Chapter 24: What Harm Could a Fox Possibly Mean to Do?

"Xiao'an, please forgive me, okay? Later, when we get to the courier station, we'll get some delicious treats. Your Sister Momo—the one you haven't met yet—bought you lots of little snacks."

Yu Xueqing, looking entirely apologetic, pulled a tissue from the house to wipe the fox's face. She offered a heartfelt apology, deploying a double-layered bribery tactic to make amends with the little creature.

"Ying ying ying..."

The little fox grumbled and muttered in its own language, but ultimately chose to be magnanimous and begrudgingly forgive its clumsy human servant. After all, it wasn't as if Ansheng could pick up a wax seal and return the favor in kind, could he?

After the brief commotion, the Yu family was ready to head out. Ansheng finally understood what Old Chen meant by "not having had a real feast yet." Old Chen explained that to thank Yu Zhenghong for taking him out for drinks and barbecue the previous day, he was treating the Yu family to morning tea today to help them recover—a classic exchange of hospitality.

When Ansheng heard the location for the morning tea, a strange expression crossed his face. Eight o'clock, Changle Street, morning tea? You call that wanting morning tea? That was clearly the behavior of a criminal returning to the scene of the crime after the fact, eager to relive the deed and soak in the astonished discussions of passersby regarding the details of the incident. Ansheng couldn't even be bothered to call out Chen Fengshui’s petty, twisted psychology.

Old Chen drove his Wuling Hongguang, carrying his wife, Yu Xueqing, Chen Peipei, and Ansheng to the city center. Yu Zhenghong drove the pickup truck alone. Although he had been busy drinking and bragging the night before, he hadn't forgotten to pass on live-streaming tips to Yu Xueqing and had even helped her set up the lighting for her studio afterward. With all the necessary matters settled, Yu Zhenghong had to return to Jiule City to manage his shop. For the time being, the live-streaming business was left to Yu Xueqing, while Yu Zhenghong took full charge of the mountain patrols.

...

At the Sixi Teahouse on Changle Street.

"Welcome—"

The hostess, dressed in a black professional suit and holding a bamboo basket, greeted them. However, when she saw the fox in Yu Xueqing’s arms, her smile faltered. "I’m terribly sorry, miss, but in order not to disturb other guests, the teahouse has a policy against pets in the main hall. May I set up a private room for you instead?"

"As a pet owner, you surely understand—Samoyed fur sheds so easily, it might..."

"Xiao'an is a fox!" Yu Xueqing quickly corrected her, looking displeased.

"A fox?"

The hostess paused, took a few steps to the side, and caught a glimpse of Ansheng’s pointed snout and large, alert ears. Her expression suddenly shifted to one of realization. "If it is Lord Fox, then that is fine. Alan, clear a corner table for Lord Fox and bring over a high chair."

Ordinary pets were not allowed; their fur could drift onto the carpet or, worse, into a customer's bowl, a liability the teahouse couldn't afford. Offering a private room was the most the teahouse would concede for the sake of profit. But if the guest brought a white fox? The floor manager would immediately clear a new table—specifically, a large table by the floor-to-ceiling curved windows facing the street.

Lord Fox, Lord Fox... one does not simply treat a creature addressed as "Lord" like an ordinary pet. A white fox... that was a divine spirit!

"Uh..."

Yu Xueqing, holding the little fox, looked at the busy hostess with a bewildered expression. She didn't understand what had happened; she had simply wanted to show off her beautiful fox. Samoyeds were cute, sure, but they couldn't compare to her Xiao'an. But why the special treatment?

"She clearly misunderstood something," Old Chen said, offering a reluctant explanation. "The curved floor-to-ceiling windows at Sixi Teahouse face the entire Changle Street. Those seats are usually kept vacant; during the deity parades, they are reserved for Mazu and other ancestral spirits."

"The hostess clearly mistook your fox for a divine spirit you’ve invited into your home."

A white "Lord Fox"—once consecrated, it was a spirit, and its treatment could not be equated with that of a common pet. Business owners might not necessarily believe in these things, but they would never dare show disrespect.

Yu Zhenghong looked at Ansheng, his eyes lighting up. "Who would have thought that A-Qing's fox had such a use? At this rate, we won't have to line up early for morning tea on holidays anymore, right?"

"You're asking for it..." Chen Peipei rolled her eyes at her husband and gave him a sharp elbow to the ribs, cutting off his nonsense.

Led by the hostess, the group took their seats. The fox, who should have been sitting under the table, was provided with a specially crafted high chair. Once seated, he was slightly higher than the tabletop, giving him a commanding view of the room.

"Ying ying ying..."

Ansheng sat in the high chair, letting out a soft, helpless giggle. He had occasionally seen such special chairs in his previous life. In Jiule City, they were typically used for clay or wooden statues of deities, or to hold ancestral spirit tablets. It was a common sight when a child got into a top university—the family would bring out the ancestral tablets to the restaurant to witness the child’s success and share in the feast. Ansheng never imagined that one day, he would be the one sitting there.

"Ying ying ying..."

Although things had gotten off to a slightly awkward start because of him, overall, it was going well. Sitting in front of the curved floor-to-ceiling glass, he had a perfect view of the Gaofeng Consulting firm—much clearer than looking through a small window in a private room.

They ordered, and the time gradually crept toward eight-thirty.

Then...

Ansheng seemed to hear something. A sly, mischievous smile appeared on his face, and his small ears perked up. He had heard cursing and the sound of a door being kicked.

"Ahhhhh—damn it! Who? Which mother-f***er put glue in my shop lock!"

"Bang! Clang!"

Gaofeng arrived at his office in his newly purchased Panamera, looking relaxed, ready to open for business. But as he inserted the key into the rolling shutter door, it hit something hard. His smile froze, and a sinking feeling emerged in his gut. Could it be... had someone put glue inside the lock of his rolling shutter door?

Gaofeng was no stranger to this sensation. In fact, one of the services his own consulting firm offered was charging clients to mess with the mental state of their competitors. Things like splashing paint were a no-go—that was a one-way ticket to administrative detention. They usually opted for gluing locks, killing a competitor's "fortune tree," or gutting their feng shui fish to turn them into sashimi.

When things got critical, people would hire Gaofeng Consulting to rattle their opponents, causing chaos in their ranks and preventing them from continuing business negotiations. Gaofeng knew this game well.

Realizing what had happened, his face darkened. He kicked the rolling shutter door in a rage, cursing, "I'll f*** your mother! Don't let me catch your faces on the surveillance camera!"

"Just you wait, I'll destroy you..."

Gaofeng stood there, panting heavily, staring at the shutter. He could already imagine the scene inside: a mess, yet nothing serious enough for the police to care about. After calling a locksmith, he immediately phoned his employees, telling them to get to work—the company was in ruins.