Lu Tao snapped her photos, then immediately turned around and—pitter-patter, pitter-patter—her little feet were already moving, eager to clock out.
Gu Xingzhi raised an eyebrow slightly. “Then let this fox lady be our tour guide.”
“No way, absolutely not!” Lu Tao spun around quickly, puffing out her cheeks, arms crossed, looking utterly righteous.
This was clearly pushing their luck!
Manager Zhao gritted his teeth and leaned in closer to her again. “One week of free shopping in this mall.”
“No.” A single meal versus meals for a lifetime—she could still tell the difference.
If Gu Xingzhi found out, her ten-million monthly salary would be gone.
“One month of free shopping.”
“Deal.”
“…”
Lu Tao clung to a sliver of hope. When she’d turned around earlier, she’d checked herself in the mirror—the makeup she’d put on was practically a face-swap technique.
Men were never that familiar with the difference between a woman’s before-and-after makeup anyway.
Actually, Lu Tao wasn’t familiar with this mall either, but she just tagged along, walking.
Manager Zhao was rattling on eloquently, while Gu Xingzhi remained silent, only nodding occasionally.
Lu Tao looked at Manager Zhao and felt like she was seeing her past self—endlessly revising copy according to the client’s demands.
If the client frowned, they’d have to rack their brains trying to figure out why.
So pitiful.
Actually, the money he’d mentioned wasn’t the main reason she’d stayed.
It was mainly because she saw the hardship and forbearance of the working class in Manager Zhao, and out of sympathy, she’d agreed.
As they walked, Lu Tao thought: With so many people following, one missing wouldn’t be noticeable, right?
Seeing her chance, her gaze drifted, she raised her fox claws, looking busy but not knowing what she was busy with, sneaking around like a sneaky dog trying to slip away.
Suddenly, she felt something.
She nearly yelped in shock, quickly clamping her hand over her mouth.
The man’s hand had actually grabbed one of her fox tails. As he leaned in, a faint men’s cologne scent filled the air around her.
Unlike the stereotypical woody and ambergris scents in CEO romance novels, it was a surprisingly fresh sea salt fragrance—crisp and elegant, combining the magic of the ocean with the blue of the sky. Notes of juniper, patchouli, and seaside pebbles made one feel as if standing under the stars by the shore.
“Where are you going?” His words were lazy and languid.
The girl’s flustered face was quite a sight to him.
Her skin was extremely fair, but her face flushed easily.
If he reached out and gave it a gentle squeeze, she’d probably turn into a soft pink peach.
Manager Zhao’s heart lurched, and he quickly looked around.
He’d heard that President Gu had just gotten married—if some annoying journalist like a fly caught this and put it online, it would be trouble.
With a single look from him, the surrounding security guards immediately moved into action, forming a tight circle around the area.
Compared to Manager Zhao’s trembling anxiety, Secretary Song beside him remained perfectly composed, holding documents in his arms without a hint of panic.
The light suddenly dimmed. Gu Xingzhi narrowed his eyes, and the hand that had been tugging her tail drifted to her fair wrist, applying slight pressure.
Lu Tao’s skin was whiter than snow. Her neck tilted back strategically, her star-pupils like those of a startled little rabbit. A few strands of curly hair brushed against the nape of her delicate neck, a subtle fragrance wafting through the air.
Gu Xingzhi lowered his head and let out a soft chuckle.
His deep gaze landed on her slightly parted, upturned lip peak, then quickly moved away. He raised an eyebrow. “Madam, had enough fun?”
His cold, low voice carried a hint of teasing, paired with his slightly curved thin lips—utterly bewitching.
Manager Zhao, standing guard like a door god, heard this and, summoning his dog-like courage, stiffly turned his head—only to be driven back by a sharp, icy glare from Gu Xingzhi.
He started trembling like he had Parkinson’s, hands shaking, legs shaking, his heart clattering all over the place.
Th-th-this… this is Madam Gu?
His already unstable little heart, strained from overtime work, felt like it had just ridden a roller coaster, bouncing up and down.
