To My Dear Mr. Huo

No matter how unhappy Lian Jin was with Qi Xiwei, wasn’t that still his child as well?

The fact that he took the child away didn’t necessarily mean that he had nefarious intentions. Previously, Huo Jinyao and Su Qingsang had thought that perhaps Lian Jin wanted to keep the child so that he could threaten Qi Xiwei or something like that.

That might not be impossible, but a week had passed. If he really wanted to threaten Qi Xiwei, or if he still wanted to use the child to hurt Qi Xiwei, there were plenty of opportunities.

If he didn’t do so, didn’t that mean that he might have dealt with the child’s funeral himself?

Huo Jinyao had thought of this possibility before. However, “There are only a few cemeteries in Rong City. If that was the case, there’s no reason for me not to be able to find him.”

“What if he didn’t bury the child in the cemetery at all?”

Before the reform, Rong City was also the oldest burial ground. On the only few mountains around Rong City, there were also burial grounds of all sizes.

Some of them were even tombs that had excellent feng shui and had been locked up by some blue-blood families.

Lian Jin was a citizen of Rong City. Perhaps his family had the same situation. If that was the case, then he might have buried the child in peace.

Huo Jinyao narrowed his eyes. He was only thinking about the cemetery, not the mountain grave.

However, he touched his chin, and there was a subtle hint of doubt in his tone.

“Why do I feel that he doesn’t seem like the kind of person who would do such a good thing?”

“Not necessarily.” Su Qingsang was a doctor, so she preferred to think of people in a positive way. “After all, he is the child’s father. It’s understandable that he would do his best for the child, right?”

Huo Jinyao didn’t say a word. Seeing the seriousness in Su Qingsang’s eyes, he suddenly leaned over and kissed her on the forehead.

“Alright. I’ll get Yang Wenchang to check the graves in Rong City.”

Rong City was indeed big, but it wasn’t every day that something bad happened, especially towards such a young child. They should be able to find out with a simple check.

Su Qingsang nodded and followed Huo Jinyao to the parking spot. However, she suddenly stopped in her tracks.

“Huo Jinyao?”

“Yes?”

“If that’s really the case, I’m afraid that Qi Xiwei will take it to heart again, right?”

She wanted to bury the child next to her mother, but Lian Jin had secretly buried the child.

If the child was really buried in a mountain grave somewhere, Qi Xiwei would definitely object. But by then, the child would have already been buried. If Qi Xiwei refused, there would be more drama.

Why did she feel that the relationship between Qi Xiwei and Lian Jin would be even more difficult to break now?

Huo Jinyao naturally knew what she was thinking of. He felt perturbed at the thought of Lian Jin sending Su Qingsang to prison.

“He sure planned well.”

Lian Jin secretly took the child away probably not solely because of that intention. Perhaps there was another reason. Was he trying to get Qi Xiwei to surrender voluntarily?

Unfortunately, he had underestimated Qi Xiwei’s stubbornness. She probably wouldn’t compromise so easily.

When he met Su Qingsang’s clear and understanding gaze, he cleared his throat.

“However, that naturally has nothing to do with us. Let them be.”

Su Qingsang smiled faintly and reached out to pinch Huo Jinyao’s palm.

“I’m not against you helping Qi Xiwei. She was your classmate. She’s helped you many times and saved your life. If she’s in trouble, it’s only human nature for you to help her out of friendship. However, I don’t approve of you interfering in the matter between Qi Xiwei and her husband.”

“Qingsang?”

“No matter how much Qi Xiwei and Lian Jin argue, they’re still husband and wife. Whether they quarrel or hate each other, it’s their own business. As bystanders, it’s better for us not to interfere.”

Huo Jinyao pursed his lips into a straight line. Naturally, he wouldn’t interfere in the matter between Qi Xiwei and her husband. However, he didn’t like that jerk Lian Jin, so it was okay for him to play dirty against him.

Blinking his eyes, he opened the car door for Su Qingsang. “Okay, honey, don’t worry. I’ll listen to you.”

Su Qingsang tilted her face to look at him. Suddenly, she moved her face closer and looked into his eyes. “Why don’t I believe you?”

