The moment Wei Yang heard Yu Tu’s warning, it felt as if five bolts of lightning struck her head at once.
Wait—this isn’t right!
Where’s Li Mei? Where did my precious daughter Li Mei go?!
Why is there a blonde girl here instead?!
In the original game storyline, Chaoyan was not supposed to come here.
What kind of accident just happened?!
But she didn’t have time to think about it.
From the passage to the hot springs, it would take her about one minute to get there.
But Chaoyan—taller, better-proportioned, with longer legs—would definitely be faster.
Which meant that, at most, Wei Yang only had thirty seconds to decide where to hide.
And that was assuming Chaoyan wasn’t here to catch her, but merely came alone to soak in the springs.
Otherwise, no matter where she hid, she would definitely be found and dragged out.
These were the most crucial thirty seconds of her fox life.
“Seriously! Why is this place so empty?! When is this stupid dry-landscape aesthetic going to be phased out?!”
Just as Wei Yang’s panicked feet were spinning like flaming wheels, she suddenly realized what she had to do—
“Ah Li!”
That’s right.
At a time like this, she had no choice but to ask properly.
Ah Li had stayed beneath the hot spring for so long earlier while Wei Yang was bathing—she must have some way to breathe underwater, whether by ability or item.
If Ah Li was here, maybe Wei Yang could do the same and hide underwater without Chaoyan noticing.
But seconds passed.
No response.
Twenty-four seconds left.
“Oh no—Ah Li’s not here! What am I supposed to do?!”
Wei Yang clutched her head and crouched defensively.
She couldn’t swim at all—jumping in recklessly would be suicide.
Turning into a fox?
That wouldn’t work either. The surroundings were all dry-landscape design; even with a small fox body, there was nowhere to hide.
This private hot spring had clearly been designed—probably by Li Mei—to make hiding impossible.
Fifteen seconds left.
Wei Yang hesitated, wavering over whether to jump in.
By the time only seven seconds remained, she knew she couldn’t hesitate anymore.
Because her calculations were wrong.
She could already hear footsteps getting closer.
She could only dive in and gamble.
What if underwater breathing was a natural fox-spirit talent?!
In the instant before jumping into the spring, Wei Yang was still thinking—
I hate this… I hate the feeling of drowning the most…
“Glug—glug—”
The little fox fell into the hot spring at a bad angle, gulped down several mouthfuls of water, struggled briefly, and slowly sank.
//2(っコ)っ
По°Д:)э
//A;っ救ー-
//≤)o Help—
//o Goodbye, world.
//I’m going to die first (sob)
First life: defeated before even leaving the gate.
Revenge unfinished, collapsing midway—truly congratulations, Coca-Cola.
At least this death confirmed one thing: fox spirits do NOT have underwater breathing abilities.
Ah Li must have relied on some kind of item to stay submerged for so long.
This experience would surely be useful next time!
Though… that would have to wait until Yu Tu reloaded the save and they planned things again…
Closing her eyes, Wei Yang waited for the inevitable fat-cat ending.
***
…Someone was calling her?
【Are you crying?】
Driven by instinct, the usually sharp-tongued Wei Yang was about to retort—but suddenly, a hand pinched her cheeks open, forcing a spherical object into her mouth.
Her breathing instantly became smooth, as natural as being back on land.
Someone had saved her.
The round object stuck in her mouth was a game item that allowed underwater breathing.
But—
“Pop pop pop!”
(This feels awful! Why does the Water-Repelling Pearl have to be used like THIS?!)
Wei Yang already knew who had saved her.
Only one person ever called her little one.
Ah Li.
Even though she couldn’t see Ah Li clearly underwater, Wei Yang knew exactly where she was—and what she was doing.
Because a slender arm was wrapped tightly around her waist.
She was sitting firmly on soft, pale thighs, and an extremely shame-inducing sensation was coming from her back.
The hot spring was surrounded by countless rocks, and some protruded underwater near the edges.
Ah Li was sitting on one such submerged rock, holding Wei Yang in her arms.
The purpose was simple:
to prevent Wei Yang, in a panic, from forcing herself to surface and being noticed by the person on the other side.
Because right now—
Chaoyan was soaking in the hot spring on the opposite side.
Earlier, Ah Li had sensed Wei Yang’s call.
Fox clans possess the ability to communicate mentally with their own kind.
But Ah Li discovered she couldn’t establish a connection with Wei Yang.
It was like trying to make a phone call when someone else was already occupying the line—no third party could cut in.
Someone was blocking Wei Yang’s signal.
With no choice, Ah Li rushed over to check what was happening.
For Wei Yang to call her so quickly, something urgent must have occurred.
Just as Wei Yang was about to drown, Ah Li finally arrived, shoved the Water-Repelling Pearl into her mouth, and instantly analyzed the situation.
In a split second, she chose to pull Wei Yang tightly into her arms—avoiding detection by the newly arrived Chaoyan.
【So… the reason you wanted Li Mei’s help… was to deal with this one, huh…】
“Pop pop pop!”
(It’s still so uncomfortable! Why does it have to work like this?!)
Just as Ah Li finished thinking, Wei Yang protested underwater, bubbles escaping her mouth.
Even though she could breathe, she still couldn’t speak—only produce fish-like bubbles.
Even so, Ah Li understood her perfectly.
And unexpectedly, at this zero-distance contact, her signal was much clearer—she could now connect with Wei Yang and communicate mentally.
【Keep it down. The person you hate is right over there.】
“Pop!?”
(Seriously?!)
【As real as it gets.】
Ah Li released the fingers pinching Wei Yang’s soft belly and pointed toward the other side.
Wei Yang followed her gaze.
And sure enough—
A beautifully curved body was soaking in the pool.
What a pity the angle wasn’t better.
Otherwise, she might’ve been able to see the scenery between those legs…
…?
“Pop pop pop pop!”
(What kind of perverted thought is THAT?!)
【Oh? A little lust awakening, little one? I’m so hurt.
Clearly I’m more seductive than her—face and body.
So why are you always so distant with me?
Waaah, I’m going to cry.】
“…Pop pop pop pop pop.”
(…So even a nasty-tempered fox like you can cry, huh.)
【Hey, I have a heart too, okay? Of course I cry.
Hmph. I’m sad now. I want to rub you~】
Wei Yang felt the arm around her waist loosen, slowly sliding upward—
“Pop! Pop pop, pop pop pop!”
(No! If you absolutely have to touch, wait until Chaoyan leaves!)
【Ehehe~ So you agreed, huh? I was waiting for you to say that~】
Wei Yang felt utterly helpless.
She couldn’t outplay this fox enchantress.
Too weak—no strength, in every sense of the word.
…By the way, when she struggled earlier, did Chaoyan notice?
Wei Yang was a little worried. She hoped she hadn’t drawn attention.
From the looks of it, Chaoyan had only come to bathe.
She didn’t seem to know Wei Yang had escaped—otherwise she wouldn’t be soaking so calmly.
As long as Wei Yang didn’t make any large movements that disturbed the water,
with the Water-Repelling Pearl, she was absolutely safe underwater.
To be sure, Wei Yang looked toward Chaoyan again, forcibly calming her restless heart.
…Huh?
This time—
She saw it.
Why?
Her gaze slowly moved upward.
And finally, Wei Yang understood.
Chaoyan was squatting underwater, granting Wei Yang an obscene visual feast—
And at the same time,
Staring straight back at her.
She had been discovered.
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