Huo Mingjun’s hand holding the plate flinched for a moment.
However, the small anomaly was quickly concealed by him, and he replied nonchalantly, “People like us generally don’t need a reason for what we do.”
“There are millions of unfortunate people in the world, and I don’t see you picking them up one by one for education,” Xie Guan sipped his milk, “Why me?”
He couldn’t directly inquire about Huo Mingjun’s ulterior motives; that would be too impolite. Instead, Xie Guan needed to be careful and subtle in his probing. Naturally, Huo Mingjun understood his thoughts, but there were some matters that remained unresolved even to him. Clarifying them to Xie Guan at this point would only worsen their already fragile relationship.
“Cuiping Mountain, do you remember?”
“Uh-huh.”
Huo Mingjun pushed some snacks toward him, “When you helped me fend off the plane, I didn’t ask you why, did I? Have something to eat.”
The warmth in his eyes was only revealed for an instant before it was withdrawn, replaced by his usual cold demeanor. Xie Guan knew he touched a nerve and fell silent.
Huo Mingjun was a businessman, and in theory, he would only invest when there was a profit to be made, although Xie Guan couldn’t see any remaining value to be squeezed from himself. However, Huo Mingjun was as tight-lipped as an oyster. As such, Xie Guan set aside his doubts for now and obediently stayed at the hotel.
The next morning, they had breakfast together. Huo Mingjun didn’t have any plans for the moment and intended to stay at the hotel to listen to B City’s work report. With nowhere to go, Xie Guan initially planned to pass the time by doing something random, but Huo Mingjun called for his personal assistant Fang Hui, and asked her to take Xie Guan to buy two sets of clothes and some essential items.
Fang Hui didn’t attend the welcome banquet the day before and regretted missing out on a great show. Despite her efforts to gather gossip from multiple sources, she didn’t succeed. To her surprise, her wish was granted unexpectedly today. She took the supplementary card from Huo Mingjun respectfully and tucked it away. Then, she turned to Xie Guan with a gentle and meaningful smile. “Mr. Xie, shall we go?”
Xie Guan shivered at her expression and instinctively looked at Huo Mingjun. Without thinking, he blurted out, “Aren’t you coming with us?”
Fang Hui’s smile instantly turned to shock.
“Having the Great Demon King Huo accompany you shopping, young man, are you trying to shorten both our lives?”
The person in question was sitting by the window, engrossed in his tablet computer. Without lifting his head, he said, “I’m not going. Let Fang Hui help you pick, her taste is decent.”
Fang Hui’s legs went weak, and she awkwardly replied, “Uh… thank you for the compliment, boss.”
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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Based on Fang Hui’s knowledge of him, Huo Mingjun held extremely high standards for himself and others, so when she heard that her boss brought a man back from a category three film set, she was surprised. Then upon seeing Xie Guan come out of the boss’s room wearing some makeshift bargain-bin clothes, and even inviting him shopping, her hopes were completely dashed.
So, the Great Demon King harbored a Cinderella in his heart, huh…
Xie Guan was easy to get along with, and Fang Hui quickly realized that he knew almost nothing about Huo Mingjun. It seemed like he stumbled into the boss’s clutches by accident.
Fang Hui couldn’t quite figure out what Huo Mingjun intended with Xie Guan – was it patronage or just a random act of kindness? She didn’t dare say too much to him, and channeled her pent-up energy into shopping.
Being an actor with an excellent physique, Xie Guan looked like a completely different person after putting on suitable clothes. It left Fang Hui, a mature young woman, in constant admiration. Her conviction in the ‘Cinderella’ theory grew stronger.
As Xie Guan took the shopping bag from the salesperson, Fang Hui was about to get up from the sofa. He extended his hand to help her up, saying, “Are you tired? We’ve been walking around all morning. Let’s find a place to sit and rest for a while.”
Fang Hui’s teenage heart fluttered with excitement. She smiled and agreed outwardly, but inside, she felt as frustrated as a dead dog: “Damn it, this kind of good man has already been snatched up by the big demon king.”
After selecting two relatively inexpensive outfits under Huo Mingjun’s instructions, Fang Hui also bought him a new phone. When they returned to the hotel, it wasn’t even lunchtime yet. Huo Mingjun just finished dealing with documents from the company when he saw them enter. He raised an eyebrow in surprise and remarked, “That was fast.”
Fang Hui didn’t see his astonished expression and felt a bit disappointed. In her heart, she secretly wondered why the ending didn’t turn out as expected. Huo Mingjun continued, “Not bad, much easier on the eyes now.”
Xie Guan, unusually bashful, thanked him, “You’re too kind.”
Huo Mingjun added, “People judge based on appearances and most people in the world are visual creatures. Regardless of what’s on the inside, at least don’t appear timid on the outside. If you had a bit more backbone…” He glanced briefly at someone curiously eavesdropping, but the words that almost left his mouth about an old grudge were swallowed back, and he smoothly changed the subject, “You wouldn’t have ended up on the receiving end of my lessons.”
Xie Guan tried to suppress a smile, saying, “You’re right, thank you for the advice.”
Fang Hui thought to herself, “I’m so redundant.”
In the afternoon, Huo Mingjun went out to meet representatives from the Longfeng Group, while Xie Guan bought a SIM card and installed various social media apps on his new phone. Retrieving his WeChat account was troublesome, but luckily, he could still log in to Weibo. As soon as he went online, his private messages flooded in, and even through the screen, he could feel Wang Ruolun’s anger.
