Only after watching Si Ling leave did Huo Chengyu turn and get into another car. Once he had instructed his assistant to purchase the things for Si Ling, a call from home arrived at exactly the right moment.
The timing was precise to the minute. Whoever was calling had clearly been watching the clock.
Huo Chengyu answered, and a stern female voice came from the other end. “Chengyu, have you met Xiao-Si?”
Huo Chengyu gave a cool hum of acknowledgment. “We had dinner. He just left.”
“How did you get along?” Only then did the old lady’s tone soften.
“Pretty well.”
As though hearing his distraction, the old lady reminded him, “As long as he’s a good person, that’s enough. Don’t forget that you’re different from those other Alphas. Finding a Beta is already the most suitable option for you. You need to seize the opportunity.”
“Mm. I know.”
There was no fluctuation in Huo Chengyu’s voice. After briefly wishing his elder good night, he ended the call.
His assistant had lowered the partition the moment the phone rang. The rear seat was now isolated from the front, leaving it completely quiet.
Huo Chengyu turned his head toward the window. For no reason, the image returned to him of standing before the two-way mirror in the shop before going to the restaurant and watching the young man admire himself in beautiful clothes.
Si Ling lived in an entirely different world from him. He was vivid and beautiful, full of schemes, and when a sales associate offended him he would deliberately retaliate. Even though he had called Huo Chengyu a duck, that proud, pampered air of his was somehow impossible to dislike. It stirred an unfamiliar feeling in Huo Chengyu.
Combined with the Haicheng entertainment media’s constant reports about Si Ling being fickle, mercenary, and eager to climb socially, Huo Chengyu knew perfectly well that his prospective spouse was no easy person to deal with.
Yet that actually made it easier for him to persuade himself to build a family with Si Ling. After all… he was not exactly normal either.
“…”
The moment Si Ling returned home, he went straight into the bathroom. He lay in the steaming bathtub scrolling through social media, yet his mind remained fixed on what Huo Chengyu had said to him.
He suspected Huo Chengyu might have said it deliberately just to tease him, but that old-fashioned stick-in-the-mud did not seem like the sort of man who knew how to joke.
Si Ling replayed everything he had done tonight and grew increasingly troubled.
Had he not behaved badly enough? Had he been too subtle, so the man had not noticed at all? Or did Huo Chengyu genuinely not care about any of it?
That wouldn’t do!
Restless and irritated, Si Ling left the bathroom with a headache. A knock sounded at his door at exactly the right moment. Drying his hair with a towel, he went to open it. The man outside was holding a plate of fruit, though the smile on his face looked thoroughly fake.
“Xiao-Ling, are you getting ready for bed? I cut some fruit for Xiaoxiao and brought you some while I was at it.”
“Thanks, but I’m dieting. I don’t eat at night.”
Si Ling neither reached for the plate of leftover fruit scraps nor invited him into the room. The smile on his lips matched the one on the man’s face.
The atmosphere was faintly strange, but Xu Renji showed no embarrassment whatsoever. He smiled and went straight to the point. “You met President Huo today. How did it go?”
Si Ling had known that was what he wanted to ask.
This stepfather of his was deeply calculating. Supposedly, the marriage alliance with the Huo family had originally been intended for Xu Renji’s biological son—Si Ling’s second brother, Si Xiao.
But for some inexplicable reason, Xu Renji had whispered into Si Yuanzhou’s ear day after day until the marriage candidate was forcibly changed to Si Ling. Only then had he finally relaxed.
Even so, he was still uneasy. As though afraid Si Ling might suddenly run away, he watched the progress of the marriage arrangement obsessively and asked about it every day.
Now, seeing Xu Renji so tense and anxious, Si Ling guessed that the uneasy Si Xiao had probably sent him to ask. He simply told the truth. “Pretty well. Mr. Huo said the two families should have a meal together before the engagement.”
Xu Renji looked doubtful. “Really?”
“Uncle Xu, what’s that supposed to mean? Are you afraid I’m hiding something from you?” Si Ling was beginning to lose patience. “Won’t there be news in a few days anyway?”
Xu Renji obviously did not believe him. After all, the marriage prospects he had found for Si Ling in the past had started out perfectly well, only to collapse after a few meetings.
He suspected Si Ling simply wanted to keep freeloading at their house and had deliberately refused to get along properly with those men. Unable to resist, he started warning him.
