Chapter 107: “I Will Protect You.”
When Huo Chen arrived home, not a single light was lit in the villa. Looking at it from a distance, the dark villa didn’t look like a home, but more like a monster that would devour anyone who entered.
His heart skipped a beat.
Without even caring for his suitcase, he threw it onto the lawn and rushed into the villa at nearly flying speed, finally finding Lin Huaizhi in the study.
In the study, only the computer screen was lit.
The youth sat before the computer, which was playing that video of Zhang Qiang’s interview.
In the darkness, a red dot faintly glowed.
Huo Chen walked over and found that Lin Huaizhi was smoking. The ashtray in front of him was already packed with cigarette butts; some even couldn’t fit and had fallen onto the desk.
“Lin Huaizhi?”
The youth turned around at the sound. Seeing the travel-worn Huo Chen, he wasn’t happy; instead, he put out the cigarette in his hand and said with a smile, “Sorry, I made your desk dirty. I’ll clean it up right now.”
Huo Chen grabbed his hand.
“Lin Huaizhi…”
The youth seemed not to hear the man’s words, continuing to pick up the cigarette butts scattered around the ashtray.
“Lin Huaizhi!”
Huo Chen raised his voice, making the youth pause. Then, as the youth raised slightly watery eyes to look at him, he could no longer hold back and pulled him into a tight embrace.
“Huo Chen…”
The youth’s voice shook a bit. He sounded as if he were trying hard to smile but couldn’t manage it.
“Sorry, I made your table dirty.”
Huo Chen had seen many sides of Lin Huaizhi—the flirtatious, the confident, the generous, the spoiled, and even the “pretending to be pitiful”—but he had never seen Lin Huaizhi this dejected.
“That doesn’t matter.”
Huo Chen’s hand rested on the youth’s back, stroking it in a comforting manner. “Lin Huaizhi, that doesn’t matter. This is your home too. However you want to make it dirty, that is your right. You never need to say ‘sorry’ to me.”
Lin Huaizhi felt his vision gradually blur.
“Huo Chen…”
“Didn’t you say you’d be away for a week? It’s only been two or three days—why are you back?”
Huo Chen held him, clearly feeling the uncontrollable trembling of the body in his arms. His heart ached terribly, and he tightened his hold on Lin Huaizhi.
“My baby is at home. I’ll come back whenever I want.”
Huo Chen rarely said such explicit sweet nothings. He probably didn’t know these counted as sweet nothings, but he knew that at this moment, he should comfort Lin Huaizhi.
Bitterness surged from his heart to his nasal cavity. Lin Huaizhi looked up and blinked, trying to suppress the moisture, but his voice was uncontrollably shaky.
“Are you… not embarrassed…”
By the time he finished the sentence, the transparent drops gathered in his eyes finally fell. He suddenly hugged Huo Chen back, both hands tightly gripping the clothes on Huo Chen’s back.
Huo Chen kissed the top of his head.
“Cry if you want.”
“I’m with you.”
Tears flooded out at these words, and Lin Huaizhi’s sobs gradually escaped. All his pain and fragility over the years were finally exposed before his lover.
The sobbing grew louder.
It also began to rain outside.
The dense, heavy raindrops fell, and the pitter-patter sound soon masked Lin Huaizhi’s cries.
Lin Huaizhi cried for a long time.
Huo Chen only felt those tears soak through his coat and even through the shirt inside. They were so hot his heart pained sharply.
After an unknown amount of time, Lin Huaizhi cried himself to sleep.
In the darkness, the youth’s face was a mess, covered in tear stains. Behind him, the computer was still automatically replaying the video of Zhang Qiang’s interview.
The short man’s faking voice echoed in Huo Chen’s ears—
“Yaozu, you’re of the Lin family blood. Even if you stabbed your father, I don’t blame you. It’s just that I’m old now—I just want to be close to you and see you get married.”
“As long as you have a home, I’d be willing even if I died!”
Yaozu?
Huo Chen’s eyes were deep, like an abyss where no light could enter. The person he knew was Lin Huaizhi, not Zhang Yaozu.
The current Lin Huaizhi…
…would no longer be that so-called Zhang Yaozu.
Lin Huaizhi would forever be Lin Huaizhi.
Huo Chen picked the youth up in a princess-carry and walked slowly toward the bedroom. He placed the youth on the bed, took off his clothes, covered him with the quilt, and brought water to wipe the youth’s body and face.
He quietly watched his lover, who still frowned even in deep sleep. He reached out to press against those furrowed brows, gently and slowly rubbing them smooth.
A long time later.
