The man trembled when he heard the voice. When he made eye contact with Huo Yao’s deep eyes, his hand trembled so hard that he almost dropped the camera.
He quickly straightened his body and suppressed his panic before he covered the camera lens and firmly said, “Nothing.”
Huo Yao stared at him expressionlessly. “Were you secretly taking pictures of us?”
The man gazed at Huo Yao’s unbelievably stunning face. Despite her young age, he seemed to inexplicably fear her intensely. His lips parted, but his hand lost its grip before he could utter another word. In an instant, the cameral landed in Huo Yao’s hands.
Huo Yao swiped through its contents and frowned. “Your skills are terrible. Why did you even take the pictures?”
There were a few pictures of her and Huo Xiang in there. Since they were secretly taken from a distance, they were quite blurry. However… the angles were good and made the two of them look like lovers.
He was definitely part of the paparazzi gang.
Before he even had the time to consider how his camera ended up in Huo Yao’s hands, he hurriedly said, “Give me back the camera.”
In the next moment, he attempted to snatch it.
Huo Yao glanced at him coldly, and the man’s outreached hand froze mid-air.
A minute later.
Huo Yao patted her hands and walked out from the corner happily.
Huo Xiang had already driven over with the car. He was about to dial his sister’s number when he failed to see her at the entrance. Suddenly, her silhouette appeared in the rearview mirror, so he put his phone down.
Huo Yao opened the front passenger door and got in.
Huo Xiang looked sideways at his little sister and asked rather quizzically. “What were you doing there?”
Huo Yao put on her seat belt and replied calmly. “Oh. I spotted a dog, so I went over to comfort it.”
Huo Xiang instinctively checked the rearview mirror. What dog?
But then he started the car without giving it much thought. He said casually with a shrug, “Maybe someone forgot to secure their dog, so it came running over.”
Huo Yao leaned back into the seat lazily and gave a gentle nod.
The car pulled out of the estate smoothly. Huo Yao rolled down the window after they got onto the main road. She extended her hand casually outside the window and flicked her fingertips, almost imperceptibly. Something quietly fell out the window and got crushed under the wheels of the oncoming cars.
*
The two of them went home after having dinner outside.
Shortly after they entered the apartment, Huo Tingrui’s bitter voice came from the living room. “Why did you come back only now? Don’t you know what time it is?”
Huo Xiang and Huo Yao looked at each other. Then they turned to check the time on the wall in unison. It was 8:00 pm and not 12: 00 am, right?
Huo Xiang scratched his head as he walked over and sat down on the couch across from Huo Tingrui. He could not help softly asking when he noticed Huo Tingrui’s strange expression. “Brother Tingrui?”
Huo Tingrui veered his eyes away from him in a smug manner and looked at his little sister instead.
Huo Yao was clueless. “?”
After some time, she also asked. “Brother Tingrui?”
“Uh huh?” replied Huo Tingrui finally in a gentle tone.
Huo Xiang: “?”
What were these double standards?
Huo Tingrui only replied to their little sister and ignored Huo Xiang.
Huo Yao pretended that she did not notice the look in both their eyes. Instead, she glanced around and asked him. “Aren’t Mom and Dad home yet?”
“They went out for a walk.”
Huo Yao touched her nose. She was always caught off guard by her parents’ display of affection. No wonder Huo Tingrui acted as though they had forsaken him.
“Cough. Brother Tingrui, I’m going upstairs.” Huo Yao prepared to go back to her room.
Suddenly, Huo Tingrui pressed his shoulder and said in a loud voice, “I don’t know why, but my shoulder hurts so bad lately.”
Huo Yao halted instantly when she heard Huo Tingrui’s words.
