Chapter 111 Protecting his tattered self-esteem and heart
This is the second-floor reception room.
Huo Zhizhou and Huo Sinian sat facing each other. The latter told his bodyguards and secretary, "You all go out first. I need to talk to Zhizhou about some private matters."
Secretary: "Yes."
He went out with two bodyguards.
"Should you ask your friend to go out too?" Huo Sinian glanced at Gu Shixi before asking Huo Zhizhou, "You probably don't want him to hear what we're going to talk about next."
Gu Shixi glanced sideways.
It's obvious that she listens to him in everything.
"No need," Huo Zhizhou said calmly. "I'm not like you; I don't have so many shameful things to do."
"I hope you can still say that later." Huo Si chuckled, a slight smile playing on his lips.
Huo Zhizhou was the complete opposite of him. He never cared that Huo Zhizhou had any leverage over him, nor did he care that Huo Zhizhou's weaknesses were known to others. Just like now, he directly asked him, "What do you want with Jiang Ruan?"
"Let's have a heart-to-heart talk," Huo Sinian said naturally.
"Does a heart-to-heart talk really need such a grand setup?" Huo Zhizhou thought about the meticulous arrangements for tonight, and he couldn't believe that nothing serious was going on.
“No need for that in a normal heart-to-heart talk,” Huo Sinian said, slowly taking off his glasses. “But I talked to her about your childhood and showed her some photos as well.”
Huo Zhizhou's breath suddenly became heavy.
Huo Sinian put his glasses back on and asked slowly, "What, didn't she tell you?"
Gu Shixi looked over with slightly worried eyes, and unconsciously felt a pang of apprehension for him.
What Huo Er least wanted to talk about was his childhood, a memory he kept buried and refused to touch, a past he wanted to completely conceal. So even he himself had never mentioned these things to Huo Er over the years.
Huo Sinian telling Jiang Ruan was tantamount to touching Huo Er's sore spot.
“She knows I don’t like hearing these things.” Huo Zhizhou’s heart calmed down little by little because of Jiang Ruan’s gentleness. “You have probably never experienced this kind of subconscious protection and love.”
A glint of light flashed in Huo Sinian's eyes behind his glasses.
“After all, you’re the kind of person who only cares about power and profit.” Huo Zhizhou didn’t hesitate to hit the nail on the head.
"Then you might want to take a look at this." Huo Sinian pulled up the photo on his phone and pushed the phone in front of him. "I showed this one to her too."
Huo Zhizhou lowered his eyes.
The moment the photo came into view, my heart skipped a beat.
Memories were instantly pulled back to the past, and that sunny, energetic person who always had a smile on their face seemed to be still alive.
"And then?" Huo Zhizhou said calmly, "Just a photograph."
Gu Shixi: "?"
Huo Sinian frowned slightly.
He knew how much that incident had affected him back then, and ever since then, even the slightest mention of it by his parents would trigger a furious backlash from him.
Why this reaction?
"You've caused so much trouble to stop me, and you've even taken control of Gu Shixi. What exactly do you want to do?" Huo Zhizhou composed himself, exuding calmness, as if he had undergone a transformation in an instant.
Huo Sinian's gaze remained fixed on him, his expression full of inquiry.
The atmosphere in the reception room turned somber.
After watching for a while without being able to tell whether Huo Er was faking it or genuinely didn't care, he slowly spoke up: "Didn't I already say that?"
Huo Zhizhou's eyes were as deep and dark as the night.
He didn't believe that he had done all this just to tell Jiang Ruan about his past. If he really wanted to tell her, he could have just made a phone call or found an opportunity to do so. There was no need to make such a high-profile and troublesome thing.
"Yuan Yi's award ceremony should be starting in a little while, do you want to go watch?" Huo Sinian changed the subject, "Jiang Ruan might win an award."
Huo Zhizhou remained silent.
Her gaze remained fixed on him.
"Since you don't want to talk to me, I'll excuse myself." Huo Sinian stood up, adjusted his glasses, and then walked out of the reception room with a composed gait. Huo Zhizhou didn't say a word until his figure completely disappeared from the reception room.
Gu Shixi, recalling everything that had just happened, hesitated before speaking: "Huo Er..."
That photo was incredibly impactful.
He was genuinely afraid that he would get stuck in his memories.
"What do you think is Huo Sinian's purpose in doing all this?" Huo Zhizhou racked his brains, but none of them seemed reasonable to him.
Gu Shixi: "?"
Gu Shixi had a slight doubt in his heart.
It was as if no one expected him to be able to calmly think about this problem at a time like this; in the past, his mindset would have been affected long ago.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Huo Zhizhou glanced at him sideways.
"Huo Sinian just said so much." Gu Shixi didn't dare to go into too much detail, afraid that everything he said was just a facade. "Are you alright?"
Huo Zhizhou: "It's nothing."
In the past, he might have been emotionally affected. But before coming up, he had asked Ruan Ruan, and although Huo Sinian had clearly told her those things and shown her the photos, she hadn't mentioned a word about them.
His affair with Su Anran hurt her, yet she still protected his tattered self-esteem and heart.
If she's like this, how could he possibly fall for someone else's tricks?
"Are you really alright?" Gu Shixi asked uncertainly.
Huo Zhizhou glanced sideways, his handsome face displaying the same casualness as always: "Mm."
Gu Shixi had a few doubts, but he didn't ask any further questions.
It's best that he's alright.
"When you were trapped here by his secretary, did you glean anything from their conversations?" Huo Zhizhou felt uneasy, not realizing Huo Sinian's true purpose for coming here.
"No." Gu Shixi shook his head. "The three of them are as tight-lipped as if they were locked up."
Huo Zhizhou's eyes darkened slightly.
Gu Shixi pondered all of this: "Is it possible that his purpose was exactly what he just said, and that sending people to stop me and causing a car accident for you was just a smokescreen to mislead us?"
Huo Zhizhou fell into deep thought.
It's not impossible, but he still feels it's not that simple.
Not to mention that Huo Silai's tenth anniversary celebration at Yuanyi was featured in financial news and his parents found out, the fact that he supported Jiang Ruan could not be kept secret from the person he kept at home.
Although their relationship was somewhat abnormal, and Huo Sinian never publicly acknowledged her identity, he knew that he had feelings for her.
Making such a fuss just to trip him up with something not very big is not Huo Sinian's style.
"Keep a close eye on Ruan Ruan for the next few days." Huo Zhizhou couldn't find a clue and could only be on guard.
"Why don't you do it yourself?" After what happened today, Gu Shixi felt that she was no match for Huo Sinian at all. "I'm afraid I'll make a mistake."
"I have other things to do. Believe in yourself." Huo Zhizhou's dark eyes were deep and thoughtful.
He hadn't dealt with the connection between Huo Sinian and Su Anran yet. The coincidences that happened tonight felt like Huo Sinian was deliberately revealing his relationship with Su Anran.
It's just a matter of when Su Anran got involved with him.
These questions remain unanswered for the time being.
He didn't think too much about it.
Anyway, I'll find out everything when I get back.
The most important thing now is to wait until the celebration ends tonight.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com