Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 52
Ma Youcai arrived quickly, bringing two bottles of wine and a box of peanuts.
Xu Yi opened the door for him.
As soon as Ma Youcai entered, he clicked his tongue and said, "This place isn't cheap. Xiaoyue, you've really gone all out."
Gu Yueyue was setting the table when she heard Ma Youcai's words. She leaned halfway out of the dining room and said with a wry smile, "The security here is quite good."
"It's quite strong. When I arrived, I was caught and questioned several times." Ma Youcai put down the wine and peanuts, and laughed, "Your sister-in-law went back to her parents' home today, otherwise she would have liked to come along. She asked me to bring two bottles of wine to wish Xiao Xu a happy new home and good luck."
Xu Yi went to get the newly bought wine glasses and thanked him, "Thank you, Director Ma."
After a while, Ma Youcai answered a phone call and came back with a smile, asking Xu Yi, "Don't you mind if I invite another friend over? They're all acquaintances, so we can have a lively time together."
Xu Yi looked at Gu Yueyue, who then asked Ma Youcai, "Who is it?"
"Our film crew's martial arts director, Liu Bai."
They did know each other and had a good relationship. When Gu Yueyue first entered the entertainment industry, she took on an action movie. Liu Bai was the one who trained her. At first, Liu Bai didn't think much of her, but after spending more time together, they became familiar with each other. Liu Bai could see that she wasn't afraid of hardship and worked harder than his own daughter when it came to training. So he paid more attention to guiding her.
"Xiao Xu, you don't mind, do you?" Gu Yueyue asked Xu Yi. Xu Yi basically knew her plan and smiled, "It's good to have more people, it'll be more lively."
Liu Bai arrived quickly and told Ma Youcai to go downstairs and help him move things.
A short while later, the two came up carrying lucky bamboo and a money tree.
Exhausted, Ma Youcai slumped onto the sofa, panting. "Hey Lao Liu, why don't we just buy a pair? Are you obsessed with money?"
Liu Bai smiled and said, "You don't understand. I'm here to pay my daughter's tuition."
Liu Bai mentioned that his daughter, Liu Wenxin, was learning Xu Yi's swordsmanship at home. He said that it was shameful to learn someone else's skills without permission, even if Xu Yi's swordsmanship was adapted into an artistic sword dance.
For those who practice martial arts, this is genuine skill, and it cannot be easily learned.
Besides bringing this gift today to clear things up, he also had another purpose: he wanted Xu Yi to go to the Liu Family Sword Shop and show off his skills to the disciples.
Xu Yi glanced at Gu Yueyue again. Ma Youcai noticed her little gesture and laughed, "Coach Liu asked you a question. Why are you staring at her? The contract hasn't even been signed yet, and you're already obeying the boss's orders?"
He teased them again, and Xu Yi felt a little embarrassed, but she really didn't know what to do about it. She remained silent, looking at Gu Yueyue and waiting for her decision.
"Teacher Liu, is it just for the disciples to practice a section?" Gu Yueyue did not readily agree, but instead asked Liu Bai for details. Liu Bai came today to see if Xu Yi had any inheritance. Usually, such talented people have family inheritances, but he had never heard of any family with such powerful swordsmanship, so he came to investigate.
If it weren't for the family tradition, Xu Yi's exceptional skills would likely have been buried. He wanted to bring people to the Liu family's sword shop. Their Liu family's swordsmanship has been passed down for hundreds of years, but he himself lacked the skills to learn the essence of the art. His daughter, Liu Wenxin, was eager to learn, but she was a sword fanatic and learned the techniques too rigidly.
“I was thinking that if Xiao Xu is willing to come, we will pass on our Liu family swordsmanship to her. She can just be registered in our Liu family and won’t have to do anything. She can just represent our Liu family in any major competitions.”
Gu Yueyue didn't understand the rules of their martial arts world, so this time it was Gu Yueyue's turn to look at Xu Yi and let her make her own decision.
"I have my own sect, so it's inconvenient for me to join the Liu family's sword sect." Xu Yi refused. She could help, but she couldn't use the name of Liu's disciple. She only had one sect, the Cangyun Sect, and only one master.
"Sigh, I was too presumptuous." Liu Bai wasn't too disappointed. He hadn't expected much before coming; he was just trying his luck.
Ono came out of the kitchen and told everyone to wash their hands quickly, asking Xu Yi to help her take the dishes out.
Xu Yi came into the kitchen, and Xiao Ye secretly asked her, "What's going on? Where did Liu Bai tell you to go?"
Xu Yi explained it to her briefly again, and Xiao Ye breathed a sigh of relief. "Well done. You're going to be a triple-threat star in film, television, and music. You can't just take on side jobs casually."
