curiosity, only bowing and saying, "Okay, please wait a moment."
When the waiter returned with the menu, the restaurant manager saw her and asked, "How was it?"
The manager didn't say what was wrong, but the waiter instantly understood, replying, "Ms. Fu only had a few dishes she couldn't eat or didn't like; please bring us the rest."
The manager understood; Ms. Fu was in a bad mood again.
This restaurant is an old establishment. Ever since Fu Xia ate here once when she was little, whenever she was in a bad mood, she would come here and order a huge feast. So, if she came to eat one day and ordered a large meal, it meant she was in a bad mood.
Now, it was clear that she was in a bad mood again.
At this moment, Fu Xia, who was in a bad mood, was trying to cheer herself up and introduce the restaurant to Xu Gui and the others: "The food here is really delicious. They say their ancestors were imperial chefs..."
At this point, Fu Xia shrugged and said, "Of course, I don't know if it's true or not. Anyway, eight out of ten restaurants on this street claim that their ancestors were imperial chefs."
It's all about the gimmick. It's as if just because someone's ancestors were imperial chefs gives them a celebrity endorsement, their food must be delicious.
"But of all the restaurants I've tried, this one is the best," Fu Xia said, perking up with enthusiasm. "You might not know, but the head chef here is a girl." She was
n't looking down on women as chefs; it's just that female chefs are rare. Partly because kitchens are often smoky and oily, and partly because stir-frying requires a lot of physical exertion, which most girls can't handle.
That's why you'll find that most restaurants have male chefs, and very few have female ones. This restaurant was one of the rare exceptions.
After her introduction, Xu Gui and the others had a general understanding of the restaurant. However, they didn't chat for long before the waiter brought out their order. First came the desserts; the first item seemed to be some kind of ice cream, shaped like spheres in a glass container. There were three servings in total, one for each of the three.
"This is my favorite ice cream!" Fu Xia excitedly picked up her spoon. "I order this every time I come here, but they have a purchase limit—only one per person! Lots of people come here specifically for this ice cream."
As she spoke, she happily scooped a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth, a blissful expression on her face.
Xu Gui glanced at her, somewhat doubting whether her claim of being in a bad mood was just an excuse to overeat. Now, she didn't seem unhappy at all.
Xu Gui also scooped a spoonful of ice cream herself, and as soon as it entered her mouth, her expression visibly brightened.
"How is it? Delicious, right?" Fu Xia asked proudly.
Xu Gui nodded earnestly: "Delicious."
She had only ever had a small ice cream for 9.9 yuan before, and she thought it was already delicious. But this ice cream was even better; the texture was incredibly smooth, sweet without being cloying, and the cool, refreshing taste was simply mesmerizing.
After they finished their ice cream, the other dishes started to arrive. For the rest of the time, the three of them didn't talk much, except for the occasional description of a dish by Fu Xia. They focused on eating.
However, Fu Xia had ordered far too much; all the surrounding booths were cleared out for them to serve the food, and a food cart was brought over, also loaded with their orders.
Fu Xia reminded Xu Gui and the others, "Don't just focus on one dish. There are so many dishes, try a bite of each one. That way, you can taste the flavor of each one."
The paparazzi struggled to lift his head from the table and said, "With so much food, won't it be a waste if we can't finish it?"
Fu Xia replied nonchalantly, "It's okay. We can pack up the dishes we haven't touched and take them home. Or, the restaurant staff can pack them up to take home too. It won't be a waste." The
paparazzi nodded in understanding.
Xu Gui listened, his heart stirred, and his gaze fell on the seemingly endless array of dishes, his eyes beginning to sparkle.
*
The three of them ate for a long time. Fu Xia ate the most. She was in a bad mood, so she kept stuffing herself, but no matter how much she stuffed, her stomach had its limits. Once her stomach was completely round, she couldn't eat anymore.
"I can't eat anymore, I really can't eat anymore!" The paparazzi waved his hand, looking exhausted from eating.