“Xiao-Ling, the Huo family is completely different from those people before. Our family has a written marriage agreement with theirs. This is already settled. They were the ones who approached us to honor the marriage pact left by the older generation. We can’t have something go wrong because of you.”
Si Ling feigned surprise. “Uncle Xu, what are you talking about? Weren’t you the one who said the Huo family has power, money, and deep roots, so you specially gave this opportunity to me? What, do you really think I’m so ungrateful that I wouldn’t even know to seize such a wonderful opportunity?”
There was a saying that you did not slap a smiling face. Xu Renji treated him badly, but outwardly he always maintained a pleasant temperament. At this moment, his smile stiffened slightly. “Of course not.”
“Or… do you actually think marrying into the Huo family isn’t a good thing? Is that why you’re so afraid I’ll suddenly realize something and back out?”
The sudden turn in Si Ling’s words caught Xu Renji completely off guard, and his expression darkened.
“Xiao-Ling, I watched you grow up. Of course I want you to be happy. Besides, the Huo family’s circumstances are so superior that our family is the one marrying above our station.”
Si Ling casually pulled the towel off his head and tossed it onto a cabinet. “That’s what I thought. After all, if I marry Huo Chengyu, the family company is bound to benefit too, right? Who knows? One day your whole family might have to curry favor with me.”
Xu Renji’s face immediately tightened.
“Oh, don’t worry. Even after I get married, I won’t abandon all of you. Dad already said he’d give me the West Mountain property as my dowry. What more could I possibly want?”
Xu Renji’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Your father said he’s giving you the house on West Mountain?”
“That’s right. Dad didn’t discuss it with you?” Si Ling twirled a lock of hair around one finger and smiled sweetly. “But it doesn’t matter. Uncle Xu is so generous. I’m sure you don’t mind something like that.”
Xu Renji’s face turned livid.
Si Ling loved making him unhappy. He was just preparing to add another remark that would stab straight into his sore spot when hurried footsteps sounded downstairs.
The housekeeper came upstairs. Seeing the two of them facing off in the corridor, she froze.
“What is it?” Xu Renji had just been provoked, and his expression was ugly, his tone hard.
The housekeeper glanced at Si Ling, who stood at ease inside his room in a bathrobe, then said quietly, “Someone came to deliver something to the young master.”
Si Ling was slightly surprised. He followed the housekeeper downstairs and saw Huo Chengyu’s assistant standing at the entryway, greeting him politely.
“Mr. Si, good evening. These are the items you tried on at the shopping center tonight, along with several gifts Mr. Huo prepared for you. He asked us to deliver them personally.”
As he spoke, several bodyguards behind him carried in bag after bag until nearly half the living room was filled.
Xu Renji followed them downstairs and stared at the scene in astonishment.
Once everything had been carried inside and the bodyguards withdrew, the assistant turned to Si Ling. “Mr. Huo asked me to tell you that he’ll be away on a business trip for the next few days. He’d like the two families to meet at noon next Saturday to discuss the details of the engagement banquet.”
Si Ling was not sure what to make of this, but he cooperatively nodded. “All right.”
The assistant did not spare anyone else in the house a second glance. Once his task was complete, he promptly left the Si residence.
After he was gone, Xu Renji finally walked to the edge of the living room and asked in a complicated tone, “All of this… you bought it?”
Si Ling did not answer. He casually opened the exquisite wooden box that had been deliberately placed on the coffee table. Inside was an elegant, opulent set of jewelry. The centerpiece of the necklace was a teardrop-shaped emerald surrounded by turquoise and mother-of-pearl. It glittered brilliantly and was clearly a collector-grade piece of high jewelry.
Si Ling normally received a generous allowance, but not generous enough that he could casually buy a jewelry set in this price range.
Xu Renji no longer needed an answer. He already knew.
“Brother Huo is just too polite. I kept saying no, no, but he insisted on giving it to me. What else could I do but accept?” Si Ling casually set the box down, pretending not to notice Xu Renji’s gaze, and raised his voice. “Auntie, help me take all of this to my room.”
Brother Huo? They were already that close? Xu Renji’s expression turned ugly, but he said nothing.
Several housekeepers put down what they were doing and helped carry the things upstairs.
Si Ling casually wished Xu Renji good night. As he followed them upstairs, he happened to run into his second brother, Si Xiao, coming down. Si Xiao stopped at the sight of all the bags and boxes, his face full of disgust.
Si Ling had never gotten along with him and did not even spare him a glance. With a soft laugh, he went straight back to his room.
Only the father and son remained in the living room.
