“So, has Huo Zhiyuan really cut ties with the Huo family, or is it all just for show?” Fang Jiaming asked. “He’s Old Master Huo’s own grandson. Could the old man really be that heartless? And has Huo Zhiduo passed along any information?”
“Huo Zhiduo and our family are simply making use of each other,” Fang Tianhe replied. “She won’t pass us any intelligence, so there’s nothing to gain from her. If we want to know what’s happening, we’ll have to start with the people around Huo Zhiyuan.”
As he spoke, one particular person immediately came to mind.
A confident smile spread across his lips.
…
As usual, Xue Yanxin went to the construction site to sell boxed lunches.
She handed two lunch boxes to the foreman first. Unlike before, he greeted her with obvious delight.
“Miss Xue, you’re still coming? We all thought you wouldn’t be back.”
“Of course I’m coming,” Xue Yanxin replied with a smile. “Everyone has to make a living. Why wouldn’t I?”
“Well, that young man Huo quit his job, so we figured you’d probably leave with him and wouldn’t be coming anymore. Honestly, just thinking about having to spend sixty or seventy yuan at a restaurant every day for a meal with one dish and one soup made all us old fellows’ hearts ache. I never expected you’d still show up.”
Huo Zhiyuan quit?
Why hadn’t he told her?
Wasn’t he just away for a few days on business?
Xue Yanxin was stunned.
Had Qi Junlin already found him a new job?
Then why hadn’t he mentioned it?
A vague sense of disappointment quietly crept into her heart.
But she quickly reminded herself that he didn’t owe her an explanation.
He had his own plans.
…
After selling all her lunches, Xue Yanxin returned home.
She wasn’t in the best mood.
Before she could even insert her key into the lock, the door swung open from inside, startling her.
Huo Zhiyuan stood there holding a bag of trash, clearly on his way downstairs to throw it away.
“You’re back.”
The moment she saw him, every trace of disappointment vanished.
Her face brightened instantly.
Seeing her smile, Huo Zhiyuan smiled too.
He couldn’t quite tell whether he was happy because she’d come home, or whether her cheerful mood had simply rubbed off on him.
He put the trash bag down, took the equipment she used for her lunch stall, and carried it into the kitchen.
Then he poured her a glass of water.
Watching her drain the entire glass in one breath somehow made him feel as though he were the one whose thirst had been quenched.
A warm sense of contentment settled over him.
As if life was always meant to be like this.
When Xue Yanxin put the empty glass down and turned around, Huo Zhiyuan quickly looked away.
“You got back just in time,” he said. “You never told me where Grandpa Zhang lives. I wanted to take the cardboard boxes stacked by the wall to him while I was taking out the trash.”
Xue Yanxin looked toward the corner.
The cardboard had been neatly bundled with rope, and several empty plastic bottles had been sorted together.
She couldn’t help feeling surprised.
The task itself wasn’t difficult.
But this was Huo Zhiyuan.
A pampered young master born with a silver spoon in his mouth.
Who would’ve imagined that one day he’d carefully sort recyclables instead of throwing them away?
Then again…
He’d even worked at a construction site.
Compared to that, collecting cardboard no longer seemed impossible.
“You organized all of these?”
There was obvious disbelief in her voice.
“Yeah.”
Huo Zhiyuan nodded.
“I’ve watched you do it often enough that I learned. You still haven’t told me where Grandpa Zhang lives.”
“Oh, right.” She snapped out of her daze. “He lives in the garage unit on the first floor of Building Twelve. If you don’t find him, just leave everything beside the big box outside his door. He’ll know it’s from us when he gets back.”
“Got it.”
He picked up the trash bag again.
“I’m heading downstairs.”
“Okay, bye.”
…
Since she hadn’t eaten much at lunch because of her mood, Xue Yanxin became hungry much earlier than usual that afternoon.
Huo Zhiyuan was home today instead of returning late from work, so she started preparing dinner ahead of time.
As soon as she stepped into the kitchen, Huo Zhiyuan followed her inside.
