Chapter 6 Stop trying to be clever...
A gentle night rain fell in the early hours of the morning, and the white noise was pleasant and soothing.
Huo Lan tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep, so he simply pulled the half-asleep Jiang Shiyuan into his arms.
Jiang Shiyuan was already annoyed, and said sarcastically, "Is Young Master Pea having trouble sleeping in his own bed again?"
Huo Lan put his arm around her, rested his chin on the top of her head, and gave a noncommittal hum.
Jiang Shiyuan only learned about his bed-restriction problem two months after she met him. At that time, Huo Lan's possessiveness was not so strong, and he would occasionally take her out if they came across a fun place.
The private club they visited was located halfway up a mountain, with elegant buildings and beautiful scenery. Huo Lan met with several businessmen who wanted to discuss cooperation with the Huo family there.
He didn't want her to accompany him, and only let her rest in the waterside pavilion on the back mountain. As for what happened in the reception room, she knew nothing, only that the final result was very unpleasant.
Although the Huo family had the prestige of a prominent family, it was actually weak inside and out.
Huo's father never put any effort into the family business; it was Huo Lan's grandfather who painstakingly supported the vast enterprise until Huo Lan returned from studying abroad, at which point he finally had some free time to enjoy his later years.
Therefore, although the merchants were willing to cooperate, they were dissatisfied with Mr. Huo's absence.
At that time, Huo Lan was in his early twenties. In their eyes, he was just a greenhorn who was not up to any good, so they wanted to tease him, and the meeting ended unhappily.
Actually, they hadn't planned to stay overnight that day, but Huo Lan was in a bad mood after the negotiations. After returning to his room, he buried himself in work until it was completely dark before he took a break from his computer.
The roads in the mountains were in poor condition after dark, and the club owner advised against going back at night, so I decided to stay.
The mattress in the club room was too soft, and Huo Lan couldn't fall asleep until the early hours of the morning. So he pulled Jiang Shiyuan, who was secretly playing on her phone under the covers, over and pressed her down on top of him, making love to her several times until he was exhausted before finally stopping and falling into a deep sleep.
So almost every night after that, she would be kept up until midnight by him on the first night of their trips to other places.
As a result, he fell asleep, but she suffered from insomnia.
Jiang Shiyuan glanced at Huo Lan, who was quietly holding her with a furrowed brow, and felt a lingering fear in her heart.
Despite this, Huo Lan ultimately did not harm her again.
At dawn, the person who had been guarding downstairs all night brought breakfast upstairs, and the car line remained in the community, maintaining a strict watch.
Jiang Shiyuan sat down at the dining table to eat when she saw Huo Lan already fastening his cufflinks and walking over, saying he was going to take her to work at his studio, as if he had forgotten about what he had said last night about taking her back to Huo Garden.
Huo Lan barely slept last night, and his eyes were covered with a light layer of darkness. As soon as his phone was turned on, it was bombarded with messages, all from his mother, Xu Feixuan.
A sophisticated and beautiful woman whose desire for control rivals that of Huo Lan.
Even now, Jiang Shiyuan still feels a bit scared when she thinks of her.
Aren't you going to reply to my messages?
Unaware of Jiang Shiyuan's change in expression, Huo Lan started eating breakfast and replied, "Why bother with her?"
These words startled Jiang Shiyuan, as Huo Lan had never dared to disobey Xu Feixuan in the past.
Upon learning that Jiang Shiyuan was being raised in Huo Garden, Xu Feixuan casually threw several antique vases beside her into pieces. The shards of glass grazed Huo Lan's forehead, leaving a thin, long bloodstain.
Xu Feixuan remained furious and her momentum undiminished.
He never said no, but silently knelt in his mother's garden for a night, and ran a high fever for several days, forcing Xu Feixuan to agree to let her enter the Huo family.
Jiang Shiyuan didn't understand why Huo Lan would use such behavior to force his mother to accept her, and she didn't understand even more why he would bring her back to Huo Garden when he could have kept her outside to avoid a lot of trouble.
It was only then that she began to understand what kind of existence the Huo family was—ancient and mysterious, traditional and with many rules.
The daughter-in-law they want must come from a top-tier family, have an excellent resume, and exude an air of sophistication in every gesture.
Therefore, not only Xu Feixuan, but also Huo's father and grandfather did not understand why she was secretly brought back to Huo Garden.
Why would a child raised from childhood to be upright and self-disciplined one day do something as outrageous as "keeping a lover"?
Jiang Shiyuan could never be accepted by the Huo family, and he knew that better than anyone else.
She was an orphan who grew up relying on the kindness of many families and was treated like a football, tossed around from one another.
