Surrounded by Wolves
Jiang Wu suddenly had a bad feeling.
At small auctions, buyers often knew each other and would privately agree on which pieces they wanted. They would then reach an understanding with the auction house. They would then reach an understanding with the auction house.
During the actual auction, friends might raise the price a few times just for appearances, so the bidding process could play itself out without everyone genuinely competing against one another and creating awkwardness. It was an unwritten rule of the industry.
Sure enough, when bidding began with an opening price of 600,000, Jiang Wu could immediately tell that the bidding was following a predetermined script. Someone raised a paddle symbolically. Zheng Senze followed with another bid.
Liang Xiaoyue tried several times to raise hers, but every time, the bidding jumped past her. The price quickly climbed beyond two million. Jiang Wu pressed down Liang Xiaoyue’s bidding paddle, stopping her from participating in this meaningless, performative auction.
Behind them, the media cameras kept clicking without pause. Jiang Wu knew what they were after: a scandalous story about the former little princess of the Huo family who had fallen from grace, only to encounter a wealthy young heir willing to spend a fortune for her sake. It was exactly the kind of story the media loved. By the time this auction ended, she was going to have a rumored boyfriend. Zheng Senze.
Jiang Wu drew in a deep breath. Truthfully, she absolutely hated this sort of thing, having her profession dragged into baseless gossip, having the things she genuinely loved profaned and trampled beneath meaningless scandal.
The higher the auction price climbed, the colder Jiang Wu’s expression became. Before long, it broke past four million. That was already the upper limit of Jiang Wu’s valuation for this particular piece. If a collectible is excessively overpriced, its true value becomes obscured, and the auction turns into little more than a spectacle.
The bidding slowed. Soon, only Zheng Senze and one other bidder remained. He lounged back in his seat, making no attempt to hide how much he enjoyed the media attention from behind him. The auction followed a tiered bidding system, with increments progressing according to the two-five-eight scale. When the price reached 4.5 million, Zheng Senze directly instructed his assistant to raise it to five million. But the auctioneer at the front suddenly stopped.
Someone stepped forward and quietly spoke with the auctioneer. Zheng Senze was still holding up his paddle, but no one acknowledged him. Whispers began rippling through the hall as people asked what was happening. Jiang Wu glanced around. Amid the murmurs, she vaguely heard someone say that the light in one of the private rooms had come on.
A moment later, the auctioneer ignored Zheng Senze’s additional bid and raised the microphone. “Distinguished guests, in accordance with the highest protocol of tonight’s auction, the indicator for Platinum Hall No. 3 has been illuminated. This lot has now been secured by the honored guest in the Platinum Hall. Regardless of the final bidding price, the VIP guest in the Platinum Hall will cover the winning bid in full. All guests are welcome to continue bidding purely for the appreciation of art and culture.”
It meant someone had lit the “sky lantern.” Someone had placed an unlimited bid; no matter how high the bidding climbed, that person would ultimately take the lot at an even higher price, without an upper limit.
The instant everyone realized what had happened, an unspoken understanding swept through the room. Thunderous applause erupted. It was the ultimate display of power and wealth, a form of absolute control and intimidation. Under normal circumstances, everyone would give such a VIP face and stop bidding. Continuing would mean refusing to take the hint and openly offending whoever was inside that private hall.
Zheng Senze, who had originally intended to stop once the bidding reached ten million, frowned and lowered his voice to his assistant. “What’s going on? Wasn’t everything already arranged?”
His assistant immediately went to speak with the nearby auction staff, his expression grave, and tried to negotiate, but it was useless. The auction house would rather give up Zheng Senze’s ten million than risk releasing the lot to him.
Following the two-five-eight bidding increments, the painting ultimately sold for 5.2 million, the next increment above five million. It belonged to the distinguished guest in the Platinum Hall.
Jiang Wu felt uneasy. She said something to Liang Xiaoyue, then got to her feet and walked out. Putting on her sunglasses, Jiang Wu passed through the crowd of reporters and entered the elevator leading to the VIP area. The media immediately erupted into another frenzy of photographs, but they weren’t permitted upstairs and could only give up.
When Jiang Wu asked an attendant to lead her to the Platinum Hall, she stopped outside the door and heard conversation coming from within.
