Xuan Mei 6

Qin Feng stepped out of the meeting with a sense of accomplishment. It was a little stupid, but the scheme had worked better than he had expected it to. While everyone was so concerned with how Xuan Mei was taking it, he was more than pleased to see Xu Yanzhi so utterly bewildered by the events of the day that she couldn't even summon the courage to meet with the rest of the group.

That was a clear sign that he had an upper hand!

Nevertheless, he could not relax now. Not when he was still surrounded by her Snow Swallow Palace sisters. It would take more work, he was certain, before he could smack her down completely, and leave her with no way to get out of his trap!

Just how wonderful it would feel, if he could leave her here, desperately longing for him, while he leaves and never return!

And he even had a mirror for her now, didn't he? She would dream of a reunion with him, in the same manner that Xuan Mei had waited for Lin Liushui's arrival, there at Snow Swallow Palace. The only difference was, he had no intention of coming back!

Let the idiot girl waste her years and her tears, dreaming and waiting for him.

It would be a wonderful revenge!

"Qin Feng?"

He turned around then, and smiled. Xuan Mei seemed surprised to see him, which was enough to warn him that this had been set up by someone else. And a quick sensing of his surroundings was enough to tell him just who it was.

Xu Yanzhi!

Well, if that was the case, he would use this setting to its best effect! After all, hadn't he read more than twenty novellas which had similar arrangements in their stories? And haven't he memorized all of the words?

Then he stopped himself. No. He mustn't use another's words! That would be too easily found out! Especially when that Jade-Faced, Empty-Sleeved Gentleman was so popular among women. There was a chance that she might have read his works as well. Wouldn't that completely give him away?

No, he had better stick to his own lines. And throw in a few references to the Heavenly Sword School. Not to mention the City of Changqing!

"Xuan Mei. How have you been? I have not seen you in more than two years."

Warm. But not too warm. He mustn't give the feeling that he was casting her off so easily. Just cold enough to keep her armslength. That's right. That should be enough. And yes! He had to keep that melancholy expression in his tone and on his face.

Hopefully, Xu Yanzhi would buy it. And Xuan Mei wouldn't spoil it for him!

"Qin Feng! Why did you attack Lin Liushui? Don't you know that he is the one that I have been waiting for! I told you that, didn't I?"

What? Why was she getting angry? This wasn't in his plans!

"Where is Lin Liushui? Where is he now? Xu Yanzhi told me that she would bring me to him. But I find you here instead! What have you done to him?"

Done to him? What are you talking about, woman? What could he, Qin Feng, do to Lin Liushui? That handsome fellow probably had more schemes than Zhuge Liang! How come he was supposed to be one doing the plotting?

But he couldn't say that, could he? Or risk being exposed? So what was he supposed to do now? This was nothing like what he had expected! Where was the quiet, well-mannered girl that he had known?

"It was you, wasn't it? You were the one who arranged all of this with them? Tell me! Where is he? What have you done to him? Tell me! Tell me!"

Yet, what could he say, in response to her words?

But the longer that he stayed silent, the more she would shout and rail. And that wasn't going to help matters at all. He had to come up with something. And quickly!

Then he remembered something in one of the novels that he had read. And another passage in another of the same series.

So he flung down his sleeves and hung his head, giving out a loud sigh as he did so. Something that Xuan Mei had clearly not been expecting, since she jumped back the moment that she saw it happen.

"I had thought to have a quiet conversation with you, to find out why you ... But it is clear, that you cannot be bothered with me at all! That all you care about is Brother Lin!

"Did you even consider what I had to put myself through? To face him? Knowing that you favored him, knowing that he was the one that you were waiting for? Do you even know how I had risked my life with that first blow earlier?

"I had no protective zhenqi on me, when I threw out that palm at him! That was why it was so loud and felt so powerful! So that I could fool that old f*rt who was trying to steal you away! So that I could help Brother Lin keep you!

"And this is what I get? For all that I have done? For you! It was all for you!"

Qin Feng sighed lustily again, and flung up his hands. "This is pointless! Completely pointless! I shouldn't have come!"

He breathed out then, and started to run away immediately. That was the inspiration that he had gotten from those books. Run away when you have them off-balanced. It worked for the heroines in those novels, so it should work for him too!

Right?

So long as he left Xuan Mei standing there, stunned by what he had just said, it should work. It matched more than half of the plots that he had read, and the situation had always resolved itself when the person left in the gardens cooled down and thought over matters.

So it should work for him too, even though the sexes were reversed, and he didn't really have any good lines to use.

Right?

Apparently, he was wrong.

Something hit him on the head just then. And he realized upon catching it that it was one of Xuan Mei's shoes!

"Where is Brother Liushui? You bastard! What have you done with him?"

Was she still going on about that?

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