Chapter 56: Poor Boy
The caregiver stood nearby, looking at the hypocritical man on the hospital bed who had just claimed his injury wasn’t in his hand.
You lying dog.
So you’ve even got two different faces depending on who’s watching!
Noticing the faint bluish shadows beneath An Yi’s eyes, Huo Beixing used Huo Dabao Crayon Shin-chan’s tone and asked, “Wife, what were you doing yesterday?”
Blowing on the spoonful of porridge, An Yi answered, “Yesterday I went to chat with the police uncles.”
“Until what time?”
“Just now.”
Hearing that, Huo Beixing’s gaze darkened slightly. “Then why didn’t you go sleep?”
An Yi replied, “I was afraid you’d be lonely by yourself, so I came to see you first.”
In just a few short lines of conversation, one could already tell exactly what place the fool held in An Yi’s heart.
No one had expected him to care so much about a fool.
An Yi brought the porridge to Huo Beixing’s lips, and Huo Beixing opened his mouth obediently.
Seeing that he had taken one bite, An Yi coaxed softly, “Let’s have one more bite, okay?”
Huo Beixing’s gaze turned deep.
By rights, this little wife of his should like the fool far more than she liked him.
An Yi scooped up a second spoonful and held it to Huo Beixing’s mouth. Huo Beixing only brushed the spoon with his lips and didn’t eat it. Instead, he straightened up and said one word:
“Hot.”
An Yi blinked. “Hot?”
He had blown on it several times just now. It wasn’t even steaming anymore.
He drew the spoon back, blew on it several more times, then—afraid of burning him again—took a tiny sip himself to test the temperature.
Older generations feeding children always tested it like this.
“This time it’s not hot anymore. Eat.”
Only then did Huo Beixing open his mouth and swallow it.
It didn’t matter even if his wife only liked the fool.
Right now, she was still his wife.
Watching this scheming dog of a man from the side, the caregiver wanted nothing more than to spit on him.
Don’t think I can’t see what you’re doing.
Making someone touch the porridge with their own lips just so you can eat it—shameful! Shameful! Shameful!
The caregiver practically wanted to point at his face and shame him a few times.
An Yi had come here straight from the police station without sleeping, so he probably hadn’t eaten either. After taking the porridge, Huo Beixing stopped letting An Yi feed him and instead stuffed a meat bun into his hand.
“Eat.”
An Yi looked at him. “You don’t need me to feed you anymore?”
Huo Beixing said, “No need.”
The next second, he opened his mouth and poured the porridge in, swallowing it in just two or three bites.
An Yi: ……
As a child, Huo Dabao had always been very easy to worry about when it came to meals.
Just now, the reason he hadn’t eaten must have been that he wasn’t used to hospital food.
Chewing on the bun, An Yi heard Huo Beixing ask while watching his puffed-out cheek, “Is it good?”
An Yi gave a guileless little smile, looking easy to raise. “It’s good.”
After the meat bun, Huo Beixing handed him a bowl of noodles. By the time An Yi had finally slurped them down with great effort, another plate of dumplings appeared in his hands.
An Yi turned to look at him.
Huo Beixing beamed brightly at him. “You eat.”
An Yi: ……
Don’t push it too far.
No one even dared feed pigs like this.
An Yi set down the dumplings. “I’m not eating anymore.”
“You don’t like dumplings?” Huo Beixing picked up another item. “Then what about a triangle pastry with brown sugar?”
An Yi: ……
I said I’m not eating anymore!!!
Taking a tissue, An Yi wiped his mouth, then looked at the foolish expression on Huo Beixing’s face and wiped his for him too.
“I’m full. I’m not eating anymore.”
Since there was nothing much to do in the hospital, Huo Beixing asked, “Then what are we doing now?”
An Yi said, “I’m going to exercise.”
To digest the food?
Huo Beixing was just about to say he’d go too when, in the next instant, An Yi walked to the sofa and flopped down onto it with a thud.
Huo Beixing: ……
An Yi squinted comfortably on the sofa.
This was his favorite form of exercise.
