Surrounded by Wolves
Jiang Wu’s lashes trembled. She still couldn’t help avoiding him, trying to escape the pressure his presence brought. “That doesn’t have anything to do with whether I thought about it or not… I just think that with Second Brother here, it’s not appropriate for us to stay in the same room…”
Huo Qingzhi noticed every bit of that avoidance.
Jiang Wu turned away, sounding slightly flustered. “Forget it. If you want to stay here, then stay.”
With that, she walked straight toward the bathroom. Halfway there, she heard Huo Qingzhi’s voice behind her. “You’re afraid?”
Jiang Wu’s heart sank. The small thoughts she had kept hidden all day were exposed in a single sentence.
Huo Qingzhi asked again, “What did you see today?”
The jewelry exhibition immediately appeared in Jiang Wu’s mind again. Those designs wrapped in taboo, unable to breathe, suppressed almost to the point of obsessive entanglement. The ruby wedding ring in the main display case, secured between the fangs of two snakes with their tails wound tightly together. Their sharp teeth seemed to inject poison into the ruby. And the ruby itself was a poisonous forbidden fruit. There had also been woven gemstone pieces like dense nets, and vine bracelets that coiled around her arm. That damp, sinister, all-pervasive invasion and possession, leaving no gap untouched, made her scalp tingle like being bitten by a venomous snake.
Huo Qingzhi stepped closer. “What was in the exhibition?”
Jiang Wu could hardly bring herself to say things like taboo, handcuffs, or chains. So she muttered, far too obviously trying to hide something, “I’m not afraid.” Then she hid in the bathroom.
The moment she went inside, Jiang Wu regretted it. She should have made up something more convincing. Then he wouldn’t be so suspicious.
Jiang Wu sighed and walked to the mirror. When she looked up, she saw the toothbrush cup and toothbrush already neatly arranged on the vanity. The cup had been filled with warm water. Toothpaste had already been squeezed onto the toothbrush, waiting for her.
Jiang Wu went still for a moment. She remembered that before she was nine, whenever she lingered in his room, Huo Qingzhi used to do the same thing. During the extra half hour she spent refusing to get out of bed, he would prepare everything for her. He would shorten her washing-up routine as much as possible so she could sleep a little longer. Later, during university, when Huo Qingzhi stayed with her in Beijing while she studied, he had done the same thing too. It seemed to remind her again… that Eldest Brother didn’t seem all that different from before.
Jiang Wu’s heart was pulled back and forth by those two versions of Huo Qingzhi, leaving her unsettled. Feeling slightly gloomy, she picked up the toothbrush. This really was not her fault. She always felt that after Huo Qingzhi got the marriage certificate, he no longer seemed like an older brother in front of her. He seemed like a man.
That change was completely different from before, and Jiang Wu found it hard to adjust. While brushing her teeth, Jiang Wu stubbornly came up with a harmless explanation for him. Maybe he simply took every role he had very seriously. It couldn’t be because of anything else. He was her brother, after all, the brother she had grown up with for more than twenty years. And this was Huo Qingzhi. He was the one who cared most about propriety and rules.
After she turned nine, Huo Qingzhi had never allowed her to stay overnight in his room. When it came to matters of principle, he was always very serious. He even seemed like someone who would never make a mistake.
That impression was so deeply rooted in Jiang Wu’s mind that thinking anything more felt like an offense against him, almost a desecration. It couldn’t possibly be like what those things in the display cases had expressed…
Jiang Wu lingered in the bathroom for a long time. After brushing her teeth and washing her face, she came out and saw Huo Qingzhi leaning against the headboard, reading. He looked completely at home, completely natural. Muttering inwardly, Jiang Wu walked to the other side of the bed, lifted the covers herself, and lay down with her back to him. She was a little nervous, sticking to her half of the bed, trying to sleep. But even so, the presence of the man beside her was impossible to ignore. It felt as though every page he turned lightly brushed against her heart, leaving behind a faint itch.
Jiang Wu ignored the strange atmosphere, found a comfortable position, and was just about to sleep. Then she suddenly felt the person beside her move. The mattress next to her sank, and the sensation of a tall shadow leaning over instantly enveloped her.
