IJLHTW - 35

Huo Ci could have sworn that Yi Zecheng had never worn such a stunned expression in his life.

Huo Mingzhou, opposite them, was very graceful. He extended his hand, and Yi Zecheng quickly released his hand from Huo Ci’s shoulder and respectfully shook Huo Mingzhou’s hand, “Hello, Uncle. I am Yi Zecheng.”

Hearing his voice, which wasn’t as cold as usual, and even had a slight tremor, Huo Ci couldn’t help but lower her head.

She actually got to see Yi Zecheng nervous one day.

It was truly a fresh experience.

“Huo Ci,” Huo Mingzhou looked at the silent girl, asking with a slight smile, “Shouldn’t you introduce us?”

Huo Ci finally looked up at him properly, but quickly turned her head to Yi Zecheng beside her and said, “This is Huo Mingzhou.”

Yi Zecheng looked at her stubborn expression, feeling a bit helpless. He naturally knew about Huo Ci’s family situation. He just hadn’t expected Huo Ci’s father to be a doctor in the medical aid team in South Sudan.

“This is Yi Zecheng,” Huo Ci looked at Huo Mingzhou opposite her, paused, then said, “The person I like.”

Huo Mingzhou raised an eyebrow in surprise. He was an extremely handsome middle-aged man. Although he was almost fifty, he looked only in his early forties, tall and straight, appearing very steady and reserved, with the alluring charm of a mature man.

Huo Ci resembled Liu Ruhan more, but her eyes were a replica of his.

Dark and bright, as if stars were hidden within them.

“Why didn’t you call me when you came here?” Huo Mingzhou’s voice was extremely gentle, not at all annoyed by Huo Ci calling him by his name directly.

Huo Ci said coldly, “You only write letters. If I wrote a letter to you, I’m afraid it still wouldn’t have reached you by now.”

Huo Mingzhou chuckled, looking at her as if she were a mischievous little girl, his eyes filled with a doting tenderness like water.

“Have you had dinner?” Huo Mingzhou looked at the two gently.

“Yes, we have.”

“No, we haven’t.”

Huo Ci turned her head, watching Yi Zecheng lie through his teeth. They had clearly had dinner at the hotel before coming here.

Although Yi Zecheng’s lie was exposed, he wasn’t embarrassed at all. He said with a perfectly normal expression, “We just had a little something at the hotel, but as you know, the taste here is always a bit difficult to get used to.”

In short, it meant: “Although we ate, we weren’t full.”

Huo Ci didn’t even have a surprised expression anymore. She secretly chuckled in her heart; even the usually aloof Mr. Yi could have such moments. She remembered when Yi Zecheng coldly told her that they were impossible, and comparing that to now, it really was a case of “the wicked being subdued by the wicked.”

“How about coming over to my place to sit? I’ll cook you a dish,” Huo Mingzhou didn’t expose him, but instead went along with the flow and asked them.

“No need, we still have to go back to the hotel,” Huo Ci said coldly.

But as soon as she finished speaking, the hem of her T-shirt was gently tugged. She didn’t move, but the tugging force increased slightly. She slightly turned her head to look at the man beside her and saw his serious expression.

If it weren’t for the fact that her shirt hem had already been pulled five or six times, she would never have suspected that it was his little trick.

Huo Mingzhou, however, pressed on, “Huo Ci, don’t you want to see where Dad lives?”

Unexpectedly, a single sentence made her throat suddenly feel terribly sour. She had never set foot on the African continent before. Although she knew from countless news reports how poor, backward, and rampant with various infectious diseases it was here, it wasn’t until she truly stepped onto this land that she understood that the suffering described in those reports was less than a tenth of the reality.

“Let’s go,” Huo Ci said with a grim face.

But as Huo Mingzhou turned, she glared at Yi Zecheng.

He had been persistently pulling at her shirt hem just now.

The doctors of the Chinese medical team lived in the dormitory building next to the hospital. When they returned, other doctors were chatting and playing cards in the lobby. When they weren’t working in the evenings, the doctors found some entertainment for themselves.

“Teacher Huo, who are these two?” Seeing Huo Mingzhou bring back two strangers, everyone was curious.

Moreover, these two were each remarkably good-looking. The young girl was tall and slender, wearing a T-shirt and shorts, with her hair tied in a bun. Her small face was probably only palm-sized, and her delicate features were excessively beautiful. As for the man beside her, he was tall and upright, strikingly handsome.

It was rare to see Chinese people here, and to have two such outstanding young people arrive at once was even more so.

“My daughter came here for work and to visit me, and this is her friend,” Huo Mingzhou smiled.

Doctors who came here for work were all far away from their families, so it was rare for a family member to visit.

Everyone was naturally very happy, but after exchanging greetings, they tacitly left the living room to them.

Huo Mingzhou was about to cook personally, but Yi Zecheng spoke: “Actually, Huo Ci just wanted to see where you live, Teacher. There’s no need to go to such trouble.”

“No trouble at all. I still have some rice in the fridge. I’ll make you Yangzhou fried rice,” Huo Mingzhou said, looking at Yi Zecheng with a smile in his eyes.

He hadn’t missed Yi Zecheng’s little tricks just now.

Huo Ci, this child, was just too stubborn. Her personality was too persistent; even Huo Mingzhou couldn’t handle her sometimes. Unexpectedly, she had actually found someone who could rein her in now.

But when she heard her say, “This is the person I like.”

Huo Mingzhou’s heart, well, it felt a little sour.

Huo Ci had admired Huo Mingzhou since childhood because her father was a doctor, someone who could cure diseases and save lives. It was precisely because of Huo Mingzhou’s influence that she chose to study medicine. She and Huo Mingzhou were very close; even Liu Ruhan had once complained that she was too close to her father, and she, as a mother, was pushed to the side.