“Honey.” Huo Jinyao covered his heart with one hand. “I’m so sad that you think of me like that. Do you think I’m the kind of person who meddles in other people’s business?”

“Indeed you’re not.” He was just a little petty. He would repay those who had schemed against him tenfold.

Su Qingsang didn’t dare to say the last sentence. Upon seeing that Huo Jinyao was still clutching his heart, she couldn’t help but laugh. She went forward and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Alright, I was wrong, okay? My Mr. Huo is the most aloof, the least busybody, and the most magnanimous. Okay?”

“Tsk, honey. If you’re praising me like that, you might as well not praise me.” Huo Jinyao wrapped his arms around her waist. He leaned over and kissed her on the lips. “Since you praise me with such unwillingness, isn’t it natural that I’d rather you not praise me?”

“How was I unwilling? In my heart, I’m willing to praise my high and mighty husband.”

Upon hearing that, Huo Jinyao moved his lips to her ear. “If you’re willing, how about a round of ‘willing’ tonight?”

As he spoke, he actually gently bit her earlobe.

Su Qingsang’s face heated up. She glanced left and right. Fortunately, there was no one nearby. Otherwise, she would be really embarrassed.

Huo Jinyao smiled and bit her again, “I’m kissing my own wife, so what are you afraid of?”

This person had been getting more and more out of control recently. Su Qingsang wanted to laugh at him, but she felt relieved when she remembered that she was the one who made him lose control of himself.

The corners of her lips curled up slightly to reveal a faint smile.

..

Lian Jin had yet to be found, so Huo Jinyao took the matter to heart and told Yang Wenchang to send people to look for him.

However, a few days had passed, and there was still no news. It was as if Lian Jin had disappeared from this world. Huo Jinyao didn’t believe that he would let it go just like that.

If he really didn’t pester her anymore, it would be a good thing for Qi Xiwei. However, he was afraid that if he took the baby away, it meant he had some dirty tricks up his sleeve. If that was the case, he would have to take precautions for Qi Xiwei.

Although he had promised Su Qingsang not to interfere in the couple’s matters, he wouldn’t let anyone bully his savior.

Yang Wenchang knocked on Huo Jinyao’s door after a video conference with an overseas company. When Huo Jinyao saw him, he thought that Yang Wenchang was here to tell him about Lian Jin’s whereabouts.

Little did he know that Yang Wenchang was standing to the side, and behind him was Liu Tongjia.

Huo Jinyao’s expression didn’t change when he saw Liu Tongjia. He remembered what Liu Tongjia had said in the hospital, so in the end, he stood up.

Yang Wenchang brought Yang Wenchang in and left. The office door closed, and Liu Tongjia walked in. She seemed a little awkward.

Huo Jinyao was a little taken aback to see her standing there motionlessly. In front of him, Liu Tongjia seemed to be getting more and more wary lately?

“Mom, what’s the matter?”

He said it calmly without any disdain. However, Liu Tongjia’s heart felt as if it was stabbed again.

She was Huo Jinyao’s mother. Why could she only visit her son if she had a purpose?

“It’s nothing much.”

She came to the company for nothing? Huo Jinyao raised an eyebrow as he recalled something he heard yesterday.

“Uncle and Aunt went to visit Huo Yifan in prison yesterday, then went to visit Grandpa at the old mansion, right?”

His Grandpa had said that he wouldn’t interfere with the company he took over and even made a will in advance. What he meant was that more than half of the shares under his name would be given to him.

However, his grandfather was also a person who cared about his own flesh and blood. If his Uncle and Aunt couldn’t stand it out of pity for their son and begged his grandfather, his heart would probably soften again.

Liu Tongjia looked at Huo Jinyao with a dumbfounded expression. “You — you — you had people stalk them?”

“I wouldn’t call it that. I just had someone surveillance them.”

Huo Jinyao’s voice was calm as he signed the document in his hand and put it aside. “They’ve tried to make things difficult for me time and time again. I have to take precautions and strike first, right?”

What he said was right. Liu Tongjia still didn’t think that she was wrong, but she didn’t come here today to say that.

“You, are you free tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow?”

