She was eating all night and all she knew was that Xu Yi had drunk too much.
"You drank a lot of alcohol and got drunk. It was Aunt Gu, Aunt Xiaoye, and Grandma Zhao who took you back to your room to sleep."
Xu Yi patted her head, judging from this information that she probably hadn't done anything out of line last night.
Xu Yi placed Xiao Xiao on the sofa and got up to go out.
Ono called out to her, "Where are you going? You haven't even had breakfast yet."
"I'm going out for a walk, I have something to take care of." Xu Yi couldn't remember what she did after getting drunk last night, but she clearly remembered what Xiao Ye had said to her in the kitchen.
"Are you coming back for lunch?"
Xu Yi shook her head, changed her shoes, and left.
Xu Yi left the residential area and made a phone call to Liu Bai, quickly finding out the location of Liu Family Sword Shop.
When Xu Yi arrived, Liu Bai and the disciples of the Liu Family Sword Sect were waiting there.
"Come, come, let me show you around our Liu Family Sword Sect." Liu Bai welcomed her arrival with such enthusiasm that it was almost overwhelming. He pointed to the men behind him and laughed, "These are my apprentices, they're pretty useless."
Logically, one should hear mutual flattery, but Xu Yi glanced at the group and nodded, saying, "Indeed."
These two short words infuriated those grown men.
"Hey, what do you mean? Are you here to challenge us?" The youngest apprentice was the first to object. When their master scolded them, it was because he was disappointed in them. It was a family matter, and that was called being low-key and humble. What kind of person is an outsider who comes here to show off? Especially since she's just a frail little girl with blond hair.
Xu Yi's expression remained unchanged. Liu Bai turned around, his face turning cold, and berated his young apprentice: "What are you yelling about? How much skill have you learned? You're not convinced when I say you're useless? How many moves can you withstand from your master?"
The short apprentice was named Liu Geng. True to his name, he was very straightforward and would never admit defeat.
Liu Geng was a distant relative of Liu Bai. He had been practicing swordsmanship with Liu Bai since he was a child and studied very hard. However, his talent was limited. He could imitate each move very well, but he could not master the essence. He was quite lethal in battle, but it was all brute force, which made Liu Bai sigh.
Liu Geng stepped forward defiantly, looked Xu Yi up and down, and sneered, "I may not be able to beat my master, but I could take on ten girls like this in one go."
"Heh, you're really something else." Liu Bai raised his hand and slapped him on the forehead. "What's it to you? Get back to practicing your sword."
Liu Geng, having been both scolded and beaten, picked up his sword in defiance and challenged Xu Yi, saying, "I know you've practiced too, let's have a go."
Before her midterm exams, Liu Wenxin obsessively imitated a minor celebrity's swordplay, infuriating her master. Liu Wenxin kept complaining that all of them combined were no match for her idol, and that she would show today's young girls what real kung fu is and what fancy moves are.
Xu Yi narrowed her eyes slightly and declined his challenge.
"Are you scared?" Liu Geng snatched a sword from his senior brother and threw it to Xu Yi, who caught it instinctively.
Liu Geng drew his sword and thrust it forward.
This time, Liu Bai didn't stop them. Instead, he gave his eldest disciple a look, signaling everyone to make way.
Xu Yi immediately understood that Liu Bai had deliberately sent this hot-tempered apprentice to test him.
Xu Yi wasn't annoyed. She had come to talk to Liu Bai about something, and since Liu Bai wanted to see her skills, she would show him a thing or two.
Liu Geng's killing move came with overwhelming force, and Xu Yi, who said he would show two moves, only showed two moves.
Without drawing her sword, she lightly parried and flicked, and soon Liu Geng's sword flew out of his hand, embedding itself in the wooden stakes where the disciples were practicing swordsmanship. The sword passed through the wood and was stopped at the hilt.
The hand that Liu Geng had been holding the sword with was now trembling and unable to exert any strength.
"this……"
Before Liu Bai could even figure out what was going on, his most prized disciple was defeated.
Liu Geng was even more devastated, and he became somewhat dazed, "This is impossible! Impossible! What did you do?"
The other fellow disciples were amazed, but unwilling to admit defeat, they still wanted to come over and test the waters. Several of them ganged up on them.
