"I'm not a liar!"
Xu Gui's tone was sincere when he said this, but clearly, words were ultimately powerless. Li Ya's expression only looked more embarrassed, not like she believed him.
Seeing this, Xu Gui couldn't help but show a hint of regret.
"Liars always say they're not liars..." Xiao Min, who had somehow come over and overheard their conversation, said this with great conviction, "That's how it's portrayed on TV."
Xu Gui: "..."
"But Teacher Li, my sister really isn't a liar, she's a very good person." Xiao Min added, speaking up for Xu Gui, "I can vouch for her."
Li Ya smiled. Her smile when facing Xiao Min was much more natural and relaxed than when facing Xu Gui, but after a few seconds, she suddenly realized that something seemed off.
"Aren't you Xiao Min's aunt?" she couldn't help but ask Xu Gui.
Upon hearing this, Xu Gui replied without changing her expression, "Oh, I specifically asked her to call me that. Calling me 'sister' makes me seem younger."
Li Ya looked at her suspiciously—from Li Ya's perspective, no matter how you looked at it, Xu Gui seemed full of flaws and suspicious points.
Xiao Min, listening to their conversation, seemed to realize she might have said something wrong and quickly hid away with her friends.
"...I know you want a divorce," Xu Gui chose to change the subject, "and I also know why you married Kang He in the first place."
Hearing this, Li Ya's usually calm expression finally changed.
In that instant, she seemed to be covered in thorns, her eyes wary and sharp as she looked at Xu Gui.
"How do you know the reason I married him?" she asked.
Xu Gui seemed not to notice her hostile gaze and said calmly, "Didn't I say I'm a fortune teller? Of course, I calculated all of this. Otherwise, how would you know such a private matter? We've never met before, have we?"
Li Ya thought about it, and it was indeed true; this was the first time she and Xu Gui had met.
"I even know that you didn't just almost get into the National Ballet of China; you were already selected. You were just one formality away from becoming a member," Xu Gui continued.
"It's just a pity that when you went back to City A to complete the formalities, you were in a car accident. Your leg was run over, and you can no longer handle the training offstage."
Xu Gui's tone became regretful as she said this—even outsiders felt sorry for Li Ya. Hearing
this, Li Ya's hand on the table trembled slightly, and she clenched it into a fist.
Xu Gui was right.
Outsiders only knew that Li Ya almost got into the National Ballet of China, that's what she and her family said to the public. But what they didn't know was that Li Ya had actually passed the audition for the National Ballet of China; she was just one formality away from becoming a dancer.
However, when Li Ya returned to complete the formalities, she was hit by a car on the roadside. The car ran over her right leg, causing irreversible damage.
Although her right leg injury didn't affect her daily walking after the difficult rehabilitation and healing process, it became extremely fragile and could no longer support long periods of training.
Dance has no shortcuts; success requires daily practice. Without training, the body rusts and it becomes difficult to maintain a normal level.
Even the best dancers practice continuously every day.
Now, Li Ya's leg could no longer bear the burden of training.
Therefore, after three years of pain and struggle, Li Ya had to accept the fact that she could no longer dance.
Hearing Xu Gui's words, her thoughts seemed to return to that hot and painful summer. She forced a smile and said, "Did you calculate this too? But that's all in the past; I've forgotten it."
Really forgotten? I don't think so. Xu Gui's expression revealed this.
Li Ya looked away.
Xu Gui suddenly said, "What if I said that accident wasn't actually an accident, but rather something deliberately orchestrated, a man-made disaster?"
"...What do you mean?" Li Ya's gaze, which had been shifting, returned to Xu Gui.
Xu Gui asked, "Haven't you ever wondered where your parents got the money to buy your brother a house, and where they got the money to open such a large dance class for you, when your family isn't exactly wealthy?"
"You know, while City A isn't as rich as the capital, it's still a first-tier city, and housing prices aren't low."
As he spoke, Xu Gui's gaze swept around the dance class, the implication clear.
Hearing this, Li Ya pursed her lips and said, "You might have misunderstood. The money I used to open the dance class was compensation from the driver who hit me."
