The phone suddenly went silent on the other end.
After a pause of about two or three seconds, the young male voice finally came through again, carrying a cautious excitement that was clearly mixed with nervousness.
“Uncle is there too? Great, let me say hello to Uncle!”
“Uncle, good morning—”
Huo Jinchen’s voice trailed off. He didn’t have much experience interacting with Huo Linyuan, especially since his powerful, stern-faced uncle wasn’t particularly close to him.
Huo Jinchen felt a bit intimidated, but he didn’t want to lose face in front of his girlfriend. He pretended to be familiar with the situation, yet due to his nervousness, he ended up obediently explaining everything.
To those who knew, it seemed like he was greeting his uncle; to those who didn’t, it sounded like a suspect confessing the details of a crime to the police.
“I woke up very early today, went to the gym for half an hour after getting up, had breakfast, and then came to see Wanwan, bringing her breakfast along the way. But when I arrived, I found the door already locked, so I called Wanwan. I never expected Wanwan to be with you, Uncle…”
As Huo Jinchen spoke, he finally realized something was off.
Why was his uncle with his girlfriend so early in the morning?
His words began to falter, and Huo Jinchen quietly closed his mouth.
No sound came from the other end of the phone. The hallway echoed with his breathing, so quiet it felt suffocating.
“Sorry.”
The man’s deep voice came through the receiver. Huo Jinchen felt a wave of relief and was about to continue speaking after Huo Linyuan’s words—
But… sorry?
Uncle was apologizing to him??
Before he could figure it out, a soft, gentle female voice came through the phone, speaking very, very softly.
“N-no problem… thank you, Uncle…”
On the other end of the phone, Jiang Youwan’s ears turned red.
Just moments ago, when Huo Jinchen wanted to speak to his uncle, she had been about to hand the phone over. Coincidentally, the car slowed down.
She was already holding the phone toward Huo Linyuan, and this time, she ended up bumping straight into him, even hitting her head against his chest.
Fortunately, the stern-faced Yama King showed mercy and steadied her.
The spot on her waist where he had touched her felt as if it had been scalded. Even through a layer of clothing, she could clearly feel the warmth of his palm.
His hand was so large, and the moment it wrapped around her waist, a terrifying yet heart-racing sense of possessiveness flashed through her mind.
Jiang Youwan’s ears were flushed red, and her cheeks began to feel warm.
She didn’t dare look at Huo Linyuan’s expression, so she lowered her head and pretended to straighten her clothes. But for some reason, the scent of woody coldness she had smelled when she bumped into his chest lingered in her nostrils—a mix of Atlantic cedar and sandalwood, lonely and desolate.
Even though she had never been in close contact with Huo Linyuan before, something deep in her mind seemed to guide her, telling her that this scent felt familiar…
Outside the window, rain-drenched trees flew past rapidly. The man’s sharp, elegant profile was reflected in the car window as he spoke calmly.
“Wanwan left her clothes at the banquet yesterday. I happened to be passing by and brought them to her.”
Huo Jinchen never dared to expect his uncle to explain anything to him.
The Huo family was large and influential, and they didn’t all live together.
Apart from some important public occasions and mandatory family gatherings, he rarely had the chance to see or speak with his uncle.
To him, his uncle Huo Linyuan was an even stricter presence than his grandfather and father.
In any situation, as long as he stood there, he was like an unshakable pillar, always giving the entire family confidence.
He had absolutely no need to explain himself to me, yet now he was actually taking the initiative to explain!
Huo Jinchen couldn’t contain his excitement. “Thank you, Uncle. There were so many people at the banquet yesterday, I completely forgot that Wanwan left her clothes behind. Thank you for taking the time to bring them to us despite your busy schedule!”
“When you’re not so busy, Wanwan and I would like to treat you to a meal!”
This suggestion had been repeated twice since early morning, yet the profile reflected in the car window remained completely still, making his features appear even colder and more rigid.
Huo Jinchen’s voice continued to chatter on from the other end of the line. “Dad and Mom also met Wanwan yesterday, and they were very satisfied with her. I was even thinking about inviting Wanwan to spend New Year’s Eve with our family this year—”
“I’m a bit busy right now.”
The man’s deep voice cut through Huo Jinchen’s sweet plans.
The young man on the other end of the phone seemed to finally realize that he had disturbed his extremely busy uncle early in the morning and had even kept him talking for so long.
He eagerly bid farewell to Huo Linyuan.
The call was ruthlessly ended. The man’s large hand held out the phone, and Jiang Youwan raised her beautiful eyes, her gaze once again falling on his excessively slender fingers.
His well-defined fingers gripped the golden phone, the blue veins on the back of his hand crisscrossing. Though his knuckles rested lazily, the gesture gave off an overwhelming sense of being completely under his control.
For some reason, such a simple act of holding a phone, when performed by Huo Linyuan, felt so… seductive.
Oh no.
She must still be suffering from the aftereffects of that dream!
