World 1: Sinister Retired Third-Generation X Original Heroine’s Colleague, the Pitiful Girl 15

Huo Hanting returned home.

The coat rack at the entrance, where his cashmere coat was usually hung, was completely empty.

A wave of foreboding swept over him.

Huo Hanting’s hands clenched tightly, and he quickened his pace, searching the villa for the familiar figure.

Had Ayu found out his true nature?

Did she now despise and detest him?

Had she discovered the dark thoughts he harbored toward her?

“Ayu…”

His voice grew louder and louder, footsteps increasingly frantic.

He began by gently opening each door, but soon resorted to violently kicking in locked ones, not missing a single corner.

From afar, there was a faint click.

Huo Hanting didn’t even bother watching where he was going—he sprinted straight toward the sound.

His knee slammed hard into the edge of a table, instantly drawing blood.

Even so, he ignored the pain and stubbornly continued moving toward the source.

The light in the storage room suddenly flicked on—

“Happy birthday, hubby!”

“Happy birthday, big bro!”

Fu Yu and Huo Tailin stepped out, holding a cake.

Today was Huo Hanting’s birthday.

Fu Yu had originally wanted to bake the cake herself, but she lacked any culinary talent.

In the end, she had to order one from a bakery.

She now stood holding the cake, bathed in a warm halo of light, so radiant it didn’t feel real.

Huo Hanting froze in place. As he pushed open the door, the soft candlelight spilled gently over his face.

From childhood to adulthood, he had never celebrated a birthday.

Back when his parents were still in love, he had been little more than an accident—no one paid him any attention.

After his father cheated, his mother retreated into herself, drowning in self-pity.

She never once considered that little Huo Hanting might also need love and care.

“Ayu… you prepared this for me?”

Huo Hanting pulled Fu Yu into a tight hug.

He didn’t need a birthday cake, or expensive gifts.

He just needed Fu Yu to stay by his side forever—never leave him.

Fu Yu hugged him back, but as soon as her fingers touched his back, she felt him trembling faintly.

His shirt was soaked through. Cold sweat poured from his body uncontrollably.

“Are you… are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

Huo Hanting took a deep breath. “I’m going to go change my clothes. I’ll be right back.”

He was doing everything he could to maintain the image of a normal person.

He knew: if he wanted to stay with Fu Yu for a long, long time, he had to pretend to be normal.

He couldn’t let her see the terrifying, twisted thoughts inside him—like locking her up, keeping her like a pet.

He absolutely could not let Fu Yu find out.

Otherwise, she would surely leave him, taking the child with her.

After changing into fresh clothes, Huo Hanting spent his first birthday ever with Fu Yu.

Of course, Huo Tailin was there too—but Huo Hanting deliberately ignored his younger sister.

He finished the entire cake by himself, refusing to leave Huo Tailin a single bite.

“This is my birthday cake. I’ll buy you one when your birthday comes.”

“Brother, you’re too much! You’re so possessive you won’t even give me a slice?”

Out of the mouths of babes.

Huo Tailin wasn’t wrong.

When it came to anything related to Fu Yu, Huo Hanting didn’t want to share at all.

Even if he didn’t like sweets. Even if he hated birthdays. Even if he wanted to strangle anyone who dared to look at Fu Yu…

As long as it was something Fu Yu didn’t like, something she didn’t want—he would respect her wishes.

He’d live like a normal person.

Huo Hanting didn’t think there was anything wrong with a normal life—except for work.

He was a workaholic. But what surprised him was that his wife worked even harder than he did.

Even the brutal 996 work schedule (9am–9pm, 6 days a week) wasn’t enough to satisfy her.

Fortunately, Fu Yu’s lab and office were on the top floor. As the saying goes, “proximity breeds advantage”—Huo Hanting could stick to her side at all times.

Her research work didn’t require much interaction with others. Most of the time, she was tweaking and debugging core algorithms on her computer.

There weren’t many people in her lab either. But recently, a newly hired male assistant had caught Huo Hanting’s attention.

He was a freshly returned algorithm engineer from overseas.

For some reason, he had willingly taken a pay cut to work in Fu Yu’s lab.

“Professor Fu, could you take a look? I think there might be a bug in my code here.”

The male assistant moved his laptop in front of Fu Yu.

She pushed up her glasses and glanced at him.

He was wearing a black fitted shirt that showed off a lean, muscular physique.

Fu Yu calmly looked away.

“There’s likely a more efficient way to compile this.”

She began typing skillfully on the keyboard.

The assistant stared at her fingers as she typed, eyes darkening.

Huo Hanting could feel it—this little brat was coveting his woman.

It was a man’s sixth sense.

“Ayu, you should rest a bit. I’ll go with you to today’s prenatal checkup.”

Huo Hanting stepped between the two, using his body to block the assistant, and casually placed a hand on Fu Yu’s shoulder—a silent declaration of dominance.

The assistant gave a smarmy green-tea smile. “Professor Fu, sorry, I didn’t realize you were going with your husband. I thought you were going alone, and was going to offer to give you a ride…”

“My wife’s prenatal checkup isn’t something you need to offer a ride for.”

Huo Hanting grabbed the assistant by the collar, voice low and threatening. “You’d better watch yourself. You’re working at Huo Corp now—remember your place.”

“I am working at Huo Corp…”

The assistant shrugged nonchalantly, and added under his breath, just loud enough for the two of them to hear:

“But I can leave anytime. And maybe… take Professor Fu with me.”

“You? Take her?”

“I can help her achieve her life’s ambitions better than you can. Do you even know what she truly wants? She’s not the kind of woman who’ll be content with housework and family gossip. And…” the assistant gave a sly wink, “I can accompany her for much longer, too.”

With that, he packed up his laptop. “Professor Fu, I won’t bother you anymore.”

“Wait,” Fu Yu called out.

She pulled a letter from the drawer and handed it to him.

“What’s this?”

“A recommendation letter. I may not be very famous in the industry, but Huo Corp’s name will get you a job at any domestic algorithm firm, with a salary ten times higher.”

“Professor Fu, what do you mean by this?”

The assistant stood there awkwardly, humiliated.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Fu Yu said calmly, “but my heart belongs to my husband. I’ll never fall for another man.”

The assistant’s expression darkened and he turned to leave.

But Huo Hanting blocked his way, shoving the letter into his chest with a raised eyebrow.

“Don’t waste my wife’s kindness.”

Then he leaned in, voice ice-cold. “Looks like you can’t take her away. She’s mine.”

Fu Yu had given Huo Hanting enough security—but he still felt threatened.

So he became obsessed with working out. Outside of work and accompanying Fu Yu, he spent all his time at the gym.

A six-pack wasn’t enough.

He had to stay in perfect shape to keep Fu Yu’s heart—and her body.

Still not enough.

While working out, he saw a guy lifting weights in the next room—who had a tattoo just below his abs.

Suddenly, Huo Hanting had… an idea.