Surrounded by Wolves
Crazy. A madman. Won’t allow her to leave?
Jiang Wu ran away that very night. She sat on an overnight flight back to Hong Kong, frantically messaging Liang Xiaoyue.
[Ah Wu: Tell me, if someone suppresses themselves for too long, can they become abnormal?]
Fortunately, Liang Xiaoyue was still awake.
[LXY: Suppress what? Sexual repression?]
Jiang Wu: “…”
As Liang Xiaoyue kept replying, she suddenly sensed something was wrong.
[LXY: Who did you discover was abnormal?]
Hadn’t Jiang Wu only been surrounded by those brothers of hers these past few days?
Jiang Wu tried to sound casual.
[Ah Wu: I saw it in a drama.]
[LXY: Oh. Which drama?]
[Ah Wu: Never mind that.]
Jiang Wu racked her brain for a description.
[Ah Wu: There’s this guy. Ever since he was young, he was extremely proper. Everyone saw him as a good kid, a good student, and later he became a good teacher too. He almost never made a mistake. Never did anything wrong. But one day, once the doors were closed, he suddenly stopped acting like a decent person.]
Liang Xiaoyue grew interested.
[LXY: Explain exactly what he did.]
Jiang Wu paused for a long time. If she really had to say what he had done, nothing truly physical happened. He had only made her sit on his lap for a while. But only she knew what that meant. Only someone who knew how good, restrained, and proper Huo Qingzhi had always been with her could understand just how much he had just…
Liang Xiaoyue saw that Jiang Wu had stopped replying and slowly sent.
[LXY: Then he probably didn’t suddenly stop acting like a decent person. That’s probably what he’s always like.]
Jiang Wu only half understood.
[Ah Wu: What do you mean?]
Liang Xiaoyue explained.
[LXY: What he’s like behind closed doors is who he really is.]
Jiang Wu bit her finger and, in that instant, remembered what Wen Ciying had once told her. But all of this was too much of a shock for her. No one easily abandoned the understanding they had built over the first half of their life. The image of Huo Qingzhi that had taken root in her heart for more than twenty years couldn’t suddenly crumble overnight.
That was equally difficult for Jiang Wu to accept. It felt more as though everything that had happened lately was the exception. Once it passed, everything would return to how it used to be.
Too complicated. Jiang Wu’s straightforward mind didn’t want to think about something so complicated. She decided to sleep and put Huo Qingzhi in the “dark room” so he could calm down.
Jiang Wu tucked herself into the bed the flight attendant had prepared, hugging the little bear the airline had given her.
Deep in the Paris night, stars were scattered like splashed ink across the sky. Huo Qingzhi didn’t sleep for a long time. He kept thinking about how flustered Jiang Wu had been. She had told him she knew what he meant. That she needed to go to another room and calm down, and come back to sleep later. She had sounded close to tears from being bullied.
Huo Qingzhi hadn’t pushed her too hard. He knew he couldn’t continue past that point for now. It was enough for now. All of Jiang Wu’s things were still in the master bedroom. She would definitely come back.
But it was already two in the morning. Huo Qingzhi still got up to check whether she had fallen asleep in another room. Whether she had covered herself properly. But ten minutes later, after Huo Qingzhi had checked every room and stood outside the master bedroom sending Jiang Wu a message, only to receive a red exclamation mark… he changed his mind.
Huo Qingzhi laughed from sheer anger. For once, a faint crack appeared in his usually controlled expression. Good bb. She ran away again. This time she hadn’t even taken her luggage. Ah Wu was far more disobedient as a wife than as a younger sister. She deserved punishment.
It seemed what he had done tonight could continue after all. It was nowhere near enough.
~~
“Wenni, get down. The sofa is huge. Why do you insist on sitting on your brother?”
The four-year-old little dumpling of a girl, holding her breakfast milk, nestled against Huo Qingzhi. “Brother’s lap is comfortable. I like sitting here.”
The teenage boy simply held her steady so she wouldn’t wobble and fall again, and tied a bib around the little girl’s neck so she wouldn’t spill breakfast milk everywhere.
Even Huo Tingshan would say when he saw them, “It’s a good thing that brother and sister are close.” Then he would specifically tell Huo Qingzhi, “Take good care of your little sister.”
It was something Huo Qingzhi would have done even without being told. Whenever the family went out, Jiang Wu was the youngest and often found it difficult to adjust among all the tall figures around her. When she got scared and couldn’t find Daddy, who was busy socializing, she could only reach for Huo Qingzhi. “Brother, carry me.”