The people accompanying them wore expressions like they’d just witnessed something delicious, and even the security guards in black sunglasses struggled to hide the twitching at the corners of their mouths.
Only Lu Tao looked pale, appearing to outsiders as utterly unimpressed.
But inside, her heart was pounding violently: It’s over… this is completely over… the ship has sunk (┬＿┬)!
Meanwhile, in Zone B of the mall.
Fu Zhi, dressed as a little black demon, stared at the martial monk with his head lowered before her. “Xiao Huang, how old are you this year?”
“Eigh… eighteen.” The monk lowered his head shyly.
Despite being 183 centimeters tall with broad shoulders, he blushed easily, his ears turning red.
His gray kasaya robe draped over his shoulders gave him an air of forbidden allure.
But Fu Zhi was someone who loved to defy convention. She casually grabbed the monk’s hand, pulling him closer until her cheek was mere inches from his ear. “No wonder—your hands are so soft.”
She lowered her head with a mischievous grin, and the girls passing by were all dazzled by that roguish smile.
“Let me read your fortune—I’m very good at palm reading.”
Meanwhile, a young man in a white suit suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Bai Yu tilted his head. Was it his imagination?
Why did he hear that woman’s voice?
The moment he thought of that woman, Bai Yu’s blood began to boil. His hands clenched so tightly that the veins on his arms bulged.
Damn it! He would catch her sooner or later and grind her bones to dust!
Secretary Ruan Yong glanced sideways. “Young Master, what’s wrong?”
Bai Yu paused, his ears twitching slightly, but his amber pupils weren’t focused. He lifted his chin slightly. “In this direction, do you see a girl with a very aloof temperament and shoulder-length hair?”
He had felt the length of her hair yesterday, and her tone of voice had been neither warm nor cold.
Secretary Ruan followed his gaze and only saw a girl in a black little devil costume with big wavy curls, a teardrop mole beneath her eye, tugging at a cosplayer dressed as a monk to read his palm.
Her skirt was extremely short, revealing long, straight legs as fair as jade—a figure that rivaled top models.
She tossed her hair back, radiating charm and allure, hot as fire. The cosplayer was blushing furiously under her teasing, completely outmatched.
Ruan Yong furrowed his brow. This didn’t match the young master’s description at all. There was no way this was the young mistress he’d gossiped about yesterday.
Just then, the girl in the little devil costume walked straight toward them and brushed past the young master.
This scent…
Bai Yu spun around swiftly. Fu Zhi sidestepped to the side with a fluid, natural movement, causing him to grab another girl’s sleeve instead.
The girl looked both startled and shy. “What are you…”
The young man before her was simply too handsome—like a Korean drama male lead stepping into reality. Especially his dazed, innocent eyes made one want to tease him.
He’d only heard three words before Bai Yu frowned hard.
Wrong! The voice was wrong! The attitude was wrong too!
He quickly flung the girl’s sleeve away and wiped his hand with the wet wipe Ruan Yong handed him.
It wasn’t her at all. Was it just his imagination?
Fu Zhi hid in the shadows, curling her lips into a smile, then swiftly departed, vanishing without a trace.
She’d only taken two steps when a message from Lu Tao came in, making her stop in her tracks. “We’re screwed, Zhizhi. I got caught.”
Fu Zhi gripped her phone. “How could you be so careless?”
But she knew complaining was useless at this point. She raised an eyebrow. “Forget it, I’ll help you. What do you need me to do?”
Lu Tao: “My Zhizhi is the best. But it’s already too late to turn things around—I was dragged back by the tail by President Gu himself. Remember to burn some paper money for me at this time every year.”
At the end was a sticker of a little girl waving a handkerchief and crying pitifully.
Fu Zhi let out a soft laugh. Where did she find that sticker? That chubby-cheeked face looked just like her Tao’er.
No, she couldn’t just sit by and do nothing. She needed to stir up something big to save her precious girl!
After a moment’s thought, a brilliant plan came to mind. She curled her lips into a smile and turned back toward the young Master Bai, who had just barely calmed himself down.