In the short time of these past two days, Shi Pengpeng could clearly feel that Xu Qiannian saw Zheng Bing through a beauty filter as intense as Meitu Xiuxiu (a photo-editing app).
Not only did she spare no expense for Zheng Bing, but she also constantly considered her in daily life.
Xu Qiannian always complained about how Zheng Bing spoiled Xiao He, but she herself did the exact same thing for Zheng Bing.
In Xu Qiannian’s eyes, Zheng Bing seemed perfect in every way.
At first, Shi Pengpeng assumed they were just really close, especially since Xu Qiannian always emphasized how well Zheng Bing treated her.
But in reality, what Shi Pengpeng observed was completely different.
At the very least, Zheng Bing did not treat Xu Qiannian as well as Xu Qiannian treated her.
In fact, there was even a subtle sense that Zheng Bing was competing with Xu Qiannian.
If these were just minor jealousies, things really took a strange turn when they discussed signing a contract with Yu Tian Culture.
Shi Pengpeng fully understood why Xu Qiannian refused to go the “pretty influencer” route.
After all, Yu Tian Culture’s female streamers did make a lot of money, but many were involved in questionable activities.
As Xu Qiannian’s assistant and friend, Zheng Bing should have respected her wishes.
However, all she focused on was Yu Tian Culture’s high signing bonus, completely ignoring what Xu Qiannian actually wanted.
And even then, Xu Qiannian wasn’t mad at her.
What was even weirder was that earlier, Zheng Bing brought up the same old arguments, trying to persuade Xu Qiannian again.
Even as an outsider, Shi Pengpeng found it irritating to listen to, yet Xu Qiannian seemed convinced and was even showing signs of agreeing.
It was as if the more Zheng Bing repeated something, the more it influenced Xu Qiannian’s judgment.
Shi Pengpeng had been busy handling Xiao He’s matters and didn’t think too deeply about it at the time.
But now, Zheng Bing’s erratic pulse and agitated blood suggested clear signs of gu poison backlash.
And just at this moment, Xu Qiannian’s stomach illness flared up again.
A few days ago, when Zheng Bing took deworming medicine and had diarrhea, Xu Qiannian also felt unwell.
The information Bai Wanmu sent over mentioned that “parent-child gu” parasites are interconnected—when the mother gu changes, the child gu reacts.
They had initially thought the connection was between Xiao He and Zheng Bing.
But to their surprise, it turned out to be between Zheng Bing and Xu Qiannian.
“That’s impossible,” Xu Qiannian instinctively denied it.
“Besides, Zheng Bing never took the antidote…”
At that moment, she suddenly stopped, remembering that earlier, Zheng Bing drank a sip of Xiao He’s soup just to show off their love.
It was just a small sip.
Perhaps that’s why the antidote’s effects took so long to kick in.
In an instant, Xu Qiannian’s heart pounded violently.
A surge of emotion flooded her, but she instinctively shook her head.
“No way… Zheng Bing wouldn’t harm me…”
Zheng Bing panicked.
Despite the intense pain spreading through her body, she gasped,
“You—You’re trying to drive a wedge between me and—Qiannian…”
Shi Pengpeng looked at her coldly.
“You think you’re the only one suffering? Gu poison backlash works both ways.”
Xu Qiannian’s mind was in chaos.
Still, she defended Zheng Bing, “Maybe it’s all a misunderstanding.”
Seeing that Xu Qiannian’s emotions were still being manipulated by the gu poison, Shi Pengpeng knew arguing was pointless.
Instead, she nodded, “Fine, let’s cure Zheng Bing first.”
Since Xu Qiannian believed Zheng Bing was under gu control, she agreed immediately.
Zheng Bing’s face twisted in horror.
She tried to resist, but waves of excruciating pain wracked her body, leaving her powerless.
Shi Pengpeng pinned her down with one hand and started a video call with Bai Wanmu.
This was prearranged—they needed to locate the mother gu before proceeding.
On the other end, Bai Wanmu’s reactions were priceless:
“Wait, that girl WASN’T cursed?”
“Wait, SHE was the one casting the curse?”
“Wait, no way—why would she go after such a loser??”
Shi Pengpeng had no words.
She could only quote a meme:
“Peak love-brained behavior.”
Bai Wanmu fell silent for a moment, then rubbed her hands together, genuinely curious:
“Would Miss Zheng be willing to donate her brain after she dies? Our village’s gu research could really use a specimen like this.”
Shi Pengpeng: “…”
Through the video, Bai Wanmu identified Zheng Bing’s symptoms and confirmed that it wasn’t a particularly powerful gu.
“Just feed her a bit more of the antidote.”
Not long after, Zheng Bing’s pale skin turned gray, and dark purple veins bulged visibly across her body.
Her lower abdomen twisted and pulsed violently, as if something inside her was struggling to get out.
A black worm, as thick as a pinky finger, suddenly burst from her skin, along with black blood and pus.
The worm twitched twice and then died.
Meanwhile, Zheng Bing collapsed completely, drained of all energy.
Xu Qiannian, who had been reaching out to her, froze mid-motion.
At that moment, all the intense emotions she had for Zheng Bing drained away, like a receding tide.
Before she could process it, a stabbing pain hit her chest, followed by an excruciating stomachache—as if needles were stabbing her insides.
The Mother Gu Inside Zheng Bing
“Why?” Zheng Bing’s eyes turned red as she clenched her teeth.
“You’re always so lucky…”
“Lucky?” Xu Qiannian repeated incredulously, nearly rushing forward to grab Zheng Bing by the collar to explain just how difficult it had been when she first started in social media.
How she braved wind and rain to gather content while Zheng Bing skipped class to sleep.
How she stayed up all night learning video editing while Zheng Bing was playing games and chatting with others.
How she scrimped and saved, investing all her money into platform development while Zheng Bing spent lavishly…
But in the end, Xu Qiannian just scoffed.
“If you think it’s luck, then fine. Whatever.”
There was no point in saying more at this stage.
The private room fell into silence, the atmosphere growing heavy.
Shi Pengpeng sighed, feeling emotional.
She patted Xu Qiannian’s shoulder in comfort, thinking of something to lighten the mood—when suddenly, from the corner,
Xiao He’s smug voice broke the tension:
“Hmph, now you all believe it, right? We kappas are actually quite charming.”
The room: “…”Bai Wanmu, watching through the screen: “…”