Special thanks to Petra for proofreading
_edited on Feb 25, 2024 _______________________________
Seemingly aware of Xia Wan’s gaze, Huo Yu glanced at him and said in a low voice, “Concentrate on the phone.”
“Oh,” intimidated by the villain’s skills, Xia Wan replied meekly, adjusting himself to sit up a bit more.
At the same time, the loud voice on the line paused. Xia Yang deliberately lowered his voice to ask, “Are you and Huo Yu together?”
“Yes,” Xia Wan said innocently, complaint, “We were a bit busy with something and your call interrupted us.”
Xia Yang didn’t need to think very far about what exactly, at this hour, could keep them occupied – in the middle of the night, a lonely man and a green hat together ignited by the fire.
Is Xia Wan blaming him for ruining his good moment?
No wonder Huo Lin was so furious on the phone today, scolding him like he was his son.
Xia Yang gritted his teeth in anger. He had many things to say to his idiotic cousin but, in the end, he swallowed them all, because he was afraid of being overheard by Huo Yu.
In the end, he could only threaten in a low voice: “I don’t want to have to repeat myself, so make sure you keep what I’ve said in mind and follow my advice.”
With a snap, the phone disconnected. The last few quick beeps echoed, and silence filled the car once again.
Xia Wan smiled, rubbing his arms to warm himself a bit. He began to ponder the development of the original story in the novel.
In the book, even though the previous owner rarely showed up, whenever he did, things would always take a turn for the worse.
For example, in the engagement banquet of the protagonists Gong and Shou, stalking protagonist Gong, and eventually losing sanity— it was like the original owner was glued in one place and unable to shake off the situation.
Following Xia Yang’s phone call, the original owner’s jumbled memories began to clarify, and Xia Wan understood that the reason for the previous owner bothering Huo Lin might not be because of affection. After all, they had only known each other for a little over a month when the engagement took place.
When Huo Lin got engaged, the original owner had only known Huo Lin for just over a month, and nothing significant had occurred between them just to make the original owner so infatuated with Huo Lin.
If it wasn’t his own choice, then the only remaining possibility was that all the unusual actions of the previous owner were a result of the Xia family’s pressure behind his back.
For instance, considering Xia Yang’s phone call, if the person sitting here today were still the original owner, he might have been confused by Xia Yang’s sudden outburst. He might have agreed to Xia Yang’s threat without giving second doubts.
After all, Xia Wan and Xia Chengzhang were vulnerable in Beijing, they had always relied on support from Xia Yang and his father Xia Chenglin. Without their assistance, they might not even survive a night in Beijing.
It was by exploiting these vulnerabilities of the previous owner that they gained complete control over him.
During the engagement party, if Huo Yu grabbed his wrist and compelled Huo Lin to address him as “sister-in-law,” Xia Wan felt a sense of crisis as if caught between a wolf in front and a tiger behind
As more memories became clear, Xia Wan came to understand that, in reality, since moving to Beijing, the previous owner had been trapped between difficult situations, facing challenges from both sides.
With wolves and tigers on both sides, unable to avoid the fate of confronting them, the better choice was to decide which one to face in the end.
Xia Wan shifted his gaze towards Huo Yu in the driver’s seat. Having lent him his windbreaker, Huo Yu was now wearing only a thin black shirt. The subtle movements of his hands on the steering wheel highlighted his smooth shoulders, neck, and arms.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Almost immediately, Xia Wan made a choice.
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If this was a predetermined thing, then he needed to have strong backing to evenly match his opponent. In this case, who could compare to Huo Yu, who was able to push the protagonist to a breaking point in the original book despite suffering from a huge disparity in strength?
Moreover, compared to those who had used and targeted the original owner for their own benefit, Huo Yu and Xia Wan not only had no conflict of interest but also had an enemy in common.
In the grand scheme of things, it didn’t really matter if Huo Yu looked down on Xia Wan’s status. After all, Xia Wan still had other advantages to rely on.
In some of the plotlines in the book, there were clues between the lines that, if used well, it could help him change the direction of the entire story.
Once everything was sorted out, he planned to find another opportunity to distance himself from this troublesome situation that wasn’t really his concern.
As for the rest, it was entirely out of his control nor of any interest to him who bit who in the end.
The main concern now was what life would be like for him and Xia Chengzhang after breaking away from the Xia family.
However, there needs to be a plan before taking any action. Xia Wan quickly considered a few options and settled on a less-than-ideal plan: he had his skills and could take on more jobs to support himself if needed.
Simply perfect!
As Xia Wan finally spotted a ray of hope in the dark, relief washed over him. He couldn’t help but feel proud of his detailed plan, mentally singing his own praises.
