Xu Gui needed to make money, and Fu Xia naturally wanted to help.
"...I have a friend who's recently run into some trouble, and it seems she really needs your help." A figure suddenly flashed into Fu Xia's mind, and the more she thought about it, the more reliable her idea seemed—why hadn't she thought of asking Xu Gui for help before?
Filled with a strange excitement, Fu Xia had Yuan Lu park the car in their garage. After asking Xu Gui if he needed to rest, and receiving a negative answer, she immediately and enthusiastically led Xu Gui to her friend's house. Though
called a friend, more accurately, the other person was her childhood sweetheart; the two had grown up together and had a very close relationship.
"...After high school, she went abroad to study at a university, so she can only come back during winter and summer vacations, or longer holidays."
On the way, Fu Xia told Xu Gui about her friend's family situation.
"She's an only child, and her parents have always doted on her, but this time when she came back, she found that there was a younger sister in the family." At this point, Fu Xia couldn't help but frown.
A younger sister?
Xu Gui raised an eyebrow and casually asked, "Is she her father's or her mother's illegitimate daughter from an affair?"
"Neither," Fu Xia said, half-laughing and half-crying. "Her parents have a very good relationship, and they're not young anymore, so it's unlikely they'll have another sister for her."
Xu Gui was even more puzzled: "Then who is this sister?"
Fu Xia sighed: "She's the goddaughter her parents plan to adopt!"
A goddaughter they plan to adopt? So she hasn't adopted her yet? Xu Gui looked at Fu Xia questioningly.
Fu Xia explained: "Her parents really enjoy doing charity. Years ago, they really liked sponsoring children from impoverished families. After my friend went abroad, perhaps because she was alone, they enjoyed doing it even more..."
In the past, my friend's parents only provided financial assistance, expressing their love with money, but this time, they brought a girl back. When my friend returned from abroad, they even told her that they wanted to adopt the girl as their goddaughter.
"It's said that the girl's background is very pitiful. Her father died early, and her mother died in a car accident a few years ago. Only she and her grandmother are left in the family, and the other relatives don't care about her... My friend's parents saw her and felt very sorry for her, so they took good care of her. Later, they even brought the girl home!"
My friend only found out about this after returning to China. What upset her the most was that she often talked to her parents while abroad, but they never mentioned this to her. If she hadn't come back for vacation this time, her parents might have already secretly adopted the girl and made her their goddaughter.
Then, she would have had a little sister.
"My friend is quite upset about this. She doesn't want a god-sister, nor does she want her parents to have a goddaughter! But her parents seem determined this time, insisting on taking that girl as their goddaughter!"
The family of three has argued about this several times. Fu Xia's friend is very disappointed in her parents, and her parents seem to be disappointed in her as well—they feel that Fu Xia, as their daughter, is not considerate at all and doesn't think about them as parents.
So, lately, the family of three has been in constant turmoil, arguing every time this matter is brought up, and the atmosphere at home is very unpleasant.
Fu Xia's friend doesn't know what to do now. She even wonders if she is really wrong, if she, as a daughter, is really not considerate? But is it selfish of her as a daughter not to want her parents to have a new child?
Last time she talked to Fu Xia about this, her tone was very sad, but Fu Xia sensed that her attitude on this matter had softened a lot.
"...I had no choice." The other person said this with a helpless and bitter expression. "My parents insisted on taking that girl as their goddaughter, saying I'd eaten too much foreign food and become cold-blooded, unable to tolerate a kind and considerate child."
"Tell me, they've said all that, how can I stop them? If I continue to stop them, I'm afraid they'll see me as that unfilial daughter who doesn't know how to be considerate of her parents."
"..."
Fu Xia still remembered the disappointment and sadness on her friend's face when she said these words. Clearly, what her parents said had dealt her a significant blow.
After listening, Xu Gui had a general understanding of Fu Xia's friend's situation, but there was one thing...
"You're telling me this," Xu Gui said doubtfully, "but I probably can't help with this, can I?" She was just a fortune teller, only able to predict people's past, future, and present, but she couldn't control people's thoughts.
So, if Fu Xia's friend's parents really decided to take that girl as their goddaughter, Xu Gui felt that she couldn't do anything about it.
"Do you want me to lie to your friend's parents?" Xu Gui had a sudden inspiration.
"No!" Fu Xia shook her head, directly rejecting Xu Gui's idea. She looked at Xu Gui and said, "I just wanted you to help me calculate whether that girl is really just an ordinary girl who lost both her parents."
Xu Gui looked at her with suspicion.
Fu Xia said with a subtle expression, "Just consider it overthinking, but I always feel that something is not normal about this."
