Ch26 "My husband loves me"
It was mid-May and the weather was gradually becoming warmer.
Xia Wan returned from outside with a half-empty can of iced Coke. As soon as he walked in, he noticed Su Tang and Fu Ling engaged in lively conversation.
"These media just make up stories," Fu Ling exclaimed angrily. "I don't believe Zhou Shu can become famous."
"What's going on?" Su Tang paused from cracking melon seeds and leaned in to look at the screen with him. "Oh, it's about Zhou Shu."
"Does you mom know something about this?" Fu Ling suddenly perked up with excitement.
"Did your mom get any insider information?" Fu Ling asked eagerly.
"Sun Baijiang isn't throwing a tantrum, but Zhou Shu stirred up trouble by mentioning Huo Yu in a media interview," Su Tang explained while munching on melon seeds. He offered a handful to Fu Ling as well.
"What does their drama in the entertainment world have to do with Huo Yu?" Fu Ling asked, looking puzzled. "And anyway, he's our Wanwan's husband. I'd be annoyed too if I were him."
Zhou Shu brought up Huo Yu's name, which wasn't a good move, but the news didn't get out because Sun Baijiang stopped it from spreading. That's why Fu Ling wasn't aware of it.
"Sun Baijiang and Zhou Shu are both rising stars," Su Tang remarked. "It's natural for them to get entangled with Huo Yu."
"It can't be that straightforward, can it?" Fu Ling's gossip senses Immediately perked up, and he narrowed his eyes, giving Su Tang a pointed look. "Tell me the truth."
"When have I ever lied to you?" Su Tang replied indignantly, then leaned in to whisper, "But there's something you don't know."
At that moment, Su Tang suddenly stopped, noticing Xia Wan's arrival. He waved and greeted him, "You're back, Wanwan?"
Xia Wan placed the half-empty can of Coke on the table, took off his backpack, and smiled, saying, "Go on."
"Can I spill the beans?" Su Tang asked for confirmation.
"What's got you worried?" Xia Wan sat down and joined the others, "It's not like I haven't seen Sun Baijiang before."
"Spill it already," Fu Ling couldn't contain his curiosity any longer and nudged Su Tang's feet with his toes.
"Zhou Shu is actually Li Sheng's illegitimate child from outside his marriage." Su Tang decided it was time to fill Fu Ling in on the character dynamics. "And just to clarify, Li Sheng is Huo Lin's uncle."
"Oh," Fu Ling said, understanding dawning on him. "He is from enemy's camp."
Su Tang nodded, elaborating, "So, the movie Sun Baijiang and Zhou Shu are working on right now is funded by the Huo family. Li Sheng played a role in getting Zhou Shu that part."
"What kind of collaboration is this?" Fu Ling exclaimed. "Our top actor Sun is the lead, and Zhou Shu is just an eighteenth-tier minor supporting actor."
Su Tang flicked Fu Ling's forehead. "Don't interrupt in between," he scolded.
Fu Ling immediately sat up like a primary school student and listened obediently.
"Didn't Huo Yu take over Yan Yu a while ago?" Su Tang said, turning to Xia Wan. "Now it's time to hand over the microphone to Wan Wan."
"You continue," Xia Wan said, gesturing for Su Tang to keep talking.
"Yan Yu is your family's business," Su Tang said, "No matter how much gossip I hear, I don't know as much as you do."
Although Xia Wan didn't directly inquire about Huo Yu's work, he was aware of it.
Recently, whether it was due to growing accustomed to his presence or being less wary, Huo Yu was no longer as secretive as he used to be. So Xia Wan knew the general outline of what was happening.
Huo Yu had returned from abroad and immediately initiated significant reforms within the company. From the management level to the cooperative factories, he implemented sweeping changes. The financial department, which had close ties with Li Sheng, didn't escape his attention. Within a day, Huo Yu decisively made substantial adjustments, including dealing with Li Sheng.
Huo Peixue had initially been willing to hand over Yan Yu to Huo Yu, but Li Sheng, though displeased, didn't think he would lose. He believed that despite Huo Yu's years abroad, Li Sheng still held real power within Yan Yu.
Li Sheng's plan was to test Huo Yu's mettle and make him submit by giving him some challenges. However, he never expected that Huo Yu wouldn't even give him a chance to fight. It was only when he was ousted from Yan Yu and witnessed Huo Yu's extensive reorganization that he realized Huo Yu's understanding of Yan Yu was on par with his own.
Li Sheng and his sister Li Yun had numerous quarrels over this. Most of his illicit income comes from Yan Yu.
Even though Yan Yu was in a decline, there were still profitable opportunities in various aspects, including raw materials, factory rebates, and sales channels.
These sources of income had allowed Li Sheng to accumulate wealth and maintain his influence.
The primary source of income was completely cut off, and naturally, Li Sheng was unwilling to accept it.