Every time, Huo Qingzhi patiently picked her up and lifted her out of the kind of predicament only a small child could have. Ah Wu was also a polite baby. Whenever her brother helped her, she would openly give him a kiss and say, “Thank you, Brother. You’re the best.”
Jiang Wu was clingiest to Huo Qingzhi when she was six. After she had moved to her own room, she would sneak into his room behind the family’s back. Huo Qingzhi would make her bed, tell her bedtime stories, and soothe her to sleep. Back then, Jiang Wu hadn’t started school yet. So, for a brief period, her whole world revolved around him.
On her birthday that year, she made a wish. When it was time for her to go to bed that night, Huo Qingzhi asked her what she had wished for; perhaps it would come true tomorrow. She knew it wasn’t that it would come true tomorrow, but that he would help her achieve it. So, she asked him earnestly, “Brother, can you be my birthday present?”
Huo Qingzhi teased her, saying she really knew how to ask for such a bold request.
~~
The plane’s landing chime sounded. Jiang Wu’s heart jolted, and she woke from her dream. Her brother’s voice still echoed in her ears: “Brother, can you be my birthday present?”
She sat on the bed in a daze. Children really did say whatever came to mind. Why had she said all that as a child? Looking back now, it all felt like evidence against her.
While Jiang Wu was still lost in thought, a flight attendant came over to wake her. They were about to arrive. She got up groggily, washed her face, and changed clothes. When she came out, Cherry had already packed everything and was ready to get off the plane. Cherry told Jiang Wu, “After we land, there are still some collaborations you need to screen.”
“More collaborations?” Jiang Wu vaguely remembered handling a lot of similar work these past few days. “We still haven’t finished?”
“They’re all from different companies. This time they’re projects for the Bronze Coin Foundation.”
Jiang Wu leaned quietly against the seat and sensed something was off. There had been too many investment opportunities coming in lately. She had just been too busy these past few days to notice how many there were.
Not long after the plane came to a stop and their signal returned, Jiang Wu received a call from the museum. Looking at the caller ID, her heart sank. Sure enough, what was coming had finally come. After all, she was still in her probation period.
Jiang Wu answered. As expected, HR asked her to come pick up the materials from her onboarding process. She told the driver to change course and go directly to the museum. She had expected the decision to come quickly, but not this quickly.
Jiang Wu thought that once the museum dismissed her and she got her documents back, she would give herself a break. Everything else could wait until after her birthday. Today was the museum’s closed day, so she walked through empty halls to the HR office without any trouble.
The HR director seemed genuinely happy to see her. “You’re here already!”
Jiang Wu walked over. “I happened to be nearby, so I thought I’d pick them up first.”
The HR director pulled one kraft-paper envelope from a stack beside her and walked over. “This one is yours.”
“Thank you.” Jiang Wu pressed her lips together and started a polite farewell. “Even though we didn’t get to work together…”
The director looked confused. “What do you mean?”
Jiang Wu stopped halfway through. A silent exchange passed between them.
The director laughed. “I was asking when you could start working with us.”
The surroundings went quiet for a moment.
Jiang Wu realized what she was saying and lowered her eyes to look at her onboarding documents again.
The HR director explained, “Your documents passed verification, so your onboarding procedures are complete. Your one-month observation period is also up. You performed excellently, and everyone unanimously approved you yesterday.”
Jiang Wu didn’t react. “I performed excellently?”
“Yes.” The director smiled. “You didn’t know? You helped stop the illegal auction of a national treasure. Everyone recognized your professional skill and judgment. You’ve been praised.”
Have I been praised? Jiang Wu didn’t hear that often. She stepped out of the museum and re-downloaded the social media app she’d deleted. The news had died down, but she saw dozens of mentions leading to one official post from the Beijing Cultural Heritage Institute, her former mentors. After the official statement, there were no negative trending topics, nor would they allow the incident to spiral out of control. Everything had settled into just the right direction.
Jiang Wu found it a little surreal. She sat beside the flowerbed outside the entrance, noticing that every topic related to her had the names of her two cultural-preservation foundations attached to it. She finally understood why so many investment collaborations had approached her these past two days. So, that was it.
A soft, cool breeze moved through the treetops and stirred Jiang Wu’s loose hair. She let out a quiet laugh and looked up at the endless stream of traffic and the scattered sunlight trembling through the branches.
So that was it.
~~
Inside a skyscraper in Central, Hong Kong, an elevator rose rapidly through the tightly layered, precisely ordered corporate tower. On every floor, busy professionals moved back and forth carrying all kinds of documents. The air was filled with overlapping keyboard clicks and business conversations.