Zheng Senze’s voice reached her first. “I thought it was Miss Jiang’s boyfriend who lit the sky lantern and bought out the auction for her. Turns out it was her brother.” Jiang Wu stopped in her tracks and held back the attendant who was about to knock.
“Mr. Zheng, watch your words.” Huo Qingzhi’s voice remained calm and composed, as if he were discussing business. “She doesn’t need anyone to buy out an auction for her, nor does she need anyone to bid on her behalf. Because at an auction house, what can be bought out is the artifact, not a person. And what you’re doing shows no respect for both.”
Zheng Senze could not quite follow what Huo Qingzhi meant. “Everyone has their own selfish motives. There’s no need for Mr. Huo to put on such a righteous act.”
With the effortless composure of someone accustomed to holding power, Huo Qingzhi asked only one question. “Then what are your selfish motives?”
To Jiang Wu, listening from outside, Huo Qingzhi’s words sounded like an intensely oppressive interrogation. So, when Zheng Senze didn’t answer immediately, she wasn’t surprised.
Inside the room, however, the actual scene was that Zheng Senze sat in the guest seat, and across from him were three men. All three were staring directly at him, waiting for his answer.
Zheng Senze was visibly uncomfortable. “Why so serious, Mr. Huo? I was only supporting a friend.”
Huo Yingli chimed in, “A friend? What kind of friend? How come I’ve never heard her mention you?”
“We’ve gone out together before.”
“Ah…” Huo Yingli repeated thoughtfully, “You’ve gone out together a few times. But we don’t usually call that kind of company a friend.”
Zheng Senze’s expression darkened at the insult. “There’s nothing wrong with me coming to support her, is there? Why are all of you being so hostile?”
Huo Lingyi stood behind Zheng Senze’s sofa, casually twirling a Swiss Army knife between his fingers. He tapped the flat of the blade lightly against Zheng Senze’s cheek. “You weren’t trying to support her; you were trying to leverage her. And if you thought ten million was enough to buy yourself a connection to her, you’re nowhere near qualified.”
Zheng Senze could feel the threat radiating from the sharp object against his skin. He still couldn’t understand. “What? Weren’t you all also here to support her? Isn’t that why you lit the sky lantern to cover for her so she wouldn’t end up embarrassed?”
“We never needed to light the sky lantern. We only came to watch,” Huo Qingzhi corrected him. “The only reason we guaranteed the artifact was that someone was causing trouble at the auction.”
Huo Qingzhi didn’t need to elaborate. Zheng Senze could figure out exactly who that someone was.
Holding back his anger, Zheng Senze pressed his tongue against the inside of his cheek and laughed. “You’re all clearly biased against me. Fine, my father didn’t keep a tight enough rein on the people under him, and they ran that story on your family. But that had nothing to do with me.”
Huo Yingli asked directly, “Do you like her?”
Zheng Senze fell silent. Originally, he had only wanted to play around. Men often feel a desire to conquer a beautiful, proud woman who had once been beyond their reach, especially when her status had now supposedly fallen beneath theirs.
He had not had a chance before. Now, who wouldn’t want to try? Besides, because of her, his family had suffered setback after setback. That ugly instinct inside him kept pushing him to claw something back from her. But admitting that he liked her in front of these three men came with the dangerous implication that he might actually be expected to take responsibility.
So, Zheng Senze deliberately kept his answer vague. “Who can say what might happen in the future?”
Huo Lingyi laughed, bracing himself on the back of Zheng Senze’s sofa and warned him, “There is no future. Zheng Senze, stay away from Jiang Wu. If I see you flirting with her again… I’ll beat you every single time until you’re dead.”
Huo Qingzhi admonished Huo Lingyi. “Too crude.”
Huo Yingli smoothed things over from the side. “Enough. We can let him get lost now.”
Zheng Senze genuinely hadn’t expected that to be their version of smoothing things over. An attendant stepped forward and escorted him out.
Jiang Wu didn’t want to run into Zheng Senze, so she left before he did. Knowing who had done it was enough. It was her brothers. She could thank them when she went home over the weekend. Her brothers really were the best.
