IJLHTW - 25

Huo Ci reached up to smooth her hair. Earlier, when Yi Zecheng had pressed her against the wall, a strand of hair had fallen loose. After fixing it, she flashed a sweet smile and softly greeted the head peeking out from the doorway, “Hello, little uncle.”

The head by the door twitched slightly—this woman looked terrifying.

Yi Zecheng looked at her helplessly, then turned back to the head and said, “Xu Siyang, go back and put some clothes on.”

Once the head disappeared from the doorway, Huo Ci looked at him and said, “Why didn’t you warn me?”

Hadn’t he warned her? If he hadn’t stopped her, she probably would have rushed into the room and beaten the naked Xu Siyang senseless. Yi Zecheng wasn’t particularly eager to take the blame for this unexpected situation.

“Is he really your little uncle?” Huo Ci still found it hard to believe.

Yi Zecheng nodded as he observed her incredulous expression: “He and my mother are half-siblings, sharing the same father but different mothers.”

Huo Ci wanted to cover her face. What had she just shouted earlier? Dead pervert, and even threatened to kill him.

Great, just great.

“Chengcheng, what are you two talking about out here?” Xu Siyang reappeared at the doorway, wearing a pink short-sleeved T-shirt and white shorts. His black hair was long enough to partially cover his eyes, and his face was handsome yet soft, with a somewhat delicate appearance.

Yi Zecheng frowned: “Xu Siyang, shut up.”

After being scolded, Xu Siyang pouted but obediently closed his mouth.

Though he stopped talking, his eyes were fixed on Huo Ci, darting back and forth between her and Yi Zecheng. When he had come out of the room earlier, he had seen them enter one after the other. If he hadn’t been there, something serious might have happened tonight.

At this thought, Xu Siyang straightened himself. Regardless, he was the little uncle, an elder.

He couldn’t let the kids fool around outside.

Crossing his arms, he wore a serious expression: “Zecheng, come in with this young lady. I need to talk to you both.”

Yi Zecheng looked at him: “Idiot.”

With that, he left the two behind and went straight into the room.

Xu Siyang: “...” Where was his dignity as an uncle?

Huo Ci looked at Xu Siyang sympathetically. It was the first time she had seen Yi Zecheng be so direct.

Xu Siyang gritted his teeth and looked at Huo Ci. After scrutinizing her up and down, he curiously asked, “Have we met somewhere before? You look familiar.”

Huo Ci didn’t respond.

Fortunately, Xu Siyang quickly moved past this question and asked Huo Ci, “What’s your relationship with my eldest nephew?”

Eldest nephew...

It was hard to associate this term with Yi Zecheng. She suppressed a laugh and asked him, “What do you think our relationship is?”

“Girlfriend?” Xu Siyang muttered to himself, but immediately dismissed the idea: “That’s impossible. Yi Zecheng doesn’t have the ability to date. My sister didn’t give him that gene when she gave birth to him.”

Huo Ci looked at him: Idiot.

Xu Siyang glared at her: “Don’t think I don’t know you’re cursing me in your mind.”

Huo Ci smiled: “You’re quite self-aware.”

Xu Siyang: “...” Can we still play nicely? Everyone’s being so confrontational.

In the end, Huo Ci followed Xu Siyang into the room because he insisted on interrogating her about her relationship with Yi Zecheng. He couldn’t just stand by and watch his eldest nephew’s first time be given to someone unclear.

“What’s your name?” Xu Siyang stood in front of the TV cabinet, arms crossed, legs casually resting on the table.

Huo Ci observed him and concluded that Yi Zecheng must resemble his father more. He and Xu Siyang didn’t share any resemblance. The only connection was that they were both tall.

The sound of water came from the bathroom; Yi Zecheng was showering.

“Huo Ci,” she replied indifferently.

Xu Siyang displayed some gentlemanly spirit. Seeing her answer his question, he proudly raised his chin and said, “I’m Xu Siyang, Yi Zecheng’s biological uncle.”

Look how proud he was.

Huo Ci sneered.

“What’s your relationship?” Xu Siyang repeated his earlier question.

This time, Huo Ci didn’t answer him but instead countered, “What did you mean when you said he’s a virgin?”

Her face showed no emotion, cold yet alluring. Even Xu Siyang couldn’t help but glance at her several times. No wonder his eldest nephew had fallen for her—this enchantress was unlike anyone else.

She was bewitching.

“Don’t worry about whether he’s a virgin or not,” Xu Siyang waved his hand dismissively, trying to maintain an elder’s demeanor.

Huo Ci had entered to chat with him intentionally, aiming to learn more about Yi Zecheng. She sat on the edge of the bed, legs crossed, revealing her slender, snow-white ankles and calves beneath the loose pants.

When Yi Zecheng emerged, a towel draped over his head, bare-chested except for a pair of shorts.

He lowered his head and saw the legs crossed at the bedside—slender, snow-white.

