Chapter 19: The Male Lead with X-Ray Vision vs. Five Female Leads (19)
Anna wanted to see Huo Xian, and he didn’t refuse, but instead of giving her his address, he personally returned to City A. He hadn’t been back for so long; he wondered if Liu Chengpei had found a way to open the basement door.
As the saying goes, “It’s better to be lucky than good.” When Huo Xian arrived home, his house was about to be “demolished.”
He didn’t rush in but called the police.
Fifteen minutes later, police cars rushed into the residential area, and dozens of heavily armed criminal investigators sprang into action. In a short time, twelve people working in the villa were caught red-handed.
Liu Chengpei was stunned when he was escorted out of the villa with a black hood over his head. The others, after the initial shock and surprise of being arrested, cried out their innocence. However, they couldn’t do anything; these people were professional engineers: some were responsible for detection, some for breaking walls, and some for opening locks. In short, they were all targeting the safes hidden in various corners of the villa.
To this, Huo Xian quietly said to the system, “Supporting characters don’t deserve to have intelligence.”
The system pretended to be dead.
Saying that supporting characters lacked intelligence wasn’t Huo Xian belittling anyone. Would a normal person think of demolishing someone else’s house? Although Liu Chengpei’s engineers didn’t demolish Huo Xian’s entire house, the twelve safes they detected were all removed from the walls. He didn’t forget to have the renovation workers repair them, but it was absurd that the engineering team didn’t find it suspicious that Liu Chengpei, who claimed to be the owner of the villa, didn’t know where his safes were. Not knowing the location was one thing, but not knowing the passwords? They didn’t even suspect a thing!
However, the supporting characters and passersby weren’t to blame; the real culprit should be… someone.
Liu Chengpei’s arrest naturally alarmed the Liu family. Although Liu Chengxiang despised his younger brother a million times over, he wouldn’t let him disgrace the Liu family. However, this time the Liu family couldn’t bail him out. The amount of money involved in this case was too large, and the nature of the crime was extremely serious. It just so happened that the authorities were cracking down, so Liu Chengpei couldn’t be released, and he would face more than twenty years in prison, or even life imprisonment.
Initially, Liu Chengxiang was puzzled about how much money a fallen Huo family could possibly have to prevent his useless brother from being released. When the lawyer brought the exact amount, he was unusually silent.
Antiques, calligraphy and paintings, gold, jewelry, cash… the total estimated value was about 16 billion. No one knew when the Huo family silently collected so many priceless treasures, especially the ancient jade seal and the calligraphy by a master calligrapher, both practically priceless.
When Liu Chengpei was arrested, he was urging the engineers to open the basement lock. If the basement hadn’t been special, it would have been dug up and taken away like the other safes. Unfortunately, the basement was an independent space, so he couldn’t dig it up.
His luck was truly bad. When the police made the arrest, the engineers had just opened the door, and Liu Chengpei was holding the priceless ancient jade seal, caught red-handed, leaving no room for excuses.
So, before meeting Anna, Huo Xian met Liu Xuxue.
This time, they didn’t meet outside but at Huo Xian’s house. Liu Xuxue had blocked him at his doorstep when he was packing his bags to go to the hotel.
Liu Xuxue glanced at his suitcase and then at Huo Xian, who was wearing a black coat and stood there exuding charm. The words she was about to say suddenly couldn’t come out.
Huo Xian wanted to go to the hotel quickly, so he spoke first, “Miss Liu, do you want to come in and talk?” Seeing the alert movements of her bodyguards, he tilted his head and added, “The bodyguards can also come in. It’s too cold outside.”
Chatting in the cold wind wasn’t ideal. After a brief hesitation, Liu Xuxue and her bodyguards followed Huo Xian into the house.
Huo Xian turned on the heating. Even so, it was still cold before the temperature came up.
“Sorry, the house is being renovated, and there’s nothing to offer you,” Huo Xian said apologetically, but his face showed little apology.
Liu Xuxue didn’t mind. She looked at the man sitting opposite her and said after a long while, “My second uncle fell for your trap, right?”
Huo Xian was surprised, “I set a trap for your uncle? Miss Liu, are you misunderstanding something?”
Liu Xuxue’s gaze was fixed on him, not missing any expression on his face. Unfortunately, she saw nothing. Even so, she didn’t change her mind.
She said, “Before I came, I visited my second uncle at the detention center. He told me that after you left, he called you, and you promised him that he could search for safes in your house.”
Hearing this, Huo Xian raised his eyebrows, relaxed, leaning back on the sofa, his legs crossed, and his hands resting on his lap. His posture was relaxed. “Without the owner’s permission, you let the engineering team enter my house, demolished walls, moved safes, and forcibly cracked the passwords. Miss Liu, do you call that ‘searching’?”
Liu Xuxue fell silent. Liu Chengpei’s actions had indeed gone beyond “searching.”
“If you’re here to plead for your uncle, you don’t have to. I’ll leave this matter entirely to the authorities. The Liu family has money and power. Instead of trying to persuade me, you should quickly find a team of lawyers for your uncle to reduce his sentence.” Huo Xian said.