The kitchen wasn’t large.
It was perfectly spacious for one person.
But with another person inside, especially someone as tall and broad as Huo Zhiyuan, it suddenly felt cramped.
Even the air seemed thinner.
Standing side by side at the sink, Xue Yanxin washed rice while Huo Zhiyuan rinsed vegetables in the neighboring basin.
The sinks were so close that their elbows brushed from time to time.
Every accidental touch made Xue Yanxin inexplicably nervous.
The only sound in the room was the gentle rush of running water.
Yet all she could hear was the frantic beating of her own heart.
Unable to resist, she secretly glanced at him.
The setting sun streamed through the window, casting a warm golden glow across half his face.
His lowered lashes cast delicate shadows beneath his eyes.
The faint smile lingering at the corners of his lips made him look almost unreal.
Like a beautiful painting bathed in evening light.
Her gaze lingered.
Warm.
Intense.
Enough to make her panic.
Huo Zhiyuan had noticed her long ago.
From the corner of his eye, all he could see was Xue Yanxin.
There was no way he’d miss her shy, stolen glances.
A faint smile quietly curved his lips.
He savored the gentle intimacy between them.
Neither of them wanted to make a single unnecessary movement, afraid of breaking the fragile, unspoken closeness filling the little kitchen.
“You only need to wash vegetables about three times,” Xue Yanxin finally reminded him. “They’re already clean.”
Huo Zhiyuan paused just as he was about to rinse them a fourth time.
He smiled sheepishly.
“I’ve never washed vegetables before, so I wasn’t sure.”
She laughed softly.
“It’s okay. As long as you know how to eat them.” She smiled teasingly. “Normally, once or twice is enough.”
“But I saw you rinse the rice four or five times.”
“Rice is different.”
She reached over and took the vegetables from him.
“I’ll handle the rest.”
Then she tried to usher him out of the kitchen.
With him constantly standing beside her, she couldn’t help feeling self-conscious.
“I’ll cook today.”
“You?”
She looked up at him in surprise.
“The person who doesn’t even know how to wash vegetables wants to cook?”
“What?” Huo Zhiyuan folded his arms and raised an eyebrow. “You don’t trust me?”
His eager expression practically screamed, Just wait until I impress you.
After all, he’d worked in the fields before.
If he could grow vegetables, surely cooking them wasn’t difficult.
Besides, he’d followed cooking tutorials on his phone before.
He’d never failed.
At least, that was how he remembered it.
Xue Yanxin suddenly remembered how she’d once patiently taught him how to ride a bus, only to discover he already knew perfectly well.
She’d ended up looking like the fool.
Maybe she really shouldn’t underestimate him anymore.
Someone raised in a wealthy, influential family had probably received an education far beyond what ordinary people did.
From running major corporations to cooking everyday meals, perhaps they really could do it all.
Feeling reassured, she finally left the kitchen.
…
The moment she disappeared from sight, Huo Zhiyuan stretched his neck toward the doorway to make sure she’d really gone.
Only then did he hurriedly pull out his phone and search for a cooking tutorial.
“Heat the oil over medium heat.”
He turned on the stove.
Then frowned.
Medium heat?
This stove only had high and low settings.
There wasn’t a medium option.
He thought about it.
High heat, then.
Low heat might not cook the food properly.
He tossed the vegetables into the wok.
Unfortunately, he hadn’t drained the water.
The moment the wet vegetables hit the hot oil, it exploded with loud crackling sounds.
Oil splattered everywhere.
Afraid of getting burned, he jumped several steps backward.
Only after the water had completely evaporated and the oil stopped popping did he cautiously approach the stove again.
Not good.
The vegetables at the bottom looked like they were burning.
He hurriedly grabbed the spatula and began stir-frying.
The vegetables gradually turned yellow.
Why are mine changing color so fast?
He looked at the tutorial.
The chef’s vegetables were still bright green.
Then he looked at his own.
