Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The atmosphere was so awkward that Su Qingsang couldn’t help but kick Huo Jinyao under the table. Her voice much gentler than Huo Jinyao’s, she turned around and looked at Liu Tongjia.
“Auntie, ignore him. My culinary skills are indeed average. Please mPleasake do today.”
She naturally understood how good Auntie Zhou and Auntie Wang’s culinary skills were. She really couldn’t compare to them.
Liu Tongjia looked at Su Qingsang and suddenly understood why her son liked her.
Her eyes inexplicably stinging, she picked up her bowl and ate the rice in it.
The moment she lowered her head to eat, Su Qingsang glared at Huo Jinyao.
Huo Jinyao remained expressionless. He finished his meal as fast as he could and stood up.
“I’m full. Eat slowly. You don’t have to wash the bowl. Leave it there for Aunt Yu to clean up tomorrow.”
“I know. Go sit in the living room for a while. I have a present for you later.”
“Really?” Huo Jinyao finally smiled. “I thought my birthday present would be this table full of dishes.”
“This is one of the presents.” Su Qingsang had a faint smile on her face. “Don’t you like it?”
“I like it a lot.” As Huo Jinyao spoke, he leaned over and kissed Su Qingsang on the cheek. “I like my wife’s cooking no matter what.”
He knew exactly how to coax her. Su Qingsang glared at him. She turned around and realized that Liu Tongjia was staring at them. Her face suddenly blushed.
Huo Jinyao also noticed Liu Tongjia’s gaze, but he acted as if he didn’t see it.
After Huo Jinyao left, Liu Tongjia couldn’t eat anymore. Her hand was still holding the bowl, and she sat there, but her entire body was stiff.
Su Qingsang looked at her, and for some reason, she couldn’t bear it.
Huo Jinyao didn’t say anything just now, but his attitude had already made everything clear. He might have thought that Liu Tongjia was here to speak up for Huo Yifan.
But Su Qingsang instinctively believed that she wasn’t. Regardless of the reason Liu Tongjia decided to change her attitude towards Huo Jinyao, Su Qingsang was happy to see it happen.
After dinner, Su Qingsang asked Liu Tongjia to go out for a while while she cleaned up the dishes.
Liu Tongjia wanted to say that she was here to help, but she had never done such a thing before. She could only stand there and watch Su Qingsang clean up the dishes.
“Auntie, pleasee go rest.”
Huo Jinyao was also outside. If Liu Tongjia was really here to improve their relationship, now would be a good time to talk.
Liu Tongjia probably knew what she meant, so she got up and walked outside.
In the living room, Huo Jinyao was playing games with Su Qingsang’s phone. The upgraded version of the game Xiaoxiao Le. When Su Qingsang was free, she would play two rounds to relax.
This round was particularly difficult, and she hadn’t passed it for a long time. She had been stuck there for a few days. Huo Jinyao was in a good mood today, so he helped her pass the round.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Liu Tongjia come out. He didn’t make a sound and simplt started the next round.
Liu Tongjia couldn’t sit still anymore. She looked at Huo Jinyao, and was unable to believe that he was playing games while she was sitting here.
That was a very disrespectful way of behaving.
“Jinyao.” Where were his manners? Who allowed him to do this in front of his elders?
“If you want me to stop prosecuting Huo Yifan, spare yourself the effort.”
Not even giving Liu Tongjia a glance, Huo Jinyao didn’t even raise his head.
Liu Tongjia felt like she was sitting on pins and needles. Once again hurt by his words, she looked at Huo Jinyao.
She suddenly understood Huo Jinyao’s feelings from before. So, every time she targeted Huo Jinyao, was he in such a mood?
There was another moment of silence. Huo Jinyao had passed two tests in a row. Realizing that Liu Tongjia was still there, he put his phone aside.
“Did Grandpa send you here, or did Dad send you here? Or did Uncle and Aunt send you here?”
“Huo Jinyao.” What kind of attitude was that? Liu Tongjia almost couldn’t help but want to question him.
“It’s been hard on you. Because of your nephew, you finally remembered that it’s your son’s birthday.”