The day after being laid off, he pretended as if nothing happened and went to his original office as usual, only to have Huo Yu arrange for security to escort him out.
This incident further fueled the resentment between Li Sheng, his sister, and Huo Yu.
Zhou Shu was only able to secure his current role because Huo Lin intervened to appease his uncle.
Zhou Shu wanted to use the Huo family to boost his status, but he was also mad at Li Sheng. During the interview, he mentioned the Huo family on purpose or by accident
But the subtle thing was that he mentioned both Huo Lin and Huo Yu, but he didn't mention Li Sheng.
Zhou Shu's words suggested that Huo Yu was ungrateful and spoke highly of Huo Lin. With that, the media naturally linked him to Huo Lin, and scandals began to spread everywhere.
From that day on, Sun Baijiang was insistent on a substitution. Without Zhou Shu, there was no him, and without him, there was no Zhou Shu.
The movie had only been filming for two days, so it was relatively easy to replace actors. However, the media captured Zhou Shu leaving the set with red eyes, and Sun Baijiang's actions of mistreating newcomers made headlines.
"That's all I know." Xia Wan spread his hands up.
"You really don't mind it?" Su Tang couldn't help but feel extremely curious after hearing Xia Wan's words.
Xia Wan smiled and asked, "Mind what?"
"Sun Baijiang and Huo Yu..." Su Tang clarified.
"Of course not," Xia Wan immediately lifted his head proudly. "My husband treats me so well, loves me deeply, and cherishes me. Even if there were someone better looking than Sun Baijiang, he wouldn't care..
Because I am the one he loves the most"
"Tsk," Fu Ling remarked, "We deserve to be single."
Xia Wan chuckled, "Well, who made you single dogs ask?"
"Humph!" Su Tang and Fu Ling responded in unison.
"Tangtang," Fu Ling continued, concerned about his male idol asked "Does your mom have any plans to deal with this lately? We can't let these mindless keyboard warriors tarnish my male idol's reputation, can we?"
"Don't worry, my mom is so powerful that she can handle anything thrown her way," Su Tang reassured, running his hand through his hair. "You don't. have to trust your boyfriend, but you can always trust my mom."
As they chatted, Xia Wan pulled out ten packs of beef jerky from his backpack.
Su Tang and Fu Ling's attention immediately shifted to the beef jerky, and they each grabbed a bag, momentarily forgetting about their idol and mother.
After Huo Yu's return to China, Xia Wan had secured two more endorsement deals, both of which achieved impressive sales figures.
Xia Wan was quite selective when choosing products, ensuring they were of good quality and reasonably priced.
Many companies were eager to collaborate with him after seeing the success of his previous endorsements.
Currently, there was a long queue of brands waiting to partner with him.
Most of them were willing to wait for their turn, considering the growing popularity of Xia Wan.
As his popularity continued to soar, Xia Wan became a popular and rapidly rising internet celebrity. Even his live broadcasts had been moved to Huo Yu's residence.
It took a lot of energy to source goods, select products, and provide after-sales service. After careful consideration, Xia Wan decided to attempt to bring goods every week or every other
"The flavor's alright, but it's a bit too dry," Su Tang remarked after tasting the beef jerky.
"I like this," Fu Ling chimed in. "It's chewy and really fragrant."
Xia Wan had gone out earlier in the day to discuss specific cooperation arrangements with the beef jerky manufacturers. As he looked over the information he had gathered, he paused and asked, "Isn't it a matter of personal preference?"
At this movement, Shen Xing had returned, he noticed a package of beef jerky on the table and decided to take one for himself. While opening the package, he casually mentioned to Su Tang, "Oh, by the way, someone has sent you a love letter."
Su Tang quickly stood up and asked, "Who sent it? Where are they? Are they good-looking? And where's the letter?"
"It was no one important," Shen Xing replied. "I sent him away and tore up the love letter."
"Damn it!" Su Tang cursed, "Are you crazy? I knew you didn't have good intentions for coming to our dormitory."
Shen Xing stayed quiet as he leisurely munching on the beef Jerky.
Looking at his calm demeanor Su Tang felt angry. He glared at him for a brief moment before he stormed out of the room, clutching his phone tightly in hand.
Observing the tense atmosphere, Xia Wan hastily abandoned the snack he was holding and hurriedly followed Su Tang out of the room.
Fu Ling who just stood there, clutching the beef jerky in his hand. His mind was elsewhere as he absentmindedly chewed on it.
Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain as his teeth accidentally clamped down on his finger instead of the jerky. With a reflexive "ouch," he couldn't help but wince from the unexpected sting of pain.
When Fu Ling looked up again, he noticed Shen Xing staring at him with a smirk, his mouth twisted in an amusing expression.
"You... you..." Fu Ling stuttered, pointing his finger shakily at Shen Xing, "You don't have feelings for Su Tang, do you?"