Xu Yi sighed. Why did these martial arts practitioners always want to fight her, a cultivator?
In less than half a minute, the people who had attacked together were driven back, and each of them had an obvious bruise on their face, and the wounds were all in the same place.
Liu Bai was shocked by this scene. He clenched his fists, wanting to pick up the sword and try it out, but in the end he held back.
Normally, he would have a hard time dealing with these disciples all at once, but Xu Yi had dealt with it so easily. He probably wouldn't last more than a few moves against Xu Yi, so he wouldn't have to embarrass himself anymore.
The Liu family's sword shop is quite famous here. Today, the shop's doors were open, and the two were sparring in the main hall. Not only did their peers from several other martial arts schools come to watch the spectacle, but even some passersby craned their necks to look inside.
To avoid further embarrassment, Liu Bai gave his apprentices a look, signaling them to go downstairs to treat their injuries, and then took Xu Yi to the second-floor reception room.
"You came to see me, it wasn't just to cause trouble, was it?" Liu Bai personally poured her a cup of tea.
Xu Yi naturally came for a reason, and proposed the matter of being nominally affiliated with Liu Family Sword Shop.
Liu Bai was somewhat surprised, "Why did you change your mind?"
You should know that Xu Yi just rejected him last night.
Xu Yi changed his mind naturally for the sake of money.
"I need money, you need fame, we each get what we need." Xu Yi said bluntly, and Liu Bai was stunned by her straightforwardness.
Liu Bai was naturally pleased that she could come, but he hesitated considering what Xu Yi had said when she rejected him the night before.
Liu Bai then asked, "Did your master agree?"
Xu Yi: "I will not use the skills of my sect."
Before Liu Bai could react, Xu Yi said again, "The sword techniques I just used were ones I created in my spare time. Do you think they're acceptable?"
That's truly amazing. A sword technique created in one's spare time is already so powerful; imagine how formidable it would be if it were used with genuine martial arts skills from one's master!
Liu Bai became increasingly curious about Xu Yi's sect. He tried asking several more times, but Xu Yi avoided the topic each time. Seeing that he really couldn't get any useful information out of him, Liu Bai gave up the idea and honestly discussed with Xu Yi the specifics of being affiliated with the Liu Family Sword Sect.
Xu Yi: "I'm about to sign with Teacher Gu's company. If the competition and my work schedule overlap, I will choose Teacher Gu's company first."
“…Okay.” Liu Bai sighed. As a martial arts instructor in the entertainment industry, he understood better than anyone just how busy artists were. There was hardly any time left for him throughout the year.
Xu Yi: "All the prize money I win in the competition is mine."
“…Alright.” Liu Bai sighed again. In recent years, the prize money for a single competition has been substantial in order to promote Chinese martial arts. He had originally intended to split the prize money 30/70 with Xu Yi, but Xu Yi’s performance today made him completely hesitant to bring it up. He understood that Xu Yi’s current affiliation with Liu Family Sword School was simply a way to find an agency to help her secure competitions. In fact, any martial arts school could do that.
The reason he was chosen was probably because everyone knew him, and it was just to give Liu Bai face.
Xu Yi: "Since I am nominally affiliated with your Liu Family Sword Sect, I will naturally teach your disciples. However... my swordsmanship cannot be passed on to outsiders. Once it is, our cooperation will be terminated as a breach of contract by your Liu Family Sword Sect."
"Don't worry about that. Our Liu family's swordsmanship is not allowed to be passed on to outsiders."
Finally, there was a condition that Liu Bai could agree to willingly.
After Xu Yi finished stating her requirements, it was Liu Bai's turn.
Liu Bai thought for a while and said, "What you have learned in my Liu Family Sword Sect must not be passed on to outsiders."
Xu Yi frowned slightly, her gaze falling on him as she looked him up and down, before asking in confusion, "When did I say I wanted to learn your Liu family's swordsmanship?"
Liu Bai thought about Xu Yi's skills and then carefully considered what she had just said. He was immediately speechless with anger. Yes—Xu Yi looked down on his family's swordsmanship.
"Okay." Liu Bai took out a piece of paper and wrote down a few key points Xu Yi mentioned, then pushed the paper in front of Xu Yi. "See if there's anything else you want to add?"