They had already gone from golden…
to dark golden…
and were rapidly approaching black.
The chef in the video said,
“Add dark soy sauce and light soy sauce for color.”
After adding the sauces, the vegetables slowly darkened.
Huo Zhiyuan looked at his own wok.
No need.
His vegetables had already reached that color naturally.
At that moment, he even felt rather pleased with himself.
Maybe he really had talent for cooking.
Without adding any soy sauce at all, he’d somehow achieved exactly the color the chef wanted.
The chef continued stir-frying over medium heat.
Huo Zhiyuan faithfully followed along.
Using high heat.
He watched as the chef’s vegetables became increasingly glossy and appetizing.
His own, however, went from burnt yellow…
to blackened…
until eventually they were completely black.
They almost blended into the wok itself.
…
Sitting in the living room, Xue Yanxin caught a faint burnt smell.
She looked toward the kitchen with concern.
Unable to ignore it any longer, she got up and walked over.
Just as she reached the door, Huo Zhiyuan hurried over, slammed it shut, and locked it.
Xue Yanxin fell silent.
“What’s wrong?” she asked through the door. “Did you burn the food? Maybe I should cook instead.”
Looking at the vegetables that were now the exact same color as the wok, Huo Zhiyuan stubbornly refused to admit defeat.
“I said I’d cook, so I’ll cook. I haven’t even started yet. The smell is just because the pan got too hot.”
Really?
Could an overheated pan produce a burnt smell?
Xue Yanxin wasn’t entirely convinced.
She’d never experienced that herself.
Still, the door was locked.
There was nothing she could do but wait.
Inside the kitchen, Huo Zhiyuan stared at the plate of charcoal-black vegetables.
He couldn’t throw them into the trash.
She’d see them.
He couldn’t dump them into the sink either.
After a long silence…
He took a deep breath.
Gritted his teeth.
And ate every last bite himself.
Start over.
This time, he’d definitely get it right.
Now he understood.
High heat wasn’t the same as medium heat.
He’d use low heat this time.
Much better.
Nothing burned.
Quite satisfied with himself, he picked up a bite to taste it.
“Ptoo!”
He spat it out immediately.
“Why is it so fishy?”
Was it undercooked?
He dumped everything back into the wok, turned the flame back to high, and continued stir-frying.
Moments later…
That familiar burnt smell filled the kitchen again.
He quickly transferred the food onto a plate.
Half of it was burned.
Once again…
He clenched his jaw.
Closed his eyes.
And destroyed the evidence the same way as before.
By eating it.
He hadn’t successfully cooked a single dish.
But he was completely full.
After another series of loud clatters echoed from the kitchen, he finally opened the door.
Xue Yanxin walked inside.
The kitchen was spotless.
There wasn’t a single dish in sight.
She blinked.
Then asked the obvious question.
“Where’s the food?”
Huo Zhiyuan scratched the side of his nose.
“I… didn’t cook anything.”
She looked at him blankly.
“Then what were you doing in the kitchen all this time?”
“I was… cleaning.”
He coughed awkwardly.
“The kitchen looked a little dirty.”
“So you wanted to clean it before you started cooking?”
“That was the plan.”
“And then?”
“Then I realized if I cooked after cleaning it, it’d just get dirty again.”
He quickly untied his apron.
“Let’s eat out instead. My paycheck just came in, my treat.”
Before she could protest, he gently pushed her toward the door.
…
He walked over to the small cabinet in the living room and pulled open the middle drawer.
Normally, Xue Yanxin kept loose change there for buying vegetables, salt, or other household necessities.
Today, instead of a few crumpled bills, the drawer was filled with a thick stack of bright red banknotes.
“This is my pay from the construction site,” Huo Zhiyuan explained. “I’ve already found a new job, so I won’t be going back there anymore. The salary is very good. From now on, I can take you out to eat every day if I want.”
He deliberately explained everything because he knew how anxious she was about money.
After living with her these past few days, he’d noticed that despite having enough savings to live a comfortable life, she barely spent any of it.
