IJLHTW - 63

It wasn’t until Huo Ci got home and turned her phone back on that she realized Yi Zechen had actually @ her online. She had turned off her phone because reporters kept calling her today.

If it weren’t for the barrage of messages from many people on WeChat after she turned on her phone, she wouldn’t have known about it.

At this moment, Yi Zechen had gone to the bathroom to shower, and Huo Ci was texting Mo Xingchen.

Mo Xingchen: Our Senior Brother Yi is really too handsome.

Ever since learning that Yi Zechen graduated from B University and seeing that incredibly stunning photo in the library, Mo Xingchen felt that calling him Mr. Yi all day was too distant, so she started calling him Senior Brother, Senior Brother.

Huo Ci chuckled, her fingers tapping on the screen: Your Daddy Huo’s man, could he be bad?

Mo Xingchen sent an annoyed emoji: You’re taking advantage of me!

Huo Ci replied blandly: You’ll probably have to take advantage of me for the rest of your life from now on.

Although Mo Xingchen hadn’t mentioned that little jerk Xu Siyang recently, according to Yi Zechen, he was turning over a new leaf and relentlessly pursuing Mo Xingchen. It was probably only a matter of time before he won her over.

After chatting for a while, a text message came through on her phone: “Xiao Ci, this is Shen Suian. I have some important things to tell you. Please answer the call later.”

Shen Suian probably worried that she wouldn’t answer if she saw an unfamiliar number, so he sent a text message in advance.

Huo Ci frowned as she looked at the text message. Moments later, his phone number appeared on the screen.

“Xiao Ci,” Shen Suian called tentatively when the call connected.

Huo Ci replied blandly, “It’s me.”

“Xiao Ci, I’m sorry, I dragged you into this,” Shen Suian apologized, and the other end fell silent. He could only tell her the reason for calling: “I think this matter truly originated from me, because I broke up with Lu Yongxin before, and she might have held a grudge, which led her to frame you.”

“I know,” in fact, as soon as this incident happened today, she could roughly guess who was involved.

Although her personality wasn’t universally charming, there were only a handful of people who would go to such great lengths to destroy her. Furthermore, colluding with paparazzi for candid shots and getting so many marketing accounts to create a buzz would cost a considerable amount. It truly required a deep-seated hatred to be willing to spend that much money.

She said sarcastically, “You’re quite charming, aren’t you?”

Shen Suian could hear the sarcasm in her voice. However, this incident almost ruined her reputation, and he understood that she was upset.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t handle my relationship with Lu Yongxin well,” Shen Suian’s tone was still full of apology.

Huo Ci wasn’t someone who liked to be verbally harsh to others. She knew that Shen Suian was also a victim in this matter. His stepping forward to clarify also protected her reputation.

Until Shen Suian softly said, “Actually, what I wanted to tell you is that the reason I broke up with Lu Yongxin was because I found out she instructed others to steal your advertisement.”

Huo Ci was stunned. She hadn’t expected that to be the reason.

Shen Suian continued, “That photographer is named Nan Wan. She was able to successfully steal your T&A advertisement because Lu Yongxin was backing her. The Lu family runs a media group, so they have quite an influence in the advertising industry.”

The reason why the T&A director suddenly got involved with Nan Wan was that Lu Yongxin had set them up.

The purpose was to make Huo Ci completely lose T&A.

Unexpectedly, Yi Zechen interfered. Lu Yongxin, annoyed that Nan Wan was useless, scolded her over the phone, unaware that Shen Suian overheard it.

He didn’t demand that Lu Yongxin be a morally upright person, but she targeted Huo Ci simply because of a vague and ambiguous relationship they had in their youth.

Actually, before that, Shen Suian had already decided to get engaged to her.

However, this incident actually led to their breakup.

Huo Ci also didn’t expect that the matter behind this was already so deeply intertwined. It turned out that she wasn’t just getting noticed recently; she had been targeted for a long time. She sneered internally, it seems Lu Yongxin had blamed their breakup on someone else.

So this time, she wanted to ruin both her and Shen Suian in one go.

“Thank you for telling me this,” Huo Ci said calmly.

Through the phone, Shen Suian naturally couldn’t see how cold her expression was when she said that. He said helplessly, “I will communicate with Lu Yongxin again, so if she dares to do it again, I will definitely take her to court.”

