When Gu Mian reappeared in the living room, his face still wore that gratified smile.
As soon as he returned, he saw Fatty crouched on the sofa checking the ga announcents, mumbling sothing like, "Why hasn't there been an announcent yet?" and "When will the Doctor co out?"
By this ti, the sun was already slanting westward, and the uncollected clay pot and bowls still sat on the coffee table in the living room.
Gu Mian gave them a cursory glance and found that the clay pot contained chicken stewed with mushrooms, which was exactly what Fatty and the others had for lunch.
The first one to notice Gu Mian's return was Xiao Hong.
She was sitting on the windowsill, sipping lychee soda with relish. Upon seeing Gu Mian return, she imdiately disregarded the soda in her hand, casually tossed the half-empty can out the window with a flick of her wrist, and scrambled over to him.
She ran to Gu Mian and nuzzled against him for a while, then the little ghost climbed onto Gu Mian's back, finally plopping her head down and gnawing at his skull.
Gu Mian: "..."
What a horrifying image, yet at this mont, he actually felt sowhat warm.
Fatty also noticed Xiao Hong's movents. He tore his gaze from the announcent panel and looked up to see Gu Mian, who had just stepped out of the ga instance.
"Doctor!" Fatty exclaid joyfully. "You're finally out. I was just wondering when you would be out..."
As Fatty spoke, Gu Mian felt another weight settle on his body.
Turning his head, he saw Brother Chu, who had just crawled out of the DVD, trying to pull Xiao Hong off him.
Imdiately, he felt Xiao Hong gnawing harder.
However, the delicate Xiao Hong ultimately lost to Brother Chu. She was forcibly yanked off Gu Mian, her face filled with sorrow.
"Speaking of which, there seems to be no announcent this ti," Fatty turned his attention back to his ga panel. "Has the Doctor finally decided to change his ways and be a good person?"
As if in response to his words, a new ssage imdiately appeared on the previously empty announcent panel—
[Instance Downti Announcent]
[Dear players, as of 18:22 on August 5th, the professional instance "Circus of Love and Justice" is temporarily down for maintenance due to data damage and NPC casualties. Reopening ti is unknown.]
[We apologize for any inconvenience caused.]
"Ah," Fatty, his mind full of potential compensation, muttered, "It seems they didn't ntion any compensation. Doctor, did you leave the instance before it crashed?"
Indeed, Gu Mian nodded, "The people in the instance were very enthusiastic, and I had a great ti there. They were reluctant to see leave."
He had even used the last ten seconds to play a fun ga with everyone in the instance. Everyone had a blast, and the host tearfully bid him farewell, his face filled with the expectation of "Co again next ti."
Fatty nodded thoughtfully, "No wonder the instance is nad 'Circus of Love and Justice.' It turns out all the NPCs inside are filled with love and justice. Next ti, I want to check it out too!"
"By the way, Doctor," Fatty thought of sothing and asked, "did you et the advanced NPC in this instance?"
He had indeed t them, but...
Gu Mian looked up, his gaze searching for sothing in the room.
Soon, he found who he was looking for.
Chu Changge was sitting on the edge of the bed, flipping through a book of so sort. Sensing Gu Mian's gaze on him, he looked up and t Gu Mian's eyes for a few seconds before lowering his head to continue reading the book on his lap.
Before Fatty could get an answer, he saw Gu Mian stride into the room, grab Chu Changge, who was sitting on the bed, and then drag him out the door.
Chu Changge was dragged away by Gu Mian, his expression unchanging.
Fatty was horrified, "Doctor, let go! That's Brother Chu, not Xiao Hong! You can't just drag him like that!"
Nearby, Xiao Hong, with her tough skin, looked puzzled upon hearing Fatty's words.
As soon as Gu Mian stepped out the door dragging Chu Changge, he ran into Xiao Qiao, who was peeking around the door stealthily.
Seeing Gu Mian return, Xiao Qiao, at the door, first widened her eyes slightly in joy, then widened them again, feigning restraint.
Then she spoke in a restrained tone, "I would like to eat Xiao Qiao's mushroom stew again."
Gu Mian: "..."
Xiao Qiao's mushroom stew? It seed she had co to freeload lunch and was now reminiscing about it.
Gu Mian thought for a mont, then reached out and grabbed the stealthy Xiao Qiao at the door. With one person in each hand, he walked away.
Fatty rushed to the door and anxiously watched the three of them leave.