As they were talking, they arrived at the door of Fu Xia's friend's house. Fu Xia's friend's surname was Qiao, and her name was Qiao Xinyue. The Qiao family, who could live in [Peony Garden], were naturally wealthy, living in a large detached villa.
Fu Xia had already told Qiao Xinyue when she came, so they knocked on the door, and someone came out to open it after a while.
"Fu Xia!"
"Xinyue!"
The two good friends stood at the door, holding hands, both with smiles on their faces.
The other had an oval face and a very bright and elegant appearance. However, the first thing Xu Gui noticed when he saw her was her lips. She had full and plump lips, but it didn't look strange. Instead, it gave off a very harmonious and alluring fullness.
If one had to describe Qiao Xinyue's appearance in words, it would be "charming." She possessed a delicate yet alluring beauty, her face exuding a subtle, almost ethereal charm, but her eyes were clear and bright, very pure. After
exchanging a few pleasantries, Fu Xia introduced them.
"This is Xu Gui, also a good friend of mine! I've mentioned him to you before..." Fu Xia began with Qiao Xinyue.
Fu Xia had indeed mentioned Xu Gui to Qiao Xinyue, and Qiao Xinyue had even watched Xu Gui's livestreams before. Therefore, upon hearing Fu Xia's words, Qiao Xinyue didn't show any awkwardness, but rather greeted Xu Gui familiarly.
"Hello, Miss Xu, I'm Qiao Xinyue!"
"Hello!"
Fu Xia then introduced Yuan Lu, Xu Gui's assistant, and Yang Haolin, the photographer. After the introductions, Qiao Xinyue happily led them into the house, saying as they walked, "My parents are both home today, but that's alright, you're my guests, you don't need to worry about them."
"We can go upstairs to play later, we can watch a movie, or play games, or we can go to the back garden to admire the flowers..." she said with a smile, her voice full of enthusiasm, "I just had the housekeeper make some snacks, and the peonies in the yard are blooming too, we can enjoy the flowers while we eat snacks."
Her tone was pre-planned, clearly indicating that she had already arranged how to entertain Xu Gui and his friends at her home after Fu Xia told her she was bringing friends over.
Fu Xia walked beside her, her eyes flashing as she thought of what she wanted to do. She said, "But before that, let's go say hello to Uncle and Auntie. They're elders, after all. If I come over, shouldn't I greet them first?"
She laughed, "Even if my parents knew, they'd scold me."
Hearing this, Qiao Xinyue said dejectedly, "Your parents won't scold you; they love you so much..."
However, despite saying that, Qiao Xinyue still wanted to take Xu Gui and his friends to meet her parents first—just as Fu Xia said, it would be extremely impolite not to greet the hosts when visiting someone's home.
Xu Gui and his friends naturally had no objections to this, except for one thing.
"This, is it alright?" Xu Gui pointed to the machine in Yang Haolin's hand.
Qiao Xinyue glanced at it and said, "It's okay. I watched your live stream before. Anyway, irrelevant people are always blurred out, right?"
Xu Gui nodded affirmatively, "Of course."
In her live stream, everyone except Xu Gui herself was automatically blurred out, so everyone could only hear their voices but not see their faces.
Qiao Xinyue had seen Xu Gui's live stream, so she knew this and naturally didn't mind.
As for whether her parents minded... Ha, what did that have to do with her? Qiao Xinyue thought resentfully.
...
At this time, Qiao's parents were in the music room on the first floor. According to Qiao Xinyue's soft voice, her "adopted sister" wanted to learn piano, so her parents were taking her to the music room for lessons.
After saying this, Qiao Xinyue's tone became somewhat depressed.
"...Miss Qiao, are you sure your adopted sister isn't your biological sister?" Xu Gui couldn't help but ask, his tone somewhat subtle.
The main problem was that Qiao Xinyue's parents treated this girl too affectionately, practically like their own daughter. Of course, treating someone like a daughter isn't a big deal; it could even show that the Qiao parents are kind-hearted and good people.
However, treating their goddaughter too well, even to the point that their own daughter had to step aside, was abnormal.
So, was she really not their biological daughter?
Xu Gui wondered, a slight thought stirring within
her. Although she hadn't been able to get Qiao Xinyue's permission, she still did a fortune telling for her, to see if Qiao Xinyue would have a younger sister in her destiny, since she herself was also very curious.
...Huh?
Xu Gui suddenly exclaimed in surprise.
Hearing Xu Gui's words, Qiao Xinyue's initial firm denial began to waver. She hesitated, "This...it can't be, right?"
"If my parents had given birth to a sister, they definitely wouldn't hide it from me," she thought, organizing her thoughts. "Besides, that girl isn't young; she's only two or three years younger than me. It's impossible for her to be my parents' sister!"
Again, if she were truly her sister, her parents wouldn't need to hide it from her.
