“Thank you, I like it when people say that.”
Huo Kairan had been lounging on the sofa in the CEO’s office all morning, idly flipping through financial magazines, but his eyelids grew heavier and heavier.
Afraid that Huo Lin would disappear again if he fell asleep, he forced himself to stay awake, occasionally glancing up at Huo Lin working at his desk across the room.
Huo Lin, however, paid him no attention, fully engrossed in reviewing contracts worth billions and listening to his assistant Wang’s reports.
The distance between the lounge area and the office area wasn’t close enough to hear the details, but Huo Lin’s focus was truly remarkable it was as if he hadn’t even noticed there was an extra person in the office.
Huo Kairan felt a little annoyed.
In the office area, after Assistant Wang finished reporting on the projects he was responsible for, he said, “Mr. Huo, you’ve adjusted your tie three times and your cuffs five times in the past five minutes. Is there a risk in the integration of the SU series chips with artificial intelligence?”
Huo Lin’s hand, which had been adjusting his cuff again, paused slightly. He took the proposal from his assistant and carefully flipped through it.
Assistant Wang: “Mr. Huo, you’re holding it upside down.”
Assistant Wang, whose real name was Wang Zhi, was a graduate of a prestigious university, highly efficient, and exceptionally capable. However, he was overly blunt in his speech, almost like a real-life AI.
After being fired from his previous company for offending higher-ups due to his lack of emotional intelligence, he was hired by Huo Lin at a high salary.
But at this moment, Huo Lin suddenly began to question his decision.
After a moment of silence, Huo Lin said, “Send Sun Jiajia in.”
“Understood.” Wang Zhi briskly opened the door to the CEO’s office.
The commotion caught the attention of Huo Kairan, who had been bored and braiding his hair. He let go of his messy hair, which he had been fiddling with, and peeked out from behind the magazine like a wary little animal.
Realizing it was just a change of assistants for the report, Huo Kairan sighed and went back to braiding his hair.
Still, Assistant Sun was much cuter than that sour-faced Assistant Wang.
Huo Kairan rolled over on the sofa out of boredom and continued watching them.
But before long, his eyes began to blink uncontrollably and eventually closed completely.
Almost at the same moment, Huo Lin, who had been flipping through documents, looked up and murmured softly, “Finally asleep.”
His voice was quiet, but Sun Jiajia, who was organizing contracts, still heard it. The tone was different from his usual sharp and cold demeanor it carried a faint hint of a smile, gentle and almost out of character for someone named Huo Lin.
In contrast to Wang Zhi’s extreme insensitivity, Sun Jiajia was adept at reading people.
As he handed over the documents, he whispered, “Mr. Huo, the young master seems particularly clingy to you today.”
Sure enough, he caught a fleeting smile at the corner of Huo Lin’s lips, though it disappeared in less than a second.
The CEO, now in a good mood, worked several times more efficiently.
The result was that Sun Jiajia suffered if he had known this would happen, he wouldn’t have spoken up!
After a busy morning, he returned to the secretary’s department, supporting his sore back and looking utterly exhausted.
The other three assistants were out on business, leaving only him and Wang Zhi in the secretary’s department these days.
The two of them had never gotten along well.
To be precise, it was Sun Jiajia who couldn’t stand Wang Zhi.
He plopped down on Wang Zhi’s desk: “Hey, coffin-face, did you say something to offend the boss? All your projects were dumped on me I’m exhausted.”
Wang Zhi, who had been typing, looked up blankly: “Did I offend Mr. Huo?”
Perhaps it was the influence of bad company, but Sun Jiajia suddenly felt a mischievous urge. “Looks like you’re about to get fired again ”
Wang Zhi, predictably, panicked and shot to his feet. “I’ll go explain to President Huo.”
Seeing he was serious, Sun Jiajia quickly pushed him back into his seat. “Alright, alright, I was just teasing.”
A flicker of annoyance flashed in Wang Zhi’s eyes.
Sun Jiajia laughed so hard she could barely straighten up, then suddenly realized something:
“So, in the young master’s eyes, I’m this amusing too?”
At that moment, the young master on the sofa had that nightmare again.
Only this time, the story continued: a week after the birthday banquet, the true young master returned to the Huo family. Zhuang Jing held him, weeping heartbrokenly. Huo Guoxun arranged for him to enter the group and publicly acknowledged his identity. Song Shiwei took the initiative to befriend him. Huo Lin smiled and ruffled his hair. Everyone walked forward side by side.
Huo Kairan, dragging his crippled leg, chased after them from behind, crying and shouting, but not a single person turned to look at him.
The scene shifted. He fell through a lake covered in thin ice. Frigid water flooded his lungs. He struggled, but could only watch helplessly as he sank deeper and deeper.
