"It's all my fault, sir... Please don't let your anger harm your health. I've just returned from China and truly didn't know the inside story. My mind was muddled as well. Fortunately, you arrived in time to prevent a major mistake. I won't meddle in the Zhuo family's affairs anymore, and Concubine Zhuo will be sent back to the Zhuo family. As for Miss Su, I will also go and beg for her forgiveness."
"Sir!"
Concubine Zhuo's face was full of disbelief, tears streaming down as she tried to throw herself at him.
But she lunged into empty air.
She nearly fell to the ground, barely caught by the servants. Heartbroken, she sobbed, "How can you abandon me? You said I was your favorite woman! I was wrong, I was truly wrong. I'll go apologize to Miss Su too—I'll kneel before her, kowtow, and beg for her forgiveness..."
"Enough."
Huo Xiang looked at her with disgust, his heart bleeding with hatred.
It was all this bitch's fault.
Forcing him to use up all his luck points to turn things around. He glanced sidelong at Old Master Huo, whose expression had noticeably softened, and who no longer looked at him with such deep loathing... Huo Xiang consoled himself that you can't catch a wolf without sacrificing a child.
This first-tier favorability buff was still useful.
It just didn't last long.
Even using up all his luck points, it would only hold for about three days.
Such a shame...
"Ahem, it's good that you know your mistake now," Old Master Huo said, trying to get angry, but somehow his heart uncontrollably softened. He even recalled his own grandson, feeling a sudden daze.
Xiang'er was still his grandson, after all.
"Since Miss Su has just arrived, you can apologize to her properly now. Explain the matter clearly, and that will be the end of it."
With that, he ordered someone to invite her to get out of the car and come inside.
Su Ning is here?
Huo Xiang's heart stirred. He turned to look and noticed several more cars outside.
First, a group of people who looked like bodyguards got out, and then, surrounded by them, a young woman stepped out.
Su Ning was decent-looking—no denying that—but she didn't fit the current definition of a beauty. She was cold and sharp, and wherever her gaze fell, it felt like an unstoppable blade slicing through, making it hard to meet her eyes.
—Including Huo Xiang.
He instinctively looked away, then felt a bit annoyed after realizing it.
Such an aggressive person surely wasn't likeable. Knowing Su Ning's domineering and ruthless style, she probably wouldn't accept an apology easily.
He'd have to use special methods...
After a moment's thought, he included her within the range of his favorability buff.
With one more person added, the consumption doubled, but it was worth it.
Huo Xiang stepped forward, put on a smile, and said with a gentle, guilty tone:
"You must be Miss Su. I've long heard of your reputation. I am Huo Xiang of the Huo family. I apologize for my previous offenses. I should have given you a proper apology in a more formal setting. I'm truly sorry—I hope Miss Su can forgive me."
Saying this, he gracefully extended his hand.
Time ticked by.
His hand hung in the air. Huo Xiang maintained a composed look on the surface, but inside, he was growing impatient. Why was an ordinary person so arrogant? Was the buff not working?
Actually, he shouldn't have doubted it.
It was working.
[Warning, warning. External mental influence detected. Residual balance used for defense.]
The balance dropped rapidly.
Blinking once, Su Ning saw a million disappear; blinking again, another million gone. Unfortunately, joy was always short-lived.
A flurry of digital rain.
The system said with relief, "Damn it, that foreign force even tried to smuggle in something this outrageous. But those deadbeats will never beat us, the regular army, no matter how flashy they get."
"Look, we burned one, two, three, four, five... so many zeros!"
Su Ning smiled too.
"So, fortune favors the bold," she said, letting the system chatter on beside her. She finally fixed her gaze on Huo Xiang.
He had thick brows and deep-set eyes, a strong, agile build.
She had to admit, the original author was probably a face-lover. Major and minor characters in the story, good or evil, were almost all good-looking unless there was a special reason.
Huo Xiang was no exception.
Pity that Su Ning, who had once gone into long-winded detail—picking at every word—to disparage his appearance, found him utterly detestable now.
"Miss Su..." Huo Xiang couldn't help prompting.
"Sorry, I was spacing out."
Just as he began to smile at her response, she looked at him with contempt:
"I was just thinking—how can someone be as shameless as you? Going on about 'Huo Xiang of the Huo family,' as if anyone would believe you're a real Huo scion. What I hate most are petty people like you, who enjoy stealing another's place and smugly preen about it."
"..."
Caught off guard by the insult, Huo Xiang's face twitched. Cursing her as a bitch under his breath, he forced a smile:
"Miss Su, you're overthinking things. I didn't mean it that way."
Turning with a semblance of closeness, he said:
"Grandfather, please explain for me too. I grew up in the Huo family, so it's just a habit. Don't let Miss Su misunderstand."
Old Master Huo instinctively wanted to comply.
But suddenly, a surge of anger rose in his heart, then faded, then rose again, then faded...
Everyone watched as his face shifted through various expressions before he finally forced out:
"Well, this is your fault. Whatever Miss Su says, you just listen. The important thing is to make amends and apologize, got it?"