But because she left, Jiang Wu missed the conversation that followed. Once everything had gone quiet, Huo Qingzhi warned Huo Lingyi, “Stop resorting to violence at every turn. You’ll only create trouble for yourself.”
Huo Lingyi gave a silent laugh. “Look at that. Eldest Brother is pretending to be the good guy again. No one even knows who it was that brought down their company.”
Huo Qingzhi set down his cup, his tone as still as an old well, laced with a cruelty easy to miss. “They brought it upon themselves. How can that be blamed on me?”
Huo Yingli turned toward Huo Lingyi and brought up something else. “You planted the device on him?”
“Enough nonsense.” Huo Qingzhi cut them off. “Go remove it.”
Huo Lingyi narrowed his eyes. “Suuuure…” Then, in a distinctly insincere tone, he added, “I’ll take it off the next time I see him.”
As for when that next time might be…
The three people inside maintained a tacit silence. And in that exchange, each one was more sinister than the last. Despite mismatching their temperaments, the three of them shared a common thread and a tacit understanding that ran in the blood, especially where anything concerning Jiang Wu was involved.
~~
Zheng Senze left the room with an extremely ugly expression. He went downstairs and out of the VIP area, and only once outside did his assistant, who was waiting outside, cautiously step forward to ask what had happened. “Was the person inside Miss Jiang’s boyfriend?”
Zheng Senze scoffed. “Didn’t see any boyfriend. Just a bunch of brothers.”
His assistant looked surprised. “Huh?”
“She doesn’t know how to appreciate goodwill.” Zheng Senze simply couldn’t understand it. She wasn’t even their biological sister, yet every single one of them protected her like this. “What does anything between Jiang Wu and me have to do with them?”
Zheng Senze reached the underground parking garage and got into his car. He lit a cigar, leaned back, and irritably exhaled a cloud of smoke.
His assistant instructed the driver, “Let’s go.”
The driver started the car, and soon after, Zheng Senze’s voice came from the back seat. “Wait.”
Leaning against the seat, Zheng Senze held the cigar between his fingers and lightly tapped it outside the window. Through the wisps of smoke, he soon spotted Jiang Wu not far away.
A young woman was walking beside her, and Jiang Wu looked quite happy. They passed by here.
“Finally, it’s over,” the girl said to Jiang Wu. “Tomorrow’s Friday. Want to go out and have some fun?”
Jiang Wu seemed to perk up the instant she heard the words go out. “Okay! I haven’t gone out in ages either. I know a pretty good lounge. My brother took me there before.”
Only after the two women had walked away did Zheng Senze gesture to his assistant. The assistant immediately understood.
The lounge Jiang Wu planned to take Bu Yu to was the same place Huo Yingli had taken her before. It was a quiet lounge bar, and if they were lucky, they might even run into one of the currently popular young celebrities performing there, singing or dancing.
The moment Jiang Wu got home, she started choosing an outfit for their night out. While she was still deciding, Huo Qingzhi returned.
Jiang Wu’s voice was cheerful as she said, “You’re back.”
Hearing the brightness in her tone, Huo Qingzhi walked over and asked, “Did something good happen today?”
“A little.” Jiang Wu had selected several dresses and piled them to one side.
Huo Qingzhi immediately spotted several with dramatically open backs. “Going out?”
“Not tonight. Tomorrow.”
“It’s getting cold. Don’t wear so little.” As he spoke, Huo Qingzhi matter-of-factly picked up those dresses and took them away. “Choose something else.”
“Hey…” Jiang Wu could only watch as he confiscated several of her favorite dresses. “How cold can it possibly get here?”
Huo Qingzhi set the dresses aside.
For the moment, Jiang Wu put everything else aside and walked over to him. “You went to the auction house today?”
Huo Qingzhi answered while taking off his coat. “You already know?”
“I know.” Taking advantage of the moment while he was removing his coat, Jiang Wu gently touched his waist. “So…”
The soft touch of her hand made Huo Qingzhi’s movement pause as he took his coat.
In the next instant, Jiang Wu quickly snatched all her little dresses back. “Thank you, Brother.”
Huo Qingzhi clicked his tongue softly. “Jiang Wu.”
“Oh, come on.” Jiang Wu gathered up the clothes. “Brother is the best.”
