Chapter Three: Mr. Huo, You're Just a Third Party

Su Muci walked to the black car.

From the driver's seat, that exquisite face came into her view as the car window slowly lowered.

Just like last night, he was dressed in a noble and elegant suit, with his white shirt collar tied all the way up, revealing his long, pale neck and exuding an air of elite sophistication.

Su Muci was fooled by his appearance last time and got into his car without warning.

But she came prepared today.

She stopped a meter away from the car and asked warily, "What is your purpose in bringing me here?"

Huo Zhan sensed the coldness in her tone.

I knew my first impression would be bad, but I didn't expect it to be this bad.

A wicked thought flashed across his deep eyes: Since the impression is already so bad, I might as well kidnap her to Kyoto, lock her up, and vent my desires that I've suppressed for ten years!

Suddenly, a voice came from the invisible earpiece:

"Mr. Huo, please remember that we live in a society governed by the rule of law. Take a deep breath, one breath, two breaths..."

The speaker was the private doctor who had rushed to Jiangcheng last night, and who was also his current love strategist.

The doctor's words gradually calmed the evil thoughts in Huo Zhan's mind, and his breathing gradually became steady.

He held a small velvet box in his large, well-defined hand and handed it to Su Muci, his voice indifferent yet distant: "Yours."

Su Muci frowned, her tone wary: "I don't have this kind of box."

"The item is in the box."

"?"

Su Muci approached with a puzzled look, took the square box, and gently knocked it open.

A familiar hair clip came into view.

Her pupils dilated in surprise...

It really is her stuff!

I couldn't find this hair clip last night; I thought I'd dropped it on the street.

Su Muci looked at the man in the driver's seat again. His sculpted profile was cold and hard, and his expression was calm and composed. His noble appearance was almost unrelated to the word "bad guy".

Did he really just give her a hair clip?

Su Muci remained vigilant, her tone still stiff: "How did you get my phone number?"

Huo Zhan's expression was arrogant and aloof: "Is it possible that we have mutual acquaintances?"

"acquaintance?"

Su Muci's mind raced through all the people she knew.

The only acquaintance who knew her phone number and that she had a boyfriend was her best friend, Huo Junjun.

Huo Zhan stated frankly, "My surname is Huo."

"!"

A jolt of electricity flashed through Su Muchi's mind.

Does she share the same surname as Junjun?

Is he really Junjun's friend?!

Su Muci's cheeks flushed red: "I...I'm so sorry, I...I mistook you for...for..."

"Pervert, huh?"

Huo Zhan finished her concluding remarks without any change in expression.

Su Muci's cheeks flushed even redder, and she lowered her head, saying, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, it's good to be vigilant."

As soon as Huo Zhan finished speaking, the strategist's voice came through the earpiece: "Mr. Huo, you performed well with your aloofness. She won't think of you as a pervert anymore. But she does have a boyfriend after all. If you want to steal her away, you'll have to plan carefully. Find an excuse to leave first to avoid her impression of you getting worse again."

leave?

Huo Zhan frowned slightly, seemingly reluctant.

Suddenly, the phone rang—it was Su Muci calling.

Su Muci turned her back to answer the phone and said to the other end, "Okay, it's all set up, right? I'll be there right away!"

Are you going out?

Huo Zhan seized on the key words and immediately pressed her for answers after she hung up the phone.

Su Muci whispered, "Yes, I'm going to the central square to propose to my boyfriend."

As she spoke the second half of the sentence, her eyes suddenly curved into a smile, as if she were very happy.

Completely unaware that the man in the car, upon hearing the word "marriage proposal," suddenly felt a surge of dark undercurrent in his eyes.

Proposal?

Huo Zhan's right knuckles on the steering wheel tightened suddenly.

Those eyes, which had been disguised as aloof and ascetic, instantly turned unfathomable, churning with the restlessness of having their territory invaded.

The private doctor reassured him, "Mr. Huo, Miss Su already has a boyfriend. They've been dating for three years, so it's normal for her to propose now. Please remember, you're just a third party right now. You're not in a legitimate position. You have to take things one step at a time to steal someone away from their partner."

"Please listen to me first, take a deep breath, one breath, two breaths..."

"Thud—"

The love strategist's voice abruptly stopped.

Because Huo Zhan had already taken off the noisy invisible earphones and quietly tossed them into the car door storage compartment.

He turned to Su Muci and said calmly, "I'm going that way, I'll give you a ride."

Su Muci hesitated for a moment: "But..."

"What? You still think I'm a pervert?"

Huo Zhan raised an eyebrow and looked at her, his deep eyes captivating.

Su Muci was taken aback.

She clearly has a pair of captivating eyes, and being a friend of her best friend, Junjun's friends are definitely of impeccable character.

Who is it that would be so utterly depraved as to associate him with the word "pervert"?

Su Muci felt a pang of guilt: "Then... I'll have to trouble Mr. Huo."

She opened the car door and got into his car.

The enclosed carriage was instantly filled with Su Muchi's faint fragrance, which wafted into Huo Zhan's nostrils.

Huo Zhan's Adam's apple bobbed, and he silently started the car.

His face remained calm and expressionless as he casually began the conversation: "Shouldn't a man be the one to propose?"

Su Muci explained with a smile: "My boyfriend was worried that if he married me without a house or a car, I would suffer. So I took the initiative to propose to show him with my actions that I love him and that even if he has nothing, I will marry him."

She won't marry anyone but him?

What a statement, "I won't marry anyone but him"...

The girl's voice was soft and pleasant, but every word she uttered sounded grating to Huo Zhan.

In that instant, a thought flashed through his mind.

He wanted to stuff something rough into her mouth to stop her from saying things he didn't want to hear.

A hint of murderous intent flashed uncontrollably across Huo Zhan's eyes: "Unexpected events can happen at any time. What if your boyfriend dies unexpectedly? Would you still insist on marrying him?"

Su Muci was speechless for a moment, choked by this abrupt assumption.

How polite of you to assume an accidental death right off the bat?

If it weren't for the fact that he was Junjun's friend, Su Muci might have thought he was a pervert again.

After a brief silence, Su Muci said in a low voice, "My life was originally shrouded in darkness, but my boyfriend gave me hope for life. If he were to pass away unexpectedly, I would go with him."

Upon hearing this answer, Huo Zhan's handsome face suddenly looked as if it had been slashed by a knife.

Hearing from the mouth of the girl you love that she loves another man is a feeling that is both bitter and bloody.

A cruel smile suddenly appeared at the corner of his eye.

I really want to... kill that man...

But I was also afraid of hurting her feelings.

What should we do?

First, take her to Kyoto and lock her in the golden cage he specially made for her! Have a psychologist hypnotize her so she forgets her boyfriend and her heart and body belong only to him!

Then she would torture that man until he went insane, so he could never again covet her beauty!

Okay?

He asked himself and answered: Hmm, very good.

Huo Zhan forcefully turned the steering wheel.

The car drove onto the elevated road, heading towards the airport.