Even when she liked something, she’d refuse to buy it if it wasn’t absolutely necessary.
The woman who once changed outfits three times a day and treated five-star hotel suites like her second home now wore the same few plain, worn clothes for weeks without complaint.
She even treasured them, always wearing them when she went out to sell lunches.
If someone had told him this before, he would’ve found it impossible to believe.
“Wow.”
Xue Yanxin’s eyes sparkled the moment she saw the money.
Some habits truly never changed.
Even after transmigrating into a novel, she still lit up whenever she saw cash.
“So generous now, President Huo.” She laughed. “But aren’t you worried about leaving this much money sitting in a drawer?”
“It’s convenient.”
He smiled.
“Besides, don’t you keep the house deed, car keys, and bank cards here too?”
Back then, worried that he’d feel embarrassed asking her for money, she’d placed all those valuable items in the drawer and told him he could use them whenever he wanted.
After all, they’d originally belonged to him.
If he took them back, it was simply returning them to their rightful owner.
Yet he’d never touched any of it.
…
The two of them headed to a nearby local restaurant.
Xue Yanxin had chosen it.
The place looked ordinary and modest.
The prices were probably reasonable.
Huo Zhiyuan thought that if not for his “bankruptcy plan,” he might never have stepped into such a small restaurant in his entire life.
Xue Yanxin let him order first.
It was an unspoken rule when someone else was paying.
You looked at the host’s budget before choosing dishes yourself.
Huo Zhiyuan studied the menu with a frown.
Authentic free-range chicken…
This cheap?
Could it really be genuine?
Suppressing the urge to suggest another restaurant, he ordered two of the restaurant’s signature dishes.
The total was only a little over two hundred yuan.
He handed the menu to Xue Yanxin.
Seeing that he’d already ordered two expensive dishes, she only added a simple stir-fried bok choy.
“Nothing else catches your eye?” Huo Zhiyuan asked. “Should we go somewhere else?”
He remembered that she loved meat.
The more meat there was, the happier she ate.
“President Huo,” she said helplessly, “we can’t spend your entire paycheck on one meal. Besides, it’s just the two of us. How much can we possibly eat?”
He thought about it.
She was right.
This wasn’t a business banquet.
There was no need to put on a show.
Especially since…
He was already full.
So he simply ordered one more dish, shredded potatoes with pork, remembering that she seemed to enjoy potatoes.
Even so, he couldn’t resist adding,
“Even if we spent it all, I could always earn more. I can’t promise you’ll live exactly like before, but when it comes to food, you’ll never have to worry.”
“So confident now, President Huo.” She smiled curiously. “What kind of new job did you find? It sounds like it pays well.”
“Hmm…”
He thought for a moment.
He definitely couldn’t go back to the construction site.
What kind of job suited someone pretending to have gone bankrupt while still allowing him a comfortable income?
Then inspiration struck.
“Professional manager.”
He nodded seriously.
“My annual salary is at least five million yuan, not including bonuses.”
He paused.
“From now on, I’ll leave my salary card in the drawer at home. If you need money, just take it.”
Looking at her, he added carefully,
“You don’t have to work so hard selling boxed lunches anymore.”
He hurriedly explained before she misunderstood.
“I’m not looking down on your work, and I’m not trying to interfere with what you do. If you enjoy it, I’ll support you completely.”
He hesitated.
“I just want you to have another option. If you don’t feel like going one day, then don’t.”
His voice softened.
“You can… rely on me a little more.”
After saying that, he nervously picked up the complimentary glass of water and took a sip.
To him…
Wasn’t that almost the same as telling his wife,
“I’ll take care of you.”
He hadn’t said those exact words.
To him, they carried too much weight.
He would only ever say them to the person he truly accepted as his wife.
And…
Xue Yanxin wasn’t quite that person yet.
At least…
Not legally.
But somewhere along the way, his feelings had quietly changed.
He wanted to become someone she could depend on.
He wanted to be part of her future.
