When Huo Yu showed up, many reporters who were talking to Xia Wan and others quickly went away. Even those who were talking to different people before suddenly crowded around, making it hard to walk on the road.
Huo Yu was hard to see because of the people and equipment in front. Xia Wan had to wiggle a bit to catch a glimpse of him through the spaces between the crowd.
Huo Yu stood out like a star in the sky, drawing everyone’s gaze. It made Xia Wan feel as if there was a great distance between them, surrounded by the bustling crowd. Despite being close physically, the attention on Huo Yu created a sense of distance for Xia Wan.
Then, in a sudden moment, Huo Yu glanced directly at him through the crowd. In that quick exchange of looks, the chilly expression on his face gradually softened.
A smile involuntarily appeared on Xia Wan’s lips, and a subtle warmth bloomed in his heart – because this star only belonged to him.
“Mr. Huo, Mr. Huo,” the reporters’ voices buzzed in chaos, and Xia Wan couldn’t resist listening in, her ears perking up. “What did you mean by saying it is fake just now?”
“Shen Yan is not in a relationship,” Huo Yu clarified, his words cutting through the buzzing questions. “The rumors are fake.”
Laughter erupted, and someone praised, “You and Mr. Shen seem to have a great bond.”
Huo Yu had a little smile on his face, and he didn’t really say a lot in response.
The reporters didn’t seem to think Xia Wan and Shen Yan had a strange relationship, or maybe they didn’t notice any big difference between Xia Wan and Huo Yu, even though they were dressed the same way. No one got suspicious at all.
Huo Yu deliberately or accidentally touched the cufflinks that Xia Wan designed on his sleeves, his expression turning a bit serious.
“Hey, Xia Wan,” Pan Xingwen stood beside Xia Wan and overheard Huo Yu’s response. He gently touched Xia Wan’s shoulder, “So you and our second boss don’t have that kind of relationship?”
“No,” Xia Wan confirmed.
Pan Xingwen looked at Xia Wan, feeling a bit mixed emotions for a moment.
He had been following along and treating Xia Wan as the boss’s wife. It turns out he had misunderstood.
He awkwardly cleared his throat and couldn’t resist glancing at Huo Yu again.
Huo Yu doesn’t visit Shenzhou often, so Pan Xingwen has only seen him once before, and it was just a quick distant look.
Later, because of that photo, people wrongly thought he was in a relationship with the other person. Honestly, besides feeling happy about it, he also felt a sense of pride. After all, the other person was his big boss, and they were outstanding in both looks and background.
He was aware that the other person was married, but due to some confidential reasons and the other person’s strong influence, he never denied the rumors.
“Mr. Huo,” a reporter, not seeing it as a big deal, observed Sun Baijiang in his seat and then turned his attention to Huo Yu. “Are the things mentioned by Brother Jiang in the recent press conference true? Also, is there a chance for you and Brother Jiang to settle your differences and reconcile?”
“It’s true,” Huo Yu paused for a moment and then stated, “and it’s all in the past now.”
The reporters were silent for a moment, not quite grasping the full meaning of the statement, and then they started throwing more questions at him.
Since Huo Yu was at the center of the recent problems, more and more people started to surround him.
Only a few reporters remained around Xia Wan, and he was about to quietly retreat to his seat when he was halted by a very young reporter.
“Spare me,” Xia Wan smiled, “Eldest Master Shen and I really don’t have that kind of relationship; we’re just ordinary friends.”
“It’s not that,” the reporter lady said a little awkwardly, “I am… I am your fan.”
“Huh?” Xia Wan was momentarily surprised and felt a bit nervous. It was indeed unexpected to have a face-to-face interaction with a fan in this way.
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.
“Can I ask you a few questions?” the reporter asked, clearly a bit nervous.
“Yo mbegrf,” Wlj Qjc gfqilfv, rabqqlcu jcv rwlilcu ja atf batfg qjgas.
Ktf sbecu ijvs ofia j yla rts ecvfg tlr ujhf jcv jrxfv klat j rilutais fnjrlnf ibbx, “P kjca ab xcbk lo atf gfmfcais qbqeijg qjlcafg ‘Wljb Q’ lr sbe? Dfmjerf kf jii kjamtfv atf ilnf ygbjvmjra ktfgf sbe jvwlaafv sbeg gfijalbcrtlq. Ktf mbgcfg bo atf fjrfi mjeuta lc atf wlggbg lr jiwbra 100% bnfgijqqfv klat atf ibkfg ifoa mbgcfg bo atf ‘Lbgcifrr Fclmbgc’ atja kjr ijafg rbiv ys Ojcudljb, rb kf jgf jii uefrrlcu ktja kjr yftlcv sbe ktfc sbe kfgf ilnf ygbjvmjralcu. Qjr la atja qjlcalcu?”
