CH 71

Zhang Xing’s eyes were straight1. The man who protected the little girl was really Huo Ling, right? He rubbed his eyes in disbelief and fixed his eyes to look at it again-so good, it turned out that his eyes were fine!

Originally, it was surprising enough that Huo Ling took the initiative invite him out for dinner. But they hadn’t even eaten dinner yet and the little girl was hugged? And what was that saying: “others couldn’t think of it, doesn’t mean you couldn’t think of it?”

The little girl was really small, looked like eighteen or nineteen, and was even more childish standing beside Huo Ling. The looks were good, and the temperament was also good, but he did not expect that Lao Huo Wu, the decade bachelor, liked this type?

This was fine, so he doesn’t have to worry about his safety all the time.2

Huo Ling looked at the person on the ground coldly: “Who is this person?”

Jiang Nian shook her head and said, “My cousin’s classmate. My cousin said that she introduced him to me in third year of junior high, and gave him my micro signal, But I don’t know who he is. Today is the first time we’ve met.”

Huo Ling knew that Liu Yingying had a malicious heart towards Jiang Nian. After listening to those things from Huo Ping’s mouth, he had no affection for Liu Yingying. After so long, this person’s mind had not changed, still thinking about how to calculate her cousin! If he hadn’t had the foresight to find someone to protect Jiang Nian, if he were not there, wouldn’t the man in front of him succeed? Just thinking about it, Huo Ling’s face was even colder.

Qi Bin was panicked, but he couldn’t find a word to explain himself.

Zhang Xing glanced at Qi Bin on the ground, beckoning the manager to pull the person out, he couldn’t let his sister-in-law be robbed at his site, right?

Qi Bin still hadn’t understood what was going on. When he came to, he had been invited out by the security guards. He was a consumer and made no mistake. This restaurant dared to drive guests away? Was this hospitality? Weren’t they afraid he’d expose them to the media?

Although he thought so, he didn’t dare, and he was a little scared. The man who was protecting Jiang Nian looked unusual. The man who appeared later could easily direct the manager of a gourmet restaurant to drive him out, which meant his identity was not low. Because this establishment was considered to be a famous restaurant in the emperor, and the owner was still ranked among the top ten rich people in the country and their financial status was not bad. In this way, the “Uncle Huo” in Jiang Nian’s mouth and the accompanying man were likely not ordinary people.

He couldn’t even touch a hair of the dignitaries in the imperial capital.

Qi Bin panicked, and his face was even more embarrassed. Didn’t Liu Yingying said that the Jiang family was just an upstart who had nothing to do with the word network. What was going on now?

When was Qi Bin so embarrassed? And he felt that those people looked at him with contempt. Although he did not dare to make trouble, he also flicked his sleeves and straightened his neck, trying to save some face: “Your restaurant treats guests like this? Be careful, I spread this news!”

The manager looked at him and scoffed: “To deal with a sick girl’s bully, do you expect us to send you politely? Not calling the police is already doing everything humanly possible, I advise you personally to leave now.”

Qi Bin’s face was blue, green, and black: “……I am friends with the girl just now. You misunderstood!”

“Friends are like this; do you also have a face to say?

“………”

Qi Bin found himself wagging his tongue with no results and there were many people in the other party crowding around and overwhelming him. He had fallen out of favor, and, if things kept going, he would end up being embarrassed in front of Liu Yingying and his classmates. When the time came, not only would his university classmates know, but he also feared that the news would travel to his former high school classmates’ ears. Such a shameful thing, he did not dare to imagine, and now could only put up with the situation.

He could only give Liu Yingying call, telling her he left first to take care of something and would return later, such as when they went to the KTV to sing.

After hearing the news, Liu Yingying threw her chopsticks down. Today was her birthday. A Jiang Nian already upset her enough, and now this Qi Bin actually dared to leave early? He did not take her seriously, right??

As soon as Qi Bin walked a few steps, Liu Yingying stopped him: “Qi Bin, will you have anything to eat before you go again? Today is my birthday.”

Liu Yingying ran out ugly, and the guests at the table naturally couldn’t do anything. They looked at each other in confusion and put on the chopsticks and followed out. They looked at Qi Bin standing at the door and persuaded him to go back and eat a meal. No matter how busy he was, he couldn’t eat a bite?

