As soon as she finished speaking, Su Yuqing was yanked up by her father, who then slapped her across the face.
With a sharp smack, a red handprint appeared on Su Yuqing’s cheek.
“Dad, you actually hit me for this woman!” Su Yuqing covered her face, pointed at Lin Yao, and shouted angrily at her father.
Mr. Su was so furious his blood pressure was about to spike. “Apologize to your sister-in-law right now!”
Sister-in-law?!
Her father’s words made Su Yuqing even more distraught. She cried out, “She’s not my sister-in-law! I won’t accept her!”
“I’m the only one who can be Boyan’s wife!”
She seemed to have lost her mind.
“You will never become my wife in this lifetime. My wife can only be Lin Yao.”
Huo Boyan’s tone was firm and resolute.
Lin Yao was stunned, feeling a strange sensation in her heart. Her entire face flushed red.
“If it weren’t for her, you would definitely marry me!”
Su Yuqing couldn’t accept it and refused to believe it.
Huo Boyan shattered her illusions once again. “I’ve only ever seen you as a little sister! You’re overthinking things!”
Her dreams were mercilessly shattered by him. Su Yuqing sat on the floor, her eyes vacant, muttering, “I don’t believe it!”
“I don’t believe it!”
“I’m the only one who can be Boyan’s wife!”
Mr. Su looked at his daughter with heartache. He had always known Su Yuqing liked Huo Boyan, but he never imagined she would harm someone over a man.
And now she seemed unable to handle the blow.
“Boyan, Lin Yao, she’s already in this state. Please forgive her this once. I apologize on her behalf.”
“I’m sorry!”
Mr. Su stood up and bowed deeply to Lin Yao and Huo Boyan, offering a sincere apology.
Huo Boyan immediately stood up, and Zhu Yuhang and Shen Kaicheng followed suit. No matter what, Mr. Su was an elder who had watched them grow up. Seeing him bow to them left them with an indescribable discomfort.
Lin Yao quickly nodded and said, “Since you’ve already apologized, Uncle, I’ll forgive her this once out of respect for you.”
“But I hope there won’t be a next time.”
Mr. Su replied apologetically, “Don’t worry, I won’t let her do something like this again. As soon as we get back, I’ll send her abroad!”
“I’ll never let her disturb you again!”
After saying this, Mr. Su pulled Su Yuqing away and left.
Seeing that the show was over, Zhu Yuhang and Shen Kaicheng also left.
But before walking out the door, they couldn’t resist teasing Huo Boyan with a smile.
“Boyan, never thought you’d be so devoted.”
Huo Boyan expressionlessly closed the door, not wanting to engage with them.
As he turned around, Lin Yao was standing behind him.
Huo Boyan coughed awkwardly and explained, “Don’t misunderstand. I was just trying to make her see reason.”
Lin Yao nodded and smiled. “I know. I won’t misunderstand.”
But deep down, she felt an inexplicable sense of disappointment.
Huo Boyan fell silent, feeling that her smile was somewhat grating.
Early the next morning, as Lin Yao was about to ride to work with Huo Boyan,
Huo Boyan looked at her face and said, “Since you’re injured, you should stay home and rest.”
Lin Yao shook her head and refused. “I’m fine, don’t worry. It doesn’t hurt anymore.”
She had just signed a contract with someone yesterday to provide afternoon tea. If she didn’t show up today, it would be a breach of trust. Besides, Bu Zeyu was waiting for her to open the shop.
Seeing how insistent she was, Huo Boyan didn’t press further.
When she arrived at the shop, Bu Zeyu was already waiting at the entrance.
Lin Yao decided to make another key for him, so he could open the door and go in before she arrived, sparing him the need to wait for her every day.
Life continued peacefully like this.
“Yao Yao, it’s been a long time since you came back to see Father. When will you have time to come home and visit?”
Lin Yao listened to the weary voice on the phone. She hadn’t returned home since that day, and it had been three months now.
“I’ll come back to see you tonight.”
“Good, I’ll be waiting for you at home.”
Father sounded very happy over the phone.
After hanging up, Lin Yao called Huo Boyan.
“I won’t be back so early tonight. I need to go home for a bit, is that okay?”
Lin Yao’s voice carried a pleading tone, afraid he wouldn’t agree.
“Got it.”
Huo Boyan said only three words before hanging up.
Lin Yao breathed a sigh of relief.
Huo Corporation
Inside the CEO’s office.
As soon as Qin Hao entered, he saw Huo Boyan staring blankly at his phone, lost in thought.
“Mr. Huo, the Li family doesn’t seem very willing.”
Huo Boyan snapped back to attention: “They don’t have a choice.”
The Li family was a major player in the real estate business, but now that their incompetent son was managing the company, profits had plummeted, and they were on the verge of bankruptcy.
Huo Boyan planned to acquire the Li family because he saw the potential profits in real estate, and only he could offer a higher price than anyone else.
But the Li family was still greedy and wanted more.
Unfortunately for them, most of the Li family’s shares were already in Huo Boyan’s hands, and the remaining ones were insignificant.
Lin Yao had just left her family home and was about to hail a taxi back to the villa.
Suddenly, a man in black rushed out from behind her, covering her mouth and nose.
Lin Yao’s eyes widened in shock, and her legs struggled frantically. Before long, she lost consciousness.
The man in black carried her into a car and drove away quickly.
When Lin Yao regained consciousness, she found herself tied to a chair with a rag stuffed in her mouth.
The surroundings were pitch black, and she could only hear the sound of several electric fans.
What was going on??
Had she been kidnapped?
Who would kidnap her? Could it be Su Yuqing?
At that moment, Su Yuqing was the only suspect Lin Yao could think of, but she quickly dismissed the idea.
After all, Su Yuqing had already been sent abroad.
Then who could it be?
Lin Yao believed she hadn’t offended anyone.
Suddenly, a sound rang out.
It was the ringtone of Lin Yao’s phone.
But the phone wasn’t on her; it was on a sofa not far away.
She tried to move the chair toward the sofa, but it was useless—the chair didn’t budge, and she ended up falling to the ground.
The phone rang, stopped, and then rang again.
With a creak, the door opened, and a man walked in.
The lights were switched on, and Lin Yao squinted her eyes, startled by the sudden brightness.
“You still want to run!”
The man in black walked over to her and sneered.
“Mmph… mmph… mmph…”
Everything Lin Yao wanted to say was muffled by the rag in her mouth.
The man in black chuckled coldly, pulling out a knife and tapping it against her face: “Stop struggling. If you listen to me, I won’t take your life!”
The cold, hard sensation tapped against Lin Yao’s face again and again.
The man in black ignored her and turned to answer the phone on the sofa.
“Hello?”
“Who are you? Where is Lin Yao?”
Huo Boyan’s anxious voice came from the other end of the line.
“Don’t you know who I am?”
The man in black retorted.
Huo Boyan on the phone fell silent for a moment before saying, “You are Li Jiahao!”