"What about an illegitimate daughter?" Fu Xia interjected.
Qiao Xinyue chuckled, "That's even more impossible. If she were an illegitimate daughter, would she be my dad's or my mom's? And if Zhou Qingping were one of their illegitimate daughters, how could the other treat her so without any distance between them?"
—Zhou Qingping was the name of Qiao Xinyue's "adopted sister." She was nineteen years old, only three years younger than Qiao Xinyue.
In short, no matter how you looked at it, Zhou Qingping's relationship with their family was completely unrelated; otherwise, there was no way to explain her parents' attitude towards her.
After hearing her words, Fu Xia frowned and said, "That's strange. Since Zhou Qingping has no relation to your family, shouldn't your uncle and aunt favor you more between you and Zhou Qingping?"
Could there really be people in this world who prefer outsiders to their own daughters?
Fu Xia didn't understand.
After thinking for a moment, she looked at Xu Gui questioningly, wanting to ask if she had figured anything out, but saw Xu Gui looking thoughtful.
"So, did you figure anything out?" she asked softly as she walked alongside Xu Gui.
Xu Gui replied, "Well..."
Just as Xu Gui spoke, they arrived at the Qiao family's music room.
"We're here!" Qiao Xinyue said, pushing open the music room door. The music room was very soundproof; you couldn't hear anything from the doorway until she pushed it open, when the intermittent piano music slowly drifted out.
Standing at the music room door, looking at the scene inside, Qiao Xinyue felt a little dazed.
"...That's right, press here. Don't press so hard, a little lighter."
"Very good! Hahaha, our Qingping is really talented."
The scene in the music room, the happy voice of Qiao's mother, seemed to overlap with the scene in Qiao Xinyue's memory. At this moment, an extremely absurd feeling arose in Qiao Xinyue's heart. The thought she had just dismissed couldn't help but resurface.
So, Zhou Qingping really wasn't her parents' illegitimate daughter?
Qiao Xinyue even thought: Surely, I can't be the illegitimate daughter, and Zhou Qingping is my parents' biological daughter?
While Qiao Xinyue was lost in thought, the people in the music room had already noticed the movement at the door. The three people in the room turned around at the same time. Zhou Qingping, who was sitting on the stool with a bright smile, saw Qiao Xinyue and quickly stood up, her expression awkward.
In contrast, Qiao Xinyue's expression looked expressionless, not particularly attractive.
"Yueyue, why did you come here?" Qiao's mother got up and walked towards Qiao Xinyue.
A lingering smile remained on her face, though it seemed a little colder than before. Upon approaching and seeing Xu Gui and his group, Qiao's mother looked surprised and said, "Xiaoxia's here."
—She was referring to Fu Xia.
"Yes, Auntie!" Fu Xia smiled and said, "I came to play with Yueyue."
Qiao's mother smiled at Qiao Xinyue, then looked at Fu Xia, and said softly, "That's good. Yueyue hasn't been in a good mood lately. Having you with her will cheer her up." Qiao
Xinyue looked at Qiao's mother expressionlessly, her face somber.
Zhou Qingping walked over and snuggled affectionately against Qiao's mother. Qiao's mother looked down at her, patted her head, and continued speaking to Fu Xia, "If you need anything later, just tell the housekeeper, or you can call me."
Zhou Qingping leaned against Qiao's mother, looking at Qiao Xinyue with a proud yet defiant expression, as if to say: So what if she's your mother? Right now, I'm the one she likes the most.
Seeing this, Qiao Xinyue's expression fell even more, filled with resentment.
Seeing this, Fu Xia glanced at Qiao Xinyue with some concern, replying to Qiao's mother, "I know, Auntie, I won't be polite."
"...You're Qiao Xinyue's mother?"
Just then, a strange voice came from the side. Qiao's mother looked in the direction of the voice and met a pair of scrutinizing eyes. That look… Qiao's mother didn't know how to describe it, but she felt very uncomfortable.
Thinking this, Qiao's mother smoothed a stray hair behind her ear and said with a smile, "Yes, I'm Yueyue's mother… You're also Yueyue's friend, right? I don't think I've seen you before?"
Fu Xia was about to introduce her when Xu Gui nodded and said, "Yes, I'm Yueyue's friend, and also her elementary school classmate."
She looked at Qiao's mother with a strange expression and said, "Do you remember when Yueyue had her birthday when we were little? I came to your house, and I accidentally spilled a bowl of soup you gave me, burning your hand with a huge blister!"
Qiao's mother: "…Oh, is that true?"
"Yes!" Xu Gui nodded firmly, causing Qiao Xinyue to look at her with a very strange expression.
Xu Gui smiled and said seriously, "Have you forgotten? I was so scared by the injury on your hand back then that I cried my eyes out, and you even endured the pain to comfort me. I still feel embarrassed when I think about it now."