Xu Yi glanced at it and said, "That's fine."
Liu Bai: "Okay, I'll have someone prepare the contract."
After discussing the matter with him, Xu Yi was about to leave, but Liu Bai asked her to stay for a meal. She was about to refuse, but then stopped herself.
She suddenly remembered what her third junior sister had told her: that sharing a meal is the best way for mortals to get closer and foster relationships. She was about to start working with Liu Bai, so staying for a meal wouldn't hurt.
Gu Yueyue was also eating at this time, but she was doing so to strengthen her bond with her mother.
With a smile, Gu's mother served her food, and Gu Yueyue accepted whatever was offered, eating whatever was in her bowl and occasionally adding a little more food for her mother.
"It's alright, don't worry about me. You eat." Gu's mother has been in better and better condition lately, and her mood has improved as well. Gu Yueyue didn't feel any pressure this time, so she chatted with her mother and smiled more often.
After dinner, Gu Yueyue hesitated whether to tell her mother about adopting Xiaoxiao.
Noticing that she seemed hesitant to speak several times, Gu's mother smiled and asked, "Is there something you want to say to my mother?"
"Mm." Gu Yueyue nodded slightly and slowly recounted the story of adopting Xiaoxiao, while keeping an eye on her mother's expression as she spoke.
After hearing what she said, Gu's mother was somewhat surprised, but she didn't show any emotional reaction. Gu Yueyue breathed a sigh of relief.
Mother Gu asked her cautiously, "Yue'er, are you not planning to get married and have children?"
"No," Gu Yueyue replied after careful consideration, then said, "I adopted Xiaoxiao because that child and I are destined to be together. I liked her the moment I saw her. If I meet the right person in the future, I will consider starting a family. As for children, I haven't thought about that yet."
"It's nothing. Mom doesn't insist that you get married and have children. I just wanted to ask if you have any plans in that regard."
Gu Yueyue smiled and nodded, "Let nature take its course."
Suddenly, Mrs. Gu smiled broadly, took her hand, and said that her old friend's son was very outstanding and asked if she wanted to meet him.
Then he spent more than ten minutes praising his old friend's child.
“When he came to see me last time with his mother, the young man was handsome and energetic, and very polite. I think he has a good character, and he is in the same profession as you.”
Gu Yueyue was somewhat surprised because her mother was in poor mental condition, and she never dared to ask her mother about her past, so she rarely heard her mother mention old friends.
The friends who came to visit her mother must be very close. Hearing her mother's happy tone, Gu Yueyue smiled too.
"Mom, what's his name? Maybe I know him." Gu Yueyue asked with a smile, a hint of anticipation in her voice. She had never heard of any of her mother's friends' children being in the entertainment industry.
Gu's mother: "Qiao Yuanbin. Do you know him? I heard he's really famous now, a big star."
Gu Yueyue's smile froze on her face. When she heard that name, her mind went blank, and she couldn't help but ask again:
"Who did you say it was?"
Mrs. Gu said, enunciating each word clearly: "Qiao, Yuan, Bin. The polite Qiao Yuanbin."
"..." Gu Yueyue tried to move the corners of her mouth, but found that she couldn't move them and couldn't smile.
They're not just colleagues, they're from the same company, and they almost became a couple.
Gu Yueyue couldn't help but shudder when she thought of all the gossip and rumors that Ono had told her back then.
Gu's mother also noticed that her expression was off, and thought that there might be some conflicts within the same circle.
Gu's mother then changed her tune, saying, "Have you already met him? Don't you like him? It's okay. I have an old classmate who was my roommate back then. Her son is also a big star. I haven't met him, but my old classmate told me that he is very hardworking, down-to-earth, and ambitious. However, he sometimes neglects his health when he gets busy. I heard that he collapsed from exhaustion a while ago and had to be hospitalized for quite some time."
Gu Yueyue recalled several senior colleagues who had worked themselves to exhaustion and ended up in the hospital, each of whom she greatly admired.
"Mom, what's his name?"
Gu's mother: "Fan Weiwei! Do you know her, she's a peace advocate?"
"..."
We know each other very well; she even personally took the person to the hospital.