Surrounded by Wolves
Jiang Wu had no idea what was going on; Huo Qingzhi took an unusually long time to make dinner. But following the basic principle that the person eating shouldn’t complain about the person doing the cooking, she quietly waited.
She got so hungry that Jiang Wu could only go and feed Bingbing. Watching the cat to stave off her hunger.
Fortunately, after being hungry for a while, finally getting to eat the food she had been craving made it twice as satisfying. Jiang Wu was very happy with the meal.
Watching her reaction, Huo Qingzhi asked seemingly casually, “You seem happy lately?”
“So-so.”
“Have you seen something that makes people happy?”
Jiang Wu didn’t understand what he meant and actually thought about it for a while. “Like what?”
Huo Qingzhi continued, “Online.”
Jiang Wu thought he was talking about Zhengda and Third Uncle. “Everything I’ve seen online lately is pretty good.”
After all, those were two of the hottest stories in Hong Kong at the moment. Whenever the two Know-It-All Brothers in the restoration room mentioned what was happening online, they were talking about those things.
Huo Qingzhi nodded, then said for no apparent reason, “So that’s what you like.”
The wonderful dinner came to an end after the terrace had filled with starlight.
As Jiang Wu sat on the terrace sofa looking at the night view before bed, Liang Xiaoyue suddenly called.
Normally, they exchanged messages when something came up, and it was rare to see Liang Xiaoyue sound so urgent.
Jiang Wu answered and lazily asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Bb.” Liang Xiaoyue got stuck after that one word and simply couldn’t manage to say anything else.
Jiang Wu looked at her phone. “Hmm?”
It took Liang Xiaoyue a long time to recover. “What have you been reading lately?”
“Huh?” Jiang Wu thought her question sounded very similar to Huo Qingzhi’s. “Nothing much.”
“But your recommendations…” Liang Xiaoyue hesitated.
Jiang Wu repeated in confusion, “My recommendations?”
She opened her social media app and clicked on [Recommended].
The next second, a scream erupted from both Liang Xiaoyue’s phone receiver and the terrace of a certain villa in Kowloon Tong!
Jiang Wu frantically began undoing her recommendations. She even forgot to hang up the phone.
Liang Xiaoyue burst out laughing. “Hopefully I caught this early enough. Who follows this account?”
Jiang Wu stammered, growing more desperate with every word. “My… my brothers…”
Liang Xiaoyue made the same halting, sympathetic sound. “Ah… I see.”
Jiang Wu hung up and stared at the screen she had finally cleaned of all her recommendations, looking like she was about to cry. Even now, she still held onto a sliver of hope that maybe she had caught it early enough. Maybe they hadn’t seen anything at all.
She sat on the terrace for a long time, restless and distracted, before getting up and walking back to her room.
Coincidentally, Huo Qingzhi had just finished showering and came out of the bathroom, drying his hair as their eyes met.
The instant their gazes collided.
The calm Jiang Wu had maintained on the surface cracked slightly. She kept up the same unbothered look as before, walked over to the bed on her own, sat down, and climbed onto it.
Huo Qingzhi watched what she was doing and kindly reminded her, “That’s my side.”
“Sorry.” Jiang Wu climbed over to the other side, and lay straight down, looking perfectly at peace. In reality, her soul had already left her body some time ago.
Huo Qingzhi raised an eyebrow slightly and came over at his own unhurried pace, saying nothing more about it, bringing up nothing from earlier either. He went back to his usual habit of reading before bed.
It was Jiang Wu who couldn’t hold out first. “Have you… seen anything online lately?”
Huo Qingzhi turned another page, imitating her earlier response. “Like what?”
Jiang Wu took a deep breath. “Like… things that could easily lead to misunderstandings.”
“Everything I saw was perfectly clear.”
Including every step of making cream puffs: kneading the dough, flattening it, rolling it back into a ball, until the dough became smooth and elastic. Then flipping it over and over, baking it through. Waiting until it turned soft and airy all the way through, then filling it to the brim with cream.
Jiang Wu pressed her lips together and turned away from him, presenting him with her back. Time ticked by, minute after minute.
Huo Qingzhi read another two pages before asking her, “What do you want to eat tomorrow?”
Before Jiang Wu could answer, Huo Qingzhi suggested, “Cream puffs?”
“Ahhh!” Jiang Wu bolted upright with a shriek.
“Huo Qingzhi! Don’t say another word!” She threw off the blanket and sat up to stop him. “You saw it, didn’t you?”
