The slender arms of a girl wrapped around him.
The intoxicatingly sweet fragrance from her body filled his nostrils.
Unlike the time she had hugged him calling him "Mom,"
Xie Guanyan's mind went completely blank.
His arms hung stiffly at his sides like a zombie's.
Only belatedly did he register her words: "I missed you so much."
Behind his silver-framed glasses, his eyes instantly gleamed with excitement and something sticky-sweet.
Lin Mo said she missed him!
As the two embraced, not a single person in the room made a sound.
Shen Yihan was grateful for Xie Guanyan's presence—and even more grateful that he had caught his sister.
His reaction had been a beat too slow; by the time he realized what was happening, she was already falling.
Thank goodness Mr. Xie was there.
Still, watching his sister hug Xie Guanyan stirred a faint discomfort in his chest.
He averted his gaze.
Shen Ji'an, quicker to react, had lunged forward in a slide—
But someone else had caught his sister first.
Relieved, he turned his head and saw it was Mr. Xie.
Just as he was about to speak, Lin Mo hugged Xie Guanyan and said she missed him.
His eyes nearly bulged out of his skull. The sky might as well have fallen!
Did his sister… like Mr. Xie?!
Jiang Tang also looked away at the sight.
Mr. Xie was a good man, but Lin Mo was far too young!
Even if they had once been the same age, the fact remained that—physically and mentally—she was only eighteen now.
Zhao Ziling, on the other hand, arched an eyebrow.
She’d known it—Lin Mo had feelings for Xie Guanyan.
He hadn’t even been away on business for that long, and she already missed him?
What else could it be but love?
As for Xie Guanyan’s feelings toward Lin Mo… Well, during their brief encounter the other day, nothing had been obvious.
But today, he had mobilized an entire team for her. That had to mean something.
Her best friend was stunning and brilliant—back when Zhao Ziling had visited her at the elite high school she attended,
the school’s so-called "F4" had literally fought each other just to impress her!
That was the kind of charm Lin Mo had.
Zhao Zixin, meanwhile, felt like the sky had collapsed.
Was his goddess already taken?!
Zhang Shuo and Uncle Fang, having seen the two of them go to school together before, couldn’t help but smile.
Even the two burly bodyguards dangling outside the window were moved.
Had their boss finally gotten his happy ending?
The older brother burst into silent tears, biting down hard on his younger brother’s arm to stifle his sobs.
The younger brother: "…"
The girl’s body was warm, soft, and petite, her heat seeping into Xie Guanyan and turning the tips of his ears red.
For the first time, under normal circumstances, he mustered his courage.
His stiff arms slowly rose—
"What the hell is going on here?!"
A furious voice suddenly roared.
Huo Tingshen wasn’t as angry as before,
but his eyes burned like hell, and his throat felt scorched.
Did no one care about whether he lived or died?!
Where was that useless butler?!
The shout snapped Lin Mo out of her exhilarated daze.
Realizing what she’d done, she jerked backward, her face instantly flushing crimson.
Stupid arms, who told you to hug him?!
Stupid mouth, why did you blurt that out?!
And in front of so many people, too!
She glanced around at the others, noting the varied expressions on their faces.
Lin Mo rubbed her nose. There was no escaping this.
She could only look up at Xie Guanyan and grin sheepishly. "Thanks for catching me and saving my life. I can’t repay you, so here’s a hug—congratulations, prosperity, and all the best!"
Xie Guanyan’s raised hands paused briefly before he adjusted his glasses. "Alright. I’ll take the well-wishes."
"Ahhh!" Huo Tingshen was truly losing it.
No one was paying him any attention!
Blind and furious, he bellowed, "Butler! Butler!!"
The Huo Residence had never been breached like this before. The butler, who usually carried himself with an air of superiority outside,
had been so terrified by the commotion that he’d collapsed on the spot!
But he hadn’t been completely useless.
Now scrambling up from the floor outside the study, he called out, "Coming, coming! Young Master, the doctor is already on the way!"
