The Seventh Step to Winning Someone Over-Rescue a Beauty at Any Time / This Flower Fairy Is Easy to Fool ...

Xiangyi pretended not to notice the hostility and smiled. "Ma'am, miss, may I see your invitations?" Zhang Mou and Shuxuan took out their invitations, but kept their eyes on Xiangyi.

Zhang Mou's gaze was displeased, while Shuxuan seemed more flustered. She appeared to have realized that the person before her was Xiangyi, but ultimately kept quiet.

Xiangyi's appearance was far too distinctive. That aura of hers clearly couldn't be concealed by some ordinary prop.

Shaoyao: Master, Shuxuan keeps looking at you. Do you think she's figured it out?

Xiangyi: It's only an R-rank Disguise Technique, after all.

Shaoyao was puzzled, unable to understand what Xiangyi meant by that nonsense. Xiangyi smiled and said, "It's fine. Shuxuan and I have the same goal. She won't betray me so soon. But Zhang Mou has been giving me hostile looks from the start. Follow them and see if you can eavesdrop on their conversation."

Shaoyao nodded, then openly stood behind Shuxuan and Zhang Mou to listen in.

The flower people could operate within a fifty-meter radius of Xiangyi. The venue was large, but with the right positioning, they could still pick up what was being said.

With that in mind, Xiangyi continued keeping track of the guests arriving one after another, but the so-called important figures were nowhere to be seen.

The young man and woman beside her were still anxiously rehearsing their lines. Aside from greeting a few uncles and aunties, they stayed silent the whole time. Xiangyi was curious to hear the gossip, but managed to resist.

Finally, the boy seemed unable to take it anymore. He crumpled the note he'd been studying and shoved it into his pocket. Xiangyi wondered just how much pressure their family had put on him to make a boy who looked like a high school student shoulder things he shouldn't have to bear.

"Hey, you should take a break too," the boy said, nudging the girl beside him.

The girl let out an "Ah," but didn't stop looking at the note. If they were siblings, they had to be the most famous twins in the Qin family's main line.

The older sister was called Qin An, and her younger brother was Qin Ren. Both were excellent students, and would be entering their senior year of high school after the summer break, just like Xiangyi. Xiangyi hadn't expected that children from powerful families had to work so hard. It was nothing like she'd imagined.

Perhaps Xiangyi had been staring for too long. Qin Ren looked over at her, and the instant their eyes met, his face turned bright red. He hurriedly grabbed at something to hide his face, but couldn't find anything, so he ducked behind his sister.

The sudden change caught Xiangyi off guard. This boy really seemed like a drama queen. He'd been right beside her for ages, yet only now was he acting embarrassed, as if he'd done it on purpose.

But on second thought, when the two of them had first been brought over, they'd been so tense that they probably hadn't noticed her at all. It made sense they'd ignored the people around them. Realizing she might have been overthinking things again, Xiangyi smiled.

Qin Ren grew even more flustered. He frantically shook his sister, Qin An, who looked a lot like him.

"What are you doing?" Qin An seemed serious and short-tempered. Annoyed by his shaking, she smacked her younger brother.

"Ow!" Qin Ren cried, then pointed at Xiangyi with an aggrieved look. "Sis, look at her!"

Qin An frowned, but when she looked at Xiangyi, her expression turned just as strange.

"Sorry, did I scare you?" Xiangyi forced an awkward smile. She was sure that a collateral branch child like herself couldn't possibly have any connection to the Qin twins, yet they were looking at her as if she were some kind of monster.

"Reality really is different from what you imagine. She's not as pretty as I thought," Qin An said, stroking her chin as she scrutinized Xiangyi. It was as if she'd switched genders with her younger brother, Qin Ren.

Xiangyi was even more confused. She waited for the two of them to explain, but suddenly the people nearby grew noisy.

"CEO Ye is here!"

Those four words made everyone tense. The elegant, composed guests who had been inside immediately hurried out to greet this important figure who'd come from afar. In an instant, Xiangyi was swallowed by the crowd. She couldn't see a thing, and couldn't even hold on to her spot.

The twins had no room to stand either, and hurriedly dodged the crowd. Xiangyi had no choice but to step back a few paces, where she spotted Zhang Mou trying to force her way through.

Zhang Mou was the wife of a collateral branch member. Her husband was dead, and her son was now in a vegetative state, so she was especially desperate. She struggled to push her way into the crowd, but in an evening gown, she couldn't possibly compete with those burly men.

