Mom's Back. The Villain Triplets Are in Trouble.

Chapter 16: Chapter 16: A Clown

Having gone to bed late last night and woken up early this morning, Gu Qingyin was sitting in a chair, scrolling through videos of her two sons on her phone, and soon grew drowsy.

Huo Xingye noticed and persuaded her to go rest for a while in the lounge.

The lounge was connected to the office. It was over a hundred square meters and fully furnished with all the amenities one could need.

Gu Qingyin groggily flopped onto the large bed. A faint, pleasant scent of tea filled her nostrils. She closed her eyes and fell asleep in moments.

She wasn’t sure how much time had passed when a sudden BANG jolted her awake.

She instinctively rolled over and sat up, her heart pounding as she looked toward the door.

Silhouetted against the light, two figures, one tall and one short, stormed in aggressively.

Only when they drew closer did Gu Qingyin recognize them. One was Bai Jiali, and the other was... Liu Ergou.

Gu Qingyin, still dazed from sleep, was confused. ’When did these two meet? What are they trying to do here?’

Liu Ergou was just as stunned when he got a clear look at the person in the room. ’The person Bai Jiali said had cursed her president is Gu Qingyin? What kind of joke is this?!’

The two stared at each other, wide-eyed, and for a moment, no one spoke.

Only the clueless Bai Jiali, her eyes burning with jealousy, shouted, ”Liu Daoist! It’s her! She put a curse on President Huo! You must quickly subdue this demoness!”

Gu Qingyin was so stunned by that last comment that it jolted her fully awake. She wore an incredulous expression. ”You’re saying I put a curse on Huo Xingye? Where did you get that idea?”

The shock snapped Liu Ergou back to his senses. ’The president Bai Jiali was talking about is Huo Xingye?!’

A look of contempt crossed Bai Jiali’s face. ”If you hadn’t cursed President Huo, why would he be so gentle with you? Why would he repeatedly make exceptions for you? You must have used some disgusting method to control him!”

Gu Qingyin no longer wanted to speak. She looked at Bai Jiali as if she were a lunatic. ’I’m a sane person; there’s no need to argue with a madwoman.’

She got out of bed and walked toward the bathroom. ”You solve the mess you brought here,” she said to Liu Ergou. ”Next time you take a case, you should at least investigate it first. Too many screw-ups like this will ruin your reputation.”

Liu Ergou’s face flushed red. To be duped by a client at his age... He explained, mortified, ”She said she and the president were deeply in love, on the verge of discussing marriage, but then he suddenly transferred all his affection to someone else.”

”That just didn’t sound right. Nobody changes that fast, so I figured he must have been cursed,” Liu Ergou complained aggrievedly. ”Who knew she was lying through her teeth? This woman is just awful.”

Bai Jiali’s eyes widened in disbelief. ”You two know each other?!” This made her even more certain. Both angry and delighted, she shouted, ”I knew you weren’t an ordinary person! I will save President Huo!”

Gu Qingyin had already entered the bathroom, but she poked her head back out at these words and said sincerely, ”Ma’am, I genuinely advise you to go get your head checked. The sooner, the better. It might still be treatable.”

When she emerged, refreshed and composed, Bai Jiali and Liu Ergou were, to her surprise, still standing in the same spot.

Gu Qingyin was getting annoyed. ”Are you waiting for me to escort you out?”

Liu Ergou said angrily, ”She won’t pay me!”

Now Gu Qingyin was truly shocked. ’Hiring a Heavenly Master and not paying the Fate Fee? She’s practically begging for disaster!’

Bai Jiali said with self-righteous indignation, ”You want money for doing nothing? Are you that desperate for cash?! I’ll pay you if you throw Gu Qingyin out!”

Liu Ergou suppressed his anger and tried to reason with her. ”These are the rules of the Mystical World. Regardless of whether the matter is resolved or not, the Fate Fee must be paid!”

Bai Jiali sneered. ”What kind of ridiculous rule is that? It’s obvious you and Gu Qingyin are in cahoots, trying to scam me out of my money and control President Huo. I will expose you for who you really are!”

Gu Qingyin sighed. ’Good advice is lost on the damned.’