Xu Gui asked, "Do you really believe what your parents said?"
Li Ya's breath hitched, and she instinctively said, "Of course I believe them."
But her mind was actually a little confused at that moment; she couldn't help but recall the events of her car accident.
At that time, she was completely devastated by the news that she might not be able to continue dancing. Her mind was in a daze, and her parents handled everything for her.
Now, looking back, she barely remembered the driver who hit her, only some things her parents relayed:
"The driver was quite responsible. He not only took you to the hospital but also paid the medical bills."
"The driver didn't show up, but along with the insurance, he paid you two million. With that two million, even if you can't continue dancing, you can live comfortably. Once your leg heals, your aunt will find you a partner from a good family, and then you can have a big, healthy son. I wonder how many girls would envy that kind of life?"
"The driver was quite kind. This was just an accident; nobody wanted it to happen. Xiaoya, don't overthink it."
...
Li Ya suddenly realized that she had never met the driver who caused the accident. All the information about the driver was relayed to her by her parents. What kind of person he was, what his attitude was, and how much compensation he ultimately received were all told to her by her parents.
In her parents' eyes, the driver who caused the accident was "kind" and "generous," but how come such a kind person had never visited her even once?
Li Ya's mind was in turmoil.
"Of course, you can choose not to believe what I say and continue to believe your parents," Xu Gui said, then changed the subject: "However, I suggest you go back and ask your parents, ask them what really happened in your car accident."
"Was it because they took money from someone else and turned a blind eye to this, or did they want to keep you by their side and were happy to see you unable to continue dancing, so they went along with it? After all, your younger brother is useless; he's not even married yet, and his heart has already turned to the woman. Seeing that they're getting old, they certainly can't rely on this son anymore."
Since they couldn't rely on their son, what could they do? They could only rely on their other child. But now, that other child also wanted to leave them, saying she was going to the capital to pursue her career.
What could they do then? They could only try to keep this child.
Xu Gui whispered, "...Did they say, 'Why should a girl pursue a career? When she reaches a certain age, she should find a good family to marry into, have a son with her husband, and live a happy and harmonious life. Isn't that better than going to the capital to dance?'"
In that instant, Xu Gui's voice reached Li Ya's ears, overlapping with the voices of her parents from many years ago—Xu Gui said the same words her parents had spoken back then.
At that time, her parents, who believed everything was for her own good, didn't want her to leave City A to dance in the capital. They preferred her to stay in City A, by their side, rather than dance.
They felt that marriage and children were the right path for her.
Li Ya closed her eyes and said, "Don't say anymore. No matter what the truth was back then, so much time has passed. I don't want to bring it up again. I... I don't care at all anymore."
Xu Gui looked at her, somewhat curiously, and said, "Sometimes, I think you humans are really strange. Even when the wounds are still there, even when they're rotting, smelling bad, festering, and full of pus, you still deceive yourselves, telling others and deceiving yourselves that the wounds have healed."
It's as if as long as you tell yourself that, the wound has really healed? But in reality, the wound is still there, and it continues to fester and rot.
"...If you just harden your heart and cut open this lump of rotten flesh, squeeze out the pus inside, although it will be very painful when you cut the flesh, once you get through that period of pain, the wound will eventually heal slowly."
But if you leave a rotten wound there, it will never heal.
Li Ya understood what Xu Gui meant. She shook her head and said, "You don't understand. Not everyone can bring themselves to reopen this wound, because once you do, you might find it's much bigger than you imagined, to the point of being unbearable."
She murmured, "I'm not sure if I can endure the pain of having my flesh ripped out..."
Xu Gui nodded, indicating, "I really don't understand." After all, although she was now human, compared to her time as a tortoise, her time as a human was still very short, so it was normal that she didn't understand. "
But, I ultimately feel that without destruction, there can be no construction. Only when a person is ruthless enough to dig out that lump of rotten flesh can the wound heal, and..." Xu Gui looked at Li Ya and asked her, "Teacher Li, are you really willing to live like this for the rest of your life? If this is your choice, of course I respect it, but I feel it's a bit of a pity."
