To correct Mr. Liang’s habit of neglecting meals when busy, the butler personally delivered food every day.
“More frequent is better,” the butler took this very seriously. “Everyone hopes you’ll recover your health quickly.”
Reminded by his words, Liang Xiao inexplicably recalled some scenes from when he was drunk, causing his ears to heat up slightly. He coughed lightly and expressed his thanks.
Noticing his unusual expression, the butler asked with concern: “Are you feeling unwell?”
“No,” Liang Xiao met the butler’s sincere expression, cleared his mind, and sternly reprimanded himself for his unhealthy thoughts. “I’ll definitely exercise actively and cooperate with treatment.”
The butler felt much more at ease and happily agreed, sending a text message to the head of security and leaving behind a box of thoroughly prepared protective gear.
As Liang Xiao began eating, he remembered something important and couldn’t help asking the butler: “By the way, has President Huo encountered any difficult situations recently?”
Although the misunderstanding had been cleared up, their President Huo had been somewhat reclusive these past few days. When Liang Xiao returned from filming, Huo Lan would still be in the master bedroom handling work.
During this period of intensive filming, Liang Xiao, with strong self-discipline, had copied scripts for three days before succumbing to exhaustion and falling asleep three nights in a row.
He didn’t even know when their President Huo had crept into the guest room and replaced the pillow he had been hugging.
“Not really,” the butler smiled and shook his head. “You needn’t worry. It’s just more work than usual, nothing particularly challenging.”
Liang Xiao thought for a moment: “Not Xingguan’s affairs?”
The butler was a bit surprised and nodded: “Correct, it’s about the branch families.”
President Huo had mentioned preparing Mr. Liang to accept the past gradually. The butler pondered for a moment before pulling out a chair and sitting down: “When President Huo was twelve years old…”
Duan Ming: “…”
Having already heard about President Huo up to age fifteen over the past few days, Duan Ming seized the remaining food containers and promptly decided: “I’m going to find Xiao Gong.”
Liang Xiao, who had been listening attentively, was startled by his abrupt departure: “Bring a box of yogurt.”
Duan Ming returned in a flurry, grabbed a box of strawberry yogurt, and left just as hurriedly.
Liang Xiao barely managed to steady the snack box and smiled apologetically at the butler: “Don’t mind him… please continue.”
The butler poured him a cup of hot tea and nodded: “When President Huo was twelve years old, his branch of the family requested a substantial sum from the main family, claiming it was for nutrition and education expenses.”
Liang Xiao vaguely guessed what had happened, frowned slightly, but didn’t speak.
The butler carefully chose his words: “The nutrition expenses… not a single cent was spent on President Huo.”
Liang Xiao wasn’t surprised and nodded: “I can imagine.”
The butler hesitated: “President Huo was growing at that time, living alone, and the caretaker hired by the branch family wasn’t very competent. He was very thin.”
Liang Xiao’s heart ached hearing this, and he could barely resist the urge to go back and hug Huo Lan: “Let’s not talk about this anymore.”
The butler tried to continue: “So thin that an omega could knock him down with one hand…”
Liang Xiao: “…”
The butler: “…”
Liang Xiao pressed his forehead: “Can I go back and hug President Huo right now?”
The butler: “Huh?”
“I’ll run there,” Liang Xiao said with a frown, his mind full of Huo Lan and nothing else, “and run back.”
The butler was startled: “No, no, no.”
The butler quickly added: “After his differentiation, President Huo’s health improved greatly. Now he can lift you with one hand.”
Liang Xiao had already stood up, his step halted midway: “…”
“After that, the branch family got a taste for it.”
The butler carefully persuaded him to sit down and continued: “The master didn’t like business and left the company to proxies. During those years, the branch family kept diverting funds from the Huo Corporation under various pretexts.”
The butler: “Eventually, they nearly hollowed out the entire Huo Corporation.”
Liang Xiao, having just been struck at a tender spot, sat back down with his hand on his knee, feeling a heaviness in his heart.
“But the parent company was still substantial at that time.”
The butler sighed: “Until… the master and mistress’s plane accident.”
The accident happened just a week before Huo Lan came of age. Though it couldn’t have been deliberate, once the situation became chaotic, people naturally began to scheme frantically.
The butler still felt anxious recalling it: “Things were truly difficult for President Huo at that time. The main family company was just an empty shell, and the branch family members all had their own agendas, looking out only for themselves.”
Liang Xiao could imagine it and clenched his fist: “I understand.”
“There was no time to settle accounts then; we could only focus on getting through the crisis.”
The butler said: “Now that we’ve caught our breath… naturally, all accounts need to be settled.”
The butler looked at Liang Xiao and smiled: “Also because we have you now.”
Liang Xiao was slightly surprised: “What does this have to do with me?”
