The next day.
Huo Xingzhou's small villa became a lot quieter.
Du Juan and Huo Jiancheng, seeing that everything was back on track, moved out of their son's villa. They even forcibly took Huo Sijiao with them, refusing to let her play the third wheel, wanting to leave some space for the young couple.
Once they left, Qiao Xi could finally treat Huo Xingzhou without any restraint.
The room was silent, with the man sitting in his wheelchair, long needles sticking into his ankle. His gaze followed Qiao Xi as she bustled about, her lips pursed in displeasure.
It was very quiet.
"Qiao..." he had only said one word.
Qiao Xi turned on the LCD TV, the sound of the TV drowning out his voice, making him feel stifled.
That little girl sure has a temper.
Huo Xingzhou stared at her back with furrowed brows, his slender, fair fingers clenched the bedsheets tightly, his face showing a pained expression: "Hiss... it hurts."
Qiao Xi turned around and panicked at the sight of him, "Where does it hurt? The acupuncture points... Ah! Let go, you'll press on the needles!"
She was pulled by Huo Xingzhou and bumped into his embrace, straddling his thighs.
"Finish talking before letting go, or else you will run away again."
His hands easily wrapped around her waist.
Qiao Xi's eyelashes fluttered, her ears flushed red, her lips tinged with a rosy hue. She had never been so close to a man before.
"You avoided me last night, and now you're sulking this morning." His hands unconsciously stroked her lower back, eliciting a shiver from Qiao Xi.
"You don't trust me, insisting on trading with the project." She knew she had no right to be angry, but she couldn't help it.
It was his hard work, and it was the only thing the second branch of the family could rely on to turn their fortunes around.
"Of course, I trust you."
His deep voice resonated in her ear, "Zhuo Feng came from the main branch to harm me, and that project was deliberately given to the main branch by me. It's because I trust you that I feel you can play along with this act."
Qiao Xi's anger was quelled.
"What kind of act?"
"Don't reveal your exquisite medical skills before I can stand up again." His voice was even, and his handsome face looked exceptionally clear.
What exquisite skills?
Qiao Xi lowered her head, her skin white as snow.
"Then, Young Master Sun..."
"You're a medical student, ordinary diseases you can of course treat. But my legs are a lost cause, pronounced dead by sentence. Many experts and academics are helpless against them."
"Mm, I understand," Qiao Xi nodded obediently; it was fine as long as she did not flaunt her medical skills too much.
Huo Xingzhou saw how adorable she was and a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
He suddenly remembered the outrageous things Zhou Yu said last night, his Adam's apple moved, and his thin lips lightly licked. In the end, he swallowed down a certain question.
With her face flushed, Qiao Xi pushed against his chest, "Let go first, I need to remove the needles."
Huo Xingzhou's features were cold, his heartbeat unusual compared to before.
Qiao Xi crouched down, her fingers swiftly plucking out the needles. She could feel the scorching gaze from above, having nowhere to hide, and her cheeks reddened even more.
The wall-mounted LCD TV emitted a sound.
"Our reporters visited the Xingyue Foundation, which has helped a hundred children return to school since it was established, and has also funded thousands of families. But the person behind it, the founder, has never shown his face, we..."
Qiao Xi was captivated by the report, recalling how Huo Sijiao had vaguely mentioned the Xingyue Foundation before.
Her eyes sparkled as she looked up at Huo Xingzhou and said, "I was also sponsored by the Xingyue Foundation."
"Back when my family was very poor, even the tuition was hard to scrape together. A kind person sponsored all the children in Moon Village, and because of that, I had the chance to go to school. I've always wanted to find that kind person."
Huo Xingzhou's gaze was complex as he asked, "What do you want to do when you find him?"
"Repaying a kindness."
Her eyes were delicate like a pool of autumn water, gentle and bright, gazing straight into his heart.