With that, she carried the clothes she had chosen out of the room and asked one of the housekeepers downstairs to iron them. She would wear them tomorrow.
Huo Qingzhi took a deep breath.
She was so good at coaxing people, but just not as good at listening.
The bar opened early on the eve of the weekend. The doormen let the VIPs into the main hall.
Tonight’s resident singers were a few moderately famous online celebrities. They sang well enough, and the crowd enjoyed it.
As the evening went on, more people arrived, and the atmosphere became much livelier.
Jiang Wu and Bu Yu sat at the bar watching the bartender mix drinks.
Jiang Wu wore a cropped denim camisole with gray-black trousers, giving her a youthful, sweet-but-cool look. She ordered a low-alcohol cocktail called Tipsy Mirage and sat beside Bu Yu, sipping it slowly.
Bu Yu’s drink was much stronger. After one sip, she frowned. “This is so bitter.”
Jiang Wu laughed.
Hearing her, the bartender said, “I can change it for you.”
Bu Yu didn’t want to trouble him. “It’s fine. No need.”
She took another couple of sips and felt that compared to this drink, her life wasn’t bitter at all. Then she suddenly remembered something. “At yesterday’s auction, I saw one guy who kept raising the bid. If someone hadn’t lit the sky lantern, he probably would’ve kept going. Do you know him?”
Jiang Wu knew who she meant. “No.”
“What about the person who lit the sky lantern? Do you know them?”
Jiang Wu fell silent for a moment.
Bu Yu continued talking on her own. “Though I guess they could stay anonymous.”
“We didn’t even see them. They must be pretty important.”
“I’m serious.” Bu Yu turned on her stool and looked at Jiang Wu properly. “That first man who kept bidding didn’t look like a nice guy.”
“The media kept photographing him. I was sitting there and even heard the reporters making up gossip headlines about you two.”
“But I don’t think any of it got published.”
Bu Yu thought back. “Then after the sky lantern was lit, they started making up something about a fallen heiress having the whole auction bought out by a mysterious person?”
Jiang Wu’s entire face scrunched up upon hearing this. “What a tacky headline.”
“So, is that mysterious person causing you trouble? Like that other guy?”
Jiang Wu took a small sip of her sweet drink. “Not really.”
Unless Huo Qingzhi insisting on sleeping in the same bed with her counted. The other two mysterious men weren’t as excessive as Eldest Brother.
They had only asked her to come home tomorrow so they could see her. But by now, she was used to it.
She and Huo Qingzhi only slept under the same blanket anyway. Just like when they were children. It was a strange and contradictory feeling.
It still made Jiang Wu feel that this was more like another procedure in Eldest Brother’s highly regimented life. For example, getting married meant coming home on time every day after work and sleeping with his wife when the hour came.
Occasionally there were moments when he got too close, but Jiang Wu still felt as though he remembered that she was his younger sister and restrained himself because of it.
Thinking about that, something uneasy stirred faintly in Jiang Wu’s heart.
Huo Qingzhi had spent far too many years being both brother and father figure to her. Even now, she didn’t dare directly think about what exactly he felt toward her.
Let alone examine closely the reasons, for how long, or how deeply.
Mostly, she just continued muddling through like this.
One step at a time.
Jiang Wu lightly turned the glass of Tipsy Mirage in her hand. “Do you think someone’s mindset can change just because their relationship changes?”
At first, Bu Yu didn’t understand. “What do you mean?”
“For example, two people used to be friends. Then because of certain circumstances, they got married.”
“Afterward, one of them completely throws himself into the role of husband. He becomes a very standard married man. Totally different from how he treated her before they got married.”
“A married man?” Bu Yu’s voice instantly turned gossipy. “Nobody is born knowing how to act like a husband.”
“He’s probably wanted to do that for ages. Who knows how many times he has already married her in his head. He’s probably already decided which kindergarten their kids are going to.”
Bu Yu leaned closer. “Your friend?”
“Huh? Uh, yeah.”
Bu Yu immediately became more excited. “Who? Who is it?”
“Which little lamb fell into the trap without even realizing it?”
Jiang Wu’s eyelid twitched several times, and she had barely started thinking of an excuse to brush her off when the music inside the bar suddenly grew much louder.
Both of them jumped. It seemed the resident performers had started some kind of activity and were getting the crowd involved.
