Chapter 11: Otherwise? Was it because of love?
“A has-been trash trying to ride the coattails of our ‘Scholarly Husband and Husband’.”
“Got divorced and ran out of money, so you’re trying to make a comeback to make money, deliberately provoking Huo Qingyan to get famous? Are you shameless?”
“Just wait and see how Huo Qingyan will kill you!”
“How can you be so cheap…”
“Looks like you’re not that poor, you even have money to remove trending searches! You’re guilty and scared, aren’t you! Idiot!”
“I regret ever liking you, my filter for Xiao Ting is gone. You recklessly got married, and now you’re destroying someone else’s relationship. I’m so disappointed in you…”
Xiao Ting was the role Jiang Su played in his first film, Yesterday’s Funeral. It was a niche film, but unexpectedly became a huge hit.
Xiao Ting was the beautiful, strong, and pitiful antagonist in the movie, making countless people both love and hate him. He gained countless fans through this role.
It was around that time that he retired from the entertainment industry and married Huo Qingyan.
Words like “trash,” “shameless,” and “bitch” were relatively mild in these abusive private messages.
There were many more offensive words.
Not clarifying but only removing the trending searches and news was a superficial solution, only making people think Jiang Su had a guilty conscience and fueling public anger.
Wouldn’t Huo Qingyan have thought of this?
Jiang Su understood that Huo Qingyan was simply too lazy to expend energy on him and had no patience to consider his situation.
Perhaps the reason Huo Qingyan directly removed the trending searches instead of clarifying was simply to protect Lin Siyue.
After all, once his marriage to Huo Qingyan was exposed, Lin Siyue would be the one getting scolded.
Seeing Jiang Su silent after looking at his phone, Huo Qingyan frowned slightly: “Don’t you have anything to say?”
Jiang Su saw Huo Qingyan’s condescending expression of charity, and instantly understood his intentions.
He smiled and said what Huo Qingyan wanted to hear: “Thank you.”
In the past, even if Huo Qingyan ate one more bite of the food he made, he would be overjoyed.
Because he felt that every subtle change in Huo Qingyan was the result of his efforts, as long as he persisted, he would be able to win Huo Qingyan’s heart.
Until Lin Siyue came along, Jiang Su gradually understood that it was all a one-man show.
Huo Qingyan heard Jiang Su’s thanks, and his lips curled up in satisfaction.
What he liked most about Jiang Su was that he was easily satisfied, which saved him a lot of trouble.
Jiang Su stared at the breakfast in front of him, with no appetite, and slowly said, “Can you be more discreet in the future?”
Huo Qingyan frowned at him.
“Don’t get caught on camera again, it will cause a lot of trouble.” Jiang Su looked at him, his eyes pleading.
He didn’t care about being scolded himself; he was afraid that his family and older siblings would be unhappy.
Moreover, Huo Qingyan’s family would also see it.
Only then did Huo Qingyan realize that Jiang Su was talking about him and Lin Siyue.
With a “clink,” he threw his fork heavily on the table.
“Jiang Su! I’ll tell you one last time, Lin Siyue and I are just friends!” His voice was as cold as ice.
Huo Qingyan’s voice was pleasant; Jiang Su loved hearing Huo Qingyan call his name.
Now that he thought about it, every time Huo Qingyan called his name, it was either cold and distant, or full of anger.
Jiang Su chuckled softly, his voice gentle: “Since you’re just friends, shouldn’t you pay more attention to your actions?”
“Are you telling me how to do my job?” Huo Qingyan heard that Jiang Su still didn’t believe that he and Lin Siyue were just friends.
Huo Qingyan was genuinely angry, a storm brewing in his dark eyes.
Jiang Su’s hand trembled slightly at his side; Huo Qingyan’s rage made him instinctively afraid.
Huo Qingyan was a born hunter; he had a ruthlessness that could tear everything apart if he wanted to.
“Jiang Su, I married you because you were obedient and easy-going, that’s your biggest advantage.”
Huo Qingyan found that Jiang Su wasn’t as obedient as before recently, and he felt like he was slipping out of control.
He didn’t like this feeling, so he decided to remind him to behave.
Jiang Su suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with earth-shattering shock.
Something had collapsed in his heart.
Jiang Su’s lips trembled. He tried several times to speak but couldn’t make a sound because his mind was blank.
Huo Qingyan watched him without any emotion, cold and ruthless.
After a long time, Jiang Su finally regained the ability to speak.
“You married me because it’s easy-going?” His voice was hoarse, a hoarseness he couldn’t even detect himself.
Huo Qingyan sneered disdainfully: “Otherwise? Was it because of love?”
“No… was it?” Jiang Su looked at him carefully and expectantly.
While waiting for Huo Qingyan’s answer, Jiang Su felt every second dragging on.
He felt like he was standing on the edge of a cliff, and Huo Qingyan’s words could push him into the abyss, shattering him to pieces.
Huo Qingyan saw through Jiang Su’s expectation, yet still cruelly spoke the truth: “To me, marrying anyone is the same.”
He was six years older than Jiang Su and understood human nature better, seeing Jiang Su through and through.
He knew Jiang Su had liked him for many years, passionately and selflessly, easy to control, easy-going, and would never betray him, making him the perfect choice for marriage.
Jiang Su suddenly reached out and pressed his hand to his chest, his heart feeling like it was being squeezed and crushed, the pain intense.
When Huo Qingyan proposed to him, he naively thought he was special to Huo Qingyan.
Given enough time, Huo Qingyan would eventually fall for him.
Now he understood. He was indeed special to Huo Qingyan, but only because he was easy-going and caused no trouble.
Jiang Su asked unwillingly, “Isn’t there even a little bit of… liking?”
Huo Qingyan curled his lips, but there wasn’t a hint of a smile on his face, it was like mockery, or disdain for answering.
A ringing phone interrupted them.
It was Huo Qingyan’s phone.
Seeing the caller ID, Huo Qingyan frowned slightly but still answered the phone: “Dad.”
Just from Huo Qingyan’s expression, Jiang Su knew who was calling.
After an unknown comment from the other end, Huo Qingyan hummed and hung up.
The entire conversation lasted less than ten seconds.
Huo Qingyan had just put his phone back on the table when Jiang Su’s phone rang.
The note showed: Uncle Huo.
It was Huo Qingyan’s father’s number.
He had saved it as “Uncle Huo” years ago, and for some reason, he hadn’t changed it all these years.
“Dad,” Jiang Su answered the phone, just as Huo Qingyan was getting up to leave.
The man on the other end of the phone spoke in a relatively gentle tone: “Xiao Qi, you and Qingyan haven’t been home for a long time. Come home for dinner tonight.”
Jiang Su hadn’t interacted much with Huo Qingyan’s father; his impression was that he was a very strict person, much like Huo Qingyan.
However, Huo Qingyan’s father’s attitude towards Jiang Su had always been quite good.