Wen Qiansu had a rare good night’s sleep, waking only at dawn.
Suddenly waking in an unfamiliar room left her momentarily dazed.
How had she fallen asleep at Mr. Huo’s house last night?
She only remembered taking the medicine, and then… falling asleep?
How improper.
The girl quickly sat up.
Her lips felt strangely sore, and she pursed them curiously, her gaze catching the phone on the bedside table.
Unable to resist, she picked it up for a glance.
There were calls and messages, but none from her father or Lu Xiaoting.
The people closest to her didn’t care about her at all.
Even though she hadn’t returned home on a stormy night, they didn’t give it a second thought.
Lu Xiaoting, that scumbag, was no longer worth keeping—cut him off!
And her father.
That old scoundrel.
After marrying her stepmother, the mistress, he doted on the stepdaughter she brought along.
Instead, he drove his own flesh and blood out of the house.
If he ever wanted her back, it would be impossible now.
The girl angrily thumped the bed, got up, and went downstairs, intending to bid farewell to Mr. Huo.
Mr. Huo, looking refreshed and dignified, was holding a bowl of medicine.
Seeing the girl descend the stairs, he asked, “Why are you up so early? Are you feeling better?”
The man set the medicine bowl aside and took the girl’s hand.
He guided her to sit beside him, his warm, large hand resting on her forehead.
Wen Qiansu’s cheeks flushed inexplicably.
In the daylight, Mr. Huo looked even more handsome and striking than he had the night before.
Tall and dashing, with features as elegant as a painting, refined and noble, the gentle smile at the corner of his lips seemed almost suffocatingly tender.
Feeling a little shy, she lowered her head slightly and whispered, “Much better. My head doesn’t hurt anymore, and I don’t have a fever.”
“You still need to take the medicine. Your constitution is weak, and a few more doses will help strengthen it.”
“Alright, thank you, Mr. Huo.”
Huh, how did Mr. Huo know she had a weak constitution?
As a child, she was often unwell and was sent to the countryside by her father under the pretense of recuperating for several years. After returning, her mother passed away, and she fell seriously ill again, leaving her frail and seemingly unable to care for herself.
Wen Qiansu obediently drank the medicine, and a piece of candy was promptly placed in her mouth.
The warm, dry pad of his finger brushed against her soft, rosy lips.
Wen Qiansu flinched like a startled fawn, lifting her panicked eyes.
Huo Zhanxing gazed at her with dark, unreadable eyes. “My apologies, I was too rough. Did I touch you?”
“No, no, Mr. Huo didn’t mean to.”
Mr. Huo wasn’t some lecherous rogue; he hadn’t intentionally touched her lips.
He had personally brought her the medicine early in the morning and remembered her aversion to bitterness from the night before, preparing candy for her.
In that instant, Wen Qiansu felt as if a warm, radiant light, like that of a bodhisattva, emanated from the man.
He definitely hadn’t meant to touch her lips.
“What a good baby,” Huo Zhanxing murmured, his lips curving into a gentle smile.
There was no hint of the depraved thoughts lurking in the man’s heart.
Last night, while you were unconscious, he took advantage and mistreated you.
Now, seeing you awake, he pushes further, testing the waters.
“So, baby, are you hungry? Shall we go have breakfast?”
“Ah? Okay… thank you, Mr. Huo.”
Why was Mr. Huo calling her “baby”? Only her mother had called her that when she was still alive.
The girl’s cheeks flushed even redder as she allowed herself to be led to the dining room in a daze.
Hadn’t she intended to say goodbye?
After last night’s rain, the air in the estate was exceptionally fresh in the morning.
In the exquisitely luxurious dining room, the butler and maids were setting up breakfast.
The maids had been urgently summoned to ensure Miss Wen felt at ease.
She was used to handling weapons, and as she pinched the slender stem of the wine glass, it snapped with a crisp crack.
The maid blinked.
Wen Qiansu blinked as well, then cautiously glanced at Mr. Huo.
Huo Zhanxing lifted his dark, long lashes and said gently, “It’s fine. Are you hurt?”
The maid: …Eep! Not hurt, but scared half to death.
Since when has the master been so easygoing?
