“Huo Lin is truly arrogant to the extreme! Huo Guoxun must be insane! Letting this bastard from who-knows-where take power!”
“Father, watch your words.”
Inside a private tea room in Xihai City, where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold, a gloomy atmosphere hung over the faces of Huo Tiangao and his son, Huo Feng, like a thick fog. Even the elegant setting of the traditional stove-boiled tea now seemed tainted with darkness.
Huo Tiangao let out a heavy snort from his nose, his chest heaving with anger, but he ultimately lowered his voice, afraid that the walls might have ears.
The Huo family had always been the foremost aristocratic clan in Xihai. A few years ago, they suffered a devastating blow from intense internal power struggles, leaving them weakened and their numbers dwindling.
Huo Guoxun’s capable siblings had schemed and fought against each other for years, only to end up dead or injured. The mess of the family business unexpectedly fell into the hands of Huo Guoxun, who knew nothing about managing the conglomerate and was only interested in romantic pursuits.
By the time he took over, the Huo Group was already riddled with holes.
However, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse. This vast legacy still attracted the covetous eyes of countless collateral branches.
Among them, Huo Tiangao’s line was the most eager.
Huo Tiangao, originally surnamed Chen, was a distant cousin of the Huo family. After moving to Xihai in his early years and changing his surname to Huo, he began to see himself as part of the Huo family’s legitimate line, his ambitions burning fiercely.
Back then, Huo Guoxun was a poor judge of character, mediocre in ability, and had only one sickly son who seemed unlikely to live long or be capable of taking over the company. The entire Huo family was in decline, teetering on the brink of collapse.
Huo Tiangao had long regarded the Huo Group as his for the taking, waiting only for the right moment to reap the rewards.
But he had never anticipated Huo Lin’s sudden emergence, shattering all his plans.
This eldest son, reportedly just brought back from abroad, appeared with the credentials of a high-level overseas education and forcefully entered the core of the group. With thunderous methods, he cleared away the gloom in just a few years, reviving the Huo Group and even surpassing its former glory.
To have the cooked duck fly away, how could Huo Tiangao accept it?
Over the years, he had been secretly stirring up trouble, allying with shareholders, cozying up to the Zhang family, and fanning the flames everywhere.
But under the watchful eyes of Huo Lin, the exceptionally capable and cold-blooded new leader, he never dared to make too much of a commotion.
Externally, it was like a fortress, impossible to breach.
Thus, Huo Feng devised a plan: take advantage of Huo Kairan’s love for reptiles to get close to him, try to drive a wedge between the seemingly distant brothers, break them apart from within, and then defeat them one by one.
But he never expected that Huo Kairan, who appeared aloof from Huo Lin on the surface, actually harbored an almost blind trust in his elder brother.
Huo Feng had an honest and steady appearance, making it easy for him to gain others’ trust. He seemed far more composed than his father, Huo Tiangao, whose face was etched with harsh lines.
Watching his father’s face flush with rage, Huo Feng calmly picked up the teapot and poured him a cup of clear tea to cool his temper. As he did so, he said, “I used Zhang Zhen to try and make Young Master Kairan doubt Huo Lin’s identity, but it seems now…”
Huo Tiangao’s eyes suddenly lit up, as if he had grasped a lifeline. “Right! Didn’t that kid go to the company these past two days? It seems this method is working. As long as he starts doubting Huo Lin and the brothers turn against each other, we can take the opportunity to support Huo Kairan in taking power. Then we can strip that little good-for-nothing of his authority, and the Huo Group will ultimately still be ours for the taking.”
This was exactly Huo Feng’s original plan.
However, his expression now turned grim, his voice lowering: “But Young Master Kairan now seems to suspect he might not be their biological son.”
The room fell silent for a few seconds.
“Is his leg not working, and now his eyes have gone blind too?!” Huo Tiangang could hardly believe his ears, so shocked he nearly crushed the teacup in his hand. “Huo Lin looks so mixed-race he barely resembles a Chinese person! And yet he doesn’t suspect Huo Lin, but instead doubts himself?!”
No matter how they calculated, they never expected Huo Kairan to have such an impossibly thick filter when it came to Huo Lin.
After a moment of contemplation, Huo Feng proposed another possibility: “Father, perhaps… President Huo’s identity really isn’t an issue. Given his age and appearance, he might be a child left behind by Chairman Huo during his early years abroad.”
“A bastard? Absolutely impossible!” Huo Tiangang flatly rejected the idea, his brows furrowing deeply. “Huo Guoxun and Zhuang Jing married very early. With his weak and pedantic nature, he’s simply not the type to fool around outside! Besides, if Huo Lin were Huo Guoxun’s child with another woman, would Zhuang Jing treat him as her own?”
No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t make sense of it. The entire family’s way of thinking seemed utterly bizarre, giving him a splitting headache. “Where on earth did this Huo Lin come from? How has he gained such trust from the entire family?”
“Our people have investigated Huo Lin’s identity and background using every possible method, and nothing seems amiss. Father, could it be that you’re overthinking this?” Huo Feng asked.
