Huo Yu was kinda busy today, but he still wanted to pick up Xia Wan.
When Xia Wan walked out of school it was already late. The sky turned dark, and the moon appeared like a hook in the deep blue sky, shining brightly.
Before Xia Wan could get to the car, Huo Yu got out of it.
Huo Yu was still wearing the light gray shirt he had on in the morning. But now, his tie was all messed up, making him look more relaxed.
The blue sky reflected behind him, pulling his figure so slender and straight, like a painting in the night, hazy and beautiful.
Xia Wan felt his heart racing like it was in a race, and he looked around quietly.
While students kept entering and leaving, Xia Wan held back from opening his arms for a hug. Tightening his lips, he swiftly stepped to the side of the car.
Meanwhile, some students observed the scene with quiet curiosity.
“Eldest Master.” Xia Wan lowered his gaze, tilted his head, and called out in a serious manner.
“Yes, Little sir,” Huo Yu chuckled with a deep laugh. He extended his hand, gently rubbing Xia Wan’s hair affectionately. Before opening the car door for him.
Getting into the car with his schoolbag, Xia Wan remarked, “There’s no creativity. Why can’t you learn from Aunt Qin?”
Huo Yu chuckled and asked, “What should I call you?” Then, he closed the car door for him.
Walking around the front of the car, he noticed Xia Wan smiling and saying something.
Sitting in the car, Huo Yu leaned toward Xia Wan and asked, “What did you just say? Say it again.”
“I only say good things once,” Xia Wan declared. He bit his lip, stopping himself from saying the word “husband.” Seizing the moment, he put his arms around Huo Yu’s neck, leaning forward. He kissed Huo Yu on the lips.
“Are you not worried someone might see?” Huo Yu’s deep voice echoed in his ears.
“Don’t fool me,” Xia Wan stated, “I know there’s a privacy film on the windows.”
“So unreserved?” Huo Yu smiled, his tone playful. “Tell me, with the privacy film on, what exactly do you have in mind?”
Xia Wan pursed his lips and leaned back, and in response, Huo Yu reached for his waist. With a gentle yet firm pull, he brought Xia Wan closer, creating a half-snuggled position between them.
“I saw your interview today” Xia Wan mentioned.
“Are you satisfied?” Huo Yu raised his hand, gently scratching the tip of Xia Wan’s nose, and kissed him again.
The kiss between them lasted a little longer than expected, carrying a surprising gentleness.
“Satisfied,” Xia Wan eventually said. He lightly bit his numb lips. He lifted his eyes slowly and continued, “Very satisfied,”
Huo Yu smiled, lowered his eyes, and leaned forward to fasten his seat belt. “Let’s go eat something tasty,” he suggested
“Didn’t Aunt Qin come today?” Xia Wan asked, taking his cell phone from his backpack.
“Aunt Qin’s child came back to China for work, so I gave her a couple of days off,” Huo Yu explained.
“Aunt Qin’s child lives abroad,” Xia Wan remarked, “No wonder she doesn’t talk about him much.”
“His son is actually older than us,” Huo Yu explained, starting the car. “He belongs to the same generation as my parents, just a few years younger than them. When he went to study abroad, my parents supported him,” he added.
“My father-in-law and mother-in-law were kind,” Xia Wan expressed.
When Huo Yu brought up his parents this time, he didn’t feel as sad as he did before.
Contrarily, as soon as Xia Wan finished speaking, the corners of his mouth turned up involuntarily.
“What would you like to eat?” Huo Yu asked.
“The weather is getting colder; how about having hot pot?” Xia Wan suggested.
“Okay,” Huo Yu replied in a low voice.
Speaking of food, Xia Wan suddenly recalled something.
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.
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Xia Wan repeated what Wen Yunzhi said before.
“Auntie was incredibly sincere and serious,” Xia Wan said. “Once my father found out, he expressed a desire to personally thank her as well.”
He smiled and pursed his lips, his eyes full of happiness: “You know how much my father loves me.”
Xia Wan expressed a slight worry, “I’m just concerned that when he sees others being so successful, he might feel a bit sad in comparison.”
Huo Yu fell silent for a moment. Upon hearing about Wen Yunzhi’s intentions, he realized that the Xue family was planning to take action.
