12
The moment Fu Qingheng saw Ji Yan, he got a headache.
He gripped Ji Yan’s wrist firmly. “Who told you to come here?”
Ji Yan’s face twisted in pain, but she didn’t dare cry. Normally, she might act arrogant and aggressive in front of others, but the moment she was before Fu Qingheng, she lost all her nerve.
Ever since she was little, she had feared no one but Fu Qingheng.
Ji Yan pointed at Yun Li and tattled, “Brother, it was this fox spirit who made me fall. You need to kick her out right now!”
Yun Li panicked when she heard this.
She quickly grabbed Fu Qingheng’s sleeve and said in a soft, clingy voice, “Brother Fu, she was the one who made the first move against me!”
And besides, she really wasn’t a fox spirit. He absolutely must not believe her words!
This human was just too wicked—filing a false complaint before anyone else could speak!
If she were allowed to use magic, Yun Li would have loved to teach her a lesson.
The little fox put on a pitiful act. Her eyes reddened rapidly, and her tear-filled gaze looked up at the man with a pleading shimmer.
Every time she had been naughty or made a mistake in the past, pulling this face had made her father and brothers take her side.
“You’re lying! When did I ever lay a hand on you?”
Ji Yan absolutely refused to admit to something she hadn’t succeeded in doing. Looking at Yun Li’s deceptively innocent face, she wanted nothing more than to claw it to pieces so she could no longer use it to seduce Fu Qingheng.
When Fu Qingheng didn’t respond, Ji Yan fumed, “Brother, are you really going to believe this fox spirit over your own sister?”
Ji Yan’s voice was so shrill and grating that Fu Qingheng’s headache worsened.
He turned to look at Yang Qing, who wore a helpless expression and looked at Yun Li with nothing but sympathy.
Yun Li’s identity was a mystery. For now, she appeared quite well-behaved, naive, and sweet. But Ji Yan’s temperament—Fu Qingheng knew that all too well.
She had been spoiled her entire life. And with his backing, she had grown arrogant, never respecting anyone.
He didn’t need to think twice to know that Ji Yan had been the one to start the trouble.
Fu Qingheng’s face darkened. “Don’t talk nonsense. She’s my friend.”
Ji Yan immediately latched onto the key word. “Your friend? But earlier she claimed to be your fiancée!”
“Brother, look at her—she has that scheming look. She’s definitely after something. You should send her away right now. She’s just an eyesore.”
Having caught Yun Li in a lie, Ji Yan looked at her triumphantly, her eyes dripping with mockery.
Fu Qingheng hated liars, especially when it involved him.
This fox spirit dared to call herself Fu Qingheng’s fiancée? What a joke.
She should take a good look at herself. What made her think Fu Qingheng would ever want her?
Ji Yan smirked at Yun Li, waiting for her to get thoroughly humiliated. Then she’d think twice before calling herself Fu Qingheng’s fiancée again.
Fu Qingheng was also taken aback. He lowered his gaze and looked at her face.
Yun Li defended herself in a small voice. “I didn’t say it myself. Uncle Yang did.”
Fu Qingheng looked over at Yang Qing, who had a perplexed expression that seemed to say, ‘You two have already pledged yourselves to each other—how is she not your fiancée?’
Fu Qingheng’s headache only got worse. He thought about denying it but decided it wasn’t necessary.
Ji Yan hadn’t come alone, Shi Jie was with her.
Not to mention Shi Jie’s feelings for him, the very scheme Ji Chuan had in mind disgusted him so much that he would never marry Shi Jie.
Ji Chuan was an ambitious man, trying to control Fu Qingheng’s life through marriage.
If Fu Qingheng gave in even an inch, the next thing Ji Chuan would set his sights on would be the Fu family.
His gaze lingered on Shi Jie’s face for only a second before Fu Qingheng’s expression hardened. “This is my business. I don’t need you meddling in it.”
Ji Yan froze. She realized that Fu Qingheng hadn’t scolded the fox spirit at all—instead, he was accusing her of meddling.
Frustrated and anxious, she said, “Brother, how can you take that fox spirit’s side?”
“Shut up!” Fu Qingheng snapped coldly, cutting her off.
“Fox spirit” this and “fox spirit” that—it was utterly rude. He really didn’t know how the Ji family had raised her.
Startled by the reprimand, Ji Yan’s heart jumped. Meeting the man’s cold, piercing black eyes, she couldn’t help but shudder.
She had to admit—when Fu Qingheng was angry, he was truly intimidating.
Her attitude softened as she whimpered pitifully, “Brother!”
In all her life, no matter how big a mess she had made, Fu Qingheng had never once yelled at her.
And now, all because of some fox spirit, he had actually turned cold and shouted at her. That only proved how much this fox spirit needed to go.
If this fox spirit could make Fu Qingheng yell at her today, tomorrow she would drive a wedge between them.
Ji Yan wasn’t particularly clever, but she wasn’t stupid enough to miss that.
The only reason she was favored in the Ji family was because of Fu Qingheng.
Watching from the sidelines, Shi Jie grew secretly anxious. She had hoped to sit back and let Ji Yan deal with Yun Li, but she never expected this fox spirit to be so capable—she had already won Fu Qingheng’s heart.
Her intuition told her that this woman absolutely could not stay by Fu Qingheng’s side, or she would never have a chance.
Shi Jie had always presented herself as a gentle, quiet girl in front of Fu Qingheng—a personality completely opposite to Ji Yan’s. She often used Ji Yan’s arrogance to highlight her own gentleness and beauty.
She had always considered herself very beautiful, but now, standing next to Yun Li, even a peony would pale in comparison.
Faced with such a gorgeous woman, not even Fu Qingheng—if she were a man, she’d probably be completely infatuated too.
