The well was about four or five meters deep. Near the top, the light was relatively bright, but the further down she went, the darker and more damp it became, with the sound of dripping water audible.
Xu Gui groped her way down, and as she approached the bottom, she could vaguely see the child's figure. She quickened her pace, reaching the bottom of the well and quickly checking on the child.
The child's condition was very bad. The well was filled with water, and her body was soaked, feeling icy cold to the touch, as if she had already lost her body temperature. Her breath was barely a whisper.
"No wonder only I could save her," Xu Gui muttered, her heart aching as she gave away most of her luck.
Sigh...
this was the luck she had accumulated over two years, and now most of it was gone in an instant. She would be unlucky afterward.
But luck was definitely more important than life. She could slowly accumulate more luck later... It was precisely because life was so precious that saving her had cost her most of her accumulated luck.
Xu Gui sniffed, feeling she needed to eat lots and lots of delicious food to make up for her loss.
Thinking about the food she was going to eat, she finally felt less heartbroken. Feeling the child's breathing again, she noticed it was much stronger than before, even the pulse was more robust.
While she couldn't heal the child, she was sure the child wouldn't die.
Confirmed, Xu Gui felt relieved.
She wasn't a doctor and didn't know what was wrong with the child, so she didn't dare touch her and could only squat to the side, waiting for the rescue team to arrive.
Perhaps because she had suddenly calmed down, Lu Baiyi called out from above, "Xiao Gui? Are you alright?"
Xu Gui looked up, stood up, and shouted back, "I'm fine, and the child is fine too!"
The voices were a little unclear, so Xu Gui simply took out her phone and called Lu Baiyi. There was a signal down there anyway. Once the call connected, she briefly explained her situation.
Upon hearing that she was alright and the child was safe, the child's parents, relieved, couldn't help but burst into tears.
"Yingying's alright, thank goodness, Yingying's alright..." The child's mother wept uncontrollably, burying her face in her husband's arms.
Her husband, his eyes also moist, gently patted her back.
...
The firefighters arrived quickly. By the time they arrived, Xu Gui had already climbed out of the well. After briefly explaining the situation, the firefighters immediately went down to conduct the rescue.
"Are you alright?" Lu Baiyi anxiously held her hand, examining her body from head to toe. "Are you injured anywhere?"
Xu Gui shook her head: "No."
But Lu Baiyi... she couldn't help but chuckle at his shirtless appearance.
Lu Baiyi was a refined man; Xu Gui had seen him in suits and ties, and in loose sportswear, but she had never seen him shirtless before.
This was the first time.
Lu Baiyi was initially worried about whether she was injured, but seeing her giggling at him, he couldn't help but feel helpless.
He reached out and untied the rusty fabric from Xu Gui's T-shirt, saying, "I was worried about you, but you're just staring at me and laughing..."
Xu Gui said, "Don't worry about me, look at me, I'm fine, aren't I?"
It's just that the well was very dirty, and she was inevitably covered in dust and grime. Lu Baiyi bent down to brush the dust off her, and Xu Gui wrinkled her nose in disgust, saying, "So dirty..."
The sun was bright, and the dust was especially noticeable after being brushed off, making one want to hold their breath.
Lu Baiyi cleaned her a little, but the grime was too dirty to be brushed off completely, so he would have to wash her later. After they finished, they looked back at the well. The firefighters had already gone down, but the person hadn't been rescued yet.
The police and ambulance had arrived, and the area was bustling with activity. Other residents who had heard the commotion had come looking for the source of the noise. A group of people gathered nearby, watching curiously and discussing what had happened.
When they heard that an eight-year-old girl had fallen into the well, a gasp went up in alarm, followed by increased tension.
The rescue itself wasn't particularly difficult, but the child was unconscious, and they didn't know what had happened. They were afraid that any movement might worsen her injuries, potentially endangering her instead of helping her. Therefore, the rescue was being conducted with extra caution.
Xu Gui and his companion stood under the shade of a nearby tree, watching the rescue unfold. Many other people were also hiding nearby, discussing the incident. They were the only ones who didn't know that Xu Gui had gone down into the well; otherwise, they would have definitely asked him.
Now, Xu Gui and Lu Baiyi were enjoying some peace and quiet. The only problem was that Lu Baiyi had taken off his clothes earlier and was now shirtless.
