Chapter 10

“No fire.”

The tall, handsome man had a calm face, his features cold and stern, but there was an almost imperceptible hint of helplessness in his voice.

Huo Zhongshan placed Fang Shimian onto the rattan chair on the terrace, then stood nearby and lit a cigarette. He watched him quietly from a short distance, the smoke obscuring the emotions in his eyes, making it hard to discern his mood. The warm light on the terrace softened the coldness between his deep-set brows, adding a touch of tenderness, making him seem more human than usual.

The young man on the rattan chair had a face still full of youthful innocence, flushed with the redness of drunkenness. His eyes were watery, and his nose was also red, with his brows lowered, looking extremely pitiful.

Fang Shimian, with his head muddled from drinking, sat for a while before standing up, pointing at the rattan chair, facing Huo Zhongshan with a somewhat aggrieved expression, his eyes even a bit watery, “It’s so hot.”

Huo Zhongshan paused with the cigarette in his hand, then slightly bent down, extinguishing the cigarette in the ashtray on the table. He sat on the rattan chair opposite Fang Shimian, calmly gazing at the clueless guy across from him, and said in a calm voice, “It can get hotter.”

The bodyguard in black took the black coat handed over by the waiter and had just taken a step towards Fang Shimian when Fang Shimian stumbled and threw himself onto him, speaking in a hurried and slurred voice, “I need to pee again, find a bathroom, not the conference room.”

In the quiet of the terrace tonight, the drunken man’s small voice was actually quite loud.

The bodyguard remained calm in the face of the incoming smell of alcohol. He first pushed Fang Shimian away a bit, then held onto his clothes to ensure he wouldn’t fall straight down, and said to his employer, “Mr. Fang needs to take care of a physiological need.”

Huo Zhongshan was silent for two seconds, then gently raised his hand. Two bodyguards supported Fang Shimian into the bathroom, one on each side.

When Fang Shimian came out again, he was wearing the black coat the bodyguard had held earlier, and the jacket from Zhu Ze was nowhere to be seen.

At this moment, Fang Shimian’s face still had water droplets on it, and he walked without needing the bodyguard’s support, looking a bit more sober.

He was brought in front of Huo Zhongshan by the bodyguard, staring at him blankly for a while, as if trying to recognize him, and asked slowly, “Hello, where is my home?”

Fang Shimian’s face was slightly flushed, his eyes wet as he looked at Huo Zhongshan, appearing innocent and pitiful.

It made people want to… bully him a little.

Huo Zhongshan raised his hand to check the time. The untouched hot tea on the table had long since cooled in the cold wind. He tidied up his clothes, stood up, and walked slowly to Fang Shimian.

His well-defined hand gently pinched Fang Shimian’s chin, lifting his face without much force.

His fingertips were stained with a touch of moisture, as water droplets from the boy’s beautiful forehead fell onto the man’s rough fingertips. The thick calluses from gun practice blocked the sensation of this warm drop, yet it inadvertently stirred something in the sober man’s heart.

Very lightly, like fine rain falling into a mountain stream.

The tall man said nothing, merely staring expressionlessly, his presence as oppressive as the unknown depths of the ocean, his mood unreadable, instilling fear.

Even the dull and numb drunk subconsciously sensed unease, clumsily trying to pry Huo Zhongshan’s hand away, but after sensing the unexpressed displeasure, like an animal showing its belly in submission, he rubbed his hot cheek against Huo Zhongshan’s palm.

Huo Zhongshan’s expression shifted slightly, his deep eyes maintaining a surface calm.

Like a captured prey pleading for mercy, or a guilty cub seeking forgiveness.

That fleeting soft touch lingered in his mind.

The next second, Fang Shimian released Huo Zhongshan’s hand, turning to reach for the cold tea on the table, but the bodyguard quickly moved it away.

The drunk seemed a bit unhappy.

Huo Zhongshan stood silently for a few seconds, someone handed him a wet wipe.

The man’s eyes lowered slightly, and after slowly wiping his hands, he turned and left with his entourage.

The wind howled, blowing a few sycamore leaves from the trees beside the club onto the terrace, and the candlelight in the decorative wall lamps in the corridor flickered.

