Xingguan’s team was always professional and never missed an opportunity to extract value.
When President Huo arrived at the guest room, Mr. Liang—completely drained—was lying limp on the bed, barely alive as someone flipped him over.
The room was exceptionally warm with the air conditioning turned up. Liang Xiao was dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, with steaming towels draped over his arms and legs. He sipped protein shakes through a straw as if drowning his sorrows.
Huo Lan frowned deeply: “What happened?”
“Mr. Liang just finished strength training,” the butler explained. “The heat application helps relieve lactic acid buildup.”
At Mr. Liang’s request, the butler quickly added: “He’s not feeling unwell.”
Huo Lan didn’t respond and walked to the bedside.
Liang Xiao, suffering from the unpleasant taste of his protein shake, looked as though he were on the brink of death: “President Huo… I’m fine.”
Huo Lan’s gaze fell on him. He placed a hand on Liang Xiao’s arm and pressed lightly.
Liang Xiao gasped sharply, the cold air catching in his throat. His body jolted, trembling slightly, before collapsing back onto the bed, weak and sore.
President Huo, unexpectedly skilled, extended his arm and caught him steadily.
Liang Xiao’s ears burned: “President Huo…”
Huo Lan patted his head gently and carefully placed him back onto the bed.
Liang Xiao felt a fleeting warmth but could only watch helplessly as Huo Lan turned and left the room. His eyes widened in disbelief.
That was it? No hug?
His mind spiraled dramatically: Beauty fades, love diminishes, affection ends.
Feeling utterly dejected, Liang Xiao struggled twice but couldn’t get up: “If life were but as it was at first meeting…”
The butler, standing nearby, paused in confusion: “What?”
Liang Xiao sighed mournfully: “Why must the autumn wind lament over a painted fan?”
Meanwhile, Huo Lan had gone to consult with the wellness team about the recovery process. After dismissing them, he returned with hot water bottles wrapped tightly in heated towels.
Liang Xiao hadn’t yet reached the part of his dramatic monologue about how easily people’s hearts change. Seeing what Huo Lan was carrying, he froze in surprise.
Huo Lan nodded at the butler, waiting for him to leave before replacing Liang Xiao’s warm compresses with freshly heated water bottles. He pressed one particularly hot bottle against Liang Xiao’s body.
Liang Xiao stared blankly: “President Huo—”
Huo Lan lowered his gaze. Once his palm had absorbed enough warmth, he lifted Liang Xiao’s shirt slightly and began gently massaging his abdomen.
Liang Xiao opened his mouth but couldn’t speak for three seconds before turning bright red.
“The next few days might be a bit tough,” Huo Lan said softly. Familiar with fitness routines, he continued massaging Liang Xiao slowly while pulling a piece of candy from his pocket with his other hand. “I’ll come by earlier.”
Liang Xiao’s heart pounded wildly in his chest. He mumbled: “No…”
His voice was too soft for Huo Lan to hear. Unwrapping the candy with one hand, Huo Lan brought it to Liang Xiao’s lips: “What?”
Dazed, Liang Xiao opened his mouth to take the candy. His lips brushed against Huo Lan’s fingers as he murmured faintly: “Okay.”
Huo Lan nodded: “Alright.”
Liang Xiao: “…”
Now slightly worried, Liang Xiao began to wonder—if their evening meetings were moved earlier, would President Huo’s strict nature mean that morning time would be deducted accordingly?
If President Huo came two hours earlier at night, would he leave two hours earlier in the morning?
At 5 a.m., before dawn broke…
Huo Lan would carefully place a sleeping Liang Xiao back into bed before leaving alone for the cold and lonely master bedroom.
Moved by his own imagination, Liang Xiao looked up at Huo Lan with determination: “No.”
The warmth in Huo Lan’s palm faded as he pressed down on the hot water bottle again. Hearing this, he paused slightly: “What?”
“You can’t leave at 5 a.m.,” Liang Xiao said firmly. “In the morning—”
He coughed lightly and grabbed a nearby pot to place on his head like a helmet: “In the morning, I have to be woken up by someone. If it’s an alarm clock that wakes me up instead, my mood is ruined for the whole day.”