The elevator stopped. Huo Qingzhi stepped out, and the staff at the entrance immediately lowered their heads in greeting when they saw him. Several executives in suits followed behind him. He moved through the crowd, bringing with him a cold, sharp aura. He was the most distinguished and unreachable figure there.
Huo Qingzhi passed through the PR department’s conference room. Through the glass doors, he saw Huo Tingkun once again holding a meeting. He only glanced from afar, and his gaze met Huo Yingli’s inside the room, then calmly moved away.
Inside the conference room, Huo Tingkun watched as his assistant presented the impact of the recent public opinion on the Group and Jiang Wu personally. The Group remained completely unaffected. None of its subsidiaries had suffered any impact. Meanwhile, the two foundations under Jiang Wu’s name had been surging with investment for several consecutive days. The screen full of red gains was irritating to look at, and the funds rising was only the result. The fact that her funds were rising meant capital was flowing back into her name.
The conference room fell into a rare silence. Huo Tingkun couldn’t help saying, “Did you people do too good a job with the media defense? You cut Jiang Wu off from our Group that cleanly? Not a single bit of capital flowed over here? What use are those two foundations of hers? Even if capital goes into them, she doesn’t know how to operate them.”
Someone from the technical department quietly objected, “You were the one who said we had to avoid losses from negative attention.”
“Positive attention could’ve been directed toward us. She was still someone cultivated by our Group.” Huo Tingkun grumbled.
Huo Tingkun had always benefited from Jiang Wu’s public attention. This was the first time he had watched such a large benefit flow away without getting any of it himself. “No, can’t you tell the difference between positive and negative impact?”
“That’s difficult, Mr. Huo,” someone else said. “When we announced the split, we cut her off completely and said she would bear all positive and negative impact herself. It wouldn’t make sense for us to insert ourselves again now. And look, this was issued by an official institution. They’re praising her. It has nothing to do with us.”
“Exactly. The Group released a statement half a month ago drawing a clear line from Miss Jiang. That was your proposal too. We have no way to redirect the capital toward us now.”
Huo Tingkun had nothing to say, seething with frustration. It was true that he had been the one to push for that complete-cutoff statement. He had thought a girl like Jiang Wu, cut off from the Huo family, would be useless.
The atmosphere in the conference room was oppressive. Huo Tingkun’s expression looked terrible. In the end, he threw out, “Anyway, this little bit of noise isn’t worth much.” Then he dismissed the meeting and left.
Once he was gone, several employees muttered quietly. “Not worth much? He’s probably dying of jealousy.”
“I’ve never seen an uncle act like that. Completely backwards. The Group isn’t an entertainment marketing company. We have real industries to run, yet he spends all day thinking about shortcuts.”
“The actual businesses under him lose money year after year. This is the cheapest way to make a profit. Isn’t that what he always does?”
Huo Yingli listened to the entire exchange from farther away, then leisurely left.
Half an hour later, Lu Heng went to Huo Qingzhi’s office to report. Huo Qingzhi seemed to already know what had happened. “Yingli’s been stirring things up in PR, hasn’t he?”
Lu Heng paused. “Young Master Yingli knows where the line is.”
Huo Qingzhi nodded. If he hadn’t known Huo Yingli was good at stirring things up, he wouldn’t have sent him there. When it came to sowing discord between superiors and subordinates, Huo Yingli was exceptionally skilled, while still making himself look like the reasonable one.
Huo Qingzhi tossed aside the document he had been reading and only said, “Huo Tingkun is almost useless in the PR department now. Give him a little more trouble.”
“All right.”
After Lu Heng left, Huo Qingzhi glanced at his phone. Jiang Wu hadn’t returned to Kowloon Tong for two days. She had been staying at Cloud Peak Bay, probably counting on the fact that with their parents around, he wouldn’t dare do anything to her.
Late at night, just before bed, Jiang Wu developed a strong sense of unease. From time to time, she looked toward the passage connecting her room with Huo Qingzhi’s. She had never realized it was so dangerous. Now she was a little scared that he would come back in the middle of the night, come through there, and catch her.
Jiang Wu tossed and turned, unable to sleep. She racked her brains for a moment, then simply got up.
Ten minutes later, Wen Ciying, who had just finished showering and was preparing for bed, heard a knock. She walked over while drying her still-wet hair. When she opened the door, she saw Jiang Wu standing there happily with her pillow in her arms. Very politely, Jiang Wu asked, “Can I sleep with you for the next two nights?”
Wen Ciyin’s eyebrow twitched. “Sleep with me?”
Jiang Wu bit her lip. “Can I? I’m scared to be alone.”
Wen Ciyin gave her a knowing, amused smile. “Come in.”
