On the way home, Luo Mingchen awkwardly poked Huo Yan and said, “About last night… sorry.”
Hearing that, Huo Yan replied calmly, “It’s fine. I’ve kept track of it all. You kicked me thirty-four times and hit me fifteen times in total.”
When Luo Mingchen heard the first two words, he still felt a little guilty.
After hearing the rest, however, he was completely stunned.
“You actually keep track of things like that? That’s way too petty!”
Huo Yan turned back and gave him a slight smile.
“I am rather petty.”
Speechless, Luo Mingchen kicked him lightly in the lower back again. He didn’t use much force.
“Thirty-five kicks.”
The corner of Luo Mingchen’s mouth twitched. Then he suddenly remembered something.
“You counted this morning’s one too?”
Huo Yan paused briefly.
“Thank you for the reminder. Thirty-six kicks in total.”
Hearing that, Luo Mingchen ground his teeth together.
He really wanted to kick him right off the cart.
After a while, Luo Mingchen calmed down and asked, “Are you planning to kick me back tonight?”
“I plan to kiss you back tonight.”
Because Huo Yan said it with such righteous confidence, Luo Mingchen almost suspected he’d misheard.
Unable to see Luo Mingchen’s expression from where he sat driving the cart, Huo Yan leisurely added, “Since you’re not saying anything, I’ll take that as agreement.”
The straightforwardness of those words made Luo Mingchen’s face heat up.
He pressed his lips together and said, “Do whatever you want.”
He was probably… joking, right?
Having received an answer, Huo Yan curled his lips slightly as he looked ahead.
Wearing a straw hat, Huo Xinyue tilted her head curiously toward her Little Daddy. Seeing his face all red, she thought he was hot. She took off her own hat and laboriously placed it on his head.
“Duo duo…”
Luo Mingchen laughed and rubbed her little head.
“Daddy isn’t hot. Wear it yourself.”
After all her hard work, the hat ended up back on her own head.
Huo Xinyue sighed.
“Ai…”
Her little expression made Luo Mingchen laugh.
As they traveled, he patiently taught her how to speak, repeating the words over and over. Eventually, her “duo duo” and “du du” finally became “Daddy.”
By the time they reached the entrance of the village, Luo Mingchen could already see a crowd gathered in front of their house.
“What are they doing?”
Something felt off.
Driving the cart, Huo Yan said, “Surely we haven’t been robbed.”
“Huh?”
Luo Mingchen immediately thought of Huo Yan’s huge stack of banknotes.
Seeing how strongly he reacted, Huo Yan added, “I was joking.”
Luo Mingchen: “…”
That didn’t sound like a joke at all, okay?!
Complaining inwardly, Luo Mingchen urged Huo Yan to hurry up.
“The last time I had just woken up, your cousin wanted to sell the children. This time maybe he’s planning to sell the house.”
Hearing the urgency in Luo Mingchen’s tone, Huo Yan didn’t bother saying such a thing was impossible.
If Lin Tianlei’s family really dared to do something like that, one complaint filed with the magistrate’s office would be enough to end his younger brother Lin Qingfeng’s official career.
Therefore, even if Lin Tianlei were that foolish, Lin Qingfeng would never allow it.
As they approached the crowd, Luo Mingchen got off the cart and asked, “Why are you all gathered in front of my house?”
Only then did the crowd turn around.
The villagers stepped aside one after another.
Luo Mingchen looked over curiously and spotted a man about his age standing among them.
The moment he saw the man’s face, even someone who had survived the apocalypse like Luo Mingchen was stunned.
Their facial features were astonishingly similar.
Luo Mingchen had never seen anyone who looked so much like him.
No wonder Wang Chen’s parents had been shocked when they first saw him.
Luo Mingchen didn’t understand why someone who had run away from the marriage would voluntarily show up again.
So he asked, “You… need something?”
Wang Chen pressed his lips together and said quietly, “I’m looking for Huo Yan.”