Before she'd made it very far, Xiangyi noticed the uncle who'd just flirted with them eyeing Zhang Mou. His burly wife had already reached the front, leaving him alone.

It seemed to be Part Two of Chapter 60: Strategy Seven—Rescue a Beauty at a Moment's Notice

As if he'd realized something, the uncle turned his gaze toward Zhang Mou.

Zhang Mou's dress, as expected, revealed her fair skin and alluring figure. The uncle's eyes widened, and the sight seemed to make his expression even more excited. Soon, he realized he was losing control and could only take deep breaths to calm himself down.

Seeing that the uncle had given up, Xiangyi was about to look for Shuxuan when, amid the hubbub, she heard the sound of fabric tearing. Looking again, she saw that Zhang Mou's dress had ripped. The uncle, who'd only just managed to calm down, could no longer restrain his lustful urges. He charged into the crowd, hoping to take advantage of the chaos.

Xiangyi frowned as she watched. The uncle was moving even faster now. Unlike the others, who were focused on CEO Ye, he kept staring greedily at Zhang Mou—at her torn hem, at the helpless fear on her face. He wanted to make her expression twist even more.

Closer... closer...

Just before the uncle could touch the skin of the woman he'd been leering at for so long, his hand suddenly twisted into a U-shape, as if possessed. It happened so quickly that his brain hadn't even had time to register the pain.

Once he realized what had happened, the uncle let out a frantic scream, staring at his ruined right hand. Zhang Mou jumped, but when she turned and saw his condition, she breathed a sigh of relief. Then she remembered that her dress had been torn and noticed the ill-intentioned looks from the men around her.

Zhang Mou panicked. She'd never thought her determination would end up making her look so pathetic. But she also knew that in the Qin family as it was now, no one would truly help her.

Zhang Mou's lips trembled, despair plain in her eyes. She had no idea where Shuxuan had gone, and her son had been turned into a vegetable by that bastard. Now she seemed destined to endure those lecherous stares and face things she should never have had to bear.

Time seemed to crawl. Zhang Mou stood frozen, silently screaming inside, unable to get a single word out.

Just as everyone was watching Zhang Mou's distress, someone walked straight out of the crowd. Zhang Mou looked at the newcomer and realized it was the hostess she'd disliked earlier.

The girl was so beautiful, so young and full of life—everything Zhang Mou wasn't. Yet this extraordinarily beautiful girl took off her uniform jacket and draped it over the torn hem of Zhang Mou's dress. Then she put an arm around Zhang Mou's waist, shielding her as she led her out of the crowd.

Zhang Mou couldn't believe what was happening. She couldn't believe that, when she'd run into danger, her rescuer hadn't been a prince, but a beautiful princess...

"Ma'am, are you all right?" Xiangyi asked gently as she led Zhang Mou into a small lounge and checked on her.

"I-I'm fine. Thank you, young lady." The word "ma'am" brought Zhang Mou back to her senses. She remembered her mission and reminded herself not to forget her ambitions over a little kindness.

Xiangyi smiled and turned to leave, but Zhang Mou grabbed her.

At that instant, Xiangyi heard the most detestable sound in the world—the one she least wanted to hear.

System: Flower fairy discovered—Zhang Mou.

In that same moment, Xiangyi wanted to beat the system to a pulp. She'd only disliked the uncle, so she'd asked Shaoyao to give him a little gift—a broken hand. And out of respect for a fellow woman, she'd stepped in to save Zhang Mou.

But Xiangyi had never expected her good deed to turn Zhang Mou into a flower fairy. Worse, Zhang Mou was her adoptive mother, which made her feel terrible. Xiangyi was still struggling with the idea. If she could, she wanted to skip over Zhang Mou as a flower fairy.

"Wait, could you help me find someone?" Zhang Mou looked awkward. Since she was wearing an evening gown, her bag was with Shuxuan. She couldn't contact Shuxuan right away to tell her about her current predicament.

"Of course." Xiangyi nodded and started to leave, only to realize Zhang Mou was still holding her hand. Zhang Mou seemed reluctant to let her go, but also afraid to be left alone in the room.

"Ma'am, is there anything else you need? I can't be away for too long." Xiangyi frowned slightly and tried to free the hand Zhang Mou was holding.

"Um, did you bring a phone? I could call my own number, and maybe my friend would hear it." Zhang Mou explained, unconsciously moving a little closer to Xiangyi.

