The Fox’s Den

She delivered her verdict, her fingertips tracing an idle path across Xiang Qing’s waist, then upwards along the lace trim of her shirt, finally pausing at the nape of her neck. “No sour smell here, either.”

A shiver ran through Xiang Qing, the hairs on her body prickling to attention. Everywhere those icy fingertips touched, a wave of goosebumps erupted.

“Don’t… don’t touch me…”

“It seems the source of this scent is quite elusive, then.”

Shen Lanzhi completely disregarded her resistance, her fingers meticulously tracing down each vertebra of Xiang Qing’s spine, inch by painstaking inch, all while she continued her earnest analysis. “Not the feet, not the legs, and not the nape of the neck… So where could it be?”

Xiang Qing felt less like a person and more like a giant tiramisu, being meticulously sampled by Shen Lanzhi, who was spooning out small pieces to savor.

‘This isn’t about finding a smell at all!’

‘This is purely an excuse to feel her up from head to toe!’

‘I don’t believe a word of it!’

‘You wicked old “green tea“!’

Just as Xiang Qing felt herself on the verge of snapping, her nose suddenly caught a faint, almost imperceptible sour scent.

‘Wait a moment.’

‘This smell…’

‘It doesn’t seem to be coming from me.’

Her gaze darted over Shen Lanzhi’s shoulder, settling on the coffee table tucked away in the living room corner.

There, an antique-style thermos sat prominently.

It was the very pot Shen Lanzhi used daily for her traditional Chinese medicine.

That fermented, herbal-tinged sourness was unmistakably wafting from that direction.

‘There can be only one truth!’

Conan’s classic theme music blared in Xiang Qing’s mind, and a surge of wild elation mixed with profound absurdity washed over her, like surviving a catastrophe.

She swiftly seized Shen Lanzhi’s hand, which was still roaming her back, halting her exploration mid-motion.

“Lanzhi-jie.”

“Hmm?” Shen Lanzhi paused, her gaze innocent as she looked at Xiang Qing.

Xiang Qing drew a deep breath, summoning all her strength to conjure a perfect, practiced smile. Then, she raised her other hand, pointing with pinpoint accuracy at the thermos.

“That ‘sour smell’ you mentioned,” she enunciated, each word bitten out through gritted teeth, “is it perhaps wafting from your pot of priceless ‘Ten-Ingredient Great Tonic Soup’?”

The gentle smile on Shen Lanzhi’s face instantly solidified.

Her eyes followed Xiang Qing’s pointed finger, and she remained frozen for a good two seconds.

Then, a soft chuckle escaped her lips, a laugh tinged with embarrassment and dawning realization, yet overwhelmingly imbued with the pleasure of a successful stratagem.

She withdrew her hand, elegantly sweeping her long hair back into place.

“Oh, my, look at my memory,” she murmured, lightly tapping her forehead. “It must be the scent of the herbal medicine. What a monumental misunderstanding.”

She gazed at Xiang Qing, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

“However…”

Leaning closer, her warm breath ghosting over Xiang Qing’s earlobe, Shen Lanzhi continued, “I’m rather pleased we had this little misunderstanding. It allowed me to confirm something.”

“What is it?” Xiang Qing asked, her voice laced with caution.

A perfect, knowing arc graced Shen Lanzhi’s lips.

“You smell utterly delightful, from head to toe.”

At that moment, Xiang Qing’s brain went into complete overload. A cacophony of alarm bells, the frantic squawks of a rubber chicken, and the furious chirps of a marmot erupted in a full-blown symphony within her skull.

‘What to do?’

‘Run?’

‘No, if I run, there’ll be no explaining myself.’

‘Endure?’

‘If I endure any longer, I felt my innocence would be irrevocably compromised, not in a physical sense, but a spiritual one. I feared this woman would twist me into a pervert, one who would instinctively want to kneel and sing “Conquest” every time she saw a beautiful older sister.’

Just then, a divine light—no, rather, a ridiculous internet post she’d once stumbled upon—forcibly popped up and pinned itself to the forefront of her mind, much like an intrusive advertisement.

[What should you do when you encounter a pervert? – OP]

[Top Answer: Just be more of a pervert than they are, and they’ll start questioning their life choices. Remember, offense is the best defense!]

‘That’s right!’

‘How could I have forgotten this crucial detail!’

Xiang Qing was instantly enlightened, as if her Ren and Du meridians had been unblocked, a sudden surge of clarity washing over her.

‘So what if it’s about who can be more outrageous?’

‘Bring it on!’

‘Let’s hurt each other!’

She abruptly lifted her head, her startled fawn expression vanishing in an instant, replaced by a smile that was three parts aloof, four parts mocking, and an overwhelming ninety-three parts utterly greasy.

The curve of her lips marked the pinnacle of her lifelong acting prowess.

“Lanzhi-jie.”

Her voice, too, underwent a transformation; it was no longer her clear, feminine tone, but deliberately lowered, imbued with a roguish, magnetic huskiness.

Shen Lanzhi, witnessing the sudden shift in her expression, froze for a moment, a fleeting look of bewilderment flashing in her eyes.

‘It’s working!’