A group of people gathered behind them to join in. The area around Jiang Wu and Bu Yu quickly became crowded.
The two girls hurried down from their stools, planning to move toward a more spacious booth. But after only a couple of steps, the surging crowd separated them.
Jiang Wu was pushed away from Bu Yu.
She tried to find her, but through the crowd, she found herself face to face with Zheng Senze standing right in front of her.
Zheng Senze was holding a drink.
Jiang Wu frowned, seeing that she had nowhere else to go; the people behind her kept pressing forward, forcing her toward him.
Zheng Senze even greeted her. “What a coincidence, Miss Jiang.”
“Where’s your boyfriend? He lets you come here by yourself?”
The next instant, someone shoved Jiang Wu hard from behind.
She staggered forward, her body leaning forward. Before she could touch Zheng Senze, she was suddenly wrapped in the cold scent of leather.
He carried the damp air of someone who had been riding a motorcycle through mist and forest. While holding Jiang Wu, the hand in its leather wrist-guard seized Zheng Senze by the collar.
Huo Lingyi moved with his usual rough arrogance. “Didn’t I warn you? What are you doing?”
Zheng Senze staggered several steps as Huo Lingyi shoved him away by the collar, causing him to crash into a sofa nearby, spilling his drink all over himself.
The crowd that had been packed around them was forcibly broken open by Huo Lingyi’s entrance. Soft screams and startled exclamations rose around them.
Everyone turned to look.
Zheng Senze’s plan had been interrupted again, and he could no longer maintain a polite expression. “You’re just some motorcycle punk. What does this have to do with you?”
“Every time someone asks where her boyfriend is, you come charging in?” Zheng Senze deliberately provoked him, letting vulgar words spill out. “What, done playing brother and want to be her man now?”
Before Zheng Senze could finish, a punch sent stars exploding across his vision. The taste of blood quickly filled his mouth.
The live music was hastily shut off. Screams erupted around the bar. Glasses shattered and fell one after another.
Zheng Senze’s bodyguards suddenly appeared from every direction. He grabbed an ice bucket and swung it at Huo Lingyi.
Within moments, several people were fighting.
“Brother!”
Jiang Wu hurried forward, but before she could get close, another large hand caught her arm. Almost at the same time, police sirens sounded outside.
The sharp, urgent, cycling sound put everyone in the room on edge. The bodyguards around them froze mid-motion.
But Huo Lingyi, still straddling Zheng Senze, landed one more punch on him regardless.
The siren grew clearer and clearer, and for a moment everything around them went still and silent.
Huo Qingzhi, gripping Jiang Wu’s arm, pulled her behind him and stepped out of the crowd, reprimanding Huo Lingyi. “I told you already, don’t be so crude.”
Voices around them asked, “Someone called the police?”
“Yes, call the police.” Zheng Senze, hearing this, brightened with excitement and wrenched free of Huo Lingyi. “Finally, someone called the police.”
Zheng Senze glared at Huo Lingyi, climbed to his feet, and brushed the dust off himself. “Fighting in public? Tomorrow you can wait for this scandal to hit the headlines. I don’t need to teach you a lesson myself; plenty of others will.”
The police soon entered from outside.
Zheng Senze immediately walked toward them. “Officer, someone here just attacked me…”
The officer raised a hand to stop him. “Wait. Which one of you is Zheng Senze from Zhengda Group?”
Zheng Senze paused.
The officer asked again, “Who is Zheng Senze?”
Amid the frozen silence, Zheng Senze had no choice but to answer, “I am.”
The officer told him their purpose directly. “You are suspected of embezzlement, collusive bidding, and using illegal means to damage a competitor’s data network. Come with us.”
Not only did Zheng Senze and his bodyguards fall silent, but everyone, inside and outside the hall, went completely quiet, listening to the exchange.
Zheng Senze panicked, and for a moment, he thought he had misheard. “Me?”
He couldn’t accept it. “No, you must have made a mistake. I was just being attacked…”
The officer picked up where he left off. “The people involved in the fight are coming with us too.”
“Any other questions?”
Every word Zheng Senze wanted to say was blocked.
While he stood there silently, the officers behind him escorted him out.