After the live broadcast, Xia Wan came downstairs, rubbing his sore waist. He coincidentally bumped into Huo Yu as he walked in, adjusting his tie.
"Did you go out?" Xia Wan asked, surprised.
In the afternoon, the two of them returned home from school together and had lunch together.
After the meal, Huo Yu headed back to the study on the third floor, while Xia Wan went to his bedroom and has been busy there ever since.
During this time, he didn't hear any movement.
"Yeah," Huo Yu replied.
Ever since Xia Wan expressed his fear of being alone at home last time, whenever he had to go out for urgent matters, he would always return quietly.
Since Xia Wan never goes to the third floor, as long as he leaves and returns quietly, he won't find out. If he doesn't find out, he won't feel scared.
Today was just like the previous times, but he didn't expect to run into Xia Wan so coincidentally.
"I picked someone up from the airport," Huo Yu explained. "I wanted to tell you before I left, but I was worried that you were live broadcasting, so I didn't knock on the door."
"It's okay," Xia Wan said. "My camera isn't facing the door."
He poured himself a glass of water, then walked over and offered it to Huo Yu, "Do you want some water?"
Since he was getting ready to sleep, he was just wearing a short-sleeved shirt and shorts. His legs looked smooth and white, shining brightly in front of Huo Yu's eyes, catching his attention.
Huo Yu took the water, stared at the glass for a movement before he spoke again, "I've gone to pick up Teacher Li Congmeng."
"Wow," Xia Wan exclaimed, sitting down next to him with excitement in his eyes. "This sounds like a big step. Does this mean things are finally going smoothly?"
"There's still a bit more to do," Huo Yu said, his lips lifting into a smile as he saw happiness on Xia Wan's face. "We're still in talks with a few major manufacturers, but Xinhua has already sorted out the basic issues. It's not as daunting as before."
Huo Yu didn't know when exactly, but he had started discussing some of his work matters with Xia Wan without giving it much thought.
Twenty years ago, Yan Yu experienced rapid development under the leadership of Yan Wei. Under her guidance, Yan Yu established several highly professional factories.
In a large factory, there was always a never-ending list of tasks to complete, and they didn't have to stress about their business prospects. They never had to deal with issues like returning items or deducting expenses from their accounts.
Therefore, Li Sheng terminated these partnerships not long after he took over.
Now, Yan Yu was teaming up with smaller, less experienced factories that didn't meet the required standards for process technology and management.
So after his takeover, Huo Yu decided to cut ties with all of them at once.
Some of the factories Yan Yu worked with in the past have grown into large international manufacturers, and it's difficult to engage with them now.
Xinhua was one of them.
But Xinhua was somewhat different from other manufacturers. When Xinhua's boss, Song Qinghua, encountered difficulties, Yan Wei
and Huo Peifeng helped him.
He always remembered this gesture, so as soon as Huo Yu arrived at the door, Song Qinghua promptly took Yan Yu's orders.
Xinhua was highly skilled in working with gold, silver, alloys, and artificial gemstones made of diamonds, but it lacked expertise in handling pearls and jade.
So Huo Yu was still exploring options with other factories.
"The elder master is so capable, he is able to handle all the things with ease." Xia Wan remarked, his eyes filled with admiration as he spoke with a smile.
It has to be said that Huo Yu was indeed resolute and tough in his approach to getting things done.
Li Sheng and his group were swiftly removed without even having a chance to respond.
In a mere ten days, the entire company underwent a thorough reorganization. Huo Yu personally handled negotiations with partners and carefully selected raw material suppliers.
Each task was executed meticulously, with precision and efficiency.
Therefore, Xia Wan's praises for Huo Yu were sincere and genuine.
"That's one way to put it," Huo Yu chuckled, but he seemed much less tired now. The weariness in his brows and eyes had eased significantly, indicating that he was feeling better.
The two of them drank some water, and then Xia Wan went to the refrigerator to grab a box of yogurt. After that, he headed upstairs with Huo Yu.
As they reached the door of his bedroom, Xia Wan paused, gripping the door frame. "Eldest Master," he said.
"Hmm?" Huo Yu stopped and looked over at Xia Wan.
The corridor was dimly lit, making Huo Yu's eyes appear even deeper.
"Wait for me," Xia Wan said, "I have something to give you."
With that, he opened the door and walked into his room.
Through the partially open door, Huo Yu caught a glimpse of Xia Wan's room.
A small coffee table sat in the center, accompanied by a round sofa. Dark sheets hung almost to the ground at the end of the bed.
Unconsciously, Huo Yu gulped.
That night, as he saw Xia Wan's bathrobe hanging open, he couldn't help but notice his snow-white body with its smooth curves.
The touch of his soft skin as he fell into his arms lingered in his mind, along with the contrast of his fair skin against the dark sheets. The vivid images seemed to come alive in his thoughts all at once.
Apart from dreams, this was the first time he had ever found himself entertaining such thoughts in reality.