“To deal with this kind of person, do you think the law is useful?” Huo Ci found it a bit laughable; he was truly naive.

At this moment, the bedroom door was pushed open, and Yi Zechen came in, wearing pajamas and with wet hair. Huo Ci immediately said, “Okay then, thank you again for telling me the truth.”

After she hung up the phone, Yi Zechen casually asked, “Who called?”

“Shen Suian,” Huo Ci’s tone was even more nonchalant than his.

The man who was getting a towel paused, his voice a bit cold: “Something wrong?”

Yi Zechen was anything but unfamiliar with Shen Suian. Not only was he the other protagonist of today’s incident, but he was also the man who left the first mark in Huo Ci’s life. Although he knew they weren’t even considered early-romance couples, his face still froze at this moment.

Huo Ci suppressed a laugh, watching how this man would endure.

Indeed, Yi Zechen’s speed of drying his hair began to slow down. Like Huo Ci, he disliked hair dryers. His dark short hair was now wet, he casually rubbed it a couple of times, then stopped moving.

He turned to look at her, “Why aren’t you talking anymore?”

Huo Ci looked at his cold expression and immediately leaned on his shoulder, “Why are you so outwardly reserved but inwardly passionate?”

A soft chuckle escaped his lips, neither cold nor warm. Huo Ci tilted her head and kissed him, then proceeded to tell Yi Zechen everything Shen Suian had told her.

She wasn’t asking him to stand up for her, but there were no secrets between them.

As expected, after listening, Yi Zechen’s brows grew colder, and after a moment, he quietly uttered, “Is that so.”

His voice was terrifyingly cold.

________________________________________

“Xiao Cheng, drink less,” Han Jingyang and Jiang Jingcheng were in the hotel. After he returned, he didn’t go home because he had drunk a lot of alcohol, so he decided to stay out tonight and go back tomorrow.

Unexpectedly, once they got to the room, the two started drinking again after a disagreement.

The words of advice were out, but the man opposite was a bit silent. Until he turned to look at the starry sky outside, with dazzling neon lights, this was a prosperous scene unseen from three thousand meters above the mountain.

A man’s best years, however, were spent in endless solitude.

But he never regretted it.

Finally, even Han Jingyang couldn’t help but sigh, “You know, the world is just so small. Huo Ci and she are actually roommates.”

“Yes, the world is truly small,” but why could he never see her again? The girl he held dear in his heart had just disappeared.

Han Jingyang looked at him like this, feeling sad inside, but the words that finally came out were, “Xiao Cheng, forget it.” Jiang Jingcheng, sitting, didn’t speak. His flight jacket was on the back of his chair. He was only wearing a short-sleeved shirt. Through a thin layer of fabric, he reached out and patted his chest. His palm could feel the strong and powerful beating of his heart.

He said, “I can’t forget, this place can’t forget.”

The finger he pointed to was his heart.

A sleepless night, thinking of the distant, yet-to-return girl.

________________________________________

Since Yi Zechen publicly announced his relationship on Weibo, his Weibo followers have surpassed four million, and that particular Weibo post has been retweeted over 100,000 times, with over 500,000 likes.

When good-looking people get together with other good-looking people, there’s nothing but blessings left to give.

Even when he went to work, the administrative staff at the front desk, when they stood up to greet him, weren’t as timid as usual. After all, the seemingly serious and cold Mr. Yi was actually someone who doted on his girlfriend.

Netizens described his Weibo as “Huo Ci, Huo Ci, Huo Ci.”

To this day, all those few posts he made were about Huo Ci.

Even when Huo Ci arrived at the studio, she was met with various “extortions.” As soon as she entered the studio, before she could even speak, someone shouted, “Boss, treat us!”

“Treat us, treat us!” Everyone immediately burst into enthusiasm.

Witnessing such a romantic and over-the-top proposal last night, even if they weren’t the female lead, they were still excited.

Huo Ci glanced at them, shaking her head with a smile: “Ashikawa tonight, order whatever you want.”

Ashikawa is a Kaiseki restaurant. Everyone went crazy when they heard this; it’s a luxury restaurant with a per-person cost of over 800 yuan. The screams almost lifted the roof off. Huo Ci looked at them and warned, “Be careful not to get a complaint.”

“Let them complain, can’t we celebrate our boss’s successful proposal?”

Then came another round of cheers.