A Heavenly Master’s work is to defy heaven and change fate. Over time, the backlash they face becomes increasingly severe. Therefore, a large portion of a Heavenly Master’s Fate Fee must be donated to accumulate spiritual merit for themselves.

If the Fate Fee isn’t paid, the Heavenly Master can cover the donation out of their own pocket, but the client will face terrible misfortune. The consequences range from financial ruin to a near-death experience, depending on the nature of the original task.

Most importantly, this incident would get the person completely blacklisted by the Mystical World. No one with any real skill would ever deal with them again.

After all, nobody wants to take on a thankless, arduous task. They aren’t masochists.

The ten million Gu Qingyin had earned previously was too large a sum to donate all at once, so she had entrusted Xue Ning to donate it in installments. By her calculations, it should be just about finished. She had only kept a tenth for herself.

”What’s all the noise about?” Huo Xingye stood at the lounge door, his voice deep and cold. ”Who gave you permission to enter my lounge?”

Everyone in the company knew that Huo Xingye’s lounge was off-limits. Normally, only the dedicated cleaning lady could enter during her scheduled time.

Bai Jiali knew this, of course, which was why she had kicked the door down and stormed in like a madwoman when she learned Gu Qingyin was sleeping in the lounge. Now, seeing Huo Xingye, it was as if she had found her champion. With red-rimmed eyes, she began her tearful complaint.

”President Huo! While you were in a meeting, Gu Qingyin secretly snuck into the lounge! Who knows what she was plotting? In my panic, I brought the Daoist in with me.” Bai Jiali’s eyes showed nothing but sincere concern. ”President Huo, you... you should be more careful.”

”Careful of what?” Huo Xingye asked coldly.

Because he was backlit, Bai Jiali couldn’t see his expression, but she could tell from his tone that he was angry. She was inwardly delighted and quickly said, ”President Huo, I suspect Gu Qingyin has put a curse on you. I originally invited Liu Daoist here to help, but who knew the two of them were in cahoots!”

”Don’t worry, President Huo. I will find a Heavenly Master more powerful than them!”

Gu Qingyin pursed her lips. ’What a daydreamer. Forget a powerful one—even a novice apprentice Heavenly Master wouldn’t give you the time of day.’

Huo Xingye was silent for two seconds, then slowly walked into the lounge. He looked at Bai Jiali with a cold gaze and said in a low voice, ”Secretary Bai is resigning to take accountability for the excessive psychological stress caused by her inability to adequately perform her duties.”

Disbelief was written all over Bai Jiali’s face. ”President Huo?”

”Yes, Family Head.”

Only then did Bai Jiali see a travel-worn Xue Ning standing at the door.

Xue Ning smiled politely, but inwardly he was cheering. ’Totally worth it, pulling an all-nighter and catching the first flight back. This drama is even better than I’d hoped!’

”Escort Miss Bai out.”

Huo Xingye walked past Bai Jiali to stand before Gu Qingyin and asked with concern, ”Did they wake you? Were you scared?”

His voice had softened considerably. Bai Jiali couldn’t accept it. She spun around and cried out, ”President Huo, please believe me! I’m only doing this for your own good! Gu Qingyin absolutely means you harm! She’s going to ruin you!”

Gu Qingyin rolled her eyes.

Huo Xingye, however, glanced at Bai Jiali again, then let out a cold sneer. ”Ridiculous.”

Bai Jiali tried to say more, but a security guard who had rushed over clamped a hand over her mouth and dragged her away.

”This whole thing started because of Huo Xingye, so you can ask him for your Fate Fee.” Gu Qingyin looked at the sullen Liu Ergou and reminded him with a grin, ”Don’t feel guilty. My son is loaded.”

Liu Ergou glanced hesitantly at Huo Xingye, then gritted his teeth and said, ”Forget it. I can’t take money from the younger generation. Besides, this job wasn’t for much anyway.”

But to everyone’s surprise, Huo Xingye insisted on paying. ’I can owe anyone in the world,’ he thought, ’but not Liu Ergou. I absolutely cannot let him have an excuse to pester Gu Qingyin!’