Ma Youcai's serious expression and cold tone made Gu Yueyue feel uneasy. She asked Ma Youcai what it was.
Ma Youcai remained silent for a long time before slowly speaking: "Raising a ghost child."
"..."
Gu Yueyue suddenly realized that coming to talk to Ma Youcai about this was the worst mistake she had made this year.
"There are no ghosts or monsters in this world." Gu Yueyue was a staunch materialist.
Ma Youcai pulled her aside and, in the study where they were alone, acting suspiciously as if he knew everything was overheard, whispered in her ear, "Don't you believe me? I won't go into details. Let me tell you about Fan Weiwei. Do you know why he suddenly can't get an erection?"
"..."
"How would I know?" Gu Yueyue was stunned by his question, and said with a wry smile, "I shouldn't know this kind of thing either."
She felt that Ma Youcai was particularly outrageous today.
Ma Youcai: "I'll show you a video and you'll understand."
Ma Youcai opened a saved message for Gu Yueyue to see. It was from a feng shui and metaphysics blogger analyzing Fan Weiwei's fortune. The previous analyses were quite good, but in the latest one, the blogger looked at a recent photo of Fan Weiwei, mumbled a few words, then frowned and started making divinations with his fingers and shaking the divination sticks. In the end, he put away his divination tools and stopped.
The viewers of the live stream were all urging him to listen to the rest of the story.
The blogger said meaningfully, "I've offended a master; disaster is imminent, disaster is imminent."
After the video finished playing, Ma Youcai said to Gu Yueyue in a serious tone, "Did you see that? Was it accurate?"
"...It didn't say anything, did it?" Gu Yueyue watched the video again, but still couldn't find any important information revealed by the blogger in the video.
Ma Youcai found another article, published by the same blogger.
"Take another look at this."
Gu Yueyue read it carefully. It was the blogger's explanation for suddenly ending his last live stream, and it also mentioned that Fan Weiwei was being harassed by a lustful man.
The text then goes on to provide a more detailed explanation of the "hunger demon."
Gu Yueyue felt a chill run down her spine. She handed the phone back to Ma Youcai, coughed lightly twice to clear her throat, and also to bolster her courage.
"There's absolutely no basis for this. Judging from Fan Weiwei's chaotic private life, it was only a matter of time before he started lying. This person's claims are too sensational; it's just a publicity stunt."
Gu Yueyue didn't believe him, but Ma Youcai put away his phone and chuckled, "If you don't believe me, then forget it. Anyway, I can't think of anything else."
Gu Yueyue also realized that coming to see Ma Youcai today was a mistake.
"Are you leaving?" Ma Youcai asked as she picked up her bag and stood up.
Gu Yueyue sighed. She had been busy all day and now all she wanted to do was go home and rest.
"I have to go back. There are only three days left until the first round of elimination matches. Fan Weiwei is gone, and Yuan Beidu has taken leave again. It's just me and Xia Lan left. If I don't go back soon, Xia Lan will be under too much pressure."
Ma Youcai laughed at her, "You're always trying to be a nice person. Everyone else knows to ask for leave when they have something to do, but you just stubbornly hold on when you have something to do."
Gu Yueyue smiled but didn't reply. She picked up her bag and was about to go back when Ma Youcai stopped her again. "Don't go yet, it won't make a difference. Your sister-in-law has gone to buy groceries. I'll drive you home after dinner."
"No need, no need, it's no trouble for you, sister-in-law. It won't interfere with your drinking tonight either." Gu Yueyue wanted to go back right now. Old Ma was away all year round, and it was only a rare opportunity for him to come back. It was really unreasonable for her to be a third wheel and interrupt the couple's time together.
Gu Yueyue came out of the study just as Sister Ma returned from buying groceries.
"What's wrong? Are you leaving?" Sister Ma stopped her. She was clearly a kind woman, but her attitude of inviting Gu Yueyue to stay for dinner made her seem like a ruthless bandit. "No way, I've already bought the groceries. You've come all this way, you have to stay and have dinner before you leave, so you can try my cooking."
Ma Youcai chimed in, and the two of them worked together to get Gu Yueyue to sit on the sofa. They turned on the TV for her, washed and cut fruit, arranged it on a plate, and then went to the kitchen to prepare dinner.
Gu Yueyue had no choice but to stay and watch the noisy TV program, but she envied Ma Youcai and his wife for their harmonious relationship and their ability to talk and laugh together.
