Surrounded by Wolves
Cherry let out a soft, quiet “Ah.”
Jiang Wu looked at her for a moment.
The two of them stared at each other for a moment, and the compounded shock of everything — before and after — left Jiang Wu on the verge of tears. But she had no choice except to turn around and walk back into the house.
Rather than heading up herself, Jiang Wu called for the housekeeper instead. “Go up to the study and get my ID from Sir for me.”
The housekeeper agreed and went upstairs to find Huo Qingzhi, but she came back down almost immediately.
Apologetically, the housekeeper told Jiang Wu, “Sir said you should go upstairs and get them yourself.”
Jiang Wu pitifully suggested a compromise. “Could you come upstairs with me and wait outside?”
After giving the instructions, Jiang Wu set an alarm for five minutes later. The housekeeper didn’t understand what she was planning, but she cooperated. She followed Jiang Wu upstairs and waited outside the study for her.
Jiang Wu braced herself and pushed open the door. She deliberately left it open so the housekeeper outside could see her, and so she could make a quick escape if necessary.
Huo Qingzhi sat at the desk, watching her do this, and made no move to stop her. His gaze stayed fixed on her face, flushed red enough to practically bleed, and he asked, already knowing full well. “What’s wrong?”
Jiang Wu tried her best to look composed. “Nothing. I just came to get my ID. Look at me, I came all the way upstairs and still forgot about them.”
Her document pouch was currently in Huo Qingzhi’s hand. He lifted it, gesturing for her to come take it herself.
Jiang Wu forced herself to walk over. Huo Qingzhi asked, right on cue, “Why didn’t you come looking for me yourself?”
“I didn’t feel like coming upstairs.” Jiang Wu caught the corner of the pouch, but Huo Qingzhi showed no intention of letting go.
Looking into his eyes, Jiang Wu had the strange feeling that he already knew everything. She couldn’t stay there any longer. “Give it to me.”
“I’ve told you before. If there’s a problem between husband and wife, tell me. Talk to me about it.” Huo Qingzhi patiently guided her along, patient as ever. “You can’t avoid me. You can’t hide things from me. You can’t keep everything bottled up. Or there will be consequences.”
The moment Jiang Wu heard the word “consequences,” her mind immediately screamed: Pervert. Complete pervert!
Just then, her phone suddenly rang.
Jiang Wu immediately answered. “Hello? Yes, Sister Lan, I’m getting my ID right now. I’ll be back soon. What? Everyone’s waiting for me? Okay, okay.”
Huo Qingzhi had no choice but to let go. Jiang Wu grabbed the pouch and, as soon as she had an excuse, fled as though her life depended on it.
The study fell completely silent. The only sound was the mechanical white noise of the hands moving around the face of the antique clock.
Huo Qingzhi sat there silently for a while. Then looked once more at the yellowed piece of paper beneath his palm. He rose, walked to the safe, and opened it.
Inside, the diary had already been neatly put back, as though she had carefully arranged everything in an attempt to conceal someone’s secret.
He could understand her being afraid that if he found out she knew, he’d stop hiding it entirely. But this — knowing full well what it was, yet still helping to cover it up — Only made a person more inclined to want to torment her further.
Their relationship was simply too complicated. Bone broken, sinew still holding it together.
Just as Huo Yingli had said, before they knew her true identity, what they felt for her was the love one had for family. Not just what they felt for her. What she felt for them, too.
When she faced the family members she had loved, the people she cared about, even after realizing that they had been wary of her and had feelings they shouldn’t have had, she still had to find a way to hide it, pretending that nothing had happened, which only made a person want to torment her more.
Huo Qingzhi looked into the safe.
Two of the diaries had come completely apart, and even after Jiang Wu had put them back, they were still in a chaotic mess.
Such a coincidence.
If Jiang Wu had happened to see even a single page of Huo Yingli’s ordinary diary entries, she would have known immediately whose diary it was.
Huo Qingzhi simply stood there for a while, unmoving. He knew perfectly well that even though Jiang Wu had mistaken the person involved, there was no way he could explain it to her.
