“No need.” The owner of Blue Night also owned the hot spring resorts that he had visited the last time. Thinking about what Su Qingsang had said to him about the owner, Huo Jinyao decided to go inside himself.
That man did have some criminal background, but if anything unprecedented happened, he wouldn’t be able to do anything to him.
Things might be different if Yang Wenchang went instead of him.
“Find somewhere to park the car and then wait for my call. I’ll get in with Miss. Ding and meet with Qiao Hong.”
Huo Jinyao and Ding Qing got off the car together and headed toward the gate of Blue Night.
Ding Qing seemed a little worried. She even hesitated a little to make her first step. Huo Jinyao glanced at her and said, “it’ll be okay. Just act normal.”
Ding Qing nodded, looked at the glowing golden signboard before her, then at Huo Jinyao. “President Huo, can they easily spot us, unlike the other customers?” She asked.
Huo Jinyao paused briefly and gave Ding Qing another glance. She wasn’t wearing the suit that she had worn earlier today but was in a simple black dress and a khaki wind coat.
Huo Jinyao thought for a moment and then said to her, “you walk with me.”
“Okay.”
Ding Qing had been walking about three steps behind Huo Jinyao before. After hearing what he said, she moved faster and walked to his side.
The two of them made a few steps forward side by side. There was a tiny stone on the road and Ding Qing accidentally stepped on it.
She lost her balance and fell toward Huo Jinyao. Huo Jinyao had to reach out and hold her.
Ding Qing’s face paled slightly. She looked around, and after confirming that no one was looking at her, she whispered, “I’m sorry, President Huo. I am too careless.”
“It’s okay,” said Huo Jinyao. He thought that it was because Ding Qing was too nervous. He had noticed the stone on the road.
“Can you stand?”
“Yes.” Ding Qing got up. However, once she lay her weight on her feet, she suffered a sharp pain. Taking a gasp, she turned to Huo Jinyao.
“President Huo, I think I just twisted my ankle.”
The gate of Blue Night was just a few steps away. Huo Jinyao reached out an arm and said, “hold my arm.”
“Ah…” Ding Qing hesitated, “That’s inappropriate, isn’t it? People might misunderstand.”
“It’s okay.” Huo Jinyao was focusing only on his meeting with Qiao Hong now, which was about to happen. “We’re just making a show. Let’s go.”
Ding Qing clenched her teeth. At last, she held Huo Jinyao’s arm.
With Huo Jinyao’s help, she no longer looked like she was walking with a twisted ankle.
“Thank you, President Huo,” said Ding Qing in a low voice. Huo Jinayo wasn’t paying much attention to her. “Don’t mention it. I’ll send you to the hospital after we talk with Qiao Hong.”
“Thank you, President Huo. I’ll just go home and apply some ointment.”
Huo Jinyao didn’t say anything else. The two of them walked into the club together.
What Huo Jinyao failed to notice was that someone was taking pictures of him and Ding Qing walking into Blue Night arm in arm.
Lin City.
The family had lunch together with all the invited relatives to celebrate Old Master Li’s birthday. For dinner, it was just them, without relatives.
There were fewer people than last year, but this year, it was better because Su Qingsang was with the family. She wasn’t very good at cooking, but since marrying Huo Jinyao, she had spent some time learning.
Earlier today, she offered to make some noodles for Old Master Li all by herself.
“Grandpa, happy birthday.”
Huo Jinyao had prepared a birthday gift for Old Master Li. It was a pine tree, but not an ordinary one. It was carved out of a whole piece of jade.
The gift was delivered in the morning. It was a masterpiece, made from top-quality jade. The vivid green color made the pine tree look thriving. Huo Jinyao chose that gift because he wished Old Master Li to live long and remain as young as the pine tree.
It was a carefully selected gift, and it delivered a good wish. Old Master Li loved it.
The gift was perfect but was presented by Huo Jinyao. Su Qingsang couldn’t think of a gift to present to Old Master Li herself. She spent a long time thinking and decided to make some noodles for Old Master Li by herself.
“Good, good, good.” Old Master Li said ‘good’ three times, in happiness, when he saw the noodle served to him by his granddaughter.
Old Master Li had everything he needed. For him, the good wishes were more important than the actual gifts.
Years ago, Li Qianxue tried to cook to please Su Chenghui. Apart from that, it was the very first time Old Master Li tasted the food made by the younger members of the family. He was happy, even if it was only a simple bowl of noodles.
“Grandpa, I’m not a good chef, but I hope you’ll like it.”
Su Qingsang looked slightly nervous. She wasn’t very confident about her noodles.
“It looks delicious.”
Old Master Li looked at the noodle, his eyes filled with praise, and said, “you are very good at this.”
“Just try it.”
Su Qingsang told Old Master Li to try it, then looked at Li Qianxue and continued with, “mom, there’s more in the kitchen, would you like some too?”
