After Lu Baiyi's introduction, Xu Gui finally had a general understanding of Mom Bell's family background. It was roughly as she had calculated; Mom Bell's family background was indeed impressive. The Bell family was what was considered a prestigious aristocratic family in Y country.
The founder of the high-end luxury brand "Denla" was Mom Bell's great-grandfather, and the Bell family was the biggest owner and absolute controller behind the "Denla" brand.
Hearing this, Xu Gui suddenly understood: "...No wonder this guy dared to 'shamelessly' ask me to be the spokesperson for 'Denla'." It turned out he wasn't just being arrogant; he genuinely had the ability.
Lu Boyi said, "Although the current head of the Bell family is Mom Bell's sister, Mom Bell herself wields considerable influence within *Denla* magazine!"
This influence stems from Mom Bell's own abilities, the power she brings as an international photographer and an artist adored by countless people. After all, *Denla*, as a high-end brand, is inextricably linked to fashion, and Mom Bell holds a very high position in the fashion world. —It's said that
any celebrity photographed by Mom Bell inevitably becomes an international sensation, receiving a flood of fashion resources.
However…
"I've heard that Mom Bell hasn't photographed people in a long time; in recent years, he's mostly photographed natural scenery…" Lu Boyi said, "Some say he's lost his touch, that he's run out of inspiration."
They say he's like a shooting star streaking across the night sky.
Hearing this, Xu Gui recalled Mom Denla's radiant and rejuvenated state after their shoot and couldn't help but say, "That's not necessarily true. Maybe his photographic talent has returned?"
Lu Boyi looked at her and said, "If that's the case, that would be wonderful..."
The two chatted about Mom Denla for a while, and then the topic naturally shifted to other things. Xu Gui talked about her experiences on the island over the past few days. The recreational facilities there were excellent, and she had a great time.
She also told Lu Boyi about being invited by a surfing instructor to become a surfer, and at the end, she said with a serious expression, "...Kuang Ming seems very afraid that I'll be poached!"
During their conversation, Xu Gui did most of the talking, while Lu Boyi listened. Lu Boyi was undoubtedly a good listener. When Xu Gui spoke, he listened attentively and would chime in when appropriate to keep the atmosphere from becoming awkward.
Therefore, the atmosphere between the two was quite good and relaxed.
Xu Gui later asked Lu Boyi about his experiences in H Province, asking if he had encountered anything interesting. Lu Boyi thought for a moment and said, "...I came here to discuss work. To be honest, I haven't really had much fun. I don't know what's fun or interesting to see. However, I did go to several nice restaurants with the people from our business partner."
He told Xu Gui, "Our company's business partner is a gourmand. He loves to eat and is very discerning about food. Every time we discuss cooperation, we go to all sorts of delicious restaurants, even those hole-in-the-wall eateries hidden in corners..."
Lu Boyi found this somewhat amusing—of all the company leaders he had met, this old gentleman was the most peculiar.
However, since the other party loved to eat, and Lu Boyi also loved to "eat" (and loves to cook, isn't that a kind of love for food?), the two were quite compatible. They had a lot to talk about when it came to food, so the cooperation discussions went very smoothly and pleasantly.
Now, the cooperation between the two sides has been completely finalized, and only a contract remains to be signed. This is why Lu Boyi is able to stay at home.
"Looking at it this way, you really are lucky..." Lu Boyi mused, "When I come out to discuss business, the person in charge of the partner even shares my hobbies."
Xu Gui nodded in agreement, saying, "Your luck is truly excellent! The best I've ever seen among humans..." What
she didn't say was that Lu Boyi's luck was even stronger than some auspicious beasts born of heaven and earth that she had seen... Perhaps Lu Boyi wasn't human in his past life?
Xu Gui pondered.
...
About an hour later, Xu Gui reluctantly let go of Lu Boyi's hand. Having absorbed all his luck, she felt a little dizzy, with a kind of oxygen-induced dizziness and satisfaction.