Jiang Wu turned around, tense and guarded. She found herself directly facing Huo Qingzhi as he leaned over her. The distance between them vanished in an instant. He was so close that his shadow blocked all the light in front of her, and even her body seemed to pick up that faint, cool scent of his.
Huo Qingzhi’s deep-set eyes reflected her uneasy expression. Jiang Wu nervously curled her fingers. Then she abruptly turned her back to him again. A moment later, his large hand caught the corner of her blanket and tucked it in. Then everything returned to normal. He moved back to his original position. He had only been helping tuck in her blanket.
Neither of them said anything about the small misunderstanding. But the atmosphere somehow became even stranger. Huo Qingzhi held the book in his hands, not turning a page for a long time. By the time he came back to himself, quite some time had passed, and even breathing sounded beside him. Before going to sleep, Huo Qingzhi switched off the light. The sound seemed to disturb the sleeping Jiang Wu. She rolled over and immediately kicked loose the corner of the blanket he had tucked in.
In the darkness, Huo Qingzhi looked at her bare legs stretched outside the covers, seeking the cool air. Without the blanket hiding her, the outline of her figure became clearer, delicate curves like an unripe peach. The hem of her nightdress barely covered the tops of her thighs, her slender pale skin seeming almost soft enough to leave marks at the slightest touch. More suited to taking a bite or leaving little marks everywhere.
Huo Qingzhi’s thoughts darkened. Most of the time, he couldn’t understand her. She was clearly afraid of sleeping beside him, yet she still wore a slip dress like this. Did she really think he wouldn’t react at all? Thinking about it carefully, he could only blame himself. Back when she used to wander around in front of him dressed like this, he should have been stricter. Instead, he had let her mistakenly believe there was nothing wrong with sleeping dressed this way in front of a man.
Huo Qingzhi pulled over the blanket she had kicked aside. He held her calf and tucked her back under the covers. Her skin felt smooth as silk beneath his palm, her body temperature slightly cool, especially comfortable in this season.
Huo Qingzhi covered her properly in the same matter-of-fact manner as always. Only before letting go, he paused. The nervous little expression Jiang Wu had shown earlier kept surfacing in his mind. As though she had been worried he might do something to her.
Huo Qingzhi’s warm, low voice sounded in the silent room. “What could I possibly do to you?”
~~
Before the auction, Jiang Wu slept all the way until two hours before it started, then sprang out of bed in a panic to get ready. She didn’t see Huo Qingzhi in the room and knew he had probably gone out first.
After all, this strange way of cohabitation with Huo Qingzhi had already continued for several days. Every night, Huo Qingzhi appeared in her room on time, and every morning, he returned to his own room before she woke up. They really only slept; nothing unusual happened. Second Brother also seemed to have genuinely noticed nothing strange. At lunch, he behaved exactly as before.
Meanwhile, a new visitor arrived before the display cases of Forbidden Paradise. Studying them. Understanding them. Huo Qingzhi hadn’t asked for a guide. He stood alone before the display cases. He looked at the maiden’s crown of poisonous poppy branches, bracelets coiled like thin leather whips, and chain-style waist belts. His tall figure stretched and lengthened beneath the purple-black lighting of the gallery. His sharp suit made the objects inside the cases seem even more at odds with his entire bearing.
From time to time, Huo Qingzhi thought of how nervous and uneasy Jiang Wu had been around him after seeing this exhibition. His eyes reflected a chain-inspired design, the silver metallic gleam casting an unusual color through his mixed-race irises. So, this was what she had seen that frightened her.
Huo Qingzhi slowly walked through the gallery, each exhibit passing through his field of vision one after another and almost without pause; he imagined the person who would wear them. What would Jiang Wu look like with them on, or what would those elements look like on her. Were these things frightening?
But Huo Qingzhi realized… he liked them.
~~
Before the auction began, Cherry drove Jiang Wu to the auction house’s underground parking garage on time. She remained sitting in the car, flipping through the auction booklet and repeatedly looking at the line near the end mentioning invited media. But auctions usually had media, and she couldn’t simply stop attending auctions forever. There was no avoiding it.