Don't let his usual refined and handsome appearance in a suit fool you; he's a true muscular man when shirtless. Thanks to his fitness routine, he even has a well-defined eight-pack, which is quite noticeable.
Xu Gui, standing there, could feel the gazes of the nearby aunties constantly drifting towards Lu Baiyi. She could even hear them excitedly whispering about things they wouldn't tell outsiders.
Xu Gui: "..."
She looked at Lu Baiyi and, unsurprisingly, saw him trying to remain calm, his ears already bright red.
"Pfft!" Xu Gui couldn't help but laugh again.
She leaned closer and whispered, "I'll shield you."
With her shielding him, the aunties couldn't see Lu Baiyi's leftovers, and they let out a few disappointed sighs. Hearing this, Xu Gui really couldn't help but laugh.
Lu Baiyi, hearing her barely suppressed laughter, looked helpless and couldn't help but grab her hand, squeezing it slightly—whose fault was it that he took off his shirt?
Xu Gui turned to look at her, her eyes crinkling with laughter, her face radiant like a pearl. She said, "Okay, okay, I won't laugh anymore."
Looking at her like this, Lu Baiyi's gloom vanished. He grabbed Xu Gui's hand and unconsciously intertwined his fingers with hers.
Xu Gui didn't pull her hand away.
The two stood under the shady tree, neither speaking, their fingers clasped, just like countless other loving couples in the world.
*
About half an hour later, the firefighters finally rescued the child from the well. As soon as the child was brought up, the waiting doctors and nurses rushed forward, placed the child on a stretcher, and began examining him without delay.
"...Head injury, suspected impact."
"Leg fracture..."
"Vitality stable, no danger to life."
After the examination, the doctors were all somewhat surprised.
They heard from the child's parents that the child had been missing for two days and two nights, so they had prepared for the worst. However, the physical examination revealed numerous injuries, especially on the back of the child's head, where there appeared to be significant bleeding, and the wound had even clotted due to the prolonged time.
Logically, the child should be either dead or critically injured.
But…
the child's breathing was steady and strong; despite the injuries, there was no immediate threat to life.
The doctor: "…Is this scientifically possible?"
While the doctors were bewildered, Xu Gui and Lu Baiyi had already left the residential area and gotten into a nanny van parked by the roadside. The moment the van's air conditioning was turned on, Xu Gui, who had just stepped out from under the sun, instantly felt alive again.
Lu Baiyi sat in the driver's seat.
Yuan Lu had been driving, but recently she had taken leave due to family matters, so naturally, the driving duties fell to Lu Baiyi.
Seeing how happily he seemed to be driving, Xu Gui couldn't help but wonder: Has this guy become addicted to being my assistant?
She did feel a little embarrassed, just a little, after all, it wasn't like she forced him to do it—Xu Gui was perfectly justified and wouldn't let herself get worked up.
Xu Gui was dirty and couldn't stand it, so the two went straight back.
Xu Gui no longer lived in the company dormitory; she bought a new apartment elsewhere, next to He Yuan's, on the same floor. This was mainly because both of them had become famous, and fans often waited downstairs at the company, making it too difficult to stay discreet. So, on Kuang Ming's suggestion, they moved.
Living so close made it very convenient for them to visit each other and have late-night snacks together. Fu Xia even bought an apartment near them, instantly increasing the number of people they could have dinner with from two to three.
He Yuan wasn't home right now; she was filming elsewhere with a production crew. Her fame was growing, and she was constantly receiving offers. After finishing one project, she wouldn't rest long before joining another.
She loved acting, and Xu Gui felt that she had thoroughly enjoyed acting these past two years.
Oh, Kuang Ming is happy too. He only has two artists under his management, and both are now the company's biggest stars, especially He Yuan, who is practically the face of the company. She has works, acting skills, and awards.
It is said that He Yuan's former manager now gives Kuang Ming a long face and acts like he's not liking him at all—after all, if it weren't for Kuang Ming, He Yuan would still be one of his artists, and he should have a share of all the achievements and money she's earned.
The former manager is heartbroken, but He Yuan is completely out of his reach now.
But I digress.
