TFRLTOP Chapter 23 Part 1

Chapter 23 – The CEO’s Little Side Dish

◎ Ming Ming: I’m about to lose it! ◎

Most of Huo Xiao’s anger had already faded.

She just had that kind of ability—saying a few pitiful words that made her sound so miserable no one could bring themselves to scold her.

What kind of mistress was bold enough to climb on top of her sugar daddy’s head like this?

The entire Huo family, from top to bottom, already treated her as the future lady of the house, practically putting her on a pedestal. And yet she herself was completely oblivious.

Still waiting for him to marry someone else someday…

Sometimes, even Huo Xiao found it unbelievable. He could hold this girl in his arms and still not feel her heart beating for him.

Her coaxing and fawning were just so she could squeeze more money out of him. Her sulks and little tantrums, on the other hand, were the parts that felt real.

In the hazy nights beneath him, when she was at her most defenseless, Huo Xiao loved pushing her to the edge—listening to her cry, watching her flare up, making sure she had no space to think of anyone or anything else.

He knew Chu Yun liked money.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t bear to give it to her—every month, he spent well over a million on things for her. But somewhere deep down, he always felt that once she had enough money, she would walk away without looking back. He might never find her again.

So he waited. He kept waiting—waiting for the day her heart would be filled with only him. Then he would place the entire Huo family at her feet.

In the still of the night, he sometimes thought about simply marrying her by force, binding her with the title of wife. Given enough time, she would never be able to leave him.

But come dawn, he couldn’t accept the idea that the only way to keep the woman he loved was by resorting to such tactics.

Just a little longer. He would wait a little longer…

Who would have thought this girl was selling off the gifts he gave her behind his back?

And now, look at her—still with that stubborn, unrepentant expression, practically carving “I was wrong, and I’ll do it again” across her forehead.

Fifth Master Huo decided calmly that this time, she needed to be taught a lesson.

He yanked Ming Ming over, pulled her across his lap, raised his hand, and with a controlled swing—smack!—struck her backside.

“Ah!”

Ming Ming shrieked, thrashing like a fish out of water. Huo Xiao gripped her wrists tightly, ignoring her flailing, and before she could react, he delivered five sharp swats in a row.

He kept his strength measured, but her cries still carried a tinge of sobbing.

The humiliation of being spanked across his knee burned hotter than the sting itself. Ming Ming’s face flushed red with both shame and anger. Cursing and fuming, she dropped all pretense.

“You bastard! Let me go! Who gave you the right to hit me?”

Huo Xiao let out a cold laugh. “That much force? I was worried it might feel more like a massage. How could you call that a beating?”

His broad palm rested on her backside again, kneading lightly through the fabric of her pants. The motion was meant to soothe, but Ming Ming only felt threatened. She didn’t care what he said—she kicked and cursed wildly, her words tumbling out nonstop: “Let me go! I’m done! Go find someone else to wait on you!”

“Such disrespect.” Huo Xiao scolded lightly, pinning her movements with ease. Holding her firmly in his arms, he landed another light pat on her backside. “Big words for someone so delicate. When did you ever ‘wait on me’?”

“I don’t care! Just let me go!”

In her struggle, Ming Ming accidentally knocked off the jade ring from Fifth Master Huo’s thumb.

Both of them froze for a moment. Seizing the chance, she tossed the ring back into his chest as a distraction, then shot upright and bolted.

Too bad Huo Xiao was faster—he caught her and pinned her back onto the sofa.

“You like this ring?”

“Planning to sell this too?”

He leaned closer and closer.

“I didn’t! Don’t you dare accuse me!”

“Is that so? What a shame,” he murmured coolly, lifting the ring and examining it under the light. “I was actually planning to give it to you.”

Ming Ming’s eyes instantly locked onto the ring.

Huo Xiao’s lips curved into a smile. “Want it?”

His voice and gaze were laced with dangerous temptation.

Without thinking, Ming Ming nodded.

“Good. Then it’s yours.”

…

“No! I don’t want it anymore…”

“Be good. I said I’d give it to you—how can you refuse now?”

Whatever he did next, Ming Ming’s cries broke into nearly incoherent sobs.

“See? You’ve accepted it nicely… Why give it back to me if you won’t behave?” Huo Xiao’s commanding tone shattered her defenses piece by piece.

That night, the living room lights burned until dawn. Her muffled, trembling cries echoed through the emptiness until daybreak finally drew the curtain on it all.

From that day on, Ming Ming never wanted to see that jade ring again.

Not in this life, not in the next, not ever.

And yet every time she saw Huo Xiao, the ring was still there, snug on his thumb. Just one glance made her whole body tense with discomfort.

Worse still, he deliberately tested her patience—kissing the ring in front of her, asking why she wouldn’t wear it, or forcing it onto her finger while holding her on his lap. Ming Ming would fight with all her might, refusing to let that cursed ring taint her hand.

To resist, she even resorted to ear-splitting screams like a pig being slaughtered, hoping to scare him off.

Huo Xiao could only stare at her in speechless disbelief before finally patting her backside and telling her to get lost.

His subordinates were left dumbfounded.