“What’s the matter?”

“Nothing. It’s just that your grandfather said that you haven’t returned to the old residence for a meal in a long time.”

During this period of time, Huo Jinyao indeed hadn’t returned to the old residence for some time because he was busy with Qi Xiwei’s matters.

However, tomorrow wasn’t the weekend. The fact that his grandfather would say that might mean that he really wanted to see him.

Huo Jinyao looked at his schedule. Other than special circumstances, he had already made arrangements for his work every day.

“I’m not free.” He made an appointment with a company the next night. Su Qingsang said that she wasn’t on duty that night and that she wanted to watch a new movie. Since he had already promised Su Qingsang, he naturally wouldn’t go back on his word.

Speaking of which, he had a home theater at home. With his identity and status, if he wanted a new movie, he could just tell someone to send it over.

However, Su Qingsang liked to go to the theater to watch movies. She said that she liked that feeling even more.

These few days, perhaps because of Qi Xiwei’s matter, he and Su Qingsang got along more intimately and casually.

This was a rare experience. He didn’t get tired of a woman because he got along with her. Instead, he wanted to get closer to her every day and it gave him a sense of excitement.

The more he got along with Su Qingsang, the more special things he found out about her, and the more he loved her.

She was aloof but not cold. She was smart and not inflexible. She was kind but not naive. The two of them would occasionally go to his childhood gatherings, then they would stay at home while doing their own things.

They would occasionally go out on dates, just like lovers nowadays. This feeling was very nuanced.

The smile on his face was very faint, but it didn’t escape Liu Tongjia’s eyes.

Judging from his expression, he must have thought of Su Qingsang. However, he sent Liu Tongjia away with cold and terse words.

As she sat there, she felt a chill all over her body.

“Is there anything else?”

Huo Jinyao took Liu Tongjia’s soft words from the other day as her momentary lapse in judgment.

Liu Tongjia didn’t say a word. She stood up and walked out of the room in a daze.

In fact, tomorrow was her birthday. She hoped that if possible, Huo Jinyao would come to celebrate her birthday.

After so many years, because she didn’t like Huo Jinyao, and because she hadn’t recovered from the shock of losing a son and daughter, she hadn’t been able to celebrate her birthday for more than a decade.

However, Huo Jinyao didn’t know her birthday and didn’t plan to celebrate it with her. After he rejected her in such a cold manner, Liu Tongjia felt heartbroken.

What she cared about now wasn’t her birthday. She only cared that her relationship with Huo Jinyao seemed to be irreparable.

Huo Jinyao picked up the documents beside him. Occasionally, from the corner of his eye, he would look over and see Liu Tongjia’s lonely back.

His brows furrowed slightly again.

..

“What’s wrong?”

Su Qingsang looked at Huo Jinyao and realized that he was a little distracted.

The two of them had just finished eating, and Su Qingsang was organizing her thesis with her laptop. Huo Jinyao was sitting on the other side of the table and handling some work on his laptop.

After she had finished organizing her thesis and saved it, she realized that Huo Jinyao was staring at the screen in a daze.

She leaned forward to look at him, but he didn’t react at all.

She waved her hand in front of him, and Huo Jinyao finally came back to his senses. “…”

“I’m fine.”

He simply suddenly thought of Liu Tongjia’s mannerism today.

“You don’t look like you’re fine.” Su Qingsang looked at him, and her first reaction was to think of Qi Xiwei. “Could it be that Qi Xiwei found out that Lian Jin took the child away?”

Huo Jinyao shook his head and looked at Su Qingsang. In the end, he casually mentioned that Liu Tongjia had come to look for him today.

“Your mother asked you to come home for a meal tomorrow?”

“Yes.”

Su Qingsang pursed her lips slightly. Liu Tongjia rarely came to look for them for nothing, except for Huo Jinyao’s birthday last time.

“Your mother asked you to come home for a meal?”

“You don’t believe her either, do you?” Huo Jinyao didn’t believe her either. “I didn’t expect her to care so much about Huo Yifan.”

In order to plead for Huo Yifan, she repeatedly tried to be nice to him and spoke gently. Huo Jinyao admitted that he was a little uncomfortable.

