At six-thirty, Huo Wu Ye came home and saw Ming Ming lying there with her legs slung over the sofa back, her pale feet dangling limply, her eyes glazed, mumbling nonsense. She radiated the tragic aura of a salted fish resigned to death.
As he came closer, he heard: “Hungry… when’s dinner… I’m starving… food…”
Huo Xiao: “…”
“Did you skip lunch?” Fifth Master Huo frowned, like he were scolding her for not taking care of herself. Only then did Ming Ming’s eyes focus. She pouted, looking at him pitifully.
Huo Xiao’s face betrayed no emotion.
After a moment, he relented, instructing Butler Wu: “Serve as soon as the food is ready. We’ll eat now.”
“Yay!” Ming Ming cheered quietly at his retreat.
She pulled her legs off the sofa, braced a hand to sit up—but her right arm was so weak that she slipped and tumbled right off the couch with a thud.
The system cackled mercilessly in Ming Ming’s head.
Damn stupid system. Just don’t let me get my hands on you.
Flat on the ground, Ming Ming cursed in silence.
The next second, someone grabbed her by the armpit and hauled her up. Looking up, she saw that Fifth Master Huo had come back.
“How did you end up in such a mess?” Huo Xiao’s brows were tightly knit, his sharp expression carrying no real trace of anger.
Half whining, Ming Ming raised her right hand. “I’ve been scooping ice cream all day, my arm and hand are about to fall off. But those twenty-one tubs of Häagen-Dazs are all d—delivered!”
She lifted her chin proudly, as if an invisible red scarf of honor were fluttering across her chest.
Huo Xiao’s broad palm enveloped her right hand as he led her toward the dining room.
She looked exactly like a kid who had done a good deed, basking in the anticipation of praise. If she didn’t get it, she’d probably pout long enough to hang a bottle of oil from her lip.
But then again, given Chu Yun’s family background, she probably hadn’t received much praise from her elders. That fleeting warmth in Huo Xiao’s heart quickly turned into a bittersweet ache.
“Mhm. Not bad,” he said, turning to glance at her.
Ming Ming grinned from ear to ear.
She went on to polish off three bowls of rice, making Chen Si’s eyelids twitch. When she reached for the third, Wang Duo wanted to make fun of her—but then he noticed Fifth Master personally putting food into her bowl.
When she reached for a fourth serving, Huo Xiao finally stopped her, worried she’d get indigestion at night. From then on, he only allowed her to eat vegetables.
With a leafy green dangling from her mouth like a rabbit, Ming Ming kept sneaking looks at the maid holding the rice, desperately signaling her to scoop her another spoonful when Huo Xiao wasn’t looking.
“If you’re giving it away for free, why not let them serve themselves? Why do you have to scoop for them personally?”
Hearing this, Ming Ming almost choked to death on her greens.
“Cough, cough, cough… cough cough cough!”
Why? Because it wasn’t free—it was for sale!
“Eat slower.” Huo Xiao patted her on the back, nearly knocking her forward.
“Ugh, stop patting! I’m dying… cough cough!”
He served her a bowl of soup himself, leaving the maid standing by uselessly. After finally settling down, face flushed red, Ming Ming forced herself to look calm and explained, “Mm, I was… serving the people.”
His brow arched, the corners of his eyes crinkling with hidden amusement. “Want me to give you a position under me? Get you into the Party?”
Ming Ming froze.
She slapped a hand over her mouth, looked around guiltily, then leaned toward Fifth Master and whispered, “Wait… our kind of business can get into the Party?”
Even though she kept her voice low, everyone at the table heard it clearly.
Wang Duo: “…Who told you it couldn’t?”
Chen Si: “Miss Chu, our business is perfectly legal.”
Chen Jing: “It’s true!”
Fifth Master burst out laughing and flicked her forehead.
The system set me up!
Ming Ming quickly covered her head and backed away.
The system: “Oh, my bad. I guess I forgot to mention—they’ve gone legit this year.”
Ming Ming: ………………
By then, Fifth Master had already set down his chopsticks, calmly sipping his tea while watching Chu Yun eat. Normally, meals at the Huo family table included only Fifth Master and a few trusted subordinates, no strict rules, but everyone would automatically put down their chopsticks when he did.
The only exception was Chu Yun.
“So, what do you want to do after graduation?”
“Uh… I haven’t really thought about it.” Ming Ming rolled her eyes around evasively.
“You’re a senior and you still haven’t thought about it?”
I only just found out I’m studying law!
Ming Ming wanted to cry. She was a computer science major before she got dropped into this mess—this was way too much of a leap! QAQ.
Senior year was light on classes. Most of her classmates were preparing for grad school exams or job hunting.
“Planning to be a lawyer? Or take the civil service exam?”
“Uh… I’ll figure it out later.” Ming Ming ducked her head and muttered.
Civil service exam?
Yeah right. With her current situation, half the school knew she was being kept. If she really got in, wouldn’t the hotline be flooded with reports?
Better not give the poor staff unnecessary headaches.
As for being a lawyer… with her zero-knowledge level, she’d probably get beaten up by her own clients or jailed by the opposing attorney.
The thought alone made her shiver.
Another form of torment!
She had to stay on guard!
Casually, Huo Xiao tossed her an olive branch. “Come work at Huo Corp. I’ll make you chief lawyer.”
“Coming or not?”
Ming Ming blinked hard, silently screaming a thousand “No’s!!!”
Sure, it sounded like a joke. But knowing him, he might really toss Chu Yun into the legal department and drag her into his office now and then for… roleplay.
Ugh. Too indecent. Can’t even think about it.
Sure, Fifth Master seemed nice to her now—but that was only because the real heroine hadn’t yet entered his heart. Once he and Ye Weiran got all lovey-dovey, if Chu Yun worked at Huo Corp, wouldn’t that be like a chick being held in the wolf’s jaws?
Dangerous.
Way too dangerous!
Ming Ming’s eyes darted around as she cautiously said, “Um… actually, I was thinking of going for grad school.”
After all, study is the ladder of human progress.
Crossing one leg over the other, Huo Xiao leaned back, hands clasped on his knee, watching her with interest. “What field? Which school?”
“Computer science!” Ming Ming answered crisply, without a shred of hesitation.
Her eyes practically sparkled when she said it.
“Though I haven’t decided on the school yet.”
Huo Xiao’s expression turned skeptical. “Aren’t you studying law?”
Law major going to grad school for computer science?
“………None of your business!”
Lucien On ABRWF Chapter 34.1