Chapter 621: Now That He Looked Back, There Were Many Suspicious Points

Translator:

Nyoi-Bo Studio

Editor:

Nyoi-Bo Studio

“Mom.” Huo Jinyao’s tone was unusually gentle. “Qingsang and I aren’t what you think. Qingsang isn’t who you think either. As for uncle, he isn’t who you think either.”

Upon seeing that Liu Tongjia was still angry, Huo Jinyao didn’t want to explain at first. He only thought of what he heard earlier — Liu Tongjia wasn’t the one who administered the drug.

He had been blinded by his anger at the time. Now that he looked back, there were many suspicious points.

After all, no matter how much Liu Tongjia disliked him, she would never disregard the Huo family’s reputation. Not to mention, there were so many guests and relatives that day.

With her personality, she would never make a big deal out of this and would never allow such a thing to happen. He also had preconceived ideas and was a little paranoid.

Because of this, Huo Jinyao’s expression didn’t look so unpleasant.

“Su Qingsang has already cast a spell on you. You’ve lost your mind.”

Liu Tongjia was furious. She took a step forward. This was the first time in so many years that she had taken the initiative to approach Huo Jinyao.

“Jinyao. I never stopped you from doing anything in the past. If you want to find someone with a lower status, I won’t stop you, but not Su Qingsang. She has no morals. Jinyao, I won’t allow a person with no morals to become your wife and become the future madam of the Huo family.”

One had to know that not just anyone could become the madam of the Huo family.

The expression on her face was so emotional that Huo Jinyao knew how agitated she was and how displeased she was with Su Qingsang. However, there were some things that he didn’t care about before but had to care about now.

“Mom, calm down and be objective.” Huo Jinyao placed his hands on Liu Tongjia’s shoulders. His expression was very calm.

“I’m very calm. I’m just very calm. That’s why I thought –”

“I know about Uncle’s feelings for Qingsang.”

His words interrupted Liu Tongjia. She stared at Huo Jinyao with wide eyes. “What, what did you say?”

“I know that Uncle likes Qingsang,” Huo Jinyao said calmly. “No, it’s not enough to say that he likes her. It should be love. He loves Qingsang.”

Liu Tongjia’s face turned pale. She stared at Huo Jinyao with wide eyes.

“But Qingsang, she doesn’t know.”

“How is that possible? She –”

“Mom.” Huo Jinyao felt as if he was back in his teenage years. Liu Tongjia blamed him for everything. At that time, he didn’t want to explain, but this time, he wanted to explain.

“When Uncle met Qingsang, he probably didn’t know her ident.i.ty.”

Huo Jinyao didn’t know what to say. He knew some things, but he didn’t want to ruin his relations.h.i.+p with Su Qingsang with distrust.

“Qingsang doesn’t know about Uncle’s feelings. What you saw was an accident.”

“Accident? That time –”

“I will find the person who drugged him.” He wouldn’t allow such a person to exist in the Huo family. It wasn’t too difficult to investigate these sorts of matters.

“But there’s one thing, please believe me. Qingsang definitely doesn’t have those sorts of feelings towards Uncle. I know that they might meet frequently and make you feel uncomfortable, but in fact, I’m really glad that Uncle had those sorts of feelings towards Su Qingsang.”

“Huo Jinyao.” He was actually saying such a thing? Was he still a man? Liu Tongjia’s face turned livid.

“Mom, Uncle saved Qingsang’s life.” Huo Jinyao held her shoulder and tightened his grip. “I almost lost Qingsang. I almost lost her.”

“The last time I went to C City, there was an earthquake and Qingsang was trapped under the ruins. It was Uncle who saved her, Mom. I don’t care what you think of Uncle and I don’t care what you think of Qingsang, but I hope you understand that I’m very grateful to Uncle. I mean it from the bottom of my heart.”

Liu Tongjia didn’t know about these things, and no one would tell her about it. She thought about the huge earthquake that killed hundreds of people, and how her son had stayed there for many days.

At that time, she was still very worried about Jinyao, and she even blamed Su Qingsang in her heart. However, she didn’t know that Su Qingsang had almost died.

