"Hello, my name is Mu Xiaofei. Thank you for saving me!"
"I didn't save you!" Gu Xiaoxi, faced with Mu Xiaofei's gratefulness, didn't even glance her way, crossed her legs, and lay back against the tree trunk to sleep.
Mu Xiaofei's expression stiffened before she realized and a touch of emotion showed in her eyes. Before, she had hated this unfair world, thinking that besides greed and evil, there was nothing else in human nature.
Although Gu Xiaoxi did not essentially help her, at that moment, the fact that she had saved her was indisputable.
"Regardless, I still want to thank you," said Mu Xiaofei. She lifted her eyes to look up at Gu Xiaoxi, who was lying on the tree branch, trying to see her more clearly.
The girl's aura had always been faint, distant. Through the fine gaps between the leaves, bits of moonlight filtered down, shining on her jet-black hair, bestowing her with an aura of mysterious beauty.
"Gurgle!"
Suddenly, the sound of hunger broke the beauty and quiet of the moment.
Gu Xiaoxi flipped over, her body smoothly drifting down to the ground.
"Got any money?" she asked, leaning forward.
Ah! Mu Xiaofei, still not recovered from witnessing her astonishing agility, nodded instinctively.
"Treat me to a hamburger!" Gu Xiaoxi said.
"Oh! Okay..." Mu Xiaofei's cheeks flushed, thinking Gu Xiaoxi must have seen how poor she was. That's why she only asked for a hamburger.
And that's all she could afford, just one hamburger.
KFC
Gu Xiaoxi stared at the hamburger in front of her, feeling an ineffable melancholy. When her mother was alive, she never let her eat such junk food.
Now, clearly, having something to eat wasn't bad at all.
The reason she bought a hamburger was that, in her memory, it should be the cheapest food available, twenty-five yuan, enough to fill you up.
Who asked her to have a world's best mother who pampered her from a young age?
Gu Xiaoxi was about to bite into the hamburger when the sound of Mu Xiaofei swallowing her saliva made her stop her eating motion.
She examined Mu Xiaofei, whose clothes were old yet clean, a standard oval face, unusually pretty, standing gracefully and smart as a whip. At that moment, she gazed at the hamburger in her hand as if she were hungrier than Gu Xiaoxi.
"Are you hungry too?" Gu Xiaoxi asked.
Mu Xiaofei's cheeks colored again, and she quickly shook her head, embarrassedly saying, "My mother has never had one before, could you share some with me? I want her to try what's called foreign cuisine. ...Ah, because this twenty-five yuan is my last bit of money, I won't get paid until next Monday... "
"Have you ever eaten one?" Gu Xiaoxi asked.
Mu Xiaofei shook her head. For her, a twenty-five yuan hamburger was an extravagant treat. She would rather buy steamed buns for half a yuan.
Gu Xiaoxi decisively split the hamburger in half, "This half is for your mother."
Then she split her half again in two, "Here, this half, half for each of us."
"I don't need it, you're hungry, just you eat," Mu Xiaofei hurriedly declined. But her stomach chose that moment to growl.
Her face turned red with embarrassment once again.
"Idiot! Hold this!" Gu Xiaoxi coldly placed half the hamburger in her hand, feeling an indescribable emotion within.
A sense of confusion, something like pity, almost sorrowful for her…in short, indescribable.
She finished off the hamburger in a few bites, whereas Mu Xiaofei savored it slowly, as if it were some rare treasure.
Gu Xiaoxi sighed, took a beautiful Jade Buddha from around her neck, and placed it in Mu Xiaofei's hand. "Take this, sell it. It's worth at least five million. Pay off the usury, and use the rest for your mother's treatment."
"No, I can't take this..." Mu Xiaofei, scared, immediately pushed the jade back. She had never seen anything so valuable in her life.
"Take it! My family has plenty of these things." Gu Xiaoxi's dark eyes were filled with seriousness, "If we ever meet again, I hope you won't kneel to scum anymore."
Gu Xiaoxi stood up, strode away, and her retreating figure was dazzlingly brilliant.
Mu Xiaofei stiffened all over and stood there dumbfounded, tears suddenly streaming down her face. Watching Gu Xiaoxi's departing back, her heart overflowed with indescribable gratitude.
At the same time, a fiery fighting spirit was burning inside her. If possible, she too wanted to become strong and never be bullied by scum again.
"Gu Xiaoxi, I will never be bullied again." She suddenly stood up and chased after her, swearing loudly behind Gu Xiaoxi.
Gu Xiaoxi turned around and glanced at her. Her eyes were indifferent as she gave her a thumbs up from afar.
It meant: I believe in you!
Mu Xiaofei's eyes reddened, and she split her mouth into a smile, crying and moved, "I'll borrow your stuff for now, and I will definitely return it to you in the future."
Gu Xiaoxi waved her hand at her and disappeared into the night. That delicate figure gave an impression of towering strength.
...
The next day, close to noon.
"You little brat, did you come here to wash dishes or break them? In twenty minutes, you've smashed all my restaurant's dishes. Now, right now, get out of here!"
The restaurant owner was burly and stout, brandishing a broom as he chased an eighteen-year-old girl out.
You've seen it right; that person was Gu Xiaoxi.
She had looked for work at four restaurants that morning and ended up being kicked out of all of them for breaking dishes.
"I'm so hungry!" With her front stuck to her back, Gu Xiaoxi leaned against a camphor tree on the roadside, feeling terribly downhearted. On a whim last night, she had given away the only valuable thing she had.
And now, she was sleeping in the park and washing dishes for food.
The most tragic part was that she hadn't even managed to earn a single piece of bread.
She began to doubt her mother's belief that a daughter should be raised in comfort.
She couldn't even wash dishes properly... to tears!
There was a black luxury car parked ten meters behind Gu Xiaoxi, with Quan Shaoqing sitting inside, watching her with a smile on his lips, "Go and call her over."
Lin Mi's heart was pounding. Their highly respected superior officer had incredulously sneaked out of the hospital behind the doctor's back, just to see Gu Xiaoxi being kicked out by her boss.
He had been following Gu Xiaoxi all morning.
*
"Miss Gu, we meet again." Lin Mi stood in front of Gu Xiaoxi with a beaming smile.
"Yeah! We meet again so soon. Do you need something from me?" Gu Xiaoxi immediately stood up straight, shuffled her shins to appear more spirited. She didn't want to be seen by Young Master Quan in such a sorry state.
"Our superior officer is here, and he wants to see you," Lin Mi said.
*
Opening the door of the black luxury car, Gu Xiaoxi climbed in.
Quan Shaoqing sat inside, wearing a white shirt with the top button casually undone, revealing a glimpse of his solid chest. It made him look less stern and more carefree and tender.
Gu Xiaoxi thought that such a Quan Shaoqing didn't seem very dislikeable. At least, from the outside, he could deceive those with unstable minds, but not her.
"It seems you're not doing very well. Think it over, and come back to me. From now on, I'll take care of your food and lodging. I can be your guardian, and I will not treat you poorly. How about it?" Quan Shaoqing's dark eyes glinted with tenderness, and the smile at the corner of his mouth was rakishly charming.
Looking at that face, the more Gu Xiaoxi looked, the more punchable it seemed, especially the smile. It was just like a cunning old fox, coaxing a naive little lamb to slaughter.