Si Xiao had heard the entire conversation from upstairs. Furious, he rushed over to Xu Renji and complained, “Dad, did you see that smug, arrogant look on his face? It’s just a few gifts, but look how pleased with himself he is, like he’s already married into the Huo family!”
Hearing the jealousy in his voice, Xu Renji hurriedly lowered his voice. “What are you envying him for? So what if the Huo family is rich? Will he actually get to spend their money? They’re only giving him things now to make everything look respectable.”
“Dad, they casually give away things other people couldn’t afford in a lifetime. I have nothing, and Father is even giving him the West Mountain house! I really don’t understand why you originally—”
“Enough!” Xu Renji’s head throbbed from anger. “Do you really think marrying into the Huo family is such a wonderful thing? I investigated it long ago. That Huo Chengyu is sick. It’s a mental condition. Marrying someone like that would ruin your entire life!”
Si Xiao had been spoiled since childhood and had no sense of the limits of the world, but even he was startled. He froze in place. “Seriously?”
“You’re my biological son. Would I lie to you?” Xu Renji was furious too, but still forced himself to remain calm. “I’ll talk to your father again about the West Mountain house. Don’t worry. Everything in this family will be yours.”
Seeing how serious he was, the imbalance in Si Xiao’s heart eased slightly. “If Huo Chengyu really is like that, then I suppose it is more suitable to let Si Ling go.”
He envied everything Si Ling was receiving, but he was a pampered, precious Omega. How could he possibly be with an Alpha who had something wrong with his head?
Xu Renji stroked his hair and comforted him. “The Huo family has so many rules. They’re harsh even with their own relatives. How could they tolerate Si Ling’s wasteful personality? Just watch. Once he enters the Huo family, he’s definitely going to suffer. Meanwhile, once our family is linked to the Huos by marriage, there will be no shortage of benefits for us. Dad promises I’ll find you someone more suitable and more outstanding. He won’t be any worse than Huo Chengyu.”
Si Xiao wanted to say that the Huo family’s heritage was hardly something those smaller families could compare with, but if he truly had to marry a lunatic, he would not be willing either.
Because Xu Renji had given birth to Si Xiao and his elder brother before marrying Si Yuanzhou, both boys were actually older than Si Ling, the child born to Si Yuanzhou’s first wife. Children from a second marriage older than the child from the first could only suggest one thing to outsiders: infidelity and an affair.
Si Xiao’s parentage had been the subject of controversy for years. Whenever people outside brought up the Si family’s scandals, the ages of the three children were always the first thing mentioned.
Si Xiao had endured it for a long time. No amount of explanation could change what people said, so his greatest goal in life had become surpassing Si Ling in every possible respect.
Now, after hearing Xu Renji’s words, resentment still burned in his heart, yet he could not help anticipating the day Si Ling would suffer terribly in the Huo family and come back begging for help. In the end, he gritted his teeth and nodded.
“Dad, I’ll listen to you.”
–
Although Si Ling accepted the expensive gifts Huo Chengyu sent, he still could not decide whether he truly wanted to go through with the marriage agreement.
Whenever Si Yuanzhou and Xu Renji arranged a blind date for him in the past, he had agreed obediently on the surface and secretly sabotaged everything behind the scenes.
After all, from the day the Si family brought him back at age five, Si Yuanzhou had never fulfilled any responsibility as a father. He treated Si Ling like some little decorative thing kept in the house and allowed Xu Renji to suppress him in countless subtle ways.
When Si Ling reached sixteen without presenting, Si Yuanzhou’s already poor attitude toward him became colder still.
Then one day, he happened to see the wealthy son of a business partner throwing himself at Si Ling and suddenly realized that this youngest son of his possessed a stunning face. That exceptional advantage was more than enough to outweigh the drawback of not having presented.
After that, at Xu Renji’s urging, Si Yuanzhou constantly arranged blind dates, banquets, and social events for Si Ling so he could be seen. The endless dates and his habit of charming everyone around him earned Si Ling the reputation of a social butterfly, but the Si family business flourished as a result. Si Yuanzhou cared even less what people called his youngest son.
For that reason, Si Ling did not believe anyone in this family genuinely wished him well. Yet… Huo Chengyu truly was different from all the Alphas he had met before. He actually seemed dependable.
Si Ling could not understand it no matter how much he thought. He could not shake the feeling that there was still some scheme hidden beneath all of this.
========== Author’s Note ==========
Old Huo: … Rumors aren’t—
