Chapter 361 (First Update)

361:

Later, Huo Zinan recalled this day more than once.

He never understood why Ye Qingxi had given him a second option back then.

Did he reveal his desire somewhere?

Or did Ye Qingxi find out from somewhere?

He only remembered looking at him in disbelief, as if he were hallucinating.

He remained silent, unsure of what to say.

I wanted to answer him, but I was also afraid that my answer would cause him unnecessary trouble.

“However,” Ye Qingxi said slowly, “if you choose B, I may not be able to help you with this public relations issue.”

He explained to Huo Zinan, “Once the public relations are successful, you will regain your value. At that time, your parents may not be willing to let go of you, their cash cow. Only when you have no value can others take you away from them. Therefore, you can only choose one of the two.”

He couldn't even go back and have someone help him with public relations after taking Huo Zinan away.

Because at that time, his parents might regret it and go to Li Jing to ask for their son back.

If they can't get it back, they might make a big fuss in the media or keep trying to contact Huo Zinan.

Thus, Huo Zinan could no longer live a peaceful and secure life without them.

"However, the internet sometimes doesn't remember. By the time you turn eighteen, four years will have passed, and the people online will have changed. At that time, as long as you come back with your work, new people will like you. What you're going through now will only make them feel more sorry for you. So, if you choose B and still want to act after you become an adult, that's not impossible."

Huo Zinan: ...

Huo Zinan looked at him, still silent.

But the silence itself speaks volumes.

Upon hearing his option B, a normal person would only express surprise and confusion, saying, "What are you talking about?!"

However, Huo Zinan said nothing.

His surprise seemed more like surprise at himself for having given him such an option, rather than a questioning of their family discord.

"Think it over carefully. Once you've figured it out, just give me your answer," Ye Qingxi said.

After he finished speaking, seeing that Huo Zinan still didn't say anything, he sat down at the desk.

Where is your notebook?

Huo Zinan: ? ? ?

Huo Zinan was puzzled. What did he need this for?

However, he still bent down and found it for Ye Qingxi—even though he hadn't done his homework in a long time.

Ye Qingxi took the paper, secretly picked up a pen from the table, and wrote: "You're actually a very good person."

After writing it, he thought for a moment, then added a few more words, making it: "[Ye Qingxi said, you are actually a very good person.]"

Then, he slowly began to fold it.

Huo Zinan watched quietly.

Is he alright?

Why doesn't he think so?

He watched as Ye Qingxi folded the paper repeatedly, hiding the words inside.

It took him a while to realize that Ye Qingxi had folded what looked like a flower.

He had seen it before; in the novel "Summer," Qiao Tian gave Qiao Xia flowers just like this.

"What are you doing...?" Huo Zinan asked, puzzled.

"I'll fold some flowers for you, so you won't have to pick at the scabs on your arm anymore, and you won't get any new scratches. Whenever you want to pick or scratch, just take these flowers, or even tear them off, as long as you don't mess with your arm anymore."

Ye Qingxi turned to look at him, "Your arms didn't have so many messy injuries when you were little. I remember you used to love wearing short sleeves back then."

Huo Zinan: ...

Huo Zinan wanted to pick at his scabs again.

He looked at Ye Qingxi, not understanding why he was doing these things.

He's clearly no one to him.

Why are you so good to him?

"Why?" he asked Ye Qingxi.

Ye Qingxi couldn't answer his question.

Why?

Of course, it's because he's been through it himself.

Therefore, he didn't want Huo Zinan to follow in his footsteps.

He hopes Huo Zinan can find happiness.

Just like him now.

But he couldn't and wouldn't tell Huo Zinan about these things.

So all he could say was, "Because we are friends."

"If we're friends, why haven't we been in touch for so many years?!" Huo Zinan looked at him and asked sharply.

What kind of friends are they?

Are friends you don't contact still friends?!

Ye Qingxi was not angry about this.

His eyes were gentle and calm as he said, "Because we are all children, we don't live together, and our lives are more dependent on our parents than on our own decisions."

"If you lived right next door to me, would we still not keep in touch?"

"Of course not."

"So don't be so harsh on me or on yourself. Children will have unavoidable situations, feel powerless, make mistakes, and have shortcomings. These are all normal."

“But that doesn’t stop me from remembering you, remembering me, being willing to rush here for you, and being willing to open the door for me after hearing my voice.”

“The objective circumstances are things we cannot change, but subjectively, we have actually done a very good job.”

Upon hearing his words, Huo Zinan's agitated emotions unexpectedly calmed down little by little, as if he had been soothed.

He fell silent again, watching Ye Qingxi write and fold flowers.

He wrote: "[Ye Qingxi said you're actually great.]"

Ye Qingxi said, "Huo Zinan, we are friends."