It was also because of this discomfort that he didn’t think of showing mercy when dealing with Huo Yifan.

“This…” Su Qingsang saw the uneasiness in his eyes. She thought of Liu Tongjia’s reaction on Huo Jinyao’s birthday, and she felt that it wasn’t like that.

The next day, Su Qingsang confirmed her guess. She made a call back to the old mansion. The person who answered the phone happened to be the butler, Uncle Cheng.

Uncle Cheng had been the butler of the Huo family for more than twenty years. Su Qingsang asked tentatively and got the answer right away. Turns out it was Liu Tongjia’s birthday.

She didn’t say much further and hung up the phone. Su Qingsang sat in her office and was a little distracted.

Today was Liu Tongjia’s birthday. She went to look for Huo Jinyao yesterday because she hoped that Huo Jinyao could celebrate her birthday with her.

Su Qingsang stood up and went next door to inform Sun Huiya. She came back, changed her clothes, picked up her bag, and left.

Su Qingsang felt a headache while driving out of the hospital. With Liu Tongjia’s status, she naturally didn’t lack anything.

In this regard, she didn’t know what to give her. Moreover, this gift would be given to her by Huo Jinyao.

Su Qingsang thought about it and called Li Qianxue in hopes of getting her opinion.

After hanging up, Su Qingsang’s car stopped at the intersection of Wenhua Street. She got out of the car and walked less than 200 meters to the entrance of Gu Langxuan. It was the largest antique shop in Rong City. When she was having a small gathering with Huo Jinyao and his friends, she heard someone mention that this place was owned by Wan Xianyang’s family.

She didn’t plan to mention Wan Xianyang’s name when she entered the shop. She started to look around the shop first.

In fact, she rarely came to places like this. Gu Langxuan was located in the middle of Wenhua Street in Rong City.

This was the biggest shop on this street. It had three floors. It was modeled after the old counters in ancient times. All kinds of vases and decorations were placed on the antique shelves around it.

Su Qingsang didn’t know much about antiques, but it looked like they were old.

The shopkeeper inside seemed to be entertaining guests. When he saw Su Qingsang come in, he didn’t come over to greet her immediately.

Su Qingsang didn’t mind either. She started to look at the antique shelves first. She had already decided that if she couldn’t pick out anything, she would call Wan Xianyang.

It was just a token of goodwill anyway. What kind of gift wasn’t important.

She walked a few steps and stopped before a jade carving. This jade carving wasn’t big. It was only the size of two palms, but in a small place, it was carved with the shape of eight immortals crossing the sea.

Every immortal was lifelike, and even the spiritual artifacts in the hands of the Eight Immortals looked exquisite.

This jade carving was decent, and it could be given away, but if it was given to a female elder, it didn’t seem very appropriate.

“Do you like this?”

A voice suddenly sounded behind her. Su Qingsang was shocked. That familiar voice made her quickly turn her head around. Only then did she realize that Zhang Yichen was standing behind her.

Upon seeing that it was him, Su Qingsang was greatly surprised. Since she returned from the disaster relief in City C, more than two months had passed.

After not seeing him for more than two months, she saw that Zhang Yichen had gotten tanner and seemed to have lost some weight.

“Uncle.” Su Qingsang bowed slightly, and her voice sounded a little awkward. “Why are you here?”

“I have a few days off, so I came to visit the Old Master. Next month is my father’s birthday, so I wanted to come here and pick a gift for him.”

“Oh.” Su Qingsang responded with an “Oh” and didn’t say anything else. Zhang Yichen looked at the jade sculpture. “You like this?”

“I don’t like it. I just think it’s very exquisite.” Su Qingsang thought about it and said honestly, “I want to give it to an elder, but I don’t think it’s appropriate.”

“If you bought it for yourself to play with, it wouldn’t matter. If you want to give it to someone else, it’s indeed inappropriate.”

“Why?” She already had an idea. Because of Zhang Yichen’s words, she couldn’t help but ask another question.

“This carving isn’t authentic jade. If you’re giving it away, it is better to give one that’s made of authentic jade away.”

Su Qingsang was really a little embarrassed. “I don’t quite understand. Aren’t they all jade?”