Xu Gui had already put down her chopsticks and was drinking a beverage, a hint of regret on her face. She was regretting that she was still human; if she were a Xuan Turtle, this whole table wouldn't be enough for her.
Hmm, she realized another downside of being human—she couldn't eat her fill of delicious food at once.
Fu Xia leaned back in her chair, patting her round belly, and said, "I feel much better now."
Her biggest hobbies were looking at handsome men, falling in love, and eating. When she was feeling down on one of those things, she had to make up for it with another hobby to achieve a balance.
Now, having enjoyed the food and feeling full, she said, "It's okay, next time I'll definitely meet a normal handsome guy!"
Normal meant someone with decent looks and a good personality, and most importantly, he had to be an adult. She never wanted to experience that embarrassment again.
"This mistake will absolutely not happen again," Fu Xia gritted her teeth.
Xu Gui's gaze remained fixed on the unfinished food. She looked at Fu Xia and politely asked, "Can I take this food with me now?"
Although the three of them had tried their best to eat, their combined strength was limited, so there were still about thirty dishes left untouched, each looking incredibly tempting.
Xu Gui had had her eye on these dishes for a long time.
"Are you going to take them home?" Fu Xia hesitated for a moment.
Xu Gui nodded and said, "I want to take them back for the children at the orphanage. They've definitely never eaten such delicious food before, they'll be so happy to see it!"
Fu Xia's eyes widened, and she stammered, "How... how can we let the children eat our leftovers? I'll order another serving!"
She felt a little embarrassed.
Xu Gui shook her head and said, "No need, these dishes haven't been touched, they're all clean, there's no need to order more, this is enough."
Fu Xia opened her mouth, her expression conflicted, seemingly feeling embarrassed.
"Then, then I'll order some ice cream for the kids!" A sudden idea struck her, and fearing Xu Gui might refuse, she quickly added, "Don't say no, this is a little something for the kids!"
Xu Gui: "...Okay."
Seeing her agree, Fu Xia cheered up again and quickly waved for the waiter to come and pack the food. As for the ice cream, she planned to buy it outside, since the store had a limited quantity; each person could only buy one, and she was no exception.
The restaurant waiter, hearing her request, was somewhat surprised and confirmed again: "Do you want to pack all these dishes to take away?"
Fu Xia nodded, "Yes!"
Waiter: "...Okay."
When she returned to the kitchen and told the staff about it, they were all a little surprised. This had never happened before.
Previously, Fu Xia would leave the food she couldn't finish for them to share; this time, she wanted to pack it up and take it away?
"I bet it's not Miss Fu who wants to pack up the leftovers, it's the two people she brought!" someone said sourly. "Those two look really shabby, obviously not rich. We've never had customers packing up leftovers in our restaurant before, aren't they ashamed?" As soon
as this was said, the manager's eyebrows furrowed and his eyes widened. He snapped, "Shut up! What customers do is none of your business!"
Being publicly humiliated, the girl's expression changed, becoming aggrieved.
"I...I'm going to tell my cousin and my dad you're bullying me!" she cried, running away.
Seeing this, someone nearby looked at the manager and couldn't help but say, "Manager, Bai Tian is the boss's cousin, and her father is our sous chef. Why are you saying this about her?"
"What if she really complains? What if her father comes after you? Sous chef Bai already doesn't like you,"
the manager said sternly. "I'm a person who judges by actions, not by personal relationships. If the boss blames me, then I have nothing to say."
The others looked at each other and couldn't help but sigh.
Meanwhile, Bai Tian rushed out of the work area and ran to the kitchen to find her father.
When her father saw her like this, he immediately exclaimed, "My precious daughter, why are you crying like this? Did someone bully you?" Bai Tian wiped away
her tears and blurted out, "Dad! When are you finally going to take over Qin Sulan's restaurant? I'm really fed up with being a waitress!"