So It Turns Out You’re a Fox Spirit (GL) - Chapter 1
Le Xiaoyao, female, 27 years old, a typical urban “light mature” woman.
27 — not too young, not too old, an age that’s neither awkward nor enviable. Seeing everyone around her busy finding partners and having kids, Miss Le Xiaoyao wasn’t in a rush.
Not in a hurry to marry? People might assume she’s a career-focused “golden leftover girl.”
No!
Le Xiaoyao had been navigating the social world for five years. She’s now a lead designer at a well-known 4A advertising agency. In her own words, she’s doing “not too bad” and living a comfortably bourgeois life.
“Beep beep beep… beep beep beep…”
The quiet office was broken by the crisp sound of an alarm. Le Xiaoyao stretched lazily and said, “Yo! Five o’clock! Comrades, time to go home~”
The office erupted in cheers.
The design department of Leader Advertising Company was divided into three teams, and Le Xiaoyao was the team leader of Team 1.
Was Le Xiaoyao lazy? Not entirely. She had skills — exaggerating a bit, Team 1 was a legendary existence: the least overtime, the earliest to leave, and yet the highest project success rate. With those few points alone, many people scrambled just to get into Team 1!
“Look, Team 1 is leaving again…”
“…(groan) Overtime again…”
“…”
At the end of the workday, Teams 2 and 3 would start complaining…
“Xiaoyao姐~”
“Xiaoyao姐, heading off already!”
Le Xiaoyao smiled warmly, responding to everyone’s greetings. Her mysterious status at Leader: a team leader enjoying supervisor-level treatment.
A sharply dressed man approached, holding a few documents.
“Le Xiaoyao, could you try being a bit later leaving work?” Zhou Yi checked his watch — 5:01 PM.
“If I were as diligent as you, Mr. Zhou, your supervisor position would have been mine long ago.”
Zhou Yi coughed. He and Le Xiaoyao were university classmates, joined Leader the same year, and were on good terms. He knew she wasn’t joking — she truly had the skill.
“Go ahead, go ahead. I’ll let Team 2 handle this project~” Zhou Yi waved the documents.
Knowing Le Xiaoyao, no matter how much the project bonus, there would absolutely be no weekend overtime!
Le Xiaoyao had always approached life with a moderate attitude, letting things happen naturally, calm as water.
During the evening rush, traffic was terrible. Le Xiaoyao tapped the steering wheel rhythmically, muttering, “Sigh… might as well take the subway…”
Her phone rang, showing “Huang Dajie.”
A high-pitched, quirky voice rang out: “Xiaoyaozi, where are you?”
Le Xiaoyao glanced outside. “Hmm… almost at A University. Traffic is bad, should be about twenty minutes.”
“A University? Isn’t that your beloved alma mater?”
Le Xiaoyao rolled her eyes. “One pound of roasted chestnuts enough?”
“Xiaoyao’s alma mater chestnuts really make me nostalgic~”
“Go away!” Le Xiaoyao hung up and drove toward A University.
“Huang Dajie,” whose real name was Huang Chenchen, liked to call herself “Big Sister” because she was one month older than Le Xiaoyao. Le Xiaoyao politely referred to her as “Big Sister.” They’d known each other for over ten years — same middle school, same high school, even the same university city — so Huang Chenchen’s quirky antics were nothing new.
By the ginkgo avenue next to A University, golden leaves covered the ground, full of autumn vibes. Photography enthusiasts gathered, as this was the most beautiful autumn view in W City.
For a moment, it felt like returning to university days. The smell of roasted chestnuts drifted in, unchanged.
“Boss, one pound of chestnuts, please.”
The person was the same, though with slightly deeper wrinkles on the forehead.
The vendor smiled, speaking with W City’s accent: “Sorry, sold out today.”
Le Xiaoyao pointed at the pan. “Not selling?”
“Oh, these are homemade…”
Just as she turned to leave, a gentle female voice came from behind: “Uncle Wang, are there any roasted chestnuts left?”
“Teacher Fu! Yes, yes, yes, set aside especially for you!” The vendor greeted warmly.
Le Xiaoyao, hearing this, looked over and froze. The face, the familiar aloof aura — even after five years, she recognized the woman who had annoyed her so much!
Seeing Fu Jin look at her with a hint of confusion, Le Xiaoyao was certain: she didn’t recognize her!
Outwardly calm, inwardly Le Xiaoyao was in chaos, nearly hysterical: she didn’t recognize me! Five years ago, she boldly crossed the line with me — what did that mean?!
She quickly tore her gaze from Fu Jin, ignored the vendor, and left, getting into her car and driving off in one smooth motion.
The chestnut vendor watched her leave and sighed, “Ah… she’s mad?”