Looking at his satisfied expression, Huo Beixing said, “Wife, come sleep on the bed.”
An Yi changed position on the sofa. “Are you sleeping on the sofa?”
Huo Beixing: ……
Can’t we sleep together?
Two seconds later, Huo Beixing said, “I’ll sleep on the sofa.”
An Yi lowered his head shyly. “Oh, that would be so embarrassing.”
The next second he got up and came over to the bed.
Roll over.
Huo Beixing: ……
Looking at An Yi’s innocent expression, he couldn’t even bring himself to get angry. He stood up and gave up the spot. After An Yi climbed into bed and pulled the blanket over himself, he said, “Sweet dreams.”
Huo Beixing asked, “What kind of dreams?”
An Yi pointed out the bright daylight outside the window. “Daydreams.”
For the first time, those three words carried such a completely literal meaning.
Then he pulled the blanket right over his head.
Huo Beixing went back to the sofa and looked through work messages.
Not long after, the ward door was suddenly thrown open and Zhao Ningzhuo came charging in, howling.
He had heard that Huo Beixing had been kidnapped and badly beaten.
Looking at the figure on the bed covered with a white hospital blanket, Zhao Ningzhuo’s heart lurched. He hurled himself forward.
“Huo Beixing! Huo Beixing, you can’t die!!”
Little Frog, who had been planning to fall into a beautiful sleep, got pounced on out of nowhere.
“Jip!!!”
Zhao Ningzhuo cried to heaven and wailed to the earth, thinking Huo Beixing had really kicked the bucket. Eyes squeezed shut and head tilted back, he screamed like a chicken, “In the next life, we still have to fold paper airplanes together!!”
Huo Beixing got up, strode over to the bed, and grabbed him in one hand.
Who the hell wanted to fold paper airplanes with you?
“Huo Beixing, you can’t—???”
Zhao Ningzhuo looked at Huo Beixing, then at the head poking out from under the blanket on the bed.
…Oops.
Got the wrong person.
Bang—
With a black face, Huo Beixing threw him straight out without another word.
Zhao Ningzhuo, who had come with good intentions to visit the sick: ……
You damn bastard, why aren’t you dead yet?
Getting to his feet, Zhao Ningzhuo wiped away his tears. He had thought the guy had really died, but it turned out he was living just fine. What a waste of feelings.
Looking down at An Yi, Huo Beixing asked, “Did he squash you painfully?”
An Yi shook his head and pulled the blanket up, preparing to continue sleeping.
This time, instead of returning to the sofa, Huo Beixing pulled over a chair and sat at the bedside.
An Yi slept all the way until one in the afternoon. After getting out of bed, he walked around a little to wake himself up faster.
At that moment, Huo Zhanlin pushed open the ward door and came in.
“Big Brother, what brings you here?”
Huo Beixing copied his tone exactly. “Big Brother, what brings you here?”
Facing An Yi, Huo Zhanlin said, “You’ve taken care of Beixing for half the day already. I’ve come to take over.”
An Yi hadn’t expected Huo Zhanlin to handle this personally, but since someone was there to relieve him, he had no reason to refuse.
“Then I’ll come again tomorrow.”
As he spoke, he turned to Huo Beixing. “Remember to eat properly.”
After An Yi left, Huo Zhanlin had the caregiver step out as well, leaving only the two brothers in the room.
Huo Beixing, imitating his old manner, ordered casually, “I want water.”
Huo Zhanlin said, “Cut the fucking act.”
“……”
Sitting down on the sofa, Huo Zhanlin looked at Huo Beixing’s expression and knew at once that his recovery hadn’t been just a guess on his part.
Huo Beixing asked, “How did you know?”
Huo Zhanlin answered, “You didn’t smoke when you were stupid.”
Yesterday, he had seen him smoking.
Huo Beixing understood. “Who else knows?”
Huo Zhanlin said, “I only told Dad. He’ll be here soon.”
From the way he was asking, Huo Zhanlin could clearly tell that he didn’t want outsiders to know he’d recovered. But there was no obvious reason for that.
“Why pretend to still be stupid?”
