Sweat dripped from the tips of his hair into his eyes, stinging Lin Xun with a sharp pain.
He wiped away the sweat.
Pitter, patter.
More droplets fell upon his face, carrying the humid heat of the mountain mist—growing more and more numerous, denser and denser.
It was raining.
Huo Tingxiao put away his racket and tossed a towel to Lin Xun across the net. “Let’s call it a day.”
Lin Xun covered his face, taking a deep breath.
The rain came with fierce intensity. By the time he dug out that tennis ball from the bushes, its rough surface was already splattered with mud.
He brought it back to his room to wash it clean, intending to let it dry and pack it into his luggage to take with him.
Consider it keeping a tiny memory for himself, so that his time here wouldn’t have been in vain.
In fact, the necktie Huo Tingxiao had used to wrap his forearm and stop the bleeding last time was still here too. After washing it clean, he had never found a suitable opportunity to return it. Thinking about it, Huo Tingxiao likely had plenty of neckties and had probably forgotten about this one long ago.
Perhaps he could take that along, too.
Thunder roared outside the window as dark clouds swirled. By the time Lin Xun finished showering and stepped out, the sky outside had turned completely dark.
He stood before the window, staring blankly at the water trails snaking down the glass pane.
He liked rainy days, especially nights like this where thunder and rain intertwined.
It felt as though doomsday were approaching—all troubles could be left behind, with no need to worry further, no need to miss anyone, allowing his mood to feel exceptionally serene.
That day, however, was an exception.
He had been mulling over how to present his resignation to Huo Tingxiao, and even by dinnertime, he still hadn’t decided whether to start with “Thank you” or “I’m sorry.”
Huo Tingxiao sat alone behind the dining table, watching Lin Xun emerge from the bedroom, cross the main hall to reach the dining area, and then lower his head to scurry quickly into the kitchen.
It had to be said that Lin Xun’s acting skills were basic; his movements while dodging eye contact were stiff to the extreme, to the point that he was practically pacing with the same-side arm and leg by the time he ducked into the small dining room next door.
Huo Tingxiao withdrew his gaze and took a sip of the Chardonnay in his glass.
Wind had picked up outside, accompanied by flashing lightning and rolling thunder, guaranteeing that that night would not be a peaceful one.
Halfway through the meal, the access control system chimed to signal a visitor at the door. On the tablet screen beside the dining table, a black sedan appeared.
Uncle Ji recognized the license plate and immediately went to find Huo Tingxiao.
“Let them in.” Huo Tingxiao wiped the corners of his mouth with a napkin and leaned back in his chair without moving.
The sedan quickly passed through the rainy night and arrived under the porch. Two men and a woman got out of the car, and with varied expressions, the three of them entered the hall one after the other.
Huo Tingxiao’s second uncle, Huo Zhenghui, had dragged his son over to apologize, hoping that for the sake of family, Huo Tingxiao would give Huo Xu another chance.
Huo Tingxiao feigned ignorance: “What chance?”
“…Huo Xu, say it yourself.” Huo Zhenghui kept signaling to his son with his eyes, hoping Huo Xu would lower his pride and offer a proper apology.
Huo Xu looked entirely unwilling.
Two months ago, the first thing Huo Tingxiao did upon returning to the Alliance was to strip him of all his positions and reclaim his management rights over the shipping company and several entertainment venues.
The entire process was swift and decisive; it was clear Huo Tingxiao was deliberately targeting him and had come fully prepared.
Because of this matter, he had now become the laughingstock of the entire conglomerate. His heart was consumed with bitter hatred, yet he still had to bow his head to the culprit—it was pure humiliation!
“Huo Xu,” Huo Zhenghui urged in a stern voice.
Grit-toothed, Huo Xu stepped up to the dining table and explained in a low voice: “As for that batch of seafood from Scorpion going wrong, it was carelessness on my part. If I had known he was smuggling contraband, I definitely wouldn’t have signed the shipping agreement.”
Huo Tingxiao casually tossed his napkin onto the table, offering neither agreement nor denial.
Huo Xu took a deep, restrained breath, his jaw aching from gritting his teeth so hard: “As for the entertainment venues, Scorpion persuaded me to invest and take a stake. As for what specific business they were running, I was completely out of the loop—I only cared about collecting my dividends at the end of the year.”
Huo Tingxiao smiled with playful amusement.
Huo Zhenghui coughed twice awkwardly, cutting off his son’s self-incriminating outburst to take over the conversation: “Tingxiao, your cousin knows he was wrong, and this two-month suspension for self-reflection has served as enough of a lesson. Do your second uncle a favor and let him return to the company.”
He offered a flattering smile: “Look, you were away for six or seven years and have only just returned to the Alliance. You’re still unfamiliar with many matters. With your cousin by your side to assist you, it’ll make things easier for you too.”