"Sorry, we're not allowed to bring our phones while working," Xiangyi explained. She couldn't possibly be foolish enough to reveal her phone number. But this was also a warning to herself: if she kept pretending to be two people, a single phone number could eventually become a fatal weakness.

"Then... could you stay a little longer before you go looking?" Zhang Mou asked again. The helplessness on her face made it seem as though she was afraid of the atmosphere in the room.

At first, Xiangyi hadn't understood how Zhang Mou could have become a flower fairy. But looking at her now, Xiangyi realized that she seemed to be afraid of the dark.

"Ma'am, are you afraid of the dark?" Xiangyi asked directly. Zhang Mou blushed, but gave a quiet "Mm."

Xiangyi figured that a lonely woman who was afraid of the dark should be easy to win over. She sat down beside Zhang Mou, doing her best to make her voice sound gentle.

"Then I'll keep you company for a while."

"Thank you."

Zhang Mou's voice held a little gratitude, but she also sounded dejected, aware of what a failure she was as an adult.

Xiangyi said nothing. Shaoyao had already begun reporting the conversation Zhang Mou had just had with Shuxuan, which had all revolved around CEO Ye.

That was why Zhang Mou had been so desperate to get involved with him.

Xiangyi's mood didn't change. As the author who'd given Zhang Mou her casual name, she knew exactly how things would end for her.

Zhang Mou's husband had died young. She'd spoiled Xiangyi's brother, Prince Qin, too much, leading him to become arrogant and overbearing. Later, she'd failed to stop his many evil deeds and ended up suffering the consequences herself, becoming the plaything of that uncle whose name hadn't even been mentioned.

If Zhang Mou hadn't become a flower fairy just now, Xiangyi might have let the plot play out. But now that Zhang Mou had become a flower fairy, Xiangyi had to consider getting closer to her.

Zhang Mou's rank was a little low, but as long as she could produce flower people, she'd still be useful.

"Isn't it strange? An old lady like me is afraid of the dark." Perhaps she found the silence too awkward, because Zhang Mou suddenly spoke.

Xiangyi glanced at Zhang Mou beside her. She wore a black dress and red lipstick, and time had barely left a mark on her. If anything, it had added to her mature beauty. Like a ripe fruit, she inspired an even stronger urge to possess her.

Xiangyi hadn't even bothered to give Zhang Mou a proper name, much less spent many words describing her. She hadn't expected this world to fill in the blanks and imagine Zhang Mou as such a beauty. If she hadn't been beautiful, Xiangyi probably wouldn't even have felt like kissing her.

She stared straight at Zhang Mou, making her shift uncomfortably. "Is my makeup smudged?" Zhang Mou asked quietly.

Xiangyi shook her head. "No. I'm just looking at you, ma'am. You're so beautiful that even I'm falling for you."

In fact, Zhang Mou was forty, but she'd taken very good care of herself. Everything that ought to be full was full, and everything that ought to be slim was slim. She seemed to have always been very disciplined.

Xiangyi's words made Zhang Mou beam. She instinctively reached for her wallet to tip her, but then remembered she didn't even have her bag or phone with her. She gave an awkward laugh. "Well, hearing that from a beauty like you makes this old lady feel so much better."

As she spoke, Zhang Mou casually took Xiangyi's hand, showing her affection. Xiangyi had helped her, so the hostility she'd felt toward Xiangyi's looks had faded considerably. With Xiangyi flattering her, Zhang Mou couldn't help taking another look.

Xiangyi didn't avoid her gaze. She knew Zhang Mou would never recognize that she and the other "Xiangyi" were one and the same. So her eyes were even a little flirtatious.

Zhang Mou was lonely and emotionally unfulfilled, so in this story's world, it was easy for her to be tempted by anyone who treated her well. All it took was touching the most tender, vulnerable part of her heart. And right now, she was at her most vulnerable. Zhang Mou suddenly hooked her little finger around Xiangyi's, as if sending her a signal.

As a widow, Zhang Mou had lowered her expectations for love. In her current state, all she needed was someone who could make her feel warm.

Xiangyi hesitated, then heard Zhang Mou say, "So you were only joking." Her lips parted slightly as she murmured the disappointed words, then began to pull her hand away.

Zhang Mou chose to give up, deciding that her little finger's advance had been an accident. But Xiangyi made her move. She reached out and lifted Zhang Mou's chin. Zhang Mou's eyes widened in surprise, and she adopted a womanly pose. She finally seemed to feel a little shy, but despite her age, she met Xiangyi's gaze directly.