The smell of smoke and alcohol in the private room was even stronger.

Zhu Ze had been caught off guard and forced to drink a few glasses of strong liquor. His alcohol tolerance wasn’t great, and even though he had trained himself to handle it better, it hadn’t helped much. However, he always carried hangover medicine with him, so he was feeling much better now.

He checked the time, and it was about right. When he went to the corner where Fang Shimian was sleeping to wake him, he was shocked to find it empty. He reached out to touch the sofa, and it was completely cold.

Zhu Ze’s heart tightened, and the last bit of drunkenness vanished. He didn’t care about the people in the room who were drunk and sprawled out, quickly leaving the private room, only to see the Huo family’s bodyguards waiting outside.

The coat he had draped over Fang Shimian was returned to him untouched, and before he could ask, the bodyguard spoke first, “Mr. Zhu, Mr. Fang has been taken upstairs to rest. The club has arranged for someone to ensure the client’s safety, so you don’t need to worry.”

“Also, Mr. Huo asked us to pass on a message.” The bodyguard’s face was expressionless.

“If you can’t even ensure basic safety, don’t show off.”

Zhu Ze clenched his hands tightly, feeling as if he had been slapped in the face, utterly humiliated.

But after the bodyguards finished speaking, they didn’t leave. It wasn’t until Zhu Ze forced a smile, “Please tell Mr. Huo. Mr. Zhu understands, and is truly… grateful for Mr. Huo’s care for his subordinates.”

“Alright, we will definitely pass it on.” The bodyguards all left, leaving Zhu Ze to vent his anger in the empty corridor.

He wasn’t worried that Huo Zhongshan would have any designs on Fang Shimian, nor was he worried about safety issues. This private club was famous for its tight security. He just couldn’t accept that his dark thoughts had been exposed in such a humiliating way.

Just then, a call came in. Zhu Ze’s heart warmed, and he answered in a hurry without even checking the name, only to hear a voice he extremely disliked.

“Cousin, was the order to fire me really given by Mr. Huo… My mom doesn’t believe it and insisted I come to ask.”

Zhu Ze leaned against the wall of the club’s corridor, listening to He Yao’s incoherent words, and even felt a bit of hatred in his heart, hating these useless, bloodsucking relatives, hating himself for not being born into a truly wealthy family with everything at his fingertips.

“Mr. Huo doesn’t want to see you anymore. I’m just following my superior’s orders. Any questions?” Zhu Ze stared blankly at the flickering candlelight in the wall lamp.

He Yao seemed surprised that Huo Zhongshan would be so harsh on him. He had thought it was just Zhu Ze feeling embarrassed and giving him a lesson.

His voice was a bit anxious, “It’s just a Mercedes. Huo Zhongshan left it in the Yunjin basement to gather dust for so long. He wouldn’t care about it. He even let me stay in the Yunjin apartment. It can’t be because I smashed the car.”

Zhu Ze was unusually calm at this moment, asking coldly, “He Yao, do you think Huo Zhongshan is interested in you? Did he tell you that?”

There was the sound of things being smashed on He Yao’s end, “He even let me stay in Yunjin. The secretary said that Huo Zhongshan never takes outsiders to his private areas!”

“Building Six of Yunjin No. 1 has only six floors, and the whole building is his. The first and second floors are for guests, so it’s not unusual to let outsiders stay there.”

“Besides,” Zhu Ze took a breath, “you pretended to be drunk and forced your way in. Huo Zhongshan wasn’t even in Yunjin that day. You were entertained by Yunjin’s butler. Not kicking you out was their courtesy, not a signal of interest.”

The sound of more intense smashing came from He Yao’s end, and suddenly a hoarse, tearful female voice came through the phone.

“Zhu Ze, please help your brother. If that big shot doesn’t like him, fine, but let him return to work at Hengshi. Aunt knows you recently brought another kid to the company, saying he’s your brother, but you must know, Yao’er is your real brother by blood. If you ever get into trouble, you’ll have to rely on him to help you.”

Zhu Ze didn’t need to think to know who had told her about Fang Shimian. He sneered, “I don’t expect He Yao to help me out. Just don’t harm me.”