Suddenly, the bone-chilling cold was replaced by a sensation of warmth.
Huo Kairan groggily opened his eyes. The blanket slipped from his body as Huo Lin straightened up from leaning over him.
“Brother!”
He threw his arms around Huo Lin. “Don’t leave me behind.”
Desperately, tightly, as if using every ounce of his strength, he clung so fiercely that even Huo Lin staggered back a step.
Huo Lin answered seriously, “I won’t.”
Huo Kairan looked up and saw the sincerity in Huo Lin’s gaze, yet his expression remained impassive. Perhaps it was a trait of those in high positions no one could truly discern what he was thinking.
He said it so earnestly, so convincingly that Huo Kairan almost believed him. Yet, his hands hung plainly at his sides, exuding a sense of distance.
It felt like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over his head. Huo Kairan slowly released his grip, creating space between them, and sobered up. “Won’t what?”
Huo Lin: “Won’t leave you behind.”
Huo Kairan stared at him. “Why?”
Huo Lin was momentarily stunned by those captivating eyes. Regaining his composure, his voice was slightly hoarse. “Because you’re my brother.”
Huo Kairan lowered his gaze. “I just had a nightmare.”
Huo Lin responded, “Do you want to go sleep inside? There’s a bed.”
Huo Kairan looked up. “Why don’t you ask me what I dreamed about?”
Huo Lin: “Are you willing to tell me?”
For some reason, Huo Kairan suddenly grew angry, raising his voice. “No, I’m not!”
His clear, bright voice echoed in the spacious office, even producing a faint reverberation.
Silence fell.
Huo Lin studied his expression, carefully choosing his words to placate him. “Then… would you like to go have lunch?”
Huo Kairan realized he had lost his temper again. Clenching his fingers, he muttered sullenly, “Mm.”
The two made a brief truce and had a simple lunch.
In the afternoon, Huo Kairan decided to take action.
Maybe it was his imagination, but the closer he tried to get, the more distant Huo Lin seemed to become.
Was his approach wrong? He was already wearing the birthday gift Huo Lin had given him. Wasn’t that enough to show sincerity? What more did he need to do to please him?
The young master, accustomed to being aloof and superior, felt a headache coming on.
In any case, he absolutely could not let Huo Lin see him only as a brother. Otherwise, he really would be driven out of the family!
Perhaps… he was being too subtle, and Huo Lin hadn’t noticed?
Huo Kairan, somewhat clumsily, pulled the longevity lock out from under his collar. The simple, antique chain now hung visibly outside his overcoat.
He pulled up a small stool and sat down beside Huo Lin, picking up the documents and pretending to flip through them, though in reality, he couldn’t understand a single word.
No, wait he recognized all the characters individually, but why did they make no sense when put together?
Embarrassed, he set the documents aside and began messing with them, shuffling the pages chaotically in an attempt to catch Huo Lin’s attention. Huo Lin, however, didn’t stop him.
Actually, Huo Lin’s temper was surprisingly good.
If other employees of the group, especially Sun Jiajia, knew what Huo Kairan was thinking, they’d probably want to commit seppuku.
That was the youngest powerholder in the business world! The demon boss notorious for his insane overtime culture! The ruthless king who only cared about results, not the process!
On one side, Huo Lin sat upright, his heart as calm as still water; on the other, Huo Kairan was like a little troublemaker, turning the office into a battlefield.
He was afraid Huo Lin hadn’t noticed the longevity lock, but the other never asked.
Huo Kairan pursed his lips and simply walked back and forth in front of Huo Lin, letting the little ruby pendant jingle and clatter with each step.
After the fifth pass, Huo Lin finally set down the pen he was using to sign documents. “Bored? I’ll have Assistant Sun take you out for a walk.”
“I don’t want to go out.” Seeing that he’d finally caught his attention, Huo Kairan quickly picked up the little silver lock and shook it. “Big brother, this lock you gave me is really pretty. Where did you buy it?”
Huo Lin replied, “If you like it, I’ll give you another one next year.”
Huo Kairan didn’t notice that he hadn’t directly answered the question, but the response dispelled his earlier frustration. “Really?”
“If we’re far apart next year, will you still give me one?”
“No matter what happens, will you still give me one?”
“Even if my identity changes, will you still give me one?”
Huo Kairan stubbornly wanted a promise, or rather, a guarantee, to ease the unease in his heart.
“Yes. No matter how far apart we are, no matter what happens,” Huo Lin paused, “no matter how your identity changes, I’ll give you one. Every year.”
After receiving this assurance, Huo Kairan visibly brightened up, no longer staring intently at Huo Lin as if afraid he’d disappear.
Huo Lin had a two-hour meeting in the afternoon, and Huo Kairan even volunteered to let Assistant Sun show him around the company.