Someone who had just heard such explosive news immediately pulled out their phone and secretly recorded the scene, frantically messaging friends.
[Oh my god, you have no idea what I just heard.]
[Zhengda is probably finished.]
The remaining officers stayed behind to investigate the fight.
Jiang Wu crouched beside Huo Lingyi and helped him up from the floor, taking in the injuries on his cheek and wrist. “How did you get hurt this badly?”
Huo Lingyi lowered his eyes. “It’s nothing.”
Huo Qingzhi lingered a moment on the sight of Jiang Wu’s hand supporting Huo Lingyi.
The police came over to ask what had happened. Jiang Wu explained on Huo Lingyi’s behalf. “This is my brother. The man just now was trying to take advantage of me. He only hit him to protect me.”
“Doesn’t matter who you’re protecting, you can’t just hit people. Talk it out properly.”
The officer gestured. “Come on, all of you, down to the station.”
Jiang Wu spoke briefly to Bu Yu, had someone send her home first, and went with them to the station herself. It was Huo Qingzhi who had called the police.
He cooperated with the officers, handing over evidence of Zheng Senze and Zhengda Group’s illegal conduct.
Meanwhile, Huo Lingyi sat off to the side, receiving his lecture on proper conduct.
Once the discussion ended, the officer slid the statement across. “All right, be more careful next time.”
“Have a family member sign here.”
Huo Qingzhi was just about to reach for it when he saw Jiang Wu, who was sitting closer, casually take it first. Looking every bit like an anxious family member, she said, “Yes, thank you, officer.”
Then, in the space designated for the other man’s family member, she signed her own name.
Huo Qingzhi’s outstretched hand slowly lowered, curling inward in midair, tightening into a fist. He turned back, feigning calm, and went on answering the officer’s questions.
Huo Qingzhi’s interview took somewhat longer.
Huo Lingyi leaned back in a chair in the waiting area, his eyes closed as he rested.
Once everything was finished, Huo Qingzhi stood and walked over to him. “I rushed there as fast as I could, and still wasn’t as quick as your fists.”
“Getting yourself into this state,” Huo Qingzhi said, his long coat falling to his knees, drawing his whole silhouette out long, more like an immovable mountain than a man, “was it necessary?”
Huo Lingyi, by contrast, looked far lighter, still in the leather jacket and trousers he usually wore for riding, and answered at his own unhurried pace, hearing Huo Qingzhi out. “Completely necessary.”
He opened his eyes, his gaze like a wolf cub’s, sharp and eager. “You wouldn’t understand.”
Huo Qingzhi’s brow drew faintly together, sensing something wasn’t quite right.
Just then Jiang Wu came back in from outside, phone in hand. “Second Brother says he’s coming to pick you up; he’s almost here. Let’s go.”
Huo Qingzhi looked at her. “I’ll take you home first.”
Jiang Wu turned to ask Huo Lingyi, “Will you be all right on your own?”
Huo Lingyi met her eyes. “I’m fine. Go home with Eldest Brother.”
“I’m just a bit dizzy. I’ll stay in for now, not go anywhere else.”
“Dizzy?” Jiang Wu walked over and, without thinking, laid a hand on Huo Lingyi’s forehead.
The scorching heat spread across her palm at once. “You… you’ve got a fever.”
And it was on her account that this had happened, in the end.
“Sorry,” Jiang Wu said, a little guilty. “You got drenched with ice water earlier; I should’ve had someone dry you off first.”
Now he had a fever on top of being injured.
Outside, Huo Yingli arrived, and at the sight of Huo Lingyi, couldn’t help but tease. “Whoa.”
“Wrecked yourself again, did you?”
Huo Yingli also reached over and felt Huo Lingyi’s forehead. “All right, let’s go.”
Jiang Wu blurted out, “Then I…”
“You what?”
Her words were cut off without warning by Huo Qingzhi, the sound of it sending a chill down her spine.
Huo Qingzhi stood right behind her, close enough to touch, eyes lowered on the fine loose strands curling at her temple and the porcelain-white curve of her ear. “It’s eleven at night. Whose place are you planning to go to?”
Going into a closed room, alone with two men who had no proper claim on her and no shortage of wolfish intent toward her.
Was that what she intended? Good girl.