Ye Qingxi said, "You were really cute when you were little."

Ye Qingxi said, "You're still very cute now."

Huo Zinan's eyes involuntarily stung.

He turned his head, tilting his face slightly upwards, to prevent his tears from spilling out.

Ye Qingxi kept writing and folding, and in the end, she folded a whole drawer full of flowers for him.

He felt the colors weren't bright enough, so he took out Huo Zinan's marker and hastily colored each flower.

Then I put the flowers back in the drawer.

"Then I'll be going now." Ye Qingxi looked at him.

Huo Zinan was somewhat bewildered, seemingly not expecting him to leave so soon.

But Ye Qingxi had actually been there for a long time.

He had said what he wanted to say and done what he wanted to do; the rest of the time was left for Huo Zinan.

Although he was willing to continue to stay with him, Mu Shaowu was still there, and he couldn't let Mu Shaowu stay outside in such a boring state.

"Remember what I said: when you feel like picking at those scars, just take off the flower or tear the flower, don't torture your arm anymore."

Huo Zinan didn't speak, but silently hummed in his heart.

“I haven’t blocked you, so if you have an answer, just send it to me on WeChat,” Ye Qingxi said.

Huo Zinan: ...

Ye Qingxi stood up and walked towards the door.

Huo Zinan followed beside him, as if seeing him off.

Before opening the door, Ye Qingxi turned back for one last look at the child beside him.

"Can I receive your WeChat messages?" he asked Huo Zinan.

But Huo Zinan did not give him an answer.

"I hope so," Ye Qingxi said. "I hope I can get your answer as soon as possible."

"Then we'll see you later, Huo Zinan. See you next time."

After Ye Qingxi finished speaking, she opened the door and walked out.

Mu Shaowu was still chatting with Huo Zinan's parents when he saw his son come out, thinking that they must have finished talking.

He glanced at his watch casually and said, "Oh dear, it's been so long. I have something to do, so I won't bother you any longer."

"How could it be a disturbance? Our whole family is very happy that you could come, Teacher Mu."

"Yes, your presence is truly an honor to us."

"That's right, didn't we agree to have dinner together? Teacher Mu, let's eat before you leave."

"No, no," Mu Shaowu quickly replied.

Ye Qingxi also said, "Uncle Huo and Aunt Huo, please don't try to persuade him. My dad came here mainly to see Uncle Chen, so he has already made an appointment with him to have dinner together."

"Okay," Mu Shaowu said. "See you next time."

After saying that, he stood up and left the Huo family with Ye Qingxi.

When Huo's mother saw that he had really left, she was a little confused. "Didn't you come here specifically to see Nan Nan?"

"Didn't you hear? He's here to see Uncle Chen. I guess he just happened to be passing by, so he stopped by to see us."

"Will he help with Nan Nan's matter?"

“Not necessarily,” Mr. Huo said. “He didn’t agree directly just now. He said he knew and he also thought it was too much. So why didn’t he say it on Weibo?! With so many followers, he could easily change the wind if he posted on Weibo.”

"What's going on with Mu Shaowu?!"

Mr. Huo sighed.

He stood up and walked towards his bedroom. As he passed Huo Zinan's room, he deliberately said, "I thought they came to genuinely help you, but it turns out they weren't here for you at all. You're just an extra. Of course, what's their status compared to yours? How could they possibly care about you? Huo Zinan, you should listen to me and record an apology video. It won't kill you to apologize! Is your pride that important? More important than your future?!"

"That's right, why are you so disobedient! Huo Zinan, Huo Zinan, open the door! Can't you hear me?" Huo's mother chimed in.

As Huo Zinan listened, he unconsciously wanted to pick at the scabs on his arm again.

However, as soon as he picked off the newly formed scab, he thought of what Ye Qingxi had said to him and the flowers she had picked.

He walked to his desk, opened the drawer, and was immediately greeted by a drawer full of flowers.

Huo Zinan took out a flower and carefully unwrapped it.

His mother was still saying something outside, but he could no longer hear her.

He carefully disassembled the flowers, afraid that he might damage them.

He finally opened it and saw Ye Qingxi's words hidden in the flowers.

Ye Qingxi said, "Congratulations! I've never folded flowers for my childhood friend, but I've folded so many for you."

Huo Zinan watched quietly, then took out another flower.

He opened it with great care.

It read: "Huo Zinan, when will you send me another little sunflower? It would make up for my regret from back then."

Huo Zinan's tears fell onto the paper with a "plop".

He quickly wiped away his tears, afraid that they would ruin the papers in his hands.

At that moment, he made his decision.

He wanted to leave his parents.

Leave here.

This may seem crazy and unbelievable, and it may also cause unnecessary trouble for Ye Qingxi.