Liu Tongjia was instantly discouraged. Wanting to explain that she didn’t remember his birthday because of Huo Yifan, her lips moved. She wanted to explain that she really wanted to celebrate his birthday this time, but upon seeing Huo Jinyao’s mocking expression, she suddenly couldn’t bring herself to say it.
“If you have nothing else to do, go back. I won’t change my mind.”
It was his birthday today, and he only wanted to be with someone he liked, someone who liked him, someone who was willing to sincerely celebrate his birthday for him. As for someone like Liu Tongjia who had ulterior motives, she might as well forget about it.
Liu Tongjia sat still, and she suddenly fell into a state of self-doubt.
Her relationship with Huo Jinyao could never be repaired, right? Her more than ten years of indifference and negligence had finally caused an irreparable distance between Huo Jinyao and her.
Liu Tongjia sat there motionlessly. Huo Jinyao thought that she wouldn’t give up, and he didn’t care anymore, but he felt a little uncomfortable.
In the eyes of Liu Tongjia and Huo Mingguang, this son of theirs was inferior to Huo Yifan, their nephew. He was even inferior to Wei Sihai and Wei Simeng of his aunt’s family, right?
He had clearly seen through it, but Huo Jinyao didn’t want to tolerate such bias.
He was just about to get up and go check on Su Qingsang, but Su Qingsang had already cleaned up the kitchen. She was still holding the cake that Liu Tongjia had bought just now.
Almost as soon as she came out, she felt that the living room’s atmosphere wasn’t quite right. She glanced at Huo Jinyao, but Huo Jinyao didn’t respond to her.
“I’m going to take a shower.”
“Wait a minute. You haven’t eaten the cake yet.”
“I just ate. I can’t eat anymore.”
Since Huo Jinyao didn’t give any face, Su Qingsang couldn’t eat either. However, this cake was brought by Liu Tongjia, and it was a token of her goodwill.
“Then we’ll eat it later. Let’s sit down for a while?”
Huo Jinyao didn’t sit down as she wished. “I’m going to take a shower.”
“Huo Jinyao?” Su Qingsang saw that he was really going to walk into the room without a care in the world. She quickly put down the cake and smiled at Liu Tongjia awkwardly. Then, she quickly chased after Huo Jinyao.
“Huo Jinyao.” Su Qingsang entered the room and stood in front of Huo Jinyao. “What are you doing?”
“What are you doing?” Huo Jinyao asked back.
“Your mother is here to celebrate your birthday.”
“Really? Why don’t I think so?”
“I think so.”
“She has an ulterior motive. Can’t you tell?”
“I can’t tell.” It wasn’t like she didn’t see Liu Tongjia’s expression when they were at the dining table earlier. If she really had another motive, she wouldn’t have that kind of expression.
“That’s just your imagination.” Huo Jinyao didn’t want to quarrel with Su Qingsang because of other people. “Stop. Don’t you dislike her? What are you doing now? Are you defending her?”
“I’m not defending her. I think she might really be here to celebrate your birthday.”
“So what?” Huo Jinyao raised an eyebrow and looked disapproving. “Even if she’s really here to celebrate my birthday, so what?”
Su Qingsang found it hard to communicate with him in this manner.
“I’m not trying to do anything. I just think that you want to restore your relationship with your parents as well, so don’t always be at odds with each other. Why can’t you give her a chance and give yourself a chance?”
No matter how nonchalant Huo Jinyao said it, she would never forget it. That time when he murmured “mom” in his delirious state when he was sick.
She believed that he was secretly trying to improve his relationship with Liu Tongjia. Since that was the case, why not try to trust Liu Tongjia first?
Huo Jinyao took a step back because of Su Qingsang’s words. He narrowed his eyes and looked at Su Qingsang.
“Qingsang, let me tell you. I’m not you. You can forgive Su Chenghui, but that doesn’t mean that I have to forgive my mother.”
“…”Su Qingsang was speechless. In fact, after Su Chenghui went to the Li family last time and accused her without thinking, she still couldn’t let it go even now.
