Chapter Eighty-One: Lin Yao, the Red-Tailed Fox

The bar was bustling with life tonight, but while some reveled in joy, others nursed their troubles.

Liu E noticed something off about Liu Qi and sent Gu Zhiheng a meaningful glance, silently warning him to keep an eye on the kid. Gu Zhiheng glanced back at Liu Qi—sure enough, even right under his nose, Liu Qi dared to play games.

Following Liu Qi’s gaze, Gu Zhiheng saw that he was staring at his girlfriend. No, not his girlfriend anymore. After all, she’d cheated on him and dumped him.

“Calm down. She’s just a woman. Look around—there are plenty of others,” Gu Zhiheng said, steering the conversation deliberately, knowing exactly what Liu Qi was thinking.

“I’m going to kill her. How dare she go after Liu Wen? She’s going to pay for what she did!” The vicious words were so out of character for Liu Qi that both Liu E and Gu Zhiheng exchanged wary glances before rising and walking toward the woman in the white short skirt.

They both wanted to see what sort of charm this woman possessed, having already caused such havoc.

“Miss, care to share a drink with us?” Gu Zhiheng asked, approaching from behind with a glass in hand, giving her shoulder a light pat. In the process, he slipped her a high-grade talisman free of charge. Gu Zhiheng had more than enough of those. If not for the crowded bar, he’d have smacked her back into her original form right then and there.

“Who the hell are you? Can’t you see she’s my woman?” The woman’s new boyfriend yanked her to his side, stepping between her and Gu Zhiheng.

“Hey, relax, man. I just wanted to have a drink with the lady—no need to get so worked up,” Liu E chimed in deftly, flashing a disarming smile.

“Exactly. What’s wrong? Are you worried you can’t measure up to the two of us?” Gu Zhiheng added, intentionally twisting the knife.

Seeing that the ones flirting with her were two handsome men, the woman decisively shrugged off the arm around her and stepped away from her boyfriend.

“I’d love a drink. Maybe even add you as a friend,” she replied, thinking it a shame to let such good-looking men slip by.

“Allow us to introduce ourselves. I’m Gu Heng, and this is my brother Gu E,” Gu Zhiheng said smoothly. Since they were pretending to be brothers, sharing a surname made no difference.

“I’m Lin Yao. Delighted to meet you.” She tossed her hair with a flirtatious flick and gazed at Gu Zhiheng with feigned affection.

Lin Yao showed little interest in Liu E, whose hair was longer.

“Come on, let’s sit over there. I have another friend waiting,” Gu Zhiheng said, not revealing who, and motioned Lin Yao to join them.

Look how easy it was to deceive her—a few words and she was already in hand.

“Oh, it’s you. Are you all friends?” Lin Yao was surprised, unable to believe that Liu Qi’s friends could be so impressive. If they were friends, why was Liu Qi so useless? He had neither money nor gifts, and couldn’t even satisfy her.

“We’re all here now, let’s have a drink. Whatever happened before is done—look ahead, beautiful,” Liu E said, an expert at charming women, his words flowing easily.

Gu Zhiheng couldn’t help admiring him—this old relic really had a way with women, far better than himself.

Lin Yao, shameless as ever, sat down and started drinking with the group without hesitation. Gu Zhiheng shot Liu Qi a look, signaling him to speak his mind or get on with it.

By the time they’d arrived, the fox spirit that had been clinging to Liu Qi had vanished. Clearly, the target wasn’t Liu Qi’s life, but rather Lin Yao herself.

“Lin Yao, why did you break up with me? I loved you so much—how could you just leave me?” Liu Qi cried out in exaggerated anguish, nearly perfect in his performance, though he barely concealed a smirk.

Gu Zhiheng and Liu E sat to the side, enjoying the spectacle and their drinks. This kind of drama was Gu Zhiheng’s favorite, especially anything involving love lives—so long as it didn’t concern him. Other people’s scandals were always more interesting.

Even Liu E, the old relic, watched the performance of the faux lovers with relish, occasionally clinking glasses with Gu Zhiheng and glancing back at the “star-crossed” pair with amusement.

“See, women are trouble. They want to cry, but are afraid to ruin their makeup,” Gu Zhiheng remarked, not as clueless as he seemed—he’d picked up plenty of insights from his sister Gu Zhixia.

Women like Lin Yao were trouble, easy to cheat on and easy to dump. Liu Qi was a prime example, right there in the flesh.

“They’re just women. Unless it’s true love, there’s no need—better to stay single,” Liu E said, having lived for centuries and never once been moved by anyone.

Moved? Could it be a man, perhaps? If that counted, then maybe Gu Zhiheng—this well-behaved young man—was rather endearing. But if not, he’d rather stay single forever than look for a woman.

“Miss Lin, please don’t cry—help comfort my brother here, will you?” Gu Zhiheng said, eager to keep the show going when the two seemed ready to drop the act.

Liu E played along, “Exactly. My brother’s feelings for you run deep—he loves you so much he’s lost himself.”

Listen to them—these two really were shameless, enjoying the show without a care for anyone else’s feelings.

“Qi, it’s all my fault. Let’s not break up!” Lin Yao wiped away crocodile tears and clung to Liu Qi tightly. Oddly, she’d been unable to get close to him the night before, but tonight, everything seemed normal again.

No matter how hard she tried to figure it out, Lin Yao never suspected Gu Zhiheng or Liu E, not realizing their true identities. She assumed they were just ordinary people like Liu Qi.

“Really? We’re not breaking up? You promise you’re not lying to me? I really can’t live without you!” Liu Qi’s words dripped with feigned emotion, fighting to keep from laughing. If not for revenge on Liu Wen’s behalf, he would never have tolerated this disgusting woman’s presence.

Especially after discovering she was a fox spirit—he’d been sick for a whole day at home. If not for having these two experts around tonight, he’d have left immediately.

“Yao Yao, we’ll be together forever. When I graduate from college, I’ll marry you,” Liu Qi declared, nearly gagging on his own words. Maybe he once would have said such things, but now he only felt revulsion.

Lin Yao, dim as ever, truly believed Liu Qi was hopelessly devoted, holding him fast.

Liu Qi signaled Gu Zhiheng and Liu E, asking if they were done—he couldn’t stand being near her any longer.

Gu Zhiheng, having enjoyed the drama enough, nodded, and Liu Qi promptly shoved Lin Yao aside and downed his drink in one gulp.