“I’m jealous that the person who appeared that day wasn’t me. But I’m also glad that Uncle was there that day. Otherwise, I would have lost Qingsang already.”

He absolutely couldn’t accept such an outcome.

“Mom, you weren’t the one who drugged Uncle that day. I’m sorry. I misunderstood you.”

Liu Tongjia’s thoughts couldn’t keep up. She looked at Huo Jinyao. After so many years, it was the first time that she heard her son apologize.

Her lips moved. She wanted to say something, but she didn’t know what to say. Her eyes suddenly turned red.

“Mom, I’m sorry,” Huo Jinyao apologized earnestly. “I shouldn’t have misunderstood you. I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that.”

Liu Tongjia’s eyes were not only red, but also a little sour and hot. She felt something gus.h.i.+ng out of her eyes.

“Mom, let’s put the past behind us, okay? Qingsang is a good girl. I hope you can put aside your prejudice and accept her seriously. You’ll realize that she’s better than you think.”

Liu Tongjia didn’t listen to the second half of the sentence. She only heard the first sentence.

“Jinyao?”

Huo Jinyao turned his head slightly. When he looked at Liu Tongjia again, he was also a little emotional. At least, he wasn’t as calm as he appeared to be.

It was Liu Tongjia’s birthday today, and she came to look for him yesterday. Previously, on his birthday, Liu Tongjia went to the apartment with a cake.

Huo Jinyao thought about it, then connected the dots, and some things became clear to him.

It would be a lie to say that he didn’t feel any estrangement in his heart and didn’t mind at all. However, Liu Tongjia was his mother, the one who gave birth to him.

After seeing Qi Xiwei maker herself so haggard for the sake of getting pregnant, he couldn’t help but wonder if Liu Tongjia was also having a hard time when she was pregnant back then?

Some things were in the past. The past was hard to remember.

Even if he couldn’t be as close to Liu Tongjia as a normal son towards his mother, he didn’t want to be enemies with Liu Tongjia anymore.

Huo Jinyao looked at Liu Tongjia and used a very soft voice to hide the helplessness in his heart. “Can I?”

Liu Tongjia’s lips trembled. She blinked her eyes, and tears began to fall from her eyes.

At this moment, she could no longer care about Su Qingsang’s matters. She only looked at Huo Jinyao in disbelief.

He had scolded her harshly before. He had clearly misunderstood her actions when she took the initiative to express goodwill.

Now that he had expressed such a stance, Liu Tongjia could hardly accept it. For a moment, she thought that there was something wrong with her ears.

“Jinyao?”

Perhaps it was because she couldn’t believe it, Liu Tongjia’s expression changed a few times. She wiped her tears away carelessly and looked at Huo Jinyao with uncertainty.

“Jinyao, is what you said true?”

“Yes, it’s all true, Mom.” Huo Jinyao nodded. No matter what, he was willing to mend his relations.h.i.+p with Liu Tongjia.

Liu Tongjia stood there without moving. She was a little emotional. She didn’t expect to mend her relations.h.i.+p with Huo Jinyao so easily, but at least it was a start.

The immense joy made her speechless. At one moment, she was a little bewildered, next, she was a little regretful.

Would he be angry with her for treating him like that before?

She had mixed feelings. At this moment, she couldn’t care less about Su Qingsang. All she could think about was what Huo Jinyao had said.

He was willing to repair their relations.h.i.+p. He was willing to start all over again. It was ridiculous to say that, since after all, they were mother and son.

But she was really excited. She was inexplicably excited. Her shoulders trembled slightly. She lowered her head and couldn’t find her voice.

Huo Jinyao looked at her. He really didn’t know that Liu Tongjia was so concerned about him. For some reason, he felt a little moved, but he didn’t say a word.

Although it was warm outside, it was getting late. Huo Jinyao looked in the direction of the main residence.

“Mom, let’s go in.”

Liu Tongjia nodded. Upon seeing that Huo Jinyao was about to leave, she suddenly tugged at his sleeve.

“Jinyao?”

“Mom?”

“You, did you mean what you said just now?” Not knowing what to do, she asked nervously.

“Yes.” He meant what he said, but also had the intention of diverting Liu Tongjia’s attention. He wanted her to stop nitpicking at Su Qingsang.