The person on the phone seemed surprised that the usually agreeable Zhu Ze was suddenly so ruthless, and a wailing cry erupted.

Normally, Zhu Ze would have hung up by now, but he didn’t want to hang up this time. His anger hadn’t dissipated, and he needed a harmless outlet.

The screams and cries of the hated target were more interesting than any boring music.

“Cousin, then tell me, did Huo Zhongshan see the video from the underground garage?” He Yao’s voice was much weaker this time.

Zhu Ze answered truthfully, “He doesn’t need to handle these things personally. That car isn’t important to him. It just gave him a reason to deal with you.”

Huo Zhongshan was displeased with him for allowing He Yao to have designs on him, and sending him to handle this matter was a warning to him and the Zhu family.

Unfortunately, only he in the family sensed the distancing signal from the new head of the Huo family, while the others remained lost in their dreams, unwilling to wake up.

“Then all those years we grew up together, was it all fake?” He Yao had enough of his tantrum and scolded his crying mother.

Zhu Ze almost laughed out loud, “You talk about feelings?”

“He Yao, have you lied so much outside that you’ve started believing your own lies? You only met him three times as a kid, spoke to him once, and haven’t seen him much since joining the group, right? He didn’t pursue your rumors out of respect for the Zhu family. Who do you think you are?”

“Oh, he probably remembers you now. You’ve got guts, daring to have someone smash his car! My dad’s goodwill has been used up by you, you bastard!” Zhu Ze couldn’t help but shout, then laughed twice, “Talking about feelings with that cold-blooded animal, are you brainless, He Yao?”

“Don’t come looking for me again. Just because your parents spoil you doesn’t mean I will.”

Zhu Ze hung up the phone and called Fang Shimian, unsurprisingly getting no answer.

He straightened his clothes, called for the service staff, and had the young masters sent back to their respective drivers.

In the latter half of the night, a light rain fell in Haishi, and by the next morning, the rain had intensified, the temperature dropping further. The early morning workers were listless, their spirits dampened by the weather.

A thin layer of mist clung to the hotel’s floor-to-ceiling windows, keeping the cold air outside. The thick curtains blocked out the already gloomy sky, letting no light in.

When Fang Shimian woke up, he was first hit by a headache from the hangover. He clutched his head in the soft bed for a while, successfully lulling himself back to sleep.

After another hour of deep sleep, Fang Shimian’s hangover had eased considerably. He crawled out of the warm, comfortable bed, the carpet soft beneath his feet.

Fang Shimian first took a shower, and after washing, he crawled back into bed to ponder why he was here.

The first thing that came to mind was that Grandma Zhao’s food hadn’t been picked up yet. Although the temperature had been low recently, he wondered if it had spoiled.

Then he began to recall yesterday.

Unfortunately, Fang Shimian had a bit of a blackout. His memory stopped at the point where he crawled out of the private room.

But it wasn’t hard to imagine what happened next. Zhu Ze saw him drunk as a puddle of mud, couldn’t get his secret rental address out of him, and so placed him in a hotel.

Fang Shimian reached out to grab the phone on the bedside table. As he made this move, he felt a slight, not very noticeable pain in his buttocks.

Did Zhu Ze drop him last night because he couldn’t hold him? But a fall shouldn’t hurt that much.

Fang Shimian didn’t think much of it, just puzzled by the missed calls from Zhu Ze last night and this morning.

He called back, and Zhu Ze answered almost immediately.

“Sorry, Brother Zhu, I got drunk yesterday and caused you trouble again,” Fang Shimian said, though he didn’t feel he was entirely at fault for this incident.

Zhu Ze took him to drink with those people. Didn’t he expect him to get drunk? Okay, he did have a bit of a tendency to go with the flow and use alcohol as an escape.

“It was my fault. It won’t happen again,” Zhu Ze’s voice was a bit slow, “Xiao Mian, don’t you remember what happened after you got drunk yesterday?”

“I drank too much, can’t remember clearly,” Fang Shimian answered honestly, looking at the clean clothes and pajamas beside him, sincerely grateful, “Thank you, Brother Zhu, for sending me to the hotel and taking care of me.”

There was another few seconds of pause on Zhu Ze’s end.

“It’s nothing… It’s what a brother should do.”