Shi Jie helped steady Ji Yan and spoke in a soft, deliberate voice. “Brother Fu, you know how Yan Yan is. She’s been spoiled by you and Uncle Ji since she was little. I hope you won’t be angry with her.”
“Yan Yan’s temperament may be a willful, but I know her well—she never lies. Earlier, before she even touched this young lady, she suddenly fell to the ground. I suspect…”
Shi Jie lowered her gaze and didn’t finish the sentence. But Ji Yan eagerly jumped in, “Brother, she tripped me! Otherwise, why would I have fallen for no reason?”
Thank goodness Shi Jie was there, or she would have been wrongly accused.
Shi Jie’s words were subtle. On the surface, she was defending Ji Yan, but in reality, she was pointing the finger at Yun Li.
Fu Qingheng doted on Ji Yan so much—surely he would scold the fox spirit a little for her sake.
She envied Yun Li’s beauty, but even more, she envied the way Fu Qingheng protected her.
She had calculated everything perfectly but Fu Qingheng didn’t take the bait at all.
His sharp gaze cut toward Shi Jie, as if seeing right through her.
Shi Jie’s heart fluttered. She instinctively lowered her head, suppressing her panic.
Before she could speak, Fu Qingheng’s cold voice came from above. “Miss Shi is not my sister. I cannot bear to be called ‘Brother Fu.'”
Those words landed like a slap across Shi Jie’s face. Her complexion went pale. She looked up, her dark eyes trembling violently, filled with hurt.
What—what did he mean?
She had called him “Brother Fu” along with Ji Yan before, and he had never objected.
It had to be because of this fox spirit!
Shi Jie, thoroughly humiliated, her eyes red with fury. “I’m sorry. I only meant to follow Yan Yan’s lead in addressing you. S-Since you don’t like it, I won’t call you that again.”
With those words, Shi Jie felt she had no face left to stay. Covering her face, she ran off crying.
Shi Jie’s departure left Ji Yan stunned for a good several seconds before she finally reacted.
“Brother, how could you say that? You’ve hurt Shi Jie so deeply! You know she likes you!” Ji Yan stamped her foot in frustration and hurriedly chased after Shi Jie.
As she passed Yun Li, she shot her a venomous glare.
Yun Li was baffled. She hadn’t made that human leave. Why glare at her?
“Are you going to let go?”
Yun Li was looking toward the door when she suddenly heard the man beside her speak.
She turned her head and unexpectedly met Fu Qingheng’s dark eyes. Her heart trembled. She quickly explained, “I-I’m not a fox spirit!”
Fu Qingheng grunted in acknowledgment, not particularly concerned. He glanced down at his arm, and only then did Yun Li realize she was still clutching his sleeve. She let go in a fluster.
She flashed a sweet smile and asked, “Brother Fu, where did you go?”
“Are you hungry? Do you want some chicken congee? Uncle Yang said it’s really good!”
“No, thanks. You drink it yourself.”
“Oh.” Yun Ling thought about the chicken congee waiting for her and cheerfully followed Yang Qing toward the kitchen, showing no reluctance to leave him at all.
Fu Qingheng furrowed his brow. Was this woman only clinging to him so she could get a bite of chicken?
Her interest in chicken seemed even greater than her interest in him.
As Yun Li walked, she asked Yang Qing in confusion, “Uncle Yang, why did those two leave so suddenly?”
One of them even ran off crying—was it just because the poop scooper had been mean to her?
Yang Qing hesitated for a moment. Was this girl really this naive and simple-minded? Could she not even tell that Shi Jie liked Fu Qingheng?
“Maybe they did something wrong and felt they had no face to stay, so they left.”
Yun Li nodded in understanding.
After drinking the chicken congee, Yun Li realized that even something as simple as eating congee could bring such happiness.
If she had known the human world had so many delicious things, she would have cultivated diligently and come down the mountain to play earlier.
But it wasn’t too late. Yun Li finally understood the kind of happy life Lailai had talked about—no worries about three meals a day, every meal filled with things she loved to eat.
After lunch, Yun Li was full of energy and especially wanted to play.
Yang Qing, being older, didn’t have the stamina to play. Also, he wanted Yun Li and Fu Qingheng to grow closer, so he told her to go upstairs and find him.
Yun Li thought Uncle Yang’s advice made a lot of sense. She also remembered Lailai saying that she couldn’t ignore the poop scooper—she needed to stick close to him at the right moments and play with him, so that he wouldn’t abandon her.
Fu Qingheng was in his study when he heard the cheerful, thumping footsteps and immediately knew who it was.
In this house, aside from the newly arrived Yun Li, who else could be so rambunctious?
Caught up in her excitement, Yun Li forgot to knock and poked half her head inside. “Brother Fu, are you busy? Want to play with me?”
Fu Qingheng glanced at her. “I have things to do.”
“But—”
“Out!”
Before Yun Li could finish, the man kicked her out.
She was only upset for a moment before shifting her attention to the small pond in the backyard. Brushing off her skirt, she walked over.
Oh well, if he’s busy, let him be busy. She could play by herself.
Yun Li looked at the fish in the pond. Every single one of them was plump and big. They would definitely taste great grilled.
If she caught a few to give to the poop scooper, he would surely be very happy.
Fu Qingheng worked for over an hour. When he turned his head, he noticed Yun Li’s blank information file again.
Except when she was asleep, that girl was always causing a ruckus.
But in the past hour, he realized he hadn’t heard a peep from her.
As the saying goes: when the child is quiet, trouble is surely brewing.
He stepped onto the balcony to get some fresh air. Looking down, he saw a plume of white smoke rising from the ground.
Following the direction of the smoke, Fu Qingheng took in the scene before him. His blood pressure shot through the roof.
“Yun Li!”
**