He couldn’t tell her that the diary wasn’t his, but that it was his own biological younger brother who harbored these unspeakable thoughts about her.
Huo Qingzhi would never hand that opportunity to Huo Yingli. So, he could only let her continue believing it was his.
Once Huo Qingzhi realized this, he accepted it rather calmly. He only felt that his image in Jiang Wu’s eyes might take a serious hit.
But when Huo Qingzhi left the study and came downstairs to see the gift box that had been delivered, he suddenly felt that it wasn’t a minor hit at all. Apparently, there wasn’t much left of any decent image to salvage in the first place.
No one spoke inside the house for a long time. The housekeepers, having unintentionally caused a disaster while trying to do something nice, stood neatly to one side and apologized.
Huo Qingzhi sat in the main seat, silently looking at everything before him for a long while.
The housekeepers immediately tried to come up with a solution. “We can tell Madam that we were the ones who chose these.”
Huo Qingzhi gave a quiet, almost amused laugh. “With the impression she has of me right now, she’ll probably think I pressured you into helping me come up with an excuse.”
The housekeepers stood helplessly to the side, unsure what else they could do.
Huo Qingzhi remained silent for another moment before finally speaking. “It’s fine. It was my fault.”
To be fair, he was partly to blame. The company had been especially busy after the New Year, and he hadn’t checked whether there was anything inappropriate among the gifts.
“Gifts for my wife should have been something I chose myself.”
~~
As the sun climbed higher, golden light spread across the entire city of Hong Kong, casting a gilded edge over the layers of towering buildings.
With her ID in hand, Jiang Wu hurried back to the museum once again. After submitting the materials for the project leader position, she sat in the restoration room for a while, trying to calm herself down.
The Know-It-All Brothers in the restoration room, having now seen Jiang Wu actually restore an ancient text and successfully apply for the Beijing-Hong Kong joint restoration project, had gone unusually quiet.
One after the other, they deliberately circled around the restoration room, pretending not to care.
The Beijing-Hong Kong joint restoration project was a cross-regional collaboration, so the requirements for the person in charge’s professional expertise and restoration proposal were extremely high; it wasn’t something just anyone could volunteer to lead.
They passed Jiang Wu’s desk and stretched their necks to sneak another look. Only after seeing the fully restored ancient text did they finally pull their heads back. Then, uncharacteristically silent, they walked back to their own seats, pretending they hadn’t seen anything.
Bu Yu, leaning nearby, glanced back at their retreating figures, relieved at the sudden lack of chatter — her mood lifted at once.
About half an hour later, the two brothers had apparently spent the time researching the Beijing-Hong Kong joint restoration project. Weighing whether they qualified to lead it themselves.
After looking through the requirements, they decided there was no hope and shifted their attention elsewhere. “Was that Professor Yuan who came here for the appraisal last time also in Beijing?”
“Xiao Jiang, when you go this time, can you put in a good word with Professor Yuan for us?”
Jiang Wu’s mind was still occupied with other things, so she answered somewhat absentmindedly. “Do you need me to introduce you?”
“I’m not in a hurry.” Know-It-All Brother waved his hand. “You should get to know Professor Yuan properly first. Learn from him a little more…”
Jiang Wu simply replied, “Professor Yuan is already my teacher.”
Know-It-All Brothers fell silent.
The two of them said nothing for a while after that, until someone changed the subject. “Who’s the current head of the Institute of Cultural Relics? Is it still Professor Yuan?”
“Professor Yuan is getting old and is about to retire. I heard it’s Li Qing now.”
“Oh, Li Qing put out some really interesting museum cultural-and-creative merch a while ago. It’s a temperature-sensitive keychain. The design inside changes with the seasons and temperature, so the design changes kind of like spring and summer scenery here. But I heard it was an internal limited edition.”
Bu Yu listened to them and held up her own keychain. “Are you talking about this?”
The Know-It-All Brothers both fell silent when they saw Bu Yu’s keychain.
“An internal limited edition?” Bu Yu chuckled. “A classmate of Ah Wu’s sent two a couple of days ago. Ah Wu gave me one.”
Bu Yu picked up Jiang Wu’s keychain to show them. “She has the same one.”