Without looking at him, Huo Beixing walked to the window. “It’s boring. So I’m just playing stupid for fun.”
Mostly, this made things easier too. Too many people in the Huo family were waiting for him to seize power. But he couldn’t be bothered with any of that and had no interest in it. Once he turned stupid, all the people fawning over him naturally dispersed.
Besides, whether he was stupid or not, the things he had to do were mostly the same anyway—manage the company, then enjoy large stretches of free time after that.
And besides…
The wife he had married seemed to like him more when he was stupid.
Huo Beixing said, “Let’s keep my recovery a secret for now. It’ll benefit you too.”
Of course Huo Zhanlin understood that perfectly well.
But what he wanted to know even more was something else.
“So how exactly did you fall downstairs in the first place?”
Huo Zhanlin had never been able to figure it out, and in his heart he kept speculating over who the culprit might be.
Was it the eldest uncle? The second uncle? The third cousin?
Or perhaps some more distant branch relative.
Huo Beixing answered, “My left foot tripped my right foot.”
Huo Zhanlin: ……
You embarrassing piece of trash!!!
He refused to believe it. “You really fell down by yourself?”
Even Huo Beixing felt a little embarrassed saying it.
Soon enough, Huo Nanxun hurried to the ward after hearing his younger son had recovered. And when he learned that Huo Beixing had made himself stupid by tripping over his own feet, he wasn’t even slightly surprised.
Huo Nanxun said, “You’ve always been delicate since you were little.”
Huo Beixing accepted it calmly. “Mm.”
Looking at the one-meter-ninety Huo Beixing, Huo Zhanlin: ……
Mm your ass. Aren’t you ashamed?!
Naturally, Huo Nanxun was happy to learn his son had recovered. He hadn’t expected that blind-eyed immortal to have been right after all—once he found his destined person, he really would recover.
Looking at Huo Beixing, Huo Nanxun hesitated for a moment before saying, “Since you’re well now, in a few days go divorce Yiyi.”
Huo Beixing asked, “Why?”
Huo Nanxun was shocked. “Don’t tell me you want colorful flags fluttering outside while the red flag at home stays upright?!”
He knew exactly how promiscuous his son was. The reason he wanted the two of them to divorce was also because he didn’t want An Yi to get hurt. Such a good child.
An Yi had entered a marriage alliance with Huo Beixing and cured his foolishness. Now if Huo Beixing took the initiative to divorce him, it could count as repaying him.
Afraid Huo Beixing wouldn’t agree, Huo Nanxun deliberately put on a face as though he disliked An Yi, because getting him out of a pit of fire was more important. “I never agreed to let him in the family to begin with. It was only because saving you came first. Best to end this marriage.”
Huo Beixing asked, “Best for who?”
On the surface, Huo Nanxun said, “For you.”
In his heart: Of course for An Yi.
Huo Nanxun worked hard to perform the role of the evil father-in-law from a wealthy family drama.
If An Yi got hurt by Huo Beixing, then who would pick seashells for him in the future? Thinking of how daughter-like and considerate An Yi was, Huo Nanxun couldn’t bear it.
“Get divorced quickly. He never matched you to begin with.”
Huo Beixing didn’t agree. “How does he not match me?”
Huo Nanxun said, “What’s your status? And what’s his? You’re from the Huo family, a top graduate of an elite business school. He’s just some poor kid with only a high school diploma. How is he worthy of you?”
Huo Beixing said, “Daddy, he’s definitely not some poor boy.”
Huo Zhanlin: ……
Huo Nanxun got a headache. “Then why won’t you divorce him?”
Logically, Huo Beixing was not the kind of person who let his family arrange marriage alliances for him. What he hated most was being controlled by others. Marrying An Yi had happened only when he lacked self-control.
Alarm bells began ringing in Huo Nanxun’s head.
How could he not know what Huo Beixing was thinking?
“You’ve taken a fancy to his looks, haven’t you?”
Before Huo Beixing could answer, Huo Nanxun got up and walked right in front of him.
Pointing at him angrily, he said, “That’s not liking him—you’re lusting after his body! Shameless!”