The man leaned down and lightly kissed the youth’s lips.
“Lin Huaizhi, don’t be afraid. The past will always remain in the past; it cannot catch up to you.”
“I will protect you.”
Outside, the wind and rain raged. Inside, it was silent and still.
Just like the man’s deep, unspoken love.
In this sudden storm, Huo Chen was the first to act. He didn’t move against Zhang Qiang.
He knew that a person’s obsession couldn’t be resolved by others. If Lin Huaizhi wanted to step out of that past, he had to personally sever all ties with Zhang Qiang.
He only dealt with the Huo family.
He had investigated Lin Huaizhi’s past, and everything was roughly as Lin Huaizhi had said—a gambling-addict father and a mentally disabled mother.
Huo Chen felt even more heartache.
He couldn’t imagine what kind of effort the Zhang Yaozu in that kind of life had to exert to become the current Lin Huaizhi. But he knew it must have been an unimaginably painful process.
And Zhang Qiang…
A man like Zhang Qiang, who had been in prison for ten years, had missed the rapid development of the information age. Coming out after ten years and actually knowing how to use the power of public opinion?
If someone said there was no one guiding him from behind, Huo Chen would never believe it.
Zheng Xiu’ang had stayed abroad to continue following up on project cooperation. The only one left in the country was Liu Fei—the assistant who had been trained by Zheng Xiu’ang and had chosen to follow Huo Chen. His personality was steadier than Zheng Xiu’ang’s, and his strength was steadily rising.
Huo Chen had Liu Fei investigate.
The answer was exactly as he had guessed. On New Year’s Day, Huo Chengzhang and Li Meiqing had come to the door, and he hadn’t let them in—but they just happened to encounter Zhang Qiang, who had come to “squat” on Lin Huaizhi.
Huo Chen remembered Lin Huaizhi saying that day that someone was following him. He had thought it was paparazzi, but it turned out to be Zhang Qiang.
And Lin Huaizhi…
Lin Huaizhi should have noticed it long ago.
Of course, Huo Chen didn’t care about these things. Although he very much wanted Lin Huaizhi to rely on him for everything, Lin Huaizhi was not that kind of person, and he also had no way to guard Lin Huaizhi every second.
He only wanted Lin Huaizhi to be a rose with thorns.
While blooming beautifully, he could also use his thorns to protect himself.
Huo Chen wouldn’t interfere with Lin Huaizhi’s decisions; he only wanted to clean up the impact he himself had caused first.
So he returned to the Huo family.
In the ancestral home, Li Meiqing looked at Huo Chen, her tone dripping with sarcasm: “Oh, I thought someone’s wings had really grown strong and he intended to abandon the Huo Group and never come back. Yet here he is, returning with his tail between his legs.”
Huo Chengzhang sat on the sofa, drinking tea that had dropped several levels in quality since the Huo Group changed owners and his cards were restricted. He didn’t even give Huo Chen a glance.
“It’s good that you’re back.”
“I knew long ago that Lin Huaizhi wasn’t anything good—to think he could even do something like patricide. He is a complete beast through and through! Leaving him only has benefits for you, and no downsides.”
“Since you’ve seen the light yourself, your mother and I won’t have to remind you again.”
Huo Chengzhang slowly took another sip of tea.
“The Huo Group was founded by your great-grandfather. Until now, your mother and I only have you as a son. Giving the Huo Group to anyone else isn’t as good as giving it to you.”
As he spoke, Huo Chengzhang closed the lid of his teacup.
The crisp sound of porcelain clashing was like a warning to Huo Chen.
“Of course, the prerequisite is that you must be obedient. How could I feel safe handing the Huo Group to you after you made such a scene for the sake of a man!”
Translator’s Note
Ugh, the Huo family is truly unbearable! They actually used Lin Huaizhi’s traumatic past to try and control Huo Chen again. But did you catch the pure devotion in Huo Chen’s return? Flying 15 hours straight just to be there for a cry? That’s our villainous CEO for you!
A few terms to note:
- “Xiao Bao” (小寶): A common childhood nickname meaning “Little Treasure.” Hearing his mother call him this while she was dying is why it’s so heartbreaking for Lin Huaizhi.
- “Patricide” (弑父): In traditional Confucian values, this is considered the ultimate sin, which is why the marketing accounts are using it to ruin his reputation.
- “Yaozu” (耀祖): As I mentioned before, this means “to bring glory to one’s ancestors.” His father naming him this while being a piece of trash is the height of irony.
Hang in there, Lin Huaizhi! Huo Chen is about to go full “Protective Hubby” mode! See you in the next chapter!
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