“To help me take kickbacks, or to collect dividends?” Huo Tingxiao countered.
Huo Zhenghui’s smile instantly froze.
Huo Xu’s face turned as red as pig liver in an instant: “What the fuck do you mean?!”
Huo Tingxiao said calmly: “I will not allow someone who can be so easily bought by a tiny bit of profit back into the company, nor will the board of directors agree.”
Hearing this, Huo Xu flew into a rage and lunged forward, wanting to strike.
Who knew that before he could even get a step closer, a black figure flashed before his eyes, not only forcibly blocking his fist with extreme dominance, but also shoving him back so hard he stumbled.
“Fuck! Who the hell are you!” Huo Xu lost his temper completely. “Get out of the way!”
Lin Xun blocked the way in front of Huo Tingxiao, standing completely immobile.
Like a wolfdog guarding its master.
Beneath his light gray bangs, a pair of sharply defined eyes were as cold as frost, fully revealing the vicious, feral edge forged from years of fighting on the streets.
Huo Xu felt a jolt of fear.
Huo Zhenghui held him back in time and said to the man still sitting comfortably behind the table: “We’re all family, there’s no need to make things look so ugly.”
Huo Tingxiao lowered his eyelids, his expression turning cold.
At this moment, the middle-aged woman who had entered alongside Huo Zhenghui and his son walked over. She hadn’t uttered a word since stepping through the door, and Huo Tingxiao had treated her as though she didn’t exist, never sparing her even half a glance from start to finish.
She slammed her handbag heavily onto the dining table and sneered coldly: “Family? I think he doesn’t understand the meaning of that word at all.”
Huo Tingxiao didn’t take her bait.
Uncle Ji then brought out a bottle of fine Bourbon whiskey and handed it to Huo Zhenghui, “Sir, the heavy rain might block the roads later. It’s time for you all to leave.”
This bottle of liquor was the last bit of decency Huo Tingxiao was willing to extend.
Huo Zhenghui showed hesitation, looking at the woman beside him: “Sister-in-law, why don’t we…”
“I’m not leaving.”
Xiao Ran spoke with absolute firmness, staring at Huo Tingxiao as if wishing she could bore two holes into him: “Where is your father? I want to see him.”
Hearing this, Lin Xun finally understood the interpersonal relationships here. Recalling the various rumors from the outside world regarding the discord between Huo Tingxiao and his stepmother, he took a step to the side, shielding Huo Tingxiao even more thoroughly.
His back was taut and straight, like a bowstring drawn tight and ready to fire.
Huo Tingxiao looked him over from head to toe, suddenly feeling that the suspicion and probing he had used on him before were entirely redundant.
What bad intentions could someone have when they held no guard against him and would protect him unconditionally?
Xiao Ran noticed that Huo Tingxiao was lost in thought.
Ever since she stepped through the door of the Huo family, over all these years, Huo Tingxiao had always treated her, his stepmother, like air, not to mention how much gossip others must have chewed on behind her back.
But so what?
“Even if you are unwilling a ten thousand times over in your heart, I am still your stepmother, your father’s lawful spouse, and a member of the Huo family! What right do you have to keep me from seeing my husband!”
“All these years you never came home and didn’t even bother to make a single phone call. Now that your father has fallen ill, you came back right at this critical juncture—I thought you had found your conscience and wanted to come back to be a filial son, but as it turns out, you secretly had him transferred to another hospital!”
“Your father suffered a cerebral hemorrhage! It was so hard to save his life, and he hasn’t even regained consciousness yet. Right now is when he needs care the most—why are you causing trouble by transferring him?”
Taking advantage of Huo Tingxiao’s indifference as leverage, she stood on the moral high ground and delivered an agitated accusation. However, Huo Tingxiao’s calmness and disregard only made her look like a clown putting on a show.
Unwilling to accept this, she dragged over Huo Zhenghui, who was standing nearby: “You be the judge here—tell me, is there anything wrong with me wanting to see your older brother and wanting to take care of him? Isn’t that perfectly natural?!”
An embarrassed expression flashed across Huo Zhenghui’s face.
Back then, shortly after his eldest brother’s first wife passed away, he had brought Xiao Ran and her son into the household. That matter had met with unanimous opposition from top to bottom within the Huo family and caused quite a scene for a long while.
It was also from that point onward that Huo Tingxiao’s relationship with his biological father broke down almost completely, and it had never been repaired over all these years.
He certainly didn’t want to wade into these muddy waters.
Unfortunately, he had sired a brainless son who insisted on jumping out to pour oil on the fire: “Aunt is right! Huo Tingxiao, what kind of sick scheme are you harboring!”
“Huo Xu!” Huo Zhenghui tried to snap at his son to stop.