Xu Gui went to the bathroom to take a shower as soon as she got home. Because she had used up most of her luck, she was a bit unlucky. She used shower gel as shampoo and shampoo as shower gel.
But fortunately, it wasn't too bad. Maybe because she had done a lot of good deeds in the past three years, even if she used up all her luck now, she would only be a little unlucky, unlike at the beginning when she would get hit by bird droppings or trip and fall on flat ground.
Xu Gui was still quite satisfied.
After she finished showering, Lu Baiyi took out the snacks he had frozen in the refrigerator that morning, along with some fruit tea he had made himself, and laid them all out on the coffee table. Xu Gui saw them and immediately darted over, plopping down on the rug under the coffee table.
"Wow, this looks so delicious!" her eyes lit up.
Lu Baiyi stroked her hair and asked, "Why aren't you drying your hair?"
Xu Gui had already stuffed a snack into her mouth. Hearing this, she simply shook her head and said, "It's okay, I'll let it air dry."
Lu Baiyi, as usual, picked up the hairdryer from the side, turned it on, and began drying Xu Gui's hair.
Xu Gui felt that she was getting lazier and lazier, and the other person definitely couldn't escape responsibility… Mmm, this really is delicious!
After Xu Gui finished her snacks, Lu Baiyi finished drying her hair. Then, with her hair, which Lu Baiyi had meticulously styled with hair oil, Xu Gui buried her head in his arms.
"Sigh," Xu Gui sighed, "I really lost out today! I used up so much of my luck, but if I hadn't used it, that child would have really died..."
she muttered to herself.
Lu Baiyi was already used to the rather "horrifying" things she said. Xu Gui would accumulate luck through fortune-telling, but Lu Baiyi felt that she was becoming more and more soft-hearted, often using up all her accumulated luck to save someone.
"Thanks to you." Xu Gui hugged his waist and took a deep breath, "Your luck smells so good..."
Now, whenever her luck ran out, she would come to Lu Baiyi to recharge, which was incredibly useful. Their relationship was somewhat ambiguous; neither of them had signed the final marriage certificate. However, according to Fu Xia,
"Is there any difference between your current relationship and that of real boyfriends and girlfriends?" Fu Xia questioned sincerely.
Xu Gui replied, "I don't know how real boyfriends and girlfriends interact!" with complete confidence.
However, she suddenly realized that Lu Baiyi had become so close to her without her noticing. It seemed he had silently and completely invaded her life, filling every aspect of it. Her
favorite foods… he made them.
Her favorite fortune… he had the most of.
Xu Gui: "…"
Xu Gui suddenly sighed.
"What's wrong?" Lu Baiyi touched her head; her freshly dried hair felt smooth and soft, flowing smoothly through his fingers.
Enveloped in sweet fortune, Xu Gui felt drowsy. Hearing this, she lazily shook her head and said, "Nothing… I just realized some people are really insidious."
*
The next day, the orphanage called Xu Gui and Lu Baiyi over. It was a child's birthday, and they wanted to celebrate together.
Xu Gui and Lu Baiyi went over after breakfast.
The orphanage has moved. It had to move; thanks to Qin Zhongyi's efforts, Xu Gui and several companies, including the Lu family, reached a cooperation agreement to build an amusement park. The area where the orphanage was located has been demolished, and a huge amusement park is being built on the site.
The orphanage has moved to another large courtyard—temporarily, it's rented. Once the amusement park is completed, the children will move back.
If the amusement park is popular, it will be noisy, so the orphanage is being built a certain distance from the center of the amusement park. However, we'll only know for sure after construction is complete; that's the current plan.
Today is Dongzhi's birthday—yes, the same Dongzhi who suffered from heart disease and underwent surgery three years ago.
She was abandoned at the orphanage during Dongzhi, hence the director's name for her. No one knows her real birthday, but she was discharged from the hospital on this day three years ago, so her birthday has been set on this day ever since.
This day represents her rebirth.
The surgery went smoothly, so Dongzhi's body is now fine except for not being able to do strenuous exercise. There are even people willing to adopt her, but Dongzhi refused, feeling that her current life is good enough.
The current director of their orphanage is Xu Gui. Xu Gui is incredibly generous to her own family; the orphanage provides the best food and supplies. Aside from lacking parental love, the children's standard of living far surpasses that of 70% of other children.