“Why do you keep looking at me?” Huo Yu asked without squinting, apparently aware of Xia Wan’s gaze.
“It’s nothing,” Xia Wan calmly looked away from his face. “I was on the phone with my cousin just now, and I had to call you by your first name. Please don’t mind.”
“Isn’t a name used for calling?” Huo Yu didn’t care much and turned the car into an old-fashioned villa area that was very familiar to Xia Wan.
It was not too far from his real home, and on the only way to the hospital, but he had never paid much attention to it. He looked out curiously until the car pulled into Huo Yu’s garage.
Huo Yu lived in a three-story villa, located in the center of the community by the lake.
Before entering the door, Xia Wan thought it would be full of dust. After all, Huo Yu had not returned to China in a long time. But not only were the windows bright and clean but there was also a faint warm smell of food in the house as if no one had ever left at all.
As soon as the scent touched the tip of the nose, Xia Wan’s stomach cried out in disappointment, especially obvious in the silence.
Xia Wan pursed his lips and quietly raised his hand to cover his stomach. He ignored his slightly hot cheeks, and asked softly, and curiously, “Is there a hidden fairy in your family?”
If someone else had said this, Huo Yu might have understood it as a joke.
But Xia Wan said it with a natural innocence as if he truly believed in fairy tales.
Huo Yu glanced at him lightly, and the corners of his mouth curled up again. He had seldom laughed over years of hardship, and when he did so it was for convenience’s sake. But in the few hours that he had known Xia Wan today, he had lost count of how many times he’d laughed.
He didn’t know why, but Xia Wan had a very contradictory temperament. When he was on full alert, he was sharp, witty, and even scheming. But once he relaxed, he was artless and pure as though perfectly ignorant of the world.
What was strange was that Huo Yu felt that these two temperaments were not antithetical to each other, as if Xia Wan had been born this way, bright and transparent, not at all like the submissive and meek that Shen Yan showed him.
“No,” Huo Yu said.
“Oh,” Xia Wan responded, immediately noticing the incongruity of these two conversations, and smiling subconsciously.
After entering someone else’s territory, Xia Wan became more cautious. He followed Huo Yu closely, not daring to overstep.
“Do you want to take a bath or eat first?” Huo Yu stopped abruptly, and Xia Wan bumped into him without paying attention. His back was like a steel plate, hitting the tip of his nose painfully.
Xia Wan’s eyes turned red from the pain but he was still worried about committing some mistake or indiscretion, so he raised his face cautiously and asked. “Can I take a shower before eating?”
Huo Yu looked at him and paused for a moment. “Okay.”
Xia Wan immediately clenched his fists and smiled unabashedly.
The bathroom was very large, with a layout separated between dry and wet areas, and a huge full-length mirror by the door.
After running around all day, Xia Wan finally had the time to spare to look at his new body. But once he stared at the person in the mirror, he froze.
The person in the mirror was still wearing a stained and messy white shirt, which looked a little humiliating, Yet, the familiar features of black hair, almond-shaped eyes, a prominent nose, and well-defined lips were the same as he looked in real life.
The only difference was his skin color, which due to long-term illness had always been unhealthy and pale, with even paler lips.
The young man in his reflection had healthy milk-white skin, warm and hale, with a slight amber luster in his eyes that, under the light, revealed a velvety warmth, and lips that were pink and natural.
Although he was twenty years old, his eyes were full of youthfulness, which made him all the more lovable.
Xia Wan was silent for a moment until he remembered something and immediately raised a hand to roll up the sleeve of his left arm.
There, on the same spot as his old body, there was a tiny mole on his wrist bone, light brown and shaped like a butterfly with wings.
Xia Wan’s heart began to thump wildly. It was all too real, and if it weren’t for the completely unfamiliar environment, he would almost suspect that what he’d just experienced was an absurd dream.
It would be so nice if it was a dream, Xia Wan thought.
After soaking in the bathtub for a while, Xia Wan’s whole body relaxed. He yawned lazily, and just as he was about to stretch out a hand to have a bathrobe handed to him, he remembered his current situation.
He had to sit up from the comfortable bathtub and get it himself. The bathrobe was so big that it almost reached his ankles.
Xia Wan tied the belt around his waist and walked out slowly.
The young man’s wet black hair had tiny water droplets trailing down his face. His eyes were moist and gentle from the warmth, and the corners were tinged with crimson. It was a stark contrast to the dampness from the wine-splashing incident. At that time, he was in a state of embarrassment. It was sharp but now it was warm and soft.
“I didn’t find a hair dryer.” Xia Wan raised his face, his eyelashes thicker and darker due to the moisture, revealing an innocent look.
Huo Yu glanced at him lightly, and without saying a word, turned around and entered the bathroom.