Her scarlet lips were an invitation. Xiangyi wanted to kiss her and complete the ritual of planting a flower seed, but Zhang Mou spoke first.

"I'm wearing lipstick. Maybe we'd better not." Zhang Mou regretted it. There was no good way to clean up the lipstick in a place like this, and her bag was with Shuxuan. If her daughter-in-law saw her, she'd think Zhang Mou couldn't set a good example and wouldn't be loyal to her son, Prince Qin. So she decided to refuse after all.

As she spoke, Zhang Mou gently pushed Xiangyi away, only to find that Xiangyi had moved closer instead. Xiangyi wrapped her arms around her. The embrace was so tight that Zhang Mou could barely breathe, but she also noticed how clumsy Xiangyi was. Faced with this beautiful young woman she might only meet once, Zhang Mou couldn't help feeling desire too. She wanted to indulge herself and let out all her pent-up sorrow over Prince Qin becoming a vegetable.

The young woman before her was prettier and younger than she was, and Zhang Mou didn't need to worry about any complications afterward. Even if the beautiful girl became attached to her, Zhang Mou could afford to support them both. She wasn't worried about her family making strange assumptions about their relationship, either.

Most of all, she could feel the longing in Xiangyi's gaze.

"You can't touch my lips, but you can use your tongue, right?" Zhang Mou came up with the best solution. She reminded Xiangyi that she could touch her, but only under that strict condition.

Xiangyi was a little dazed, but all she could think was whether this counted as a kiss.

Thankfully, the system finally came through for once and explained.

System: The tongue counts too. The user only needs to have intimate physical contact.

Xiangyi felt more and more like the system was messing with her. But then she remembered that its mother was herself, and that this was a wrestling novel to begin with. Perhaps it wasn't strange at all. It seemed that as long as there was wrestling, the world had no such thing as a bottom line.

It was just that she'd much rather it happen to someone else.

Experiencing it herself was completely different from reading about it. Up close, she could smell the faint fragrance and feel the heat radiating from Zhang Mou. The evening gown's design meant Xiangyi occasionally brushed against her arms and other places. Zhang Mou was ready for it, watching Xiangyi with amused interest.

Seeing how utterly inexperienced she was, Zhang Mou began to laugh. But she patiently guided Xiangyi, as if she weren't in any hurry.

As the older woman, she was putting her advantage to use. Xiangyi drew closer and held her around the waist. Zhang Mou didn't dislike the feeling. She even found herself breathing in deeply a few times, then offered her lips.

Their tongues met, tentative at first, then dancing together. Zhang Mou had only meant to tease Xiangyi, but she discovered that she was becoming addicted to the feeling. Like a beast, she wanted to devour the girl before her.

Xiangyi had never been touched like this. She was a little dazed as Zhang Mou took the lead, guiding her more assertively. A bewitching smile appeared on Zhang Mou's face.

Just as Xiangyi was wondering whether she should call for backup, Shaoyao's voice drifted through her mind.

Shaoyao: Master, I brought Shuxuan.

Xiangyi gave a quiet "Mm," and then a sound came from outside. It brought Zhang Mou back to reality. She saw the state they were in and hurriedly stood up, straightening her clothes.

Xiangyi began tidying herself up too, quickly wiping off the lipstick marks she'd accidentally gotten on her.

A moment later, Zhang Mou opened the door. Shuxuan stood outside with a change of clothes. She glanced at Xiangyi before walking over to Zhang Mou.

"Sorry, Auntie. It took me a while to buy you some clothes," Shuxuan apologized, explaining why she'd taken so long. As she spoke, she handed the clothes to Zhang Mou. Her anxious expression showed she was worried Zhang Mou, who was often harsh with her, might give her a hard time.

But to her surprise, Zhang Mou only shook her head. "No, no, it's fine. Thank you, Shuxuan." Her voice was soft and timid, as if she didn't want to show her fierce side.

Shuxuan was a little baffled. She glanced at Xiangyi again, wondering if Xiangyi had done something to make Zhang Mou act so strangely.

Xiangyi pretended not to notice and said to them, "Ma'am, now that your friend is here, I'll take my leave." She tried to slip away, but Zhang Mou stopped her again.

"Wait... don't go yet..." Zhang Mou hurried forward and took two hundred yuan from the bag Shuxuan had brought.