As they walked back, the wind rustled the tree shadows, and the faint moonlight covered everything. It was like Xia Wan’s golden anklet, when he walked his slender ankle looked incredibly beautiful and enchanting.
Huo Yu half-closed his eyes, leaning back in his seat. He intertwined the fingers of his right hand with Xia Wan’s left hand.
The wind’s noise was kept outside the window, and when it did come in, it was a bit dull. It felt like they were inside a warm and peaceful harbor, a safe place where they didn’t have to worry about strong winds or big waves, just like a cozy and secure hideaway.
This sense of tranquility comes partly from the current overall situation, but more from having Xia Wan by his side.
It is his ultimate relaxation just having Xia Wan.
Huo Yu had never experienced such complete relaxation since his parents passed away.
It felt like, after enduring a long stretch of darkness and hopelessness, he finally reached the day to “live”
“Do you know?” Huo Yu softly rubbed Xia Wan’s left hand with his thumb, warming the small patch of skin until it became faintly hot. “My dad isn’t Huo Chuan’s biological child.”
For a brief moment, Xia Wan was taken aback. He leaned in closer to Huo Yu, and as he did, he noticed a subtle aroma of wine lingering on him.
“Huo Chuan got married when he was young. For many years, they had no children. Eventually, the couple went to the hospital for a check-up and discovered that the issue was with his wife.”
“So, was Dad adopted?” Xia Wan asked.
When Xia Wan mentioned “Dad,” Huo Yu was momentarily surprised. However, once he grasped whom Xia Wan was referring to, he couldn’t help but open his eyes and glance at him.
In the soft light, those eyes held a smile, too beautiful to believe yet incredibly gentle and filled with joy.
Xia Wan thought of himself as someone not easily shy, even being proactive in bed. Yet, confronted with such a gaze, his heart raced for no apparent reason, and a warm blush touched his ears.
“Yeah,” Huo Yu replied in a hushed tone, “Huo Chuan and his wife had a strong bond back then. They were each other’s first love, so they decided to adopt my father after discussing it. He was only two years old at the time.”
“But wait, didn’t they have your uncle later on?” Xia Wan asked with curiosity.
“Huo Peixue was born from someone else,” Huo Yu clarified. “When my father was around four or five years old, Huo Chuan had an affair with Huo Peixue’s mother.”
Upon hearing this, Xia Wan suddenly realized.
“What’s ironic,” Huo Yu chuckled, “is that during the divorce proceedings, Huo Chuan still used the other party’s infertility as an excuse, trying his best to justify his action.”
“This is not just shameless, it’s downright outrageous!” Xia Wan exclaimed in anger.
“Yeah,” Huo Yu replied, “Afterward, Huo Chuan’s ex-wife left and moved away. Huo Chuan married Huo Peixue’s mother, who was already pregnant at the time. During that time, Huo Chuan was deemed old enough to have a son, so he doted on Huo Peixue, showering him with affection.”
Xia Wan stayed quiet and just listened while Huo Yu talked about things that happened a long time ago.
“My father naturally didn’t live a very good life. People said that having a stepmother meant having a stepfather, especially since his father wasn’t his biological child. He almost couldn’t finish school many times when he was a child. Since junior high school, he worked part-time jobs to save for school fees. Later, he relied more on himself.” Huo Yu fell silent for a moment, “until he met my mother.”
Huo Yu said with a smile in his eyes, “My mother was very lively and cheerful, and she gave my father the sense of belonging that he lacked in his life.”
There was a brief pause in his speech, and he looked at Xia Wan with a serious yet smiling expression. “Just like you,” he added.
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.
Wlj Qjc’r tfjga rxlqqfv j yfja, jcv tf lcralcmalnfis rdeffhfv Leb Te’r tjcv. “Lbk lr la atf rjwf jr wf?” tf jrxfv.
“Tbe wfjc j iba ab wf, pera ilxf ws wbatfg kjr ab ws ojatfg,” Leb Te fzqgfrrfv, “sbe’nf ulnfc wf j rfcrf bo yfibculcu jcv tfiqfv wf ecvfgrajcv atf agef wfjclcu bo ilof.”
Xia Wan’s lips formed a thoughtful pout, and he found himself momentarily speechless. The words from Huo Yu were not only nice but also surpassed any romantic expressions he had heard before, carrying a charm that touched him on a profound level.
“When I was a child, I was smarter than other kids, maybe because my parents passed away, making me feel insecure and extra cautious about everything,” Huo Yu shared. “I sensed something was off at a young age because, no matter what I did, I was treated differently. So, despite being the eldest grandson of the Huo family, Huo Chuan treated me distinctly compared to Huo Lin. I even started feeling that when my parents died, they were showing grief on the surface but were secretly happy. It wasn’t until I was thirteen or fourteen that I overheard the Huo family’s servants gossiping about small things, and that’s when I truly grasped the issue.”