Huo Qingzhi looked far calmer than she did. In front of the suddenly startled person, he was like a still, bottomless pool, letting the unruly stream rush into it without disturbing its surface.
Jiang Wu didn’t hear a response. “Why aren’t you saying anything?”
“You told me not to say anything else.”
Jiang Wu flushed red from head to toe. She reached over and pinched him. “Why are you suddenly so obedient at a time like this?”
Huo Qingzhi caught her hand and addressed her question directly. “So, you like this kind of thing?”
“No.” Jiang Wu denied it, pulling her hand from his palm.
She tried to explain. “If I told you I was actually trying to block this kind of content and accidentally pressed the wrong button, would you believe me?”
Huo Qingzhi simply looked at her for a while. The intensity of his gaze left Jiang Wu nowhere to hide. “Of course I believe you.”
“But I’m more curious.” Huo Qingzhi said, watching her closely. “Recommendations are based on your interests. So why did these things show up on your phone?”
Jiang Wu choked on her words.
After a brief pause, she pulled the covers over her head and hid beneath them. “I’m tired.”
Huo Qingzhi gave a quiet laugh.
Hearing him, Jiang Wu tugged the blanket tighter, covering her ears as well.
She closed her eyes. Her mind seemed to play through a movie, replaying all the warm, happy family moments from the past. She suppressed the urge to think about anything else that might lead her astray. So much so that even her dreams were filled with those scenes.
In the dream, it was an ordinary day. She returned to her room, and before long, a sweet-and-sour aroma drifted over from next door.
Jiang Wu followed the smell.
Huo Qingzhi heard her footsteps and didn’t even need to turn around. “Sweet-and-sour plum ribs. They’ll be ready in ten minutes.”
Jiang Wu ran over with a smile, got the bowls and chopsticks, and set them out. When Huo Qingzhi finished cooking and brought the dish over, she praised him. “Big brother, you’re so good at cooking.”
Huo Qingzhi looked at her. “Not eating with Mom and Dad again today? You came running over here?”
“They’re being all lovey-dovey.” Jiang Wu took a small bowl and shared the food with him. “I’m not going to be a third wheel.”
Jiang Wu suddenly remembered something. “I have an exam tomorrow. If I’m still first, do I get a reward from Big Brother?”
“What reward do you want?”
Jiang Wu had already decided. “I want baked lobster and barbecued-pork clay-pot rice.”
“Okay.”
But then the scene shifted.
Her dream grew darker.
Inside the Kowloon Tong villa, every housekeeper had vanished without a trace.
And she was pressed against the kitchen counter, the same boy now grown into a man, his suit trousers wedged between her legs, pinning her in place, asking her, “What reward do you want from Big Brother this time?”
She couldn’t see the ceiling above her at all, ground down until her scalp went numb, unable to keep her footing, her curled-up legs straining against his trousers, trying to shove him off.
But pinned like this, there was no leverage to be found anywhere.
Try to slide down, and his leg only pressed harder between her own. Try to climb up against him, and her arms had no strength left to wrap around his broad shoulders.
Nothing left to do but endure the grinding press of him. Wave after wave of prickling heat climbing, rising through her from somewhere deep inside.
And still that composed, disciplined man kept pressing her. “Tell me what you want to eat, good girl.”
“Don’t be afraid. I’ll give you whatever you want.”
Jiang Wu woke with a jolt, drenched in cold sweat.
By then, daylight had already filled the room. Jiang Wu closed her eyes and took a long time to calm herself.
Perhaps someone who had never actually experienced what came next couldn’t dream any further than that. Her dream had stopped at that exact moment.
Jiang Wu felt a little relieved that it had ended there.
But there was also a strange, inexplicable restlessness scratching at her heart.
She dragged herself up, ran into the bathroom, splashed her face with water several times over, but she still couldn’t stop her face from growing redder and redder.
In the end, she emerged from the bathroom with a face as red as an apple and went downstairs for breakfast.
Huo Qingzhi wasn’t at the dining table, which surprised Jiang Wu. She asked the housekeeper, who was arranging breakfast.
“Sir had an early meeting today. He left first.”
Jiang Wu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh, okay.”
The housekeeper took another couple of looks at her face. “Why is your face so red?”
“Have you caught a cold or developed a fever? Should I call a doctor?”
Jiang Wu hurriedly waved her hands. “I’m fine.”
“It’s just that work has been pretty stressful lately. Maybe I’m just a little worked up.”
The housekeeper understood. “No matter how busy work gets, you still need to take care of yourself.”