Gu Yueyue sighed softly. When would she be able to have a home of her own, a decent home with the warmth of everyday life?
She hesitated for a long time before taking out her phone and going to the balcony to call her mother's attending physician.
When she came out from the balcony, Ma Youcai was already carrying plates of food to the table.
"Xiaoyue, come and eat!" Aunt Ma called to her from the dining room. Gu Yueyue put away her phone and went over.
When the couple saw that her eyes were red, Ma's wife asked her worriedly, "What's wrong? Why are you crying? What happened?"
"It's nothing. I called my mom." Gu Yueyue told the truth so they wouldn't worry.
Upon hearing this, Old Ma and his wife both sighed. Old Ma's wife served her a bowl of soup and changed the subject, "Well, let's eat first. Chinese food, no matter what it is, tastes best when it's hot. Quickly try it and see if your cooking skills have improved."
Ma Youcai grinned and joked, "What cooking skills do you have? I cooked four out of six dishes, and the other two were cooked dishes brought back from outside."
"Then you shouldn't drink this soup!"
"No way, I'm really craving your soup. Quickly get me a bowl. I've been thinking about your nourishing soup every day on set. I can't work without it."
"That's because you're too weak. You stay up late every day and drink alcohol with every meal. You need to replenish your energy. Drink more. Xiaoyue, you drink too. Don't be shy with your sister-in-law." Sister-in-law Ma was very enthusiastic and urged Gu Yueyue to drink the soup. She also explained, "This soup is very nourishing. My mother taught me how to make it. It makes men more energetic and women more energized."
Gu Yueyue's thoughts were diverted by the two of them, and she forgot about the phone call on the balcony. She drank the soup cooked by Sister Ma, ate the dishes cooked by Ma Youcai, and chatted with the couple. Time passed quickly.
Sister-in-law Ma wanted Gu Yueyue to stay overnight.
"It's already this late, and there are plenty of rooms at home. It's not too late to go back tomorrow morning."
Gu Yueyue declined, saying that she had already eaten dinner and it wouldn't be appropriate for her to stay any longer.
"I still have work to do. I have a mission first thing tomorrow morning, so I have to go back." Gu Yueyue wasn't exactly lying. There was indeed a mission tomorrow morning where she would lead the trainees to take photos at the base for documentation. After all, this was a talent show that leaned towards variety shows, and they couldn't just let the audience watch them train every day. They also needed to do something else and try to get the trainees to interact with the mentors as much as possible.
Seeing that she couldn't keep her, Sister-in-law Ma told Ma Youcai to hurry up and send her back so that everyone could get some rest sooner.
On the way, Gu Yueyue closed her eyes to rest, while Ma Youcai hummed an off-key tune.
While waiting at a red light, Ma Youcai suddenly brought up the previous topic, "Xiaoyue, I've thought of another possibility."
"Huh?" Gu Yueyue was almost dozing off when he woke her up. She looked at him with a blank expression. "What?"
"Do you think it could be schizophrenia?" Ma Youcai spoke seriously about the symptoms of schizophrenia, and then suggested to Gu Yueyue, "I suggest you take Xiao Xu to the hospital for a checkup."
Gu Yueyue didn't notice the way he addressed her, and her brows furrowed slightly. "She seems perfectly normal."
"Of course she's normal when she's not having an attack. But what you described doesn't sound like something a normal person would do. I can see you care so much about that child; you won't feel at ease until you get to the bottom of things. Why don't you find an opportunity to take her to the hospital for a checkup? I think Xiao Xu is a pretty good child. If something really happens to her, I'll be very worried for her. You should find an opportunity to take her to see a doctor."
Gu Yueyue then realized that Ma Youcai already knew who she was talking about. Gu Yueyue's face flushed slightly, and she chuckled awkwardly, "How did you guess?"
"Isn't that easy? In all these years, I've never seen you be that close to anyone. You're so attentive. I knew your intentions were special from the moment you asked me to help take care of her."
"..." Gu Yueyue herself didn't think that she had any unusual intentions. She just thought that she wanted to help the young people who were having a hard time in the industry and that their lives were difficult. Why did Ma Youcai, Xiao Ye and even Liu Dai think that she wanted to do something?