Jiang Wu was delighted. She had barely stepped inside when Wen Ciying said, “You won’t be scared if you sleep with me?”
Jiang Wu answered honestly, “Why would I be scared sleeping with you?”
Wen Ciying took the pillow from her hands and placed it on the bed without saying anything. Amid that strange exchange of looks, Jiang Wu started making demands. “I’m not sharing a blanket with you.”
“You’re so demanding, Ms. Jiang.” Wen Ciying still went to get another blanket. She wasn’t used to sharing one either. Only after bringing the blanket back did Wen Ciying ask, “So what’s wrong? Who are you afraid of when you sleep alone?”
Jiang Wu obediently spread the new blanket over her side. “I’m just scared of sleeping alone.”
Wen Ciying asked directly, “You’re scared of Huo Qingzhi?”
Jiang Wu’s hands stopped. She looked at her in shock. For a moment, she was speechless, then realized she had to deny it. “No. It’s not that.”
Jiang Wu pulled the blanket up and turned over, giving Wen Ciyin her back. Wen Ciying nodded. “Alright, not that.” She switched off the bedside lamp and went to dry her hair, casually adding, “But I saw that your rooms are connected.”
That one sentence made Jiang Wu sit bolt upright again. She gave up on sleeping and followed Wen Ciying into the bathroom. “You saw that?!”
Wen Ciying glanced lazily at her and switched on the hair dryer. The loud noise immediately made conversation impossible. Jiang Wu tried asking, “How did you… When did you…” Everything was drowned out by the hair dryer.
Wen Ciying simply watched through the mirror as that pretty, anxious figure hovered around her. By the time Jiang Wu finally quieted down, Wen Ciying’s hair was dry. Jiang Wu looked frustrated and discouraged beside her.
Wen Ciying skipped over all those messy questions and asked directly, “So what did he do?”
Jiang Wu didn’t have the energy to answer anything else. She had held this in for several days and needed someone to talk to. She took Wen Ciying’s hand. “Like this. He held me like this.”
Wen Ciying looked at her own hand, which Jiang Wu had placed at her waist, and didn’t quite understand. “And?”
Jiang Wu simply pulled her to the sofa, pushed her down, and sat on her lap to demonstrate. “Like this.” She reenacted what Huo Qingzhi had done, placing one of Wen Ciying’s hands at her waist and the other around her wrist. “He held me like that.”
Wen Ciying had the same mixed-race build as the rest of this family. Jiang Wu didn’t and was smaller than her. When Wen Ciying recreated the position and lightly held her in place, she more or less understood what the scene must have looked like. Strangely enough, she understood Huo Qingzhi more than Jiang Wu… She really did look easy to bully.
“Ah. Then he really was out of line.” Wen Ciying thought the same thing to herself. Especially with Jiang Wu frowning and muttering complaints, she looked even easier to bully.
Wen Ciying kindly reminded her, “Now that you know, you’d better be careful. Don’t let yourself get completely swallowed up.”
Jiang Wu said nothing. But it seemed like she already had nowhere to run. They were married. “Anyway, save me these next two days.”
Wen Ciying looked at her pitiful expression, like a lamb walking into a wolf’s den. She didn’t even have the heart to say more. It wasn’t only Huo Qingzhi she should be careful around. There were actually three of them.
Wen Ciying thought Huo Lingyi, who had recently been stuck at home, was rather dangerous too. While Huo Yingli and Huo Qingzhi had both been in Paris, Huo Tingshan had kept Huo Lingyi at home. Whenever he had time, he made him take her to the company and look around.
Wen Ciying felt that Huo Lingyi looked ready to lose his temper every day. Especially when it came to his two brothers who had gone to Paris. She didn’t care much herself. Occasionally, she would just mock him.
What was unusual was that Huo Lingyi had been behaving very well these past two days. Earlier that day, he had even gone grocery shopping with Jiang Wu and helped her pick out some things to decorate her new workstation. Huo Lingyi had also agreed to help Jiang Wu set up her workstation tomorrow while everyone else was off for the weekend. That left Wen Ciying no chance to say anything bad about him.
After all, Jiang Wu needed his help. Saying something now would only put Jiang Wu in an awkward position. Wen Ciying merely looked at Jiang Wu with sympathy for a while. Jiang Wu noticed nothing.
The next day, while Huo Lingyi was helping her assemble storage cabinets and shelves, she was still racking her brain for ways to thank him. She sat on the sofa with the sound of the electric drill in her ears. From a short distance away, she watched Huo Lingyi assemble the cabinet in the black tank top he usually wore while working on cars. The young man held a flashlight between his teeth for extra light, protective goggles resting over his sharp features. The tank top stretched over his build, and the muscles in his arms tightened with every movement. Dust hung in the air amid the noise and disorder.
