Huo Lan’s breathing was rapid.
Liang Xiao’s mind went blank. Tightly held by Huo Lan, his shoulders and back ached from the pressure. It took all his strength to swallow back the words that had jumped to his lips.
…
Can’t be a coward.
Liang Xiao, having read many books, always considered himself the more experienced of the two. He didn’t expect to be caught off guard, with their President Huo taking the lead in such matters.
Liang Xiao’s fighting spirit was aroused. He took a deep breath and tremblingly moved upward.
Sensing his movement, Huo Lan instinctively reached out, grasping at air a few times before finally gripping his arm.
Liang Xiao was about to close his eyes and daringly bite their President Huo, when he sensed something was off. He frowned and opened his eyes, meeting the bloodshot look in Huo Lan’s eyes.
Liang Xiao softly called, “Huo Lan?”
“What’s wrong?”
Liang Xiao didn’t know what he had remembered, and felt uneasy: “Don’t rush, I—”
Huo Lan: “Does it still hurt?”
Liang Xiao was stunned for a moment, instinctively lowering his head.
…It wasn’t a question of whether it “still” hurt.
Their President Huo was about to break his fragile arm with one hand.
Liang Xiao didn’t want to admit it, taking a breath: “It doesn’t hurt.”
He inhaled discreetly, but Huo Lan, despite his intense emotions, noticed. His eyes flickered, and he slowly withdrew his hand.
Liang Xiao didn’t let him take his hand back, instead gripping it firmly.
“Huo Lan.” Liang Xiao held onto him tightly, “I’m here, I’ll listen to what you say.”
Liang Xiao met his gaze, speaking word by word: “I’ll listen carefully, I can understand.”
Huo Lan looked at him, his chest rising and falling several times. He closed his eyes, and his iron-hard shoulders and back gradually relaxed.
“In the future…” Huo Lan spoke, “I’ll always blow on it.”
Liang Xiao didn’t understand: “Huh?”
Huo Lan looked at Liang Xiao, his voice becoming hoarse: “I won’t… let you be alone again.”
He hid the real injuries from me, but when he bumped his forehead, he made such a fuss, just wanting me to blow on it.
Why didn’t I ask one more question?
Why was I so stubborn, insisting on maintaining those manners and etiquette?
Huo Lan forced himself not to think about how the young Liang Xiao, alone in the room with the medicine on the table, had managed to get through the discomfort back then.
Back in Jiangnan, he had also been dejected because of his parents’ situation. Little Liang Xiao, not understanding the details, didn’t endlessly inquire or question. He just taught him that to live on, one can only look forward, always look forward, and not get trapped in the past.
Liang Xiao had taught him not to be confined by the past.
Huo Lan raised his hand, gently encircling him, pressing his forehead against Liang Xiao’s, his voice softening: “…I’ll be with you.”
Liang Xiao wasn’t quite sure what was happening, but he still nuzzled Huo Lan’s forehead and agreed, “Mm.”
Liang Xiao thought for a moment, feeling he should say something too: “I’ll also accompany—”
“Stay with you,” Huo Lan said softly, “Don’t leave again.”
–
Afraid of frightening Huo Lan, Liang Xiao didn’t dare to leave all night.
Not only did he not dare to leave, he didn’t even move, holding their President Huo and patting him rhythmically until he couldn’t stay awake any longer and fell into a deep sleep.
Huo Lan noticed his arm drop and pulled him closer into his embrace, opening his eyes.
Liang Xiao had been through a lot today, exhausted and sleeping deeply. Still uncomfortable, his brows were slightly furrowed even in sleep.
His fever had subsided, leaving a thin layer of cold sweat on his forehead. He was half-curled up, his face pale.
His usually bright eyes were closed, finally revealing his fatigue without disguise.
Huo Lan lowered his head, carefully and gently kissing his brow, pausing to softly caress it.
Liang Xiao felt more comfortable, exhaling softly and snuggling closer into his embrace.
Huo Lan held him, gently patting his back, causing Liang Xiao to gradually relax.
Too many things had happened these days, coupled with his heat period. Liang Xiao had been in a daze from the pheromones those few days, but he had always remembered being held and read to.
Too much time had passed, and Liang Xiao probably couldn’t understand himself… why he was so fixated on this particular thing.
Over the years, Huo Lan had deliberately tried not to recall, but he could still vividly remember the scene.
It was on a weekend evening, nearing the final exams push. He was reviewing, working on his weak subjects.
Although his mother only treated him as a branch family member, she had watched him grow up and was still very gentle with him, occasionally bending down to ask about his study progress with a smile.
He wanted to get better grades in the final exams to show his mother.