Several male classmates also came up to pull him and said to come back and drink two cups, wait until it was lively again before leaving, they would not stop, whispering, “Today is Yingying’s birthday. How ugly would it be if you just leave like this?”

Qi Bin had something to say but was blocked from saying it again and again. He really had something to do! But he couldn’t stop it, and he could only be carried back by two big men. Until a younger brother in uniform came up to them and smiled and said, “Sorry, this man just bullied a female guest outside the bathroom just now. Our Shaodong family says that we will not entertain this kind of personality-deprived guests in the future.”

The Shaodong family, the name of the gourmet restaurant, was another property owned by the richest man who had no sons and only one daughter. Naturally, all of his property would be inherited by his only daughter and grandson, Zhang Xing.

How could there be such a coincidence? Can you meet Gao Fushuai3 outside the toilet of a restaurant?!

In an instant, everyone looked at Qi Bin! There was astonishment, surprise, and contempt in their eyes. The two male students who carried him immediately let him go and took a step back to keep away from him.

Even Liu Yingying looked at him in astonishment, frowning, and felt ashamed.

“Is this true?”

“Are you bullying a girl?”

“I said it was a misunderstanding, this is a misunderstanding! If you are making rumors, be careful, I will sue you!”

Qi Bin was also extremely furious, but this sort of restaurant was too difficult. Their reputation was enough to discourage him from making trouble. He snorted heavily, “I still disdain such a broken place.”

He turned and walked; his feet panicked.

Liu Yingying smiled awkwardly when he saw him go: “I didn’t expect Qi Bin to be such a person…”

Another high school classmate smiled: “Let’s go back to dinner.”

This attitude made Liu Yingying’s several university classmates think about it. It seems that Qi Bin was really not a good person, otherwise, even though they’d been with him for many years, why didn’t the classmate explain for him? This was obviously the default!?

Liu Yingying found that nothing seemed to go right this day— no, since Jiang Nian appeared, her whole life seemed to go wrong.

For example, they just returned to the dinner table and found that the two elder sisters who came with Yu Cancan and Jiang Nian were no longer there. She thought they were going to the bathroom, but, after a long while, they didn’t see anyone coming back. Even Jiang Nian didn’t appear.

Liu Yingying divided the food thinking that Jiang Nian was really troublesome. Just going to the bathroom, she had to take a few people with her. Was she really like a golden princess? While paying more attention to Jiang Nian’s circle of friends at all times, she was afraid that her grandfather and uncle would misunderstand so that, even if the new order hadn’t been served yet, she could explain it first.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Nian sent a circle of friends again for this moment, and there are still nine photos, with a sentence, “Met Uncle Huo.”

Liu Yingying flicked her hand and opened the photos in a panic. It was all dishes! A table was full of light yet exquisite dishes, and you could see Jiang Nian put two white porcelain cups in front her filled with soup as white as milk, sprinkled with a few green onions. Across the screen, you seemed to be able to smell the strong fragrance.

Now these two circles of friends were put together and they stood out.

Liu Yingying wanted to go to Jiang Nian immediately. What did she mean by this post? But just withdrawing from the photos, she discovered that this time, Jiang Nian already had a dozen likes on this post! Among them was her grandfather and grandma who she was most afraid of knowing!

……No, she couldn’t let them misunderstand.

She immediately left a message for Jiang Nian, “Where are you now, cousin? I wondered why you haven’t returned for so long. Come back soon, the dishes you like to eat, and the chicken soup is here. We will wait for you; let’s blow candles together and eat cake [cute] [cute] [cute].”

After this message was sent, Liu Yingying was finally relieved.

She could explain it to herself in disguise. She hoped her family wouldn’t think too deeply at home.

She put down her mobile phone and ate a few dishes. Anything here was terribly expensive. It was really a pity not to eat. After a while, she wanted to see if Jiang Nian or Grandpa had responded. She was so angry to see that, not only did Jiang Nian not reply to her message, but no one had taken care of it. Instead, her grandfather, grandmother, uncle, aunt, and cousin had a hot chat!