“Yeah.” Li Qianxue did want to taste the noodle.
Su Peizhen had never set a foot in the kitchen, and neither had Su Yuxin.
All the family members were so surprised and touched bu Su Qingsang’s sweet gesture. They couldn’t wait to taste the noodle that Su Qingsang had made.
Li Qianxue had the strongest feeling among them all. Long ago, she tried everything to please Su Chenghui. She had learned cooking because she wanted to impress Su Chenghui.
But it was so hard for her. Her soup was always too salty or bland, and the vegetables she stir-fried were either undercooked or over-cooked.
She never knew when the food would taste good. She wasn’t willing to give up at first. She tried over and over again, but at last, she realized that no matter how hard she tried, Su Chenghui wouldn’t fall in love with her if the food tasted bad. That was why she gave up in the end.
“It’s delicious,” said Su Yuxin, talking first. It was a very ordinary bowl of noodles, but he enjoyed it as if it was a Michelin star cuisine.
“Really?” Su Qingsang looked at him with disbelief. “Why don’t I believe you?”
“Are you not happy to hear my compliment?”
“It’s good indeed.”
Li Qianxue and Old Master Li couldn’t stop praising the noodle dish either.
Su Qingsang was well aware that her noodle wasn’t as good as they said. Her family just wanted her to be happy.
The dinner was nice and warm.
The day passed quickly for Su Qingsang. She was happy.
She wanted to share so much of her current feelings with Huo Jinyao, so she went upstairs and called Huo Jinyao before taking a shower.
Huo Jinyao didn’t answer the call, however. Su Qingsang didn’t think too much about it but called again. Still, the call wasn’t answered.
She looked at the time. It was already nine pm. Usually, Huo Jinyao would be at home at that time.
The first thought that popped in Su Qingsang’s mind was that the thing Huo Jinyao was trying to deal with in his company must have been so troublesome that he couldn’t solve the problem within a short time.
She wasn’t unhappy but was only a little worried about him.
She texted Huo Jinyao to remind him to take care of himself no matter how busy he was, then put the phone aside.
…
Since Su Qingsang was back in Lin City, she, of course, intended to meet up with Shi Mengwan.
She texted Shi Mengwan to ask the latter where she was, once she woke up in the morning. Shi Mengwan was thrilled to know that she was back.
They made an appointment. Then, Su Qingsang stayed in bed and checked the local news with her phone.
She followed a few local medias from Rong City on Wechat after she moved there. What she was reading at the moment was just some normal local news. After leafing through a few articles, she intended to stop reading.
But as she was putting down the phone, Rong City Online released the news for that day.
It was about a night club. A few rich kids had started a conflict with someone in the club, causing damages to the club. It had almost led to a riot.
Su Qingsang wasn’t interested in such news. Those kids were probably from wealthy families, but in comparison to the really rich families, their status was nothing.
She had attended a few parties held by Huo Jinyao and his old friends a few times. None of his friends were like those rich kids.
Before closing the page, Su Qingsang had her eyes land on the pictures which were published together with the article.
She immediately recognized the two people in the picture. One of them was the woman whom she had talked to that day in Huo Jinyao’s company, and the other was Huo Jinyao himself.
Su Qingsang doubted her eyes for a moment when she saw that picture.
That man was Huo Jinyao for sure, and the woman was the one she had met in his company.
She read the news again. Those rich kids had made big news, so there were a lot of pictures online.
She searched online briefly and didn’t only find the pictures of those rich kids fighting, but also found the videos from a local website.
She ignored the group of people who were fighting intensely in the video and fixed her eyes on Huo Jinyao and the woman. They were sitting not far away from the fighting kids.
In the video, the woman was leaning against Huo Jinyao the whole time. Huo Jinyao never pushed her away.
Instead of pushing her away, he reached out to hold her when she tried to stand up.
Then, the woman left but soon returned. On her way back, she fell toward Huo Jinyao, seemingly jumping into his arms.
The video ended there. Su Qingsang watched it again, and the look on her face grew a little sulky.
She was, of course, willing to trust Huo Jinyao. She believed that he was with that woman in a place like that for a reason.
But…
Thinking about how he held that woman and how she threw herself into his arm, Su Qingsang grew very angry. She might have misunderstood him, but couldn’t he have stayed away from that woman?
With anger, she picked up her phone and called Huo Jinyao without thinking.
Huo Jinyao didn’t answer her first call. She called again, and he answered it this time.
“Qingsang?” His voice sounded a little dry, as if he didn’t rest well. Su Qingsang noticed that and grew a little worried about him.
But still, she intended to ask him about what had exactly happened. She was cooled down a lot, though.
“Yes.” she tried to sound peaceful and calm as she talked to him, “Have you solved the problem in your company yet?”
