That night, Gu Xiaofeng tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep Various thoughts buzzed around her head like a swarm of flies.
In the darkness, she picked up her phone and put it down, only to pick it up again a moment later Finally, she sent a WeChat message to Tushan Little Fox:
Are you okay?
The Little Fox replied almost instantly Not very good, but a little good.
What does a little good mean?
Gu Xiaofeng hesitated for a long time before finally asking What happened between you and her?
Her? Who?
Lin Ai.
We had a huge fight! She’s very powerful. Not human.
Gu Xiaofeng:
She truly hadn’t expected the elegant, dignified, and well mannered President Lin she saw on screen to be this kind of person. The difference between her public and private persona was vast; if she ever entered the entertainment industry, she might give Gu Xiaofeng a run for her Best Actress title.
While Gu Xiaofeng was wondering how to respond, another message popped up: Hmph! I wasn’t bad either I snapped one of her arms.
Gu Xiaofeng was caught off guard; she nearly dropped her phone. She never imagined that one day, she would witness a real-life plot of “lovers turned enemies right before her eyes.
Though she lived in the industry, Gu Xiaofeng wasn’t a gossip, especially when it came to other people’s romantic entanglements. She believed feelings were private; often, no one but the parties involved could say who was right or wrong.
She set her phone down and lay back. This time, she felt she had already asked too much.
Tu Yiyi fell asleep clutching the photo frame of Cao-cao As a Fox Immortal, she was quite dissatisfied with her combat performance today.
Zhuo Jin stood at the door. Miss, are your injuries better?
After they returned, Zhuo Jin had found a first-aid kit and given her some liniment. Yiyi had applied it silently and turned over, her back still toward the door.
Miss, how are you feeling?
Zhuo Jin, am I a very weak Fox Immortal?
Miss, you slept for over two hundred years; your spiritual power hasn’t fully recovered. You shouldn’t take today’s injury to heart.
No, that’s not an excuse. I am of the Tushan Fox Clan. I shouldn’t be this pathetic.
Zhuo Jin looked at the figure curled up under the blanket, his gaze complex. Miss, I’ve heard that every Tushan spirit fox must find their Source Power.
Source Power?
Yes. During cultivation and combat, Source Power can greatly enhance one’s magic. Every fox has a different Source. For example, the Eldest Miss’s is Beauty, the Second Miss’s is Flowers, the Third’s is Money, the Fourth’s is Knowledge, the Fifth Young Master’s is Honor, the Sixth’s is Delicacies, the Seventh’s is Sunlight, and the Eighth Miss’s is Mahjong.
What about mine?
Your Source Power, Zhuo Jin admitted his helplessness, is something you must find yourself. When you find it, you will feel an incomparable, heartfelt joy and passion. That is your Source.
Source Power what could mine be?
Gu Xiaofeng’s sleep quality was never great. Last night, unsettled by the drama between Yiyi and Lin Ai, she slept even worse, drifting in a half-dreaming state until finally falling asleep at 5:00 AM.
By 9:00 AM, she was awake. She got up to make a bowl of oatmeal, but before she could take two bites, Tang Shala called.
So early?
I haven’t slept at all! I’m a person who loves work!
Gu Xiaofeng curled her lip. On her friend circle, a certain work-lover had been seen drinking at a bar at 2:00 AM. Tang Shala had clearly forgotten herself last night, posting a photo with the caption: Your girl is here to party.
Hearing the silence on the other end, Tang Shala explained herself: I’m human, after all. I have desires. Before President Lin notices me, don’t I need to vent some of my loneliness?
Tang Shala, the head of Tang Huan, was young, beautiful, and famously flirtatious in the industry. “Xiaofeng, I’m telling you as a friend, sometimes you need to relax. With your looks, why worry about not finding.
Gu Xiaofeng interrupted her. Is this why you called me so early?
Ah, no, of course not. Am I that bored?” Tang Shala cleared her throat, looking down at her freshly painted nails. That variety show—the large-scale reality show, Hectic Country Life—starts filming next Wednesday.
Gu Xiaofeng was slightly surprised. So soon?
How is that soon? Today is Sunday; I’m giving you three days’ notice.” When talking business, Tang Shala’s pace quickened. “Every mystery guest has a partner. Life can’t always be a solo act, right?
Who is my partner?
I originally arranged for Fang Yueshi, but she passed an audition and won’t be available. I need to find someone else for you. Among the guests, some are bringing husbands, some parents, some siblings. Of course, there are friends too. Is there anyone you want to bring?
As Tang Shala asked, the neighbor next door inexplicably popped into Gu Xiaofeng’s mind. She quickly shook her head to clear the thought.
If you don’t have anyone, I’ll arrange it. How about bringing a younger ‘brother’?
No, let me think first.
Alright. Let me know by tomorrow noon.
Gu Xiaofeng was about to hang up when Tang Shala added bluntly, Xu Yanzhe reached out to me. He wants me to pair him with you as a ‘CP’ for the show. I haven’t agreed yet.
Yet?
If you really can’t find a suitable partner, it might have to be him, Tang Shala said, sounding like she had a headache. Your mother calls a dozen times a day. She’s making it impossible for me to focus.
Can’t you just block her?
How could I? I’m a fine young woman who respects her elders.
Fine, then continue being a ‘fine young woman.
After hanging up, Gu Xiaofeng was in a foul mood. Her thoughts shifted between Xu Yanzhe and her mother, her expression darkening into that cold, distant, and unsmiling mask famous in the tabloids.
The wind blew through the window, fluttering the curtains. Gu Xiaofeng sat motionless in the vast living room like a cold stone statue.
It took a long time for her to snap out of it and reconsider the partner issue.
Lovers? None. Mother? Definitely not. Friends? The only ones she talked to were her childhood friend in America, Tang Shala, and Fang Yueshi.
In middle school, she had a best friend or so she thought and told her everything. Eventually, the whole class knew her “secrets that her parents were divorced, that her mother disliked her and preferred her brother, and even exaggerated lies that she was so jealous of her brother she spit in his porridge. When a creepy man in the neighborhood harassed her, the story turned into her “leading him on by walking past him every day.
All of it came from that “best friend, simply because the most handsome boy in their grade used to sneak notes to Xiaofeng. The friend wanted him to see Xiaofeng’s true face.
After that, Gu Xiaofeng changed completely. No smiling, no talking, and no need for friends. She became like a trembling hedgehog, building an ice wall around herself wary of everyone, opening her heart to no one.