To My Dear Mr. Huo

Huo Jinyao stayed silent while Ding Qing stood there with a guilty face. Ding Qing made a bet. She bet that Su Qingsang would not ask Huo Jinyao about this matter again when he got home.

Her explanation would still be justified even if Su Qingsang decided to ask him about it again. She was ninety percent confident that she would be get away with it.

Huo Jinyao looked at Ding Qing. Ding Qing was a capable employee. Her performance at work had been remarkable since she took over Zhang Yang.

She was even more thoughtful about some matters, compared to Zhang Yang, because she was a woman.

Huo Jinyao didn’t want to replace her for the time being.

However, that decision was conditional.

“Miss. Ding.”

Ding Qing stood there still. She wasn’t sure if Huo Jinyao would accept her explanation and forgive her. If he didn’t, she could only blame her bad luck.

“I hope that you understand one thing.”

“Yes, President Huo.” Ding Qing dropped her head and put on a very humble face.

“I understand that everyone makes some small mistakes during work, or cause some imperfections. But, matters which include my wife is the bottom line. Do you understand?”

Su Qingsang wasn’t an unreasonable person. She couldn’t possibly be unhappy because he hadn’t told her about the apartments he owned in Minghua Xindu.

That wasn’t Su Qingsang’s nature. Huo Jinyao believed that there was some other reason, and that reason likely had something to do with Ding Qing.

Ding Qing overlapped her hands on her chest and didn’t raise her head. “I’m sorry, President Huo. I promise it won’t happen again,” she said.

“I assume you know what’ll happen if I find out that you did lie to my face.”

Ding Qing felt like she was under immense pressure at the moment, so much so that her back started sweating. “President Huo, I didn’t lie. What I said is true. I…”

“Miss. Ding.” Huo Jinyao looked at her and asked, “are you sure that my wife is upset because I didn’t tell her about those properties that I have?”

“That’s not what I meant,” replied Ding Qing, dropping her eyelids. “Maybe I said something wrong. Maybe something I said displeased Mrs. Huo. It was all my fault anyway.”

“I’m glad you’re aware of that.” Huo Jinyao dropped his head and stopped looking at Ding Qing. At that moment, Ding Qing could feel the perspiration streaming down her back. “President Huo, I’m sorry. It was my fault. Please give me another chance.”

It was quiet in the office. Huo Jinyao stayed silent, focusing on his work.

He didn’t tell Ding Qing to leave, nor did he tell her how badly she could be punished.

Ding Qing moved her lips slightly. She wanted to talk again so badly. Huo Jinyao finally finished reading a few files in his hands and raised his head to look at her again.

“I will give you another chance,” he told her. He looked at Ding Qing, waved a hand, and said, “but if this happens again, don’t blame me for having no mercy.”

Ding Qing had worked hard to solve the problem that Qiao Hong caused. She had even gotten her foot injured for that.

Huo Jinyao wasn’t a cold-hearted person in general. He wouldn’t simply fire his secretary and get a new one unless he absolutely had to, for good reasons.

Ding Qing turned and left. She sighed with relief as she walked out of Huo Jinyao’s office.

That was a close one, and she was safe, for now.

She had been a little impatient this time. Next time, she would be careful not to make the same mistake again.

There wouldn’t be the next time, though.

She turned around and glanced at Huo Jinyao’s office with a determined look in her eyes.

…

Yang Wenchang came into Huo Jinyao’s office before Huo Jinyao got off work.

He had Qiao Hong’s bank accounts checked thoroughly, but no issues were found.

That was not normal. Qiao Hong seemed to have acted on an impulse at that time. Now, Huo Jinyao believed that he had every reason to doubt that the whole thing wasn’t as simple as it had looked like.

“That is not normal.”

Huo Jinyao knocked on the desk gently. He looked at Yang Wenchang with a serious look and asked, “are you sure? Have you checked all his accounts? What about the accounts of his families?”

“Yes, I’ve checked them all.” Yang Wenchang sounded affirmative. “I’ve even checked the bank accounts of Qiao Hong’s grandparents.”

“Anything suspicious?”

“No.”

“They didn’t move, did they?”