One thing Huo Yu was sure of was that Xia Wan didn’t know how to take a bath. From the bathtub to the door, there were puddles of water as if he’d been running back and forth in the whole bathroom naked.
Huo Yu froze for a moment before bending down and pulling the hair dryer out from the lower level of the cabinet where the bathrobes and towels were kept. When he came back, he saw Xia Wan had put on the shirt and pajama pants that he’d left out for him to wear. He was sitting cross-legged on the sofa, waiting obediently for Huo Yu to return.
“You changed your clothes in the room?” Huo Yu couldn’t help but tighten his fingers around the hair dryer.
“Yeah.” Xia Wan nodded obediently, the water droplets hitting the tip of his nose, glittering in the light. “You were in the bathroom, weren’t you? So I had to change here.”
Huo Yu pursed his lips silently and handed over the hair dryer.
Xia Wan took it but did not move. His lower back ached a bit from the incident at the banquet when Qiu Qi had pushed him, causing him to bump into a table corner.
Initially, the tension and adrenaline masked the pain, but as he relaxed in the bath and distanced himself from the commotion, the spot where he had collided became increasingly painful.
He attempted to inspect himself in the bathroom mirror, but due to the awkward angle, all he could see was a vaguely bluish-purple bruise.
“Do you have medicinal lotion in your house?” Xia Wan sat upright while holding the hair dryer, revealing a thin white ankle, feet as white as snow, and pink toes that were slightly curled up – perhaps because of the cold.
“What do you want medicinal cream for?” Huo Yu asked in a low voice, looking away from the pink toes.
“My waist is injured,” Xia Wan whispered, his voice so soft that it seemed to be soaked in pity and woe.
“It hurts.” He turned around naturally as he said so, raising a hand to lift the back hem of his shirt.
Before coming to this world, his family had never dared hurt him.
Due to his poor blood circulation and health, even a simple insect bite could be a significant concern for his Xia family.
Almost everyone in the family, including his aunt, was a qualified caregiver and helped him deal with any pain he would have as soon as possible.
So he instinctively turned to Huo Yu for help.
“No.” Before his hand touched the hem of his clothes, he heard Huo Yu’s voice behind him, cold and hard.
Xia Wan, who’d been so inadvertently relaxed and familiar with Huo Yu, suddenly woke up.
This man was a villain, how could he forget it?
Suffering such a setback, Xia Wan remained motionless like a monk chanting scriptures and concentrated on etching this crucial piece of information deep into his mind.
“I’ve only asked my aunt to prepare daily necessities, not things such as medicine. Even if I had them at home they would all expire,” Huo Yu’s voice softened. ” You’ll have to bear it for today. I’ll buy some tomorrow.”
For a moment, Xia Wan felt a bit disheartened. Only when he realized that Huo Yu wasn’t refusing did he raise his face with hope and gaze at Huo Yu. After a while, he asked cautiously, “Then, can you rub it for me?”
The author Note:-
The reason why Xia Wan has a very contradictory personality: is that he was born into a high-profile family, and he understands what goes on in other people’s minds. But at the same time due to his lack of contact with people and less life experience sometimes he believes things easily and he is sort of a bit naive.
Ah— Xia Wan… you can’t ask basically totally strangers for that
But he is such a good looking stranger.
The guy is too used to others taking care of him, between his family, medical personnel & most likely a boatload of servants.
I’m impressed with how even-keeled he is, considering his history
I dont know why but I need him to be as spoiled in this life as his family had him in his previous life
thanks for the chapter <3
Thank you for the chapter!
Keep spoiling my little boy!!!!
Thank you very much for the translation 💙💙💙💙💙💙
Thank you for the update ❤️
Also Hou Yu better spoil him rotten!!
If Huo Yu doesn’t want to, I can rub your waist for you Wan wan! (*♡∀♡)
thanks for the update ❤️
Thank You for the new chapter ♡(˃͈ દ ˂͈ ༶ )
… sure
The urge to spoil him hhhhhhh
I know it’s been a tough ordeal for Hui Yu 😭😭😭😭😭😭🤣
Thanks for the chapter ❤️
Not me backtracking when he said, milk-white skin… I have been so westernized that a thing I once was used to .. has became a bane in my existence.
sorry, it’s the HEALTHY milkwhite skin…
facepalm you’re soooooo cuteee
When Huo Yu got engaged, the original owner had only known Huo Yu for just over a month, and nothing significant had occurred between them just to make the original owner so infatuated with Huo Yu. —> Huo Yu should be Huo Lin.
Thanks for the chapter ☺️
Corrected. Thanks for pointing out 🙂
he’s a baby~~
He’s so princess coded 😩 does anyone know if this has some sort of official illus or even fan arts I’m dying to know what they look like from an artist pov. 😭❤️