Don’t do to others what you don’t want others to do to you. She really didn’t have the right to ask Huo Jinyao to forgive Liu Tongjia.
“I gave her a chance, more than once.”
Because of the guilt and self-blame in his heart, he had backed down again and again over the years. It was the same no matter what.
However, his backing down didn’t wake Liu Tongjia up. She was still thinking about Huo Yifan.
She didn’t really want to celebrate his birthday. If that was the case, why put on an act?
He didn’t care what Liu Tongjia did to him. However, Liu Tongjia shouldn’t go against Su Qingsang. He couldn’t tolerate that.
Because of that, he was very angry with Liu Tongjia. He had no intention of improving his relationship with Liu Tongjia.
“I’m going to take a shower.”
Su Qingsang stood there and watched Huo Jinyao walk into the bathroom. Her lips moved a little, but in the end, she walked out helplessly.
Looking a little dazed and out of sorts, Liu Tongjia was still sitting there. It was as if she was in a trance.
Su Qingsang couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for Liu Tongjia. If Liu Tongjia really came for Huo Yifan, why would she look like this?
However, Huo Jinyao wouldn’t believe it.
“Auntie?” She sat down opposite Liu Tongjia. “Jin Yao went to take a shower. After he’s done, we can eat the cake.”
Liu Tongjia finally came back to her senses. She glanced at Su Qingsang and shook her head gently.
“Forget it. I’m going back first.”
“Auntie?” Su Qingsang cleared her throat. “Aren’t you going to wait for Jinyao? He takes a quick shower.”
“There’s no need.” Liu Tongjia wasn’t someone who was blind. Huo Jinyao did’t want to see her. If she stayed, Huo Jinyao wouldn’t show her any face.
“Auntie?”
This was the first time Su Qingsang had seen Liu Tongjia like this. She had always been elegant, graceful, and even a little arrogant.
Liu Tongjia didn’t speak again. She glanced at Su Qingsang and eventually left. Before she left, her eyes fell on the cake, and she was momentarily lost in thought.
Speaking of which, she hadn’t celebrated Huo Jinyao’s birthday with Huo Jinyao for more than ten years, and they had never eaten cake together.
After Liu Tongjia left, Su Qingsang felt strange tension in her heart.
In fact, what Liu Tongjia had done was indeed infuriating. However, Su Qingsang wasn’t happy to see things turn out like this.
Perhaps it was because of the huge contrast from before that made her feel sorry for Liu Tongjia.
After she returned to their room, Huo Jinyao had already come out of the shower.
“Auntie has left.”
“Mhm.” Huo Jinyao didn’t mind. Su Qingsang stood behind him and looked at his dripping hair.
“Huo Jinyao, I can tell that Auntie really wanted to celebrate your birthday with you.”
“Is that so?” Huo Jinyao picked up a towel and casually wiped his hair. “So what?”
He had already given up on Liu Tongjia and didn’t have any hope. If she had really come to celebrate his birthday with him, why would she leave so easily?
To put it bluntly, Su Qingsang was still too naive and too gullible.
“You…”
“If you don’t mention her, I’ll feel happier today.”
Su Qingsang was silent as she watched Huo Jinyao dry his hair and stand in front of her.
“Alright, my dear wife. Now, I’m going to enjoy my birthday present.”
“Birthday, birthday present?”
“Don’t tell me you think you can satisfy me just by cooking a table full of dishes for me?”
“What else can I do?”
“Of course, you can gift-wrap yourself to me as well.”
As Huo Jinyao spoke, he picked up Su Qingsang.
Su Qingsang instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck. “Wait a moment. I have a present for you.”
“There’s no rush in giving me the present. I want to devour you more now.”
Huo Jinyao placed Su Qingsang’s body on the bed. Just as he was about to kiss her, she suddenly covered his lips.
“Honey.”
It was his birthday today. Did she not want to satisfy him as well?
“I think my period just came.” It started after she came back to Lin City, so he should know something about it.
Hmm? And then?
“In other words, I’m not pregnant.”