Still, Western media should probably be fine. At least there weren’t many people here paying attention to her. Even so, Jiang Wu dug out her hat and sunglasses. She was dressed very discreetly today too, in a simple long black-and-white dress, clean and understated.
Jiang Wu pinned up her hair and asked Cherry as casually as she could, “Has Sister Xiaoyue arrived?”
“She has. I saw their car. Over there.” Cherry pointed in a direction.
Then halfway through pointing, Cherry made a small sound of surprise. “Oh, the boss is here too.”
Hearing her, Jiang Wu followed her gesture and saw a Cullinan driving in outside. The auction house parking garage was filled with luxury cars and prominent guests. Every vehicle entering had a specific arrival tone, after which waiting staff would approach in order to guide and receive the guests.
From a distance, Jiang Wu saw Huo Qingzhi get out first and enter the auction house. She looked away and continued fixing her hair and putting on her hat. Not far from them, a Bugatti also pulled in.
Inside, Bastien, Onyxaura’s Second Young Master, spotted Huo Qingzhi from afar and looked slightly surprised. “Huo Qingzhi is here too.”
The girl beside him, still touching up her makeup, immediately perked up. “Who?”
Seeing how excited she was, Bastien teased with a smile, “Slyvia. The man of your dreams.”
The girl straightened immediately and looked through the car window at Huo Qingzhi, who had just gotten out. She quickly told her assistant to open the door. She wanted to get out, but Bastien caught her. “Have a little restraint, little sister.”
Slyvia pushed him. “Then you get out first and introduce me.”
“No problem.”
The siblings got out one after another. Bastien went ahead and called Huo Qingzhi, stopping him for a brief exchange.
Huo Qingzhi paused, turned, saw it was him, and replied with a few polite words.
Slyvia adjusted her appearance, then picked up her bag and got out of the car. Bastien introduced her naturally. “This is my sister, Slyvia.”
Huo Qingzhi gave a brief acknowledgment.
Slyvia curved her eyes into a smile. “Mr. Huo, it’s very nice to meet you.”
Bastien gave Slyvia a gentle push toward Huo Qingzhi. “Chairman Huo, I just remembered I still need to meet another guest. Why don’t you take my sister inside? It’s her first time here. She gets lost easily.”
After saying that, Bastien walked off without giving Huo Qingzhi the chance to refuse. Slyvia smiled and moved closer. “Then I’ll have to trouble you.”
“It’s no trouble.” Huo Qingzhi answered politely, raised a hand, and called over a nearby attendant. “Please take this lady to the main hall.”
Slyvia’s smile froze on her face. She just stared at Huo Qingzhi.
Huo Qingzhi showed no reaction. Every movement and instruction flowed naturally, perfectly courteous without losing any refinement.
The attendant quickly came to her side and gestured. “This way, ma’am.”
Slyvia took a deep breath and tried to maintain her composure. She could only follow the attendant away.
Huo Qingzhi remained where he was until she had been escorted off, then turned his head and glanced toward another car.
At that moment, Jiang Wu was inside putting on oversized sunglasses and a baseball cap. Before getting out, she questioned Cherry one more time. “Look. Can you recognize me like this?”
Cherry replied, “Not even your mother could.”
Jiang Wu relaxed. “I’m giving you a raise.”
Cherry instantly felt she could even serve as a human shield against photographers for Jiang Wu. But she didn’t need that yet. After saying it, she got out of the car. She had barely steadied herself when she felt someone’s gaze fall on her. Jiang Wu followed the direction of that gaze and saw Huo Qingzhi not far away.
Their gazes met for only an instant before parting. Jiang Wu looked away and headed toward Liang Xiaoyue. Only then did Huo Qingzhi leave.
Jiang Wu saw Liang Xiaoyue sitting in the car with the window down, enjoying the breeze while waiting for her, and happily walked over. She politely tapped on the half-open window and pitched her voice higher. “Hello, ma’am. Would you like to sign up for a membership card?”
The aloof President Liang didn’t even look up. She simply rolled the window shut.