Jiang Wu wasn’t really listening. After all, having an improper dream about Eldest Brother was even more shameful.
~~
The morning meeting ended.
The sun hung in the eastern sky, and warm sunlight poured through the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows of the chairman’s office.
During a brief break, Huo Qingzhi pulled up the posts Jiang Wu had recommended again. He had saved them all before she could undo the recommendations.
He began learning about her tastes, what kinds of things she liked, what styles appealed to her. Every one of the related novels, he went through line by line.
When Lu Heng walked in, his phone screen happened to be scrolled to a line reading:[The butler looked on with satisfaction: Young Master is smiling again.]
Huo Qingzhi was, in fact, smiling.
Lu Heng carried his coffee over, stealing two glances at Huo Qingzhi. He then walked over properly, placed the coffee on the stand beside Huo Qingzhi, and began reporting the summary from the morning meeting.
Huo Qingzhi’s expression settled back into its usual composure as he listened.
Lu Heng noticed that Huo Qingzhi, who was normally all business and rarely smiled during work, seemed unusually easygoing today. His expression was also much softer than usual.
But in reality, Huo Qingzhi hadn’t heard a word Lu Heng was saying. His thoughts kept returning to what he had just seen.
All he could think was—The things that had appeared on her phone were actually rather cute.
~~
Early Saturday morning, the housekeepers and gardeners at Cloud Peak Bay were already up and busy. They tended to the golf course behind the house. The fresh scent of freshly cut grass drifted through the windows into the main villa.
Huo Lingyi was already planning to go over to Jiang Wu’s place later and have a chat with her about those posts she liked. Come to think of it, except for the days she moved, he’d never been to her place.
Huo Lingyi got ready early, dressed neatly, and went downstairs for breakfast. He ran into Jiang Yaping and Huo Tingshan in the dining room.
Huo Lingyi greeted them and sat down, only then sensing that something about the atmosphere was strange. He glanced at his parents across from him a second time.
Watched Huo Tingshan put a slice of cooked bacon onto Jiang Yaping’s plate. Only for Jiang Yaping to pick it straight back out.
Huo Lingyi raised an eyebrow.
Yet in front of their son, the two of them remained the picture of a dignified, composed middle-aged couple. Jiang Yaping calmly asked whether he was feeling better.
Huo Lingyi nodded. “All better.”
Huo Tingshan brought up the subject. “Your two brothers have both been working at the company lately. You’ve been back for several months now. If you have nothing else to do, go to the company and get familiar with things.”
Sometimes Huo Lingyi could actually understand Jiang Yaping.
Huo Tingshan was indeed a boring, old-fashioned adult; nothing he said was ever particularly pleasant to hear. “They’re doing so well. What do you need me for?”
Huo Tingshan frowned. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
Huo Lingyi drawled, “Okay, got it.”
“We have guests coming to the house today,” Huo Tingshan added. “If you have nothing else to do, go over there later.”
Huo Lingyi found that a little sudden. “Later? It’s the weekend. There won’t even be anyone at headquarters.”
“That’s exactly why you should go while everyone’s off work and familiarize yourself with the place.”
Huo Tingshan always had his reasons. “Once everyone’s back, you’ll be able to get involved more quickly.”
Huo Lingyi couldn’t be bothered to argue.
Huo Tingshan asked again, “You don’t want to?”
“…” Huo Lingyi tugged at the corner of his mouth. “No, I’ll go.”
Less than half an hour later, Huo Lingyi was sent out of Cloud Peak Bay in the driver Huo Tingshan had arranged.
He had a strange feeling that Huo Tingshan was trying to get him out of the house. What kind of guest was coming today?
The whole thing seemed both unusually elaborate and strangely secretive.
Following the usual instructions, the driver dropped Huo Lingyi off in the underground parking garage of the headquarters building.
After waiting for the driver to leave, Huo Lingyi turned around, got into another car in the garage, and drove straight toward Kowloon Tong.
Meanwhile, in Kowloon Tong, Jiang Wu had slept in and had only just gotten up. Still drowsy, she washed up, changed into a comfortable house dress, and went downstairs to eat.
She saw Huo Qingzhi sitting there and asked sleepily, “Who’s at home today?”
“Don’t know.”
Jiang Wu gave an “oh,” picked up her spoon, and scooped some coconut-milk taro balls from her bowl.
This was the first time Jiang Yaping had ever told her not to bother coming home.
Huo Qingzhi asked her, “Have you had enough of staying with me? Getting bored?”
