Chapter 46 Did He Regret It?

Dinner ended, and the long table was littered with dishes and cups, but the atmosphere remained warm and lively.

Huo Jing put down her napkin, smiled, and took Ruan Yao's hand.

"Ruan Yao, come on, let's sit in the living room. There are a few more details about your store proposal that I'd like to discuss with you."

On the other side, Huo Wenbo also put down his teacup and looked at his son who was about to get up.

"Yanzhi, come with me to the study."

In a single sentence, the two were separated decisively.

As Huo Jing pulled Ruan Yao toward the living room, she couldn't help but glance back.

Huo Yanzhi's gaze met hers briefly in the air before he looked away and silently followed behind Huo Wenbai.

In the study, Huo Wenbo did not rush to speak.

Huo Yanzhi, unusually, did not make an excuse to leave today, but instead came to the study with him.

This further confirmed his suspicions.

Huo Wenbo personally brewed tea and pushed a cup in front of his son.

"What do you think of that girl from the Ruan family?"

Huo Yanzhi lowered his eyes and said in a flat voice, "I have no thoughts."

"Is that so?" Huo Wenbo put down his teacup, looked up, and looked directly at his son with a gentle gaze, asking a completely unrelated question.

"Then how do you know she doesn't eat minced ginger?"

Huo Yanzhi paused for a moment, his hand holding the teacup still.

The study was quiet. He didn't answer, but his silence was more convincing than any explanation.

How could he know?

Because he had seen Ruan Yao, who was still in school, wrinkling her nose and picking out the ginger shreds from her rice bowl bit by bit on the street corner next to the school countless times, while muttering complaints.

Because in his previous life, he had witnessed her face fall instantly after she accidentally ate some ginger in her food during countless days and nights after their marriage.

These memories are etched into his very bones like a brand, requiring no conscious effort to remember.

Huo Wenbo looked at his son's tense profile and understood, so he didn't ask any further questions.

His son is just like his grandfather—stubborn and argumentative.

"I have other things to do."

Huo Yanzhi put down his teacup, wanting nothing more than to leave this suffocating space as soon as possible.

Watching his son's almost fleeing figure, Huo Wenbo's smile deepened.

Huo Yanzhi had just reached the stairwell when Ye Mei, who had been waiting for him, caught him red-handed.

"Yanzhi, it's just in time that you've come down." Ye Mei pushed him toward the door without saying a word. "It's so late, why don't you take Yaoyao home?"

She then raised her voice and asked Ruan Yao, who had just walked out of the living room with Huo Jing, "Yao Yao, did you drive here today?"

Ruan Yao shook her head knowingly: "No, I came by taxi."

"That's perfect!" Ye Mei's expression became even more matter-of-fact. "Let Yanzhi take you. It's not safe for a girl to be alone so late."

All eyes were on Huo Yanzhi.

Huo Yanzhi didn't speak, his gaze lingered on Ruan Yao for a second before he looked away and walked straight towards the door.

Is he... going to refuse again?

Ruan Yao's heart sank little by little with his footsteps.

She felt like a joke, being enthusiastically pushed in front of him by the entire Huo family, yet he himself was stingy with even a polite nod.

The thoughtful details at the dinner table were probably just arrangements made by the Huo family to take care of her as a guest, and had nothing to do with him personally.

She was just being delusional.

Ruan Yao's cheeks burned, and her heart ached with a bittersweet feeling.

A wave of grievance and embarrassment washed over me.

She didn't want to put Ye Mei and Huo Jing in a difficult position, and she didn't want to appear so vulnerable in front of him.

Ruan Yao took a deep breath and, before everyone else felt awkward, forced a smile.

"No need to trouble Mr. Huo, I can go back by myself..."

She hadn't finished speaking.

The man, who had already reached the entrance, suddenly stopped and turned around.

He didn't look at Ye Mei, nor at Huo Jing, but only at her.

Let's go.

Ruan Yao was stunned.

Was he... calling her?

Huo Yanzhi had already changed his shoes and was standing in the entryway, holding his car keys, looking at her sideways.

Ruan Yao's words of refusal stuck in her throat.

She stared at him blankly, not reacting for a moment.

Ye Mei was the first to come to her senses and quickly nudged her, saying, "Go on your way, and drive carefully."

Ruan Yao then seemed to wake from a dream and followed after them in a daze.

The night was cool and still, and the evening breeze carried the chill of autumn.

The warm glow of the ground lights in the Huo family's courtyard cast long shadows of the two people.

Huo Yanzhi walked ahead with long strides, and Ruan Yao, wearing high heels, had to jog to keep up.

As he approached the car, he suddenly stopped.

Ruan Yao couldn't stop in time and almost bumped into his back.

She steadied herself and looked at the man's silent back. This brief pause was magnified infinitely in Ruan Yao's mind.

What did he stop to do?

Do you regret it?

Did you agree to take her home just to avoid embarrassing her in front of the elders?

Now that she's out, is he going to tell her to go back on her own?

My chest felt like it was being squeezed tightly by a hand, both sore and swollen.

Ruan Yao bit her lip, deciding to preserve a little dignity for herself.

She lowered her eyes and spoke very softly.

“Mr. Huo, if you feel embarrassed to refuse, I can leave by myself.”

This sentence has a double meaning.

It was also her final test.

If he feels awkward refusing her.

She would never appear in front of him again.

Ruan Yao raised her head, mustered all her courage to look at him, and her eyes were a little red in the dim light.

She had made up her mind. If he pushed her away again this time, she would really give up.

The night wind was unusually cold, causing her thin skirt to flutter loudly.

The man remained silent and did not move.

Just when Ruan Yao thought she was about to receive another silent rejection, he suddenly turned around.

A suit jacket, still warm from his body and carrying the familiar scent of wood, was draped over her shoulders, enveloping her completely.

That warmth instantly dispelled the chill of the night.

Ruan Yao was stunned.

Huo Yanzhi simply straightened her clothes without any expression, then stepped back to keep his distance.

"Get in the car."

His tone sounded somewhat helpless.

Ruan Yao clenched her fingers, somewhat belatedly realizing what was happening.

She looked down at the coat she was wearing, which still retained his warmth, and then looked up at him.

He stopped, not because he regretted it, but because...

Seeing that she was dressed lightly, were you worried she might be cold?

She remembered.

In his past life, no matter the season, whenever he felt she was cold, he would drape his coat over her without a word.

He already had this habit.

This familiar feeling completely washed away the disappointment in Ruan Yao's heart.

She lowered her head and obediently opened the car door and got in.

Inside the carriage, she was still wearing his coat, his unique, cool scent enveloping her completely.

Ruan Yao clutched the front of her clothes, and her heart, which had just been cold, was instantly soothed.