“So, is that when you began focusing on the family business?” Xia Wan asked, recalling Sun Baijiang’s words. Even though he knew the issue was resolved long ago, an uncontrollable nervousness still overcame him.
“Don’t worry,” Huo Yu said to Xia Wan, his look making him feel inexplicably comforted.
Xia Wan pressed his lips together and gave a slight nod.
“I’ve been paying attention all along, actually,” Huo Yu said with a gentle smile. “Even though they intentionally steered me towards the art path since I was a child, I’ve always been keeping an eye on the Huo and Yan Yu development. I witnessed them gradually being taken over by Huo Peixue.”
Xia Wan’s lips tightened, his brows unconsciously furrowing, and a sense of bitterness crept into his heart.
“It’s just that I was still young back then. Even after getting a glimpse of my father’s life story, I couldn’t quite find my balance,” Huo Yu spoke softly. “That’s why the car accident happened.”
Xia Wan listened silently, a sudden realization dawning upon him.
“I recall your parents were in a car accident too?” Xia Wan asked tentatively. “Was it truly an accident?”
“After learning about my father’s life story,” Huo Yu revealed, “I actually had someone look into that incident.”
Xia Wan looked at Huo Yu with a slight surprise. Despite knowing that Huo Yu was thoughtful, he never expected a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old to contemplate so much and even take the initiative to investigate.
Moreover, at that time, Huo Yu himself had been involved in an accident.
“Do you find me scary?” Huo Yu seemed to sense the change in Xia Wan’s expression and smiled wryly. “Can you fathom how frightening I might be?”
Xia Wan understood how formidable and scary Huo Yu could be, having read about the extent to which Huo Yu could go in the book.
After getting to know him better, Xia Wan realized that Huo Yu wasn’t frightening. He simply sought justice for himself and his parents after enduring unfair and cruel treatment. He had already held himself in low regard, returning with a mindset of facing potential death in the path of revenge.
Xia Wan’s eyes welled up with emotion as a sense of warmth filled him. Without hesitation, he leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Huo Yu, seeking solace in a comforting embrace.
It was the first time when Huo Yu spoke the most. It would have been nicer if the content wasn’t so cruel, but Xia Wan also hoped that Huo Yu could reveal it all at once. After the difficult parts were shared, all that remained would be endless happiness and sweetness.
“You’re kind, that’s why you’re not scary,” Xia Wan said softly, lifting his head to plant a kiss on the corner of Huo Yu’s mouth. “The truly scary ones are the bad guys.”
“Am I not a bad person?” Huo Yu asked, his tone holding a hint of uncertainty.
“Of course, you’re not,” Xia Wan affirmed as he looked at Huo Yu with unwavering certainty.
Huo Yu smiled and tightly embraced Xia Wan, pressing his soft lips to the top of his hair.
“What happened next?” Xia Wan, held tightly in Huo Yu’s embrace, was eager to learn the outcome.
“It was indeed an accident,” Huo Yu said softly, his lips against the top of Xia Wan’s hair. “Otherwise, the Huo family wouldn’t have ended up like this.”
If it didn’t end like this, it would likely be to make the other party pay for their actions with their own life, right? Xia Wan thought but he didn’t say it.
Xia Wan fell silent. Following Huo Yu’s example when he offered comfort, he raised his hand and gently placed it on the back of Huo Yu’s head.
Huo Yu’s short hair felt ticklish in the palm of Xia Wan’s hand, evoking a mixed sensation of wanting to cry yet feeling content at the same time.
Perhaps, over the past many years, the fact that Huo Peifeng and Yan Wei were not harmed by others was the greatest mercy God showed to Huo Yu.
As they approached home, the wind started to pick up, growing stronger.
The car fell silent, with no sound of conversation, and gradually quieted down.
Turning into the path leading to Huo Yu’s house, the driver in the front seat suddenly spoke up: “Sir, it looks like there’s someone over there at the gate?”
Upon hearing this, Xia Wan lifted his head from Huo Yu’s arms. The headlights illuminated the gate, and he quickly recognized the person standing there—it was Huo Peixue, the one they had just discussed.
It was maybe really cold because, even though he had on warm clothes, he kept rubbing his hands.
Xia Wan glanced at Huo Yu. Huo Yu didn’t directly look at Huo Peixue but turned his head and said to Xia Wan, “It’s cold outside, you go home first.”
“No need,” Xia Wan said, handing over Huo Yu’s coat and slipping into it himself. He looked directly at Huo Yu and spoke with unwavering determination, “No matter what happens in the future, I’ll always be by your side, and I won’t leave on my own.” His words carried a firm and heartfelt commitment.