Her grandfather said that it looked delicious and he was envious and wanted to eat; her grandma said that Jiang Nian would eat more and help them try it; her uncle said that he really had a good brother and was really moved blah blah blah; the aunt told Jiang Nian to eat and go back early and not always trouble others; her cousin said he was still working on his homework, and he would take the exam for Capital University next year.

In this regard, Jiang Nian replied one by one, every comment filled with joy and peace, but, as the protagonist and birthday girl, she was ignored.

Liu Yingying looked back and forth several times, and the more she looked, the more uncomfortable she was. What did Jiang Nian mean? Why didn’t she reply to her? Didn’t she (LYY) clear up the relationship?

She finally couldn’t bear it and made a call to Jiang Nian.

When Jiang Nian saw Liu Yingying’s phone, she didn’t blink her eyes and just hung up. She just wanted to let her family see Liu Yingying’s bad mind. Otherwise, she didn’t have the leisure to take care of her; she does not need to step in rat shit on her road to fame.

Although Jiang Nian only sent two sets of photos, it really made Dad Jiang, Grandpa Jiang, and Grandma Jiang think more about it. They were concerned about Jiang Nian eating, even if the hadn’t lived together for more than ten years. Naturally, Jiang Nian’s taste was clear. That table was red and greasy, and none of those dishes could be eaten by Jiang Nian. In their view, even if Liu Yingying didn’t know what Jiang Nian liked to eat, she should know that Jiang Nian had things she couldn’t eat. If she didn’t know what Jiang Nian could eat and wanted to order anything casually, Jiang Nian was also on the scene at that time. If she wanted, couldn’t she ask?

By comparison, this pro4 cousin didn’t do as well as an outsider.

In fact, Dad Jiang’s heart was a bit unpleasant. He had called Liu Yingying before saying that, since the two sisters were in the Imperial Capital together, it was good to care for each other. At the time, Liu Yingying said that she would take care of her cousin and let him rest assured but, as soon as the photos were released today, he couldn’t be assured at all.

He didn’t think that Liu Yingying really had any bad thoughts, but he felt Liu Yingying did not care about Jiang Nian.

Jiang Xiaobao couldn’t stand it anymore. The older he was, the smarter and more sensible. He still remembered that, when he was a child, Liu Yingying tricked them out to eat hot pot and later bribed him with candy to keep it secret, saying that she would continue to take them out for barbecue. Fortunately, her plan didn’t succeed in the end, otherwise his sister might have suffered a lot.

It was better now. She only ignored his sister when they went out to eat. He was dissatisfied and said, “Cousin is really too bad. She knows my sister can’t eat those things and still persuades my sister to eat. It used to be a hot pot barbecue. Now, it’s a table full of spicy food; my cousin really overestimates my sister! ”

Dad Jiang couldn’t help but pause when he heard this: “Hot pot barbecue? When was this?”

Jiang Xiaobao told the things that happened when Liu Yingying lived with them a few years ago. His sister went out to eat hot pot and came back and got sick. A week later, his cousin invited them to eat barbecue again, but his sister did not go. Later, the cousin went home and lived. If it weren’t for the table of all red, he wouldn’t have remembered it.

Dad Jiang felt very strange in his heart. What did this niece mean? Even if she didn’t care about Jiang Nian, they wouldn’t say anything. But how could she promise in front of them……and deliberately take Jiang Nian to eat something?

When Mother Jiang saw her husband, she knew it was time to strike. When she rushed Jiang Xiaobao to write his homework, she told her husband that she had known these things already, but she felt that Yingying was too young and ignorant, so she didn’t take it seriously. Later, she paid more attention. It seemed that Yingying was a little dissatisfied with their daughter. Last time, she accidentally saw Yingying look at Jiang Nian with a very unfriendly look.

Father Jiang said in surprise, “Is this possible?”

Mother Jiang said, “I don’t know, it feels a little wrong. Don’t be angry if I tell you the truth. Today, Yingying’s birthday dinner, I’m uncomfortable looking at it. You say, we didn’t treat Yingying badly; on her birthday, you give a big red envelope and I gave a big red envelope. Usually, Niannian did not trouble her. If you say that she doesn’t know what Niannian likes to eat, I can understand it, but she knows Niannian’s physical condition, right? It didn’t look like she asked Niannian anything when ordering. Yes, I know I pamper my daughter myself, and I can’t ask others to love her like we do, but Yingying giving a little consideration to her cousin doesn’t need her to do anything. Can this make you comfortable? “

Dad Jiang sighed; would he be comfortable?

