Chapter 104: Don’t Try to Scam Us
Chapter 104: Chapter 104: Don’t Try to Scam Us
The girl she’d bumped into turned around excitedly. "Haven’t you seen what’s trending? Someone saw the Little Water Ghost and the Water Dog here around two in the morning!"
"So now everyone’s rushed over to livestream or wait to see them in person."
After she finished speaking, the girl glanced at Gu Zhao and suddenly felt the person before her looked a little familiar, though she couldn’t quite recall where she’d seen her before.
Gu Zhao thought that sounded a bit familiar.
’Little Water Ghost? Water Dog?’
’Why does that combo sound so much like her and the mastiff?’
Gu Xulin had heard it too. He cast a strange look at Gu Zhao and the dog beside her, whose tail was wagging merrily.
"Do you have a video or a photo?" Gu Xulin asked the girl politely.
"I do! Let me find it for you." The girl looked down, pulling up a video. But just as she was about to hand her phone over, she looked up at him and froze.
"You... you... you..." The girl’s eyes widened, her face alight with joy. "You’re Brother Lin!"
The girl clapped a hand over her mouth in disbelief, trying not to scream.
Gu Xulin felt a bit resigned. ’This damned fame of mine.’
However, the girl’s gaze shot directly to Gu Zhao, her excitement building.
"Then! That means you’re Gu Zhao! Monkey King! I’m one of your soldiers! I’m a huge fan! I’m so, so sorry I didn’t recognize you right away! I could just die!"
"I can’t forgive myself! I’ve decided to punish myself with a late-night snack tonight! I’ll gain a pound to teach myself a lesson!"
Gu Xulin: "..."
’Then again,’ he thought, ’how normal could you expect one of Gu Zhao’s soldiers to be?’
Gu Zhao nodded in admiration. "Now that’s brutal!"
"Can we get a photo together?" the girl asked, looking at Gu Zhao with anticipation.
Gu Zhao would never refuse one of her soldiers. Gu Xulin was naturally relegated to the role of designated photographer.
Even the mastiff managed to squeeze into the shot, but Gu Xulin was left out.
The girl gazed at the photo, completely satisfied. But as she looked at Gu Zhao, she suddenly felt that her outfit was also strikingly familiar.
’It feels like I’ve seen that outfit before, too.’
Meanwhile, Gu Xulin had gotten a look at the photo and video of the "Little Water Ghost" and "Water Dog." He glanced from the phone screen back to Gu Zhao.
’They’re identical!’
’The face is blurry, but that vibe is a dead giveaway!’
’The same complete disregard for their own dignity.’
’What kind of respectable person goes for a midnight swim with their dog?’
The girl remembered, too. She quickly rewatched the video posted by the eyewitness, comparing it to Gu Zhao.
Except that the current Gu Zhao was covered in mud and grass, her hair was messier, and the dog beside her looked a lot more scruffy.
Everything else was a perfect match.
But Gu Zhao saw the crowd of people waiting for the Little Water Ghost, and she decided she couldn’t let them go home disappointed!
The girl and the dog exchanged a look.
Then, as if on cue, they snuck over to a patch of dense reeds, slipped quietly into the water, their coordination so perfect they could have been siblings.
Both Gu Xulin and the fan stared at Gu Zhao, dumbfounded.
The fan subconsciously opened her phone’s camera and started recording, aiming it right at Gu Zhao.
Once in the water, Gu Zhao and the mastiff were like fish back in their element. The mastiff took a deep breath and dove under. Gu Zhao followed suit, and they slowly approached the bank where the crowd was gathered.
"Ooooooh~" With perfect timing, Gu Xulin thoughtfully pulled out his phone and played some fittingly spooky background music.
The crowd jumped at the sound of the music and were just about to start cursing whichever bastard had such a wicked sense of humor.
But then, two heads broke the surface of the water.
"AAAAHHH! THE WATER GHOST AND THE WATER DOG!!" The crowd erupted in screams.
Gu Zhao began to crawl out of the water toward the bank, her disheveled black hair fanning out on the surface. A pair of small, pale hands gripped the edge.
The mastiff, less interested in building atmosphere than Gu Zhao, scrambled directly onto the bank and shook itself dry, splashing water all over the nearby crowd.
Some people yelped and ran, and the mastiff immediately started herding the humans.
’Hehehe, tremble, you mortals!’
Everyone started dodging the Water Dog. The mastiff chased after one person, then another, its tongue lolling out of its grinning mouth like a player in a chaotic game of blind man’s bluff.
’I wanna scare this one! And this one, too!’
Meanwhile, Gu Zhao was forgotten in the water, unable to haul herself out.