A pity for what?
A pity for a life as beautiful as a flower, even in its withering, its withering posture is still so quiet and beautiful. If one day it finally collapses and shatters, turning into dust, that would be a real pity.
"..."
Li Ya didn't speak.
The atmosphere between them was somewhat silent and heavy. Xu Gui, however, remained calm and composed, appearing completely at ease, as if she hadn't just been discussing such a heavy topic.
For some reason, seeing her like this, Li Ya's heavy heart suddenly felt a sense of relief.
"Oh, right," Xu Gui suddenly spoke again, looking at Li Ya, "If you want a divorce, this period might be a good opportunity."
Li Ya snapped out of her reverie, but gave a bitter smile. She shook her head, saying, "It's not that simple. My parents won't agree to let me get a divorce."
"It's not like your parents are marrying Kang He. Does their willingness matter?" Xu Gui asked. "Shouldn't your own thoughts be the most important thing?"
Li Ya was taken aback.
"In short, if you want a divorce, this period is the best time. You can start preparing today. But there's one thing you might need to be mentally prepared for: your husband might disappoint you greatly."
Her words were somewhat meaningful.
Li Ya didn't understand what she meant by her husband disappointing her greatly… She hadn't had many expectations of him to begin with, so how could she feel disappointed?
When
Kang He came out of the dance studio, he saw only his wife, Li Ya, sitting outside, holding her phone, looking somewhat dazed and confused.
"Where's Miss Xu?" Kang He looked around.
Li Ya: "She's already left."
Kang He was surprised and couldn't help but ask, "Didn't she say she wanted to enroll her child in a class?"
Li Ya didn't mention what Xu Gui had said, only saying, "She just came to check out our facilities and hasn't decided whether to enroll her child in a class yet."
Hearing this, Kang He pursed his lips and said, "I saw she had three children with her, so I thought I'd at least get one child. I was so hospitable to them... Ouch, my foot hurts so much."
He grimaced as he sat on the stool, took off his right shoe and sock, revealing his toe that had been hit by a decorative item, and then he was dumbfounded.
"...Is my toe broken?" He looked at Li Ya in bewilderment.
Li Ya's attention wasn't on him; she was still somewhat dazed. Only when she heard his words did she reluctantly give him a glance, and then she saw that Kang He's second and third toes on his right foot were limp and dangling.
Li Ya: "Your toes are broken?"
Kang He had already started cursing. He had indeed felt a sharp pain in his toes when they were hit, almost bringing tears to his eyes, but the intense pain subsided, so he hadn't expected his toes to be broken.
What to do now?
"The hospital, I need to go to the hospital..."
...
When Xu Gui left the dance class, he took Qiao Qiao with him.
Li Ya didn't forget to call Qiao Qiao's mother, Miss Xue. Miss Xue was somewhat bewildered upon hearing the address "Aunt Xiao Min," and when she heard that this aunt wanted to take Qiao Qiao away, her first reaction was to refuse.
On one hand, she didn't know this "Aunt Xiaomin" at all, and was a little wary; on the other hand, she had paid for the dance class, and at least her child had to attend all the classes every day to avoid wasting money.
However, Xu Gui said, "Miss Xue, I have something to tell you about Qiaoqiao. It's very, very important. If you're worried about Qiaoqiao's safety, then you don't need to worry at all. My surname is Xu, and my name is Xu Gui. Xu is the Xu of 'Yanwu Xu,' and Gui is the Gui of 'Guiqu.' You can search for me online; you'll definitely find information about me."
Miss Xue actually searched for the name "Xu Gui" and found a lot of information.
"You, you're a celebrity?" Miss Xue's tone was somewhat surprised.
Xu Gui's expression was proud: "That's right! So Miss Xue, you don't need to worry about Qiaoqiao's safety. And I'll be doing a live stream later, so you can see for yourself whether Qiaoqiao is safe."
A celebrity contacted her, saying he wanted to talk to her about Qiaoqiao...
Miss Xue hesitated for a few seconds before nodding in agreement: "Okay then... Teacher Li, then our Qiaoqiao will leave early today."