Little Liang Xiao was also reviewing for exams, but he really couldn’t focus on the textbooks. He rolled back and forth on the sofa, insisting on chatting with him.
Little Liang Xiao asked him what it was like when family members were together.
At that time, he didn’t think much of it and didn’t really know himself, so he just gave a few simple answers before assigning new homework to little Liang Xiao.
Huo Lan still remembered it clearly.
He told little Liang Xiao that family members could often be together, travel around, watch the aurora in autumn, ski in winter, and go to the Gold Coast in summer.
In late winter and early spring when people tend to feel lethargic, they could stay at home all day if they didn’t want to go out.
Doing nothing, just holding each other and reading.
Liang Xiao was more comfortable than when he first fell asleep. He nuzzled against Huo Lan’s chest, turned over, and expertly hugged his arm in his sleep.
Huo Lan let him hold on, pulling him into his embrace, and closed his eyes.
…
Liang Xiao had understood his words and hadn’t refused. They were family now.
He was Mr. Liang’s home, and Mr. Liang was his person.
They would spend a very long time together.
They could do all these things, one by one.
–
Liang Xiao spent three days at home reading the script. When it was time to join the crew, he finally packed his things and hurriedly boarded the plane to the filming location.
“Originally, we wanted to arrange a private jet,” the butler explained to the manager while helping to see Liang Xiao off. “But we were afraid it might be too showy and affect Mr. Liang negatively if other crew members saw it.”
Manager Duan was startled, “No need, no need.”
Manager Duan had vaguely forced out of Liang Xiao that the two had made some progress in their relationship, so he was prepared for this grand send-off from the villa. However, there was still something he didn’t quite understand: “Why didn’t President Huo come?”
The butler: “…”
The butler coughed, forcing himself to say, “President Huo was afraid Mr. Liang wouldn’t want to leave.”
Manager Duan: “Huh?”
The butler looked up, watching Liang Xiao who was finally back to work, happily busy with his assistant, and sighed.
President Huo hadn’t shown up in person because he was worried that if Mr. Liang saw him, he wouldn’t be able to leave, his heart set on returning to the villa instead of filming.
Mr. Liang clearly wasn’t eager to return.
Mr. Liang’s heart had already flown away, tied to an arrow.
The butler felt a bit sorry for their President Huo and vaguely said, “It’s nothing, President Huo is busy.”
As a president, he had countless matters to attend to daily. Manager Duan understood and nodded, “Then please tell President Huo to take care of his health too.”
The butler thanked him and reciprocated, “Mr. Liang also—”
The butler stopped, looking around, “Where’s Mr. Liang?”
Manager Duan hadn’t used a megaphone to find his artist for a while. Hearing this, he looked up in surprise, seeing his assistant looking equally confused.
…
Liang Xiao was panting lightly, his eyes quick and legs faster, intercepting Huo Lan who was about to blend back into the crowd.
He was familiar with this scene.
It was a common plot: when about to be separated, one party couldn’t bear to see the other off, hiding in the crowd, secretly watching the other board the plane and fly away.
It’s just that their President Huo’s counter-surveillance ability was too strong; every time Liang Xiao looked up again, he’d disappear.
Liang Xiao had chased him four or five times like playing whack-a-mole before finally successfully catching him: “President Huo.”
Huo Lan was grabbed by the arm, paused, and stopped.
He was wearing a smart suit with a crisp overcoat, looking nothing like the relaxed demeanor he had when wearing the pajamas Liang Xiao had given him. Instead, he appeared more like his usual cold and sharp self at the company.
Huo Lan didn’t want Liang Xiao to get cold, so he stepped back slightly.
“The crew will be in closed filming for these few days,” Liang Xiao didn’t understand what he was doing and pulled him back, speaking softly to Huo Lan about the schedule. “It’s mainly supporting role auditions and script reading sessions. They won’t let people come and go freely.”
Huo Lan had a general understanding of the crew’s process from reading the script with Liang Xiao these past few days, so he nodded.
“We should start filming in about a week,” Liang Xiao gently persuaded, “After the opening ceremony, we’ll be allowed to move around freely.”
Huo Lan looked up at him, paused for a moment, and nodded slightly.
Liang Xiao looked at him, feeling a bit troubled.
Liang Xiao felt he had already treated his face as something external, but he still instinctively felt that saying such intimate things in public wasn’t appropriate.
But it seemed their President Huo had made up his mind to be a cold and handsome mute today.
![After losing all his wealth, the ancestor rose from his coffin [BL]](https://www.freenovels.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Your-paragraph-text-1.png "After losing all his wealth, the ancestor rose from his coffin [BL]")
