Eldest Young Master Huo Jing had finally returned from his long business trip abroad. He was travel-worn, deep exhaustion clouding his features. But after listening to a collateral heir’s exaggerated complaint, he abruptly stormed into the training room.
In front of everyone, he grabbed Huo Shu, who was sitting on the floor, and then, without warning, kicked him hard.
“Thud.”
The muffled impact sent the boy’s thin, frail body crashing into the wall like a kite. The force was so great that it injured his internal organs. Bright red blood spilled from the corner of his mouth and dripped onto the floor.
The training instructor had been about to step in, but when he recognized who had arrived, he stopped in his tracks and went on teaching as if he hadn’t seen a thing.
Everyone knew the Eldest Young Master Huo Jing was fiercely protective of his own. He was also the oldest of all the heirs and spent much of the year abroad on business.
The man was tall and powerfully built, standing 1.9 meters high. There in the room, he looked more like a hulking black bear, and his strength was astonishing. Not one of the collateral heirs wasn’t afraid of him.
He hadn’t held back at all when he kicked Huo Shu just now.
Jiang, waiting outside with the other butlers, saw it happen. She stepped forward with her right leg, nearly rushing in.
Her fingertips dug into her palm. She clenched her jaw, brows knitted together.
…
After kicking him, Huo Jing didn’t look at Huo Shu again. He simply said, “You’d better know what you’re doing,” then turned and left the training room.
The oppressive silence lifted, and the room returned to normal after he was gone.
Everyone watched Huo Shu lying on his side on the floor with indifference. No one made a move to help him. Even the instructor treated him like he wasn’t there.
He was the one who had offended Eldest Young Master Huo Jing.
Huo Shu was used to this by now. His fingers, taut and bluish, pressed hard against his abdomen. Pain seeped into his organs, twisting through them like a blade. He clenched his teeth, enduring it, and braced himself against the floor as he tried to stand.
Just then, a hand appeared in his pain-blurred vision.
“Young Master.”
The person’s voice was full of the deference due to someone of higher status, without the slightest trace of emotion.
Huo Shu ignored the hand. His restrained, unbearable pain turned into hurried gasps. Supporting himself against the wall, he staggered to his feet. His legs buckled and trembled uncontrollably, barely able to hold him up.
Even so, he walked past her and headed out.
Jiang glanced at her palm, still suspended in midair, and at the blood spreading across the wooden floor by the wall.
The boy’s red-rimmed, damp eyes flashed through her mind, along with the coldness and stubbornness in them.
The Huo family had taken his dignity, his youthful vigor, and his vitality. He had long since grown used to this kind of treatment—inequality, favoritism. Besides, deep down, he had never believed any of it could ever belong to him.
What little affection remained between them had vanished without a trace after the car accident caused by his biological father.
That was why, six years later, Huo Shu would become a ruthless business magnate who needed no affection.
At last, Jiang understood.
If she wanted to complete the mission System had assigned for the next five or six years, she had to let the male lead, Huo Shu, who had been utterly disappointed in people, experience sincere, genuine affection now.
Otherwise, once the novel’s plot officially began, there was no way the mission could be completed as intended.
“Young Master, I’ll carry you to the hospital.”
She rushed forward and caught his unsteady body before he could fall.
The boy’s face was pallid, as if he’d been soaked in cold water. Cold sweat dampened his temples and hair, while his long, raven lashes shaded much of his face. He raised an arm, avoiding her hand.
His manner was distant and cold.
Any other butler would have cursed him under their breath for being so ungrateful. But Jiang didn’t care whether he agreed. She crouched down and hoisted him onto her back.
In full view of all the heirs in the training room, she carried him out.
“Put—me—down.” The world spun. By the time Huo Shu came to his senses, he was already on her back. His face darkened, and he enunciated each word.
Jiang didn’t slow down. She kept her gaze fixed ahead.
Huo Shu’s voice sharpened. “Jiang!”
The air temperature plunged. A gaze as cold as ice three feet deep pinned the top of her head.
Jiang You didn’t need to look back to imagine the expression on the boy behind her.
Alongside his voice, the System’s warning beeped without pause.
It was reminding her that she was breaking character.
Jiang You ignored it all and awkwardly recited what she thought were words full of sincere affection.
“Young Master, I’ll protect you. I won’t let you get hurt again.”
In her previous life, she hadn’t read novels at all. The only stories she’d encountered were countless tales set against horrifying, despairing backdrops. She’d forgotten to mention that in her previous life, she’d been a player in an infinite-flow game[1]“Infinite-flow” (wuxianliu) is a Chinese web-fiction genre featuring successive dangerous scenarios or game-like trials, often involving survival and puzzle-solving. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3733399_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3733399_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });. She’d cleared many high-risk instances, and still died.
That was why she treasured this chance to be reborn so much.
The points deducted for breaking character made her miserable, but failing the main mission would mean more than just losing points.
She would die.
Her soul would be erased from the world entirely.
As soon as the words left her mouth,
Jiang You heard a cool, derisive scoff by her ear. His faint breath brushed against the side of her neck.
The boy seemed to have heard an absurdly stupid remark. He lifted his thin eyelids, his gaze growing even more heartless and cold.
Protect him?
How could a butler like her protect him? Those people couldn’t wait for him to die, and the moment they found an opening, they’d swarm him and tear into his flesh. Besides, they were complete strangers, and he was nothing more than a dispensable illegitimate son. Just by staying at his side, she’d be caught in the crossfire. How could she possibly protect him?
Jiang You knew just as well that her words had no persuasive power. That was why she’d decided to prove it through her actions: from now on, no matter who it was, no one would be allowed to hurt him.
In her infinite-flow game, she’d had a partner. That person was good at deduction and solving puzzles, while all she needed was brute strength. She might not be as smart as most of the other hosts, but when it came to combat ability, no one could beat her.
As for the rules in the Butler’s Handbook—
The punishment would amount to little more than enduring some pain. She was first-rate at that.
…
She hurried all the way to the infirmary at the training base.
The private doctor showed no surprise when he saw Huo Shu. He efficiently treated his injuries, then shoved his hands into his pockets and left the infirmary.
It was lunchtime.
Jiang You came in carrying two boxed meals and found Huo Shu about to get out of bed.
The pale bedding lay neatly folded at the head of the bed. A faint medicinal smell hung in the air. The room was small, with a long corridor outside; at the far end were a CT room, an MRI room, and an operating room just like those in a regular hospital.
They’d taken scans after he arrived. The boy was so well-trained that the kick hadn’t damaged any bones. But his internal organs had sustained some injury, and he still wasn’t supposed to get out of bed.
Jiang You set the boxed meals on the table and came over to stop him.
“Young Master, you can’t get out of bed yet.”
But Huo Shu was acting like an utterly disobedient, rebellious child. He ignored her completely, pulled the needle from the back of his hand, and headed for the door as if she weren’t there.
Jiang You had no experience dealing with someone like him.
Her hand, still hovering in midair, withdrew awkwardly. She took two quick steps and blocked the door with her body.
“Young Master, you haven’t recovered yet. You can’t get out of bed.”
She tried to persuade him again.
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