“No,” Yang Wenchang replied. Yang Wenchang was a very capable person. He surely wouldn’t allow himself to make silly mistakes. “Qiao Hong’s parents live in a cheap neighborhood, about an hour drive away from here. Earlier, they had prepared a sum of money for Qiao Hong as a down payment on an apartment, as he and his girlfriend were about to get married. But then, his girlfriend got sick.”

Huo Jinyao found that weird.

As something crossed his mind, he stopping knocking on the desk and said, “keep an eye on Qiao Hong’s bank accounts.”

“President Huo?”

“Keep an eye on him. Firstly, find out how he’ll spend the two million. And secondly, see if anyone gives him more money within half a month from now.”

Yang Wenchang had his eyes glow, when he asked, “President Huo, are you saying that Qiao Hong probably hasn’t received the dirty money yet?”

“Yes.” If it was a trap, whoever Qiao Hong was working for must have promised him something.

They might not pay him immediately. They might not pay him until everything was done. The truth would be revealed through the amount of the money that he would receive in the end.

“What if nothing happens at last?”

“Then he probably really did do that on impulse.” Huo Jinyao didn’t believe that, however. “Go. You’ve been working hard. Go home early today.”

“President Huo, this morning, the board…”

“It’s okay. I’ll handle that.”

Huo Yifan had indeed been a little too mischievous lately. It was okay, though. Huo Jinyao intended to let him stay like this for another while.

He was the vice-president of the company. Lately, he seemed to be playing a more important role than Huo Jinyao, but it was merely because he had taken over the Ickes case.

Huo Yifan knew how the partnership with Ickes was built. Everyone did. Huo Yifan wasn’t ashamed to give himself most of the credit, though.

It was not only Huo Yifan, but Huo Yiyang, who now worked in the design department, had also been maintaining a high profile lately.

Huo Jinyao stopped thinking about the small tricks that his cousins had been playing lately. After all, they wouldn’t be able to keep doing that for too long.

He was going to tell Yang Wenchang about what Ding Qing had done earlier today, and tell him to recruit a backup secretary immediately if possible. But finally, he changed his mind.

He had agreed to give Ding Qing a second chance anyway, so he decided to let her stay. Zhang Yang was only on a temporary break anyway. He didn’t permanently leave the company.

Yang Wenchang was a little worried. He spent a few seconds looking at Huo Jinyao, but at last, he left quietly.

He honestly felt that Huo Jinyao’s life was not very easy. He had never seen a chairman like Huo Jinyao’s father, who would rather help his nephew than his very own son.

Huo Jinyao had no idea that Yang Wenchang was pitying him.

It was dark when he arrived home.

Su Qingsang was in the kitchen, chatting with Ms. Yu. He could hear their titters from outside.

The aroma of delicious food permeated the apartment, which was illuminated with a warm light.

Huo Jinyao once again felt the warmth that he had felt in Lin City. He put down his car key, quietly changed his shoes, and walked to the door of the kitchen.

Ms. Yu was cooking and Su Qingsang was assisting her.

“Ms. Yu, this soup needs only a little more salt now, right?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Ms. Yu said with a smile. “I didn’t know that you could be such a talented chef. Mr. Huo will be so happy to know that you have made this soup for him.”

“Who said I made it for him?” Su Qingsang put the salt in the soup, then tasted it. It tasted great.

“I’ve been feeling exhausted for the past few days, so I made the soup for myself.”

“Mrs. Huo, I bet you’ll want Mr. Huo to have some of this soup.”

Hearing Su Qingsang being dishonest, Ms. Yu smiled a bigger smile. She put down the food, then turned and found that Huo Jinyao was back.

Su Qingsang was going to argue with her, but before she could, she saw Huo Jinyao standing there. She gave a startled look, almost dropping the spoon in her hand.

She gave Huo Jinyao a glare, then brought the soup out of the kitchen.

Huo Jinyao followed behind her. As she put down the soup, he put his arms around her waist and said, “darling, I missed you so much.”

“Stop it,” said Su Qingsang, patting the back of his hand. “Go and wash your hands. Prepare for dinner.”

“Darling, I really missed you. Didn’t you miss me?”

He put his mouth near her ear, breathing down her neck.

