She beckoned to Pei Chiyao, gesturing for him to come closer.
Pei Chiyao was puzzled, but seeing Zhi Yao's mysterious demeanor, he approached her nonetheless.
The young lady stepped forward and placed a light kiss on Pei Chiyao's cheek. The kiss was so gentle, it was akin to a feather brushing his face.
Is that it?
Just as Pei Chiyao thought those two words and was about to speak, Zhi Yao's kisses rained down on his face, one after another, like a seal stamping its mark.
For a moment, the only sound in the room was the soft "bo" of Zhi Yao's lips pressing against Pei Chiyao's face, one after another.
Until the final kiss landed, Zhi Yao finally stopped, plopping down on Pei Chiyao's lap.
"That tired me out," the young lady said, wiping her brow as if she had just completed a routine task.
Catching her slightly smug gaze, Pei Chiyao couldn't help but narrow his eyes.
"See! You said before that you're easy to appease. I just used the method you mentioned, so you can't be mad this time, right?"
Pei Chiyao: "..."
That wasn't the kind of kiss he had in mind!
Zhi Yao touched her lips, feeling like she had almost kissed them numb. She stood up to check her reflection, to see if her lips had turned red.
But just as she rose from Pei Chiyao's lap, he grabbed her wrist and with a slight tug, she spun around and landed back in his embrace.
"Watch closely, I'll only show you once."
His hand cradled the back of Zhi Yao's head, his grip firm as his burning kiss landed on her lips.
The sudden move startled the young lady, causing her to clutch Pei Chiyao's clothes tightly, like a fish lying helpless on the shore.
He nibbled on Zhi Yao's lips, causing her to wince in pain and open her mouth. Pei Chiyao seized the opportunity, invading ravenously...
After about five minutes, when Zhi Yao was completely breathless, he finally released her.
This time, she didn't need to look to know her lips had swollen.
"That's the method I mentioned."
The man's voice was hoarse.
Zhi Yao panted, collapsing onto Pei Chiyao's shoulder.
She didn't want to say another word.
This is what he calls easy to appease?! This is easy to appease??
When they left the hotel, they exited through the underground parking lot.
As soon as they got in the car, Pei Chiyao returned Zhi Yao's phone to her.
The young lady looked at her phone, realizing how long it had been since she last browsed the internet!
Zhi Yao excitedly opened her Weibo account, only to find that all her previous posts were gone?!
"Where are my Weibo posts? I posted so many!"
"The system might have glitched. Some of my posts disappeared too," Pei Chiyao lied smoothly.
The comments on Zhi Yao's previous posts criticizing her were too numerous, so he had deleted them all for a clean slate.
Zhi Yao let out a disappointed "Oh."
Her first post had many comments from her little fans! And now they were all gone!
She instinctively checked the trending topics and, sure enough, saw an apology post from the marketing account blogger, explaining the whole situation and stating that Zhi Yao had been framed. He even shared CCTV footage of Zhi Yao escaping the hotel room five minutes later.
At the same time, the director of Legend of the Fox Demon clarified that the female lead had never been confirmed, and Zhi Yao was the first choice after discussions with the entire crew. There was no role-snatching or casting couch involved.
He even released Zhi Yao's audition tape, showing her charming portrayal of a mischievous little fox that won everyone's hearts.
Other crew members also spoke up in Zhi Yao's defense.
Sister Su: "Our Yao is just a village girl who knew nothing about the world. She'd never even heard of Weibo or WeChat before, so how could she understand things like the casting couch? She was simply discovered by Brother Sun, a true talent. This child is so naive, she didn't even know actors get paid! Don't judge our innocent Yao with your malicious thoughts."
A photographer: "Yao is really sweet and innocent. Being around her is like being with a little sister. She absolutely didn't use any couch to get her role!"
With this wave of support, Legend of the Fox Demon shot back to the top of the trending topics.
Zhi Yao was deeply touched and, still a bit clumsy, @mentioned the crew's Weibo accounts to express her gratitude for defending her.
After posting, she was about to log off when a text message notification appeared at the top of her screen.
Quick with her fingers, Zhi Yao tapped to open it.
But the moment she saw the contents, her eyes widened in shock.
It was a photo of a tail.
Zhi Yao recognized it instantly - it was her mother's tail!!
Tears streamed down her face as her golden eyes misted over.
Through the blur, she saw another message from the same unknown number.
Unknown number: If you want to see your mother, come to me tonight. Don't tell Pei Chiyao. Address: ...
The message sent a chill through Zhi Yao's heart. She quickly wiped her tears, glancing at Pei Chiyao beside her working on documents, afraid he would notice her distress.
The young lady's heart raced.
The tail of a Nine-Tailed Fox is an extremely precious treasure. Having it severed would be agonizingly painful, and just imagining her mother's pain made Zhi Yao's heart ache too.
She wanted to rush to the given address immediately to uncover the truth.
But Zhi Yao quickly regained her composure.
Going alone would undoubtedly be dangerous. She knew her own limitations, but the sender forbade her from telling Pei Chiyao...
She glanced up at Pei Chiyao furtively.
And he happened to catch her gaze.
Noticing her reddened eyes, Pei Chiyao's brow furrowed. "What's wrong, little crybaby?"
He pulled her into an embrace with one arm. Zhi Yao sniffled and, after much deliberation, handed him her phone.
The sender only said not to tell Pei Chiyao, but she didn't tell him - he saw it himself!
That shouldn't count as breaking the rules, right?
Pei Chiyao took the phone, his expression darkening.
In the next moment, he dialed the unknown number.
Unsurprisingly, it was a disconnected number.
He enlarged the photo, studying it carefully before showing it to Zhi Yao. "Are you sure this is your mother's tail?"
