“Good morning, Fairy Hua! Dare I ask if you’re here at our Hehuan Building on important business?”
Hua Yan, who had been called out on the street, stiffened instantly.
She whirled around to look at Su Feiyao in the window.
“Wh-who said I have business with your Hehuan Sect?”
She immediately retorted. As soon as she spoke, she was the familiar Hua Yan again.
“I—I was just passing by your place by coincidence. It’s not like I came here for any love advice!”
“Oh~ So that’s how it is. Then this servant misunderstood.”
Su Feiyao swished open the folding fan in her hand and gently waved it.
“Then may I ask, Fairy Hua, would you like to come in for a cup of tea? And keep this servant company for a chat, tell me about the current state of your feelings?”
“Cough… Well, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt.”
Hua Yan cleared her throat, putting on a reluctant expression, and nodded.
“Since you’ve invited me like this, I might as well come have tea and chat with you.”
Inside the private room, Su Feiyao gracefully poured tea for Hua Yan.
But Hua Yan didn’t even touch the cup. She just slightly furrowed her brows, twitched her delicate nose, and sniffed around the room.
“How come I feel that the incense in your Hehuan Building today smells better than before?”
There was a faint, lingering cool fragrance in the air, mixed with a warm musk.
“What is that cool fragrance blended with? It smells pretty good. Give me a portion too.”
Su Feiyao blinked her fox-like eyes, watching Hua Yan sniff and smell at the spot where Yun Xuechang had just been sitting. She laughed.
“That’s a newly developed incense from our Hehuan Sect. It’s still in the trial phase; we only tried using some in the building. Once the test succeeds and it hits the market, we’ll definitely notify Fairy Hua first so you can buy some.”
“Mm, that works.”
Hua Yan stopped smelling the air and nodded reservedly. Then she frowned, her tone carrying some displeasure.
“Why have you been calling me ‘Fairy Hua’ all day? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Oh dear, this servant was afraid of accidentally spilling the beans, so I changed my address and stopped calling you ‘Young Master Hua,’ right?”
The fox-eared girl put on a hurt expression, drawing out her words.
“Your identity now cannot be easily exposed. This servant is only thinking of you, hmm?”
“After all, Fairy Hua, you don’t want others to know that you were turned from a man into a woman, do you?”
A mischievous glint flashed in her fox eyes.
“Tch, fine.”
Hua Yan reluctantly nodded. Then, as if remembering her purpose for coming, she looked around for a moment, crossed her arms, and spoke.
“S-so, didn’t you say you’d talk with me about my love situation? If you have any questions, hurry up and ask!”
Su Feiyao looked at her—arms crossed, cheeks slightly red, gaze wandering, a clear “hurry up and ask me” expression—and felt a little speechless.
‘Is this the same Hua Yan I knew before?’
‘How did she become such an interesting character after turning into a woman and falling in love with Yun Xuechang?’
‘I never knew she had such a fun personality before!’
The russet fox tail behind her wagged with interest.
‘Ah, if I’d known Hua Yan had such an amusing nature, back after the Great Match of the Yinyang Platform when she turned into a woman, I would have made a move on her myself.’
‘If we’d become Dao Companions, every day would surely be so much fun…’
‘But it’s a pity…’
She sighed helplessly in her heart.
‘It’s a pity I realized too late. Yun Xuechang got there first, and the two of them even have a child now.’
‘I can’t beat Yun Xuechang, and I don’t want to steal kisses for some fun only to end up ground into fox meat filling by her Autumn Water Sword…’
“Alright, Fairy Hua. Then let me ask, how are things between you and Fairy Yun now?”
Quickly discarding that suicidal thought, Su Feiyao lightly shook her folding fan and asked with a smile.
“Cough, my relationship with Xue Shang? It’s absolutely wonderful!”
At this, Hua Yan’s lips immediately curved up high, her smile full.
“You have no idea—she’s absolutely crazy about me now. She can hardly bear to part with me!”