Jiang Wu: “…”
Less than two seconds after closing it, Liang Xiaoyue immediately rolled it back down. She stared at Jiang Wu for another couple of seconds, reached out, pulled off her sunglasses, then let out a shrill cry. “Sorry, babe!”
Liang Xiaoyue got out of the car and carefully looked Jiang Wu over. “Why are you dressed like this today…?”
“There’ll be people taking pictures today. I want to keep a low profile.” Jiang Wu adjusted her sunglasses. “Let’s go.” She asked, “What do you have your eye on today?”
“There’s a crystal glass piece that’s pretty nice.” Liang Xiaoyue flipped through the auction booklet. “But they still haven’t revealed the final highlight piece. Help me take a look later and tell me which ones are worth bidding on.”
Jiang Wu agreed. “Okay.”
Inside the auction hall, staff escorted each VIP guest to their assigned seats. Crystal chandeliers hung from all four sides, magnificent and dazzling, scattering tiny points of light across the entire venue.
Jiang Wu and Liang Xiaoyue took their seats together. Only after sitting down did Jiang Wu realize that Huo Qingzhi was seated directly behind them. She deliberately avoided him, glanced twice, then pretended she hadn’t seen him.
Liang Xiaoyue raised an eyebrow but didn’t greet Huo Qingzhi either. Instead, she leaned toward Jiang Wu and whispered, “Your Eldest Brother came too?”
Jiang Wu gave a vague response.
Liang Xiaoyue nudged her. “You came out to have fun, and your guardian still has to follow you?”
“What guardian?” Jiang Wu hurriedly tried to get Liang Xiaoyue to quiet down. But that didn’t stop Huo Qingzhi from hearing it.
Huo Qingzhi didn’t seem to care. His fingers merely hooked, almost absentmindedly, around a loose strand of Jiang Wu’s hair. It had fallen from the row in front and hung right before him. Just one strand. He toyed with it between his fingertips. She barely noticed. Only when his fingers curled around the ends of her hair did she feel a faint tickle.
Slyvia’s seat was in the same row as Huo Qingzhi’s, not far away. One glance was enough for her to see him. Bastien listened as she finished recounting what had just happened and laughed until he couldn’t stop.
“That’s why I told you, instead of setting your sights on Huo Qingzhi, you might as well go for Huo Yingli. He isn’t easy to deal with.”
“You don’t understand.” Slyvia touched up her lipstick. “I’m not angry at all. A man with strong boundaries has no flaws except being hard to pursue. I like him even more now.”
Bastien followed her gaze toward Huo Qingzhi. He happened to catch the absentminded movement of Huo Qingzhi’s fingers. “Maybe he has such strong boundaries because there’s already someone in his heart?”
Slyvia looked at him. “Didn’t you say he’s always been single?” She followed Bastien’s gaze and saw what Huo Qingzhi was doing. She didn’t understand. “What does that prove?”
Bastien narrowed his eyes. “Princess, you still don’t understand men.”
Hearing Bastien’s words, Slyvia began glancing in that direction from time to time. And at the girl seated directly in front of Huo Qingzhi. It was rare for anyone to wear both a cap and sunglasses to an occasion like this. She couldn’t make out the girl’s face.
The auction began on time. Since this auction was being held during the busiest season in Paris, the quality of the lots was also exceptionally high. The auction used incremental bidding, with guests raising paddles. The hall remained quiet, yet the subdued tension of money competing against money flowed everywhere.
Every time the host introduced an item, Liang Xiaoyue looked at Jiang Wu. If Jiang Wu nodded, she raised her paddle. If Jiang Wu shook her head, she simply watched the show. After several rounds, Liang Xiaoyue successfully acquired the pieces she liked at relatively low prices. As for the truly valuable items, many were antiquities that had left China.
Soon, a piece of cloisonné enamel was brought up. Many of the guests immediately grew excited. After all, in recent years, cloisonné had been one of the fastest-appreciating categories of antiques. Authentic Ming dynasty pieces could be worth hundreds of millions. Most of what circulated on the market were Qing dynasty imitations, but even those could command high prices.
