The sound was not loud, yet it struck like a thunderbolt, jolting everyone to their core.
The executives’ pupils contracted slightly, their hearts leaping into their throats.
At Huo Corporation’s highest-level meetings, bringing electronic devices without silencing them was strictly prohibited—an ironclad rule. Once, a branch manager’s phone rang during a meeting, and Huo Jingmo had him dismissed on the spot.
Today, who dared to be so bold as to provoke the tiger in its den?
Everyone shot furtive glances around, trying to identify the reckless fool. Each silently prayed not to be implicated.
The air froze for a full three seconds.
“Ding-dong—”
Another crisp notification tone rang out.
This time, everyone clearly identified the source of the sound.
It was none other than the man seated at the head of the table—the CEO himself, known for his cold, ruthless demeanor and extreme strictness.
The executives were stunned. Wasn’t the CEO’s personal phone perpetually set to Do Not Disturb mode?
Under the covert yet astonished gazes of over a dozen people, Huo Jingmo set down the fountain pen in his hand. He lowered his gaze slightly, his eyes falling on the black phone resting on the table.
His large, well-defined hand picked up the phone, his thumb lightly tapping the screen to unlock it.
The screen lit up.
On the WeChat interface, the pink Hello Kitty avatar pinned at the top was pulsing, with the nickname reading four characters: Milky Candy Xiao Xi.
A photo had been sent.
Huo Jingmo tapped the screen with his long fingers and opened the image.
In the photo, the girl was sitting in the massive walk-in closet of the manor’s master bedroom. She had changed into a pink French bellflower dress, its skirt spilling across the pure white cashmere carpet.
The girl rested her cheek in one hand, playfully winking at the camera. One eye was closed, while the other—a dark, glistening almond-shaped eye—was wide open, clear and bright.
Her porcelain-like face radiated a bright smile, the corners of her lips curved into a sweet arc. She looked lively, delicate, and soft, like a fragrant, juicy peach. Even through the screen, one could sense her joy and contentment at that moment.
Huo Jingmo’s deep, ink-black eyes fixed on that smiling face.
The man’s cold, stern features softened in an instant. The layer of perpetual ice in his eyes seemed to melt quietly, as if touched by the warm sun of spring.
His sensual lips curved into a faint smile.
In the conference room, the executives who had been secretly observing the CEO’s reaction collectively drew a sharp breath.
Shock.
Disbelief.
A sight for the ages.
The CEO, known as the King of Hell in the business world and perpetually wearing a cold expression, had actually… smiled?
And smiled so… gently?
The executives exchanged glances, seeing sheer horror in each other’s eyes.
“Has the iron tree bloomed? Has the CEO been cursed?” the marketing director screamed internally.
“This must be a message from his girlfriend! But doesn’t the CEO keep women at arm’s length? Even a top actress who threw herself at him was tossed out by his bodyguards!” the finance director silently grumbled.
Standing slightly behind and to the side of Huo Jingmo, his assistant Chen Ming took in everyone’s reactions. He adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, maintaining his professional composure.
This was nothing. If they knew that the CEO had just gone to the civil affairs bureau this morning to register his marriage and was now a married man, their jaws would probably hit the floor.
Huo Jingmo paid no attention to the peculiar gazes around him.
His slender fingers tapped lightly on the screen, typing three words.
【Looks beautiful.】
After sending the message, he flipped his phone face down on the desk.
The man raised his head again, his gaze sweeping over the executives seated on both sides of the long table. The softness in his eyes instantly vanished, replaced by the calm and composure of a leader.
Yet, the oppressive, suffocating low pressure that had hung in the air miraculously dissipated.
“The meeting continues.” Huo Jingmo’s voice remained deep, but his tone had noticeably softened.
He looked at the mergers and acquisitions director who had been trembling with fear just moments before. “Rebuild the data model for the report and submit it to me tomorrow afternoon.”
