The turmoil at the private villa—Huo Yan suffering a head injury and Lan Su being stabbed in the shoulder—was a scandal that should have been contained within the family. However, on the day they were discharged, the entrance was swarming with reporters.
“President Huo, you have a bruise on your forehead. Did someone hit you?”
“We heard that Mrs. Huo was severely injured. How is she now?”
“Have you found out who did it? Did you call the police?”
“Industry insiders speculate that their goal might have been the design drafts for Maeve Amelia’s winter jewelry collection. Did you consider that, President Huo?”
“How do you plan to counter? If the design drafts are lost, it means the entire winter collection is missing, and the company’s loss is incalculable, President Huo!”
“Say a few words, President Huo!”
Amidst the cluster of microphones, Huo Yan stopped her wheelchair. The gauze bandaging her forehead stood out starkly against her refined yet imposing face.
Reporters quickly knelt down, blocking her path and holding microphones up to her.
Huo Yan raised a hand and pushed the bridge of her glasses on her nose with her index finger. The lenses caught the light.
“We don’t know who did it yet, but there is some unfortunate news: the complete set of design drafts for our winter jewelry collection was indeed stolen.”
The reporters gasped repeatedly: “What do you plan to do next?”
“Is there a chance of recovering them if you report it to the police?”
“The new product launch is only half a month away. Are you considering having the designers create a new collection?”
Huo Yan’s answer was measured: “A redesign might be too late, but it is the only way.”
“What if the other party steals your designs and preemptively launches the new products before your event? Will President Huo decide to sue?”
“We haven’t publicized or externally shared the design drafts, so the chance of winning a lawsuit is small. However, please believe that in half a month, we can still create a unique product.”
The assistant and security guards stepped forward to clear the way. The woman on the screen finally drove her wheelchair out of view, traversing the accessible ramp and entering the car amidst the reporters’ worried murmurs.
Clicking the icon in the upper right corner, the screen withdrew to show the system’s default water-drop wallpaper.
In front of the screen, the Huo family’s Elder pushed up his reading glasses. The assistant beside him quickly stepped forward:
“Chairman Huo, it seems Huo Yan did not have a backup. If we give the design drafts to Young Master Jun, he can certainly launch them first.”
Huo Shouping nodded. “Yes, give it to Ah Jun first. Work hard during this time, push to finish it quickly, and launch it before Huo Yan.”
The assistant worried, “But Huo Yan seems to suspect the Fourth Branch did it.”
The Huo family’s naming conventions still followed old rules, dividing the previous generation by ‘Branch.’ Huo Yan’s father was the second eldest, so they were collectively referred to as the ‘Second Branch.’ Her aunt, Huo Wen-xia, was the fourth eldest, and she and her two children were collectively known as the ‘Fourth Branch.’
Huo Yan, relying on the ‘gambling agreement’ from years ago, secured the position of General Manager of the family’s largest company, “Maeve Amelia,” from the Elder.
Huo Jun was not good at business, constantly spending his time seeking pleasure among various internet celebrities, and even the smallest subsidiary company he managed was tottering. If he failed to recover losses this winter, he would likely face bankruptcy after the New Year.
This is why Huo Wen-xia would resort to breaking the law to steal Huo Yan’s design drafts, and also why the Elder, knowing Huo Wen-xia was responsible, helped her evade the police and gave the design drafts to Huo Jun.
“Maeve Amelia has deep reserves. If they lose this quarter, there’s always next year. But without these design drafts, Ah Jun will truly be finished.”
For years, this is how he controlled the Huo family.
The eldest son and heir always held a higher status than the illegitimate daughter of the Second Branch.
Half a month flew by, and the jewelry world convened its Winter New Product Conference. The organizers invited 108 global enterprise executives to showcase their companies’ key products for the new season.
Huo Yan and Lan Su were, naturally, on the invitation list.
In the back seat of the private car, the half-rolled-down window revealed the woman’s delicate profile. A chiffon rose was tucked onto the shoulder of her one-shoulder gown, her dark hair half-up in a bun, with the remaining half flowing down her back. Her inherent pure and elegant temperament was further highlighted by the blue-and-black gradient evening gown, making her stand out like a gardenia blooming in the night.
“I heard Huo Jun will also be on stage.”
As she spoke, Lan Su’s gaze swept past the car window, landing on the hotel plaza fountain they were slowly approaching.
“Mhm.”
Beside her, Huo Yan in her wheelchair was wiping her gold-rimmed glasses with a lens cloth. Her long fingers were clearly defined, delicately turning the lens between her fingertips.
Lan Su didn’t understand why she was so indifferent:
“He stole your design drafts and is now openly taking credit, presenting them as his own product. Aren’t you angry?”
