Huo Jinchen turned his head to glance at her, his brows furrowed with suppressed anger, his voice tinged with displeasure.
“What are you talking about?”
“That’s my uncle! Do you even know who my uncle is?”
“He didn’t even take a liking to Miss Lu—how could he possibly be interested in Jiang Youwan?”
“When he donated the Xiangwan Building, I hadn’t even started pursuing Jiang Youwan yet. He didn’t even know who she was!”
Huo Jinchen lowered the hand covering his face and roughly pinched the junior girl’s cheek, showing no mercy.
“Mu Jia’en, don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to! Stop spouting nonsense and making wild accusations here.”
“If it weren’t for your ridiculous babbling earlier, how could Jiang Youwan have broken up with me? Do you have any idea how long I’ve been chasing her? I’ve been chasing her for five damn months!”
Mu Jia’en, her face pinched by him, stood drenched in the rain, her makeup washed away in a pitiful mess.
She continued to address Huo Jinchen in that coquettish tone, wrapping both hands around his arm and using the usual sweet talk to placate him.
Huo Jinchen shoved her away fiercely, his voice stern and severe.
“Take your things and get out! Get out of my house!”
“Never show your face in front of me again!”
As they walked out from the bluestone path, Jiang Youwan noticed that Huo Linyuan’s shoulder was completely soaked.
The large umbrella had only sheltered her, leaving half of Huo Linyuan’s body exposed to the rain. His expensive dark suit was drenched through.
The rosy-lipped, fair-skinned girl pursed her lips, about to apologize, when the man’s voice suddenly broke the silence.
“Huo Jinchen is not a good match for you.”
The girl lifted her delicate face to look at him. Her thick, long lashes framed eyes as clear as water, and even the slight upward curve at the corners of her eyes was perfectly shaped, as if painted with fine brushstrokes, carrying an unconscious air of delicacy.
Her innocent expression was pure and guileless, like a white rose blooming amidst wind and rain.
It made one want to shield her from the storm, while also stirring up dark, unspoken possessiveness deep within.
To touch her, to kiss her.
To watch the blush rise to the corners of her eyes, her face glowing like peach blossoms.
Then to have her soften bit by bit into his embrace, until every part of her bore traces of his presence.
Huo Linyuan’s phoenix eyes darkened, his Adam’s apple dipping slightly.
He heard his own voice speak, carrying a malicious and veiled tone of jealousy, ruthlessly exposing his rival.
“Since he turned 18, his father and I have been cleaning up his messes. The two most serious incidents were when he nearly killed someone while drunk driving, and another time when he got a girl pregnant, and her parents came demanding answers.”
“To keep an eye on him and prevent him from going astray, his father and I regularly check on the situation at Huo Jinchen’s residence.”
“For the past six months, he has had a regular bed partner living with him.”
Huo Linyuan’s voice was low as he carefully observed the girl’s reaction.
If she showed even the slightest hint of distress, he would immediately stop speaking, keeping Huo Jinchen’s sordid affairs to himself.
But the girl standing before him simply lifted her pretty little face obediently, listening attentively to his words. Her beautiful eyes blinked, and her voice was soft and gentle.
“And then?”
She didn’t even seem aware of having been cheated on, still blinking her big eyes as she asked for more.
Huo Linyuan choked back the words in his mouth.
The rest of what he wanted to say would only taint her ears. After a moment’s thought, Huo Linyuan chose a more tactful way to phrase it.
“Huo Jinchen is no good. He treats relationships like a game and doesn’t respect his girlfriends at all. Wanwan, it’s best to stay away from him and not get involved with him.”
The girl nodded obediently, earnestly following his words.
“I won’t be with him.”
So it wasn’t just her being overly sensitive before—her instincts had been right all along.
On the surface, Huo Jinchen claimed to trust her and stand up for her, but deep down, he still looked down on her with unwavering conviction.
He clearly knew those rumors were her scars, yet just now, he had carelessly brought them up in front of everyone, completely indifferent to whether those old wounds would cause her pain.
If Jiang Youwan had still been moved and blinded before, after what had just happened, she had seen Huo Jinchen for who he truly was.
Outwardly, he appeared respectable, but in reality, he was truly no good.
Men were hardly ever any good.
Jiang Youwan grumbled inwardly but didn’t forget to continue probing into the unfinished story from earlier.
“Uncle, you mentioned earlier that the parents of the pregnant girl came knocking on the door. What happened after that?”
“She had an abortion.”
The man’s strikingly handsome face showed no other expression as his deep, magnetic voice echoed in the air.
“The Huo family compensated them and covered the medical expenses. They agreed to terminate the pregnancy.”
The delicate, timid gaze of the pitiful girl standing before him fell on his face as she cautiously pressed further.
“Uncle, you won’t tell the Huo family about my situation, right?”