Not like before, when he simply transferred her a fixed amount of money every month as though she were an employee.
That wasn’t the relationship he wanted anymore.
He no longer wanted everything between them to remain so clearly divided.
He wanted the lines to blur.
He wanted something warmer.
Something closer.
Something that felt… like love.
“You mean…”
Xue Yanxin rested her chin in her hands, her bright almond-shaped eyes sparkling.
Huo Zhiyuan froze.
He slowly set down his glass.
“If… if that’s how you want to interpret it…”
He looked genuinely nervous.
Xue Yanxin, on the other hand, didn’t seem especially flustered.
In her mind, this was simply his deeply ingrained sense of masculine responsibility.
To him, a man providing for the woman beside him was probably second nature.
“Looks like you’ll never have to worry about money again,” she said softly.
“You won’t either.”
He met her gaze.
“You can spend your income however you want.”
She nodded.
She certainly wasn’t short of money.
Between the cars, property, and millions the original Xue Yanxin had obtained from Huo Zhiyuan…
And the card worth well over one hundred million yuan that Qi Junlin had later given her…
She lacked nothing.
Yet that only made her feelings more complicated.
She was touched.
Happy.
Grateful.
And guilty.
Huo Zhiyuan was being more open with her than ever before.
He had even told her his salary and offered to let her use it freely.
She understood the meaning behind those words.
He was trying to move closer to her.
But she still couldn’t tell him about the card Qi Junlin had given her.
Not because she distrusted Huo Zhiyuan.
Simply because there was no easy way to explain her relationship with Qi Junlin.
The one thing she still shared with the original Xue Yanxin was her attitude toward money.
Once money landed in her hands legally and fairly…
She would never give it back.
No matter what.
Qi Tiedan’s gift?
There was no way she was returning it out of fake modesty.
Because of that…
She couldn’t help feeling guilty.
…
Their food soon arrived.
The waitress was a young university student working part-time.
She looked exhausted, her eyes dull from a long shift.
But the moment she saw Huo Zhiyuan sitting at the table, her eyes instantly lit up.
When Huo Zhiyuan thanked her politely, her cheeks turned bright red.
Watching the innocent young waitress blush, Xue Yanxin couldn’t help teasing him.
“Looks like you’re naturally popular, President Huo.”
She smiled.
“It has nothing to do with your money. Even after losing everything, you still have women falling head over heels for you.”
Huo Zhiyuan looked straight into her eyes.
His voice was quiet.
“…Do I appeal to you?”
There was unmistakable anticipation…
And nervousness…
In his gaze.
Meeting his eyes, Xue Yanxin’s heart skipped a beat.
Her hand holding the chopsticks froze.
For the first time…
She lost the battle of staring into his eyes.
Heat rushed to her cheeks.
His gaze was so warm…
So direct…
She couldn’t bear it.
Flustered, she quickly lowered her eyes to the dishes on the table.
“Right now…”
She picked up a piece of shredded potato with pork.
“The thing I like most is this plate of shredded potatoes with pork.”
Huo Zhiyuan refused to give up.
“And besides the shredded potatoes?”
Just then, another dish was served.
“Then…”
She smiled brightly.
“It has to be this big plate of chicken.”
Huo Zhiyuan shot the waitress a resentful look.
What terrible timing.
Seeing him fail so miserably, Xue Yanxin couldn’t hold back her laughter.
One bite of potatoes.
One bite of chicken.
She ate with obvious delight.
Is it really that delicious?
Huo Zhiyuan wondered.
He was already full.
But every time he watched her eat, his appetite somehow returned.
This time was no exception.
He picked up a mouthful of shredded potatoes and put it into his mouth.
Before he could swallow…
His stomach suddenly churned violently.
Ever since he’d eaten those two disastrous dishes he’d secretly cooked earlier, his stomach had felt uncomfortably bloated.
Now it felt as though everything inside was turning upside down.
Pain spread through his abdomen.
A powerful wave of nausea surged straight up his throat.
“Urgh!”