“Actually, you’ve figured it out in private, haven’t you?” Xia Wan smiled, “It was indeed that painting behind me at that time.”
“Oh my god. Really?” The young reporter was extremely excited and couldn’t help but exclaim, “Is it really you? But why did you do the live broadcast?”
“Don’t ask for a hundred thousand reasons,” Xia Wan laughed, “Actually, I didn’t intend to hide this from anyone; I just didn’t think it was necessary to mention it specifically. Now that everyone has seen it, I’ll address it. As for why we did the live broadcast, it’s indeed a long story. Let’s talk about it when we have the opportunity in the future.”
After finishing his explanation, he looked at her and said, “Can you avoid reporting this today?”
“Why?” The young reporter’s eyes widened in curiosity.
“Today’s focus is on charity,” he smiled. “You can write about other topics for now.”
“Oh, I understand,” the young reporter nodded and promised, “I’ll definitely stick to the charity theme.”
Xia Wan smiled and raised his eyebrows. Seeing that Huo Yu was still surrounded by people, he waved to the young reporter and got ready to leave.
As Xia Wan lifted his feet to leave, Huo Yu courteously apologized to those around him and gracefully ended the ongoing interview.
Huo Yu, with his long and confident strides, swiftly caught up with Xia Wan. They walked side by side, their strides matching, as they moved through the crowd together.
He remained silent, his expression slightly serious, and the corners of his lips formed a tight straight line.
“Eldest Master,” Xia Wan found it amusing. He quickly hooked Huo Yu’s little finger and let go when no one was paying attention. In a hushed voice, he said, “Don’t be upset. Who am I actually with? Don’t you know who is real and who is the scandal?”
“Touching randomly,” Huo Yu reprimanded, his tone firm.
“Is touching your fingers considered a random touch?” Xia Wan pursed his lips and smiled, “I won’t dare to touch Mr. Huo anywhere else from now on.”
Huo Yu pursed his lips, but in the end, couldn’t resist lifting the corners of his lips.
When Xia Wan saw him smile, he couldn’t help but lower his head and laugh.
Their interaction was brief and subtle. While others might not catch those small gestures, Sun Baijiang did.
He couldn’t remember how many years it had been since he last saw Huo Yu’s smile.
When Huo Yu was a kid, he almost never smiled. Even if he did sometimes, it was just a little smile that didn’t really reach his eyes, like a quick sparkle that goes away fast.
Sometimes, when Sun Baijiang thought about it, he wondered if he had remembered it wrong.
And he had never seen a warm and sweet smile like the one he saw now.
He never thought Huo Yu could have a smile like this.
But Xia Wan was the one who brought it out.
Sun Baijiang unconsciously lowered his eyes, and the tight string in his heart, which had been tense and unyielding, suddenly loosened for some reason.
He had never felt so clear-minded before, and he knew it was time to move on.
Even though the thought emptied his heart as soon as it entered his mind, and even though it was extremely painful to consider that he wouldn’t be the one accompanying Huo Yu in the long years to come, he still understood it clearly—it was time to let go.
Because he knew deep down that he couldn’t bring the same smile to Huo Yu as Xia Wan did.
The NF Festival has reached its final stage, and some people have started to leave one after another, but those at the first and second tables were still seated.
As soon as Huo Yu arrived, everyone approached to greet him, establish connections, and organize drinks. In a short moment after Xia Wan took his seat, Huo Yu had already poured the wine several times.
After everyone had exchanged greetings, Sun Baijiang poured a glass of wine and approached.
As soon as Sun Baijiang came over, a hush fell over the scene. The atmosphere became charged with anticipation. Whispers and curious glances were exchanged between the guests, as everyone seemed eager to discuss, particularly considering that almost everyone was aware of the intricate relationship between them.
Huo Yu remained seated, only lifting his eyes slightly to glance at Sun Baijiang.
After a moment of silence, Sun Baijiang raised the wine glass in his hand, as if he had made up his mind.
“Xiao Yu,” he said, “I wish you all the best for your future.”
Huo Yu’s gaze was fixed on the wine glass. After a moment, he raised his hand and lightly touched his wine glass against Sun Baijiang’s.
“Thank you,” Huo Yu replied, maintaining politeness and courtesy like everyone else present, while also keeping an appropriate distance.
Sun Baijiang smiled. He raised his head and drank the wine in his glass.
As the spicy wine went down his throat, he frowned. After a moment, he released a breath. Then, he waved to Huo Yu and turned to leave.