Know-It-All Brothers said nothing more.
Know-It-All Brother, however, stood up, took one of his business cards, and approached Jiang Wu. “Would it be convenient for you?”
Handing over a business card clearly meant he wasn’t merely asking for a souvenir.
Jiang Wu was forcibly pulled out of her thoughts and found the timing genuinely inconvenient. “A souvenir would be fine, but if you aren’t going there yourself, it would be difficult for me to hand your business card to someone for no reason.”
Jiang Wu offered him a compromise. “But you can apply to transfer there yourself.”
Know-It-All Brother knew his own qualifications. If he had been good enough, he would have gone years ago after working in the field for so long. He quickly slunk back to his seat.
The restoration room fell quiet again.
Jiang Wu’s mind was still on everything she had seen at home and on what she might have to face when she returned that evening.
He had everything ready and waiting. She began wondering whether she could just go to Beijing now.
Right now.
Immediately.
The thought took hold of her, and Jiang Wu stood up from her desk, gathered her materials, and went to find Shan Lan.
Shan Lan was a little surprised. “Are you really in that much of a hurry?”
Jiang Wu answered with complete sincerity. “Actually, it’s not that I’m in a hurry. I just feel a pressing urge to contribute to cultural relic preservation.”
There wasn’t much a supervisor could say to an employee who was this motivated, but hearing Jiang Wu’s words, Shan Lan actually let out a rare laugh. “Hmm?”
“The sooner I get there, the sooner I can contact the right restoration experts and personnel. Then we can establish a complete chain of evidence one day earlier. And that means the national treasure can come home one day sooner, right?”
Shan Lan nodded. “Very true.”
Jiang Wu handed her the short-term transfer paperwork. “Then please approve it.”
Shan Lan raised an eyebrow, took the documents, and answered succinctly.
“Approving the transfer itself won’t be a problem, but I’m submitting it to the institute today, and even if everything goes smoothly, the earliest approval will be tomorrow.”
“Once the transfer’s approved, we still need to coordinate with the other side, and the whole process takes at least a week.”
So, Jiang Wu took a week of annual leave. It stung a little, giving that up, but she had no choice except to briefly save herself. Otherwise, she really might end up, just as Wen Ciying had said, being gnawed down until not even a scrap of bone remained.
Bu Yu would handle the remaining transfer procedures. Once everything was approved, Bu Yu would go to Beijing and meet up with her.
Before Jiang Wu boarded the plane, she called Wen Ciying.
The call was answered by Wen Ciying’s lazy voice. “What’s up, princess?”
“I dreamed about you last night.” Jiang Wu twirled one of her curls around her finger. “I kind of miss you today.”
Wen Ciying took a deep breath. “Tell me the truth.”
“My flight lands in Beijing at ten. I want you to come pick me up.”
Wen Ciying immediately sensed that something interesting was going on. “So sudden?”
“What happened?”
Jiang Wu answered matter-of-factly. “Nothing. It’s for work. I have a short-term project over there.”
Wen Ciying knew immediately that this wasn’t simply about work. But in the end, she didn’t ask any further. “Got it. I’ll wait for you at the airport.”
Jiang Wu thought that having an actual half-sister was a far better arrangement. Brothers were another story.
By evening, Huo Qingzhi had spent the entire day thinking about how to deal with everything that had happened.
Just before leaving work, he sent Jiang Wu a message asking what she wanted to eat that night, but she never replied. He called her, only to hear that she was temporarily unavailable. He vaguely sensed that something was wrong, but he still prepared several dishes she liked and waited for her at home.
The tulips arrived on schedule. Along with the replacement gift Huo Qingzhi had sent to make up for the earlier one. He had planned to sit down with Jiang Wu and have a proper conversation about everything she had discovered recently.
But Jiang Wu showed no sign of coming home. Huo Qingzhi sat at the dining table. He wasn’t particularly surprised. He could actually understand it.
Jiang Wu was almost like a blank sheet of paper when it came to handling emotions.