Li Ya: "Okay."
After Xu Gui and Miss Xue hung up the phone, Li Ya looked at Xu Gui suspiciously and asked, "Didn't you say you were a fortune teller? How did you become a celebrity?" She had overheard Miss Xue and Xu Gui's conversation.
Xu Gui: "Ah, well, one's main job, the other's side job, both for making money, nothing shameful."
Li Ya: "Really?"
As soon as Xu Gui and the others left, she searched Xu Gui's name on her phone and discovered that Xu Gui really hadn't lied to her. Xu Gui was indeed a fortune teller—she had watched videos edited by Xu Gui's fans about Xu Gui telling fortunes.
In the videos, she didn't make any mistakes. If that was the case, then what she said about herself… Li Ya's expression was somewhat dazed. This was the scene Kang He saw when he came out.
At this time, Xu Gui had already led the four children downstairs.
The paparazzi had been squatting downstairs. The weather at the end of July was really hot and sunny. Near noon, it was like a giant furnace, making the area below sweltering. He could only hide under a tree.
Upon seeing Xu Gui and the others emerge, he hurriedly grabbed his equipment and ran over.
"How are you? Are you alright?" the cameraman asked.
Xu Gui: "What could be wrong? Ugh, it's so hot!"
Having just stepped into the sun from inside the building, she quickly retreated back inside, clutching the fish tank, her movements incredibly agile, like a cat scalded by the heat.
Xu Gui was bewildered: the temperature hadn't been this high when she went upstairs.
The cameraman said, "I saw on the weather forecast that it's 33 degrees today, and the surface temperature will be even higher. It seems summer has truly arrived."
Xu Gui looked at the dazzling sun, her expression serious—as a Xuan Turtle living in a perpetually humid climate, even now as a human, she disliked such scorching, dry weather.
She felt that leaving a turtle in such weather was truly immoral.
The paparazzi, seeing her standing there motionless with such a serious expression, felt a pang of anxiety, wondering if something had happened to Xu Gui and the others after they went upstairs. They couldn't help but ask, "Teacher Xu, what's wrong?"
Xu Gui replied earnestly, "I feel like the sun is trying to kill me!"
The paparazzi were speechless
. Xu Gui, clutching the fish tank, refused to leave the building. She was very troubled, which led them to encounter Li Ya and her husband, who were also coming downstairs. Li Ya was surprised to see Xu Gui and the others there.
Kang He, seeing Xu Gui, felt a phantom pain in his toes; the pain from being hit by the ornament seemed to spread back from there, a sharp, throbbing pain.
"Why are you still here?" Li Ya asked.
Xu Gui hugged the fish tank, looking somewhat aggrieved. "The sun is too strong."
Li Ya glanced outside, her lips twitching slightly. "The sun is indeed quite strong, but if you don't leave now, it will get even stronger later, and the temperature will rise. It will be even more uncomfortable if you want to leave then."
She could tell that Xu Gui seemed to really dislike this kind of sunny weather. Just now, in their dance studio, she was full of energy, but now she looked as if all the moisture in her body had evaporated, and she was already somewhat wilted.
Hearing Li Ya's words, Xu Gui's expression turned somewhat alarmed. She glanced outside and asked, "The temperature will rise further?"
Li Ya glanced at the time and said, "It's only 10:30 now, not even the strongest part of the day yet. It'll be the hottest time of the day at midnight."
Hearing this, Xu Gui jumped up. She turned to the cameraman and said, "Let's go now."
The cameraman, who hadn't yet figured out how to persuade her: ?! !!
"Okay!" he excitedly agreed.
Xu Gui greeted Li Ya and left with the four children. As for Kang He next to Li Ya… oh, is anyone there? I didn't see him.
*
It's really hot outside. The temperature wasn't even this high yesterday. It's like the weather suddenly turned into sweltering heat overnight. The photographer remarked, "This year is actually not bad. In previous years, the temperature in June was already approaching 34 degrees Celsius!"