“Isn’t that perfect?”
“Give me another chance.” Su Qingsang put her arm around his neck. “Can you do it again?”
Huo Jinyao paused for a moment. His expression was half helpless and half conflicted.
“Do you really want to have a child that badly?”
“Yes.”
“You’re an obstetrician and gynecologist. You should know how tiring it is to get pregnant.”
“Yes.”
“You should also know that giving birth can be very painful. It’s said to be a level-10 pain.”
“I know.”
“Whether it’s a cesarean section or a natural birth, the ones who suffer are women.”
“That’s right.”
“Even so, you still want to have a child?”
“Yes.” Her gaze focused, Su Qingsang wrapped her arms around his neck. “I just want to have a child. Are you going to give it to me or not?”
Huo Jinyao propped himself up with one hand. Looking at the stubborn Su Qingsang, he felt a little helpless.
“It’s my birthday today, I’m willing to try again.”
“Okay.” Su Qingsang was confident. If there was one, there would be two, and if there was two, there would be three. Sooner or later, she would make Huo Jinyao agree to have a child.
..
The next day was the day of the trial.
When Huo Jinyao woke up, Su Qingsang was still asleep. She was exhausted from yesterday.
She had worked hard to get pregnant. Huo Jinyao looked at her sleeping face and couldn’t help but laugh.
He leaned over and kissed Su Qingsang on the forehead. Su Qingsang slept soundly and wasn’t aroused by him at all.
Huo Jinyao got up and did his morning routine as quickly as possible. Looking at himself in the mirror in his suit, the corners of his lips curled up.
Huo Yifan and Su Peizhen wouldn’t be able to escape this time.
When he left, Huo Jinyao saw the cake that was still on the coffee table. He stopped in his tracks.
He was about to leave, but he opened the cake box again.
It was a beautiful cake with a small house on it. There was a small card stuck in the house. It said, “Happy Birthday”.
Huo Jinyao stared at the words for a long time. He rubbed his forehead and finally put the cake back on. When he left, he took it out and threw it into the trash can in the corridor.
It wasn’t a sincere blessing, so he didn’t want it.
When Huo Jinyao rushed to the court, almost all the members of the Huo family had arrived. Grandfather Huo, Huo Mingguang, Liu Tongjia, Huo Mingliang, Nian Chunya, huo mingmei, Wei Nantian, and their children had all arrived.
Huo Jinyao was the latest to arrive. He was followed by Yang Wenchang and Zhang Yang.
When they saw him enter, the rest of the Huo family members didn’t look too pleasant, especially Huo Mingliang and Nian Chunya, who looked at Huo Jinyao with piercing eyes.
Huo Jinyao didn’t care at all. He did it on purpose.
This trial wasn’t open to the public. Those who were able to attend the hearing were all tied to the case. Not long after Huo Jinyao sat down, Xiang Caiping also arrived.
Upon seeing Xiang Caiping, Huo Jinyao’s expression changed for the first time. He nodded slightly at her as a form of greeting.
Xiang Caiping looked at him. Her lips moved, but she didn’t say anything. She sat down in the back seat.
Huo Jinyao only glanced in that direction and quickly withdrew his gaze.
The trial began very quickly. When Huo Yifan was brought out, his expression was very ugly and he looked extremely haggard.
Someone like him, who had always been high and mighty, couldn’t bear the thought of being imprisoned one day.
Su Peizhen was as haggard and unpleasant as he was.
Su Peizhen had never been treated like this since she was young. There were dark circles under her eyes, and she looked gloomy. She wasn’t as arrogant and domineering as she was before.
Xiang Caiping looked at Su Peizhen and felt as if someone was gripping her heart tightly.
After all, she was her own flesh. No matter how wrong and unreasonable Su Peizhen was, she was still her own child.
She reflexively looked in Huo Jinyao’s direction, only to find that he wasn’t paying attention to her at all. Xiang Caiping’s face instantly darkened again.
The trial was still going on. First, the plaintiff’s lawyer filed a complaint, then the defendant’s lawyer.