Liu Tongjia smiled again. She wiped the tears off her face.

“Good. Good. Very good. Very good.”

The repeated mention of “good” was enough to explain Liu Tongjia’s current mood. When she reached the door of the greenhouse, Liu Tongjia suddenly stopped in her tracks.

“Jinyao, I’m Sorry.”

Huo Jinyao was taken aback by her sudden apology. He turned around and looked at her in confusion.

“I’m sorry,” Liu Tongjia said again. She lowered her head and seemed a little embarra.s.sed. “I, I… I really wasn’t a good mother. Jinyao, I…”

It was very difficult to admit that she was wrong.

Although Liu Tongjia wanted to reconcile with Huo Jinyao, she had made too many mistakes in the past ten years. She was actually worried that Huo Jinyao wouldn’t forgive her.

“Mom, it’s okay. It’s all in the past.”

He had grown up. He was no longer the young man who had nightmares in the middle of the night and wanted his mother to comfort him.

He also wasn’t the kind of person who would diss everyone and make everyone unhappy just because of a moment of anger anymore.

Since it was already in the past, he decided to let it go.

“Jinyao?”

“Mom, since it’s already in the past, let it go. Don’t even think about it.”

Liu Tongjia’s emotions were in turmoil. She had a lot of things she wanted to say, but she couldn’t say a single word.

Huo Jinyao walked outside and stood beside Liu Tongjia.

The main house was brightly lit. Taking care of Liu Tongjia’s emotions at all times, Huo Jinyao walked very slowly.

“Mom?”

“Go ahead.”

“Qingsang is the person I’ve chosen. I know you have some prejudice against her, but she’s a really good woman. She’s not who you think she is, so don’t target her in the future.”

“But –”

“Uncle saved her life, and he’s a relative of the Huo family. It’s impossible for the two of them not to see each other in the future. I’ve already told Uncle about this. What happened before was an accident, so don’t take it to heart.”

“Accident?” Liu Tongjia was still feeling wronged for her son. “Do you know that they went to buy the gift together today?”

Liu Tongjia looked at Huo Jinyao with a look of heartache. “Jinyao, it’s not that I hate her, I’m just saying that it’s not worth it for you. You protect her wholeheartedly, but she has an ulterior motive. Do you know that I. . .”

“Mom.” Huo Jinyao felt a headache coming on. “Wan Xianyang and Uncle know each other. It’s normal for Uncle to encounter Qingsang in his shop. Can’t you think about it?”

“Yes, it’s normal to run into each other in Wan Xianyang’s shop. Is it normal to run into each other in our house?”

Liu Tongjia lost control of her anger and raised her voice by one degree.

“Mom, Qingsang was picking out gifts for you. It’s normal for her to go to Wan Xianyang’s shop to buy them. As for coming to our house, Grandpa is my uncle’s uncle. It’s even more normal for him to visit Grandpa. You don’t have to blame Qingsang for uncle’s visit every time he comes, do you?”

Although Huo Jinyao didn’t hear Su Qingsang mention buying gifts, he could roughly guess it.

It would be ridiculous if Su Qingsang and Zhang Yichen’s encounter were to be made into an affair. He wasn’t someone who couldn’t tell right from wrong.

“But –”

“Mom, Qingsang doesn’t know about Uncle’s feelings. She only sees him as an elder and a relative. If you continue to act like this, perhaps Qingsang will really find out. You have to know that Uncle saved Qingsang’s life. If Qingsang finds out about Uncle’s feelings, what will she do?”

Other than the disaster when he was young, Huo Jinyao could practically do whatever he wanted in his life.

However, he wasn’t blindly arrogant. There was always someone better than him. There were people who were better and stronger than him. Zhang Yichen was one of the people that he admitted to being better than him.

Even if Zhang Yichen wasn’t his love rival or his uncle, he would still have immense admiration for him.

He was open and above board. Even though he liked Su Qingsang, he had never done anything. His relations.h.i.+p with Zhang Yichen would never return to how it used to be. However, he didn’t want to become enemies with him just like that.

More importantly, he didn’t want Qingsang to feel awkward when she found out about it. In the future, Zhang Yichen would feel uncomfortable when he interacted with her. It would be best if she treated him as a relative and treated him as her uncle-in-law.