When Xu Gui arrived, the children swarmed around her, grabbing her hands and pulling her into the house.
Inside was a large playroom, as big as two classrooms, carpeted so the children could play barefoot. Xu Gui was immediately pulled inside.
She was very popular with the children; as soon as she arrived, they showered her with the flowers they had made, and soon she was carrying a large bouquet.
"Sister Xu Gui..." a round-faced child pushed aside the others and squeezed into Xu Gui's arms, whispering, "My sister is coming today too!"
Xu Gui looked down and recognized the child.
This child was called Hua Hua, her full name was Bao Yun, and her sister was called Bao Li. The name Bao Li might be unfamiliar to many, but mentioning the Lan family who were deceived would ring a bell.
Back when they were filming the show, Xu Gui was introduced by Fu Xia to tell fortunes for her friend Lan Xin. The fortune teller predicted that Lan Xin's parents had been framed and deceived. Bao Li was the one arranged to deceive them, and to gain the trust of Lan Xin's parents, Bao Li even limped.
Of course, Bao Li didn't intentionally deceive Lan Xin's parents; she was forced into it by a man named Huang Dashan.
Because of Xu Gui's interference, Huang Dashan's scheme against the Lan family failed, and everything came to naught. Shortly afterward, unable to bear Huang Dashan's continued oppression, Bao Li stabbed him with a knife.
Fortunately, her two stabs missed, and Huang Dashan survived. Unfortunately, Bao Li was an adult and had to pay the price for her actions.
However, considering the circumstances, the court only sentenced her to six months of imprisonment. During her six months in prison, by a twist of fate, her younger sister, Bao Yun, also known as Hua Hua, was sent to Xu Gui's orphanage.
It can only be said that fate had other plans.
Over a year ago, Bao Li was released from prison and was working hard. Bao Yun was too young, and as her only relative, Bao Li was struggling to support herself, so Bao Yun remained at Xu Gui's orphanage.
Hearing Bao Yun's words, Xu Gui naturally said, "Your sister is coming? That's wonderful..."
Hua Hua's face lit up with joy.
A little later, Bao Li indeed arrived. Her right leg was lame, and she walked with a slight limp, but her eyes were bright and cheerful, much more so than before.
Besides her, Fu Xia also came, followed by the others from the orphanage. Qin Zhongyi, who was always so busy he was rarely seen, also came, along with Kuang Ming, Yuan Lu, and even Yang Haolin.
Qin Zhongyi was no longer what he used to be. Xu Gui entrusted him with managing his assets and building the orphanage, but Xu Gui's money didn't decrease; instead, it increased. This made Qin Zhongyi's name famous in the industry, and countless people wanted his help with financial management.
Unfortunately, Qin Zhongyi said he was too busy to deal with them.
However, no matter how busy Qin Zhongyi was, he would always find time to spare when it was a child's birthday.
"Xiao Gui, come and try my fried dough twists..." Huang Ying walked in carrying a bowl of freshly fried dough twists, her face beaming, her eyes showing no trace of the gloom and vulnerability
she had felt three years ago. She was now one of the orphanage's staff members. Three years ago, after leaving the Wei family, Xu Gui took her to the orphanage, and she eventually became an employee.
She had long since divorced Wei Yunkai; she only wanted the money, not any of the children, including her five-year-old daughter. To her, everything about the Wei family was a disgrace... She hadn't even wanted the money back then, but Xu Gui had persuaded her.
"I know what you think. You think people are dirty, and their money is dirty too... But it's okay, once the money is spent, it's not dirty anymore!" Xu Gui firmly disagreed with her not wanting the money.
In the end, Huang Ying received a large sum of money. Not knowing what to do with it, she simply gave it all to Qin Zhongyi, asking him to use it to build an amusement park for Xu Gui.
Xu Gui, seeing that she really didn't want the money, said, "...Then I'll consider it as an investment, a 10% stake."
Their amusement park would definitely be profitable after it was completed, so consider it Huang Ying's investment, and she could receive dividends later.
In the afternoon, the orphanage became even more lively. Even Zhao Di came. Two years ago, Zhao Di was found by her biological mother and taken away, far away from City A. Later, her adoptive parents tried to find her, but couldn't.