Seeing how submissive and meek Wang Chen looked, Luo Mingchen couldn’t help frowning.
Still, he couldn’t really say anything. Wang Chen’s parents and two older brothers were present, and as Huo Yan’s former betrothed, Wang Chen seemed to have every right to be here.
So Luo Mingchen carried the child and turned to Huo Yan.
“He’s looking for you.”
Huo Yan climbed down from the ox cart, glanced at Luo Mingchen, then at the Wang family, and asked, “Are you here to return the betrothal gifts?”
The moment Wang Chen saw Huo Yan, he immediately shrank back, hunching his shoulders as though he had encountered some terrifying fiend.
Mother Wang looked troubled upon hearing Huo Yan’s words.
“Huo Dalang, our Chen’er was only deceived by someone before.”
“That has nothing to do with me.”
Huo Yan said, “I don’t like forcing people. Return the betrothal gifts, and the engagement can be canceled.”
Hearing that, Wang Chen carefully said, “I was willing…”
“If you were willing, why did you run away?”
Huo Yan calmly looked at the top of Wang Chen’s head.
“For the sake of the betrothal gifts?”
Having his true thoughts exposed, Wang Chen shrank back and fell silent.
Beside them, Yang Cuifen said, “Xiao Yan, look, the person you originally chose was Wang Chen. Now he’s come back. Just get rid of that fake one, alright? Don’t hurt the harmony between the two families.”
Without giving her any face, Huo Yan replied, “What does my family’s business have to do with Cousin-in-law? Since Cousin-in-law has so much free time, perhaps you should spend more of it disciplining your two children so they won’t be sent home from the academy again.”
Yang Cuifen’s expression immediately turned ugly after hearing that.
Her true temperament surfaced as she raised her voice and said, “The Wang family asked me to come and mediate! Do you think I wanted to come?”
Huo Yan replied calmly, “Whether you can mediate anything here, the Wang family may not know, but surely you do.”
Hearing that, Luo Mingchen nearly laughed.
Although he never thought Huo Yan was a man of few words, he also didn’t seem like someone particularly eloquent.
Yet whenever he opened his mouth, he could choke people speechless.
It was…
Kind of adorable.
Yang Cuifen was so angry she wanted to hit him, but Huo Yan was tall and strongly built, and she couldn’t possibly beat him. All she could do was glare daggers at him.
Huo Yan remained completely unfazed and turned to Mother Wang.
“I know your family is struggling, and Wang Chen was deceived by someone. You can write an IOU for the betrothal gifts and repay them within two years.”
Mother Wang opened her mouth.
She knew her family was in the wrong, but she still couldn’t help asking hopefully, “Is there really no way to switch things back?”
Huo Yan lowered his eyes and met her gaze.
“Auntie, regardless of whether Mingchen exists or not, Wang Chen ran away from the marriage. You say he was deceived, but he’s a grown man. Unless he was willing, who could quietly take him away without anyone noticing? I won’t state the real reason because I’m trying to preserve your family’s dignity. If you don’t want that dignity, then there’s nothing I can do.”
Even without him spelling it out, the surrounding spectators knew Wang Chen had run off with someone.
The matter had caused quite a stir in the neighboring Wang Family Village.
Rumor had it that Wang Chen had only been dragged home by his parents the previous night.
Listening to the crowd whispering among themselves, Luo Mingchen actually developed a bit of admiration for Wang Chen.
However, as one of the victims of Wang Chen’s rebellion against his parents, Luo Mingchen couldn’t approve of his actions.
If Wang Chen had the courage to run away from the marriage, then he should have had the courage not to send someone else in his place.
What if Huo Yan had been an ugly old man?
What if he had been crippled?
What if he had been habitually abusive?
It was only because Huo Yan wasn’t what Luo Mingchen had imagined, and because his family was relatively wealthy, that people viewed the substitute marriage as a desirable opportunity.
In reality, however, Luo Mingchen was absolutely a victim.