Chapter 14

Fang Shimian lifted his head, the tear stains on his cheeks not yet dry. He saw Huo Jun’s face, which seemed to be smiling yet not. The Huo family actually lived in Building Six.

“What a pitiful look,” Huo Jun stared at Fang Shimian, his dark eyes harboring unspeakable desires. He flashed a gentlemanly and elegant smile, “We meet again, Mr. Fang.”

At least it was someone he knew, Fang Shimian breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Originally, he didn’t think the corridor was very dark, but the light inside the room was so bright that it made the deep, bottomless corridors on both sides seem as gloomy as an abyss. Fang Shimian couldn’t resist his instinct to avoid danger, carefully sidestepping the patterns on the carpet as he followed Huo Jun inside.

The room was large, with a reception area right at the entrance. Further inside, black curtains covered something, possibly stairs leading down, though their purpose was unknown.

In the reception room, Huo Zhongshan sat calmly on a single sofa in the main seat, holding a document he was flipping through. There was still a small amount of hot tea left on the table beside him.

Seeing Fang Shimian enter, he closed the document and placed it on the small table by his side. As he lifted his eyes, his gaze fell on Fang Shimian’s face, his expression slightly darkening. He turned his head to look at Huo Jun with a somewhat stern gaze, “Huo Jun.”

Before Huo Jun could speak, Fang Shimian reacted, wiping his face hard a few times, and hurriedly replied, “It’s not him.”

However, Huo Zhongshan didn’t look at Fang Shimian, his expression cold and his brows slightly furrowed, exuding a lazy, unconscious sense of oppression.

Clearly, Fang Shimian realized that his explanation was useless and even counterproductive. He clutched the hem of his clothes, looking a bit apologetically at Huo Jun.

Although Fang Shimian didn’t have a good impression of Huo Jun, even harboring a bit of rejection he hadn’t realized himself, it didn’t mean he could remain indifferent seeing Huo Jun being scolded because of his problem.

Huo Jun, however, turned his head to glance at Fang Shimian, his smile becoming a bit more genuine. He leisurely advised, “When Mr. Huo asks questions, little ones shouldn’t interrupt.”

After saying that, he straightened his back towards Huo Zhongshan, exuding a powerful aura, “It wasn’t me. He was already in this pitiful state when he came in. If you’re angry, take it out on your wooden bodyguards, don’t scare the little rabbit in the room.”

Hearing this, Huo Zhongshan calmly took a sip of tea and said, “Oh? Is that so.”

Huo Jun understood his second brother’s meaning, leaning back on the sofa with a cold snort, “Everything should be consensual. I don’t do forced buying and selling.”

Fang Shimian was confused, but seeing the atmosphere in the room relax, he gathered the courage to ask, “Hello, I’ve already given the USB to the person in black downstairs. Can I leave now?”

“Why were you crying?” Huo Zhongshan put down his teacup, this time directing the question at Fang Shimian.

Fang Shimian was a bit nervous, instinctively straightening his back as if answering a teacher’s question in class, “I haven’t been here before. I thought I saw a ghost downstairs. I… I cry when I’m excited, no other reason.”

Huo Jun was almost amused to death by Fang Shimian. He originally thought the bodyguards downstairs were rough, but the reason turned out to be so funny.

Fang Shimian didn’t think much of it at first, but Huo Jun’s loud laughter made him a bit embarrassed. His back couldn’t stay straight, slowly bending down, his head drooping, looking dejected.

Huo Zhongshan was actually momentarily stunned too, but when he reacted, there was a hint of a smile in his eyes, though he quickly hid it, “There really aren’t many people here, it’s normal to be scared.”

Huo Jun raised an eyebrow at Huo Zhongshan, snorted, and didn’t say anything more, just looked at Fang Shimian and said, “No need to cover for those wooden bodyguards of his. I called them to bring you up, probably dragged you up, right?”

Fang Shimian glared at Huo Jun, realizing he was the culprit. The icy tone, as if to kill, in such a dark place, almost scared him to death.

While cursing in his heart, a contract suddenly appeared on the table in front of him. Before he could see it clearly, Huo Jun suddenly leaned over, dissatisfied, and covered the contract with his hand, frowning at Huo Zhongshan, “What’s the rush? Let me tease him a bit more.”

Huo Zhongshan calmly glanced at him.

Fang Shimian turned his head to look at Huo Jun, completely confused. Tease who? Wasn’t he here to hand over the surveillance?

Huo Jun looked a bit annoyed but held it in, sitting back in his seat.

“Confidentiality agreement,” Huo Zhongshan said in a very calm tone, casually placing a pen in front of Fang Shimian.

Confidentiality?

What did he have to keep confidential?

“This morning at Haishi Wetland Park,” Huo Zhongshan spoke as if discussing dinner plans.

Wetland Park.

Fang Shimian’s mind buzzed, like a time bomb in his brain suddenly exploded. The sounds and scenes he intended to bury deep in his memory all surged out. His mind went blank for a moment, then his face turned visibly red with embarrassment.

Fang Shimian, filled with horror, felt like his worldview was shattered, re-evaluating the beast disguised as a human in front of him, choking out, “That person… was it you?”

Huo Zhongshan’s expression paused slightly, glancing expressionlessly at Huo Jun sitting beside Fang Shimian, then leaned back, clearly not wanting to say more.

Fang Shimian had a sudden realization, immediately turning to Huo Jun, gritting his teeth, “It was… it was you!”

Huo Jun seemed to have anticipated Fang Shimian’s reaction, so he simply admitted it, nodding nonchalantly, “Yeah, it was me.”