Several people from Xia Wan’s table had already left, but Pan Xingwen hadn’t left yet.
While his attitude towards Xia Wan was no longer as cautious as before, Pan Xingwen still remembered the task assigned to him by Shen Yan and continued drinking without restraint.
Finally, Xia Wan turned to him and said, “It’s time for me to go back.”
He smiled and added, “Thank you for your company today.”
Originally, Pan Xingwen harbored negative thoughts towards Xia Wan, but now, faced with Xia Wan’s politeness, he felt a bit awkward.
“It’s okay,” he said, “It’s what the boss told me to do.”
With a smile, Xia Wan exchanged goodbyes with the event organizers, and afterward, he made his way down to the underground garage, leaving the venue.
The driver was already waiting in the car. As soon as he spotted Xia Wan’s figure, he promptly stepped out and opened the door for him. Xia Wan entered the car, gazing at the road for a moment before reaching for his phone to turn it on.
As soon as he opened Weibo, his heart skipped a beat because, under Huo Yu’s post, there was an entry for “W” trending on the hot search list.
The young reporter had assured herself that she wouldn’t report it but……
Xia Wan pursed his lips and after movement, he bravely clicked on the trending topic.
Most of the related Weibo posts had screenshots, likely originating from a fan group or similar. In the pictures, a person claiming to be a reporter had posted a message.
[Good news, good news! I asked my brother the questions everyone is curious about face to face, and he confirmed that the painting in the live broadcast was indeed a “hornless unicorn.” Ahhhhh, my God, I’m so excited! What kind of idol do I have? Why is my brother so amazing? Whatever you do, give it your best, ahhhhhhhhhh, I’ve lost my cool. PS: My brother mentioned that today is mainly for charity, and he doesn’t want to attract too much public attention, so for now, I’ll only share this with everyone in the group. Please don’t spread it outside. Thank you.]
The little reporter was so naive.
He scrolled through a few Weibo posts, then opened the live broadcasting app, finding his live account flooded with messages from a multitude of fans. The messages were so numerous that even his phone momentarily froze upon opening them, yet most were similar to those on Weibo.
[Ah ah ah ah, my wife is absolutely beautiful.]
[Oh my god, what a magical fate it is, the two anchors I like are actually the same person.]
[Cute and talented, you are the one I love.]
[Sending you 999 roses, please accept my love.]
[Brother, can you use this look for a live broadcast tonight? I’m so greedy.]
[+1, this is the first time I have seen my brother comb his hair up. It looks so good. It is so different from his usual natural hairstyle.]
[+2]
[+10086]
[…]
Xia Wan fell silent for a moment and then switched to the painting account. As expected, it had been completely taken over.
Leaning back in the chair, he pondered for a moment before sending a message:
[Thank you, everyone, for your compliments. However, I’ll be getting home quite late today, so I probably won’t be able to livestream. But I can make it up by posting a selfie later. If you’re interested, let me know in the comments. We can use this hairstyle for a livestream sometime.]
After sending the message, Xia Wan looked around and spotted Huo Yu and Shen Yan in the distance. The two of them quickly moved in opposite directions—Huo Yu was walking towards him, while Shen Yan went out of sight in another direction.
Xia Wan’s eyes brightened with excitement as he quickly opened the car door and hopped out.
In just a couple of steps, he leaped towards Huo Yu and joyfully threw himself into his arms, wrapping his arms around Huo Yu.
“What?” Huo Yu reached out and embraced him, holding Xia Wan in his arms as he walked towards the car. “Running down and letting people carry you?”
“I don’t want others to carry me. I only want the young master to carry me,” Xia Wan said, planting a kiss on the side of Huo Yu’s cheek.
The soft and tender touch made Huo Yu pause for a moment, and then he hugged him even tighter. He started to walk steadily towards the side of the car, step by step.
In a corner they didn’t notice, Pan Xingwen, who was chasing Shen Yan, was almost petrified.
At that moment, he suddenly grasped the significance behind Huo Yu’s cold “fake” statement.
Immediately afterward, he thought of the photo of Huo Yu tightly embracing someone, which had sparked rumors of an affair with him.
Upon careful examination, Pan Xingwen realized that the person Huo Yu was tightly holding in the photo was indeed Xia Wan.
Observing the two individuals getting into the car, Pan Xingwen even broke out in a layer of hot sweat on his back.
Despite all his calculations, Xia Wan was not just his boss’s alleged lover…
He was, in fact, the boss’s wife!
Poor Pan Xingwen is stunned silly 😂
Thanks for the chapter!
Thank You for the new chapter ♥(ˆ⌣ˆԅ)