Chapter 105: Spoiled Brat Temperament and Hopelessly Stupid
Jiang Su had always known that Shen Xiu Mo was a shrewd businessman.
A businessman with 200% competitive spirit and no principles.
But he didn’t expect Shen Xiu Mo to be this ruthless, even consuming himself.
For the sake of the show’s effect, he could even sacrifice himself.
Jiang Su admitted that he had lost.
Barrage:
【Hot search prediction: Shen Xiu Mo exposes himself as a scumbag!】
【I’ve discovered that anyone remotely connected to Jiang Su will let loose on the show!】
【I won’t watch Huang Sheng’s next variety show without Mr. Shen.】
【Cute girls also want Mr. Shen to give them a home.】
【Shen’s line about Jiang Su already having his own home is amazing!】
【It’s a pity that this show only has five episodes. The first three episodes have been amazing, with a shocking revelation in each…】
…
This episode ended perfectly after Shen Xiu Mo dug his own grave and buried himself.
Like the previous two episodes, the related hot searches dominated the top rankings:
#Jiang Su Says He Doesn’t Hate#
#Shen Xiu Mo Wants to Give All Cute Boys a Home#
#See Me in the Criminal News#
#Jiang Su Scared Back into the Car by Fans#
After recording the show, Jiang Su was scrolling through his phone in the lounge when he saw this hot search. He furrowed his brows with a complex expression.
“Let’s go.” Xu Mo Cun pushed open the door and entered.
Jiang Su slammed his phone on the small coffee table to show Xu Mo Cun, saying unconvincedly: “How did I end up hiding back in the car?”
Xu Mo Cun had already seen this hot search.
He glanced at Jiang Su’s phone and said with a grin: “Fans even made memes and GIFs of you. They’re hilarious. I’ll send them to you on WeChat.”
Jiang Su: “No.”
Really, he always thought he was going for a mature man’s persona.
His phone vibrated.
It was a message from his second sister, Jiang Ying, containing an emoticon.
Jiang Ying: “Elegant and Composed.jpg.”
But this wasn’t a simple emoticon.
It was an emoticon made from the GIF of Jiang Su being scared by the fans and hiding in the car, then getting out of the car again.
He escaped Xu Mo Cun but not Jiang Ying.
Jiang Su: …
Jiang Ying: “Little Seven, your meme is so cute.”
Jiang Su: “If you want to salvage our sibling relationship, don’t send any more.”
He still wanted to salvage his elegant and mature man persona.
Jiang Ying: “Scared.jpg, I just stole the picture from our family group chat.”
This time, the “Scared” emoticon was a picture of Jiang Su being so scared he hid in the car.
Jiang Su: …
Forget it, he decided to give up on the elegant and mature persona.
Jiang Ying: “How’s Huo Qing Yan’s mother doing?”
Jiang Su replied: “The surgery was successful, and she woke up once.”
After a while, Jiang Ying replied: “Oh, I just wanted to ask. You must be very tired after finishing recording. Go back and rest early.”
Just wanted to ask?
When did Second Sister become so concerned about Huo Qing Yan’s affairs?
…
After the script for 《Crime and Punishment》was adjusted, the actors were notified to have a second script reading a few days later.
This time, all the actors were present.
The male lead was a fairly popular young actor with a busy schedule, so he wasn’t there last time.
When it ended, it was dinner time again.
The crew arranged a dinner party.
Jiang Su had no other arrangements, so he naturally went.
Getting familiar with the crew wouldn’t hurt.
The male lead had other arrangements and didn’t go, but Bai Mu did go with them.
At dinner, Bai Mu sat next to Jiang Su.
He asked Jiang Su: “Why didn’t Mr. Huo come this time?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he’s busy.” The matter of Huo Qing Yan’s mother hadn’t been publicized; Huo Zhen Heng must have secretly done a lot of work.
Huo Zhen Heng did a lot of nasty things but worked hard to maintain a peaceful appearance.
Who knows what he’s really up to.
Bai Mu curiously asked: “Aren’t you and Mr. Huo ten-year-old friends? Don’t you usually contact each other?”
“Are you very interested in Mr. Huo?” In Jiang Su’s opinion, the topic was over, but Bai Mu kept asking.
“I am curious,” Bai Mu smiled frankly: “After all, everyone says Mr. Huo is a business genius, but…”
Jiang Su asked: “But what?”
Bai Mu said thoughtfully: “It’s just that he doesn’t seem to be very good at handling relationship issues.”
Jiang Su smiled faintly and didn’t respond.
When they came out after dinner, Jiang Su saw a familiar license plate.
Huo Qing Yan was leaning against the car; when he saw Jiang Su, he stood up straight.
Jiang Su and the crew members saw Huo Qing Yan and greeted him, including Bai Mu.