Fortunately, it was much more comfortable once they got into the taxi. The air conditioning was on, and the moment they stepped inside, they shivered from the cold, and the heat quickly dissipated.
Xu Gui looked at the fish in the tank. Perhaps affected by the temperature, the goldfish didn't seem as lively as before, sinking to the bottom. Xu Gui dipped one of his fingers into the water.
Splash!
The goldfish swam up from the bottom, touching Xu Gui's finger with its cool mouth. Its tail swayed, like the colors of the sunset flowing in the tank, and it seemed a little more lively than before.
"Is the goldfish alright?" The two children came over, concerned about the goldfish.
Xu Gui said, "It's nothing, it's probably just too hot and it's a little dizzy. It should be much better now."
Xiao Min and Qiao Qiao were relieved: "That's good."
The two little girls were sitting side by side, now squeezed together with Xu Gui to watch the fish. Luckily, they were small, otherwise Xu Gui might have been crushed. As for the photographer and the two little boys, they were naturally in another car.
They were going to Qiao Qiao's house. The four children lived in the same community, not far from where Xu Gui set up his stall, otherwise they wouldn't have run into Xiao Min and the other two for two days in a row.
About twenty minutes later, the car drove into the community and stopped in front of the building where Qiao Qiao lived.
Probably because they were taking "guests" home, Qiao Qiao seemed very excited from the moment the car entered the community. After getting out of the car, she was even more eager to lead Xu Gui and the others upstairs.
"I live on the sixth floor!" she said crisply.
Hearing her say that, the other three children chimed in, saying,
"My house is on the third floor!"
"My house is on the eighth floor!"
"My house is the highest, on the eleventh floor!"
Actually, all four children were fairly well-behaved and quiet, but when they were all together, Xu Gui still felt like he had a hundred ducks quacking in his ears, especially in the elevator.
After getting out of the elevator, the children led the way for Xu Gui and the others. When they arrived at Qiao Qiao's house, they started banging on the door.
"Grandma, it's me! Open the door quickly!" Qiao Qiao shouted.
Click!
The door opened, revealing Qiao Qiao's grandmother's loving face. Seeing her beloved granddaughter, she instinctively smiled first, and then, seeing Xu Gui and the others, she warmly invited them in.
"...I've already heard from Mingyue that you are all her guests, but Mingyue is still at work and won't be back for lunch until then. You'll have to wait at home for a while," Qiao Qiao's grandmother said.
Xu Gui: "It's okay, we have plenty of time."
Qiao Qiao acted like a little hostess. After Xu Gui and the others came in, she didn't even put down her schoolbag before busying herself getting their shoes. After they sat down, she went to pour them water.
In short, she didn't seem to be doing anything complicated, but she looked extremely busy, running around like crazy.
After the four children ran off to play in Qiaoqiao's room, Qiaoqiao's grandmother sat down next to Xu Gui and the others. She first glanced curiously at the camera equipment beside them, then asked, "What brings you to see Mingyue?" "
Oh, right, why did Qiaoqiao come back with you?" she suddenly remembered.
Xu Gui pondered for a moment, then said, "We came here because of Qiaoqiao. We have some things about her that we'd like to discuss with Miss Xue."
Qiaoqiao's grandmother asked curiously, "When?"
Xu Gui smiled, "I'll talk to Miss Xue first, and then she'll decide whether she wants to tell you."
Qiaoqiao's grandmother became even more curious, "What is it? Why are you being so secretive?"
Xu Gui smiled but didn't answer.
"Speaking of which, what do you do?" Qiaoqiao's grandmother asked again, pointing to the camera equipment, "What's that?"
Xu Gui replied, "My main job is fortune telling, and my side job is being a celebrity."
The cameraman beside them: ? Mr. Xu, didn't you get your main job and side job backwards?!
"Fortune telling? Celebrity?" Grandma Qiao was a little confused, unable to connect the two words.
However, she was a very open-minded person, and upon hearing Xu Gui's profession, she didn't show any strange expression, only asking curiously,
"So, are your fortune telling accurate?"
"Extremely accurate!"
Xu Gui replied proudly and confidently.