"Mom! I've fallen in love with someone! I don't want to marry the eldest young master of the Chu family. He's just a good-for-nothing playboy!"
"If you really want to form an alliance with the Chu family through marriage, why don't you let Bai Ronglan marry him!"
"I'm sure Ronglan would be more than happy to marry into a wealthy family. After all, with her background, it would be a great opportunity for her. Even if the groom is a playboy, it wouldn't matter."
Ronglan was in a daze when suddenly a malicious voice rang in her ears.
What shocked the fox even more was that a great deal of memories that didn't belong to her suddenly popped up in her mind. She was completely unfamiliar with these memories and instinctively tried to push them away, but to no avail.
After the sharp pain in her forehead subsided, she lifted her eyes and looked around. The fox was completely stunned.
Where was this?
Everything she saw seemed to be the "home" in the newly acquired memories, but...
Wasn't she just going through the thunder tribulation?
She remembered clearly that during the tribulation, she was tricked by a fool. The formation she had painstakingly set up was broken, and a thunderbolt struck directly at her fox head. Her head was buzzing, and everything went black. When she regained consciousness, these strange memories had taken root in her mind.
Could this be the so - called rebirth that her aunt had mentioned?
"Little fox." A soft call seemed to come from behind, but Ronglan didn't turn around.
"Mom! Why don't you ask Ronglan's opinion? If she's willing, let her marry!"
Hearing her name, Ronglan looked in the direction of the voice. She saw a beautiful young lady decked out in gold and silver. She stared blankly at the young lady for a few seconds before realizing that this seemingly unkind young lady was, theoretically, her younger sister.
Exhausted by her daughter's nagging, Mrs. Bai had no choice but to look at Ronglan and ask gently, "Lanlan, your sister has someone she likes. Mom knows you don't have anyone special in your heart. How about you marry into the Chu family on Ranran's behalf?"
Bai Rongran cast a challenging look at Ronglan. She wrapped her arm around Mrs. Bai's and her eyes were full of warnings, hinting that Ronglan should agree.
As a fox spirit who had lived for five hundred years and was just one step away from becoming a fox immortal, Ronglan was not intimidated by Bai Rongran's look at all. She quickly sorted through the new memories in her mind, found the useful parts, and then replied to her "mother", "The Chu family wants to marry a young lady from the Bai family. I'm just an impostor. It's not appropriate, is it?"
"Who said you're an impostor? You're also a child of the Bai family. Of course, you're a young lady of the Bai family!" Mrs. Bai frowned.
Ronglan pretended to look innocent and smiled, "But Ranran has clearly told me that I'm just an impostor who stole her identity. She's the real young lady of the Bai family, and I'm just a fake. And everyone in the circle knows that I'm not a child of the Bai family, right?"
Bai Rongran didn't expect Ronglan to say such things in front of Mrs. Bai. She immediately glared at Ronglan fiercely.
Mrs. Bai was a bit at a loss. She patted the back of Rongran's hand and said, "How could this be? But your father and I have already announced to the public that both of you are our children of the Bai family. There's no such thing as an impostor. Lanlan, you're not allowed to talk about yourself like that in the future!"
"How about this? I'll have a chat with my sister. Maybe she's just shy. I'll talk to her nicely and everything will be okay." Bai Rongran let go of Mrs. Bai's arm, stood up, walked in front of Ronglan, and gently patted her on the shoulder. "Sister, let's go outside and talk. The people from the Chu family will come to our house as guests later, and mom still has to entertain them today."
Ronglan raised her eyebrows and pretended not to see the deep malice in Bai Rongran's eyes. She stood up following Bai Rongran and said, "Sure, let's go outside and talk."
Mrs. Bai was a bit worried but didn't stop them. She just reminded them, "You two should talk nicely and don't have any conflicts."
"Don't worry, mom. My sister and I have a great relationship." Bai Rongran said with a smile as she hooked her arm through Ronglan's.
Ronglan didn't pull away, but being so close to Bai Rongran made goosebumps rise on her arm involuntarily. If her fox fur was still there, it would probably be standing on end.
She secretly tried to use her magic, but it didn't work. The magic she had painstakingly cultivated for five hundred years had disappeared without a trace after being struck by the thunder. Fortunately, she wasn't completely useless. Although her magic was gone, her eyes could still see the causal lines on everyone.
She had once accompanied her aunt to set up a fortune - telling stall on the streets of the mortal world for more than a decade. Her aunt had taught her how to analyze a person through the causal lines on their body.
Her parents always said that learning these things was useless, as they would eventually go through the tribulation and ascend, and would have little chance to interact with humans. But now, she was extremely grateful that she had run away from home and spent ten years with her aunt, learning a thing or two.
When they reached the back garden and were out of Mrs. Bai's sight, Bai Rongran immediately shook off Ronglan's arm.
Before Bai Rongran could start scolding, Ronglan spoke first, "If I marry the eldest young master of the Chu family, you'll have no chance with the second young master of the Chu family at all. The Bai family will never allow two of their daughters to marry into the Chu family."
Bai Rongran's face changed suddenly. "What do you mean by that?!"
Ronglan smiled slightly. If she still had her fox tail, she would even want to wag it to show off. Judging from Bai Rongran's expression, she knew she was right. "You know what I mean, Ranran. You don't need me to spell it out, right?"
"Moreover—" She carefully examined the causal lines on Bai Rongran. "Ranran, have you been losing your appetite recently? Did you forget to take contraceptive measures when you had sex with the second young master of the Chu family two months ago? I suggest you go to the hospital for a check - up or buy a pregnancy test stick yourself."
She was such a smart fox that she had already learned this advanced term "pregnancy test stick" in such a short time.
Bai Rongran's face turned pale. She forced herself to calm down, but Ronglan's first two questions had hit her right in the sore spot.
She really hadn't been able to eat much recently and always felt nauseous for no reason. That incident two months ago... It was only many days later that she started to feel scared, but by then it was too late to take the contraceptive pill.
"You!" Bai Rongran was so flustered by Ronglan's words that all the things she had wanted to say were gone from her mind.
Ronglan added fuel to the fire and coaxed with a smile, "Ranran, go buy a pregnancy test stick quickly. If there's any good news, remember to tell me~"
"Bai Ronglan! You wait! Wait until I go out. When I come back, I'll settle the score with you for talking nonsense in front of mom!" Bai Rongran threw out these words viciously and then turned around and left in a hurry and panic.
Ronglan snorted softly and squinted her eyes. "Is that all? She still wants to settle the score with me?"
She hadn't lived for five hundred years for nothing.