Xu Yi was stunned for a moment, then asked her, "Did Teacher Gu say that?"
"No, I said it. Don't worry, I'll definitely make you famous!" Ono was full of ambition; though he was in the small kitchen, his mind was already on the international stage.
"Oh. What are Teacher Gu's plans for me?" Xu Yi didn't care much about what Xiao Ye said. She didn't have any ambition to become a big star. Right now, she just wanted to make some money and get over her love tribulation as soon as possible.
"Sister Yue has to listen to me too. Once the studio is established, I will be the only manager in our team. As artists, all your work will have to go through me."
Xu Yi was surprised by how much power Xiao Ye wielded, and her understanding of Xiao Ye was completely refreshed.
"And now? Isn't Teacher Gu's work arranged by you?" Xu Yi was quite curious about this, because Gu Yueyue seemed really busy. From the occasional spiritual messages Xiao Xiao sent her, it seemed that Miss Gu's sleep time was being squeezed out for work.
At first, she and Xiaoxiao both felt that Miss Gu was too career-minded and couldn't help but sigh that the outstanding head of the Gu family could quickly find his own direction and strive to become the best person, no matter what era he was in.
Now it seems that she and Xiaoxiao were both wrong.
Miss Gu seems to be in a situation where she has no control over her own destiny.
When Ono heard her ask that question, he immediately gave her a brief explanation of Hongsheng, a lousy company that didn't do human affairs.
What could have been explained in a few words took Ono five or six minutes to finish, and he finally let out a long sigh.
"Now you know our predicament, right? Sister Yue is timid. If we hadn't promised to help promote Zheng Wan, the company would have arranged for her to film a horror movie."
Xu Yi looked puzzled and asked Xiao Ye again, "Can't we terminate the contract?"
"Sure. But back then, Sister Yue desperately needed money, so she hastily signed with Hongsheng, which offered the highest price. Little did she know that it was full of unfair terms that preyed on newcomers. Now, it's very troublesome to terminate the contract early. The termination fee alone is giving Sister Yue a headache."
At this point, Ono couldn't help but sigh deeply again: "What's more, Sister Yue has to take care of her mother and prepare for the studio. There are expenses everywhere, so every penny saved is a penny earned. She can only suffer a little for now, but thankfully it will be over in a little over four months."
After saying that, Ono let out a long sigh of relief and hummed a little tune happily.
Xu Yi couldn't be happy, and she remained silent until dinner time.
Ma Youcai and Liu Bai wanted to drink, so they sat close together. Xiao Ye, her mother, and the nanny lined up in a row, while Gu Yueyue sat next to Xu Yi with Xiao Xiao.
Gu Yueyue was worried that Xu Yi would be shy and timid in front of so many unfamiliar people, but Xu Yi didn't seem uncomfortable at all. After the food was served and Ma Youcai poured a glass of wine for each of them, Xu Yi started to eat in silence.
Xu Yi picked up the wine in front of her and drank it all in one gulp after she had finished half a bowl of rice and food.
No one else noticed this action except for Gu Yueyue, who was paying attention to her movements from time to time.
"Hey, don't..." Gu Yueyue wanted to tell her not to drink so fast. This was a bottle of baijiu that Ma Youcai treasured. It had a high alcohol content and a strong aftereffect, and it was easy to get drunk.
Before she could finish her words of protest, Xu Yi had already put down her empty wine glass. She looked up at Gu Yueyue and saw worry in Gu Yueyue's eyes. Xu Yi put on a silly smile and said, "It's delicious."
"Hahaha." Ma Youcai had looked over when Gu Yueyue spoke. He had witnessed Xiao Xu's hearty drinking and heard her say that the wine was delicious. He immediately perked up and stood up to pour Xu Yi another glass. "Xiao Xu has good taste. Come on, it's good that you can drink. If you can drink, let's drink more."
Xu Yi smiled, picked up her wine glass, and took another sip.
Gu Yueyue was both angry and amused. She advised Ma Youcai, "Xiao Xu is so young, Director Ma, please stop causing trouble with her."
Ma Youcai patted Liu Bai on the shoulder, pointed at Gu Yueyue and Xu Yi, and laughed, "Look, look. They're protecting each other now." He then asked Gu Yueyue, "Why didn't you persuade Xiao Xu not to drink? What's the use of persuading me? Xiao Xu wants to drink it herself."
Hearing her words, Gu Yueyue looked at Xu Yi, who was reaching for Ma Youcai's empty wine glass, and sighed helplessly. She chuckled and said, "Alright, Xu is moving to a new house today, she's happy, let her have a drink. After all, she's at home, nothing serious will happen."
After Gu Yueyue finished speaking, she started serving food to Xu Yi and whispered to her to eat more.