When her uncle got tired of taking care of her, she went to her aunt's house. When her aunt's house didn't welcome her, she shamelessly went to the neighbor's house.
She has a bright and sunny smile, a sweet tongue and a thoughtful heart. When she arrives at someone's house, she starts working without saying a word, and no one can bear to refuse her.
This upbringing instilled in her a tough exterior, but it also made her overlook her own pessimistic nature, making it impossible for anyone to truly understand her.
Just like how she always played the obedient role in front of Huo Lan.
He appreciated her obedience, docility, and unwavering commitment, which brought her many advantages.
He sees occasional mischief and disobedience as a source of fun.
"I have some things to do in Linjiang City during this period, and I will have them follow you."
Huo Lan ate his breakfast slowly and deliberately, as if he were talking about something very ordinary, "Stop trying to be clever and run away."
Jiang Shiyuan didn't answer, but just glanced out the window.
With so many well-trained bodyguards protecting her, she wouldn't be able to escape even if she had wings.
Before leaving the apartment, Huo Lan had some clothes brought up again.
He lingered in front of her wardrobe for a long time, his face turning extremely dark as he picked up one gray-black hoodie after another.
So he simply sent a message to his assistant, asking him to bring a few dresses suitable for Jiang Shiyuan to wear. The requirement was simple: they had to be pretty.
He liked her dressed beautifully, anytime and anywhere.
So every time I saw her wearing loose hoodies and sometimes not even combing her hair on the surveillance footage throughout the year, I wished I could crawl into the surveillance camera.
Huo Lan's special assistant acted extremely quickly. He had only just received the order when, less than half an hour later, he knocked on the door with several exquisite gift boxes.
These are a few light-colored dresses I picked out from the Miu Miu counter in a nearby shopping mall.
Jiang Shiyuan obediently tried on the clothes one by one like a doll. Only after she finally decided on a light pink lace dress and a pearl-embellished knitted cardigan did Huo Lan's brows relax.
However, the hickeys from the neck down are still clearly visible and have not faded.
Jiang Shiyuan felt uncomfortable being stared at. She pulled her cardigan tighter. Even though they hadn't done anything last night, the marks made it seem as if they had been passionate all night and were oblivious to the world around them.
I should have left a few on his neck too, as a reciprocal gesture.
Jiang Shiyuan thought angrily.
Huo Lan didn't know what Jiang Shiyuan was thinking, but after looking at her for a long time, he was still not satisfied: "Tie up your hair and show your face."
Jiang Shiyuan was annoyed, but did as she was told.
She casually tied her hair into a bun, and because of her delicate and beautiful face, the messy hairstyle exuded a sense of languidness. Although Huo Lan was still somewhat dissatisfied, he reluctantly nodded due to the limited conditions.
After getting dressed, she followed Huo Lan out the door. As the car passed the steamed bun shop at the entrance of the apartment, she couldn't help but take a second look.
Perhaps feeling guilty, the usually enthusiastic boss lowered his head today, unusually avoiding looking at her in the car.
Jiang Shiyuan felt as if her whole body was bound, making it hard to breathe.
Every moment of her life after returning to China was under Huo Lan's watchful eye, making her feel that her three years of escape were a joke.
Everything seemed to be returning to how it was three years ago, when he had just found her and she no longer had the freedom to choose what to wear.
The air inside the car was heavy. Huo Lan kept his phone in hand, processing messages, his brows furrowed in a constant frown.
Jiang Shiyuan didn't want to make a fool of herself, so she leaned against the car window, staring blankly at the street scene.
After a long while, Huo Lan suddenly said, "I told her that I would take you back to Huo Garden."
Jiang Shiyuan sat up straight. The "she" he was referring to was Xu Feixuan.
The thought of facing Xu Feixuan again made her anxious and restless.
Seeing Jiang Shiyuan's unease, Huo Lan took her hand and squeezed her fingers, as if to comfort her, "Don't be afraid of her."
Before long, the vehicle arrived at the studio's detached villa.
Before getting out of the car, Jiang Shiyuan couldn't help but ask, "So, you're just letting me go to work like this?"
Huo Lan shook off the gloom from her texting with Xu Feixuan and smiled faintly, "If you don't go to work, your colleagues will be worried. Besides, I don't need to take you back; you'll be back at Huo Garden soon anyway."
Jiang Shiyuan nodded, though she didn't actually understand what he meant.
She arrived at the studio as usual. The ancient books that had not been fully restored the night before were still lying on the table, covered with dehumidifying paper to prevent them from getting damp.