"Hmm?" When she let go, she realized she hadn't let go. Raising her hand, she discovered that their fingers were intertwined.
Xu Gui stared blankly at her intertwined hands, then looked at Lu Baiyi beside her.
Lu Baiyi glanced down, felt a burning sensation, and quickly released her hand.
"Sorry," he said, "I wasn't paying attention..." Perhaps she had been relaxed during their conversation and hadn't noticed that she had grabbed Xu Gui's hand.
Lu Baiyi felt his face burning. His eyes darted around, avoiding Xu Gui's gaze, and he apologized, "Miss Xu, I'm sorry."
Xu Gui leaned her head against the cushions on the sofa, feeling dizzy, and said, "It's okay... By the way, could you please stop calling me Miss Xu? Aren't we good friends? Calling me Miss Xu sounds so distant, so polite..."
So polite, it didn't sound like good friends at all—the dizzy person had already forgotten that she and this Mr. Lu weren't good friends.
"Just call me Xu Gui, or Little Turtle is fine too, that's what the dean and the others call me." She said this, then thought for a moment, "How about I call you Lu Baiyi? Lu Baiyi, Baiyi… 10 billion, Lu Baiyi, 60 billion… Your name is so strange."
Lu Baiyi was actually a very rational and calm person, but at this moment, he inexplicably felt a sense of unease and tension.
Hearing Xu Gui's words, he said, "In my family, my generation uses the character 'Bai'. 'Yi' means playing chess… My grandfather gave me this name, hoping that I would become the one who wields the chess pieces in the future." The
one who wields the chess pieces, not someone else's pawn.
But, what can he do when his surname is Lu? Lu Baiyi… Each of these three characters is not bad on its own, but when put together, it sounds like "60 billion" to others.
Lu Baiyi was also somewhat helpless.
Lu Baiyi explained, but received no response from Xu Gui. After a dozen seconds, he finally turned to look at Xu Gui and found her hugging a cushion from the sofa, her upper body slumped on the sofa, her face flushed, and her eyes tightly closed—she seemed to be asleep.
Lu Baiyi: ?
Seeing Xu Gui's flushed face, he frowned and reached out to touch her forehead. However, measuring temperature by hand wasn't accurate, so he got up to get the first-aid kit, took out a thermometer, and measured Xu Gui's temperature.
Fortunately, Xu Gui's face was just very flushed, but she didn't have a fever, which relieved Lu Baiyi.
"Why did she suddenly fall asleep? Was she too tired from work?" he wondered, sitting next to Xu Gui and staring blankly at her face.
To be honest, although they had met several times, as "acquaintances" who weren't very close, and being of the opposite sex, Lu Baiyi hadn't really looked closely at Xu Gui's face. After all, staring at someone's face was quite impolite.
So this is the first time Lu Baiyi has looked at Xu Gui so carefully and seriously.
Xu Gui was very pretty, with delicate, rounded features that were so gentle and non-aggressive that she was instantly likable.
Her face was small, her mouth was small, even her nose was small… Lu Baiyi gestured with his hand to compare, and found that Xu Gui's face seemed smaller than one of his hands.
Lu Baiyi couldn't help but wonder, "…Her face is so small, are all girls' faces this small?"
Realizing what he had done, Lu Baiyi was speechless.
He abruptly stood up and rushed into the villa's kitchen—he felt he needed to calm down.
However, after a few seconds, Lu Baiyi came out of the kitchen, took a clean blanket from the living room cabinet, and gently covered Xu Gui with it.
Because of the heat, the air conditioning was on, and it was quite cold. While one might not feel cold when awake, one would definitely feel cold while asleep, and Lu Baiyi was worried that Xu Gui would catch a cold.
After doing this, he returned to the kitchen, took out the ingredients, and began to cook.
He remembered that Xu Gui had really enjoyed the lychee soup last time… Luckily, there was still a large bag of lychees at home, delivered by the property management that morning. He hadn't had a chance to eat them yet, so he decided to take them out now and make them all, since he'd probably be going back in a couple of days, and these lychees would spoil if he didn't eat them soon.
