To My Dear Mr. Huo

“Uncle?”

Su Qingsang blinked and looked at the person in front of her. She realized that she kept encountering Zhang Yichen quite frequently.

But technically speaking, this time was not an encounter. Huo Mansion was the place where Zhang Yichen’s uncle lived, so he could come at any time without an appointment.

“Em,” answered Zhang Yichen, looking at Su Qingsang.

He seemed to have been smiling just now because the corner of his mouth was still turned up a little.

Su Qingsnag was not sure how much of the conversation between her and the parrot he had heard. She felt slightly embarrassed.

It seemed that every time he showed up in from of her, she was upholding a bad image.

“Uncle, are you looking for grandpa? He is out.”

“I know,” said Zhang Yichen. He had come here to see Old Master Huo. He later came to know that Su Qingsang and Huo Jinyao would also come to Huo Mansion every two weeks. Usually, they were not here.

He initially had the intention of avoiding Su Qingsang. However, he didn’t succeed.

It didn’t occur to him that Su Qingsang would be at home, playing with the parrot.

When she laughed, she looked genuine and innocent. She didn’t have the arrogant temperament that was common with ladies in Rong City. Instead, she looked like a girl-next-door, cute and likable.

But he knew clearly that this was just one side of her. She was a lot more to her character also.

She was cunning in front of the family of her patient, who tried to blackmail her. She was dedicated when suturing the wound. She was aggressive and eloquent, boldly confronting the people who had been looking for him.

In the end, a fleeting image of Su Qingsnag relaxing in the hot spring came to him. Half of her smooth shoulder was revealed out of the water, fair and dainty like a delicate jade.

Realizing what was on his mind, Zhang Yichen restrained, and the smile on his face faded.

His face turned so grim that Su Qingsang thought that he didn’t want to see her. That made sense since she was the one who had seen him in an awkward situation that day, and witnessed him hiding in a closet.

“Well, uncle, I’m leaving.”

Su Qingsang said that she was heading to the room. When was passing across Zhang Yichen, he called her abruptly, saying, “don’t move.”

Su Qingsang was taken aback. She gave him a confused look.

Zhang Yichen realized that he had declared it in a stiff voice. He lowered his voice uncomfortably. “You got a little something.”

“Where?”

“Don’t move.” Zhang Yichen raised his hand and removed the light feather which was stuck in her hair. His gaze at her was hidden with passion.

But his lips were tightly pursed, which was the evidence for his great self-restraint.

Su Qingsang kept her head down and didn’t see Zhang Yichen’s expression. When he showed her the feather in front of her, she looked down and said, “thank you.”

His lips were compressed and his voice was deep. “No worries.”

Su Qingsang didn’t stay much longer because of his cold attitude. Instead, she left rather quickly.

Zhang Yichen stayed there, very still. After Su Qingsang left, his face relaxed.

With his eyes closed, he smelled the faint aroma in the air that belonged to Su Qingsang.

Zhang Yichen suddenly opened his eyes, setting his sight over the corner of the courtyard.

With his keen observation, he suddenly found someone peeping at them. He was unsure if it was just an illusion. Nevertheless, the feeling of being spied on was apparent.

If he had not been distracted, he would have discovered it earlier.

Zhang Yichen looked grave. He gazed in that direction for a while, but the feeling disappeared after a while.

He should have been more careful. He couldn’t let anyone detect anything dubious. After all, he was still able to control his spoonful of desire.

But was it just a tiny bit? They had only met a few times, but he couldn’t control himself from thinking about her.

How he wished she was not the wife of Huo Jinyao! How he wished she hadn’t gotten married so early.

Zhang Yichen couldn’t help but wonder about some things. If she had married him, would she still be wearing a gentle smile in front of him that was tainted with cautiousness?

He closed his eyes, trying his best to obliterate this crazy idea.

His hands were clenched into a tight fist on his sides, and the blue veins stood out very clearly.

Stop thinking. If someone noticed his expression, it could bring to him and Su Qingsang nothing but misfortune.

Zhang Yichen looked at the direction again. He was pondering over who could be there but eventually turned his back and left in the end.

…

When Su Qingsang arrived home, she was surprised to find that Huo Jinyao was back home already.

Ms. Yu was cooking in the kitchen while Huo Jinyao sat on a chair on the balcony. Even though it was freezing outside, he didn’t come inside.

He didn’t even notice that she was home. Su Qingsang furrowed her eyebrows. She put down her stuff, changed her shoes, and went to him.

“Jinyao?”

Huo Jinyao turned. The corners of his mouth turned up when he saw Su Qingsang. “You’re home?”

Su Qingsang blinked and looked at him. He hadn’t turned on the light in the balcony. She seemed to see a flash of melancholy in Huo Jinyao’s eyes.

But he just looked at her with a faint smile, as if the emotion she had detected in his face was merely her delusion.

“Are you all right?”

“I am fine.”

“If you are fine, then why are you outside, letting the cold wind blow over you?”

Currently, in Rong City, it was still cold outside. However, the house was heated.

Su Qingsang already sensed the chillness, standing there. Not to mention, Huo Jinyao had been in the balcony for she didn’t know how long.

Su Qingsang suddenly reached out and held his hands. As expected, his hands were not as warm, but they were cold.

Su Qingsang stared at Huo Jinyao. “Huo Jinyao, are you okay?”

Huo Jinyao saw the concern in her eyes. With his eyes fixed on her, he reached his hands out and embraced her.

Su Qingsang froze for a second. She held him back with her hands around his waist.

Even his clothes were ice cold. Su Qingsang put her head on his shirt and felt uncomfortable because of its chillness.

“Huo Jinyao,” called Su Qingsang. She didn’t look up but tightened her hug. “I am your wife. You can tell me anything.”

“Yes, I can’t help you if it is business. I may not be helpful even as to other things in your life. But at least, I can listen.”

Su Qingsang’s voice was light and soft, whispering in the shades of the evening.

Huo Jinyao remained silent. He couldn’t open his mouth. Looking at Su Qingsang, he remembered what Micah had told him that afternoon.

He couldn’t talk about it. He couldn’t tell Su Qingsnag that his mother, his father, his cousin, his uncle, and almost everyone was setting him up to fail.

Eyes closed, Huo Jinyao lowered his chin on Su Qingsang’s head.

There was a light fragrance in her hair, which soothed him. Her body was soft, compared to him. He enveloped her into his arms, and he found his heart gradually softening.

“Huo Jinyao, what has happened? Can you please share it with me?”