【Where are you?】
【Why did you suddenly terminate your contract with the company? What happened?】
【Answer the phone!】
【Damn it, how old are you that you’re still playing disappearing acts? Don’t scare me! Call me back!】
【I’m going to call the police!!!】
【I’m about to leave for an outdoor shoot, and there’s no signal in the mountains. If you see this message, just call the same number.】
The most recent message was from two days ago at 6 AM, hastily written by Wang Ruolun before leaving. He was so aggrieved by Xie Guan’s behavior that he even left the contact information of the crew.
As he looked at the screen filled with exclamation marks and a sense of urgency, a warm feeling spread from the depths of Xie Guan’s heart. Suddenly, he felt alive again.
Huo Mingjun, Wang Ruolun, Ms. Nie waiting in the car late at night, and Director He, who gave him multiple chances… This world wasn’t just filled with people like Wang Zhe and Mr. Zhang. Xie Guan jumped into a dead-end alley to escape the overwhelming pressure, but even if he terminated his contract with the company, it didn’t mean he would starve to death. China was vast, and so was the entertainment industry. Could a mere investor truly control everything?
How desperate must he have been to abandon nearly ten years of perseverance for someone like that?
Xie Guan replied to Wang Ruolun’s message: “I’m in Hong Kong. I lost my phone and only just saw your messages. I’m fine, don’t worry. I’ll be back in a while.”
Huo Mingjun had been out socializing and only returned to the hotel around ten o’clock. The TV was playing a TVB wuxia drama, and Xie Guan heard the sound of the door opening. He turned to greet him, “You’re back.”
He still wasn’t quite used to being around Huo Mingjun and appeared somewhat reserved, but at least he took the initiative to speak. Being highly perceptive, he immediately noticed that Xie Guan was different from before and understood that he finally came to terms with something. He nodded and was about to say something when he suddenly felt a dry and irritated sensation deep in his throat. His throat constricted, and he burst into a coughing fit.
“What’s wrong, are you choking?” Xie Guan saw him covering his mouth with his hand, unable to stop coughing, with a faint blush spreading across his cheeks. Xie Guan poured a glass of water and handed it to him. “Drink some water to soothe it. Are you okay?”
As Xie Guan came closer, he caught a whiff of the faint scent of smoke on Huo Mingjun’s suit. Xie Guan got up and opened the window to let fresh air in. When he returned, he lightly tapped Huo Mingjun’s back. “Take off your coat. Have you had pharyngitis before? Did Fang Hui bring any over-the-counter medications?”
Huo Mingjun let Xie Guan to help him take off his suit. He then unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt to make it easier for him to breathe.
Normally, anyone who dared to unbutton Huo Mingjun’s shirt would have been sent flying 200 meters away before even reaching him. However, perhaps it was because Xie Guan’s approach was unexpectedly skillful and gentle, and Huo Mingjun didn’t even have the time to consider if he was crossing a boundary. He only felt a sense of appropriateness that was entirely different from before.
Unlike the trust Huo Mingjun held in his assistant, he handed himself over to Xie Guan without any hesitation. It wasn’t about business; he instinctively knew that Xie Guan would wholeheartedly take care of him.
Because Xie Guan cherished his favor.
From the moment he decided to lend a helping hand to Xie Guan, this relationship silently and unspokenly took root. He never expected any reciprocation, but he became aware of its existence now and unconsciously placed it at the top of the list of “people to rely on.”
The hot water soothed his dry throat, and the mild scent of shower gel lingered in the air. Huo Mingjun finally recovered from the severe coughing fit and took the tissue that Xie Guan handed him. His voice was hoarse as he said, “It’s an old issue, nothing to worry about.”
Xie Guan furrowed his brow. “You’ve been coughing for nearly ten minutes. Let me check if there’s any medicine.”
Huo Mingjun waved him off, clearing his throat. “It’s not an illness. It’s just that someone was smoking at the dinner tonight, and it irritated my throat. It’ll be fine in a while.”
Xie Guan sighed. “You should stop talking for a while and drink more water.”
The unexpected flurry of activity broke the initial awkwardness, but once it settled down, the tension began to creep back. The TV drama reached its end, and a melancholic Cantonese song filled the room. Even though they sat side by side, the living room felt oddly spacious.
Finally, it was Huo Mingjun who broke the silence. “We’re flying back the day after tomorrow. If there’s anywhere you want to visit or anything you want to buy, you can let Fang Hui accompany you tomorrow.”
Xie Guan hurriedly said it wasn’t necessary to trouble her, but Huo Mingjun insisted, “During your time in Hong Kong, you probably haven’t had the chance to explore the place properly. Since we have the opportunity, it’s good to take a look around.”
A teasing smile played on his lips. “Although the beginning of this journey wasn’t great, at least we can create some beautiful memories to end it. So you don’t only remember how I scolded you at the beginning.”
Xie Guan didn’t expect him to bring up old matters, and he thought back to that night when he lost his temper. His embarrassment rose up like a freshly steamed crab.
However, he didn’t respond. Instead, he tolerated Huo Mingjun’s teasing while pinching his nose. Once the awkwardness dissipated, they continued to watch TV together. The chasm that separated them seemed to be slowly melting away.
Huo Mingjun understood exactly why this change had occurred. Just like taking in a dirty and scruffy little animal, washing it carefully, soothing it gently, and then holding it close, the little creature would recognize its owner.
But this change wasn’t limited to Xie Guan alone; he also felt himself softening.
After all, aren’t human relationships all about taming each other?
♡♡ I’m liking the characters and the story so far. Thank you for translating!
Thank you for the chapter!
Hopefully they’ll be able to be each other’s solace <333
Thanks for the chapter 💕