Ch7 Are you married???
The car stopped near the school gate. Xia Wan quietly unbuckled his seatbelt. As he moved, the chip bag in his hand made a soft rustling sound.
Ever since playing Su Tang's voice message, he didn't dare to continue eating potato chips.
"I'm getting out of the car now," Xia Wan politely said goodbye, "Thank you for seeing me off."
Huo Yu nodded slightly and said, "Once the agreement is drafted, I'll have someone send it to you for review."
"What agreement?" Xia Wan was momentarily stunned, but then he quickly realized that Huo Yu was referring to the cooperation agreement between them.
"I'll ask someone to prepare two sets," Huo Yu said, tilting his head with a casual air. "One set will be for getting the certificate, and the other will be for the dating. It's up to you to decide which one you want."
"Really thorough service," Xia Wan muttered quietly, his voice low enough that only he could hear. He glanced at Huo Yu, who remained calm and composed, showing no hint of irritation or displeasure.
Seeing Huo Yu's calm expression, Xia Wan quickly felt a wave of relief wash over him. Not wanting any misunderstanding to linger, he hurried to clarify, "It wasn't me; my roommate made it all by himself"
"Oh," Huo Yu replied slowly, stretching the word out like he wasn't quite sure if he believed Xia Wan.
Just when the signal light turned green, Xia Wan quickly got out of the car, waved with his hands and started walking.
The young man walked away happily, radiating a carefree and joyful energy, gradually fading into the distance with a bright, youthful spirit.
Huo Yu looked at the fading figure for a moment, then absentmindedly tapped his fingers on the steering wheel.
Surprisingly, he wasn't upset by Su Tang's words at all-in fact, he actually liked them.
He hoped Xia Wan would distance himself from Huo Lin soon, decreasing the chance of him getting together with Huo Lin. This would gradually but swiftly lead to their separation, making them incompatible.
He kept a straight face only because Xia Wan's nervous expressions were too amusing to ignore.
Without realizing it, a small smile appeared on Huo Yu's lips. His eyes softened briefly before he reached out, turned the key, and smoothly started the car again.
The school's front road was spacious. When Xia Wan looked back, Huo Yu's car was already gone. Only the early spring sunlight shining through the branches could be seen, casting a soft golden light.
"Master Xia," a voice called out eagerly as someone came running up to him. "You're back! I've been waiting here for quite a
Xia Wan turned and spotted Huo Lin's driver, Zhou Shui, hurrying toward him with a food box in hand. As he ran, Zhou Shui briefly glanced at the spot where Huo Yu had parked his car.
It was clear he was paying attention to several things at once.
Zhou Shui spoke with polite tone, holding the food box carefully as he said, "Young Master Huo knows how much you like this food, so he asked me to go early this morning and get it for you. If you hadn't arrived on time, the food would have gotten cold by now."
"Which Young Master Huo are you talking about?" Xia Wan asked.
Zhou Shui let out an awkward laugh and said, "Haha, who else could it be other than Young Master Lin?"
As he said this, he glanced sideways, as if expecting Xia Wan to already know.
The aroma coming from the box was delicious - it smelled amazing and probably tasted even better.
Xia Wan looked down at the package and saw the label: Pang's Crab Roe Buns.
Xia Wan reluctantly took his gaze away from the tempting food box. His voice turned cold as he said, "You saw that Huo Yu just sent me here, right? It's not proper for me to accept anything from Huo Lin now. You should take this back."
As soon as he said it, He turned to the left, but Zhou Shui soon followed him closely: "If you don't accept this, Young Master Lin will break my legs."
If Huo Lin hadn't been called away by his father at the last minute, he would have come in person.
Even so, Zhou Shui had strict orders to make sure Xia Wan was well taken care of.
So before five in the morning, Zhou Shui went to Pang's to wait in line. He finally bought Xia Wan's favorite crab buns. He thought that if he was humble enough the other party wouldn't be too difficult to deal with.
But who knew...
"Then get them break," Xia Wan suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"Master Xia..." Zhou Shui began to speak, but was quickly cut off.
"I'm not Master Xia," Xia Wan smiled. "Just call me Xiao Xia, like you had always done."
In the past, Zhou Shui had always called the original owner Xiao Xia.
Even someone like Zhou Shui could see that Huo Lin was just playing with him, yet the original owner never realized it.
His timid nature and low self-esteem made him an easy target for people who liked to belittle and look down on others - and Zhou Shui was one of them.
Zhou Shui had always referred to Xia Wan as "Xiao Xia." At first, it might have just been a casual way of speaking, but over time, Zhou Shui noticed that Huo Lin never corrected him or defended Xia Wan.
With no one drawing boundaries he gradually began to take
orginal owner less and less seriously. In his eyes, orginal owner wasn't someone
important or worth respecting.
As time went on,, he became even more bolder. When he was sent to pick up orginal owner, he would often say sarcastic or hurtful things under the guise of taking care.
However, after yesterday's drama, even though Zhou Shui wasn't there, he swiftly changed his attitude today.