Liu Xuxue pursed her lips. After a while, she smiled, “Mr. Huo, do you think I’m here to plead for him?”
Huo Xian tilted his head, implying: Isn’t that the case?
Liu Xuxue’s lips curved. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, saying unhurriedly, “Saying this might lower my score in your eyes, but…” She paused slightly before continuing, “I hope my second uncle spends his life in prison.”
“Oh?” Huo Xian raised his eyebrows, somewhat surprised by her attitude.
Liu Xuxue asked with a smile, “Mr. Huo should hate him too, right? He was your former brother-in-law, but he didn’t respect or care for Mrs. Huo, and even staged…” She paused, skipping the keyword, and continued, “Then he wanted to use you to hurt me and my father and then betrayed you. Would Mr. Huo remain indifferent?”
The answer was, of course, no.
But Huo Xian wouldn’t admit it. Besides saying “suit yourself” initially, he didn’t promise Liu Chengpei anything else, including digging out the safes. He didn’t care how the Liu family treated Liu Chengpei; he only knew one thing: Liu Chengpei’s tears behind bars were imminent.
“Where are you planning to move?” Since they seemed to have reached a consensus on Liu Chengpei’s issue, Liu Xuxue changed the subject.
The Huo family’s assets in City A, or even in China, had been dealt with. Currently, Huo Xian only owned the villa and Happy Garden. Although he told Liu Chengpei that the ownership of Happy Garden had been taken by Huo Ting and Huo En, it was just a clumsy trick, and the foolish Liu Chengpei believed it.
Now the villa was a mess and couldn’t be lived in without renovation, and Happy Garden was empty, so Liu Xuxue had some ideas.
“A hotel,” Huo Xian answered before Liu Xuxue’s thoughts strayed.
Liu Xuxue: “A hotel?”
Huo Xian nodded, “I booked a long-term suite at a hotel.”
Liu Xuxue frowned slightly, “Why would you stay in a hotel?”
Huo Xian smiled, “I find hotels convenient, whether it’s for entering and exiting or for meals.”
“As far as I know, Mr. Huo is now worth over a hundred billion. Buying a house in City A would be simple,” Liu Xuxue said slowly.
Huo Xian shrugged, frankly saying, “My brother and sister took my father abroad for treatment. Those relatives and friends also distanced themselves from us when the Huo family fell. With fewer people visiting, it makes no difference where I live.”
Liu Xuxue tilted her head, “Is that how Mr. Huo thinks?”
“What else?” Huo Xian said casually.
The atmosphere in the room fell into a brief silence. Just as Huo Xian was considering asking her to leave, Liu Xuxue broke the silence, “I’m curious about something.”
Huo Xian cooperatively asked, “What is it?”
Liu Xuxue leaned forward slightly, resting her elbow on her leg, her fingers supporting her chin. This gesture was elegant and had an indescribable flirtatiousness. She breathed softly, her voice smiling, “When your second uncle tried to plot against me, did you really consider his proposal?”
Huo Xian: ???
Liu Xuxue tapped her lip with her slender white finger, smiling sweetly, “When Mr. Huo gave me the recording pen, you said it yourself. Can I understand that Mr. Huo might have some feelings for me?”
Huo Xian: …
Your thinking is wrong, girl!
“Miss Liu, at the door of room 1608, it was the first time I saw you.” So don’t overthink it. There’s no way I have feelings for you, and I don’t have any now!
Liu Xuxue didn’t know if she understood his meaning. Her smile deepened, her light pink lips moving slightly, “Mr. Huo doesn’t have a girlfriend now, does he? I quite like your type. Want to give it a try?”
Huo Xian: …
[Oh my, the host’s charm is boundless.] The system’s mechanical voice sounded a little lecherous.
Huo Xian was speechless. Where’s the gentle and shy female lead?
Well, actually, on the day of the welcome banquet, after Liu Chengxiang and Liu Xuxue drove Liu Chengpei away, and Liu Xuxue calmly talked with her father, he knew that this girl wasn’t a true innocent. Her appearance might deceive people, but her eyes wouldn’t.
But this wasn’t the point; the point was that whether Liu Xuxue’s words were a joke or serious, it wasn’t good news for Huo Xian.
Liu Xuxue calmly looked at him, seemingly waiting for his answer.
How could Huo Xian answer? He had to refuse.
Before he could refuse, the doorbell rang, so he temporarily suppressed his refusal and opened the door.
Anna was standing outside.
Huo Xian: …
System: [Host, she’s your destined wife. Everything is predetermined.]
“Mr. Huo…” Seeing Huo Xian, Anna’s usually high and mighty queen-like demeanor instantly returned to earth. She took a step forward, ready to throw herself into the man’s embrace.
But!
Anna just started to move when she saw a beautiful woman with a gentle temperament emerge from behind Huo Xian, her smile instantly stiffening.
System: [Isn’t this the legendary love triangle?]
Huo Xian: […] [Shut up.]
Author’s note: Huo Xian: Want to be my wife? No way!