Su Qingsang felt itchy. She shrugged and said, “why would I miss you? Go and wash your hands and then come back for dinner.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

He raised three fingers, then quickly headed to the bathroom. Su Qingsang shook her head and went back into the kitchen to bring out the food.

“Mrs. Huo, you should just sit down. I’ll do it.” Ms. Yu didn’t want her to do all the work.

“It’s okay. I have nothing to do anyway.”

She had unpacked after coming home, then taken a nap. When she woke up, Ms. Yu had already started preparing dinner.

By the time Huo Jinyao came out of the bathroom, four dish varieties and some soup had already been served on the table. Ms. Yu took off her apron and said, “Mr. and Mrs. Huo, enjoy your dinner. I’ll take my leave. You two don’t need to do the dishes. I’ll do it tomorrow.”

After Ms. Yu left, Su Qingsang poured herself a bowl of soup. Unexpectedly, she didn’t give the soup to Huo Jinyao like she always did, but put it before herself.

She put the bowl near her nose and found that the soup smelled great. She was talented indeed.

Sensing her unusual attitude, Huo Jinyao was clearly aware that she was not happy.

He moved closer to her, and asked with a small smile, “darling, are you mad?”

“No,” said Su Qingsang, and then took a sip of the soup. It tasted great. She decided to try to make something else next time.

She wasn’t mad?

“Darling, can I have some soup?”

“Don’t you have hands?” Su Qingsang gave him a cold glance.

Huo Jinyao wore a sad look for a moment, but then replaced it with a fawning grin, saying, “darling, please don’t be mad.”

“I’ve told you that I’m not mad.”

“You see, I didn’t keep those apartments in Minghua Xindu a secret from you on purpose. I have too many properties. If you want to know about all of them, I’ll ask Wenchang to make a list of all my properties, stocks, funds, bonds, everything I have, and then show it to you. How about that?”

Su Qingsang put down the bowl. Without even looking at him, she said, “you don’t have to do that. Why would I want to know about those?”

“You’re my wife now. Aren’t my properties yours too?”

“Yeah?” Su Qingsang gave a fake smile. “Thank you, but I don’t need your money. I can make my own money.”

Li Qianxue had given her five percent of Li Group’s shares, so she got a cut from the company’s profits every month. Li Qianxue had also bought her some properties in Hong City. She rented out all of them apart from the house that she planned to live in. The rent itself would be a considerable income for her.

Not to mention all those, her salary was already enough to support her throughout. She wasn’t living a wasteful life.

“Darling, really, don’t be mad. I promise you that I’ll tell you everything next time. Okay?”

Huo Jinyao moved his chair closer to her. Su Qingsang rested her forehead on her palm for a few seconds, then turned to look at him. “Are you going to eat or not?”

“Darling…” looking into Su Qingsang’s eyes, Huo Jinyao surrendered helplessly. “I’ll eat. Darling, you’re being so harsh.”

“Huo Jinyao…” The corner of Su Qingsang’s mouth twitched slightly.

“But darling, I actually like it when you are being harsh. You’re adorable this way.”

The veins on Su Qingsang’s forehead twitched slightly. She didn’t understand why the man who acted perfectly normal on the outside always acted like a child in front of her.

Huo Jinyao wanted to start talking again a few times, but Su Qingsang didn’t even look at him again. She just ate quietly.

Ms. Yu was a great chef. At least, Su Qingsang was enjoying the food.

After dinner, Huo Jinyao thought that they would finally have a talk, but to his surprise, Su Qingsang started doing the dishes.

“Darling, just leave them here and let Ms. Yu do the cleaning tomorrow.”

“No need.” Su Qingsang tidied the table and washed the dishes, without paying attention to Huo Jinyao.

“Darling, do you need my help?”

Su Qingsang paused briefly. She finally turned and looked at him with a bland look. “Hm, do you want to shatter some bowls?”

Huo Jinyao fell into silence, watching Su Qingsang do the work.

She cleaned the kitchen quickly and neatly. Not before long, both the kitchen and the dining table were clean.

Huo Jinyao was following behind her the whole while. She pretended not to see him, however. After finishing with the cleaning, she went straight back to the bedroom.

Huo Jinyao helplessly followed her in.