Jiang Youwan obediently reached out to take the phone. Just then, the assistant’s voice came from the passenger seat:
“Sir, the rain is too heavy. The road ahead has been washed out, so we’ll need to take a detour. It’ll likely add about five minutes to the trip.”
Jiang Youwan also glanced outside but was quickly drawn back to the lit-up screen.
[Huo Jinchen: Wanwan, have you had breakfast yet?]
The young woman’s fingers slid across the screen a few times before quickly replying:
[Not yet.]
[Huo Jinchen: I specially bought you your favorite crab roe soup dumplings. I’ll bring them to you at school. By the way, has Uncle left already?]
Jiang Youwan thought for a moment.
[Not yet. My stomach is a bit upset, so Uncle is giving me a ride to the hospital on his way.]
[Huo Jinchen: I’m sorry, baby. I was busy at my dad’s company yesterday attending meetings and forgot I was supposed to take you to the hospital today. Drink plenty of warm water, baby. I’ll bring the crab roe soup dumplings and wait for you at school.]
After sending the message, Huo Jinchen let out a long sigh and slumped into the sports car seat.
The young man in the driver’s seat chuckled softly, glancing at him with a teasing look:
“When it comes to devotion, no one beats our Huo Eldest Young Master. Keeping the campus belle at home while playing around with models outside. Partying all night and still playing the role of the perfect gentleman early in the morning. Poor me, dragged out of the private room at dawn to be your chauffeur, and I don’t even get to see her.”
“Jiang Youwan is beautiful, but she sure knows how to put on airs.”
He nudged the drowsy Huo Jinchen, who was rubbing his eyes.
“Brother Chen, why not just forget about it? With your status and position, plenty of girls would come running with just a flick of your finger. Why waste time on Jiang Youwan?”
“It’s been half a year already, right? Anyway, you’ve already slept together, so better break up sooner rather than later!”
Huo Jinchen tossed the crab roe soup dumplings forward. The cold dumplings, stained with sticky juice, lay quietly in the transparent container. Huo Jinchen sneered, “Slept together?”
He turned to look at Zhao Yanbin, his voice sounding as if it were squeezed through gritted teeth.
“She won’t even let me touch her, acting all chaste and virtuous. Who doesn’t know about her dirty little secrets?”
Zhao Yanbin was stunned, taking a long moment to find his voice. “Then how did you two end up together?”
Huo Jinchen was equally baffled.
“How should I know? I chased her for four or five months, and she never gave in. But after attending my birthday party, she agreed. Who knows what she was thinking? Maybe she felt threatened seeing all the girls around me.”
“Last month’s birthday party?”
Zhao Yanbin seemed to recall something and chuckled softly.
“Good thing she agreed quickly. That night, didn’t that junior from the etiquette team climb into your bed? Looks like if Jiang, the campus belle, hadn’t agreed, I’d be calling that junior ‘sister-in-law’ by now.”
He started the car, speaking over the roar of the engine.
“Jiang Youwan is just putting on airs and pretending to be noble now. With her reputation in tatters, does she really think stringing you along for a few months will hook you into marrying into a wealthy family?”
“Why bring that up?”
Huo Jinchen unbuttoned his shirt, revealing a faint lipstick mark on his throat that hadn’t been wiped clean. He spoke coldly.
“It’s just for fun. Who said anything about marrying her?”
Zhao Yanbin glanced at him and whistled. “Looks like that junior was pretty wild! If she wanted to stake her claim so badly, how could she bear to let you leave so early in the morning?”
“I took her to Louwailou for breakfast.”
Louwailou specialized in Su cuisine, and their signature dish was crab roe soup dumplings.
Zhao Yanbin fell silent for a moment, glancing at the transparent container on the windshield.
“Packing up leftovers from your little fling for your girlfriend… I have to say, Brother Chen, you’re pretty scummy.”
Huo Jinchen didn’t respond, sending another message instead:
[Wanwan, Uncle seems to have a good impression of you. Make sure to behave well in front of him and leave an even better impression. This is to help me too, okay?]
The business car sped through the storm, turning twice. The man sitting in the back seat watched the slender figure happily replying to messages, the gloom between his brows deepening.
Wanwan had a very poor impression of him and was always afraid of him, speaking to him only with the politeness reserved for elders.
Many times, he wanted to say something to Wanwan, but she would act like a little rabbit that had stumbled upon a wolf, ready to bolt at any moment.
He wanted to close the distance between them, but the little fool always insisted on acting as his future niece-in-law.
Yet between them, they had already crossed that line that shouldn’t have existed.
They had clearly done far more intimate things, but she always acted as if nothing had happened, sweetly flirting with Huo Jinchen right in front of him.
The man’s thin lips tightened, as if he had made up his mind.
“Wanwan.”
The girl looked up, her round eyes sparkling.
Huo Linyuan leaned forward slightly, closing the distance between them. The once spacious space suddenly felt cramped, and the girl’s delicate fragrance became clearly noticeable.
He heard his own voice speak, slowly and deliberately.
“At Jin Chen’s birthday dinner last month, you got drunk. Do you remember what happened?”