Perhaps it’s precisely because they were so close that the hurt was more severe.

Soon, Huo Mingzhou came out. He carried two plates of fried rice and greeted them, “Come quickly and eat.”

The two sat at the table. Huo Mingzhou then took out a glass bottle of Lao Gan Ma chili sauce and placed it in front of them. Seeing that neither of them moved, he smiled, “These are good things. I’d only be willing to let you eat them if you came.”

Huo Ci snorted coldly.

She started to eat her rice, head down.

While eating, Huo Mingzhou sat opposite her, watching. He hadn’t seen his little girl in two years. Her personality was still so cold. He sighed in his heart, but with a smile, he asked, “Does Dad’s cooking taste good?”

Huo Ci said with a cold face, “It’s awful.”

But no sooner had she said it, she scooped another spoonful and put it in her mouth.

Little girl, her words don’t match her heart. But Huo Mingzhou was genuinely happy, getting up to pour her water and peel fruit for her.

“I don’t eat fruit,” Huo Ci said coldly again.

Huo Mingzhou said, “If you don’t eat it, your beloved Mr. Yi surely will, right?”

Yi Zecheng, who was quietly eating, suddenly looked up at the father and daughter. After a moment of silence, he said, “Thank you, Teacher Huo. I quite like fruit.”

Huo Ci, annoyed, reached out and pinched his waist. He was only wearing a thin shirt, but his muscles were firm, and after pinching for a long time, Huo Ci could only let out a frustrated grunt.

Yi Zecheng, taking advantage of Huo Mingzhou turning away, immediately leaned into her ear and whispered, “Behave yourself.”

Just as Huo Ci was about to turn her head, she heard him say again, “Don’t quarrel with your father-in-law anymore.”

When Huo Mingzhou came back with the fruit, Huo Ci looked at the hem of his shirt and suddenly said, “One of your buttons is missing.”

He looked down and chuckled, “Still the careful little girl, I didn’t even notice.”

Huo Ci said nothing, looking at his slightly faded shirt, her expression becoming even colder. But when she looked up again, she saw a hint of gray at his temples under the light.

When they left, Huo Mingzhou escorted them all the way to the car. He said, “When Dad has a vacation, can I come see you at the hotel?”

Huo Ci didn’t speak.

However, Yi Zecheng said, “Teacher Huo, we will be at the hotel after five o’clock these few days.”

Huo Mingzhou then smiled and nodded, urging them, “Get in the car quickly. South Sudan isn’t very peaceful at night. You should return to the hotel early to rest.”

After the two got into the car, Huo Ci stiffened her neck, not looking outside.

It wasn’t until the car started and drove far away that she turned her head to look back.

Huo Mingzhou’s tall figure gradually became a small dot.

She desperately bit her lip, enduring for a long time before saying, “He’s aged so much.”

Yi Zecheng silently pulled her into his embrace.

________________________________________

Due to Mingsheng Group’s donation of medicines, Yi Zecheng was honored by the South Sudanese government. The award ceremony was held at the hotel where they were staying, as it was the best hotel in Juba.

Huo Ci’s mood wasn’t particularly high, but when she saw Yi Zecheng in a black tuxedo, a slight smile still appeared on her face.

He truly looked as handsome as she had imagined.

She followed Yi Zecheng into the banquet hall, wearing the only white long dress she had brought. However, she still brought her camera, as she wanted to personally record such an occasion.

Although the ceremony was grand, it was very brief. Huo Ci stood below the stage, aiming her lens at the man on it.

This was the second time she had looked at this man through a lens. His expression was calm and composed. Regardless of how the people beside him praised his contributions to the country, he remained equally calm. The black tuxedo made him appear tall and upright, and his slightly long black hair was neatly combed back.

Whether outside the lens or within this small frame, he was the man she loved.

In the bar, she recognized him at first sight.

Perhaps this was fate.

Huo Ci pressed the shutter, forever capturing the moment he received the medal in her camera.

This was also why she loved photography: because a camera could freeze a moment into eternity.

When the ceremony ended, Huo Ci quietly watched him exchange pleasantries with those people, his expression calm and noble. It wasn’t until he turned, saw Huo Ci in the distance, and then lowered his head to say a few words to Yang Ming beside him.

Yang Ming came over to invite her, saying, “Miss Huo, Mr. Yi would like you to come over.”

Huo Ci walked over and heard some commotion nearby. She looked across and saw a black man causing a disturbance. Black-clad bodyguards stepped forward to escort him away.

At this moment, something unexpected happened.

The shouting black man actually pulled out a gun from his body and started shooting at them.

The banquet hall wasn’t quiet. When the black man pulled out the gun, only a few people noticed. Yi Zecheng was still looking back at her, his back to the black man.

When Huo Ci rushed forward and pushed him away, all the scenes were like deliberately slowed-down footage in a movie.

The banquet hall instantly plunged into chaos.

“Huo Ci!” Yi Zecheng grabbed her and pulled her backward. They retreated all the way to the farthest corner of the banquet hall before he had time to check her injuries.

At this moment, Yi Zecheng was no longer calm and composed. He covered her wound, but the blood wouldn’t stop flowing.

“Are you crazy?” His eyes revealed helplessness.

Huo Ci’s lips curled up: “You were looking at me just now.”

You didn’t see him; I just wanted to warn you.

“But I finally got to protect you once,” her tone was light, but her face was as white as paper.

Yi Zecheng turned and shouted at Yang Ming, “Call the hospital quickly, quickly!”

“Who the hell asked you to save me? I just want you to live.”

Huo Ci looked at him. So, everyone has someone they want to protect with their life.

She didn’t before, but now she did.