This is a privately owned family genealogy book that is not significantly damaged. The studio was only commissioned to perform maintenance, which is not a difficult task.
The studio is getting fewer and fewer orders, and it's already difficult to get such low-priced private commissions.
A sense of melancholy washed over her. She wondered if she regretted not choosing the internship program at the Liang King's Tomb. If she had firmly chosen a career path back then, would the collections she was dealing with now be different?
"Sister Zhiyu! You look so beautiful today!"
The sound of silver bells pulled Jiang Shiyuan back from her reverie. She looked up and saw Tang Tang running towards her with bright eyes.
Tang Tang circled around Jiang Shiyuan, unable to take her eyes off her: "You look as beautiful as a movie star right now!"
Other colleagues also arrived at the studio one after another. When they saw Jiang Shiyuan, their eyes lit up and they showered her with praise.
Li Fengmian, who was Huo Lan's "eyes," did not come today, probably because he was afraid of seeing her.
Operations manager Qiao Wei, with her sharpest eyes, quietly approached Jiang Shiyuan after the crowd dispersed and asked her if she had a boyfriend.
Jiang Shiyuan's expression froze for a moment. She pulled her cardigan tighter to cover the hickeys, seemingly afraid that her colleagues at the studio would find out about her relationship with Huo Lan.
Before she could say anything, Qiao Wei spoke first: "Isn't that the handsome guy who came to pick you up from the studio before? I think his name is Xie Shuning?"
After saying that, Qiao Wei looked out the window again. There was a low-key black Porsche parked on the street next to the detached villa. If it weren't for the eye-catching logo, most people wouldn't be able to tell the difference between it and an ordinary car.
Those were the bodyguards Huo Lan had arranged around Jiang Shiyuan to protect her and monitor her every move.
After all, if she can run away once, she can run away a second time, so he has to be on guard.
But Qiao Wei didn't know that, and simply asked, "Xie Shuning has changed his style? Weren't his luxury cars very flashy before?"
Seeing that Jiang Shiyuan didn't say anything and just continued to organize the ancient books, Qiao Wei thought that she was too insecure to accept Xie Shuning's pursuit.
In the eyes of his colleagues at the studio, Jiang Shiyuan was introverted and shy, speaking softly and obediently. Faced with the relentless pursuit of a rich young master like Xie Shuning, he would naturally lose his composure.
Qiao Wei sighed softly and earnestly advised, "So what if there's a big difference in status? How will you know it's impossible if you don't try?"
Jiang Shiyuan suddenly stopped tearing the patch paper in her hand and almost blurted out, "I've tried it, it's impossible."
The longer she stayed at Huo Garden, the more she felt the vast difference in status between herself and Huo Lan, and the more she realized that there was no possibility between them.
"So you really agreed to be with that handsome guy? Xie Shuning brought you here today?"
Qiao Wei's persistent questioning finally brought Jiang Shiyuan back to her senses, and she realized that the person she was talking about was not Huo Lan, but Xie Shuning.
Although Huo Lan appears gentle and approachable to outsiders, he is actually aloof and has few friends. Xie Shuning is one of the only two he has.
Unfortunately, even this friend betrayed him. If it weren't for Xie Shuning's help back then, she would have had a hard time escaping from Huo Garden to go abroad and hiding for two years without being found by Huo Lan.
Jiang Shiyuan shook her head and explained, "You misunderstood. Xie Shuning and I are just friends."
"Really just friends?" Qiao Wei asked doubtfully, then added jokingly, "But that handsome guy doesn't seem like he'll give up easily."
Jiang Shiyuan said indifferently, "I don't care what he does."
Qiao Wei suddenly didn't know what to say. This was the first time she had seen a hint of indifference on Jiang Shiyuan's face.
Just then, Old Chen rushed in excitedly, as if he had won the lottery, and shouted, telling all his colleagues to put down their work and listen to him announce the studio's major project.
"We've received a huge order! A massive order! It requires a three-month business trip for the entire team!"
Upon hearing about the business trip, Tang Tang's eyes lit up. After all, the daily allowance for business trips was thirty yuan, and there was also a company-funded trip. How could she not be excited?
"Business trip! Where to?"
Old Chen, no longer feigning mystery, excitedly addressed the crowd, "Wancheng Huo Garden! We're going to restore a precious collection passed down from a prominent family for nearly a thousand years!"
Jiang Shiyuan gave a soft hum, finally understanding the meaning behind Huo Lan's words before she went to work.
Even if he doesn't take her back, she'll have to obediently go back in another way.
A note from the author:
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Tip: The male lead will be quite possessive and controlling in the early stages, but he'll become a submissive puppy later on.
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