Huo Lan had never considered this before. Startled by Liang Xiao’s conviction, he hesitated briefly and then felt a twinge of guilt: “I… didn’t know.”
I didn’t know either until just now, Liang Xiao thought to himself before steeling his resolve: “Can you wake me up?”
Huo Lan patted his head gently and nodded: “I can.”
Liang Xiao let out a sigh of relief, rubbing his head against Huo Lan’s palm, his ears turning bright red. Stammering, he confirmed: “Hold… hold me to sleep… and hold me when I wake.”
Huo Lan pressed his lips together slightly before leaning down to place a soft kiss on Liang Xiao’s forehead: “Alright.”
Reassured, Liang Xiao relaxed completely, melting into the bed without any lingering worries. Unable to resist, he dozed off for a moment.
Huo Lan continued applying heat compresses to him and then brought out some herbal oil, warming it in his hands before carefully massaging it into Liang Xiao’s sore muscles.
Despite Liang Xiao’s occasional cries of pain, Huo Lan remained focused. Holding him securely in his arms, he worked on easing several bruises that had appeared at some point.
Liang Xiao eventually fell asleep as he had hoped—in President Huo’s embrace—but was later jolted awake by the pain of the massage. Fully alert and wide-eyed, he gasped: “I really can’t take it anymore…”
“Bear with it,” Huo Lan said softly, clearly feeling more distressed than Liang Xiao himself. He kissed Liang Xiao’s temple gently and added, “If it hurts, bite me.”
Liang Xiao looked at Huo Lan’s taut shoulder and neck muscles but found himself unable to muster the strength to bite. Shaking his head weakly, he gave up.
Huo Lan’s chest felt warm as he closed his eyes briefly.
Delaying treatment now would only make things worse in the coming days. Steeling himself, Huo Lan quickly finished massaging the last sore spot before pulling Liang Xiao into his arms, letting him rest against his chest and shoulder for a while.
Liang Xiao saw golden stars flashing before his eyes as he clung to Huo Lan in a daze. Struggling to focus on practical matters, he said faintly: “Brother Duan said the suit needs to be done soon…”
Huo Lan’s breath hitched slightly. His arm tightened around Liang Xiao briefly: “I know.”
“Do I… need to make time for it?”
Not knowing much about custom-tailored suits, Liang Xiao guessed that perhaps the master responsible for taking measurements was too prestigious to wait for him to finish filming. “I can talk to Director Jin and come back if needed.”
“…” Huo Lan replied in a low voice: “No need.”
“Are you worried my body shape might change?” Liang Xiao thought for a moment and helpfully offered an explanation: “It won’t happen that fast—training doesn’t produce immediate results.”
Huo Lan paused silently before replying softly: “I know.”
Concerned, Liang Xiao pressed further: “Then what is it?”
Unable to explain directly, Huo Lan remained quiet for a long moment before patting Liang Xiao’s head again: “It’ll be quick. Just relax.”
The words sounded vaguely familiar to Liang Xiao. He froze for a second, watching as Huo Lan stood up and left the room. Feeling slightly bewildered but obediently following President Huo’s instructions, he tried to relax.
The pain had been intense while it lasted, but once it passed, the relief was immense.
Successfully letting go of his tension, Liang Xiao yawned uncontrollably and blinked sleepily. The weariness slowly crept back over him like a gentle tide.
Drowsy and half-asleep, Liang Xiao faintly heard the sound of the door opening.
Over the years, having dealt with all sorts of people—some with ulterior motives—Liang Xiao had developed a heightened sensitivity to sounds. Especially when half-awake, he could always sense if someone was approaching and instinctively became alert.
But recently, he had grown particularly familiar with Huo Lan’s footsteps. Even without focusing carefully, he could recognize them immediately.
No matter how chaotic his surroundings were, President Huo always remained clean and composed.
Liang Xiao wasn’t nervous. Half-asleep and lazily dozing, he felt at ease listening to President Huo’s footsteps approaching the bed before stopping beside it.
Feeling both relaxed and secure, Liang Xiao let sleepiness gently envelop him. But then, he vaguely sensed the cool and composed President Huo slipping a single hand under the blanket… and lifting his butt.
Liang Xiao: “…”