Chu Changge remained expressionless as ever, occasionally adjusting his glasses that slid down due to the jolting.
And Xiao Qiao stopped shouting her usual "Xiao Qiao's Mushroom Stew." She was compliantly being dragged along by Gu Mian, her usually unexpressive face surprisingly showing signs of enjoynt.
Fatty took a step back as he saw Xiao Qiao's expression of enjoynt. "Miss Xiao Qiao can't possibly be a masochist..."
The Fortune-teller was relishing the blissful evening in her room when she was startled by abrupt POUNDING on the door.
She jumped in fright. "No way, there can't possibly be burglars at this hour."
She grabbed a kitchen knife, went to the door, and peeked outside through the peephole.
Oh, it's Gu Mian. And he's dragging two others... What do they want?
After recognizing the people outside, the Fortune-teller wiped the knife on her clothes, then extended a hand to open the door. She greeted them with a warm smile, "Ah, I was just preparing dinner. What brings you here?"
Gu Mian walked through the door, dragging a person in each hand. He looked at the knife-wielding Fortune-teller. "You tell fortunes, right?"
His comnt reminded her of the fortune-tellers under the overpass.
I'm a Fortune-teller, not a charlatan!
And even if she could tell fortunes, she wouldn't dare do it for Gu Mian.
She still vividly rembered the exploded Crystal Ball from the Sweet Lovers instance—that was the consequence of telling Gu Mian's fortune.
A lesson learned in blood and tears.
It's worth ntioning that after that incident, she began learning less dangerous divination thods like Card Divination and Pendulum Divination, as at least the explosions from these would be less destructive.
Seeing what the Fortune-teller was thinking, Gu Mian said, "Not for ."
"For him." As he spoke, he raised one hand. Chu Changge, who was slightly lifted by Gu Mian's gesture, reached up and adjusted his glasses in front of the Fortune-teller.
"And for her." Gu Mian lifted his other hand. Xiao Qiao, thus singled out, chuckled goofily at the Fortune-teller.
Fortune-teller: "..."
Although these two weren't exactly normal either, it was still much better than telling Gu Mian's fortune.
"Okay, okay." The Fortune-teller glanced at Chu Changge, held by Gu Mian, and then at Xiao Qiao. "You can let go of them now. I can't do my best with you dragging them like this."
Eventually, the Fortune-teller chose the safer thod of drawing lots. That way, even if the lot container exploded, it would only result in wooden splinters flying around, which was much better than shattered glass.
Chu Changge and Xiao Qiao each held a wooden bucket filled with lots, much like the kind used in TV dramas for praying and seeking guidance.
"I am still young," the Fortune-teller explained her lack of expertise. "I haven't been a Fortune-teller for long, and my full potential has not yet been unleashed. I can only predict things like good or bad luck... but I am very talented. It's just a matter of ti..."
"Yes, yes, I understand," Gu Mian interrupted perfunctorily. "The future has great prospects."
Fortune-teller: "..."
At that mont, Chu Changge and Xiao Qiao sat across the table, each holding a wooden bucket, looking sowhat comical.
Gu Mian had never imagined Chu Changge praying or drawing lots before; today, he got an eyeful.
Chu Changge was shaking his bucket, his blank expression seeming to say, "I don't believe in this stuff," yet he obediently went through the motions.
Xiao Qiao's thod was a bit more violent; the wooden sticks in her bucket made a loud CLATTERING sound. Gu Mian turned his head away, genuinely afraid she might shake the bucket apart.
"I heard you went into an instance this morning and should have just co out. What happened that made you rush them here for a fortune-telling?" The Fortune-teller sensed sothing.
Gu Mian looked at the two people shaking their lots in front of him. "I discovered sothing in the instance earlier today. I have a theory, and I ca here to verify it."
A theory? The Fortune-teller was a bit puzzled.
Just then, a stick fell onto the table. Gu Mian looked up; it had co from Chu Changge's bucket.
The Fortune-teller imdiately took the stick from the table. After seeing what was on it, her expression changed, and she gave Gu Mian an odd look.
Then, with a CLACK, Xiao Qiao's stick also fell out.
The Fortune-teller picked it up and took a look. Her expression beca even more peculiar.
"Well?" Gu Mian also saw their sticks, but they were inscribed with strange symbols he couldn't understand.
The Fortune-teller hesitated for a mont. "About these lots, there's sothing I need to discuss with you in private."
Her tone was like that of a doctor who had discovered a terminal illness in a patient and needed to speak privately with the family.
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