Huo Qing Yan said indifferently: “I’m here for Jiang Su.”
This one sentence dispersed the people who had crowded forward.
Jiang Su glanced at the driver standing guard nearby; it wasn’t Zhou Fu.
He retracted his gaze and looked at Huo Qing Yan: “What’s up?”
“My mother… she wants to see you.”
Huo Qing Yan seemed to think this request was a bit difficult, and quickly added: “If you don’t have time, let’s do it another day.”
Jiang Su knew that Huo Qing Yan’s latter sentence was just an excuse. The subtext was that if he didn’t want to go, he didn’t have to.
Huo Qing Yan could now say things considering others’ feelings.
Jiang Su found it strange: “You deliberately came here in person, just so I would feel embarrassed not to go, right?”
Huo Qing Yan almost immediately denied: “No.”
As if worried about Jiang Su misunderstanding, Huo Qing Yan’s eyes became somewhat urgent, but he didn’t know how to explain.
Jiang Su lazily said: “If you’re inviting someone, do it properly. How am I supposed to get in the car if you don’t open the door?”
The expression on Huo Qing Yan’s face relaxed, and he reached out to open the car door for Jiang Su.
Seeing this, the driver quickly came over: “Mr. Huo, let me…”
Jiang Su patted the driver on the shoulder: “Go drive.”
The driver was probably a temporary worker; he was a bit worse than Zhou Fu.
Huo Qing Yan opened the car door, and Jiang Su bent down and got in.
Driver: …
Mr. Huo opened the car door for someone else?
…
After about a week in the hospital, Duan Zhixi had been transferred to a regular ward.
Her recovery was going well, though she still looked weak.
When she saw Jiang Su, her eyes lit up: “Jiang Su.”
“Aunt.” Jiang Su sat down by the bed. Duan Zhixi’s voice was soft, so he leaned slightly forward.
Duan Zhixi smiled at him: “I want to talk to you alone.”
Huo Qing Yan stood behind Jiang Su, who turned to look at him.
After hesitating for a moment, he turned and left.
The room was very quiet, making Duan Zhixi’s voice clear: “The last time I saw Qing Yan, he mentioned you.”
“What did he say?” Jiang Su didn’t know what Duan Zhixi wanted to talk to him about, but he followed her words.
Duan Zhixi looked at him with gentle eyes: “He said you’re handsome and kind-hearted.”
“Aunt, don’t lie to me. Huo Qing Yan’s exact words must have been that I have a spoiled brat temperament and am hopelessly stupid.” Huo Qing Yan couldn’t have said anything nice with his previous dog-like temper.
_____________
Chapter 106: But He’s Lucky, He Met You
Duan Zhixi was amused by Jiang Su’s words, her eyes curved, making her look even gentler and more approachable.
“What’s wrong with the young master of the Jiang family having a bit of a temper?” The Jiang family, whom even the Huo family feared, having a spoiled youngest son with a temper is perfectly normal.
Jiang Su was speechless; he thought Duan Zhixi would speak up for Huo Qing Yan.
“I’ve heard about what happened between you two,” regret and apology appeared on Duan Zhixi’s face. “I’m sorry, Jiang Su. It’s my fault for not raising Qing Yan well, causing you to suffer.”
Jiang Su’s expression turned serious.
He understood; this was probably why Duan Zhixi wanted to see him.
Duan Zhixi’s gaze shifted from Jiang Su’s face, becoming distant.
“People actually have an instinct to sense danger. When I married…,” she paused here, seemingly unwilling to mention Huo Zhen Heng’s name.
After a moment, she continued: “Before I married Qing Yan’s father, although he acted very gentle and gentlemanly, I vaguely felt that he was different from ordinary people. But I still married him. I thought I could change him.”
“I was too young, blindly confident back then. I didn’t know that he was essentially a devil, that he would never change!”
“At first, he only tormented the household servants for fun. Qing Yan was very young then, but he was very smart. Qing Yan secretly gathered evidence to report him without anyone knowing. But he was still discovered. After that, his target became Qing Yan…”
Duan Zhixi practically gritted her teeth as she spoke.
Jiang Su listened in shock: “So, to protect Huo Qing Yan, you asked for a divorce from that man, wanting to leave him?”
Duan Zhixi gave a barely audible “mm”: “I’m a mother, and I want to protect my child.”
Then, there was a long silence.
She should have protected Huo Qing Yan properly but ended up being his biggest burden.
Although she didn’t continue, Jiang Su felt the weight and oppression.
“Aunt…” Jiang Su spoke, wanting to comfort her.
As if she knew Jiang Su would comfort her, she quickly interrupted him: “Thank you, Jiang Su.”
She was a negligent mother and didn’t deserve comfort.
