"The child had the accident three days ago... When he was found, his body was floating."
A neighbor near the old lady's house said.
The child had the accident around 3 PM. It's been hot lately, and at that time, most people are indoors with air conditioning, so no one was passing by the pond where the child had the accident.
The child's grandparents were reportedly taking a nap at home, which is why the child was playing outside alone.
No one knows how the child fell into the water, because no one was passing by at the time, so no one saw it. The police only found out what happened after reviewing the surveillance footage.
"...It seems the child saw fish in the pond and tried to catch them, but he fell in headfirst. The child was chubby and couldn't swim, so he struggled in the water for a long time, and no one was passing by..."
Finally, a middle school student on his way home saw him and pulled the child from the water, but by then, more than two hours had passed since the accident.
He was rescued and underwent emergency treatment for over half an hour before being taken to the hospital, but ultimately, it was too late.
The atmosphere at the old woman's house has been one of utter despair these past two days. The family only had this one child, and both the elderly woman and the child's parents are heartbroken, crying and wailing. It's heartbreaking to see. As for why the old woman came to cause trouble for Xu Gui, claiming that Xu Gui killed her grandson,
a neighbor said: "...I don't know."
After hearing the whole story, netizens felt a pang of sympathy, but also understood Xu Gui's innocence even more clearly.
Yes, the old woman is pitiful for losing her grandson, but what did Xu Gui do wrong? He was almost stabbed by that old woman for no reason. Judging from the old woman's desperate cries in the video, she seemed to genuinely believe that Xu Gui killed her grandson.
[The old woman and her grandson are innocent, but isn't Xu Gui even more innocent?] [ She did nothing, yet she's still being resented.]
[Xu Gui didn't do anything either. Having watched the live stream, I can say she warned the old lady that her grandson would face this calamity. Xu Gui tried so hard to save him, but the old lady wouldn't listen. What could she do?]
[Heh, not only did she not listen, but when something actually happened, she blamed Xu Gui. I think the old lady probably believes Xu Gui cursed her grandson.]
[The only pitiful one in this whole affair is the drowned child. So young, gone just like that. I can't even imagine how heartbroken his parents must be.]
[Xu Gui is innocent too, getting caught up in this mess for no reason. If it weren't for the live stream, she would have no way to defend herself in this situation.]
...
The online discussion about this is in full swing.
The old lady is certainly despicable, but her grandson is already dead, so netizens can't say anything more malicious towards her. Again, it's just a pity for the drowned child, so young, gone just like that.
But why did the child even think of going to the pond to catch fish? Children that age should be strictly taught and forbidden from playing near water.
Netizens couldn't help but sigh, attributing it all to fate.
But the real reason is probably only known to the drowned child and the old woman now detained at the police station.
After her grandson's accident, when the police said he fell into the pond while trying to catch fish, the old woman was completely stunned. No one knew better than her why the child wanted to catch fish.
"Grandma, I want a goldfish, you promised to buy me one..."
"Goldfish! I want a goldfish!"
"Everyone else has one! When are you going to buy me one?"
...
Her grandson's words echoed in the old woman's mind.
"Grandma didn't mean it, really didn't mean it!" The old woman closed her eyes, filled with regret. "Grandma didn't know you would want a goldfish so much."
If only she had known...
*
Kuang Ming went to resolve the matter, leaving He Yuan and Xu Gui alone in the house.
"Phew!" He Yuan exhaled and said to Xu Gui, "I was terrified when I saw the news this afternoon. Luckily you're alright..."
Seeing her angry expression, Xu Gui comforted her instead, "Anyway, I was fine in the end, wasn't I? Look, I'm standing here safely now, aren't I?"
Her tone was light, and He Yuan couldn't help but laugh as she looked at her, saying, "I'm just still scared."
In that situation, if it hadn't been Xu Gui, but someone else, they might have been implicated by that old lady. Not everyone has Xu Gui's almost prophetic intuition.
"That old lady knew her grandson's death had nothing to do with you, so why did she blame it on you?" He Yuan was both angry and puzzled.
Xu Gui said, "Probably, if she didn't blame me, she would have to admit that she indirectly caused her grandson's death."
Under He Yuan's puzzled gaze, Xu Gui roughly explained the situation between the grandmother and grandson. After she finished speaking, He Yuan was speechless for a moment, or rather, she didn't know what to say.
Just because of a few goldfish…
He Yuan felt a sense of absurdity.
"That child… he's so pitiful," she murmured.
If the child's death was the harshest punishment for his grandmother, how innocent was the child himself?
The matter was too heavy to discuss in detail, so after a few words, they tacitly changed the subject.
He Yuan then asked about Xu Gui's fortune-telling money-making scheme.