Mother Jiang also said, “Take Xiao Huo as an example. We have known each other for four or five years, but you can see that in the past few years, we can count on ten fingers the number of times we have eaten together. By the second meal, he can remember our Niannian’s health and take good care of it……I don’t believe that Yingying doesn’t know it or forgot it.”

Father Dad also thought about it: “Brother Huo is really good.”

Mama Jiang agreed, “We have to thank him well.”

Grandpa Jiang and Grandma Jiang were a bit weird in their hearts. Although eating was only a small thing, but when it becomes a big thing, thinking that Liu Yingying did it, it was a bit weird. At least it didn’t seem to be unintentional. After all, Jiang Nian’s bad body was not a day or two. It was congenital. Every part of her care had become a habit. Could Liu Yingying not know? Then she…

Alas.

You can’t think deeply about this matter, or the problem will come out when you think about it.

****

Jiang Nian was much more comfortable this evening. She was eating vegetables and soup with someone who peeled shrimp beside. She wanted to wipe her mouth; someone handed her a napkin. She almost didn’t need to do anything. Everything was brought to her, with a warm voice checking in on her every so often.

Huo Wu peeled the shrimp himself and stunned Zhang Xing. He thought she was a little pity, but she turned out to be a little princess!

Huo Ling looked at Zhang Xing and told him not to do anything. Zhang Xing nodded and gave him a look. As a good brother, could he still pull his hind legs?

In a blink of an eye, he looked at Jiang Nian and smiled and asked, “Niannian, tell your brother, how did you know Lao Huo Wu?”

Jiang Nian raised her eyes to see him. Huo Ling was peeling shrimp and short a warning glance at Zhang Xing before saying to Jiang, “Don’t care about him. Just eat.”

“Why can’t she care about me?”

Zhang Xing rolled his eyes secretly: “We can talk while eating. It’s boring just to eat, right?”

Jiang Nian smiled and said, “Huo Ping and I are neighbors. When Huo Ling came with Huo Ping to my house, we met each other.”

Huo Ling’s hands peeled shrimp and looked at her sideways. Obviously, it was very simple name that had been called by countless people, but, when said from Jiang Nian’s mouth, it was particularly touching.

Zhang Xing clapped his palms and was excited; this old bachelor not only eats the tender grass, but also grabs the childhood sweetheart of his little cousin! Is it so exciting? (T/N: Boy, how wrong he is on that one)

He thought Huo Ling had a cold personality, but he was just awkward!

Huo Ling saw as Zhang Xing’s eyebrows flirted and danced and knew his brain was not right again. He looked at him to make him calm down. Zhang Xing didn’t even spare him a glance, and asked the girl next to Jiang Nian, “The two of you are classmates? ”

Yu Cancan was eating rice. After all, she had to eat to have enough energy to study. She nodded her head and said,” Yes.”

Zhang Xing had a toothache. A normal girl held her mouth when eating in front of strangers. He had never seen a girl who ate so seriously. He felt full just watching her eat. Looking back at Jiang Nian, he couldn’t shake the feeling that she seemed a bit familiar? Had he ever seen her before? But he couldn’t think of it.

……Where was it?

Suddenly, Zhang Xing’s mind flashed. Wasn’t Jiang Nian the wonder that made the whole country spit a few days ago?! He also got the news at the time—no wonder she was so familiar.

It turned out that his old brother was so serious?

He glanced at Huo Ling, who was still stripping shrimp. His eyes rolled back and said, “I tell you, today is the sun coming out of the west. This is the first time I have seen my old brother take care of a girl like this. It’s really rare.”

Jiang Nian turned her head to look at Huo Ling. She was still eating the shrimp he peeled: “Really, I am so honored.”

The black and white eyes were clean and beautiful, Huo Ling’s breath hitched suddenly. Perhaps the worst decision he made today was to call Zhang Xing. If Jiang Nian were absent, he could kick him into the sky with one foot.

Zhang Xing said, “Right!”