Jiang Wu answered around the taro ball in her mouth. “No.”
The moment she finished speaking, Huo Qingzhi reached out and took hold of her chair.
Jiang Wu immediately felt the chair beneath her begin to move. With one firm pull, he drew her directly toward him.
Huo Qingzhi stared at her lips, still coated with coconut milk. “Then what do you think is interesting? Which book should we learn from? We can try it.”
Jiang Wu immediately realized what he was implying and shrank back slightly in the shadow. “You can’t. No. I—I’m eating…”
Huo Qingzhi’s voice carried a hint of command. “Swallow it.”
Under that firm tone, Jiang Wu inexplicably obeyed, swallowing the sweet, soft taro ball. Only after swallowing did she realize what she had just done. Why had she listened to him?
Yet Huo Qingzhi watched her swallow, and for some inexplicable reason, the fact that she had obeyed him gave him a strange sense of pleasure.
It was as if she had been preparing herself for something. His imposing figure pressed down. Almost at the same moment, the doorbell announcing a visitor rang inside the house.
Jiang Wu jolted and instinctively reached up to cover his lips. “Someone’s here.”
Guest or no guest, Huo Qingzhi kept going.
The doorbell, unhelpfully, rang again.
The housekeeper came in from outside and reminded them, “It’s Third Young Master.”
Third Young Master?
Third Brother!
Jiang Wu shoved Huo Qingzhi away and shot to her feet, and only then could she see more clearly that she was wearing only a thin house dress.
Huo Qingzhi was similarly dressed in casual clothes, occupying the space like a man who owned the place.
The table was covered with ordinary breakfast and desserts, and anyone looking at them could tell they had just gotten out of bed.
As for where they had slept…
If Third Brother saw this scene—
The doorbell rang again outside.
Jiang Wu, reluctantly snapped back to reality, grabbed Huo Qingzhi in a panic. “Hide, hide somewhere, quick.”
Huo Qingzhi was not particularly cooperative. “No need. Just tell him I’m staying with you.”
“No.” Jiang Wu looked around frantically.
If they walked from the living room back to the bedroom, anyone outside could see them through the floor-to-ceiling windows. So, without another word, Jiang Wu dragged him toward the large built-in cabinet along the nearby wall.
She tried to push him inside, but he absolutely refused to budge. Desperate, Jiang Wu clutched his sleeve and stared at him anxiously for a moment.
Huo Qingzhi met her gaze, still completely unmoved.
Huo Lingyi wasn’t important enough to make him hide.
Then, in the next instant, the person in front of him suddenly rose onto her toes and kissed his cheek.
…
Jiang Wu finally got him into the cabinet. Fortunately, this was a new house, and the cabinet was still empty. It could probably fit two Eldest Brothers without a problem.
Jiang Wu shut the cabinet door and hurriedly told the housekeepers to clear away any traces of a man living in the house. By now, the doorbell had already rung for the seventh time.
Only after getting permission did the housekeeper finally go and open the door.
Jiang Wu greeted Huo Lingyi with forced calm. “You’re here.”
As soon as Huo Lingyi entered, he still had a faintly strange feeling. “Were you just…”
“I just got up. You came so suddenly.” Jiang Wu urged Huo Lingyi to sit on the sofa while she went to ask the housekeeper to make some tea. “Aren’t you resting at home today?”
“The old man kicked me out.” Huo Lingyi asked her, “Are you getting used to living here by yourself?”
“Pretty much.” Jiang Wu remembered what he had just said. “He kicked you out because…?”
“I don’t know why. Sounds like he has guests over and doesn’t want me around.” Huo Lingyi leaned against the side. “So, he kept trying to send me to the company.”
“I see. Then why didn’t you listen to him and go to the company today?” Jiang Wu chatted with him casually as she carried over her bowl of little taro balls.
Before long, the atmosphere settled down.
But Jiang Wu still felt tense — like she was cheating on someone, with a lover hidden in the closet; even her legs felt a little weak.
Huo Lingyi was quiet for a moment. “There’s nothing to do there on the weekend.”
“Exactly. I was thinking I still hadn’t come over to see you…”
Jiang Wu walked over to the sofa, only to accidentally step on the blanket that had been knocked onto the floor while they were cleaning up.
The blanket tangled around her ankle. Already nervous, Jiang Wu lost her balance and suddenly went sprawling!
A soft cry escaped her in the living room. The little bowl slipped from her hands, and Jiang Wu herself fell straight toward the person sitting on the sofa!