Naturally, they wouldn't give up and caused a scene at the orphanage before being taken away by the police. They haven't been seen since.
Two years have passed, and Zhao Di has grown into a big girl. Oh, she's not called Zhao Di anymore; her surname is Liang, and her name is Liang Yue. Yue means happiness, and her mother hopes she will be happy for the rest of her life.
Liang Yue's appearance now is vastly different from two years ago; her temperament is much more cheerful, less weak, and more resilient.
As for the other children in the orphanage, they have all grown in their own ways.
In the afternoon, everyone had some fun. As evening approached, the orphanage started a barbecue on the grass outside. As wisps of smoke rose, the unique aroma of barbecue soon filled the yard.
Xu Gui sat on a swing in the corner, swinging back and forth.
When Lu Baiyi brought over the grilled barbecue, she pointed to the sky and said, "Lu Baiyi, look, there are stars in the sky today!"
Lu Baiyi looked up seriously for a moment, then nodded, "Yes, there are many stars." And they were all very bright.
He sat on the swing next to Xu Gui and handed her the barbecue.
Xu Gui took a skewer, took a bite, turned to look at him, and said, "You grilled this?" Her tone was certain.
Lu Baiyi nodded and said, "Others grilled it; I was afraid you wouldn't like it."
Xu Gui suddenly sighed.
Lu Baiyi: "...What's wrong?"
Xu Gui took a bite of barbecue and said, "I just feel like you've spoiled my palate. Anything other than your cooking just doesn't taste right."
"I feel like you've cooked me alive," she said gravely.
What was that saying again? "Boiling a frog in lukewarm water..." Yuan Lu seemed to have said it before.
Lu Baiyi chuckled.
The two suddenly fell silent, neither speaking, quietly gazing at the starry sky above.
Ahead, the orphanage was bustling with noise, the children giggling like silver bells. The liveliness there made Xu Gui's corner seem especially quiet.
"So quiet..." Lu Baiyi thought, feeling a sense of contentment.
Just then, he suddenly heard Xu Gui say beside him, "Why don't we give it a try?"
Try what?
He looked at Xu Gui in confusion.
Looking at his expression, Xu Gui: "...That expression of yours."
"These past few years, haven't you been pursuing me? Don't you want to date me?" she asked.
Lu Baiyi heard every single word she uttered clearly, and it was precisely because it was so clear that his mind went blank for a moment.
He stared at Xu Gui for a long while before he seemed to realize what he had just heard.
Just then, he heard Xu Gui sigh, "Fine, if you don't want to, then forget it..."
Hearing this, he jumped to his feet.
"No, I don't mean it!" he said excitedly. But when he saw Xu Gui's smiling face, he suddenly realized that she was joking.
He exhaled, knelt down in front of Xu Gui, looked up at her, and said earnestly, word by word, "I don't mean it! I'm so happy, I never thought you'd want to date me..."
"Xiao Gui..." Lu Baiyi suddenly reached out and hugged her, whispering, "I'm so happy, I've never been so happy."
He had never imagined that Xu Gui would actually agree. He could sense that Xu Gui had many secrets; she was different from everyone else. He just wanted to be with her, cook for her, let her absorb some of his luck... that would be enough.
But he truly hadn't expected Xu Gui to take the initiative and be willing to give it a try.
Xu Gui emphasized, "I only said 'let's try,' it can end anytime."
Lu Baiyi's gaze was intense as he said, "I won't give you the chance to say 'end.'"
Xu Gui smiled, looking down at him, and whispered, "I know."
She knew better than anyone how good Lu Baiyi was to her, and it was precisely because she knew how good he was to her that she took the initiative to suggest "trying it out with him." Life is so short, yet so long, she naturally wanted to try everything.
"Bang!"
Just then, with the sound of fireworks exploding in the sky, the two of them looked up simultaneously.
"Xu Gui!" Fu Xia shouted loudly from the other side, "We're going to set off fireworks, you two come quick!"
Xu Gui and Lu Baiyi smiled. Lu Baiyi's agitated emotions had calmed down considerably. He stood up, reached out his hand to Xu Gui, and said, "Let's go."
Xu Gui looked down at his palm, her eyebrows curving into a smile.
"Okay..."
She raised her hand and placed it in his.
The two ran towards the crowd not far away.
(The End)