Huo Yan turned her head to look at her: “Do you think I have those kinds of emotions?”
“Of course.”
“Are you serious?”
“You just don’t show it.”
Huo Yan narrowed her eyes, looking at the person before her—thin as paper but with eyes like blades. She playfully rotated her wrist and placed the glasses on her nose, blocking the other person’s scrutinizing gaze.
“Lan Su, you are a good judge of character. Don’t tell me this is what you learned during those eleven years you were asleep in the hospital bed.”
Lan Su realized she had overstepped, lowered her eyes, pursed her lips, and explained:
“I just feel that they injured you and stole the ‘Blue Rose’ design drafts. We shouldn’t let them off the hook so easily.”
Huo Yan gave a soft laugh. “Who said I was going to let them off?”
Now, Lan Su was even more puzzled.
She clearly saw a carefully planned strategy on Huo Yan’s face, and also the look of certain control over a situation. However, once Huo Jun went on stage and promoted the ‘Blue Rose’ to the industry, the product would belong to him, Huo Jun, not Huo Yan.
“What do you plan to do?” Lan Su asked directly.
“You’ll know when the time comes.”
“Can you tell me first?”
“I can.”
Huo Yan agreed so readily that it made Lan Su suspicious. She closely scrutinized the chiseled profile, finally noticing a subtle hint.
“What’s the condition? Say it.”
Huo Yan’s lips curved up. Talking to a clever person was always easy. She handed Lan Su a beautifully wrapped candy:
“I don’t drink alcohol. Jiang Feng used to cover for me, but she’s not here today. I’m handing this task over to you.”
Lan Su was surprised: “I don’t drink either.”
Huo Yan gestured with her eyes toward the candy: “You can learn to.”
The annual Winter New Product Conference was held at the city’s largest five-star hotel. This was also the first time Lan Su attended as “Mrs. Huo Yan.”
“I heard she woke up from a vegetative state, so her health was already poor.”
“Didn’t she get stabbed last month? I heard she almost died.”
“So, is she even going to show up today? If anything happens to her, she’ll break a record.”
“What record?”
“Huo Yan’s record of having a dead wife, hahaha!”
Before a warrior passes through the mud, the viscous path is always covered with flies—foul-smelling, noisy, self-righteously pointing fingers as if they’ve grasped a heavenly secret.
But when the warrior strides forward, the flies panic, clamoring about why she can walk through so casually, giving rise to envy and jealousy.
It was through this gauntlet of envious eyes that Lan Su walked into the grand hall. Her floor-length organza gown accentuated her slender figure, and the blue-and-black gradient lent an undeniable elegance to her understated appearance. Beautiful, dignified, and proper—the moment she entered the door, everyone in the hall paused, not just for her, but also for Huo Yan by her side.
“This… this is Lan Su?”
“Based on that official announcement press conference, she didn’t look like this.”
“Exactly. Before, she always looked frail and sickly. How could she suddenly…”
A few people buzzed with conversation, genuinely retreating like flies, hiding behind the champagne tower, trying to figure out which stylist managed to transform an invalid so completely.
Until Huo Jingjing joined the fray.
“No matter how good she looks, she’s still a vegetable.”
Huo Jingjing, the daughter of the Fourth Branch’s Huo Wenxia and Huo Jun’s sister, leveraged family connections to enter the entertainment industry and was a moderately successful actress.
The moment Huo Jingjing spoke, the men and women nearby gathered around her as if finding their leader, flattering her:
“That’s right, everyone in the Huo family combined can’t compare to Sister Jingjing’s looks.”
“I don’t know what Huo Yan was thinking, marrying someone like that for good luck. Isn’t she afraid of bringing illness back?”
“No matter how much she tries to ward off bad luck, a cripple is still a cripple. It’s not like she can suddenly stand up.”
“This is the karma of an illegitimate daughter. Who told her to be born into the wrong family?”
“Exactly. She’ll have to stay in that wheelchair for the rest of her life. What, are we expecting a medical miracle?”
The moment the words fell, a cool, clear voice came from the opposite side of the champagne tower:
“There truly is no medical miracle in the world.”
The group was startled. Following the sound, they saw a tall figure slowly walking through the gaps in the champagne glasses. Tap, tap, the high heels slowly circled to the end of the long table. Her skirt moved, her head tilted slightly, and she looked down at them indifferently. Her thin lips moved:
“Even if there were, it wouldn’t be able to cure your malice.”
When Lan Su married, her primary role was to act as a virtuous and gentle wife. But fundamentally, she was a leopard lurking in a cave, just like the sharp-fanged lion that was Huo Yan—she was capable of biting.