After Xia Wan finished speaking, Huo Yu said slowly, “Don’t worry, leave it all to me.”
“Eldest Master, you are so kind,” Xia Wan expressed. His heart immediately calmed down upon hearing Huo Yu’s words. He couldn’t help but praise him.
“Is this okay?” Huo Yu questioned, looking at him. “Your requirements for me seem quite low?”
He added, “Be careful, or else I might set even lower requirements for myself in the future.”
“That won’t do!” Xia Wan protested immediately upon hearing this.
Huo Yu gently pressed his lips together and chuckled softly.
As they were joking, the phone on the console rang.
Huo Yu looked up and noticed an email from Wei Qian. It seemed to be the result of the investigation of Zhang Nan and Zhang Ruicheng.
“Is it business?” Xia Wan asked.
“Not entirely,” Huo Yu thought for a while before saying, “I asked someone to check Zhang Nan’s background.”
“Zhang Nan, is he the same person whom I know?” Xia Wan was a bit surprised. “Is it because he has shares in Huo’s company?”
“Yes,” Huo Yu confirmed, his fingertips lightly tapping the steering wheel as he continued, “I intend to buy his shares.”
“Do you need my help?” Xia Wan straightened up promptly, his eagerness evident as he awaited Huo Yu’s response, ready to offer his assistance.
Huo Yu glanced at Xia Wan. He couldn’t help but lift the corners of his mouth slightly, revealing a small smile.
Holding the steering wheel with one hand, Huo Yu raised his other hand to affectionately touch Xia Wan’s hair. However, in the process, he unintentionally touched his cheek instead of his hair.
Xia Wan quickly shook off his hand and placed it on his own face.
His cheeks felt soft and gentle, like spring water, as Huo Yu’s hand touched them, creating a comforting sensation in his palm.
Huo Yu’s hand on the steering wheel tightened instinctively, and his lips formed a straight line.
“You’re distracting the driver,” he said in a deep voice that caused a tingling sensation in Xia Wan’s heart.
“You were the one who reached out your hand first,” Xia Wan said, tilting his head a bit. His eyes slightly squinted, and he quickly brushed his lips against Huo Yu’s palm before letting go.
“Xia Wan,” Huo Yu called slightly warningly, but the corners of his mouth couldn’t help but curl into a smile.
Xia Wan glanced at Huo Yu and couldn’t help but laugh. His eight white teeth showed in a neat line, and his face looked really happy.
Because the feeling of falling in love is so wonderful, Huo Yu can’t help it.
After a while, he smiled and said, “Why are you so naughty?”
“You want to return the goods you bought?” Xia Wan approached him, his breath gently brushing against Huo Yu’s ears.
Huo Yu gave him a half-smile and pulled over the car to the side of the road.
Without saying anything, he simply held Xia Wan in his arms, Lowering his head, he gently kissed his smiling eyes
“No refund,” Huo Yu declared firmly. He continued, “I will not.”
Upon hearing this, Xia Wan couldn’t contain his laughter.
The car stopped on a path. The leaves of the French tung tree had turned a pretty yellow. In the soft yellow light from the street lamps, they looked bright and warm, making the whole path glow in a golden color.
Looking out from the car, everything outside seemed gentle and warm.
Huo Yu raised his hand to unbuckle Xia Wan’s seat belt. He hugged him even tighter, and he lowered his head, and gave Xia Wan a gentle kiss on the lips.
They started with a light kiss, and then it got even more special like their feelings were showing in the kiss. At first, they were careful, but then it became really honest and true.
“Why are you still skinny?” Huo Yu held onto Xia Wan until he couldn’t breathe. He gently touched Xia Wan’s bright berry lips and asked quietly.
“If I get a kiss on my skin every time,” Xia Wan’s eyelashes were a bit wet, “then I’ll always have my skin.”
Huo Yu seemed surprised for a short moment, and then his eyes, which were a little serious at first, began to move around slowly, like when you spin a toy top. After a while, a big smile appeared on his face.
“Yes,” Huo Yu said after a little pause, his voice very gentle, like when you want to comfort someone.
…….
Wei Qian’s email was indeed related to the investigation of Zhang Nan and Zhang Ruicheng.
The information Wei Qian sent, not only did it have details about Zhang Nan and Zhang Ruicheng, but there was also some information about Xia Chengzhang.