Looking at Zhou Shui's dazed expression, Xia Wan couldn't help but think about how power makes people change their attitude.
"Master Xia, are you mad at me?" Zhou Shui asked, raising a hand as if to hit himself. "Please tell me -how can I make it up to you? What should I do to apologize properly? I'm really sorry for how I acted."
The two of them had been standing there for a while, and they had already started to attract the attention of passing students.
On the other hand, Zhou Shui was only putting on an act; knowing the original owner's temperament, he wouldn't actually slap his own face.
But what Zhou Shui didn't know was that the original owner was long gone.
Instead of stopping Zhou Shui, Xia Wan simply slipped his hand into his coat pocket, tilted his chin slightly, and stared at him with mischievous eyes-a playful smirk appearing on his lips as he locked his gaze, silently daring him to continue.
Today, he would vent the original owner's grievances for him.
Smack, smack, smack...
With a few crisp sounds, Zhou Shui hit himself in the face.
He stared in disbelief, unable to grasp how someone as soft and gentle as Xia Wan-the kind who always seemed fragile and timid -could have changed so completely and suddenly overnight.
"Alright, I'm a generous person, I won't hold it against you," Xia Wan said loudly, ignoring the curious stares around them. His voice carried clearly so everyone nearby could hear. "You're not young anymore; you can't just be disrespectful to others just because they're younger. Be mindful of that."
With that, he turned and walked away, no longer paying any attention to Zhou Shui.
After hearing Xia Wan's words, the spectators naturally thought this was entirely Zhou Shui's fault.
When the crowd dispersed, Zhou Shui realized that the box of crab roe buns in his hand hadn't been delivered yet.
"Ugh, damn it!" Zhou Shui said angrily. He spat on the ground bitterly before dialing the phone to Huo Lin.
Meanwhile, after leaving the interview place, Huo Lin's face turned dark.
"Who are you showing that stinky face to?" Huo Peixue snorted.
"I've been eyeing that car for a while, and you never mentioned it. He only arrived last night, and you've already sorted everything out so early in the morning just for him," Huo Lin expressed in frustration. "Aren't you getting too immersed in the drama?"
"What did you say?" Huo Peixue stopped abruptly. His eyes narrowing as he turned sharply toward Huo Lin.
"He took my boyfriend, stole all the attention, and ruined my engagement party. And now you expect me to give him my car?" Huo Lin said angrily. But under Huo Peixue's sharp gaze, his voice lowered. "Sometimes, I seriously wonder if he's really your son-or if I am."
"You ungrateful brat," Huo Peixue scolded Huo Lin in a hushed tone, "Who do you think I doing all this for? If it weren't for the trouble you and Qiu Qiu stirred up last night,, I could have had a good night's sleep. Instead, I was busy cleaning up your mess for whole night."
Huo Lin lowered his head guiltily and whispered in defense, "Can you blame me for that?"
Seeing Huo Peixue's expression turn worse, Huo Lin's phone suddenly rang in his pocket, saving him from the angry glare.
"Answer the phone first," Huo Peixue snorted coldly, concerned that it might delay important matters.
"Hello," Huo Lin answered the phone, lowering his voice, "How's it going over there?" After the other person spoke, he remained silent for a moment before responding, "Okay, I understand. We'll discuss it later."
"What's the matter?" Huo Peixue asked, noticing that his face had grown even darker after the call.
"Nothing!" Huo Lin said, but his face looked even gloomier.
"I don't care about your petty Issues outside, but listen carefully," Huo Peixue was furious at his timid son, deeply despising his stubbornness. "From now on, you only have one person in your life that is Qiu Qi. No more doubts, no more
complaints.
And, don't you dare utter what you said today in front of me to anyone else again, got it?"
Listening to Huo Peixue's scolding, Huo Lin seethed with anger from inside. But he chose to remain silent.
"Did you hear that?" Huo Peixue yelled loudly, then cursed in a low voice, "You are a fool, There's no scope of improvement in you. No matter how hard I try, you will never learn. If this goes on, I'm afraid you won't be able to keep this company."
After he finished speaking, he didn't look back at Huo Lin at all. Without saying another word, he walked away quickly.
Not long after returning home last night, the elders of the Huo and Qiu families found out what had happened at the engagement party.
No one had expected that after the official party ended, these younger ones would cause such a big mess.
Qiu Qi's situation was much better compared to Huo Lin's.
Having been pampered by his family since birth, Old Man Qiu only gave him a mild scolding and then let him go.
But for Huo Lin, it was a completely different story.
He had spent his entire childhood living in Huo Yu's shadow.
Perhaps it was because the other party was too good. No matter how hard he tried, Huo Peixue was always dissatisfied with him, he wanted him to improve more and more.
This intense pressure for his son to succeed didn't lessen-at least, not until Huo Yu was sent abroad to study in his first year of high school.
Only then did Huo Peixue's high expectations for Huo Lin start to lighten a bit.
But now Huo Yu was back.