Tears welled up in Duan Zhixi’s eyes: “All these years, my biggest fear was that Qing Yan would become like his father. But he’s lucky; he met you.”
“I didn’t do anything. Huo Qing Yan’s nature is different from his father’s.” All those years, he had simply been shamelessly hanging around Huo Qing Yan.
Duan Zhixi didn’t argue with him, only saying gently: “You’re a good child. Aunt hopes you’ll be happy.”
She said all this only to express her apologies and gratitude to Jiang Su.
She didn’t persuade Jiang Su to reconcile with Huo Qing Yan.
She was understanding and gentle.
What would Huo Qing Yan have been like if he had grown up normally by his mother’s side?
Would he have been gentle like his mother?
The thought only flashed through his mind.
After talking for a while, Duan Zhixi looked tired.
Jiang Su said goodbye: “Aunt, I’ll come see you again when I have time. You should get better soon. Huo Qing Yan… he needs you.”
“Mm.” Duan Zhixi replied softly.
Jiang Su reached the door and looked back.
The woman on the bed was as thin as if a gust of wind could blow her away, her gaze vacant, lacking vitality.
Jiang Su furrowed his brows slightly and pushed open the door and went out.
Huo Qing Yan was waiting outside the ward. As soon as he heard the door open, he turned around and looked at Jiang Su: “Finished talking?”
Huo Qing Yan looked much thinner, pale, but his deep eyes were not as deep as usual; he seemed much lighter.
For a moment, Jiang Su couldn’t tell if Huo Qing Yan was better or worse.
He looked at Huo Qing Yan for a moment and asked: “Have you had dinner?”
Huo Qing Yan honestly answered: “No.”
“Let’s go.” Jiang Su said and walked ahead.
“Where to?” Huo Qing Yan asked.
“To eat.”
“Didn’t you already eat…”
“Are you eating or not?”
“Eating.”
…
Jiang Su took Huo Qing Yan to a private restaurant that Jiang Ying had taken him to before.
He ordered several signature dishes for Huo Qing Yan.
Jiang Su had already eaten; he only occasionally picked up a chopstick of food and then put down his chopsticks to watch Huo Qing Yan eat.
After their candid conversation, their interaction seemed more comfortable and relaxed.
Huo Qing Yan ate slowly and attentively.
The lighting in the small private room was warm-toned, warm and quiet, illuminating Huo Qing Yan’s face, making him look gentle.
Aunt Duan said, “What’s wrong with the young master of the Jiang family having a bit of a temper?”
And what about Huo Qing Yan?
As the sole heir to the Huo family, he should have been a gifted prodigy.
Yet, he was crushed into the mud by his own father.
Jiang Su felt sorry for him.
And suddenly felt a little relieved.
Perhaps he could still be friends with Huo Qing Yan.
Suddenly, Huo Qing Yan looked up at him: “Why are you staring at me?”
Jiang Su had been staring at him, making him feel a little…
Jiang Su lightly said: “I think you’re quite handsome too.”
That “too” was very meaningful.
Huo Qing Yan’s eyes showed questioning.
Jiang Su said with a smirk: “Aunt Duan said you told her I’m handsome.”
A crack appeared in Huo Qing Yan’s unchanging expression. Gradually, a suspicious blush appeared on his pale face.
Jiang Su propped his chin, watching him with interest: “Huo Qing Yan, you’re so old, and you’re still embarrassed?”
Huo Qing Yan denied it quickly: “I’m not.”
But his expression didn’t look very convincing.
Jiang Su solemnly responded: “Oh.”
But his serious expression only lasted a few seconds before he burst out laughing.
Huo Qing Yan: …
“I’m full,” he put down his chopsticks.
…
When paying the bill, Huo Qing Yan took out his wallet, took out a card, and was about to hand it to the waiter.
Jiang Su, taking advantage of his healthy hands and feet, grabbed Huo Qing Yan’s wrist with one hand and took out his phone to pay with the other.
Huo Qing Yan’s other hand was still bandaged and couldn’t move, so he could only watch helplessly as Jiang Su paid.
After paying, Jiang Su turned around and saw Huo Qing Yan’s face was tight, and he didn’t seem very happy.
Jiang Su reached out, took the card still in his hand, picked up his wallet, and put the card back in.
Then, he slowly put his wallet back in his pocket: “You pay next time.”
Next time?
Huo Qing Yan’s eyes lit up instantly, a smile curving his lips: “Okay.”
Jiang Su turned to leave, a slight smile on his lips.
As soon as Huo Qing Yan and Jiang Su went out, Jiang Ying came out from behind a nearby screen, looking thoughtfully in the direction they left.
It seemed that her younger brother and Huo Qing Yan’s relationship had improved a lot.
______________
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