More accurately, she simply didn’t know how to deal with emotional problems, and the way she handled them had been influenced by her parents in ways that weren’t particularly healthy. That was why he had told Jiang Wu before that she could express her opinions to him, but she couldn’t avoid him. Otherwise, there would be consequences.
Clearly, she hadn’t accepted that arrangement very smoothly.
Bingbing was perched on his knee, licking the pet cream beside her.
Huo Qingzhi stroked her soft, fluffy fur with his knuckles. “Mommy is avoiding Daddy again. Do you think she’s in the wrong too?”
Bingbing was too busy eating to answer.
Getting no answer from Bingbing, too absorbed in his treat, Huo Qingzhi calmly took the cream away and asked again, “Is Mommy in the wrong?”
Bingbing stretched her neck and gave two dissatisfied meows at Huo Qingzhi for stealing her food.
Huo Qingzhi seemed quite pleased. “Sounds like you agree that Mommy is in the wrong too.”
Time ticked by, minute by minute.
When Jiang Wu landed in Beijing, her phone finally regained its signal. She opened her network connection, and Huo Qingzhi’s messages and missed calls immediately appeared on the screen.
He hadn’t sent many. Just a few, asking what she wanted for dinner that night. When she didn’t answer, he’d told her what he’d be cooking, and that he’d wait for her to come home. There was only one phone, also from him.
Huo Qingzhi had never been a man of many words. Once he had said what he meant, he never repeated himself. His last message had been sent at seven, and it was now ten.
Jiang Wu stared at the three-hour stretch of empty conversation afterward and felt a little uneasy. She finally sent him a brief explanation.
[Sorry. I suddenly got an urgent business trip today and forgot to tell you.]
Huo Qingzhi replied quickly. [How long?]
[One or two months, maybe.]
There was a brief silence, then he asked, with the same patience as always: [Is it because of the urgent business trip, or because you don’t dare come home?]
Jiang Wu felt embarrassed by how easily Huo Qingzhi could always see through her thoughts. [Why wouldn’t I dare go home?]
[Or are you planning to do something that would make me not dare come home?]
The moment Jiang Wu sent those two messages, Huo Qingzhi called her. She was so startled that she nearly dropped her phone.
There was still a huge difference between typing behind a screen and actually answering a call. Jiang Wu held the phone in both hands and braced herself before answering.
It was very quiet on Huo Qingzhi’s end. So quiet that the only sound was his voice.
“What would I do that would make you afraid to come home?”
Jiang Wu hesitated. “You should know that better than I do.”
“I don’t.”
“Then think about it carefully first.”
Jiang Wu was about to hang up after saying that when she heard Huo Qingzhi’s slightly firm voice.
“We haven’t finished talking. You can’t just hang up.”
Jiang Wu’s heart suddenly began beating faster. She held the phone in her hand, unsure whether she could actually hang up.
Huo Qingzhi asked, “Should I come pick you up, or should I go there? We need to talk.”
Jiang Wu didn’t really want to face him and tried to stall for time instead. “I… I just… don’t really want to talk to you right now.”
What were they even supposed to talk about?
Were they supposed to talk about what he had written—about wanting… that kind of thing with her?
The moment Jiang Wu imagined facing him in person, and laying out everything she had seen and everything she now knew over the past few days, putting it all plainly on the table between them, she felt a little frightened, especially since it would almost certainly be just the two of them, alone.
Huo Qingzhi continued, “So, if it’s not because of work, then it’s because you’re trying to avoid me?”
Jiang Wu had been seen through from the very beginning, so there was no point hiding it now. “You wrote all those diary entries and bought all those things. Do you have any idea how terrifying you are?”
“Why shouldn’t I avoid you? I should run as far as possible.”
“I know what you want to do at night, and I still walked straight into your trap. Wouldn’t that make me a little too brave?”
Huo Qingzhi praised her. “Actually, you’re already very brave.”
“After I told you that we can’t keep things from each other and that we can’t avoid our problems, you had an issue with me but didn’t tell me. Instead, you used a business trip as an excuse to run away for two months. Very brave indeed.”
“Thanks.” Brave Jiang Wu decided to end the conversation. “Mr. Huo, you should go to bed early. You still have plenty of work waiting for you at the group tomorrow.”