In stark contrast to Huo Peixue's attitude towards him, Huo Peixue was much more easy-going and indulgent towards Huo Yu. To everyone outside, he seemed to dote on Huo Yu endlessly.
And now that Huo Lin had a direct confrontation with Huo Yu, how could Huo Peixue not be angry?
One can easily imagine how furious Huo Peixue was when he got this news.
It wasn't until Huo Peixue's figure disappeared from sight that Huo Lin finally vented the anger he had been holding inside.
All his old and new frustrations came rushing up, and he angrily punched the wall.
The sharp impact echoed through the room as pain shot up his arm, but he barely noticed. His chest heaved with frustration, his jaw clenched tightly, and his eyes burned with a fierce, restless fire.
In his eyes, the Huo family business is and will always belong to him and his father.
As for Huo Yu, even if his father Huo Peifeng come back to life, he wouldn't feel the slightest fear or threat from him.
"Hmph," he sneered.
One day, he'd do something big to prove to his father that he'd been right all along.
Xia Wan returned to the dormitory with light, easy steps. Hearing him come in, Su Tang quickly climbed down from the top bunk.
"Wanwan," Su Tang explained quickly, "I really didn't know you were with Huo Yu at that time."
Xia Wan jumped a little when Su Tang suddenly hugged him tightly. "What are you doing? Let go!" Xia Wan said quickly, trying to get free, feeling a little scared from the surprise hug.
Su Tang pulled back slightly, with little embarrassed expression He admitted, "I just found out about it at the time, and I was indeed a little excited and called you instantly. Sorry about that."
Xia Wan looked at him carefully, then smiled faintly to reassure him. "It's okay. Huo Yu was not angry, so you don't have to worry."
"Really?" Su Tang smiled meaningfully. "Looks like he treats you well, huh?"
Xia Wan didn't have many friends before, and when he faced Su Tang, who was very kind and lovely, it didn't take much time for him to put down his guard and get together with the other party.
"Tangtang," Xia Wan asked in a low voice, "have you ever been in a relationship? Do you understand about love?"
"What?" Su Tang's peach-blossom eyes widened. "Don't tell me, you are serious about Huo Yu?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he raised his head and looked around. Fu Ling was wearing earphones and listening to something. While the new cold-faced king of hell was sitting at the desk and drawing pictures, no one paid attention to them.
"I told you a long time ago not to get involved with members of the Huo family, but you didn't listen. And now, you've entangled yourself with Huo Yu. Do you even know him?" Su Tang said in half serious and half worriedtine.
Su Tang's aunt was a businesswoman and supposedly had some dealings with the Huo family, so he had picked up a few things about them over time.
Xia Wan shook his head and asked humbly, "Do you know him?"
"How would I know?" Su Tang replied. "All I know is that he's been abroad most of the time, and even when he was here, he stayed cold and kept to himself. But I've heard he's not really interested in the Huo family business and just wants to focus on art."
"Really?" Xia Wan was surprised.
That was not how the novel has described him.
Su Tang didn't seem to notice Xia Wan's surprised look and continued saying cheerfully, "But I did see Huo Yu once that face, that figure, tsk tsk tsk..."
He glanced at Xia Wan and added with a grin, "With that thing, he is probably great in bed-no wonder you're so smitten!"
Xia Wan:"..."
He had only read the novel where Huo Yu was briefly described as a very reserved person. There was nothing about his personal life or relationships, let alone about his skills in bed.
Like a soft brush tickling deep inside his heart, Xia Wan suddenly felt an itchy, hard-to-ignore feeling. He lowered his voice and asked, "Have you tried it?"
"I've only tried with others, not with him," Su Tang hurriedly clarified.
As he spoke, his face gradually changed from sunny to cloudy, as if his interest had greatly diminished. "Tsk, it was just like using a tool."
So, it doesn't feel good? Xia Wan wondered.
As if sensing Xia Wan's doubts, Su Tang explained in a low voice, "It was cool, but that person was a bit annoying."
Not compatible in bed?
Instantly, images of not-so-friendly poses flashed through Xia Wan's mind.
"Cough. Hey, Tangtang," Xia Wan said. Since Su Tang seemed pretty experienced, he decided to ask something else. "I want to ask you something for a friend. Is that okay?"
"Sure, go ahead." Su Tang responded generously.
"It's not me, it's for my friend," Xia Wan emphasized again. "If I mean... if two people are married, and one doesn't want to have sex, is it possible for the
other to force the other to...?"
"Wow," Fu Ling took off his earphones at some point and was leaning on top of his bunk, eavesdropping on their
conversation. When he heard the words his eyes widened with suprise. His voice was so loud it almost seemed to pierce through the room as he asked "Wanwan, are you married?"
Xia Wan wanted to explain, but when he raised his head, he met with three pairs of very curious
eyes.
Su Tang had the same expression as Fu Ling.
Even Shen Xing, who usually looked serious and cold also turned halfway on his seat with his eyebrow raised, showing unexpected interest in the conversation.
Xia Wan: "..."