However, if he continued like this, he feared that he would never be able to give Ye Qingxi the flowers he hadn't given her back then.

He still wants to live well, at least at this moment.

Huo Zinan took out his phone and finally unblocked the person he had blocked for so long from his blacklist.

Ye Qingxi and Mu Shaowu were about to have dinner.

The two sat in the private room, and Mu Shaowu pondered that he still had to help Huo Zinan.

Actually, when he was chatting with Huo Zinan's parents just now, it was quite clear that his parents wanted his help.

However, Mu Shaowu did not agree directly.

It wasn't that she was unwilling, but rather that she simply disliked his parents' constant criticism of Huo Zinan, who thought he had a bad temper, a bad personality, and couldn't speak properly, and that he was good for nothing except for his good looks.

It was as if that wasn't their child.

Mu Shaowu didn't like these kinds of parents, so he didn't really want them to have his way.

However, although he didn't verbally agree, he had already agreed in his heart.

Huo Zinan was Ye Qingxi's friend and a kid she knew. Even now, he was still a minor. Mu Shaowu couldn't bear to watch him being cyberbullied.

“When we get back, I’ll have Zeng Chong handle this matter,” he told Ye Qingxi. “Then I’ll post a Weibo update to stir up the old feelings from ‘Look the Daddy,’ which should help Huo Zinan get through this difficult time.”

Upon hearing this, Ye Qingxi quickly stopped her, saying, "Don't do it yet."

"Why?" Mu Shaowu asked, puzzled. "You went to all this trouble to come here, wasn't it because you were worried about him? Did you want him to get through this difficult time?"

“I wanted to help him get through this difficult time, but it wasn’t such a simple one.”

"Simple?"

Ye Qingxi: ...

How can I explain this to you?

Ye Qingxi was a little worried, "Anyway, Dad, you don't need to do anything for now."

Mu Shaowu: ? ? ?

"Do you know that with public relations, the later you delay, the worse the results may be?"

Ye Qingxi nodded.

Of course he knew.

However, Huo Zinan has not yet made a choice.

He is still waiting for his answer.

He was about to explain to Mu Shaowu when his phone suddenly rang.

Ye Qingxi picked it up and saw that it was a voice invitation sent by Huo Zinan.

He released him!

Ye Qingxi quickly answered the call and heard Huo Zinan say, "I choose B."

Ye Qingxi was stunned for a moment.

His worst fears were completely confirmed.

Fortunately, his friends gave him the opportunity to help.

"Okay," Ye Qingxi agreed. "So, do you want to go abroad or stay in China?"

Sitting next to him, Mu Shaowu: ? ? ?

What is he saying?!

Going abroad?!

"in the country." Huo Zinan replied without hesitation.

“I’ll contact my uncle when I get back, but you might have to wait a bit. I can’t send my uncle over right now, because I’m afraid your parents will realize later that this is related to my father, which would give them clues to find you.”

"Wait a month or twenty days, then I'll have my uncle go over and bring you here. Of course, what I'll tell your parents is that I'm taking you abroad to be a trainee."

Mu Shaowu: ? ? ?

No, what is he saying?

What uncle?

Trainees?!

"If you do that, won't you owe him a favor, and... money?"

"It's alright," Ye Qingxi said with a smile. "We're already quite familiar with each other, so you don't need to worry about favors. As for the money, I'll reimburse him."

Huo Zinan was very worried, "This is not a small amount, is it?"

"Perhaps I'm richer than you think," Ye Qingxi said playfully.

Huo Zinan: ...

Aren't you worried that I won't be able to pay it back in the future?

"Impossible. I own all sorts of companies now. At worst, I'll wait until you come of age and sign you to my dad's company so you can continue acting and pay off my debts."

Mu Shaowu: ? ? ? ? ? ?

Did your dad know when you were making these plans?!

Huo Zinan listened and thought that this was a good idea.

He still remembered Mu Shaowu, and he also remembered that he had always liked him when he was a child.

Mu Shaowu was just like his ideal father.

If we can sign him, there shouldn't be any problem.

"So you're my little boss now?"

"That's right."

Huo Zinan smiled slightly and said, "Okay."

"Then we'll see you in twenty days or a month," Ye Qingxi said.

"Um."

Ye Qingxi then hung up the phone.

Mu Shaowu looked at him with a puzzled expression, "Perhaps you should talk to your dad now about what's going on with this uncle? What's the deal with the contract? Or what's going on both domestically and internationally?"

Ye Qingxi: ...

Meanwhile, Huo Zinan sat at his desk.

After a long while, he stood up and drew back his curtains.

Outside the window, the setting sun dyed half the sky red, making the afterglow bright and brilliant.

Huo Zinan looked on with admiration at the small golden sunflowers blooming brightly in the afterglow beside him.