During the first month back in the country, she ran into an old classmate. Fu Jin was slightly surprised — though she now looked more mature and sophisticated, surely Le Xiaoyao would remember her! Thinking of this, a twinge of disappointment rose in Fu Jin’s heart.
The roasted chestnuts still tasted familiar; the ginkgo avenue was still the same.
An autumn wind brought a slight chill. Fu Jin tightened her black coat, walking down the avenue — her tall, slender figure became a striking sight in countless photos.
First encounter in a café.
Huang Chenchen was snapping photos of her matcha latte. A journalist by profession and a popular food blogger, she always followed the “photo before eating” principle.
“Huang Dajie!” Le Xiaoyao dashed into the café, calling out, drawing many odd glances.
Huang Chenchen looked down, pretending not to recognize her, thinking: Here I am, elegantly sipping coffee, and she calls me Big Sister — what’s the deal? The men nearby were startled.
Le Xiaoyao sat opposite Huang Chenchen, staring blankly.
“Hey! Where are the roasted chestnuts?”
Le Xiaoyao didn’t answer.
“I’m talking to you! You gone crazy?” Huang Chenchen waved her hand in front of Le Xiaoyao’s face.
Still no response.
Huang Chenchen concluded: the occasional madness was back, so she ignored her and continued sipping her latte.
Le Xiaoyao came back to her senses, furrowing her brows seriously: “Do you think Fu Jin is sick or something?”
Huang Chenchen snorted, spraying her latte everywhere.
Other tables started murmuring complaints; a waiter quickly helped clean up, moving them to another table.
Huang Dajie wanted to clutch her chest: My elegant lady image! Did some latte go up my nose just now?
“You could at least lower your voice! I’m not deaf! Call me Big Sister, okay?”
“Do you think Fu Jin is sick?”
Huang Chenchen grabbed Le Xiaoyao’s hands, face full of mock sorrow, and said earnestly: “Xiaoyao, you know what? Fu Jin is your mortal nemesis. When you don’t talk about her, you’re mature, poised, beautiful, goddess-like… but the moment you mention her…”
Le Xiaoyao asked, confused: “What happens?”
“Mention her, and you turn into a crazy woman!” Huang Chenchen’s eyes sparked like lightning.
Le Xiaoyao: “…”
Indeed, Le Xiaoyao wasn’t competitive in general, but with Fu Jin, it was different. Like today’s encounter — she recognized Fu Jin immediately, but the woman treated her like a stranger?! Le Xiaoyao felt defeated, frustrated that she couldn’t stop thinking about her.
Huang Chenchen didn’t know Fu Jin personally; most of what she knew came from Le Xiaoyao. Still, she wanted to meet Fu Jin herself — how could a woman make the calm Le Xiaoyao lose her composure?
“Xiaoyao, I really want to know what Fu Jin did to you? Don’t tell me it’s just because she kissed you once, and you’ve been calling her crazy all day — thirty times a day at first! Now, almost five years later, you still remember. I think you must really love her…” Huang Chenchen pondered, “…you’re not… bisexual, are you?”
“Go away… even if I were, I wouldn’t tell you… And it’s not a kiss, it’s a forced kiss!”
Huang Chenchen groaned, “Fine, fine! A forced kiss it is. Even if Fu Jin was after your beauty and kissed you, you’ve been scolding her for five years — I feel sorry for her!”
Le Xiaoyao sighed, clearing her throat. “Seriously, I ran into her just now.”
“Who? Fu Jin?”
“Yes. She didn’t remember me! Didn’t remember my name, didn’t even remember me existed…”
Huang Chenchen shrugged, “You two weren’t that close. Forgetting after all these years is normal…”
“But she kissed me…” Le Xiaoyao murmured.
Huang Chenchen shook her head, grabbed Le Xiaoyao’s face, kissed her, and said, “See… it’s that simple.”
“You… you…” Le Xiaoyao didn’t bother explaining that Fu Jin kissed her lips, not her cheek. She wanted to smack Huang Dajie for her cheeky behavior: “You’re asking for trouble! You’re not like her!”
Before Le Xiaoyao was born, her parents wanted to name her “Xiaoyao” — carefree, perfect! But holding the five-pound baby girl, her father realized “Xiaoyao” sounded too masculine, so they settled on “Xiaoyao.”
Le Xiaoyao had long been bothered by her name — too cute, too ordinary, not fitting her extraordinary aura. But since everyone was used to it, she stopped caring.
According to Huang Chenchen, Le Xiaoyao’s “extraordinary aura” could be summarized as: a seemingly calm and composed lady, but beneath her carefree, goofy exterior lies a restless, passionate heart.