Huo Yu was surprised by the content.
The information revealed that Zhang Nan’s shares come from his dad, Zhang Ruihe.
Zhang Ruihe was one of the first people to work for Huo Peifeng when he started Huo’s, and he was also part of the early team that helped run things at a high level in Huo’s company.
After Huo Peifeng passed away. Huo Peixue became in charge of the Huo family business. Some of the people who used to work closely with Huo Peifeng were slowly taken out of the management team.
Zhang Ruihe was one of those people. After he left Huo’s, he opened a coffee shop where he made coffee by hand.
The investigation also found out that it was supposed to be just a way to pass the time, but it turned out the coffee shop business was getting more successful over time.
Zhang Ruihe kept running the coffee shop until he got sick and passed away a few years ago. By then, the coffee shop had grown, and people liked it a lot.
Before, Zhang Ruicheng had been helping Zhang Ruihe.
As Zhang Ruicheng aged in recent years, he gradually retired when Zhang Nan found a more suitable helper.
Huo Yu looked down slowly and thought Zhang Ruicheng’s job history was really interesting.
Zhang Ruicheng and Xia Chengzhang were in the same college class, where they studied architectural design together.
After they finished college, Zhang Ruicheng got a job in a real estate company, but Xia Chengzhang joined a design studio.
After saving up resources, Xia Chengzhang started his own architectural design studio.
During that period, real estate was just starting, and Xia Chengzhang, being good at business and willing to work hard, saw his architectural design business get better and better.
As Xia Chengzhang’s business grew, he asked his college friend Zhang Ruicheng and his distant cousin Xia Chenglin, who studied marketing in their hometown, to join the team.
Initially, the three of them worked together, and the studio progressed and improved over time.
This situation continued until Xia Chengzhang had an accident at the construction site.
The accident led Xia Chengzhang to lose both his money and a promising partnership. Struggling with increasing depression and an inability to focus on work, Xia Chenglin claimed his share of the company and ultimately kicked him out completely.
During that time, Zhang Ruicheng might not have been able to speak up for Xia Chengzhang because Xia Chenglin’s family held more power and influence.
After the problems, Xia Chengzhang went back to his hometown feeling embarrassed. At that time, he came back with a little kid named Xue Wenke, who was just two years old at that time.
After some years, the real estate business became really popular, and the Xia family’s studio did really well. During this time, Xia Chenglin took advantage of the situation and kicked Zhang Ruicheng from business.
Ever since that moment, Zhang Ruicheng started working at his brother Zhang Ruihe’s coffee shop. He helps by doing different tasks there.
The two brothers were close, and since Zhang Ruicheng had never married, he treated Zhang Nan as if he were his own son.
Even now, Zhang Nan and Zhang Ruicheng continue to have a special bond, much like that of a father and son.
Throughout the years, Zhang Ruicheng has never stopped trying to get his things back from Xia Chenglin.
Zhang Nan has been working in secret, but so far, he has not found a suitable opportunity.
When Xia Chenglin kicked out Zhang Ruicheng, Zhang Ruicheng traveled south to find Xia Chengzhang. He wanted them to join forces in an attempt to regain control of the Xia family. Unfortunately, Xia Chengzhang firmly refused to collaborate with him, making it clear that he wouldn’t support Zhang Ruicheng’s efforts.
When Xia Chengzhang returned with Xia Wan later on, he didn’t show any interest in the idea of reclaiming the Xia family. It appeared that, to him, the past was in the past, and he had moved on from those previous conflicts.
Even though he had a really tough life and relied on Xia Chenglin’s help to survive, he never thought about getting back to the studio that was originally his.
As Huo Yu noticed this, he paused while his finger slowly slid down on the mouse.
Let’s not talk about Zhang Ruicheng, but he was somewhat familiar with Xia Chengzhang.
If he hadn’t read these materials, Huo Yu would never have imagined that Xia Chengzhang would have gone to university and run a company.
Of course, without knowing the truth, Huo Yu couldn’t believe Xia Chengzhang was the type of person who could take away someone else’s children.
He made everyone think he was kind, and simple and loved his child very much.
However, now it appears that Xia Chengzhang was determined to trample into hell.
It seemed as if Xia Chengzhang had completely set aside the dreams he once held and the promising path that dream had illuminated for him.
