Chapter 226, All Acquaintances
One look at the man's eyes told her what he was thinking. Huo Lingyin said slowly, "This is Jiang Ran, my friend, the daughter of the Shen family from Xiling Base. She's here to inspect our base, and I brought her here to meet Huo Shuai."
"An inspector from Xiling Base?" Huo Siguo blinked at Jiang Ran, his smile enigmatic. "Huo Shuai isn't feeling well. If Miss Jiang doesn't mind, I can show you around over the next few days. I'm also quite familiar with the base."
Jiang Ran ignored the man's winks and said calmly, neither cold nor enthusiastic: "Sorry, I mind."
Huo Siguo seemed not to hear her rejection and reached out to touch her face: "My beauty, don't be so hasty to reject me, I..."
Looking at the dirty hand reaching out to him, Jiang Ran took out a wooden stick from somewhere and hit it hard.
There was a muffled "pop" sound.
"Ah!" The man retracted his hand and howled.
The wooden stick tapped rhythmically against his palm. Jiang Ran stared at the man in front of him, who was almost crying in pain, and said seriously, "I said I mind. Did you hear me clearly this time?"
The man cupped his hands and glared at him: "You!"
He raised his hand to hit someone, but the door of the small attic behind him opened and the young head of the family came out pushing a wheelchair and spoke to stop his subordinate's actions.
"Reflect on your mistakes and don't be rude to Miss Jiang."
With a faint sound, Huo Siguo's raised hand was successfully stopped in mid-air.
The man stared at Jiang Ran for a while with gritted teeth, then slowly lowered his hand and clenched it into a fist.
When he spoke again, his tone was calm, his eyes filled with resentment, and he said quietly: "Miss Jiang is very different. If there is a chance, we can have a good exchange."
Jiang Ran had a blank expression on his face: "No chance, no communication."
“…”
Jiang Ran added: "My mom told me not to be friends with men who lack gentlemanly manners. Such men not only touch women but also hit them. They are very scary. The best policy is to stay away from them."
As the only son of the second master of the Huo family and the captain of the third superpower team, when had Huo Siguo ever suffered such injustice?
However, due to the identity of the man behind him and remembering what his father had told him, the man's chest heaved violently twice before he suppressed the emotions that were about to explode.
"Ms. Jiang is quite eloquent." He chuckled twice. "Lingyin, your friend is truly a sharp-tongued person!"
After saying this, he walked around Huo Lingyin and prepared to leave. He took two steps, then stopped and said without looking back, "Huo Shuai, there are many guests at the welcoming banquet today. It's possible that someone with ulterior motives could sneak in and cause trouble. You'd better be careful."
A threat? This threat was truly childish. Jiang Ran curled her lips, not taking his harsh words to heart.
The Huo brothers and sisters naturally understood the meaning of his words.
Huo Lingyin's fingers that were holding her hair paused for a moment, but soon returned to normal, except that there was more undisguised sarcasm and murderous intent in her eyes as she looked at the man's back.
Huo Sichan was very calm and replied to his cousin's warning with a smile: "Thank you for your kindness. The banquet is about to begin, so I won't see you off."
He ignored Huo Siguo who hadn't left yet, looked at Jiang Ran, and smiled: "Miss Jiang, you are a guest from afar, please come in."
This coach Huo is really... He looks like a harmless little lamb when he smiles, not at all like a person in a high position of power.
Jiang Ran pursed her lips, said thank you, and followed Huo Sichan into the house.
Halfway through the walk, she found that Huo Lingyin had not moved, so she turned back.
Huo Lingyin turned sideways, not looking at the two of them: "You go in, I'll wait for you outside."
"You're not going in?"
Huo Lingyin sneered: "They didn't invite me."
Isn't this your own home? Do you still need an invitation?
Seeing Huo Lingyin's awkwardness, Jiang Ran looked at Huo Sichan, but the always gentle man just nodded: "Lingyin, wait outside for a moment, I will return Miss Jiang to you soon."
Jiang Ran: "..." Big brother, are you deliberately angering her? Can't you see that she is eagerly waiting for you to coax her in?
The last bit of hope in Huo Lingyin's eyes completely disappeared. She turned around, her back to her brother: "She has nothing to do with me, just chat with her."
After saying that, he just turned around and left.
Jiang Ran: “…”
As if he had long been accustomed to Huo Lingyin's behavior, Huo Sichan led Jiang Ran into the house, shaking his head and sighing: "Miss Jiang, don't take Lingyin's words to heart. If she didn't regard you as a friend, she wouldn't have sent you here personally..."
Is this the point? Jiang Ran finally understood why the three Huo siblings ended up like that in the novel.
"Huo Shuai, the relationship between her and me is not something worth your concern." Jiang Ran said, "Whether we are just casual acquaintances or lifelong friends cannot be determined by the few words of comfort you just said."
Since you know it is a comfort, why take it to heart and say it out loud?
Huo Sichan turned back to his wheelchair, looked at her quietly, and waited for her to finish speaking.
"Instead of comforting a stranger like me, you might as well think carefully about how much harm this deliberate alienation would cause to Huo Lingyin if you were really going to die."
In the original novel, Huo Sichan was in poor health and died of illness shortly after Luo Rui came to Beichen Base.
I think this person in power knew his own physical condition and deliberately distanced himself from his sister so that she would not suffer the pain of losing a loved one in the future.
However, no one expected that after his death, the two sisters of the Huo family would completely turn against each other, and finally face an irreversible tragic ending.
After the girl finished speaking, the head of the Huo family fell into a long silence.
He didn't say anything, and Jiang Ran didn't urge him.
She stood quietly, waiting for him to speak. After a moment, she heard him cough softly and say intermittently, "You also think that I'm being unfair to Lingyin?"
"You know that yourself, don't you?"
Huo Sichan stopped coughing and smiled bitterly, "Since the disaster, Lingyin has lost a lot—parents, friends, confidants... I'm in this state now, and I can't do anything for her, so..."
At least I hope that after I die, she will not be bound by sadness and will continue to move forward without hesitation.
"I'm sorry, I can't agree with your point of view." Jiang Ran said, "Everyone has the right to shed tears for others. You can't just presumptuously deprive her of the opportunity to choose based on your own perspective. If you die, whether she's happy or sad, she should respond according to her heart, not let you dictate the decision like you are doing now."
“…”
"Besides, how can you be sure that if you treat her badly and die, she won't be sad for you?"
Jiang Ran thought this person was stupid, but she could understand it - many times, those involved in the matter are often confused. The more they care, the more they will be blinded and unable to see the truth that is right in front of them.
Huo Sichan fell silent again.
This time Jiang Ran did not accompany him in his thoughts. She heard the sound of someone talking in the inner room, which became clearer and clearer.
Someone came out.
"Mr. Tu Su, why did Sichan go out for so long? The plan just now..."
The young man lifted the door curtain, and when he saw Jiang Ran, he paused and stood there in a daze.
Jiang Ran was also stunned and clicked his tongue: No way, why do I keep running into familiar people these days?
(End of this chapter)
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