She struggled to pull herself up, but she just couldn’t get a leg over the bank.
Gu Zhao: ’??’
’Help!’
’Come on, you useless legs!’
’My moment in the spotlight has been completely stolen! I’m going to be the lamest Little Water Ghost in history!’
Gu Zhao was on the verge of tears.
Gu Xulin had completely forgotten about Gu Zhao, because he was now being chased by the mastiff, who was having the time of its life.
The mastiff was no longer distinguishing between friend and foe!
"I’ll help you up." A young, tender voice brought Gu Zhao back from the brink of despair.
Gu Zhao looked up to see a little boy with a cherubic face blinking his big eyes at her.
Gu Zhao’s eyes lit up. "Got a girlfriend? How about you bring your inheritance and marry me? I’ll spend your family fortune to support you."
The little boy’s face instantly flushed red as he stammered, "I... I don’t have an inheritance..."
Gu Zhao, just spouting nonsense, channeled a domineering CEO from a novel. "Hmph, man. You’ve successfully captured my attention."
The little boy’s face grew even redder.
Having gotten the teasing out of her system, the urge subsided. She was once again anxious to get back to her duties as a Little Water Ghost!
’I haven’t even scared a single person yet! The mastiff stole my thunder!’
"Quick, pull me up!" Gu Zhao urged, her mind consumed by a burning desire to win.
The little boy grabbed Gu Zhao’s hand and pulled with all his might.
SPLASH!
A huge spray of water erupted!
The river now had one more Little Water Ghost, and one very heartbroken Gu Zhao.
Gu Zhao was silent.
’I’m not saying a word until my lawyer gets here!’
The little boy paddled in the water with a piece of seaweed on his head, his eyes full of guilt as he looked at Gu Zhao.
"I’m sorry... I came in to keep you company."
Gu Zhao: ’Oh, I’m just thrilled.’
Having escaped the mastiff’s demonic clutches, Gu Xulin finally noticed something. ’Where’s my sister?’
’Is my sister in the water taking a romantic bath with a strange boy?’
Gu Xulin: (｀Δ´)!
He reached down and hauled Gu Zhao up, successfully dragging her onto the bank.
The little boy in the water blinked up at Gu Xulin. With a sigh of resignation, Gu Xulin fished out another one.
But the moment he got him on dry land, he made sure to put the boy down far away from Gu Zhao.
He couldn’t help but mutter to himself, ’What kind of irresponsible adult brings a kid along on a late-night ghost hunt!’
’They didn’t even notice their kid fell in the water!’
’Wait a second... why does this feel like I’m trash-talking myself...’
’No way, no way. I didn’t bring the kid. The kid brought me.’
Gu Xu: *Smug face!*
"Monkey King, save us!" the fan yelled, running over with her phone still in hand.
The mastiff was chasing anyone it saw, an equal-opportunity menace ensuring that no one’s trip was wasted.
Seeing this, Gu Zhao was about to run back and join the fun when someone shouted, "Gu Zhao?!"
It just so happened to be another one of the Monkey King’s fans, and they just so happened to be livestreaming.
"Monkey King! Why are you the Little Water Ghost? Did you switch careers?"
"Is that your new partner? Are Big Eagle and Little Eagle here?"
"Big King! Big King!"
Gu Zhao suddenly looked off to one side in surprise. "Quick, look!"
The crowd instinctively looked over. When they turned back, Gu Zhao was gone.
A luxury car sped away, with a mastiff in frantic pursuit.
They forgot the dog!!!
"Phew, that was close. I almost managed to keep my dignity intact! Still, I can’t believe I have fans!" Gu Zhao mused, pleased with herself. ’If I ever go broke, I can always ask them for donations.’
"Little boy, let me tell you, what you did today was really uncool! How could you steal..."
Her voice trailed off.
"Who are you? Where’s my little boy?"
Gu Zhao was looking for the little boy while staring right at... a little boy.
"Brother, my little boy is gone! And now there’s a different little boy here!"
Hearing this, Gu Xulin immediately pulled the car over.
Eyes wide, he stared at the little boy in the backseat. "You’re not trying to pull a scam, are you!"
In a car not far away, several people stared into an empty trunk in absolute terror.
"Where is he?! Damn it! That was the boss’s most successful experiment!! We’re done for! We’re all dead if we can’t find him!!"
The men scrambled out of the car, searching frantically.
Back in the car, Gu Zhao and Gu Xulin were still in a stunned standoff with the little boy who had somehow snuck in.
"What’s your name?" Gu Xulin asked irritably.
The little boy lowered his head and bit his lip. Then, as if he had made a great decision, he looked up at Gu Zhao. "You said you’d take care of me."