Xu Yi could hardly remember the last time she was drunk, but now she wanted to get drunk again. Without using her spiritual power to neutralize the effects of the alcohol, the strong liquor brought by Ma Youcai easily made her drunk.
As the intoxication gradually took hold, Gu Yueyue picked up another piece of food for her with her chopsticks. Just as she handed it to her, Xu Yi suddenly grabbed her wrist, her voice filled with grievance, and asked, "Why aren't you feeding me?"
"..."
All eyes turned to them. Gu Yueyue awkwardly tried to pull her hand back, but Xu Yi held it even tighter.
Gu Yueyue didn't know how to explain. She wanted to say that she had never fed Xiao Xu, but would these people believe her?
Obviously, Ma Youcai, who always liked to stir up trouble, was the first to not believe it.
"Oh my, you're already this close in private? You're not treating us like outsiders today, are you?" Ma Youcai laughed and poured Xu Yi another glass of wine, then said to Gu Yueyue with great enthusiasm, "Don't be shy, we're all family, just act like you normally would in private. Hurry up and feed the child. Look at her pitiful state."
Xu Yi stared longingly at Gu Yueyue, her mouth slightly open, obediently waiting to be fed.
Gu Yueyue's face was burning hot. She pulled her wrist away from Xu Yi's hand, but still put the chopsticks into Xu Yi's bowl and placed the small piece of meat in.
Xu Yi pouted, looking rather unhappy.
As the alcohol slowly took effect, it brought back a flood of fragmented memories. She remembered that the last time she drank, Miss Gu had personally fed her.
She was ordered by her master to go to the Hehuan Sect to find her third junior sister and bring her back to the Cangyun Sect. However, she was bewitched by the Hehuan Sect's holy maiden and almost got herself killed instead of finding her third junior sister.
Unable to find her third junior sister, she dared not return to the sect alone, nor dared to trespass into the Hehuan Sect again, so she sought refuge with the Gu family head.
That day, Miss Gu tied her up, threw her on the bed, pried open her lips and teeth and fed her a mouthful of wine. She couldn't hold her liquor and was drunk for several days before she woke up.
"Waaah~ You're not feeding me anymore." Xu Yi shook her head, looking as aggrieved as a young girl experiencing first love who had been deceived.
Gu Yueyue didn't expect that she was still feeling wronged. She even tilted her head and squeezed out a small spot, leaning against her shoulder.
Gu Yueyue knew that when people feel wronged, they cry and feel even more wronged, especially when others offer a little warmth and help. At that time, the feeling of being wronged feels like the sky is about to fall.
So she didn't push Xu Yi away, and let her lean on her shoulder to cry.
Ma Youcai laughed so hard he could hardly breathe, jokingly saying, "Yueyue, hurry up and feed the baby. Look how much he's crying."
A note from the author:
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2022-01-14 20:08:48 and 2022-01-15 20:55:13!
Thank you to the little angel who threw the landmine: 燯清 (1 landmine);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 53
Xu Yi squeezed out of Xiao Xiao and nestled against Gu Yueyue, half of her body being embraced by Gu Yueyue. Xu Yi was so drunk that she was unconscious, while Gu Yueyue had to awkwardly deal with the busybody Ma Youcai, and Xiao Ye, who was smiling and holding her face in her hands.
Gu Yueyue felt a chill run down her spine and straightened Xu Yi's body.
When Ms. Zhao, Xiao Ye's mother, saw that Xu Yi was drunk, she quickly got up and busied herself: "This won't do. How could you drink so much? Young people need to take care of their health. Quickly make some hangover soup for him to drink."
"Sister Zhao, please sit down, I'll take care of it." The nanny quickly went to the kitchen.
Xu Yi reached out and encircled Gu Yueyue's slender, fair neck. His moist, hot breath escaped from his nose, causing Gu Yueyue to feel slightly uncomfortable and her body to tense up.
They were so close that it felt as if they could hear each other's tangled heartbeats amidst the chaotic dinner party.
Gu Yueyue sighed helplessly, picked up some food with the serving chopsticks, and gently moved the hand that had been supporting Xu Yi, patting Xu Yi's back lightly, "Okay, stop fooling around. I'll feed you, eat up."
Hopefully, they'll stop making a fuss after they eat.
Xu Yi glanced at it; it was different from the last time she was fed. But since it was Miss Gu who fed her personally, she didn't hesitate to bite into the vegetable.
After she took a bite of food, she indeed quieted down a lot.
Xu Yi pulled away from Gu Yueyue's embrace, but still clung tightly to her. She reached out and hugged Gu Yueyue's arm, "Are you still angry with me?"
"No." Gu Yueyue knew she was drunk and talking nonsense, after all, she had never been angry with her.