Su Qingsang had already unpacked her suitcases earlier and taken out all the gifts.

There were gifts for Huo Jinyao, Old Master Huo, Huo Mingguang, and Liu Tongjia. She had also brought back some local products from Lin City for Sun Huiya and her other colleagues.

She would be going back to work tomorrow, so she started to put the gifts for her colleagues into separate bags.

“Darling…” Huo Jinyao watched her doing that.

“Shut up. Leave me alone.”

Huo Jinyao glanced at Su Qingsang with a solemn look, then turned and walked into the bathroom for a shower.

Su Qingsang wasn’t afraid that he might get angry. In fact, she was angry herself.

She believed that nothing happened between Huo Jinyao and Ding Qing, but as a married man, why on earth had Huo Jinyao not avoided the woman who threw herself into his arms? Why did he reach out to hold her as if he enjoyed it?

Su Qingsang didn’t say a word to Huo Jinyao. She packed all the gifts, so tomorrow, she would only need to carry them into her car.

After doing that, she took her sleepwear out of the closet and prepared to take a shower. Huo Jinyao came out of the bathroom as she was going in.

“Darling, are you going to take a shower?”

Su Qingsang looked at him like he was an idiot. She was walking into the bathroom, holding her sleepwear. Of course, she was going to take a shower.

“Darling, do you need my help?”

Huo Jinyao winked at her when saying that. He was so handsome that even the wink had turned seductive on his face.

Su Qingsang stopped breathing briefly, then tried to breathe evenly again.

“Thank you, but no.”

“Darling, I’ll be happy to shower you.”

He flipped his hair while speaking. He had just come out of the shower. His skin and hair were still moist. Water dripped from the tips of his hair and landed on his bare chest.

Su Qingsang forced herself not to look at Huo Jinyao’s seductive body.

“Thank you, but I won’t be happy if you bathe me.”

After saying that, Su Qingsang walked past him into the bathroom. Suddenly, Huo Jinyao put his arms around her, then turned her, and easily pressed her against the wall.

He was tall and strong while she was small and slim. As he pressed her on the wall, she felt as if she was being nailed against it. The sleepwear in her hands fell to the floor.

“Huo Jinyao, put me down.”

It didn’t feel nice as her feet were off the ground. Su Qingsang clenched her teeth, glared at him and signaled for him to put her down.

Huo Jinyao didn’t do what she asked. He took advantage of his height, and easily trapped Su Qingsang in his arms, making her look at him in the eyes.

He put his forehead against hers. The tips of their noses almost touched each other.

She looked at him in the eyes. His dark pupils looked like bottomless pools.

‘B*stard,’ Su Qingsang cursed in her head. ‘All he can do is seduce me using his body. This is outrageous.’

“Darling, are you done being angry?” In addition to his gorgeous body, he also lowered his voice and whispered to her.

His voice was very sexy. Su Qingsang suddenly felt her breath growing shallow and uneven. She forbade herself from looking at his breathtakingly handsome face.

“Is something wrong with your ears? I’ve told you that I’m not angry.”

“You’re lying,” said Huo Jinyao. He turned her face towards himself with a hand to make her look at him. “Alright, you have said that you’re not angry, so you are not. Darling, we haven’t seen each other for quite a few days. You have no idea how much I missed you…”

While he was speaking, a hand of his went down along her cheeks, slowly through her neck to her collarbones.

“Huo Jinyao.”

Su Qingsang didn’t want to have sex with him at the moment. She still had questions for him.

“Shh, Darling.” Huo Jinyao leaned toward her and gently kissed her on the lips. “I have missed you so much. Didn’t you miss me at all?”

“You missed me?” Su Qingsang turned her head away, avoiding his second kiss. “Why don’t I believe that? You’ve been so busy after all. You didn’t really have the time to miss me, did you?”

“Darling.” He had been busy indeed, but that didn’t stop him from missing her. “You thinking of me that way really makes me sad.”

“You’re sad? Why don’t I feel that way?”

Su Qingsang slightly raised her eyebrows while speaking, and narrowed her clear and watery eyes.

She gently poked his chest with a finger, but not in a flirty way.

“After all, you were either busy working or clubbing with some young lady. When did you have the time to miss me?”