The lychees were all delivered by the property management on Jinding Mountain; they were of very good quality, large, and the peeled lychees were crystal clear, with thick flesh, small pits, and a sweet taste.
Lu Baiyi guessed that Xu Gui would like them, so he only peeled most of them, leaving the other half for Xu Gui to eat when she woke up… Drinking only lychee soup might be a bit too monotonous?
How about making some dessert? The butter cookies from last time seemed quite good?
Lu Baiyi thought to himself, his hands already moving automatically, taking out the ingredients for baking butter cookies… When Xu Gui woke up, before she even opened her eyes, she smelled the sweet fragrance in the air.
She opened her eyes, sat up, and looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar surroundings, slowly remembering that she was in the Lu family villa.
Xu Gui looked at the blanket on her body, then at the sofa beneath her, and vaguely realized, "...Did I just fall asleep?"
Xu Gui pondered, then a few seconds later, she couldn't hold back her thoughts any longer. Drawn in by the sweet fragrance in the air, she simply threw off the blanket, slipped on her indoor slippers, and followed the scent to the kitchen.
Before she even entered, she heard a tinkling sound. Peeking inside, Xu Gui saw Lu Baiyi wearing an apron, standing in front of the spacious kitchen counter.
Xu Gui's eyes widened in surprise—she had seen Lu Baiyi in a short-sleeved T-shirt, casually dressed, and she had also seen him in a suit, serious and composed, but this was the first time she had seen him like this, so relaxed and at home.
Lu Baiyi was taking cookies out of the oven. He had tried some new flavors this time. Holding insulated gloves, he was about to take a cookie to taste when a furry head suddenly appeared beside him.
"Is this the cookie I ate the other day?" Xu Gui looked up at him, her fair and delicate face framed by bright, sparkling eyes.
Lu Baiyi paused for a moment, then nodded. "Yes... I baked a new flavor this time, would you like to try some?"
Xu Gui nodded quickly. "Sure." Her nod was swift and without hesitation, showing utmost respect for the food offered to her.
Lu Baiyi couldn't help but smile at her.
From their first meeting, he had noticed that Xu Gui was a very open and honest person. She wouldn't hesitate or feel embarrassed when faced with something she wanted; instead, she would openly and honestly accept it.
Oh, not exactly. Sometimes she would say things like, "Isn't this a bit inappropriate?" or "Won't this be bad?"... But her actions were always honest and straightforward.
Lu Baiyi really liked this quality in Xu Gui, perhaps because he himself couldn't do it.
Thinking this, Lu Baiyi reached for a disposable glove and handed it to Xu Gui. After putting it on, Xu Gui took a cookie, put it in her mouth, and began to chew.
As she took a bite, she clearly heard the crisp sound of the cookie being chewed, so crisp it crumbled with every bite.
"How is it? How does it taste?" Lu Baiyi asked her.
Xu Gui chewed and swallowed, then said, "I think the last one was better. I don't really like this flavor..." She frowned, looking at the cookie in her hand.
However, despite not liking it, she still finished the cookie.
Lu Baiyi glanced at it and said, "This is chocolate flavor. Don't you like chocolate?"
Xu Gui: "...Not even a little bit."
"Okay," Lu Baiyi said, "I didn't expect you wouldn't like chocolate. Luckily, I also prepared two other flavors: cranberry and pure butter cookies. You seemed to really like butter cookies last time... I'll bake them first."
Xu Gui nodded eagerly.
Lu Baiyi took out the box of baked cookies, put them in a special jar, and casually set it aside. Next, he began baking the other two flavors.
Xu Gui couldn't cook, so she just followed him around. Lu Baiyi glanced at her, then stuffed the leftover lychees from making lychee soup into her lap, telling her to sit down and eat them.
Xu Gui looked at the half-basin of lychees in her lap, obediently sat down, and began peeling and eating.