All that talk about consensual games, personal preferences being innate, Huo Jun looked at Fang Shimian’s angry expression and didn’t bother to explain, impatiently waving his hand, “Sign it, leave a bank account number, and you can go.”

Fang Shimian glared at him with red eyes.

“Why did you call me a stray dog?”

Fang Shimian was actually a bit upset inside. It wasn’t like he wanted to eavesdrop. He clearly ran away and didn’t intentionally disturb anyone or make a scene, yet he was still called a stray dog before leaving.

A stray dog is a dog without a home.

To Fang Shimian, that was truly a hurtful term.

Huo Jun was slightly stunned, slowly sitting up from the sofa, staring at Fang Shimian, unsure, “You’re mad about that?”

Fang Shimian nodded seriously, his eyes starting to well up again, feeling a bit pathetic. He had planned to forget it…

Was he being too petty?

“I thought you couldn’t hear it. Sorry, in that situation, I needed to provide… some comfort, it was just a slip of the tongue, not an insult.”

The way he said it didn’t sound like nonsense. Fang Shimian rarely experienced someone apologizing and explaining to him.

Round, plump little teardrops fell onto his pants. Fang Shimian wiped them away, pretending to be stern for a moment, looking around, and mumbled, “Fine, I forgive you.”

Huo Jun’s Adam’s apple bobbed, and after ruffling his hair, he stopped staring at Fang Shimian, turning his head to loosen his tie a bit.

Fang Shimian took the document, skimmed through it, and flipped to the last page, signing his name before handing it to Huo Zhongshan.

“Signing without reading,” Huo Zhongshan paused slightly, his tone softening, “It’s a bad habit.”

Fang Shimian murmured an “oh,” rubbed his sore eyes, and stood up, “I’m leaving.”

Huo Jun asked, “Bank account number.”

Fang Shimian pretended not to hear, but still made a request, “Can I leave through the side door of Building Six? I want to buy something before going back to the surveillance room.”

Huo Jun stood up, picking up his clothes from the sofa armrest, “What do you want to buy? I’ll take you.”

There wasn’t really anything he wanted to buy, he just didn’t want to run two kilometers through the dark, deserted woods with his sore legs. Fang Shimian maintained his cool expression.

“I’ll have someone take him back,” Huo Zhongshan put away the document, placing it on the round table beside him, tapping the table lightly with his fingers, and said to Huo Jun, “You wait here.”

Huo Jun averted his eyes, sitting back down.

Huo Zhongshan got up and led Fang Shimian out.

Fang Shimian obediently followed behind Huo Zhongshan, noticing that this floor was surprisingly empty, not even the attendant who was guarding the elevator earlier was there.

The pattern he saw at the door earlier was part of a set, translated by later scholars as a sacrificial offering. He wondered if there were other strange patterns on these soft carpets.

As a result, he wasn’t paying attention and bumped into Huo Zhongshan’s back.

“Sorry, Mr. Huo!” Fang Shimian quickly stepped back two steps, feeling like the sky was falling, thinking today was just a string of bad luck, like he was under some curse.

Huo Zhongshan looked down at him, saying calmly, “No need to be afraid of me.”

Fang Shimian lowered his head, nodding like a pecking chicken to show he heard.

“What is your relationship with Zhu Ze now?”

Fang Shimian suddenly looked up, meeting the man’s dark eyes, which held no emotion, as if it was a normal inquiry.

“Brother Zhu… is just a brother, someone I’ve known for a long time.”

In fact, Fang Shimian didn’t know how to describe his relationship with Zhu Ze. They weren’t exactly close brothers or friends. After Zhu Ze moved away in high school, they mostly chatted on WeChat, with occasional video calls being rare. Even now, after reuniting, Zhu Ze took Fang Shimian out twice, but whether due to work or other reasons, they returned to their previous WeChat chatting routine.

In short, they weren’t very close, but Zhu Ze was within Fang Shimian’s familiar social circle.

With that, Huo Zhongshan didn’t ask further. When the elevator opened, the bodyguard inside had been waiting for a while, but he didn’t immediately take Fang Shimian away. Instead, he reported to Huo Zhongshan, “There’s a Mr. Xu outside looking for Mr. Fang.”

Huo Zhongshan nodded slightly, looking at Fang Shimian, “Do you still need someone to escort you?”

Fang Shimian quickly shook his head, “No, no need.”

As the elevator doors closed, the bodyguard was silent for a moment before saying, “Mr. Fang, I apologize for my rudeness outside earlier. I’m sorry.”

This was the second apology Fang Shimian received today, and he found it a bit miraculous, as he was usually the one constantly making mistakes and apologizing.

Since it was dark at the time and he was crying miserably, Fang Shimian didn’t remember which bodyguard it was, but he still answered seriously, “It’s okay, it’s nothing. I was just a bit scared by that road.”

The elevator doors opened, and the bodyguard quietly returned Fang Shimian’s phone, leading him outside.

Xu Long was blocked by two black-clad bodyguards. He was big and cursed fiercely. Although the bodyguards didn’t make a move, the atmosphere was still tense.

“Brother Long!” Fang Shimian shouted loudly, quickly running out to pull Xu Long away. The bodyguards blocking them then retreated into the darkness.

“Why did it take so long? Didn’t you say you’d be back after handing it over outside?”

“That road is too scary to walk alone. I just went inside to use the bathroom.”

“Not answering calls or messages, you little rascal.”

“I like to keep it on silent, you know that.”

“…”

Meanwhile, back with Huo Jun, he felt something was off being left alone in the room. Initially, he thought he had angered the king of hell again, but then he realized that having someone escort Fang Shimian was just a matter of a word from Huo Zhongshan. Why did he have to go out and say it himself?

He was just about to go out and check.

Annoying, the king of hell was back.