As Xu Gui's friend, she naturally wanted him to successfully complete the program's challenge. Although the goal of earning 100 million sounded like a pipe dream, Xu Gui was only 20 million short of the target, and victory was within reach. She naturally didn't want him to fail at this crucial moment.
Interestingly, this matter was attracting considerable attention online, with some netizens even starting an online betting pool on whether Xu Gui could complete the 100 million challenge.
Of course, it was a bet without any financial gain, just for fun.
Initially, 80% of those betting on Xu Gui to fail the challenge did so. However, as time passed and Xu Gui demonstrated her extraordinary money-making abilities, earning more and more money, fewer and fewer people bet on her failure, while more and more people bet on her success.
But even as the percentage of those who chose her to succeed increased, Xu Gui's money-making plan gradually showed signs of decline.
At this point, more and more people online began to predict her downfall. Many online said that Xu Gui's 100 million yuan challenge would definitely fail, mocking her and calling her overconfident.
He Yuan thought somewhat unhappily: Even if Xu Gui ultimately fails to complete the "earn 100 million yuan" challenge, her ability to earn 70-80 million yuan in just half a month is already enough to make her stand out from countless others.
So, what right do these people have to call Xu Gui overconfident?
"It's a pity I don't know many rich people," He Yuan said, her mood somewhat downcast. "Otherwise, I could introduce you to someone."
Just like Fu Xia.
Hearing this, Xu Gui didn't seem to mind. She said, "I already have an idea about this. Don't worry, I'm sure I can succeed in this 100 million challenge."
He Yuan immediately believed her and happily said, "I believe you!"
As the two were chatting, Yuan Lu came in from outside, looked at Xu Gui, and said, "Teacher Xu, Mr. Lu is here."
Xu Gui: ?
…
Mr. Lu, of course, was Lu Baiyi.
He had obviously seen the news online and rushed over. Upon seeing Xu Gui, his first reaction was the same as He Yuan's: he pulled Xu Gui up and down, front and back, and looked her over carefully.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine."
Their voices overlapped. After a moment of surprise, they looked at each other, and Lu Baiyi suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.
He said, "I just saw the news online..."
He had a meeting that evening, and his phone was unreachable throughout the meeting. He only found out about the online news after the meeting ended, and then rushed over immediately without a moment's rest.
Hearing his words, Xu Gui naturally reached out and touched his forehead, saying, "No wonder your head is all sweaty."
He looked quite disheveled... Xu Gui had known him for so long, and this was the first time she had seen him so flustered.
As for Lu Baiyi, feeling the fleeting touch on his forehead, his eyes widened slightly, and he held his breath. Only after Xu Gui released his hand did his ears belatedly turn bright red, and his expression became somewhat awkward, looking a little embarrassed.
"A lot of sweat?" He touched his forehead and found it was indeed wet.
At this moment, Xu Gui handed him a tissue. He thanked her and used the tissue to wipe the sweat from his forehead.
After confirming that Xu Gui was indeed alright and uninjured, Lu Baiyi's mind finally returned to normal.
At this moment, He Yuan looked at the two of them curiously, her gaze constantly shifting between them—she had seen Lu Baiyi in Xu Gui's live stream before, and he seemed to have
a thoughtful expression towards Xu Gui… He Yuan seemed to be pondering something.
"Brother Kuang hasn't come back yet, I wonder what happened. I'll go out and see." She said with a knowing smile, and then went out first.
After she left, Xu Gui and Lu Baiyi sat down on the sofa in the suite's living room. Xu Gui knew what Lu Baiyi wanted to say, and without waiting for him to ask, she briefly explained the cause of the matter.
After listening, Lu Baiyi was naturally furious. His first reaction was to tell Xu Gui to take this matter seriously, so that no one would follow suit and blame her when she hadn't done anything wrong.
This was called making an example of someone.
Hearing this, Xu Gui looked at the murderous expression on his face and found it rather strange—she had really seen many expressions on his face that she had never seen before today.
However, they had only known each other for a little over three months, so they weren't really that close.
Seeing Xu Gui staring at him, Lu Baiyi asked疑惑地问道, "Is there something wrong with me?"
"No," Xu Gui replied.
Upon hearing her answer, Lu Baiyi's expression froze, then turned dejected and disappointed.
"Yes, we haven't known each other for very long..." he thought sadly.
At the same time, a strange sense of urgency welled up within him.
This couldn't go on. He and Xu Gui hadn't known each other for long, and they didn't have much interaction, so they couldn't spend much time together. At this rate, when would they ever become familiar?
Lu Baiyi pondered, his expression grave. Lu Baiyi… his soul almost left his body.
Wait!
Lu Baiyi suddenly realized something.
After a long silence, he suddenly looked up at Xu Gui and asked, "Do you… still need my luck?"
Xu Gui abruptly looked at him.