Huo Xingzhou had never expected that his impulsive action would become a ray of light in someone else's life. He was bewitched, losing his senses as he stretched out his hand to stroke her soft hair.
Like an electric shock, both were startled, and an ambiguous atmosphere began to breed in the silence.
"Mr. Huo, are you..." that person?
Qiao Xi's words had not yet left her mouth when she was interrupted by a knock at the door.
Knock knock.
Several in succession.
"Young Master, the Sun Family has arrived," Aunt Qian called out from outside.
"I know."
He responded, and Qiao Xi quickly straightened his clothes. "I'll push you down."
Her pale, slim fingers touched the wheelchair. Huo Xingzhou's heart surged with a long-lost palpitation, which he forcefully suppressed; all because of the nonsensical words Zhou Yu had said.
In the living room.
Mrs. Sun looked around and was relieved not to see Du Juan, that madwoman.
"Mrs. Sun, our madam has moved back, she's not staying here anymore," Aunt Qian, astute as ever, understood her thoughts. The two ladies would fight like cats and dogs upon seeing each other, always at each other's throats.
Sun Weimeng laughed heartily: "Mom, you're so burly, yet you're afraid of her?"
"You good-for-nothing! What are you talking about!"
Mrs. Sun was so angry that she slapped him several times on his back—she was plump and rounded!
"Ouch! That hurts!"
When Qiao Xi and Huo Xingzhou arrived in the living room, they saw Young Master Sun complaining of pain. She coughed lightly, at which mother and son both looked over.
"Second Young Master Huo, Young Madam."
Mrs. Sun greeted them genteelly, and Sun Weimeng's cheeks turned red as he saw Qiao Xi, stuttering without managing to utter half a word.
"We owe a great debt to the Young Madam for saving my son; otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable. We came today especially to express our gratitude." Mrs. Sun directly handed over a check for five hundred thousand yuan, truly a display of wealth.
Qiao Xi quickly waved her hands, "It was no trouble at all; anyone would have done the same."
"Are you refusing because it's too little?" It seemed as if Qiao Xi only had to say "yes," and she would immediately increase the amount to five million.
Huo Xingzhou knew the Sun Family's way of doing things, always liking to throw money at people. He took the check directly and stuffed it into Qiao Xi's palm.
"Since it's given, take it. Young Master Sun's life is worth a fortune; what's five hundred thousand?" Huo Xingzhou's voice was indifferent, his eyes dark and intimidating.
Young Master Sun hid behind, looking at his legs over and over again. There were wild rumors in Haicheng that Huo Xingzhou was no longer capable. Young Master Sun sympathized with him, feeling they shared the same affliction; it was truly pitiable.
"What's with that look?" Huo Xingzhou said coldly.
Young Master Sun cautiously probed, "Second Young Master Huo, are you really... incapable? Then wouldn't that be unfair to Qiao Xi, leaving her a widow in her prime? But her medical skills are excellent, she should be able to cure you, right?"
"Foolish thing, what nonsense are you spouting!"
Mrs. Sun wished she could smash his mouth to pieces.
"Ow," Young Master Sun yelped as he ran about in panic, holding his head. "I just want to ask Qiao Xi to treat me; I woke up as soon as she gave me an injection. Maybe with a couple more, I'll be cured!"
No man would want to live with a hidden illness! He had been the laughing stock of Haicheng's high society for too many years.
"Just kill me; I don't want to live anyway. A man who's 'not up to the task,' what's there to look forward to? I've tried so many medicines, and none worked." Young Master Sun threw a tantrum on the ground, becoming even more tearful as he continued.
Mrs. Sun's heart ached, and mother and son wept together in sorrow.
Aunt Qian tried to console them for a long time to no avail, only able to look on helplessly.
Qiao Xi bit her lip delicately, her eyes brimming with difficulty. She reached out and hooked her finger around Huo Xingzhou's arm. The man complied and held her, his fingertips gliding over her smooth hand.
Finally, he wrote two words in the palm of her hand.