In order to get Huo Yifan off the hook, the Huo family had also found him a well-known lawyer in the industry.
Each presenting their own evidence, the lawyers on both sides went back and forth. The atmosphere was very intense.
Everyone was very nervous, except for Huo Jinyao, who was very calm. He didn’t want to come, but he just wanted to witness Huo Yifan’s final moment of disgrace.
An hour and a half later, after a round of rest, the judge finally announced the final result.
“Huo Yifan has been found guilty of stealing trade secrets and is sentenced to a fine of five million yuan. He is sentenced to six years and six months in prison.”
“Su Peizhen has been found guilty of stealing trade secrets and is sentenced to a fine of three million yuan. She is sentenced to five years in prison.”
“I don’t agree, I want to appeal.”
“I want to appeal, I want to appeal.”
Huo Yifan shouted, but his clamor was immediately stopped by the Court Police.
He had no choice but to glare in Huo Jinyao’s direction as he was about to be escorted out. “Huo Jinyao, I will definitely appeal to the end. Just you wait, just you wait.”
Huo Jinyao had already stood up and was about to leave when he stopped and looked at Huo Yifan because of Huo Yifan’s words.
“As long as you’re happy. Cousin, perform well. I’m still waiting for you to come out as soon as possible.”
“Huo Jinyao, you bastard. You set me up. This was all planned by you. You castard.”
To Huo Yifan, six and a half years in prison was worse than killing him. He completely lost his usual demeanor and started yelling.
Huo Jinyao ignored him. After he left the court house, he couldn’t hear Huo Yifan’s voice at all.
“President Huo?” Yang Wenchang approached him before he got into the car. His voice was very soft. “I saw Old Master Huo just now and he didn’t look well. Don’t you think so as well?”
Huo Jinyao saw it too. When Old Master Huo heard the verdict, he clutched his heart and looked like he was about to collapse.
He closed his eyes and said, “Grandfather is still angry. He won’t want to see me. With father and the others around, he should be fine. Let’s go back to the company first.”
The incident with Huo Yifan actually had some impact on Tianyu Group.
Even though the verdict wasn’t announced publicly, Huo Yifan had been too high-profile previously and the news of the new proposal had spread.
Now, many people were waiting to see Tianyu Group become a joke. Huo Jinyao would never give those people such a chance.
After getting into the car, he was about to let Yang Wenchang drive when the car door was suddenly opened. Xiang Caiping stood beside the car door and looked at Huo Jinyao with a conflicted expression.
“Jinyao?”
“Auntie.”
Xiang Caiping saw his indifference and couldn’t bring herself to say those words. But when she thought of her daughter who had been sentenced to five years in prison… She had no choice but to speak again.
“Jinyao, I know that Peizhen did something wrong. But she’s still young. If she has offended you in any way, just tell me and I’ll teach her a lesson. I also know that she caused your company to suffer losses. How about this? How much did your company lose? I’ll compensate you, okay?”
Although she didn’t have much money on her right now, she could sell all the supermarkets under her name.
This way, she would have money to give to Huo Jinyao.
“Auntie, don’t be like this. Su Peizhen is Su Peizhen, and you are you. You don’t have to bear any responsibility for her actions.”
“How could that be possible? She’s my daughter.”
Xiang Caiping stopped there, and she started to cry. “I gave birth to her and then abandoned her. It’s all my fault that she became like this. If I had raised her by my side since she was young, if I had taken good care of her and raised her, I believe she wouldn’t be like this.”
Feeling really sad and guilty, she sniffled. “It’s all my fault. I’m willing to take responsibility for her as long as you don’t let her go to jail. She’s only twenty-six years old this year. If she goes to jail for a few years, won’t she be ruined?”
Huo Jinyao sat in the car and didn’t move. Xiang Caiping didn’t howl, but her weeping silently was more unbearable than howling.
“Jinyao, can you do it? If you don’t want to see her, I can take her abroad. I once had a friend who is now living abroad. I can bring Peizhen out and promise that she won’t come back for the rest of her life. She’ll also never cause trouble for you and Qingsang again. What do you think?”