Liu Tongjia had a complicated expression on her face. She didn’t like Su Qingsang, but Huo Jinyao seemed to have a point when he said that.

If Su Qingsang didn’t have those intentions, yet she kept saying it, she might actually make it seem like Su Qingsang has those intentions even if she didn’t.

“But –”

“No buts. Mom, I trust Qingsang’s character. I trust Uncle’s character even more. If you’re willing, you can do whatever you did in the past and in the future.”

Liu Tongjia finally stopped talking. The two of them walked to the main door and happened to run into Zhang Yichen, who was walking outside.

“Cousin-in-law, Jinyao.”

“Uncle.” Huo Jinyao greeted Zhang Yichen calmly. “Are you leaving? It’s so late. You can leave tomorrow.”

“No need.” Zhang Yichen glanced at Huo Jinyao and shook his head. “The army has a mission and I haven’t visited Uncle in a long time, so I came for a visit.”

“Okay, but it’s so late. Be careful on your way back, Uncle.”

“I know. Thank you.”

Zhang Yichen bowed and said goodbye to Liu Tongjia before leaving.

He got into the car. After starting the car, Zhang Yichen glanced at the Huo family’s front door. His gaze was gloomy as he thought of Su Qingsang, who came in from the garden when he sent Old Master Huo back to his room.

She was standing at the corner of the stairs and saw that he was going downstairs. She called out to him.

“Uncle.”

Zhang Yichen stopped and looked at Su Qingsang. He didn’t know why she called him.

“Uncle, I haven’t thanked you properly for the incident in C City.”

Zhang Yichen furrowed his brows and looked a little indifferent. “You already thanked me in the hospital.”

“That’s different.” Su Qingsang’s eyes were clear and there was a hidden meaning in them. “It’s too light to just thank you for saving my life.”

Zhang Yichen’s expression became more and more serious, and Su Qingsang suddenly smiled. “Uncle, I know what you’re capable of, and I also know that with your status, you probably won’t ever need me in the future. But, I still have to say, if you need me in the future, just let me know. I’ll definitely do my best.”

“Even if I can’t do it, Jinyao will help me do it. After all, Uncle is Jinyao’s Uncle, and I’m Jinyao’s wife. That will never change.”

Zhang Yichen looked at her face and seemed to have come to a realization. Su Qingsang leaned her body to the side and said, “Uncle, your ident.i.ty isn’t ordinary. You should still have a lot of work to do. I won’t be seeing you out. Take care, Uncle.”

He understood at that time that she must have known about it. She knew his feelings and the deepest secrets in his heart.

That’s right. She was such a smart woman. Even if he intentionally restrained himself, how could she not see through him?

What he did not expect was that she would issue such a direct expulsion order when she found out. She would reveal that kind of information again.

At this moment, he was truly insanely jealous, jealous of Huo Jinyao. Thinking of the tone of her last sentence, he suddenly smiled.

Forget it, he had done two meritorious deeds this time, and the higher-ups couldn’t praise him anymore. After all, he wasn’t old enough. If he continued to rise, it would be too fast.

The higher-ups wanted him to go to the southwest to train the newly established secret army. Since that was the case, he would accept the mission.

He would have to stay there for at least two to three years. In another two to three years, perhaps he would forget these feelings.

After deeply gazing at the Huo family mansion, Zhang Yichen started the car and left. This time, he wouldn’t be coming back for a while.

…

When Huo Jinyao returned to his room, Su Qingsang had just ended her video call with Li Qianxue. She had just gone upstairs when she received a video request from Li Qianxue.

Li Qianxue really cared about her. Today was Liu Tongjia’s birthday. She was worried that if that gift didn’t appeal to Liu Tongjia, she might make things difficult for her poor daughter again.

Su Qingsang had to repeatedly say that Liu Tongjia liked the bracelet very much. Although it wasn’t a big event, the atmosphere was very good, so she could rest a.s.sured.

“Who are you talking to?”

She seemed to have heard her talking before she entered the room. She came in and saw Su Qingsang sprawled on the bed with her phone in her hand, so that confirmed her guess.

