Huo Lin remained unmoved. “Then let Cheng Yue carry you downstairs.”
Cheng Yue, sitting in the front seat: ⚆ᗝ⚆! Please don’t come near me!
He was just an orderly. He had absolutely no desire to become part of whatever play these two were engaged in!
In his eyes, Miss Jiang was now as terrifying as a female demon.
Still, considering that he had just made a mistake, he could only sit there miserably and keep his mouth shut.
Jiang Zhinian gritted her teeth. She was certain that her expression must look exactly like that of a classic vicious female supporting character whose advances had just been rejected.
She simply turned to the side, looking for something to occupy herself with. She took out the box Old Master Huo had given her and opened it to inspect its contents.
Muttering to herself, she said, “Good thing it didn’t break. This is a priceless treasure.”
Huo Lin frowned at her. “You only think it’s valuable because of the money?”
To the Huo family, a value of one million was practically insignificant. What truly mattered was what the bracelet represented.
Old Master’s recognition of the woman who would become his grandson’s wife in the second branch of the family.
“Of course. It’s just a pity it’s too valuable to sell easily. Otherwise, I’d cash it in the moment I got home.”
Jiang Zhinian played the part of a foolish woman completely blinded by money to perfection.
Surprisingly, Huo Lin showed little reaction. He studied her for several seconds before asking calmly, “Are you that short of money?”
Jiang Zhinian nodded furiously. “Of course! I’m desperately short of money. Big Brother, would you like to help me out?”
If the male lead was kind enough, perhaps he could sponsor her—a woman blessed with breathtaking beauty but not a single coin in her pocket.
“I don’t run a charity,” Huo Lin said coldly, shattering her fantasy.
Fine. That was normal. The male lead’s money was supposed to be spent on the female lead. How could he possibly give any to a vicious supporting character like her?
“However, if you return that bracelet, I’ll give you some money.”
Jiang Zhinian instantly saw through his little scheme. She wasn’t falling for it.
“Do you think I’m stupid? Once I marry Huo Tingyun, I’ll make sure to spend your Huo family’s money to my heart’s content.”
Those words seemed to touch one of Huo Lin’s sore spots. The air pressure around him instantly dropped, and his entire presence turned frighteningly cold.
Despite it being a hot summer night, Jiang Zhinian had no desire to sit beside this human iceberg. She scooted even closer to the car door.
Twenty minutes later, Jiang Zhinian got out of the car with a deeply resentful expression.
The moment the door closed, the vehicle sped away as if afraid she might change her mind and try to get back in.
“Huo Lin, I hate you!” Jiang Zhinian shouted at the departing car in frustration.
When she went upstairs, she found Li Chunfang and her husband standing side by side outside her apartment.
The moment they saw her, the man gave Li Chunfang a push.
With obvious reluctance written all over her face, Li Chunfang bowed.
“Zhinians, I’m here to return your one hundred yuan.”
The man broke into an honest-looking smile and held out a roll of loose, crumpled banknotes.
Jiang Zhinian accepted them and took a look. They were all small-denomination bills, most of them worn and frayed around the edges.
It was obvious at a glance that their family wasn’t well-off.
Still, Jiang Zhinian didn’t refuse. She accepted the money without hesitation.
After all, Li Chunfang had been the one to provoke her first. She needed to pay for her actions.
“It’s fine now. You can go back.”
The man nodded, his smile becoming slightly ingratiating. “If Miss Jiang ever needs anything, just let us know. We’ll definitely help however we can.”
After a pause, he finally revealed his true purpose, somewhat hesitantly.
“And… I hope Miss Jiang can put in a few good words for me in front of Commander Huo.”
But the man’s smile looked entirely different in Li Chunfang’s eyes. To her, he was practically drooling over Jiang Zhinian and flirting with her openly.
Li Chunfang clenched her teeth viciously.
If she didn’t teach this little vixen a lesson one day, her surname wouldn’t be Li!
Jiang Zhinian couldn’t be bothered to talk to them any further. She merely nodded and went inside.
After taking a shower, she changed into a silk nightgown and rolled around on her bed several times.
Yet the image she couldn’t get out of her mind was Huo Lin’s unbelievably handsome face.
Although he was always wearing that cold expression, there was no denying it.
He really was ridiculously handsome.
Hmm. Next time I see him, I’ll just kiss him a few more times.
…
The detached villa located at the very center of the military compound.
The military vehicle came to a steady stop.
Cheng Yue hesitated for a moment before speaking, his expression anxious. “Commander, I’m sorry. It’s all my fault for not driving properly.”
Huo Lin’s expression remained calm. “It’s fine.”
With one long stride, he entered the villa.
Inside the bathroom, water poured from the showerhead and cascaded over the man’s breathtakingly sculpted body.
The water traced the lines of his muscles, sliding over his sharp V-line and down his firm, defined eight-pack abs.
Huo Lin tilted his head back and closed his eyes, letting the cold water run over his entire body.
The water was icy, yet it did nothing to extinguish the desire burning within him.
The sight of that little woman gasping softly beneath his kiss, her seductive eyes glistening with tears…
And the image of her lying innocently and obediently between his legs…
They kept flashing through his mind.
Her neck was so slender it seemed fragile, and her skin was so fair and tender it looked as though water could be squeezed from it.
She was seductive like a little fox and wild like a little cat, effortlessly stirring the possessiveness hidden beneath his abstinent exterior.
He wanted to pin her fiercely to the bed and make her say nothing but his name with those crimson lips. He wanted to see tears gather at the corners of her eyes as she begged him to spare her.
He wanted to leave his handprints on her slender waist and—
Stop thinking about it.
Huo Lin suddenly opened his eyes.
The bathroom lights were off, and everything remained shrouded in darkness.
Yet in that darkness, Jiang Zhinian’s smiling face seemed to appear before him, her eyes curved seductively as though inviting him closer.
The desire that had already stirred within him in the car flared up once again.
His large hand moved beneath the stream of water.
After a long while, a heavy, breathless sigh escaped him.
Amid the rushing sound of the water, a soft murmur could barely be heard.
“Niannian…”
…
The next morning, the sun was shining brightly.
The woman lying on the large bed stretched lazily and woke from a pleasant dream.
“This bed is way too hard. I should replace the mattress one of these days…” Jiang Zhinian grumbled as she got up to wash.
“Tuanzi, check today’s schedule.”
【Sure! Today’s tasks are: buy Huo Tingyun a gift, finish reading Modern Translation Studies, and find a job to earn some money.】
The early-rising Tuanzi let out a yawn.
Although it was a system and didn’t need sleep, it had spent the entire night playing Gomoku against the computer, so it still needed some time to recover.
“Alright. Navigate me to the biggest department store in the city. Also, how much money do I have left?”
Jiang Zhinian sat down at her dressing table.
Her delicate, picturesque reflection appeared in the mirror.
Her skin was as fair as jade, her peach-blossom eyes deep and alluring, and her long, thick eyelashes fluttered lightly like butterfly wings.
She picked up a fine sandalwood comb and slowly ran it through her thick, seaweed-like hair.
Tuanzi activated its high-tech scanner and scanned all the cash in the room.
Then, surprisingly, it fell silent for a second.
Finally, its little childish voice spoke slowly.
【Host Niannian, you have a total of 30 yuan, 80 jiao, and 5 fen left in cash.】
Jiang Zhinian: ?
You never realize how poor you are until you actually check your balance.
Was she seriously this broke already?
She sprang to her feet, casually pinned up her long hair with a hairpin, and changed into a light green dress.
“Tuanzi,” she declared, “Big Sister is taking you out to make some money.”