Huo Jinchen looked at Zhao Yanbin in the driver’s seat with an expression that said, “Are you an idiot?”
“Honestly, compared to the idea of my uncle and Wanwan having an affair, I’d sooner believe you and I were having one.”
Zhao Yanbin: “…”
The engine of the sports car roared to life, but Zhao Yanbin still refused to give up, stubbornly holding onto his own theory:
“Brother Chen, look at the time.”
“10:44 p.m.—prime sleeping hours. Your uncle, a healthy man, is in a female college student’s apartment at this hour. What do you think they’re doing?”
“Do you really think they’re sitting there chatting with their clothes on?”
“What common topics could they possibly have? The cutthroat world of business? The dull routine of campus life? Or maybe you, Huo Eldest Young Master?”
Huo Jinchen fell silent for a moment. He turned to look at the brightly lit building, his expression shadowed and unreadable.
“Uncle wouldn’t like Jiang Youwan.”
“Uncle is a prodigy, a dragon among men. Since childhood, the women around him have been exceptional, each more outstanding than the last.”
“Jiang Youwan’s most notable assets are her face and her excellent academic performance, but in our circle, those things are hardly worth mentioning.”
“All she can do is paint a few pictures. But some held solo exhibitions at twelve, others passed the Royal Academy of Music Grade 8 piano exam at nine. Equestrianism, theater, classical music… Girls in our circle generally push themselves harder than the boys. Among those with any reputation, few are truly useless.”
“What does Jiang Youwan know? A few hundred yuan for a painting—it’s nothing more than trash to prop up a table.”
Huo Jinchen unscrewed the cap of his water bottle, took a sip, then shook the bottle in front of his eyes.
“Besides, she’s like a bottle of water that’s already been opened and drunk from.”
A heavy silence fell inside the sports car.
After a long while, Zhao Yanbin finally spoke slowly.
“Brother Chen, don’t say things like that.”
“If you care about Jiang Youwan’s past, then you shouldn’t pursue her. She’s a person, not some object. The way you talk about her makes her sound like some worthless secondhand goods…”
“Feeling protective? Can’t stand to hear it?”
Huo Jinchen tilted his head to look at him, his expression probing.
Zhao Yanbin gave an awkward laugh and focused back on his driving.
“See, even you don’t want her.”
“What kind of person is my uncle? Why would he pick up something even we look down on?”
The car fell into dead silence once more.
The wheels turned, circling past the pavilion and garden under the streetlights. Zhao Yanbin expertly turned the steering wheel.
“Brother Chen, we’re brothers who speak from the heart, so let me say one more thing.”
“Jiang Youwan’s past isn’t glorious, but how old was she back then? Just a kid, acting recklessly in a moment of passion. You can’t condemn someone to a lifetime of shame for that.”
“To be honest, Sister-in-Law is really a good person. With a face that beautiful, she stayed completely clean all four years of college—didn’t even date. After getting with you, she never caused any drama, never asked for bags or gifts like those other girls from before.”
“Beautiful, studies well, gentle too. She’s so poor she pays her own tuition, yet after you started dating, she still spent four or five thousand to buy you a basketball. Four or five thousand isn’t even enough for us to open a bottle of wine, but how long did she have to save for that? Isn’t that devotion enough for you? Isn’t that considerate enough?”
“She’s so damn pure-hearted, you’d have a hard time finding another like her even with a lantern—”
“Stop the car!”
Huo Jinchen’s sudden command cut him off.
Zhao Yanbin, confused, stepped on the brake in bewilderment.
Huo Jinchen stared straight at him with a hollow smile.
“You like it that much? Want me to give it to you?”
Zhao Yanbin cursed, “You’re insane,” and continued pressing the accelerator.
“You’re too close to see clearly. I’m just giving you some well-meaning advice.”
“Fine, treat my good intentions like dirt. Just don’t come crying to me later!”
Huo Jinchen grabbed for the steering wheel. “Stop, stop, stop—”
Zhao Yanbin swore again. “What the hell is wrong with you—”
A few seconds later, the flashy electric-blue Ferrari came to a smooth stop by the roadside. Huo Jinchen grabbed Zhao Yanbin’s head and pointed it in another direction.
“See that? My uncle’s car.”
“All that nonsense you’ve been spouting—you just wanted to say Jiang Youwan is charming, didn’t you?”
“Come on, let’s make a bet. If that car doesn’t leave this neighborhood tonight, I’ll call you grandpa!”
“I wouldn’t dare take advantage of Huo Linyuan like that,”
Zhao Yanbin slapped Huo Jinchen’s hand away. “If you lose, you call me dad. Deal?”
Huo Jinchen sneered. “Deal! Only a coward wouldn’t take that bet!”
Not long after Huo Jinchen left, Gu Jiali knocked on the door.
Jiang Youwan recognized Gu Jiali and asked the housekeeper to pour him some tea. But Gu Jiali just waved it off and collapsed onto the sofa with an exhausted sigh.
“Mr. Huo, I can’t drive you home tonight. You’ll have to find your own way back.”
Huo Linyuan, sitting on the other side of the sofa, watched him and immediately saw through the little rascal’s act.
“I drank at dinner. If you don’t drive me, how am I supposed to get back?”
Gu Jiali sighed dramatically, his performance exaggerated yet practiced.
“What can I do? You’re my boss, but the one in trouble is my own uncle.”
“You only had a few drinks, but my uncle got cornered in a bar. With his skinny arms and legs, he wouldn’t last a minute in a fight!”
As he spoke, he glanced toward Jiang Youwan.
The pretty girl holding a cup of water looked worried and couldn’t help asking,
“What happened to Professor Gu? Did he offend someone?”
Gu Jinling was currently teaching at S University and had interacted with Jiang Youwan a few times. She always addressed him respectfully as “Professor Gu” as a student should.
Hearing this, Gu Jiali sighed heavily again.
“Probably offended someone. They said there were seven or eight burly men on the phone, and I could hear my uncle screaming. He’s probably getting beaten up…”
The pretty girl looked even more shocked, her worry turning into a cloud of distress.
“How could they be so unreasonable? You should go help him—”
“No, no, I’ve already called someone to handle it. I can manage.”
Gu Jiali immediately sat up straight, giving Huo Linyuan a subtle look while continuing his practiced, exaggerated performance.
“But what about Mr. Huo? He finished work around ten tonight and spent over half an hour crossing half of S City just to see you.”
“Now it’s past eleven. If we wait for a driver to come pick him up and take him back to the villa, it’ll be two or three in the morning. Mr. Huo has arrangements tomorrow and needs to wake up at five. With only an hour or two of sleep, even an iron body couldn’t handle it…”
The pretty girl holding the cup looked almost visibly distressed. She glanced at Huo Linyuan, then turned her small face toward Gu Jiali, her ears faintly reddening.
“Actually… actually, Mr. Huo could stay here.”
She explained anxiously, as if afraid others might misunderstand her intentions.
“There are many rooms upstairs, all cleaned and tidy. I… I won’t go up there either…”
Gu Jiali’s face lit up with a relieved smile. “That’s perfect!”
At the same time, another low, clear, and pleasant voice spoke up,
“Wanwan is a girl, and I’m a man. It would be inconvenient.”
With his plan disrupted, Gu Jiali shot the other person a subtle, exasperated look.
But the blushing girl didn’t notice, only stammering in explanation,
“It’s not…”
“It’s not inconvenient…”
“It’s fine…”