The lychee shells were very thin, with beautiful patterns on them. After peeling them open, the juicy, white lychee flesh appeared before her eyes, still glistening with lychee juice droplets.
Because the lychee flesh was plump and the seed was small, each bite was bursting with sweet and juicy flavor.
Xu Gui: "...So delicious!"
Fresh lychees tasted completely different from lychee soup—fresher, sweeter, and juicier. Xu Gui: "...It's so good to be born this way." So many delicious things to eat.
Halfway through eating the lychees, Xu Gui glanced at Lu Baiyi not far away, then looked down at the lychees in her lap, suddenly thinking: Is it really okay to eat all by myself?
Thinking this, she popped another juicy lychee into her mouth.
Lu Baiyi was currently very focused on baking, but after a while, he suddenly felt someone poke his arm. He turned around and saw Xu Gui standing beside him.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"Here!" Xu Gui handed him a bowl, saying, "This is for you!"
Lu Baiyi looked down and saw a bowl of translucent, glistening lychees. He looked at Xu Gui with some surprise and asked in a low voice, "Did you peel these?"
Xu Gui nodded, proudly stating, "I'm not just a freeloader! I peeled these especially for you!"
She pushed the bowl towards Lu Baiyi, saying, "These lychees are really delicious, you should try some."
A glint flashed in Lu Baiyi's eyes. He took the bowl and thanked Xu Gui, "...Thank you."
Xu Gui generously replied, "You're welcome!"
She peered into the oven, asking, "How long will these bake..."
Lu Baiyi, holding the lychees, said, "About half an hour. I used low heat; that way the cookies will be crispy."
Xu Gui nodded, her eyes filled with anticipation for the cookies, devoid of any other desire.
...
That day, Xu Gui not only ate cookies and lychee soup at the Lu family's house, but she also had dinner with Lu Boyi, which he cooked himself. It was a simple three-dish meal with soup, but it tasted very good. Xu Gui ate two large bowls of rice, filling her stomach completely.
When Kuang Ming came to pick her up that evening, he saw her carrying a huge pile of things, all of them food—cookies, fruit in a food container.
Kuang Ming: ?
Xu Gui got into the car, and Lu Boyi stood beside her, bending down to talk to her through the car window, saying, "Xiao Gui, drive slowly on your way back, be careful, and remember to call me when you get back to the hotel."
Xu Gui nodded, "Okay."
Kuang Ming's eyes widened: Xiao Gui?
Weren't these two Miss Xu and Mr. Lu when they met at noon? How come she's become Xiao Gui after just one afternoon?
Kuang Ming was puzzled. After he drove away, he looked at the huge pile of things Xu Gui was carrying in the rearview mirror, his lips twitching slightly. He muttered, "You're eating and taking things with you?"
Xu Gui sighed, "I can't help it, Lu Baiyi is too enthusiastic! He said he made too much, and if I don't take it with me, he can't finish it all by himself. He can only share it with the aunties he doesn't know on the mountain..."
Compared to giving it to aunties he didn't know, it was obviously better to give it to someone he knew.
"Look, Yuan Lu, this is lychee soup that Lu Baiyi made. I'll share it with you when we get back!" she said happily to Yuan Lu, who was also sitting in the back seat.
Yuan Lu: "Okay..." So much food.
Kuang Ming asked in confusion, "I just heard Mr. Lu call you Xiao Gui. You two became so familiar in just one afternoon?"
Xu Gui: ...Actually, she was also puzzled. How come Lu Baiyi started calling her Xiao Gui as soon as she woke up? Only the people at the orphanage and her fans called her that.
So…
"…He must think we're already very close, that he considers me a good friend!" After thinking it over, Xu Gui came to this conclusion with certainty.
Kuang Ming sighed, "I hope so."
*
The next day, Xu Gui and the others left H Province and went straight back to A City.
Yesterday, Xu Gui told Lu Boyi that they were going back today, so she received his message at the airport in the morning. Xu Gui leaned back in the waiting room chair, yawned listlessly, and typed a reply to him.