“It’s different.”

As Zhang Yichen spoke, he glanced at the shopkeeper behind him, then turned to look at Su Qingsang.

“If you want to give it away, their good stuff is upstairs. Let me bring you there.”

Zhang Yichen was obviously familiar with this place. As he spoke, he led Su Qingsang upstairs.

Su Qingsang looked at his back and wanted to reject his offer, but she really didn’t have much time left for her to slowly choose.

When she went up to the second floor, she realized that it was a different world there. The shop below was filled with dazzling antiques, but the upstairs had a different style.

Each of the boxes had different antique vases and decorations, but compared to those downstairs, they were of a different level.

“Although Wan Xianyang likes to play around, he has good taste in this aspect. His family’s ancestors were all in the antique business. He had been influenced by his family since he was young, so he is very well-versed in this aspect. Rarely does he make mistakes in the things he collects. You can take a look.”

Zhang Yichen slowed down a little and scanned the surroundings, as if he was merely explaining to her casually.

“Okay.”

Su Qingsang trusted the abilities of Huo Jinyao’s childhood friends. Wan Xianyang had said a few times before that he wanted her to have a chance to come here and take a look.

She took a few casual steps and found that Zhang Yichen was about a meter away from her.

This distance was very good, a very safe distance. That’s right, a very measured distance.

Su Qingsang glanced at him, retracted her gaze, and began to look around.

There were many good things, but it felt a little lacking in terms of those that could be used as Liu Tongjia’s birthday present.

It wasn’t like the Huo family didn’t have those blue and white porcelain, ancient calligraphy, and paintings.

“What? You don’t like them?”

“It’s not that.” Su Qingsang didn’t dare to say that she didn’t like them. After all, every single one of them was worth a lot of money. “I just don’t think it’s appropriate to give them away.”

“You’re giving it to an elder? A female elder?”

“Yes.” Su Qingsang didn’t deny it.

Zhang Yichen’s expression was a little serious. He looked at her and said, “Let’s go and take a look at the third floor.”

Su Qingsang was no longer surprised by how familiar he was with this place. She followed him upstairs and found that the upper floor was even more empty.

There were a few rooms inside. A shop clerk came over and greeted Zhang Yichen first.

“Young Master Zhang, you’re here? Do you want to call Young Master Wan over?” The shop clerk was an extremely perceptive person. Zhang Yichen had been here a few times before so he recognized him.

“There’s no need. I’ll take a look first.”

As Zhang Yichen spoke, he glanced at the shop clerk. “Oh right, is there anything you can give to your elders? Show us.”

“That’s such a coincidence. Young Master Zhang, you really came to the right place today. Master Wan had gambled with someone a few months ago and won quite a number of good items. We just sent off an important guest from the counter inside. I just tidied it up. There are still a lot of treasures left. Follow me.”

“Lead the way.”

“This way, please.”

The shop clerk was very clever. He led Zhang Yichen and Su Qingsang to a small room on the side.

He pushed open the door and entered. There was a small counter inside. On both sides of the antique shelves, there were a lot of jade ornaments and some antiques.

Looking at the wall, there were a few paintings and calligraphy. They looked old, but Su Qingsang didn’t know what they were. She just felt that the interior was very elegant and well decorated.

While she was still admiring her surroundings, the shop clerk had already led them to the counter.

There were a few bracelets there, not many, just a few. Even though Su Qingsang didn’t understand, she could tell that those emeralds were of excellent quality.

The shop clerk was very perceptive, so he only gave a brief introduction. After explaining the contents, he picked out two of the most rounded ones and placed them on the counter.

“Young Master Zhang, what do you think of these two?”

Su Qingsang had yet to take her eyes off the other jade ornaments on the counter, but the shop clerk’s next sentence almost made her choke on her own saliva.

“Young Master Zhang, look at this. It’s translucent and the coloring is vibrant. See if your girlfriend likes it?”

Girlfriend?

Who was his girlfriend?

“I’m not his girlfriend.”

The explanation was still necessary. Su Qingsang had no intention of adding to anyone’s misunderstanding, even if it was a stranger’s.