“What do you think?”

“Mother-in-law.”

“Smart.” Su Qingsang sat up. “My mother knew it was your mother’s birthday, so she was very nervous. She was afraid that I wouldn’t give her a good gift and upset your mother.”

The truth was that Liu Tongjia was indeed unhappy. Su Qingsang looked a little embarra.s.sed when she thought of this.

She had originally wanted to repair the relations.h.i.+p between Huo Jinyao and Liu Tongjia, but she didn’t expect that instead of repairing the relations.h.i.+p, Liu Tongjia would be extremely angry at her.

“I didn’t expect that I failed to suck up to your mother and made your mother completely angry.”

“No, my mother was quite happy.”

Huo Jinyao walked to her side and sat down, but his words made Su Qingsang laugh. She turned to look at Huo Jinyao with a derisive look in her eyes.

“Huo Jinyao, you’re quite good at lying through your teeth, aren’t you?”

“Why are you lying through your teeth?”

“Your mother forced me to divorce you. Why are you still happy?”

Liu Tongjia’s att.i.tude just now was as if she wanted to eat her alive, let alone make her divorce him.

“You’re going to divorce me just because she asked you to? Didn’t you refuse?”

“It doesn’t matter if I agree or not. The point is whether you agree or not.”

Su Qingsang straightened her body as she said this. She clasped Huo Jinyao’s face with both hands, and her expression turned serious.

“Or are you saying that your mother is happy because you’ve already agreed to divorce me?”

Huo Jinyao’s reaction was to pull her hand down and put it to his lips. “You’re talking nonsense again.”

Su Qingsang pulled her hand back forcefully. She glared at Huo Jinyao. “If you’re not talking nonsense, then please tell me, Young Master Huo. What do you plan to do with me now, Young Master Huo?”

Huo Jinyao grabbed her hand again and held it in his arms. He leaned forward and kissed her on the lips.

“What I plan to do with you? We’ll hold hands for the rest of our lives and grow old together. How about that?”

He sounded very serious as he joked.

Su Qingsang’s heart skipped a beat when she saw his expression.

However, she couldn’t believe it because of his mother’s att.i.tude just now.

“If you want to live with me for the rest of your life, will your mother agree?”

“She was convinced by me.”

Huo Jinyao’s words made Su Qingsang’s eyes widen in disbelief.

“How did you convince her?” She had always thought that making Liu Tongjia accept her would be as difficult as climbing the Himalayas.

“Guess?”

“Are you going to tell me or not?” At this time, Su Qingsang couldn’t help but pinch his waist.

“I’ll tell you if you give me a kiss.”

Su Qingsang rolled her eyes at him and leaned over to give him a kiss on the lips.

Huo Jinyao wasn’t satisfied. He hugged her waist and deepened the kiss until Su Qingsang was out of breath. Only then did he let go of her.

“I told my mother that I only plan to stay married to you for the rest of my life. If she insists on my divorce, then I won’t marry anymore. I’ll stay single all the way to old age. I won’t care if she’s willing.”

Why was this person speaking so flippantly? Su Qingsang looked at the expression on his face. She was supposed to be touched, but she wanted to laugh at his flippant att.i.tude.

“Your mother will agree to it just because you said so?”

“What else can I do?” Huo Jinyao looked at her with a smile. “You can’t really expect me to be single forever, right? Then my family’s bloodline will end with me.”

Su Qingsang gave Huo Jinyao a hard pat on the shoulder. However, she reached out to wrap her arms around his waist and rubbed her face against his chest.

“In the future, your mother won’t object anymore, right?”

“If I’m not wrong, she probably won’t.”

Su Qingsang was relieved. In fact, she wasn’t afraid that Liu Tongjia would object. However, if the relations.h.i.+p between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law wasn’t good and they were always on opposite sides, she would be in a difficult position.

Huo Jinyao’s feelings were more important.

It wasn’t that he had completely lost his affection for Liu Tongjia, and she didn’t want to have to face Liu Tongjia’s sarcastic and derisive att.i.tude every time she returned to the Huo family.

“That’s great, Huo Jinyao. That’s really great.”

It was so smooth that she even felt that it was unreal.