At nine o'clock, Xu Gui and the others boarded the plane, and after more than an hour's journey, the plane landed at the airport in A City.
Stepping out of the airport, Xu Gui looked at the unfamiliar scenery around her, yet a strange sense of peace arose within her. It was as if just the realization of "returning to A City" was enough to make her feel at ease.
People from the company came to pick them up. Kuang Ming looked at Xu Gui and asked her where she planned to go back to, the company dormitory or the orphanage.
Xu Gui was texting the director when she heard the message and said, "Let's go back to the orphanage. I haven't seen the director and the others in a long time, and He Yuan isn't in the dorm either. I'll be all alone when I go back..."
While they were in H Province, He Yuan hadn't been idle either. Kuang Ming had gotten her a job on the show "Acting Competition," and not long after they left, He Yuan started filming, and she's still filming now.
If Xu Gui went back to the dorm, she'd be all alone, so it's better to go back to the orphanage. She had just bought a lot of local specialties for the children there.
Kuang Ming nodded and said, "Okay."
Xu Gui hadn't been back to the orphanage for a while, and when she returned, she was immediately greeted with a warm welcome. The children surrounded her, chattering noisily.
Xu Gui was also happy to see Wu Xueya's mother, Aunt Tuanzi, there too.
After exchanging pleasantries, everyone went inside. Xu Gui asked the dean and the others if they had received the seafood she had mailed earlier. Although it was easy to buy seafood in City A, Xu Gui felt that the seafood she mailed was definitely the best.
It was freshly caught from the boat, packed and iced, and shipped over quickly.
The dean nodded and said, "We received it... The seafood is just as you said, very fresh, especially the shrimp, Xueya and the others loved it."
Xu Gui felt a little pleased.
"I'll send you more next time I have the chance... Oh, and I also brought you some gifts! They are seashells I collected on the beach." She added, taking out the seashells she had brought back, saying, "I specially chose the pretty ones!"
For the adults, pretty seashells might not be that surprising, but for the children who had never seen the sea before, the seashells Xu Gui brought back were very novel.
"Wow!" the children exclaimed.
Xu Gui handed the seashells to a staff member at the orphanage, asking her to distribute them among the children to avoid any bias. All the gifts she brought were seashells, and everyone received the same.
The children were taken to distribute the gifts, while the director led Xu Gui to her room to rest.
Before leaving the orphanage, Xu Gui, like the other children, lived in a dormitory-style room with bunk beds, several children sharing one room.
However, after reaching adulthood and being able to support herself, Xu Gui left the orphanage. Each time she returned, she stayed in one of the guest rooms.
But this time, Xu Gui noticed that the director had led her to a separate room, unlike a guest room.
Xu Gui looked at the director questioningly.
The director smiled and said, "This was specially prepared for you… In the future, if you want to come back, just come back. You don't need to stay in the guest rooms anymore. After all, you're now our orphanage's biggest investor. Everyone else might need a room, but not you."
The last sentence was spoken with a hint of humor.
After listening, Xu Gui looked at the director with bright eyes, couldn't help but hug her, and said, "Director...you're so kind."
The director patted her shoulder, laughing and crying at the same time, "You silly child, you gave the orphanage so much money, specially prepared a room for you, isn't that kind?"
She sighed, "Silly child..."
Xu Gui didn't care, she just thought the director was very kind.
She knew that if conditions allowed, the director wanted every child who left the orphanage to be able to return to the orphanage's "home," but their orphanage was inherently poor and small, so the children who had reached adulthood and could live independently had to move out.
After all, their orphanage only had so much space, and if the grown-up children didn't move out, then the underage children would have nowhere to live.
"When I have money in the future, I'll build a big house!" Xu Gui said, hugging the director, "so that anyone who wants to come back to the orphanage can come back and live here!"
The director's nose tingled with emotion as she listened.
"By the way, Xu Ai and the others also came back to the orphanage a couple of days ago, it's a pity you weren't there, otherwise you might have run into them..." the director said.