Huo Ci looked up, gazing at his abs, resembling a chocolate bar—not exaggerated, but exceptionally firm. His shorts hung low on his hips, exposing part of his V-lines on either side. She hadn’t expected to see such masculinity suddenly.

If she tackled him now, would she get killed?

Before she finished thinking, she was pulled up. Yi Zecheng directly pulled her to the doorway and whispered, “Go to sleep early.”

Seeing Huo Ci attempt to speak, he cut her off: “Talking too much with him isn’t good for your brain.”

“Yi Zecheng, you think I didn’t hear you badmouthing me? I’ll call my sister right now. Wait and see,” an indignant shout came from inside the room.

Huo Ci laughed, batting her eyes: “Then say goodnight to me.”

“Goodnight,” Yi Zecheng looked at her.

Taking advantage of his distraction, Huo Ci suddenly hugged him tightly—the firm muscles of his waist and abdomen warmed her palms. After hugging him, she turned and ran to the side without looking back.

Yi Zecheng stood in place, watching her pull out her keys and enter her room.

This little rascal.

**

“Why are you here?” Yi Zecheng returned to his room, looking at the towering figure, and asked indifferently.

Xu Siyang was dissatisfied and angrily said, “Is that how you talk to your uncle? Let me tell you, if my sister finds out you’ve come here without saying a word, she’ll be furious. Don’t you realize how easy it is to make people worry?”

“Shut up,” Yi Zecheng furrowed his brows.

Yi Zecheng opened his laptop, preparing to handle official business. Seeing him ignore him, Xu Siyang continued, “I’m here for the Dakar Rally, the toughest car rally in the world. Isn’t that impressive?”

“The rally is in Senegal. What are you doing in Guinea?” Yi Zecheng didn’t believe his nonsense.

Xu Siyang chuckled and leaned closer: “As expected, Chengcheng knows me best.”

“Spit it out,” Yi Zecheng opened his email; Yang Ming had scanned the documents he needed to handle over the past few days.

“Lend me some money. Dad froze my card, and I sneaked here,” Xu Siyang sighed. He lamented, “Tell me, isn’t it pitiful being a billionaire’s son like me?”

Last year, Ming Sheng Group’s market value exceeded tens of billions, and this number would continue to rise. As the company’s founder, Xu’s grandfather’s wealth had long surpassed hundreds of millions. Xu Siyang, as one of his heirs, calling himself a billionaire heir wasn’t an exaggeration.

“Self-inflicted suffering,” Yi Zecheng calmly uttered four words.

He rambled on for a long time, but Yi Zecheng focused solely on processing the documents. After turning off the lights to sleep, Xu Siyang tossed and turned beside him. Earlier, Yi Zecheng had told him to check into another room, but who knew the hotel rooms were all booked.

“Sleep,” he quietly scolded.

Xu Siyang rolled over and complained, “Uncle Yi Zecheng can’t sleep.”

Yi Zecheng restrained himself and asked, “What exactly do you want?”

“Lend me some money,” Xu Siyang reiterated.

“Three million,” Yi Zecheng’s voice came through the darkness. Just as Xu Siyang was about to jump up, he heard his indifferent voice again: “You have five minutes to fall asleep.”

Light, even breathing instantly filled the room.

Good, very quiet.

**

They stayed in Guinea for four days, and on the fifth day, it was a rest day. Huo Ci originally planned to find Yi Zecheng to go out together, but unexpectedly, he had left early, and it was Xu Siyang who informed her.

“My eldest nephew said not to wander around,” Xu Siyang, who hadn’t received his money yet, had been well-behaved these past few days.

Huo Ci sneered. Unexpectedly, Xu Siyang didn’t get angry but earnestly asked her, “You haven’t eaten breakfast yet, right? How about we eat together?”

“Sure,” Huo Ci suddenly smiled.

Xu Siyang watched her change expressions so quickly and suddenly felt regretful.

What kind of eyes did his eldest nephew have? Why did he feel this girl was a demoness?

However, Xu Siyang had a flaw since childhood—he was particularly lenient towards beautiful girls. Not to mention Huo Ci was naturally attractive. These past few days, surrounded by black people, those women simply weren’t within his aesthetic range. Therefore, Huo Ci was truly a breath of fresh air cleansing his eyes.

They didn’t wake up early, and by the time they reached the restaurant, everyone else had already left.

Sitting on the sofa, their conversation flowed smoothly. When discussing the purpose of their trip, Xu Siyang shook his head and said, “My eldest nephew, truly, harbors a fervent passion. He genuinely seeks neither fame nor profit.”

Huo Ci looked at him and softly asked, “If that’s the case, why did he leave Doctors Without Borders and stop being a doctor?”

Xu Siyang looked at her in surprise and asked, “You don’t know?”

Huo Ci remained silent, her eyes fixed on him.

Xu Siyang felt inexplicably disheartened and said, “It’s not that he doesn’t want to be a doctor—it’s that he can’t.”

“Can’t?” She was stunned.

“A surgeon with an injured hand—do you think he can still perform surgery?”