“I won’t bother you anymore.” With that, Jiang Wu hung up.
When she walked out through the VIP exit, she saw Wen Ciying sitting in a Hongqi with the hazard lights flashing as she waited for her.
Wen Ciying had driven over herself. When she saw Jiang Wu come out, a hint of interest appeared in her eyes. “You’re here?”
Jiang Wu got into the car and settled into the passenger seat, still lost in her thoughts. “Long time no see.”
“It’s only been a month.” Wen Ciying started the car smoothly. “Coming home with me?”
Jiang Wu hesitated. “It’s rather late. I’d rather not go tonight.”
“I had someone get the house here cleaned up. I’m staying near the university these next few days. Once the paperwork for my transfer is finished, they’ll arrange a place for me to stay.”
Wen Ciying didn’t push her. After all, she understood Jiang Wu’s situation here better than anyone. It would be awkward for Jiang Wu to suddenly live under the same roof with a group of unfamiliar people. It would be better to wait until she was ready and then let her come over.
That didn’t stop Jiang Wu from being curious. “Who’s at your house right now?”
“Grandpa is there,” Wen Ciying kept it brief. “Mom is often away for work, so she doesn’t spend much time at home.”
“The old man goes out during the day to find people to hang out with, and once he leaves, he’s usually gone for the whole day.”
“It’s New Year’s, so there are plenty of random visitors coming by to pay their respects. If you don’t want to go, then don’t.”
Wen Ciying asked, “Have you eaten?”
“I’m a little hungry.”
Wen Ciying turned the car around and took her out for a late-night meal. By the time they finished and returned to the house near the university, it was already past midnight.
Jiang Wu asked Wen Ciying to stay and sleep with her in her old room.
Before she arrived, the housekeeper had already cleaned the entire place. It had simply been several years since anyone had lived there, so the house felt a little quiet and empty.
The house near the university wasn’t particularly large. Once the housekeeper finished cleaning, she left, saying she would come back whenever Jiang Wu needed her.
While Wen Ciying was washing up, Jiang Wu did what she usually did and checked on Bingbing. But when she opened the companion robot, the video feed in front of her was completely black.
Not knowing what had happened, Jiang Wu took it over to Wen Ciying. “Why can’t I see the security camera feed over there anymore?”
Wen Ciying was brushing her teeth. She adjusted a few settings and then smiled. She spat out the foam. “Probably someone at home turned off the camera.”
Jiang Wu: “……”
Who else could it be?
Wen Ciying pulled up a saved recording from the security camera. “Don’t worry. He left you something.”
Jiang Wu took her phone back in confusion and returned to her room before opening the recording.
On the screen, Bingbing was facing the camera, though clearly someone was holding him. Part of Huo Qingzhi appeared in the frame, dressed in a fitted black shirt that outlined his lean frame, with just a hint of definition visible beneath it.
His large hand gently held the little cat. Bingbing’s entire face was turned toward the camera as she meowed repeatedly at Jiang Wu, as if calling for her.
Jiang Wu’s heart melted a little at the sound, and there was nothing she could do about it, watching from a recording. The whole scene looked almost like a hostage video, with Bingbing being held up as leverage.
Jiang Wu hurriedly opened her chat with Huo Qingzhi. [Huo Qingzhi, turn the camera back on.]
Huo Qingzhi:[Come home.]
[You can’t do this. You’re basically holding the emperor hostage to control the feudal lords.]
Huo Qingzhi:[Come home.]
[No.]
Huo Qingzhi summed up her behavior in a few words: [Avoiding the problem, abandoning husband and child.]
Jiang Wu: [Aren’t I being very brave? ♡]
Jiang Wu decided she absolutely could not be manipulated by such a devious scheme involving a furry little hostage. She steeled herself and closed the video feed anyway.
He was Bingbing’s daddy, after all. Surely he wasn’t going to mistreat him.
Huo Qingzhi looked at Jiang Wu’s message and let out a silent laugh. He reached down and gently squeezed the little cat in his arms.
So very brave.
It seemed that his brave Ah Wu was going to need a proper reward.