The deadline had been extended from “8 a.m. tomorrow” to “tomorrow afternoon.”
The mergers and acquisitions director felt as if he had been granted a pardon, nearly moved to tears. “Thank you, Mr. Huo! I’ll make sure it’s perfect!”
The others also breathed a collective sigh of relief, silently bowing three times in their hearts to the “mysterious person” who had sent the WeChat message. Truly a living bodhisattva, saving them from suffering!
…
Half-Mountain Manor, walk-in closet.
Lin Nianxi sat cross-legged on the soft cashmere carpet, holding her new phone in her hands. As she looked at the three words “Very beautiful” in the chat box, a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.
She happily swung her legs, about to send another sticker, when her eyes suddenly fell on the photo she had just sent.
Lin Nianxi’s face instantly fell.
She forgot to edit the photo!
In her excitement earlier, she had taken the photo with the original camera and sent it directly. Although the original camera captured clear images, how could a girl send a selfie without editing it?
She quickly opened the photo-editing app on her phone and imported the photo she had just taken.
Her fingers moved skillfully across the screen.
First, she added a soft pink filter to make her complexion look brighter. Then, she tapped the slimming feature, pushing her already palm-sized face inward a little more and sharpening her chin.
Next, she enhanced her crown height to make her hair look fuller. Finally, she added a touch of shine to her hair.
Three minutes later, a flawless, meticulously edited photo was freshly produced.
Satisfied with the edited photo, Lin Nianxi clicked send.
After sending the photo, she immediately long-pressed the first original photo, intending to tap “recall.”
But the screen only displayed the “delete” option, with no “recall” in sight.
“It’s been over two minutes; I can’t recall it anymore…” Lin Nianxi bit her delicate lower lip in frustration.
She stared at the two starkly contrasting photos in the chat box—one natural and unedited, the other exquisitely perfected—feeling so embarrassed she could practically dig a Barbie Dreamhouse out of the cashmere carpet with her toes.
Bracing herself, she typed an explanation.
Sweet Milk Candy Nianxi: 【I sent the wrong one earlier. This is the final version. Facepalm.jpg】
…
In the meeting room, Huo Jingmo’s phone screen lit up again.
He lowered his gaze and opened it.
The young girl had sent a clearly edited photo—her face sharper, the filter heavier.
Huo Jingmo looked at the photo, which had lost some of its original liveliness after editing, and a faint smile crept into the depths of his eyes.
She was just so adorable.
His slender fingers tapped unhurriedly on the screen.
【No need to edit photos.】
【Mrs. Huo, you are already beautiful as you are.】
…
Lin Nianxi stared at the two messages that popped up on her screen, her heart skipping a beat as a blush spread all the way to her fair neck.
Since childhood, apart from her grandmother, no one had ever praised her so directly. At her uncle’s house, Zhao Yun and her daughter had only subjected her to endless suppression and belittlement.
But now, this man standing at the pinnacle of the pyramid was affirming her so gently.
Lin Nianxi pressed her phone against her flushed cheek, unable to suppress the upward curve of her lips. Her heart felt sweet, as if honey had melted inside.
Just then, her phone vibrated again.
HJM: 【Remember to spend money—no less than fifty thousand a day.】
HJM: 【If I find out Mrs. Huo hasn’t been diligently fulfilling her duty to spend, there will be punishment when I return tonight.】
Punishment?
Lin Nianxi stared at those two words, her mind uncontrollably flashing back to that night at the hotel—the man pressing her fiercely beneath him, his large hands gripping her waist, the intense and forceful scene…
But he had promised he wouldn’t do that.
So what would his punishment be?
Sweetie Nianxi: 【Got it! I’ll go spend money right away!】
After sending the message, Lin Nianxi took a deep breath and stood up from the carpet.
Spending no less than fifty thousand yuan a day was a daunting challenge for a former poor student who used to live on just eight hundred yuan a month.