Huo Yu paused as he exited the car, gazing at Xia Wan with eyes resembling the stars in the sky. Slowly, a smile spread across his face, and his eyes lit up with a dazzling brightness.
“Okay,” he said.
“Xiao Yu.” Huo Peixue observed them getting out of the car together, hesitated for a moment, and then approached them.
It’s not like Huo Peixue has never been to Huo’s before.
He had once wielded considerable influence in that building for over twenty years, but now he couldn’t even step inside.
The staff who had always shown him respect before now avoided making eye contact, wearing cold expressions. Even the security personnel unceremoniously escorted him out.
It felt like the place had become a solid wall overnight, making it impossible for him to see Huo Yu at all.
If he hadn’t been waiting here for hours today, enduring the cold wind until his whole body felt frozen, he likely wouldn’t have been able to see Huo Yu.
“Yeah,” Huo Yu replied, gazing at Huo Peixue with a calm and indifferent expression. “What do you want?”
“I,” Huo Peixue glanced at Xia Wan, exhaling a misty breath, “I want to be with you. Can we talk?”
“Yes,” Huo Yu replied, lifting his hand to check his watch. “You have three minutes; Xia Wan doesn’t like the cold.”
His words carried a hint of firmness, setting a clear limit for the conversation.
This also implied that Huo Yu wasn’t going to allow him inside.
The accumulated embarrassment over several days, combined with the biting cold at this moment, transformed into a surge of anger. Huo Peixue struggled to endure it, his fists clenching tightly in the face of the bitter situation.
With the disappearance of his earlier condescension and false pretenses, the malice in Huo Peixue’s eyes became glaringly evident, no longer hidden behind a façade.
“You’re still too young. You don’t understand that those determined to climb the ladder are experts at acting. Shouldn’t someone with his background be adept at enduring hardships?” Huo Peixue seethed with anger. Moreover, he had always looked down on Xia Wan’s background. Even now, having lost everything and reduced to living on the streets, he clung to a sense of superiority in front of Xia Wan, dismissing him as “pretentious.”
Xia Wan remained silent. Upon hearing this, he simply pressed his lips together and offered a nonchalant smile.
Huo Yu lowered his eyes to check his watch and spoke quietly, “Two minutes and forty-five seconds remaining.”
Huo Peixue was startled, and then his expression turned panicked.
“Xiao Yu,” he said hastily, “Can we keep the old house? It doesn’t matter what happens to me when I get older. Huo Lin is still young, so just consider it as us supporting you. For his sake, please leave him a way to survive. For Uncle, please?”
“Support me? Is cold violence, verbal abuse, and malicious provocation what you call support?” Huo Yu lifted one corner of his mouth slightly. “In that accident years ago, did you ever think about leaving a way for me to survive?”
“It wasn’t us,” Huo Peixue’s voice suddenly rose.
“Don’t you all know this very well?” Huo Yu replied. “If it wasn’t you, why was the surveillance in the garage missing at that time?”
He said, smiling softly, “Of course, you could also call it a coincidence.”
“You…” Huo Peixue was taken aback, his lips trembling with surprise. “Did you check the surveillance? How could you have possibly entered my study?” The shock and disbelief were evident in his tone as he confronted Huo Yu.
Huo Yu looked at him mockingly and spoke softly, “Three minutes are up.”
With that, he took Xia Wan’s hand and started to enter inside. Witnessing this, Huo Peixue hurriedly intercepted them, blocking their way.
Seeing that Huo Yu remained indifferent, he knelt down with a desperate cry.
“We have nothing left at home, debt collectors came to our door every day, and your grandfather is still lying in the hospital,” Huo Peixue attempted to grab the legs of Huo Yu’s trousers, but Huo Yu skillfully dodged him. “I beg you.”
These words were carried away by the wind. Huo Yu didn’t spare him a glance. Holding Xia Wan’s hand, he walked through the door leaving Huo Peixue kneeling in the cold.
The biting wind cut across Huo Peixue’s face like a knife, and distant security guards approached against the wind.
Huo Peixue crumpled on the spot as if all his strength had drained away.
The young child he once believed he could torment and break, the young man he thought he could manipulate in silence, the young man who had been sent abroad to distance him from family matters—now stood so tall that he had to acknowledge defeat.
In the moonlight’s shadow, the way he gazed down was calm and indifferent, sending shivers down his (HP) spine.
It was like the gaze of death.
The line where there is “three minutes are up” is doubled.
Thanks for the chapter!
Corrected. Thanks for pointing out
Thank You for the new chapter ♥(ˆ⌣ˆԅ)
so the grandpa, the uncle, and the cousin really are apples that didn’t fall far from the tree. they have scumbag bloodline.