“Wow—that’s really wonderful.”
Su Feiyao feigned amazement in agreement, then changed the subject.
“Since the two of you are so close, Fairy Hua, what relationship issue did you come to my Hehuan Building to consult about today?”
“Wh-who said I came to you for relationship advice?”
At this question, Hua Yan became stuttering again.
“Oh? So you didn’t?”
Su Feiyao fanned herself unhurriedly, watching her.
“Umm… cough, maybe… maybe it’s just a tiny, tiny little problem!”
Under her probing gaze, Hua Yan finally extended a pale, slender finger to scratch her chin and spoke hesitantly.
“It’s just… Xue Shang’s birthday is coming up soon. I haven’t figured out what gift to give her yet, so I wanted to ask someone…”
“And I’m not exactly a natural-born woman. The things I like, Xue Shang might not necessarily like. I-I’m a bit indecisive…”
Su Feiyao watched her lower her head in a shy manner and sighed helplessly inside.
‘Ah, outsiders see the game better than the players…’
‘No matter how I look at it, between the two in love, Hua Yan seems more like a lovesick maiden…’
‘And besides, don’t you have any idea? Your Yun Xuechang is not the type to be interested in typical girly things, is she?!’
“Birthday gifts are nothing more than expressing one’s feelings.”
She gently shook her fan and spoke unhurriedly.
“Since, as Fairy Hua said, the two of you are usually very close, then on such an important occasion as a birthday, you only need to give a gift that is sufficient to express your feelings.”
“As for what the gift specifically is, this servant suggests you give her something that aligns with her tastes, rather than thinking about what a woman would like.”
“After all, your partner doesn’t seem like someone with a very girly heart.”
She added the reminder tactfully.
“Express feelings… Align with her tastes…”
Hua Yan repeated thoughtfully. After a moment, she nodded.
“I understand. Thank you for your advice.”
“Yes, actually, aside from a gift, there’s one more thing that’s sure to make her happy. I highly recommend you try it, Fairy Hua.”
As she said this, Su Feiyao recalled what Yun Xuechang had asked about earlier. Her eyes immediately lit up, and she began to persuade coaxingly.
“This servant observes that Fairy Hua, you’re probably not the type to take the initiative in being intimate with Fairy Yun. Am I right?”
“If so, how about on Fairy Yun’s birthday, after giving the gift, you take the initiative to get close to her and do something different from usual?”
“Believe me, if you do this, your partner will be very happy.”
She covered half her enchanting face with her fan and smiled with narrowed eyes.
“D-does it really work that way?”
Hua Yan hesitated and asked uncertainly.
“Of course. Put yourself in her shoes: when Fairy Yun takes the initiative to get close to you, aren’t you also happy inside?”
Su Feiyao gently guided.
“Then Fairy Yun must also be hoping for your initiative. If you do this on her birthday, she’ll surely be immensely happy~”
“Xue Shang will be immensely happy…”
“Umm… I-I’ll think about it…”
Hua Yan hesitated for a moment, then reluctantly nodded.
“That’s enough for today. Your Hehuan Sect’s love consultation lives up to its name.”
She placed a pouch of spirit stones on the table.
“This is the consultation fee.”
“Oh, thank you for your patronage.”
Su Feiyao cooed and stored the pouch of spirit stones into her storage pouch—right beside the spirit stones that Yun Xuechang had paid earlier.
……
After seeing Hua Yan off, the handmaid once again approached Su Feiyao and said softly,
“Holy Maiden, the client for the commission you took on first has arrived.”
“Oh? What a coincidence?”
Su Feiyao hadn’t yet recovered from the fun she’d just had. She turned around, the mischievous smile still on her face.
“Who is the client?”
“It’s Lin Qianqian of the Xiaoyao Sword Sect.”
The handmaid replied respectfully.
“She is the one who claimed that her lover suddenly changed personality and wants to win them back.”