A thrill of triumph surged through Xiang Qing, and she pressed her advantage.

Far from retreating, she took a decisive step forward, completely obliterating the last vestige of safe distance between them.

Mimicking Shen Lanzhi’s earlier move, she leaned in slightly, her nose drawing near.

“Your scent, too, is incredibly captivating.”

Xiang Qing lifted her gaze, her eyes burning as she fixed them on Shen Lanzhi. “It’s a scent that makes one want to commit a crime.”

‘Damn it!’

‘That’s so gross!’

Xiang Qing had already mentally vomited eight hundred times, yet her face remained fixed in that wickedly charming, arrogant expression.

Shen Lanzhi’s body visibly stiffened, and the pressure of her grip on Xiang Qing’s wrist lessened ever so slightly.

“Xiao Qing, you…”

“Me what?” Xiang Qing cut her off, allowing no chance for a retort. Her hands shot out like lightning, seizing Shen Lanzhi’s shoulders, and pushing her back with considerable force!

“Ah!”

With a short, startled gasp, Shen Lanzhi lost her balance and toppled backward onto the plush sofa.

Before she could even fully settle, Xiang Qing had already advanced, looming over her.

Kneeling on one knee at the edge of the sofa, she effectively trapped Shen Lanzhi between herself and the backrest. Her hands braced on either side of Shen Lanzhi’s body, creating a classic “sofa-don” pose.

“Weren’t you so curious about the source of that scent just now?”

Xiang Qing gazed down at the woman beneath her, her greasy smile broadening. “Now, it’s my turn to be curious.”

She lowered her head, her face hovering less than ten centimeters from Shen Lanzhi’s.

“What brand is your lipstick?”

Xiang Qing’s magnified face was reflected in Shen Lanzhi’s pupils, who appeared genuinely stunned by the sudden turn of events.

“I…”

“Let me think.”

Xiang Qing extended her index finger, its pad gently tracing Shen Lanzhi’s soft lips, eliciting a subtle, almost imperceptible shiver. “It looks quite delicious,” she purred, “I wonder if it tastes as good as it looks.”

‘Enough!’

‘These lines are the absolute limit of what I can conjure!’

‘One more word and I swear I’ll have a myocardial infarction right here!’

Xiang Qing’s mind was a maestro of frantic screams, yet her hands continued their brazen movements.

Her other hand, now free, began an improper ascent along Shen Lanzhi’s arm.

“Lanzhi-jie, your pajamas have such exquisite fabric; they’re so smooth it feels as if you’re wearing nothing at all.”

‘Quick!’

‘Push me away, now!’

‘Call me a pervert!’

‘Tell me to get lost!’

Xiang Qing prayed fervently in her heart.

Shen Lanzhi finally reacted.

“Xiao Qing… don’t do this.” Her voice sounded like a protest, yet her flushed cheeks and slightly ragged breaths betrayed a completely different sentiment.

“We… this isn’t good for us,” she murmured, raising a hand as if to push Xiang Qing away.

‘Here it comes!’

A surge of delight shot through Xiang Qing. ‘This is exactly what I was waiting for!’

However, Shen Lanzhi’s hand landed on her chest with barely any force, feeling less like a push and more like a gentle caress.

Xiang Qing’s smile froze on her face.

‘This isn’t how the script goes.’

“Why isn’t it good?” Xiang Qing pressed on, her bravado unwavering as she continued her audacious performance. “I think this is perfectly good.”

Her hand continued its upward trajectory, perilously close to venturing into forbidden territory.

“Get up, quickly.”

Shen Lanzhi’s eyes fluttered shut, her long eyelashes trembling like butterfly wings. Her voice softened further, almost a whisper. “If this continues… I might just take you seriously.”

Xiang Qing:

“…”

‘Seriously?’

‘Seriously? Seriously what?’

‘Seriously that I’m some pervert with nefarious intentions towards you?!’

She stared at the woman beneath her—flushed, breathing rapidly, looking utterly ripe for the taking—and Xiang Qing’s entire being fractured.

‘Didn’t they say if I was more brazen than you, you’d be scared?’

‘Didn’t they say offense was the best defense?’

‘Why do you look… not only unafraid, but even a little excited?!’

‘You ridiculous netizens, I fell for your wicked advice!’

‘You’re leading innocent women astray; this is fraud!’

Xiang Qing’s domineering aura completely evaporated in an instant. She no longer felt like some wickedly charming, arrogant aggressor, but rather a little white rabbit who had willingly sauntered into a fox’s den, then proceeded to weld the door shut behind herself.

She froze, pinned above Shen Lanzhi, unable to advance, unable to retreat.

Her hand still lingered at the edge of Shen Lanzhi’s pajamas.

Time seemed to stand still.

In the deathly silence, Shen Lanzhi slowly opened her eyes. Her gaze, brimming with tender affection, held no trace of fear, only a sparkling sheen and a hint of amusement.

She raised a hand, gently circling Xiang Qing’s neck, her warm fingertips brushing the nape of Xiang Qing’s neck.

Then, her vermillion lips parted, and with a voice that was almost a sigh, she softly asked,

“Why stop?”

“Continue, you little rascal.”