Jiang Nian said, “That’s not because Uncle Huo is an old man. My parents and grandparents have said that Uncle Huo is a great man. Our whole family is grateful to him!”

Cough cough cough!

Zhang Xing was almost choked to death by wine: “……Uncle? Uncle Huo?”

“Yes, Uncle Huo, a good brother my father certified!”

Huo Ling: “…………” What’s in this girl’s brain in the end?

Zhang Xing had a shocking smile, but he couldn’t take it away. He pointed to Huo Ling and was excited: “Uncle Huo ha ha ha ha ha…”

Huo Ling had a black face. Jiang Nian also looked at Zhang Xing puzzled, what was he laughing at? Could it be that the feelings she expressed were not sincere?

Huo Ling put the shrimp he peeled on the plate, pushing it with a black face to Jiang Nian: “Not allowed to call me uncle, and, do not misunderstand, I’m not a good person.”

Jiang Nian: “Not good, then are you really a bad guy?”

He did not deny it.

Huo Ling took off disposable gloves and wiped his fingers with a wet towel. His eyes were dark and incomprehensible.

There is a strange thought about the little girl he watched grow up. He is not a bad person, is it still a good person?

****

That night, Jiang Nian naturally didn’t go to KTV with Liu Yingying, and there was no chance to intoxicate her. Liu Yingying’s plan failed again. Not only that, she just took a few photos after ordering more food and sent it to the circle of friends. For a long time, her grandfather and grandma and uncle did not like or say a happy birthday, as if they didn’t see it.

This made her panic and terrified, and she could only explain to her grandpa and grandma and uncle over the phone, but the responses she received were lukewarm. She inevitably scolded Jiang Nian again. No good thing!

At this time, Jiang Nian had arrived downstairs. She got out of the car and looked at the man who was blurred in the night. He waved at her: “Come on, I will say a few words with you.”

Jiang Nian trot over: “Uncle Huo, thank you today.”

Huo Ling looked down at her, although the sky was very dark, a little faint light blurred each other: “Jiang Nian, there are many bad people in this world, you have to be careful.”

Jiang Nian nodded seriously and said:” Uncle Huo, you don’t need to worry. I’m so smart, even if there are bad guys, I can protect myself and won’t let them trap me.”

Huo Ling ground his teeth, his finger moved slightly and poked Jiang Nian’s head: “I mean, there are many kinds of bad guys. You have to distinguish them carefully and guard against them in order to protect yourself better.”

Jiang Nian held her forehead and obediently said, “Uncle Huo is right. If I meet a bad person like you, maybe I will really lose money.”

Huo Ling suffocated for a moment and whispered, “Yes, so you have to be careful with me.”

Jiang Nian said: “Uncle Huo is so good, and is the brother my father has personally identified, why should I be careful of you, ah?”

“…………”

Why? Of course, it was because he was up to no good.

****

When she went to school on Monday, Jiang Nian got bad news. The freshman class was about to prepare for military training, and the military training place was at the school.

Jiang Nian exclaimed. Wasn’t this the right time to develop an affair with Uncle Huo?!

If there was no adultery, where would the love come from?

Before she was sick, where did she have time to think about love, not to mention the age gap? Now that she was over 18 years old, she had been able to fall in love for so many years.

It was time to show off her double charm as the coal boss’s eldest daughter and peerless genius!

1. He was stupefied ^

2. No idea what this means. Maybe he means he doesn’t have to worry about Huo Ling’s reproductive health wink wink? ^

3. ‘Gao Fushuai’ literally translates to tall, rich, and handsome- it’s a moniker for wealthy young masters. You’ve probably seen its counterpart ‘Bai Fumei’ (white, rich, and pretty). Can’t say I particularly like this term but not my culture so… ^

4. This is an interesting term that comes up often in raws/original LN’s. Most of the time, like this time, it refers to people who are blood related. But even though you see it used that way 90% of the time, one of the literal translations is actually ‘kiss’ (I think). The only time you see it take on a more literal meaning is in the idiom ‘men and women don’t kiss’ which basically means men and women with no relationship shouldn’t get too close. I just find it an interesting term since it takes on opposite meanings. Also useful for you guys to go forth and read raws on your own since I’ll be paring down/stopping translations in the future *cough cough