"Didn't you say I'm very lucky and that it's good for you, so you really need my luck?" Thinking of the scene when Xu Gui held his hand, Lu Baiyi's eyes flickered. He coughed lightly and asked, "So, do you need it now?"
Xu Gui was tempted, completely smitten, like a human unable to resist a cat's invitation to pet.
"Won't that be...not good? Aren't you afraid your luck will turn bad?"
She said it wasn't good, but in reality, her eyes were already shining as she looked at Lu Baiyi, her face clearly saying, "I'm so tempted, I'm super tempted."
Lu Baiyi was initially a little nervous, after all, it was his first time doing something like seduction, but seeing Xu Gui's reaction, he wasn't nervous anymore, and even smiled slightly.
He reached out and slowly grasped Xu Gui's hand, first tentatively holding her fingertips, then gradually enveloping her entire hand in his palm.
"I think it's great," he said, smiling, "Maybe, sometimes good luck is a good thing?"
Xu Gui: I think it's great too.
For the Xuan Turtle, abundant fortune was like a giant, snow-white, sweet cotton candy. Enveloped in its fragrant aroma, she felt her whole body become soft and yielding.
It was as if she were soaking in warm water; the feeling was incredibly comfortable and pleasant.
As a child among the Xuan Turtle, Xu Gui had only heard her elders talk about the fragrance of fortune, but had never truly experienced it herself. This was the first time she had so freely and unrestrainedly absorbed the fortune of another life form.
(Although she had absorbed a small amount of Lu Baiyi's fortune before, she had only taken a tiny bit and hadn't dared to go too far.)
But now, Lu Baiyi had actively invited her, so perhaps it wouldn't be too much for her to be a little less restrained… right? Thinking this, Xu Gui moved closer and closer to Lu Baiyi.
Slowly, she nestled herself into his arms, then found an extremely comfortable position, leaning back and remaining still.
At this moment, Lu Baiyi was completely stiff, especially after Xu Gui snuggled into his arms. He was practically a wooden statue, too afraid to move.
Some say love is restraint, is reverence… He felt that anything he did would be an offense to Xu Gui.
So, he chose to remain motionless, only after a few seconds did his gaze gradually fall on his and Xu Gui's clasped hands.
Their palms were now covered with a layer of slippery, hot sweat, indistinguishable between Xu Gui's and Lu Baiyi's own. However, Lu Baiyi leaned towards his own, because he was indeed very nervous, so nervous that his muscles were stiff.
Actually…
Xu Gui: Not feeling well.
However, Lu Baiyi's luck was simply too strong. Others couldn't see or touch it, but to Xu Gui, it was as thick and substantial as cotton candy, or like flowing, sticky honey. The moment she touched him, she felt completely enveloped in this "honey," and even a slight breath filled her nostrils with a sweet fragrance.
She thought to herself: No wonder the elders in my clan always sounded like they were drooling when they talked about those auspicious beasts with great fortune, like the Bai Ze and Qilin…
I didn't understand it then, but now…
Waaah, such a wonderful thing, and the elders never told me about it properly! It's so unfair! Xu Gui thought resentfully.
About ten minutes later, feeling so comfortable and lazy for the first time since becoming human, Xu Gui leaned against Lu Baiyi's chest and gradually fell asleep. In her dream, she saw a huge cotton candy mountain, and she excitedly pounced on it.
Then, her body sank into that cotton candy mountain, her nostrils filled with the sweet scent of cotton candy—ah, like strawberry-flavored cotton candy…
Meanwhile, in reality, Lu Baiyi, who had just mustered the courage to reach out and gently touch Xu Gui's cheek, was looking up at Kuang Ming, who had just entered. The two men stared at each other.
As for Yuan Lu behind Kuang Ming, after noticing that Kuang Ming had suddenly stopped, she couldn't help but peek inside in confusion, and then…
"Ahhh!" With a scream in her heart, she took out her phone and snapped a series of photos of the scene inside, a blissful expression on her face.
He Yuan, seeing her actions, couldn't resist her curiosity and also peeked inside, and then… she covered her mouth in surprise with her hands.
Actually, ignoring everything else, just looking at their appearance, these two really were a perfect match!
Just then, Kuang Ming also came to his senses and immediately strode inside. Once inside, seeing Xu Gui curled up in Lu Baiyi's arms, already asleep, his expression changed again.
"Who are you? What did you do to Xu Gui?" he demanded immediately.
Lu Baiyi: "..."
Watching this scene, Yuan Lu couldn't help but sigh: This night was truly a lively one, at least for Brother Kuang.
Beside her, He Yuan leaned closer and whispered to Yuan Lu, "Would you send me a copy of those photos you took earlier?"
Hearing this, Yuan Lu looked at her in surprise, then gave her an OK sign. The two exchanged a glance and both smiled contentedly. The
"lively" night quickly passed, and in the blink of an eye, it was the next day.