Just as she told Yi Zechen about this, she heard his indifferent reply: “Why isn’t anyone congratulating me?”

He replied right after finishing his morning meeting. The heads of several departments were present, and everyone still looked serious and focused.

Huo Ci saw that he even wanted to compare with her on this, and said impolitely: “Perhaps your popularity isn’t as good as mine.”

Then, the man on the other side didn’t reply.

However, around three o’clock in the afternoon, Huo Ci was working on the post-production of a major magazine spread when there was a knock on her office door. Then her assistant said excitedly, “Boss, someone’s here!”

When Huo Ci came out, the studio had already entered its afternoon tea session.

Exquisite desserts were laid out on various silver stands, and people were still constantly bringing in more. Just then, a man in a suit walked in and politely asked, “Excuse me, who is Miss Huo Ci?”

Everyone’s gaze turned towards her. The man in the suit naturally noticed and walked up to her, saying, “Miss Huo, this is an afternoon buffet ordered by Mr. Yi Zechen for you and your studio staff. Please sign for it.”

Immediately, with his words, the atmosphere reached its peak.

Everyone was already excited about the Kaiseki dinner tonight, but now there was such a high-end and exquisite afternoon tea. Some people had already noticed that the workers delivering the desserts were wearing uniforms clearly printed with the name of a certain five-star hotel.

The people in Huo Ci’s studio were all experts in food and entertainment, so they naturally recognized that this was the afternoon tea hotel that had been quite popular recently.

Oh my god, they could actually enjoy this afternoon tea in the office!

After Huo Ci signed for it, she told them to eat first and went to make a call.

Yi Zechen answered and asked, “Did you receive the things?”

Of course.

He asked, “Does everyone like it?”

Huo Ci put the phone closer, and there were shouts of “Long live Mr. Yi!” all around her. She said, “They’re so happy they’re almost crazy.”

Then he said indifferently, “My popularity is better than yours now, right?”

Huo Ci was so shocked she couldn’t even speak, completely taken aback by Yi Zechen.

How could he be so childish?

________________________________________

At this time, there was a guest at the Yi family home. Xu Di was watering flowers at the door when the young nanny called out, “Miss Hai is here.”

Hai Lian held a bag in her hand, clearly another gift for Xu Di.

Xu Di put down her watering can and greeted her, “Hai Lian, you’ve come. It’s rare for you to visit me so often.”

Actually, Hai Lian hadn’t visited for a long time. After all, Yi Zechen’s words in front of her were inevitably embarrassing. As for Xu Di, knowing that her son already had a beloved, she naturally wouldn’t dare to meddle in matchmaking again.

However, a guest is a guest. Since she had come, as an elder, she naturally had to entertain her courteously.

She asked the young nanny to make black tea for Hai Lian, and then Hai Lian presented the gift she was holding, saying it was skincare products suitable for Xu Di that she had seen abroad. At Xu Di’s age, she naturally liked these skincare products.

However, she still smiled and politely declined, “Every time you come, you bring a gift. You’re really too polite with me.”

Hai Lian still smiled gently and talked about the skincare products. As the conversation continued, it turned to Yi Zechen. She cautiously looked at Xu Di and softly asked, “I suppose Auntie doesn’t know about yesterday’s matter?”

Yesterday’s matter? Xu Di was startled at first, then looked at her and smiled faintly.

“Are you talking about Zechen’s matter?” Xu Di’s expression made it impossible for Hai Lian to tell if she genuinely didn’t know or genuinely didn’t care.

But she had a belly full of words. That Huo Ci was just a famous photographer. In terms of family background, she was naturally more impressive, and she was also a new designer; compared to someone who just took photos, she could be called an artist.

Thinking that Yi Zechen had disrespected her because of Huo Ci, Hai Lian simply couldn’t swallow this anger.

She knew that families like the Yis valued the daughter-in-law’s background the most. How could someone with Huo Ci’s family background and job possibly catch the eye of the Yi family?

Xu Di watched her eyes constantly shifting, but didn’t expose her. She calmly asked, “What happened to Zechen?”

So Hai Lian exaggeratedly told the story, and at the end, she didn’t forget to add, “I’m not telling you this to complain, I’m just afraid that Brother Zechen might be deceived.”

Unexpectedly, as soon as she finished speaking, Xu Di’s face suddenly turned cold.

She said, “Are you implying that my son doesn’t even have basic judgment of people?”