A Good-for-Nothing

122. A Fox Boy (2)

Translator: Dragon Rider

The naive fox boy, utterly oblivious of the change in He Zheng’s tone, answered crisply, “Yeah.”

He Zheng narrowed his eyes even further. “Do you not know that Li Zong is already married?”

“Huh?” The fox boy was glued to the spot. After a few moments, he stammered, “I–I live outside Shanhaiguan Pass. Unlike this warm southern area, it’s a very cold place. I spend most of the time in a cellar and the WIFI signal there is not very good, so I–I didn’t know about this.”

The fox boy blinking his big eyes nearly passed out, as if having just been struck by lightning. “H–He got married?”

“Yes,” replied He Zheng categorically. Beneath such pure, innocent gaze, he didn’t feel a shred of guilt. Instead, he mercilessly gave the fox boy a dramatized version of the story.

“Supt. Li loves his wife very very deeply. In fox language, he’s got a marriage partner, so all other foxes, humans and Yōkai won’t have a chance. Just forget about it.”

“I–Is the situation really that hopeless?” The fox boy seemed to be lapsing into despair, tears welling up in his eyes.

“Absolutely hopeless,” He Zheng responded in no uncertain terms. “Surely you don’t think Li Zong will cheat on his wife?”

“Supt. Li is such a good person. He’ll never do that.” The fox boy hung his head in utmost dejection, pitifully walked up to the sweet olive tree and lightly hit the back side of his head against the trunk again and again, cutting a sorry figure.

“Jesus… You bullied a young boy, Cutie!” reproached Jin Qianlai, who had witnessed the whole thing. “You’re a total asshole. How could you do that to such a cute boy?”

He Zheng looked at Jin Qianlai as if he were a ghost haunting him for years. Then it occurred to him that Jin Qianlai had entered his name, and he indeed was supposed to attend this interview.

If Zu Zhichong was a windbag, then Jin Qianlai would be a quirky windbag. He Zheng rolled his eyes and then asked, “Your heart aches for the little fox?”

“It does. He’s such an adorable boy,” said Jin Qianlai.

A thought flitted through He Zheng’s mind. One of them was a male fox who had just been disappointed in his unrequited love, and the other one a single Pixiu (a divine beast existing in a Chinese myth). The two of them were a perfect match for each other. After all, a beast was supposed to be with another beast.

“Oh, I’d like to tell you a secret.” He Zheng beckoned to him.

In Jin Qianlai’s eyes, He Zheng seemed to bear the three gold words “Supt. Li’s Wife” on his forehead. ‘Maybe He Zheng’s little secret was confided to him by Supt. Li!’ Jin Qianlai walked up to him without thinking.

He Zheng flicked a glance at the fox boy and said, “Hu Jiu lives outside Shanhaiguan Pass. Rumor has it that his family is super-rich. In his hometown, the weather is about to get warm, which means the heat period is drawing near, and he’s in dire need of a man willing to marry him.”

He Zheng patted Jin Qianlai on the chest meaningfully. “Bro, this is a chance to marry into a super-wealthy family. Think about it – countless big pearls, gemstones and gold chains. Tsk, tsk. The very thought of them makes my mouth water.”

Shiny things were virtually irresistible to a Pixiu. Jin Qianlai’s legs went limp as he heard this, and they were still as soft as noodles when he walked up to Hu Jiu.

Of course, Jin Qianlai was able to maintain a quite polite demeanor.

He soon collected his thoughts, crouched down and looked at the fox boy, an earnest expression on his face. “What’s the matter? There’s no need to cry.”

The fox boy blinked his eyes, raised his head and looked back at Jin Qianlai who had suddenly shown up.

‘This person is so gentle… even gentler than Supt. Li,’ thought Hu Jiu.

Watching the interaction between a fox and a Pixiu, He Zheng curled up the corners of his mouth in satisfaction. ‘It seems that the story began to unfold.’

There was still over half an hour before the interviewers arrived. He Zheng wandered around for a while. Zu Zhichong and others had to maintain order in the field, and Li Zong was occupied with even more important affairs, so none of them was here to keep him company.

He Zheng left the place where Jin Qianlai and the fox boy were, and walked around the field.

Applicants nearby were standing around in huddles. He Zheng walked close to a young man whose taste in clothes seemed to be not bad, listening to their conversation.

“… It’s said that because of the earthquake in the north-west and the Yōkai uprising outside Shanhaiguan Pass last year, the total number of applicants this year is extremely high. I’m so nervous. What should I do? Do they rate applicants’ appearances in this interview? If they do, I fear I won’t be able to get a pass, given my features.”

The speaker was a common person. He was wearing a suit, cutting a quite formal figure. He Zheng flicked a glance at his face and was amused, feeling that he was indeed rather homely.

Someone standing on the side said, “Huh? They also rate applicants’ appearances? Then what can we do? Do you know anything about the criterion?”

“Look at the man on the enrollment poster. I think he qualifies as a model, doesn’t he?”

He Zheng looked in the direction the speaker was pointing, and saw a familiar face on the poster. Wasn’t that Li Zong? As a vice superintendent, he seemed to be engaging in quite some sidelines. Previously he’d acted as an announcer, and now his face was on an enrollment poster?

“Huh? That’s the criterion? I don’t think any of us is going to get a pass if that’s the case.”

Another man, who was of a stocky and imposing build, huffed in disgust, “Speak for yourself. Don’t jinx us.”

The strong man was swarthy-skinned and wearing an outfit of the Zang nationality (one of the 55 minority nationalities in China), which indicated his ethnic origin.

“Haha, it’s okay. As far as I could tell, none of these people standing on this side is competitive in this regard. Let’s put an end to this pot-calling-the kettle-black thing.”

The tough hombre of the Zang nationality said, “You’re mistaken. Look how pretty that girl of the Miao nationality over there is. And there’s also that dude standing not far away from us. My goodness. He’s so handsome.”

He Zheng, whose appearance was suddenly mentioned in the conversation, felt confused. When the others looked in his direction, he happened to make eye contact with the girl in an outfit of the Miao nationality.

What was going on?