"What, you've forgotten that?"
She looked at Qiao's mother in surprise.
Seeing this, Qiao's mother subconsciously said, "How could I forget, of course I..."
"Is that so? I don't remember?" Suddenly, a voice interrupted Xu Gui and Qiao's mother's conversation. Xu Gui looked up and saw Qiao's father walking over from behind, standing behind Qiao's mother, looking at Xu Gui with sharp eyes and a hint of inquiry.
Mr. Qiao said, "I've met almost all the classmates Yueyue invited to our home. I don't remember anyone like you. And I don't remember what you just said either."
Hearing this, Xu Gui nodded, indicating, "Of course you don't remember, because it never happened. I was just making it up!"
"..."
Xu Gui's tone and expression were so matter-of-fact that Mr. Qiao was momentarily speechless.
Qiao Xinyue was amused by her father's expression—her father was usually a very aloof person, and it was rare to see him show much emotion, but now...
"I've never seen my dad so speechless before," she said with a smile, leaning closer to Fu Xia. "You were right before, this Miss Xu is truly a fascinating person."
Fu Xia didn't speak; she just stared intently at Xu Gui. For some reason, at this moment, she felt her heart pounding, and goosebumps rose uncontrollably on her body, as if... something was about to happen.
Seeing that she didn't speak, Qiao Xinyue was a little puzzled and couldn't help but call out, "Xiaoxia?"
Just then, she heard Xu Gui's voice.
"Auntie, what were you trying to say? Were you trying to say: Of course you remember this?" Xu Gui's tone was somewhat meaningful, "You actually remember this, this story I made up?"
"..."
After Xu Gui finished speaking, for some reason, the scene suddenly fell silent.
Qiao Xinyue subconsciously looked at her mother and saw her panicked expression. For some reason, Qiao Xinyue felt as if she had been hit hard on the head, making her vision go black, and she was at a loss for how to react.
Zhou Qingping's expression also changed. She gripped Qiao's mother's hand tightly, and Qiao's mother grasped her hand in return, seemingly calming down.
"I'd like to ask, Miss Xu, what do you mean by that?" Mrs. Qiao frowned, seemingly displeased. "You're Yueyue's friend, so I trusted you completely, but I never expected you to fabricate such a lie to deceive me!"
She said, embarrassed and annoyed, "Is this how you behave when visiting someone's home?"
Xu Gui blinked and said, "I'm just curious, Auntie, why would you admit to something that didn't happen in your memory at all?"
Mrs. Qiao sighed and said, "Although I don't know what you're trying to do, I can answer your question. It's because I was in a car accident five years ago... After that accident, my memory became a bit hazy, and my memories of the past are somewhat blurred."
"You're Yueyue's friend, so I thought what you just said was true... but I never expected you to be lying to me!"
Mrs. Qiao seemed quite embarrassed and annoyed as she said this.
Mr. Qiao put his arm around her shoulder and patted her reassuringly. Then he looked up at Qiao Xinyue and said, "Qiao Xinyue, I thought you had grown up and become sensible, knowing what kind of friends you should make!"
"But look at the friends you're making now! Such a morally corrupt person, lying to your mother right off the bat! How could you be friends with her?"
"Make your friend apologize to your mother!"
Qiao Xinyue's eyes widened: "I..."
The viewers in Xu Gui's live stream were also confused:
[What is Xu Gui doing? Why is she lying to this aunt?]
[I wanted to say this before, Xu Gui's personality is really problematic. Am I the only one who thinks she's arrogant and conceited? It seems like everyone else is an ant in her eyes. This condescending attitude is nauseating.]
[I can answer you: Yes, only you think so! Hater, are you satisfied with this answer?] "If you're satisfied, then get lost. Our livestream doesn't welcome haters like you."
[Based on my years of experience watching Xu Gui's livestreams, if Xu Gui says something strange, it's definitely not without reason. So I'm more inclined to believe that Qiao Xinyue's mother has a problem!]
[Qiao Xinyue's mother has a problem +1. Actually, this is very strange. What kind of mother would favor an outsider over her own daughter? My mom isn't like that.]
[Don't be too certain. The world is full of wonders. There really are mothers who don't like their own daughters.]
[Let's let things play out and see how Xu Gui explains it. She's not the kind of person who likes to make things up. There must be a reason she said this to deceive Qiao Xinyue's mother!]
...
At this moment, under the hostile gazes of Qiao's parents, Xu Gui suddenly laughed.
"Actually, from the first moment I saw you, Auntie, I've always had a question I wanted to ask you..." She looked at Qiao's mother and asked softly, "Answer me." "
Are you really... Qiao Xinyue's original mother?"