Huo Yu frowned briefly and then scrolled down the email again.
As Huo Yu reached the end of the email, he read Wei Qian’s message: “There are several photos, I believe you will be very interested.”
Without hesitation, Huo Yu continued, and as he scrolled, two photos in the attachment appeared on the screen.
The photos revealed a young Xia Wan from his childhood.
There were no childhood photos of Xia Wan in his home, and it was clear that these were taken by someone else.
The first thing that caught Huo Yu’s attention was a group photo featuring several children.
The children in the picture were holding marshmallows, and some even had marshmallow stuff on their cheeks. They looked super happy and were smiling at the camera.
But Xia Wan wasn’t in the center of the photo because he was in the far corner.
Xia Wan was wearing old but neat clothes. He seemed around four or five years old, with a slim face and a pointy chin. His big eyes were focused on the marshmallows in the hands of the other kids, showing a longing and desire in his gaze.
There was another picture of Xia Wan, this time as an eleven or twelve-year-old boy.
In the picture, Xia Wan, who was about eleven or twelve, was sitting down in front of the little house where Xia Chengzhang fixes shoes. He was tapping something with a hammer.
Huo Yu took a moment to look at the picture. Slowly, he raised his hand and gently touched Xia Wan’s young face on the screen. He noticed how similar it was to Xia Wan’s current appearance.
In an instant, a powerful and overwhelming wave of love surged into Huo Yu’s heart as he looked at the photos.
Huo Yu suddenly understood that the boy he thought he needed to protect was actually much stronger than him.
Because he can make all his past suffering disappear with a sunny smile, leaving no sign of it on himself.
Xia Wan’s phone made a little buzzing sound, so he stopped reading his report to check it. There was a message from Huo Yu, and it was super short—just two words and a punctuation mark : [Xia Wan!]
Xia Wan was caught off guard for a moment, his eyes widening in surprise. He couldn’t resist glancing up at the ceiling, maybe as if searching for inspiration. After that brief pause, a smile played on his lips as he responded to Huo Yu’s message, teasingly asking, [Does the eldest master miss me again?]
After a little while, Huo Yu replied, simply saying, [Yes.]
Then another message arrived: [In the future, I will take you to eat many, many, many delicious foods.]
TN
Did Xia Chengzhang deliberately keep baby Org Xia Wan with him?!!! Now I feel that even if Chengzhang loves Org Xia Wan more it still doesn’t change the fact that because of him Org Xia Wan suffered a lot. Org Xia Wan was deceived by Huo Lin and humiliated by all the people. In fact, he doesn’t deserve it. He was born rich. And Xia Chengzhang took that chance away from him. If our MC did not come into this world then its story would have been a whole different.
Poor Xia Wan 🥺
I agree with You! I feel bad for Org XW, who had to suffer because of selfish people….
Thank You for the new chapter ♡〜٩( ╹▿╹ )۶〜♡
Basically, my comment from chapter 37. We don’t really know if Wan Wan’s “father” is a victim of a criminal scheme, the culprit or an accessory to it. But whatever it is, Wan Wan deserves to know the whole truth. The Xue family are also victims; they suffered terribly from Ake’s disappearance. I hope Huo Yu won’t keep the truth from his hubby for long.
Meaning his ‘dad’ took none. You can even ask a friend to take photos if you can’t afford a camera :/. So far in the story there’s been 2 times a mention of Xia Chengzhang feeling remorse/shame when thinking about how he found Xia Wan, it was mentioned he saw him at the station in expensive branded clothing. Sure I can wait to give him the benefit of the doubt but for a while now he’s made me feel really sick. Just because he had a huge setback he took a kid and lived a hard life and used this boy to have a sense of purpose? Original Xia Wan grew up bullied and turned timid and unsure what happened to him in the story later! Just because he has no legs and is a Cancer patient doesn’t earn him a soft spot from me.
I’ve thought of the same the moment he admitted feeling guilty to himself. Honestly, his selfishness really cost him Xie Wanke’s life.
I agree. In the end, no matter what his motivations were or how true the love he has for XW now is, the fact is that he kidnapped a child from a happy, loving family and brought him to suffer with him. And if it wasn’t for MC transmigrating, OG XW’s would have been truly horrible, and THAT is 100% XCZ’s fault.