Song Yaoyao was as bewildered as a monk trying to fathom the height of his own head. She asked:
"What exactly did you hear?"
"Brother, you fellows were pouring out sweet nothings one after another to win those ladies over.
"You are the gentle breeze, the evening glow, the flutter of my heart, the one no one can replace.
"The moon upon the sea is the moon in the sky; the person before my eyes is the one within my heart...
"I wasn't deliberately eavesdropping. I was on my way to the privy and happened to hear you as I passed your door. It was so sugary it made my teeth ache.
"Don't tell me you weren't the ones saying all that?"
Song Yaoyao felt a little embarrassed. Hadn't she just tossed out a few lines to coax the ladies? She hadn't expected anyone else to overhear.
The man continued:
"Later, I went to the privy again and heard you change tactics. You even pretended to be fortune-tellers to win the ladies over.
"Brother, what should I call you?
"Teach me that fortune-telling trick when you have a moment, won't you?
"If I learn it, Miss Qiaoying will definitely agree to see me."
Song Yaoyao: ...
Song Yaoyao gazed wordlessly at the sky. She had learned all that from supernatural novels she had read before and tried it out last night. Who would have thought someone would overhear? She said:
"I made all of that up."
"That's fine. As long as it fools the ladies, it'll do."
Liu Zheheng and Song Qinghui stepped between Song Yaoyao and the man. Seeing two men who looked anything but easy to provoke appear before him, he slunk away.
Only then did the three of them hurry out of the brothel.
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