Once the boy was gone, the spacious office was left with only Huo Lin and Assistant Wang, who stood stiffly to the side like a telephone pole.
It was only then that Huo Lin realized how quiet the office truly was.
He let out a soft sigh toward the door.
Wang Zhi: “Mr. Huo, that’s your twenty-seventh sigh in the last five minutes. Is there some profound meaning behind it?”
Huo Lin glanced at him and sighed for the twenty-eighth time. “No.”
Wang Zhi paused, as if bracing himself, and asked, “Perhaps… does it mean you’re going to fire me?”
“No.” Huo Lin stood up. “Prepare the materials. Let’s head to the meeting room.”
Wang Zhi immediately gathered the necessary documents.
Huo Lin’s gaze inadvertently fell on a corner of the papers, and his expression shifted slightly. “The spokesperson for the SY series is Qin Qin?”
The Huo Group had numerous business ventures, with the mobile phone brand being just one subsidiary. Matters like spokespersons were trivialities that Huo Lin usually left to his assistants to decide, without even reporting them to him.
“Yes.” Wang Zhi quickly grasped Huo Lin’s meaning regarding work decisions. “Should we replace her?”
Huo Kairan wandered aimlessly around the group’s premises.
After all, this might be his first and last time coming here.
Gazing at the grand structure of the entire building, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of emotion.
However, what was a bit strange was that every employee he encountered on the way looked at him with odd expressions.
Especially the women they seemed excited? Or perhaps eerie?
Huo Kairan was particularly sensitive to such gazes. Subconsciously, he tugged at his coat to cover his right leg and slowed his pace.
Only after realizing that everyone was merely staring at his face did he let out a slight sigh of relief.
The two of them made their way down to the third floor.
Having realized that Huo Kairan had only been teasing him earlier, Sun Jiajia was no longer afraid of this notorious young master. Instead, she felt a growing fondness for him and introduced everything with even more enthusiasm.
Huo Kairan pointed to a spot not far away, where two pots of kumquats were placed in front of a door. “What’s that place for?”
Sun Jiajia explained, “That’s the company’s marketing department, responsible for product promotion and celebrity endorsements. Sometimes you can see celebrities coming to sign contracts, so it’s decorated quite flamboyantly.”
“Celebrities…” Huo Kairan murmured to himself just as a fresh and beautiful figure emerged from the department’s entrance.
She was wearing the latest Burberry blue-gray fur coat, carrying a Bvlgari vintage leather bag. Beside her was a short, stout man who seemed to be her manager, making her figure appear even more graceful.
Before Huo Kairan could recognize who she was, she greeted him first, “Young Master Huo, long time no see.”
Only when she approached did Huo Kairan recognize her as Qin Qin.
Assistant Sun, who had been about to introduce them, tactfully stepped aside upon seeing that the two were acquainted.
Qin Qin flashed a flawless smile. “Young Master Huo, I’ve been wanting to apologize to you for what happened before. Since we’ve run into each other today, would you like to join me for a meal?”
Huo Kairan replied, “I just ate.”
Qin Qin insisted, “Then how about going downstairs for coffee?”
Huo Kairan hesitated for a moment, not wanting to reject a lady’s invitation, and nodded.
The two made their way to the upscale café downstairs, leaving Qin Qin’s manager and Assistant Sun upstairs.
In the afternoon, the café was quite busy.
Huo Kairan lost sight of Qin Qin for a moment and found himself separated from her.
He looked around and finally spotted a figure in blue, so he sat down across from them. “I’ll have a hot latte, please.”
The person across from him was taken aback. After getting a clear look at his face, they rested their chin on their hand and smiled. “Sure, handsome. It’s on me Would you like anything else?”
Huo Kairan realized the voice didn’t match and, recognizing he had mistaken the person, apologized and stood up.
Only then did he see someone waving at him from not far away.
After finding the seat and sitting down, he learned that the café’s heating was quite strong. Qin Qin had taken off her eye-catching blue fur coat, which had led to the mix-up.
Qin Qin couldn’t help but chuckle, feeling as though today’s Young Master Huo was a completely different person from the one at the auction house.
“Young Master, do you have a bit of face blindness?”
Huo Kairan stirred his coffee. It was the first time he had heard such a term, so he looked up and said, “No, not at all.”
Qin Qin asked, “What do you usually notice first when recognizing someone?”
Huo Kairan replied matter-of-factly, “Their clothes.”
Diagnosis confirmed. Qin Qin’s smile widened, but seeing that he denied it, she tactfully didn’t press further.
She composed herself and said, “Thank you for what happened before, and also, I didn’t get the chance to say ‘sorry’ in the car that day.”
Huo Kairan was accustomed to dealing with malice with malice. Faced with kindness and an apology, he felt somewhat awkward. His ears, hidden beneath his long hair, flushed slightly. “Oh, I’d already forgotten about it.”