Liang Xiaoyue was just about to raise her paddle when Jiang Wu pressed her hand down. Jiang Wu said, “This is a Qing dynasty folk imitation, not an imperial workshop imitation.”
“Anything over three million isn’t worth it.”
While they were speaking, the bidding had already reached five million. And it showed no sign of stopping. Jiang Wu almost felt sorry for them. She lowered her head and idly played with her phone when she suddenly felt something touching the ends of her hair.
Jiang Wu didn’t think much of it. Assuming she had brushed against something, she made a simple movement and pulled her hair forward. The soft strands slipped across the curve of Huo Qingzhi’s fingers and escaped. He remained in the same position for a long time without moving.
Slyvia, seated not far away, saw the entire thing. It was indeed a movement so small it could easily have been ignored. But once Bastien had pointed it out, there was undeniably something subtle about it.
Then the host finally announced, “Next, we will reveal our final lot. Snow Over the Northern Frontier, by the renowned Song dynasty masterpiece, starting at sixty-six million.”
Jiang Wu’s fingers stopped over her phone and abruptly lifted her head. A scroll slowly unfurled across the large screen. A wave of discussion and astonished exclamations rose throughout the hall. Jiang Wu sat up straight, and Liang Xiaoyue narrowed her eyes.
Anyone who regularly attended auctions could more or less see the value of this piece. Once bidding began, the high starting price caused a brief pause. Then two paddles rose at the same time. One belonged to Jiang Wu. The other belonged to Slyvia.
The host called Slyvia’s number first. “Seventy million, once.”
Slyvia glanced toward Jiang Wu. The young woman seemed unwilling to give up and raised her paddle again. Slyvia quickly followed.
Again, the host called her bid. “Seventy-two million, once.”
The atmosphere around Jiang Wu visibly darkened.
Bastien asked her, “You like this?”
“Of course.” Slyvia didn’t lie. She had fallen for the painting at first sight. “If you like something, you should fight for it. Whoever has the ability to get it gets it. If you enter the game, you accept the result.”
Bastien listened to her tone. “Doesn’t sound like you’re talking about the painting. I am talking about the painting.”
Slyvia looked toward Huo Qingzhi’s direction. The girl in front of him hadn’t bid again. “Besides, she hasn’t bid very high. Both times, they called my number. Doesn’t look like she wants it that badly.”
The bidding continued. Jiang Wu gestured toward a nearby staff member. The staff exchanged uneasy looks. No one dared approach her.
Slyvia and another bidder pushed the price to ninety million. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the commotion near Jiang Wu. “What is this? She can’t get what she wants, so now she’s angry?”
Then Huo Qingzhi stood and left halfway through. Only then did Bastien vaguely sense that something might be wrong. Seeing Huo Qingzhi leave, Slyvia quieted down but stubbornly raised her paddle again.
Only Liang Xiaoyue knew that the paddle Jiang Wu had just raised toward the host and organizers wasn’t a bidding paddle at all. It was a stop-auction signal. But no one present had dared respond to her request. In the end, Slyvia won the painting for 160 million.
The moment such an enormous price was announced, thunderous applause erupted throughout the hall. Slyvia lifted her chin proudly, accepting the congratulations around her as she contacted staff to inspect the item and sign the agreement.
Then alarms suddenly sounded throughout the hall. Immediately afterward, police officers carrying identification entered from outside. They filled the venue from front to back. The lead officer walked toward the stage.
The staff were startled, and the host hurriedly asked, “This is…?”
From below the stage, Jiang Wu stood among the crowd. “An illegally exported cultural relic has been put up for auction in violation of regulations. The amount involved exceeds one hundred million, making this a criminal matter. Please cooperate with the police investigation.”
The auction house manager beside her couldn’t help stepping forward. “Ma’am, all of our cultural relics were sourced legally and in compliance with regulations. What you’re saying is defamatory…”
Before he could finish, Jiang Wu had already pulled up her credentials as an international appraiser and licensed cultural relic authenticator. She displayed them and repeated, “If everything is legal and compliant, then please cooperate with the investigation.”