Huo Xiang: ...
He was a little surprised, but thinking about how the old bastard still dwelled on that dead grandchild, he took a deep breath, swallowed his anger, and once again lowered his head to apologize to Su Ning.
"As the saying goes, three strikes and you're out. You've offended me three times now. Normally, I wouldn't let you off, but since I find Old Master Huo so agreeable, I'll let it slide for his sake."
"Miss Su, I think you've miscounted. How would I dare offend you three times?"
Once with the shipping incident.
Once with the Zhuo family business... and this time, he was wronged anyway.
Two times total.
"No, I counted correctly."
Su Ning frowned and said matter-of-factly, "You're too ugly. Just appearing in front of me hurts my eyes. That counts as one time too."
Huo Xiang: ...
He, ugly?
The others also felt Su Ning was just humiliating him. Especially Concubine Zhuo—in her eyes, Huo Xiang was a god, and Su Ning was a vile woman going too far. She couldn't help glaring at her.
Su Ning happened to catch that glare.
"And who is this?" she asked.
Her voice was cold.
Concubine Zhuo flinched. Stupid as she was, even she now understood the situation clearly—the once unattainable Huo family was no match for Su Ning.
She hurriedly looked to Huo Xiang for help.
One night as husband and wife, there should be some lingering affection...
"Miss Su must be amused by this. She was once a woman of my household, lacking in moral character. It was my negligence not to see her true nature, allowing her to take advantage and use the Huo family name to cause trouble. She even dared to offend you this time—truly unforgivable."
Huo Xiang didn't even glance at Concubine Zhuo.
As he spoke, he kept smiling at Su Ning, his tone gentle and soft:
"If you say the word, this person is yours to deal with as you see fit, Miss Su."
"How dare you be so presumptuous?" Su Ning said irritably, her face full of scorn. "The two of you are birds of a feather. Both are waiting for me to settle accounts, and now you presume to make arrangements for me?"
"..."
Huo Xiang nearly choked on his anger.
"Also, I think you're too cold-blooded and heartless." Su Ning frowned and turned her gaze to Old Master Huo, speaking earnestly:
“You must be careful, to be honest, Concubine Zhuo dared to borrow the Huo family’s influence only because he usually gave her the confidence. That shows how much he doted on her. And now he can give her up just like that? From small things, we see true character... tsk tsk.”
Old Master Huo seemed thoughtful.
Even the others began to ponder along those lines, finding the point quite reasonable!
Damn you, Su Ning.
Huo Xiang almost burst into smoke on the spot. The last person in the world with no right to call him cold and heartless was Su Ning.
“Miss Su misunderstands. I’ve been traveling all year for business, with little time for romantic attachments. As for Zhuo, I wouldn’t even call it doting—just a bit of familiarity from seeing her more often. Originally, once a proper wife entered the household, I planned to marry her off along with the others.”
The moment these words were spoken.
Concubine Zhuo’s eyes flew open first, and then she cried hysterically.
“No... that’s not possible.”
She choked on the few words for a long time before she could finish them, but no one present paid her any attention. Even Huo Xiang only gave her a cold, warning glance.
Concubine Zhuo’s heart turned to ash.
Truly pitiful.
Su Ning sighed. As such a kind-hearted person, she simply couldn’t bear to see others sad. So she said with righteous indignation:
“Calling you cold and heartless, and you won’t accept it? A single night as husband and wife brings a hundred days of kindness. You’ve had so many days with her, and yet you say things like that to hurt her feelings. Look how pitifully she cries—it’s unbearable for me to watch.”
Then she turned to Concubine Zhuo and asked:
“How has your relationship usually been?”
“Very good,” said Concubine Zhuo, biting her lip as she recalled the sweet moments between them. Huo Xiang had made so many exceptions for her—even massaging her legs in the middle of the night when she got cramps!
She looked to Huo Xiang, hoping to move him.
But Huo Xiang wasn’t moved; he only felt humiliated, as if everyone was laughing at him.
A grown man massaging a woman’s legs.
This fool of a woman.
He gave Concubine Zhuo a venomous glare.
Yet Su Ning seemed genuinely touched, her face full of sympathy as she said:
“Ah, truly a couple in love. A gentleman always helps others fulfill their wishes. How about this—I’ll overlook your offense just this once...”
Hearing this, everyone—Concubine Zhuo, the Zhuo family, even Huo Xiang—looked up in surprise. Though Huo Xiang felt a strange suspicion. Would Su Ning be so generous?
Perhaps it was the halo effect at work.
The next second.
“You two should get married,” Su Ning said earnestly. “Joy can wash away bad luck. Since Old Master Huo and I hit it off like old friends, I suppose Huo Xiang should call me ‘Grandma Su’ anyway. I’d be happy to officiate your wedding.”
She nodded with a smile, adding:
“Isn’t my idea wonderful? If word gets out, it might even be remembered as a beautiful story.”
