"Who's there?" Qiqi spun around sharply, her gaze sweeping the courtyard with keen alertness. Then she rubbed her eyes in disbelief—was that something perched on the branch of her old locust tree? Red, fuzzy, with a slender body, a pointed snout, and clutching a big, fluffy tail...
A squirrel? No, too big. A stray cat? No, cats don't have pointed snouts.
A fox? Hmm, possible. But why is it red?
*Whatever you are, don't you dare eat my crow,* she thought warily.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk—the scent of budding love, so intoxicating, like mango pomelo sago... Ah, little girl, don't change your mind. Keep blushing, let me savor this a little longer," the unknown creature said, perched on the branch with alluring eyes. It even spoke—in a woman's voice. That startled Qiqi.
(Note: startled, not scared. Her courage, honed since the wolf king's arrival, could handle any supernatural event now.)
"Are you... a demon?" Qiqi gaped.
"Oh hehehe..." The red creature leaned back on the branch, standing upright. One front paw rested its cheek against the trunk, while the other covered its mouth as it laughed—it even knew to cover its mouth! After a few chuckles, it struck a seductive pose: "Ah, what a clever little girl. Bold too, not afraid to meet me, the Fire-Tailed Fox Fairy. No wonder that handsome man inside has taken a liking to you. Tsk, truly intriguing."
"Fire-Tailed Fox Fairy?" Qiqi doubted it—probably just a fox spirit, right?
But weren't fox spirits supposed to transform into beautiful women? Why did it look like this?
She looked up at the red fox in the tree, then suddenly snapped back: "Who, who's taken a liking? Don't talk nonsense."
"Oh my, being favored by our demon clan is such an honor. Why are you shy, little girl? Haven't your human world passed down many tales? That Xu Xian fellow got together with Lady White Snake, right? And that movie *Painted Skin*, where a human fell in love with a fox? Plus, isn't human-demon romance all the rage online? Don't tell me you don't go on the internet."
Ah... Gu Qiqi was speechless.
So this creature was a fox spirit that kept up with the times, followed trends, loved watching movies, and knew how to browse the web for romance stories?
God, please strike me with lightning. I'm about to lose it.
Of course, God didn't bother with her, but the fox spirit did fly over—literally fly. It stretched its limbs, leaped lightly from the branch, and then glided toward Gu Qiqi in an elegant arc, landing upside-down on the beam above her head.
"Hmm..."
The fox hung upside down, suddenly thrusting its pointed nose close to Qiqi's cheek, nearly face-to-face as it took a long, deep breath of her scent. Then it sighed with satisfaction: "The scent of budding love, the scent of budding love. Little girl, you really are falling for someone."
"What?" Qiqi jumped up. "Falling for someone? For you?"
The fox's alluring eyes curved, and it nearly fell off the beam from laughing: "Of course not for me. I mean that man inside your room."
Its furry front paw raised a delicate finger, pointing toward the study.
Did she mean Rong Yi? No way. I just carried him out of the car because he looked weak. How am I falling for him? This nosy, gossipy fox.