Huo Xu, however, was already like a runaway horse: “Oh, I get it now! Seeing that Uncle is on his last legs, you used the opportunity to transfer him away so you could get your hands on the shares in his name, right?! That way you’d have absolute decision-making power in the Huo Corporation?!”
“Since he’s in a coma anyway, you can mess around with the notarization of the will however you damn well please.”
It was an extremely malicious speculation, and hearing it made Lin Xun clench his fists tightly.
Uncle Ji wanted to forcibly escort the guests out, but Huo Xu yelled at the top of his lungs: “You’re thinking way too highly of yourself! Over these past few years, you haven’t contributed a single bit of effort to the Huo family’s development, and now you come back expecting to boss everyone around—where do you get off thinking you’re entitled to a free ride?!”
“I’m not afraid of you, and the board of directors isn’t that easy to push around either!”
“Don’t think that just because you have Grandfather’s will, you can call the shots in the Huo family! Who knows if that will is real or fake—maybe you used this exact same trick on Grandfather back then!”
Amid the shoving, Uncle Ji was violently slammed against the table by Huo Xu. Lin Xun reacted quickly, stepping forward to catch him so the old man didn’t fall to the ground.
Huo Xu pointed his finger right at Huo Tingxiao’s nose, shouting and hurling insults. Lin Xun had reached the end of his patience and wanted to step forward to snap that finger off, when the dining chair shifted with a harsh, grating noise.
Huo Tingxiao stood up, his face dark and terrifyingly stern.
Fearing things would end up beyond control, Huo Zhenghui hurriedly dragged Huo Xu toward the exit.
Xiao Ran, however, stepped forward to confront him, demanding: “You don’t actually plan on pulling something underhanded, do you? You have no right to do this—there’s a share in there that belongs to me and Huo Cheng.”
“So that’s what you actually care about.”
Huo Tingxiao finally deigned to give her a single glance.
Cold, ruthless, severe, and heavy with intense pressure.
Xiao Ran felt a sudden wave of panic in her heart.
Clutching her handbag tighter, she raised her voice: “Don’t you try to turn the tables on me! You refusing to let me see your father just goes to show you have a guilty conscience…”
Huo Tingxiao interrupted her coldly: “If you don’t leave right now, the next person to be stripped of their position will be your son.”
“Are you threatening me?!” Xiao Ran’s eyes widened.
Huo Tingxiao pulled out his phone directly.
In a panic to stop him, Xiao Ran swung her handbag at him in desperation.
With a loud “bang,” the previously noisy dining area instantly fell silent.
Lin Xun’s head was knocked to one side; the diamonds and rivets set on the outer shell of the handbag scratched open the skin near his left cheekbone right below the eye.
Blood seeped out, trailing down his cheek like a tear of blood. Coupled with the dark, sinister look in his eyes, it had a thoroughly intimidating effect.
Yet Xiao Ran was no ordinary woman; she was absolutely unwilling to show weakness in front of a domestic dog kept by Huo Tingxiao, so she raised her hand to strike again.
Just as Lin Xun was about to raise his hand to overpower her, Huo Tingxiao beat him to it, seizing the wrist she was swinging with.
The grip carried immense force, enough to shatter her wrist bones.
Twisted in pain, Xiao Ran couldn’t help but let out a sharp scream: “Let go of me!”
Huo Tingxiao yanked her forcefully, compelling her to look straight into his eyes.
They were a pitch-black abyss.
Beneath the surging undercurrents lay layers of endless, freezing hatred. In an instant, Xiao Ran felt a chill rush straight up her spine and hit her brain.
Huo Tingxiao said in a deep, heavy voice: “Try that one more time, and I guarantee neither you nor your son will get a single cent.”
With that, he released his grip.
Clutched at her bright red wrist, Xiao Ran backed away in a panic, nearly spraining her ankle. She didn’t dare truly burn bridges with Huo Tingxiao at a time like this, and in the end, she had no choice but to leave unwillingly.
Huo Xu was still shouting curses outside the door, mixing with the rolling thunder in a way that made one’s blood boil with rage.
Lin Xun wanted to step outside and teach him a lesson, but his wrist was gently hooked by Huo Tingxiao.
His chin was tilted up along with the motion.
Huo Tingxiao’s thumb pressed with a bit of force to wipe away the bloodstain on his face, causing Lin Xun to hold his breath instinctively.
He exerted every ounce of effort to exercise restraint, preventing his whole face from pressing close against the man’s palm, utterly failing to notice that Huo Tingxiao was maliciously smearing the blood caught on his fingertip onto the edge of his lower lip.
His lips were stained a deep, crimson red.
Huo Tingxiao looked at him and let out a light laugh: “Why aren’t you shying away anymore?”
Lin Xun froze, and before he could snap back to reality, Huo Tingxiao had already let go of him and gone upstairs.