Given that several people had been armed with knives, he’d assumed Huo Tingshen couldn’t have escaped injury.
So he’d immediately contacted the family physician.
Huo Tingshen gritted his teeth. "How very thoughtful of you."
The Huo Residence butler beamed. "Thank you for the praise, Young Master."
Huo Tingshen: "…"
Tonight would be unforgettable for the entire Huo family.
The Huo Residence bodyguards, who had initially resisted, had eventually given up.
The Young Master had threatened to hold them all accountable if even one person got through—but now an entire group had barged in. Surely that made it fine, right?
The Huo family doctors, who lived on the estate to monitor Huo Tingshen’s health indicators around the clock, arrived swiftly to flush his eyes.
Never in their wildest dreams had they imagined a scenario where a mob would storm the Huo Residence and attack its patriarch.
No one left. Everyone stayed, waiting where they were.
Lin Mo urged them to go, saying only she and Zhao Ziling needed to remain.
But no one moved.
The moment they’d picked up their weapons, they’d resolved to face the consequences together—no retreating.
Zhao Ziling watched Huo Tingshen struggle to open his eyes without an ounce of sympathy.
Served him right! Every bit of this was his own doing!
Lin Mo had only crossed him for her sake. If he wanted revenge, he should take it out on her—the actual instigator.
What kind of coward dragged a student like Lin Mo into this?!
Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Nanny Wang trying to slink away.
Zhao Ziling grabbed her and asked Lin Mo, "Did she lay a hand on you?"
Now that she’d calmed down, it made sense—Huo Tingshen, a grown man and a high-ranking figure, wouldn’t dirty his own hands.
At most, Lin Mo’s two slaps had wounded his pride, but he wouldn’t actually harm her.
The most likely scenario was that he’d ordered Nanny Wang to slap Lin Mo a few times.
And Nanny Wang obeyed no one but Huo Tingshen in this house.
With her employer down for the count, Nanny Wang immediately groveled. "No, no, I didn’t! I’m sorry, I’m sorry!"
She turned to Lin Mo, begging for mercy.
A servant’s loyalty to their employer wasn’t inherently wrong.
Besides, Nanny Wang hadn’t even touched her—if anything, Lin Mo had worn her out with all the chasing.
Lin Mo waved a hand. "Forget it. Just go."
Instead of leaving, Nanny Wang, realizing Lin Mo wasn’t going to punish her, scrambled toward Huo Tingshen. "Young Master! My poor Young Master! Are you alright? Seeing you like this breaks Nanny’s heart!"
Lin Mo: "…"
Huo Tingshen had only been in pain from his eyes and throat earlier. Now his ears hurt too. "I’m not dead yet!"
A team of doctors worked on Huo Tingshen.
Zhao Ziling asked, "How is he, Doctor?"
One of them replied, "No permanent damage. He should recover fully in a day or two."
Hearing this, Huo Tingshen snorted inwardly.
Now they cared about him?
Then Zhao Ziling said, "What a shame. The spray didn’t blind him."
Huo Tingshen: "…"
A vein throbbed at his temple. "Zhao Ziling!!"
The Huo Residence butler relaxed slightly at the doctor’s prognosis.
Thank heavens it wasn’t serious. If the Young Master went blind, the Huo family would be finished!
How ruthless of Madam!
He’d been at the door and seen firsthand how precisely she’d aimed the spray at Huo Tingshen’s eyes.
The Huo family’s elder generation—Huo Tingshen’s parents—had continued meddling even after he took over, disapproving of Zhao Ziling as his wife.
So Huo Tingshen had relocated them to another property.
That left the butler as the closest thing to an elder in the Huo Residence.
In the past, during the couple’s squabbles, Madam had always listened to him.
The butler of the Huo Residence looked at Zhao Ziling and said, "Madam, if you and the young master have any matters to discuss, it's best to settle them behind closed doors—"
Zhao Ziling crossed her arms and glared at the butler. "Shut it, old man!"
The Huo Residence butler: "..."
The madam seemed different!