Qin Qin seemed to be reminiscing about something before finally smiling. “I think I’ll remember this for a very, very long time.”
Huo Kairan was uncomfortable with the atmosphere and awkwardly changed the subject. “What are you doing at Huo Corporation? Trying to get close to my brother again?”
Qin Qin replied, “This time, I went through the proper channels. I auditioned eight times before being selected for the commercial shoot. But it’s still useless I haven’t even caught a glimpse of President Huo.”
Huo Kairan was puzzled by her persistence. “Even if you did see him, what then?”
Qin Qin said meaningfully, “As long as we meet, I’m confident I can capture a man’s heart.”
Huo Kairan felt a slight disdain for her confidence.
Qin Qin smiled. “Young Master, you don’t need to be so hostile toward me. We could cooperate.”
Huo Kairan snorted. “What a joke.”
Qin Qin grew serious. “I’m not joking. Let me ask you does Huo Lin have someone he likes?”
Huo Kairan thought for a moment. “Not that I know of.”
Qin Qin took a sip of coffee and analyzed step by step, “Then he’ll have to marry someone eventually. Why not me? If I become your sister-in-law, whatever he can give you, I can give you too. You’ll still be the most esteemed young master of the Huo family. I only want his power, but my heart is on your side.”
Huo Kairan paused, feeling somewhat swayed by her words.
After all, clinging to someone’s coattails was still clinging.
If Qin Qin married into the Huo family, wouldn’t he have another card up his sleeve?
Huo Kairan looked at the woman before him and suddenly felt a flicker of belief that she could capture someone’s heart.
Because she could easily see through people’s desires.
Huo Kairan’s cool fingers traced the warm coffee cup. “Why are you so determined to marry into the Huo family? The Zhang family is also a good choice.”
“Because I want power the greatest power in Xihai.” A hint of arrogance flashed in Qin Qin’s eyes.
Her ambition was blatant, but she stated it openly, making it hard to dislike her.
Huo Kairan hesitated before speaking. “I admit you’re quite impressive. I can consider cooperating, but… before that, I have a question I’d like to ask you. How do you make someone… uh.”
Qin Qin knowingly finished his hesitant sentence. “Fall for you.”
Huo Kairan pursed his lips. “S-something like that. It’s what you’re good at capturing someone’s heart? He’s been avoiding me lately. In this situation, how do I make him develop feelings for me?”
Qin Qin assumed the most esteemed young master of Xihai had taken a liking to some girl, thinking to herself that the Huo family truly produced romantics, which was good news for her.
But for some reason, she felt a faint sense of regret.
Huo Kairan seemed unpredictable on the surface, but he had a chivalrous heart.
If not for his frail health… Her gaze swept over his striking features, and she couldn’t help but recall the flutter she felt when he rescued her at the auction.
What a pity she had a journey to continue.
She wondered which girl had captured the young master’s heart so completely.
Qin Qin smiled with a mix of envy and acceptance. To win Huo Kairan’s help, she spared no effort in offering advice.
“It’s actually quite simple.”
Huo Kairan listened attentively to this free masterclass on emotions, taking out his planning notebook to jot down every word.
An hour later
Qin Qin had talked until her mouth was dry, downing three glasses of water before recovering. “Alright, I’ve helped you. Now it’s your turn to help me.”
Huo Kairan slowly closed his notebook. “Did I ever agree to help you?”
Qin Qin’s hand holding the cup paused. “You lied to me?”
Huo Kairan tilted his head. “You’ve lied to me too. We’re even.”
Qin Qin looked up at him, her disbelief turning into flustered anger. “I never imagined the young master of the Huo family would be this kind of… ungrateful person!”
“It’s not like you’re meeting me for the first time,” Huo Kairan stood up, looking down at her with a cold sneer. “I thought Zhang Zhen’s fate would have been enough of a lesson for you.”
At that moment, Qin Qin suddenly felt a hint of understanding for Zhang Zhen.
This man was truly beautiful in appearance, yet utterly despicable in character!
“Besides, no matter what, Huo Lin is my brother. What on earth gave you the confidence to think I’d help an outsider scheme against him?”
Under the indoor lighting, the long-haired young man curled his lips into a triumphant, teasing smile. The two small moles beneath his eyes sparkled brilliantly, as if Satan himself had descended.
Qin Qin gritted her teeth in anger, blurting out thoughtlessly, “You’re truly wicked.”
Huo Kairan raised an eyebrow, his illness-tinged features brightening with a hint of vitality. “Thank you. I like it when people say that about me.”
With that, he flicked the notebook in his hand lightly and turned to leave.
Qin Qin stared at his smug retreating figure, feeling even more infuriated.