“The fact that there’s no issue is precisely the biggest issue.” Huo Tiangang narrowed his shrewd eyes, took a sip of the now lukewarm tea, and grew even more convinced of his suspicions. “Right now, our only chance of winning is to confirm and expose Huo Lin’s true identity, using public opinion to force him out of the Huo Group. So…”
His gaze locked onto his son like a venomous snake, and he spoke word by word:
“Our greatest, and final, reliance now is ”
“Huo Kairan.”
“Brother! Let’s go build a snowman too!”
Huo Kairan was practically plastered against the glass window, gazing longingly at the lively scene in the garden below.
Aunt Liu and Uncle Butler were working together to build a charmingly large snowman, while a few of the younger staff were chasing each other and having a snowball fight, their laughter faintly drifting up.
The sight made his heart itch with excitement. He spun around abruptly, his eyes sparkling as he looked toward Huo Lin, who was sitting in an armchair reading a book, his tone filled with hope.
This was already the second time he’d made this request today. The first time, earlier in the morning, had been flatly rejected by Huo Lin.
“No.” This time, Huo Lin’s answer remained just as resolute.
Huo Kairan hated this unyielding attitude of his the most. Anger made his temples throb faintly, a surge of frustration rushing to his head. For a moment, his tone turned sharp and biting: “Please! Your Majesty! Could you at least provide a reasonable explanation every time you issue a royal decree of ‘no’?!”
The young master’s bad temper wasn’t without cause.
Even though he was facing the very “big shot” he needed to rely on, and he had tried his best to restrain himself, when his patience ran out, that sarcastic nature of his couldn’t help but surface.
However, Huo Lin seemed not to catch the sarcasm in the words, thinking it was just another trendy phrase his younger brother had picked up somewhere, and accepted the address with ease.
Huo Kairan: “…” clenched his fist.
Huo Lin was a man of his word, and no one had ever dared to demand an explanation from him.
Seeing this, his page-turning movement slowed to an almost imperceptible halt, as if he needed time to consider this unprecedented request.
After a moment, he finally looked up, his gaze calm as he met the eyes of his pouting younger brother, offering an answer that seemed perfectly reasonable to him: “It’s very cold outside. You’ll get sick.”
“I won’t! I promise!” Huo Kairan immediately raised five fingers, swearing earnestly. “You can wrap me up like a zongzi! A baozi! A huajuan! Wrap me in as many layers as you want!”
Huo Lin’s gaze returned to the book, still not agreeing.
Huo Kairan stomped around the room, which was carpeted thickly, like a bird trapped in a gilded cage.
“Then I’ll go find someone else! I’ll play with someone else!” he threatened, trying to take action.
Huo Lin remained as steady as Mount Tai in his chair, turning another page of his book, his tone calm to the point of cruelty: “They won’t play with you.”
Damn it, the household staff naturally listened to Huo Lin, leaving Huo Kairan even more frustrated.
Since force didn’t work, he had to try persuasion.
So, he sidled up to Huo Lin, tugged at the corner of his exquisitely tailored clothes, and began to sway gently, his voice softening into a sweet, pleading tone:
“Brother… I’ve never built a snowman in my entire life. I’m so pitiful.”
Huo Lin’s fingers holding the book tightened almost imperceptibly.
He looked up, meeting the eyes of his younger brother, who was now so close.
Those beautiful eyes still held a faint redness from crying earlier, now widened as much as possible, staring unblinkingly at him, like a timid kitten trembling as it tried to expose its soft belly, clumsily and earnestly attempting to coax and please him.
Under such a gaze, even the hardest of hearts would inevitably soften into tenderness.
Huo Lin finally closed the book, which he hadn’t actually read more than a few lines of and conceded, “Only half an hour. The timer starts now.”
“I love you, big brother!” Huo Kairan was overjoyed, afraid he might change his mind. Without even attempting to bargain, he immediately began to act, frantically unbuttoning his pajamas to change into outdoor clothes.
The sudden move made Huo Lin’s pupils contract sharply, as if scalded, and he averted his gaze but it was already too late.
The entire world seemed to fade and blur in an instant, leaving only that touch of cherry red against the snow.
“Don’t just undress in front of others,” the man’s voice seemed to be squeezed from the depths of his throat, carrying a trace of barely detectable embarrassment.
He turned around abruptly, his movements so exaggerated they bordered on undignified.
Huo Kairan had already tossed his pajamas aside carelessly and was pulling on thick clothing. Hearing this, he looked up in confusion: “Huh? But we’re both guys, and we’re bro.”
Oh, not biological brothers anymore.
Huo Kairan lowered his eyelashes gloomily, a hint of bitterness rising in his heart. If only he and Huo Lin were still biological brothers.
“No men either, no one at all.” Huo Lin turned his back to him, his voice returning to its usual sternness, though his words came a little faster than usual. “And your pajamas the neckline is cut too low. Change them all.”
“Got it ” Huo Kairan dragged out the words, answering reluctantly. What had his pajamas done to offend him this time? They were just a normal V-neck!
Was showing a little collarbone not allowed either?
Old-fashioned! Feudal relic! Tyrannical dictator!
Huo Kairan cursed inwardly, but his hands kept moving. After wrapping himself up tightly, he turned around, instantly switching to a sweet smile on his face. He reached for Huo Lin’s large, well-defined hand and said obediently:
“I’m ready now, let’s go, brother.”