Jiang Youwan forcibly suppressed the urge to retch.
Under Huo Linyuan’s icy gaze, she felt both timid and afraid, pitifully explaining,
“Mr. Huo, I’m not disrespecting you, I just—ugh~”
Jiang Youwan: “!!!”
Huo Linyuan looked at her, slightly frowning.
Jiang Youwan tensed up, covering her mouth: “!!!”
Then again: “Ugh~”
Jiang Youwan: “……”
In just a few seconds, she went from fear to numbness, her face resigned and helpless, both hands covering her mouth, only her moist eyes blinking occasionally.
It’s fine.
In broad daylight, Huo Linyuan couldn’t possibly have someone beat her up just because she retched while looking at him, right?
Her red lips beneath her palms pursed slightly. Feeling nervous, she slowly reached out to take her clothes—
The moment her fingertips touched the shopping bag, the texture of the dark paper packaging slipped away, replaced by a pale, elegant hand.
His palm was scorching hot, almost to the point of melting her.
The girl who had reached out suddenly widened her eyes, her dark pupils like grapes freshly pulled from a well, glistening with moisture.
In the midst of her daze and confusion, she heard the man’s voice,
“Are you sick? How long has this been going on?”
The girl’s thick, dark lashes froze in the air as she stared in astonishment at her hand, now held by his.
“Wanwan?”
The man’s voice sounded again beside her ear. Her long, curled lashes trembled slightly, and she seemed to finally snap out of it,
“O-one week…”
“Has it been like this the whole time?”
The man seemed to recall something, his deep eyes suddenly frighteningly bright.
Jiang Youwan felt her scalp tingle under his gaze. Struggling to swallow the urge to vomit, she stammered in a small voice,
“It’s true, Uncle.”
“I’ve been feeling nauseous lately. I didn’t mean to offend you…”
The more she spoke, the guiltier she felt. Her beautiful eyes misted over as she lifted her small, delicate face, looking like a kitten whose tail had been stepped on, utterly pitiful.
“Uncle…”
She pursed her rosy lips, her soft voice tinged with a plea,
“Could you… let go of me?”
Huo Linyuan paused, following her gaze to where his hand held hers.
In an instant, he seemed to revert to his usual cold demeanor, perfectly concealing the earlier flicker of emotion.
He released her hand, his voice low and magnetic yet cool,
“My apologies.”
He handed over the shopping bag, and Jiang Youwan quickly took it with both hands, clutching it to her chest.
She skillfully put on a well-behaved smile, the kind reserved for elders,
“Uncle, you’re usually so busy, and yet you went out of your way to bring this to me. I’m really sorry for the trouble.”
“When you have time, Jin Chen and I will treat you to a meal.”
At these words, the man lifted his eyelids slightly, his voice growing even colder,
“No need.”
Jiang Youwan breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a weight lift from her heart.
She wouldn’t dare have a meal with the cold-faced King of Hell. She only said it out of politeness, knowing full well it wouldn’t happen.
Huo Jinchen had pursued her for half a year, and they had talked about his family situation here and there. But no matter what topic they touched upon, it always circled back to his uncle, Huo Linyuan.
Jiang Youwan listened as he repeatedly mentioned Huo Linyuan’s name with an envious and respectful tone. Huo Linyuan was a prodigy, having started getting involved in the family business in high school. He attended an Ivy League university abroad for business school, built his career from scratch on Wall Street, and by the time he returned to China after completing his studies, his net worth had already exceeded ten billion.
He fully took over the Huo family business just after his 24th birthday, and his bold reforms solidified the Huo family’s unshakable position in S City. Throughout S City, Huo Linyuan was someone countless young heirs admired and looked up to, all while dreading going home to be scolded.
Jiang Youwan still remembered Huo Jinchen’s tone—
His voice was excited, his face full of pride, but the next moment, he seemed like a wilted eggplant.
“Wanwan, am I just not good enough? When my uncle was my age, he was already making waves in the financial world…”
Jiang Youwan probably comforted him.
But Huo Jinchen didn’t really need her comfort. As the first grandson of Huo Old Master, he had been doted on since childhood.