After a clatter of chaos, the bowl and utensils rolled across the floor, spinning several times.
Jiang Wu’s forehead knocked against Huo Lingyi’s chin. When she came to her senses, she realized one hand was braced against her brother’s thigh, while Huo Lingyi had a firm grip on her other hand, steadying her.
As the commotion died down, Huo Lingyi winced slightly from the impact, breathing a little heavily as he touched her forehead.
Stiffly and strangely, he finished his earlier sentence. “…I still hadn’t come over… to see you.”
And his clothes were now completely covered in coconut-milk taro balls.
Their position was an utter mess, so awkward that the housekeeper standing nearby didn’t even dare breathe too loudly.
Almost instinctively, Jiang Wu’s eyes darted to the wall cabinet.
Jiang Wu wanted to cry. This didn’t even feel like cheating on someone anymore. More like not knowing whether to worry about the one inside making a scene, or the one outside finding out there was someone inside.
Huo Lingyi’s breath came a little unsteady. “Ah Wu…”
Soon, the sound of the cabinet door being dragged open came from the wall.
Jiang Wu blurted out, “Wait!”
Not entirely sure who she was even saying it to.
“Wait, wait, wait…” Jiang Wu repeated several times before finally steadying herself and struggling to get back up. “I’m sorry.”
“I didn’t mean to.”
Without giving either man any time to react, she called to the housekeeper, “Um, could you please take Third Brother to the guest room first and let him change his clothes?”
The housekeeper reacted quickly. “Young Master Lingyi, this way, please.”
Once Huo Lingyi was taken away to change, another housekeeper came over to clean up the sofa and carpet. Only then did Jiang Wu finally manage to catch her breath.
There weren’t any everyday clothes prepared for guests in the house, only a set of guest sleepwear.
That would have to do for Huo Lingyi in the meantime, while his own clothes went out to be cleaned.
Wait until they were dry and worry about the rest later. Except, thinking about it now, how long would drying even take?
She couldn’t possibly keep Huo Qingzhi hiding in the cabinet forever.
She had just pulled open the cabinet door, intending to tell Huo Qingzhi to return to his room first. But before she could even get the words out, the guest room door opened, and Huo Lingyi was already walking back out.
Jiang Wu, utterly helpless, found herself locked in a stare with the man leaning against the inside wall of the cabinet.
Huo Qingzhi stood there with his arms crossed, looking at her as though he intended to demand an explanation and settle the score later. Then he watched as she reluctantly closed the cabinet again.
Huo Lingyi came back out looking still a little uneasy. It wasn’t the first time he’d appeared in front of her wearing only pajamas, but this was her home. It was Jiang Wu’s house. Wearing pajamas in her home while she was dressed in nothing more than a simple house dress felt completely different.
The two of them sat awkwardly and somewhat tensely in the living room for a while. Then they spoke at exactly the same time.
“Maybe…”
And immediately stopped at the same time. It became even more awkward.
Jiang Wu still gestured for him to speak first.
Huo Lingyi hesitated before asking, “Would you mind if I stayed here for a couple of days?”
His appearance was different from Eldest Brother and Second Brother’s. He had inherited Huo Tingshan’s big, puppy-like eyes, and right now they were filled with sincerity and a hint of pleading.
The corners of Jiang Wu’s lips twitched. “I… I-I might…”
She hadn’t yet come up with a suitable way to refuse him. Suddenly, the doorbell rang again. The words died in her throat.
Jiang Wu turned toward the door. The housekeeper went to take a look and returned with an announcement.
“Miss… it’s, it’s…”
“Madam and Second Young Master.”
The air in the room froze again.
Jiang Wu screamed internally and looked back at Huo Lingyi. It was like they were trapped in some bizarre nightmare.
She was wearing a house dress, while Huo Lingyi had just changed into men’s pajamas. If they were seen like this, there would be no explaining it.
Huo Lingyi himself realized what a headache this was. “I just told them I was going to the company…”
It would be one thing if they discovered he hadn’t gone to the company. But he’d only been here for a short while, and now he was in pajamas in broad daylight. There was no way to explain that.
The doorbell rang again.
Huo Lingyi even thoughtfully reminded Jiang Wu, “I’ll hide for a while. Once you’ve sent them away, we’ll talk.”
With that, Jiang Wu watched in horror as Huo Lingyi walked toward the built-in cabinet where Huo Qingzhi was hiding.
“Bro—Brother, don’t!”
Too late.
Third Brother had already gone inside.
The cabinet door closed.
The entire world fell silent.