I thought I’d be thrown to Africa to practice how to properly carry a tray.
Once again, Wen Qiansu felt that Mr. Huo was truly a good person.
A living Bodhisattva, beautiful inside and out, so gentle even to the household staff.
Unlike her own family.
Her stepmother Xiong Daiyun, stepsister Wen Sisi, and her father Wen Biesheng—each of them arrogant and full of themselves, looking down on the servants as if they were nothing.
The good-hearted Huo Zhanxing smiled without saying a word.
Breakfast was lavish, comparable to a five-star hotel.
Wen Qiansu enjoyed her meal thoroughly, feeling so comfortable in her stomach that she almost didn’t want to leave.
But she couldn’t be so shameless.
She properly set down her knife and fork:
“Mr. Huo, thank you for taking me in last night. I…”
“Are you leaving?”
Huo Zhanxing raised his eyelids, looking at her calmly.
Wen Qiansu: “…Yeah, I shouldn’t disturb you any longer.”
“Where do you plan to go?”
“I… haven’t thought about it yet.”
She could stay at a hotel, temporarily at a friend’s place, or even at the school dormitory.
Anywhere would do, as long as it wasn’t the Wen family.
Huo Zhanxing elegantly pulled out a pure white napkin.
Slowly, one by one, he wiped his slender, beautifully sculpted fingers, which looked like works of art.
“Actually, I’m very happy to have you here.”
“There aren’t many people around me, and it can get lonely. Since you arrived, even Pei Bo seems to have grown a few years younger.”
Butler Pei Bo: …
“Ah, yes, yes, yes, Miss Wen, don’t be fooled by my white hair—I’ve had it since I was young. Seeing you is like seeing my little granddaughter. I couldn’t be happier.”
Wen Qiansu: …
The maid Shu Fei coughed, wanting to remind Old Pei that the generational comparison was off.
Pei Bo turned and glared at her. What else could he say? Would you dare treat Miss Wen like your own daughter?
Would the master let you off the hook?
Shu Fei: …Well, that’s true, but even with a hundred times the courage, she wouldn’t dare call Miss Wen her little granddaughter.
Wen Qiansu: “But…”
She couldn’t just shamelessly stay at Mr. Huo’s place. They weren’t related, and it really wouldn’t be proper.
Huo Zhanxing lowered his gaze.
His handsome, gentle face was filled with loneliness.
“If you don’t want to stay, I won’t force you.”
“People outside say I’m heartless, ruthless, and not a good person. I suppose I don’t deserve anyone’s company. It’s only fitting that I end up alone. Finally, a lovely and beautiful guest arrives, and I can’t even keep her.”
Butler Pei Bo: ?
Maid Shu Fei: ?
The butler was stunned.
Since when had his master mastered the art of playing the victim?
He couldn’t keep a guest?
Countless wealthy families wanted to send people to serve at the Huo residence, but they couldn’t even get past the gate.
Anyone who dared force their way in would be met with rabid dogs.
If they got bitten to death, it was their own fault.
You can’t keep a guest?
You just can’t keep a wife, can you?
“No, no, no, it’s not that I don’t want to, I…”
Wen Qiansu waved her hands in a panic.
Having just suffered betrayal from her scumbag fiancé, if she started pitying another man now, her hopeless romantic heart would never recover.
But Mr. Huo really was so pitiful.
He was a Bodhisattva.
How could anyone bear to let a Bodhisattva grow old alone?
And he even called her lovely and beautiful.
Sigh.
The girl clasped her hands together and bowed deeply toward the man.
Huo Zhanxing: ?
The butler: ?
The maid: ?
What kind of new etiquette was this?
The girl’s soft, delicate, and pretty face looked exceptionally sincere as she said:
“Of course, I’m willing to stay by your side, but it wouldn’t be right for me to eat and live in your house for free…”
Huo Zhanxing’s long eyelashes fluttered slightly.
What a simple, gullible treasure.
She had fallen into his trap so easily.
The man’s lips curved slightly, his fingers relaxing and intertwining. “You’re right, it wouldn’t be proper to eat and live for free. How about…”
!
The butler had a sudden intuition that the master was about to utter something indecent and uncouth.
Miss Wen is still young—please don’t lead her astray!