Her slender, soft fingers tugged at the man’s sleeve, gently swaying it in the air, her tone tinged with a pleading note.
For a moment, the man whose sleeve she was tugging in a coquettish manner felt a slight daze.
He watched her slender, fair fingers, the neatly trimmed tips disappearing into the cuff of his suit. With her movements, the thin silk shirt brushed lightly against his wrist.
It felt as if tiny ants carrying torches were crawling through his veins, following the rushing blood all the way to every corner of his body, leaving even his heart tingling and numb.
He heard his own voice speak, carrying a gentleness he had never heard before.
“I will.”
“I will protect Wanwan and not let anyone hurt you.”
The girl curved her eyes into a smile, her tone lifting slightly as she thanked him.
Without the shelter of the trees lining the bluestone path, the two of them stood at the end of the road—one tall and dignified, the other beautiful and delicate.
Their strikingly compatible and dazzling appearances drew frequent glances from passing students.
Only when occasional whispers reached her ears did Jiang Youwan snap out of her daze, taking a step back to create a safe distance between herself and Huo Linyuan, ensuring no one would misunderstand their relationship.
After all, her reputation was tarnished, and with those unsavory rumors swirling around, someone like Huo Linyuan—a business magnate who valued reputation and public opinion—should not be dragged down by her. She couldn’t afford to tarnish his name.
As her boyfriend’s uncle, Huo Linyuan had already done more than enough.
He had no obligation to accompany her to the hospital, nor did he have to keep her secret.
The child in her womb was a ticking time bomb, yet Huo Linyuan showed no concern that she might give birth to it and use it to threaten the Huo family.
Huo Linyuan was a good man.
She needed to stay away from such good people—that was the only way she could repay him within her means.
The whispers nearby didn’t stop, and some students even picked up their phones.
Jiang Youwan felt flustered and at a loss. She hurriedly tried to say goodbye to Huo Linyuan, hoping to avoid having her photo taken together with him.
But before her raised hand could finish waving goodbye, the man’s broad palm grasped her wrist, pulling her into his embrace to shield her from the water splashed by a speeding car.
Jiang Youwan saw the flash from the phone and the mischievous expression on the other person’s face. She was completely stunned, stumbling over her words as she tried to explain what she meant to say.
Yet the man simply listened quietly, his narrow, deep eyes fixed on her.
“Is that so?”
He spoke, his low, clear voice exceptionally pleasant, asking softly:
“So, are Wanwan and I really the kind of relationship they’re talking about?”
The delicate little beauty, so close at hand, pursed her rosy lips and obediently shook her head.
The handsome man looked at her and smiled, calm and carefree.
“We stand upright and fear no crooked shadows. Let them take as many photos as they want.”
Facing the phones raised in their direction, Huo Linyuan even patiently straightened her crooked shawl for her. Accompanied by the pleasant scent of woody coldness, even his unhurried words were enough to soothe her.
“Wanwan, don’t take the outside world’s voices too much to heart.”
“What’s right or wrong, black or white—it doesn’t need others to judge.”
“Our Wanwan should walk forward openly and fearlessly, without being afraid of anything.”
The little beauty stared at him with wide, pleading eyes, her damp gaze shimmering with unshed tears.
Pitiful and delicate, her lovely face like a flower.
She hesitated for a moment, then nodded slowly, asking him in that soft, gentle tone:
“But they took photos of you and me. They’ll definitely say those things again. Won’t it cause trouble for you?”
“No. If I cared about others’ gazes and judgments, the Huo family would have gone bankrupt long ago.”
The man’s voice carried a hint of laughter as he turned the question back to her. “Is Wanwan afraid?”
The young girl shook her head, as if encouraged by him.
“I’m not afraid either.”
Huo Linyuan smiled and patted her head, casting a casual glance toward the group of students gathered nearby.
They immediately scattered like startled birds.
Worried about speeding vehicles on campus, Huo Linyuan subtly guided Jiang Youwan to walk on the inner side of the sidewalk.
The girl beside him seemed hesitant, tugging at his sleeve after a few seconds.
“Mr. Huo, I heard Grandfather Huo has been urging you to go on blind dates lately. If these photos get out, won’t they affect your dating progress?”
Huo Linyuan lowered his gaze, his eyes resting on her delicate little hand, a faint smile curling his rosy lips.
“If it does affect it, what will Wanwan do about it?”
His voice was filled with laughter, low and soothing as it drifted into the girl’s ears.
“As compensation, will you be with me?”
The girl lifted her long lashes and glanced at him.
“Mr. Huo, I know you’re humorous, but please don’t be humorous right now.”
She patted her flat stomach, her pretty face full of helplessness.
“If I really agreed to you, wouldn’t you think the relationship between the three of us is strange?”