The Huo family was a large clan, with the core family business firmly in Huo Linyuan’s hands, making money faster than printing it.
So the living allowances for the Huo family members were quite generous. The Huo Eldest Young Master, who had just been sighing moments ago, glanced at his monthly allowance that had just arrived and instantly revived. With a grand gesture, he ordered a luxury car.
“Wanwan, I wish I were my uncle’s son.”
“But my uncle is cold to everyone and isn’t close to me either. He’s probably destined to be alone, and might not even have children in his lifetime…”
Jiang Youwan had heard this kind of talk many times.
Arrogant, cold, ruthless, unapproachable, and distant even with the younger generation.
Before meeting Huo Linyuan, these were Jiang Youwan’s only impressions of him.
After meeting him a few times, her beliefs were only reinforced.
If Huo Linyuan didn’t even like his own nephew, how could he possibly agree to let her treat him to a meal?
Sure enough, as soon as she brought it up, Huo Linyuan immediately turned her down.
Jiang Youwan, holding her shopping bag, was just about to find an excuse to send him away.
Unexpectedly, he showed no intention of leaving. Instead, he looked at her with those distant, noble eyes and spoke again:
“I’ll take you to the hospital. Let’s go.”
Ten minutes later.
Jiang Youwan, now changed into fresh clothes, sat stiffly in Huo Linyuan’s car, unsure where to even look.
The assistant who had knocked on her door earlier was particularly friendly, smiling at her.
“Miss Jiang, it’s about half an hour to Huakang Hospital. You can rest for a bit, and we’ll be there soon.”
Jiang Youwan nodded, then suddenly realized something.
She glanced at the assistant in the passenger seat, then turned her pale little face toward Huo Linyuan, her voice soft.
“Uncle, there’s no need to go to a private hospital. The nearest central hospital will do.”
The man’s gaze swept over her, his dark eyes unfathomable. His voice was magnetic, carrying a hint of hesitation.
“Private hospitals offer better privacy.”
“It’s fine, Uncle.”
The girl’s soft tone cut him off. “I just have a bit of a stomachache. Any hospital will do.”
“You can just drop me off at Central Hospital. I won’t trouble you with anything after that.”
Falling raindrops dotted the car window, and the faint morning light filtered through the glass, illuminating that pretty little face. Her damp eyes were fixed on him, looking so obedient it was almost unreal.
Huo Linyuan’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly. “Alright.”
Having achieved her goal, Jiang Youwan curved her eyes into a smile. The car fell into silence once more.
The Maybach sped through the heavy rain, splashing through puddles before coming to a quiet stop at a crossroads where it needed to make a U-turn, waiting for the impending red light.
The man with sharp brows and phoenix-like eyes lowered his gaze slightly, his long, slender fingers tapping lightly as if hesitating about something.
As the car steadily started moving again, Huo Linyuan lifted his eyelids and glanced toward the other side.
The well-behaved young girl sitting in the back seat was toying with her own fingers. Her neatly trimmed, rounded nails curved like crescent moons, tinged with a faint pink, looking utterly harmless.
Yet it was these seemingly soft and tender little hands that had scratched him as sharply as a kitten’s claws. That night, when he had glanced in the mirror while showering, his back had been crisscrossed with red marks from her scratches.
A hint of softness appeared in the man’s sharp eyes, but it vanished when he noticed her unconsciously moving away from him.
When she needed him, she would cling to him, calling him “Huo Linyuan” in that sweet, coquettish tone. When she didn’t need him, she would toss him aside and even pretend to call him “Uncle.”
Did he need that “Uncle”?
Now she was keeping her distance, as if an entire galaxy separated them inside the car.
The man’s thin lips tightened, and his tapping fingers paused for a moment.
The next instant, as if finally settling on a plan, he slowly spoke,
“Wanwan—”
At the same time, a familiar voice came from Jiang Youwan’s phone, warm and filled with laughter,
“Wanwan, you’re not at home?”
Jiang Youwan clutched her phone, lifted her little face to glance at Huo Linyuan, and then obediently replied,
“No, I’m with Uncle right now. Do you want to speak with Uncle?”