Chapter 14 : First Time

Song Ying helped Faer wipe away her tears and said, “You silly girl, hitting random people is useless. If you’re going to hit someone, at least hit the right ones.”

Faer asked, “Who should I hit then?”

Song Ying just smiled and said nothing.

Just then, Xiaomi rushed in, panting. “Miss! Something’s wrong…. General Huo, he, he…”

Before he could finish, Song Ying quickly walked to the main entrance. One look, and she drew in a sharp breath.

At the foot of the steps, five or six men and women were kneeling. Their faces were swollen and bruised, black eyes, bleeding mouths, beaten until they looked like pig heads.

Song Ying glanced at the onlookers, then turned to Huo Zhen and asked, “General Huo, what are you doing?”

Huo Zhen pointed at the group below and said, “Aying, don’t worry. I already gave these gossipmongers a lesson on your behalf.”

As soon as the people on the ground saw Song Ying come out, they began to panic and kowtowed furiously.

“Miss Song, please spare us. This really had nothing to do with us.”

“We were just repeating what we heard from others… it didn’t start with us…”

“The rumor didn’t come from us, Miss Song. You can’t just beat us like this!”

“Exactly, exactly! I just sipped some tea and repeated what others were saying, and then General Huo beat me up, this is so unfair…”

Their cries sparked a flurry of whispers among the crowd.

“Hey, who’s this General Huo? Why’s he so worked up over the former princess?”

“Heh, any man who defends a woman this fiercely, what do you think it means?”

“Tsk tsk, just got divorced by the Regent, and already moving on to the next man?”

“Why else would she be kicked out of the Marquis’ Mansion?”

“This is getting interesting. Think maybe the Regent found something out and divorced her because of it?”

“Huh? I heard it was a mutual divorce. Are we even talking about the same person?”

The more people gossiped, the more outrageous their claims became. They painted Song Ying as a shameless woman who’d been cast out by her family and abandoned by her own for having an affair.

Seeing Song Ying’s expression grow darker, Huo Zhen roared, “Shut up! You—” But before he could finish, Song Ying turned around and slammed the door shut behind her.

Huo Zhen knew, she was furious. Really furious.

Ignoring the gossipers, he ordered Yang Hu to detain the kneeling people. Then he rushed back to his own courtyard, skillfully climbed over the wall again.

He landed cleanly, this time avoiding the Ji Yuefang flowerbed entirely.

Looking into the house and seeing no sign of Song Ying, he followed the path to the central hall. Sure enough, she was there, with Faer and Xiaomi accompanying her.

Faer spotted him first and said in surprise, “Miss, General Huo’s climbed over the wall again.”

Song Ying picked up the teacup at hand and flung it straight at Huo Zhen.

The cup landed near his feet and shattered on the ground.

Faer and Xiaomi were both stunned.

They had never seen Song Ying this angry. Not even when Yue Shaozhi had secretly had an affair with Song Ruoer had she lost her temper like this.

Faer shot Huo Zhen a look that said you’re dead meat, then she and Xiaomi quietly took two steps back in unison, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire if Song Ying exploded.

Huo Zhen, sensing how serious it was, didn’t dare enter. He stood just outside and tried to explain, “It’s my fault. I just wanted to help you vent your anger, shut them up, and make them apologize to you, clear your name. But I really didn’t expect them to be so vile…”

He glanced at her face, she had turned to the side, clearly not even wanting to look at him.

Huo Zhen sighed and went on, “If you’re angry, you can scold me or hit me. Just… don’t ignore me like this, alright?”

Still, Song Ying said nothing. Growing anxious, Huo Zhen stepped forward and offered up his face. “Go ahead, hit me. Hit me until your anger’s gone.”

Song Ying stared coldly at his rough, stubbled face, then looked away in disgust. “Why would I hit you? We have nothing to do with each other.”

Huo Zhen hated hearing her say things like that the most. Every time, it felt like she was pushing him away and he didn’t like that feeling at all.

“Then what do you want me to do to make you calm down?”

Song Ying pointed toward the front gate and said coldly, “Leave.”

Faer waved her hand at Huo Zhen, meaning stop talking, just listen and go. But Huo Zhen misunderstood and thought Faer was telling him not to stir things up anymore and to endure it quietly.

So, Huo Zhen sat right down on the floor and said stubbornly, “I’m not leaving. I’ll stay here. Do whatever you want to me, I won’t complain.”

Faer was stunned into silence for the first time.

As expected, Song Ying’s patience had completely run out. She didn’t even glance at Huo Zhen sitting there on the floor. She stood up and walked away. “Then sit there all you want.”

Faer followed her silently, not daring to say a word.

Back in her room, Song Ying was feeling irritated, so Faer attended to her personally, doing everything she asked until she eventually fell asleep. Only then did Faer and Xiaomi go back to the hall and found Huo Zhen still there.

He was dozing off, one hand resting on his knee. When he heard footsteps, he snapped awake.

“Did Miss Song send you to get me?”

Faer shook his head. “General Huo, why don’t you just go back? If anyone sees you spending the night in our home like this, the gossip will never end.”

Huo Zhen let out a heavy sigh. “I really didn’t expect things to turn out this way. What do I need to do for Aying to calm down?”

Faer and Xiaomi looked at each other. Xiaomi spoke up, “General, you meant well today, but it backfired. Why don’t you head home first? Maybe after a night’s rest, Miss Song will be less angry.”

Faer added innocently, “Honestly, I wanted to beat those people up myself, but Miss wouldn’t let me. So when you did it, I was actually really happy, seeing those people beaten until their own parents wouldn’t recognize them.”

Huo Zhen only heard the praise and couldn’t help boasting, “Heh! If anyone dares bully your young lady again, just call me. I’ll take care of them for her.”

Xiaomi shook her head, helpless. “General Huo, you’re something else. You’re the first person who’s ever made Miss lose her temper like this.”

Huo Zhen blinked. “Me? The first?”

Faer nodded eagerly. “Yes, yes! I’ve been with Miss since childhood, and I’ve never seen her like this.”

Huo Zhen’s stunned expression slowly turned into a grin. Then the corners of his mouth lifted higher and higher until he burst out laughing and walked away laughing.

The first!

He was the first person Song Ying had ever lost her temper with!

Number one!!!

“Ahahahahaha—!”

Faer and Xiaomi looked at each other, completely confused as they watched Huo Zhen leave with a huge smile on his face.

Faer. “What’s wrong with General Huo? Why is he so happy?”

Xiaomi replied meaningfully, “A man who hates the idea of marriage…”

Meanwhile, Huo Zhen happily climbed over the wall of Song Ying’s front yard and returned to his own home.

Yang Hu and Mo Qi were waiting for him.

“Brother, how’d it go? Did you manage to coax Miss Song?”

But the moment Huo Zhen saw them, he opened his arms wide and pulled the two of them into a big bear hug, exclaiming excitedly, “Her first time! I’m her first! Hahahaha!”

Yang Hu was completely spooked by Huo Zhen. He grabbed his shoulders and shook him hard. “Bro! Wake up! What did Miss Song do to you? Say something!”