Ma Youcai parked the car and said to her with a smile, "Okay, we're here. Get out quickly. You haven't seen her all day, haven't you missed her?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? It's really nothing." Gu Yueyue was both amused and exasperated. Old Ma just knew how to tease her and he wouldn't stop.
But... I do kind of want to see her. I wonder if she's still feeling unwell today after all that fuss last night.
Realizing she was overthinking things, Gu Yueyue quickly pulled herself out of her chaotic thoughts and quickened her pace toward her dormitory. However, halfway there, she turned a corner and headed toward Xu Yi's dormitory.
I'm still a little worried, so I'll go check it out.
A note from the author:
You wouldn't believe it! I've added another chapter! I'll still be updating as usual at 9 PM tonight.
Are you happy or not? Are you joyful or not?
Haha, thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 12:33:52 and 15:41:15 on December 29, 2021!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: 2 bottles from a place farther than the universe; 1 bottle;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter Thirty-Two
After Xiaobao finished eating, Xu Yi carried her to the bathroom to give her a bath.
"I want to wash myself!" The little rascal, despite his young age, already knew how to be shy and refused Xu Yi's help.
Xu Yi frowned. "Can you do it?" After all, the little guy looked only three or four years old. When he stood up, he was only a little taller than the bathtub. She didn't even know if he could reach the hot and cold water switch if he stood on tiptoe.
"Yes!" she puffed out her small chest, as if that would prove she really could do it.
Xu Yi sighed and let her go to the bathroom by herself, saying, "Go ahead. I'll find you a clean bathrobe."
Bao Xiaoxiao went to the bathroom, and after a while she started calling for Xu Yi, "Mother! Come here! Xu Yi, Xu Yi... blockhead!"
"What's wrong?" Xu Yi finally came over after calling out "Wooden Head" one last time.
Actually, she heard me call her 'Mother', but she didn't react immediately. It was a very pleasant and sudden feeling.
Bao Xiaoxiao stood under the showerhead, looking at Xu Yi with a pitiful expression, "I can't reach it!"
"Pfft." Xu Yi couldn't help but laugh out loud. "I already told you I would help you, but you insisted on being stubborn."
Xu Yi helped her turn on the water, adjusted the water temperature, and was about to help her wash with a towel when the little one became unhappy and urged Xu Yi to leave quickly.
"Okay, okay, stop refusing. Go ahead and shower. Call me if you need anything." Xu Yi closed the bathroom door and left.
Xu Yi took out a clean bathrobe for Bao Xiaoxiao, folded it neatly, and placed it on the bed, waiting for the little one to finish her bath before wrapping her in it.
The doorbell rang rhythmically, "Ding-dong, ding-dong."
Xu Yi needed to use her divine sense to repair her broken meridians, so she couldn't use it for the time being. Upon hearing the knocking, she ruled out Zhang Ya as the likely candidate.
She peeked through the peephole and saw that the person who came in was Miss Gu.
Xu Yi opened the door without thinking much about it, only to remember that Bao Xiaoxiao was still taking a bath in the bathroom.
"Ah, Teacher Gu... what brings you here?" Xu Yi opened the door, but didn't dare let her in directly. Xiao Xiao was taking a bath, and naturally, she had taken off her invisibility talisman. If she were discovered, it would seem a bit unreasonable.
Xu Yi, instead of warmly inviting her inside as before, stopped her at the door. Gu Yueyue found it a bit strange and smiled, "Aren't you going to invite me in for a bit?"
"Oh? Teacher Gu, it's not convenient..." Xu Yi quickly came up with a good idea, "There's no water in my teammate's room, so they can take a shower here."
Gu Yueyue is currently a straight woman. They're all girls, so there's no problem with them showering together, right? But she quickly thought of the legalization of same-sex marriage and suddenly realized.
Xu Yi asked her, "Teacher Gu, what brings you here?"
"It's nothing. I was just worried about your health, so I came to check on you. How are you feeling today?"
Xu Yi felt a surge of warmth in her heart. If she weren't afraid of exposing Bao Xiaoxiao, she would definitely have invited Miss Gu into the house and spent more time with her.
"I'm fine. It's just that training was a little tiring today." Xu Yi was telling the truth, and the fatigue on her face was obvious.
Gu Yueyue understood and advised her, "Take good care of your health. A young person's greatest asset is their healthy and energetic body, so you must take good care of yourself."
"Thank you, Teacher Gu. I will."