Huo Lingyi wouldn’t let Jiang Wu come close, but he worked quickly and efficiently. For someone who regularly crawled under cars and repaired off-road vehicles and sports cars, this kind of work was nothing. She asked Cherry to bring over the gifts they had brought back from Paris. She had bought Huo Lingyi a model sports car. He built his own vehicles for off-road racing and often used models to test ideas beforehand.
After sending the message, Jiang Wu heard the drill stop. Huo Lingyi casually removed his goggles and flashlight. Jiang Wu stood and brought him some water.
Huo Lingyi smiled as he took it. “I told you not to come over. It’s dirty.”
“It’s fine. I just came to look.” Jiang Wu saw that her small cabinet was already assembled, though a thin layer of sawdust covered the top.
“It’ll still take a little while.” Huo Lingyi set down the empty water bottle, picked up a cloth, wiped away the sawdust, and smoothed the rough edges.
Sweat fell from the loose hair over his forehead. There was also a thin sheen of sweat over the bridge of his nose and neck. Jiang Wu stood beside him and couldn’t help sneaking a couple more times. Huo Lingyi seemed to notice. He paused and looked up, meeting her gaze. Jiang Wu didn’t look away. Instead, her eyes curved into a smile. Huo Lingyi was the one who looked away first.
Once he finished the cabinet, he loaded it into the car, changed into cleaner clothes, and took her things to the museum. When they got back to Cloud Peak Bay, Cherry had the gifts. Jiang Wu took the gift and went inside with Huo Lingyi.
Wen Ciying sat on the sofa by the second-floor glass window eating ice cream, watching the two chat in the living room for a while before heading to Huo Lingyi’s room. She glanced at her watch- exactly nine o’clock- then she continued eating her ice cream.
Jiang Wu had someone carry the model into his room, dusted off her hands, and said, “Then I’ll head back.”
Huo Lingyi heard her and lowered his eyes. Suddenly, he hissed softly.
Jiang Wu heard it and turned around. “What’s wrong?”
Huo Lingyi answered simply, “Nothing.”
Jiang Wu walked over and immediately saw the long cut across his forearm. She was startled. “How did this happen? Did you scratch yourself while putting the cabinet together today?” Jiang Wu looked at the dried blood along the edges of the wound. “Why didn’t you say anything earlier?”
“I didn’t notice. It’s nothing serious.”
Jiang Wu shook her head. “It needs to be treated. What if it gets infected?”
Huo Lingyi stopped her. “Wait. Let me shower first. I’m covered in dust.”
“You can’t get it wet.”
“I’ll be careful.” Huo Lingyi gestured toward her. “Just get me some rubbing alcohol.” Then he went into the bathroom.
Jiang Wu still asked someone to bring iodine solution and medication to prevent infection, then waited in his room for him to finish.
Huo Lingyi took a rather long shower.
Jiang Wu grew sleepy. She yawned and leaned against the side. After some time, just as she was about to fall asleep, she heard the bathroom door open. Warm steam drifted out.
Jiang Wu opened her eyes and saw Huo Lingyi come out in a simple black T-shirt and shorts. The black shirt fit him closely, slightly damp in places, outlining his build. The clothes were casual and youthful, though his frame was clearly that of an adult man.
Jiang Wu blinked sleepily before remembering what she was there for. “Finished?”
Her slightly husky, sleepy voice made Huo Lingyi pause while drying his hair. Jiang Wu forced herself up and reached for the medicine. “I had them bring iodine. Alcohol hurts too much. Come here.”
Huo Lingyi obediently walked over and held out his arm. “You’re so worried about me?”
The injury was mostly a surface scrape rather than a deep cut. Jiang Wu took out the iodine and cotton swabs, held his wrist, and gently cleaned the wound. “If I don’t worry about you, who should I worry about?”
Huo Lingyi looked pleased. His attention stayed on where Jiang Wu was holding his wrist. Her touch was cool and light. He lightly curled his fingers around her wrist in return, without force. “Then why did you go to Paris without asking me?”
The movement tickled Jiang Wu slightly. “I left in a hurry. I didn’t ask anyone.” She could vaguely hear the sulkiness in his tone. He knew Eldest Brother and Second Brother had both gone to Paris and was clearly annoyed about it. “They only went because they happened to have business there.”
Huo Lingyi gave a quiet “Mm,” though he didn’t sound convinced. “Was Paris fun?”
“It was.”
Huo Lingyi suddenly leaned a little closer and asked, “Then who was more fun, Eldest Brother or Second Brother?”