“It has a lot to do with you,” the butler patiently explained. “It wasn’t until he met you that President Huo truly had a home.”
The branch family once had designs on Huo Lan. Although they later grew lax after gauging the master’s attitude, initially they had shown some care and concern.
The butler still remembered how young Huo Lan, just a few years old, left the villa holding the hand of a branch family elder, looking back with every step.
Huo Lan wouldn’t be soft-hearted because of this, but his forbearance toward the branch family over the years might well stem from this thin thread of kinship from those days.
Liang Xiao felt a sharp pain in his heart and smiled bitterly: “You’re making me want to go back right now.”
“You can’t,” the butler quickly shook his head. “President Huo absolutely forbids us from disturbing your work. I shouldn’t have told you these things in the first place.”
Liang Xiao could imagine that, but couldn’t help feeling heartbroken for the little Huo Lan being led away while looking back with every step. He took a deep breath, exhaled, and nodded.
The butler probed: “What about you—”
Liang Xiao came back to himself: “What?”
“What about you?” the butler asked. “How did you grow up?”
Following orders to gradually guide Liang Xiao, the butler was extremely cautious, forcibly swallowing back the question “Did you ever meet an undernourished young alpha when you were growing up?”
Liang Xiao was stunned for a moment, then smiled: “I didn’t have such a dramatic life. I just grew up before I knew it.”
The butler: “…”
Liang Xiao asked curiously: “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” The butler rubbed his forehead and used the serving chopsticks to place food on Liang Xiao’s plate. “What you said was… very comprehensive.”
Liang Xiao found his wording strange, thought for a moment, and couldn’t help but laugh: “Did President Huo send you to get information out of me?”
The butler felt guilty and lowered his head, not daring to speak.
“There’s nothing much to talk about…”
Having just felt heartbroken for Huo Lan, Liang Xiao didn’t want Huo Lan to turn around and feel the same for him: “Xingguan can probably find all the information about my years at Longtao.”
Liang Xiao had just been reminded by Duan Ming about his nightmare-like college entrance exam preparation period, and felt somewhat reflective: “My university years weren’t bad. I had student loans, could work as an audience filler, and those with MOKA accounts could do photoshoots.”
Liang Xiao actually had a comfortable time in university, and thought for a moment while touching his chin: “The art school also paid well for figure models…”
The butler: “?!”
“I never did that,” Liang Xiao coughed. “I was tempted at the time… they needed to practice human anatomy, but the clothes were too scanty.”
The butler’s emotions had been on a rollercoaster, and he relaxed a little: “I see.”
Liang Xiao wanted to find something sweet in his history to share with Huo Lan, but after thinking carefully for a while, he couldn’t find anything worth mentioning.
After all, he couldn’t tell President Huo the story of that wild alpha from Jiangnan.
Nor could he talk about which bridge offered good shelter from the wind, which streets were good for sleeping, or the technical points of ensuring smooth walls when applying white paint.
“The rest… was just ordinary.”
Liang Xiao glossed over it with a smile: “Just tell President Huo that I was better off than him as a child. People actively took me in and even fed me.”
The butler vaguely understood and felt sad but didn’t press further: “Alright.”
“President Huo these days—”
Liang Xiao looked at the butler’s troubled expression and guessed: “Has he not been in a good mood?”
The butler sighed: “Yes.”
President Huo wasn’t sure how Liang Xiao would react upon learning the truth, and yet had arranged to meet Liang Xiao a week after the cocktail party. He hadn’t been sleeping well for several nights.
The butler went to check last time and found that the walnut supply had obviously decreased by more than half compared to before.
Liang Xiao didn’t understand the situation and just thought President Huo was feeling down because he had to personally deal with the family division. After thinking for a moment, he said: “I’ll go comfort President Huo tonight.”
The butler was slightly surprised: “How will you comfort him?”
“You don’t need to worry about it.” Liang Xiao’s ears grew a bit hot as he coughed once, “I have my ways.”
The butler, drawing from past experience, reminded him in a low voice: “You can’t stuff yourself into a sack again…”
Liang Xiao waved his hand: “Don’t worry.”
The butler wasn’t actually very reassured. Looking at Liang Xiao’s confident demeanor, he hesitated for a while, then quietly packed up his things and left.
…
That night, before Liang Xiao finished shooting and went back, he persistently pestered Director Jin for quite some time.
Director Jin, unable to bear the annoyance anymore, called the assistant director to find the prop department, who brought over a bag of items and stuffed them into his hands, then shooed him out of the set.
–
In the hotel master bedroom.
Huo Lan closed his laptop and pressed his brow with his eyes shut.
Over the years, the family division had become deeply entangled; thoroughly cleaning it up wouldn’t be easy, but it wasn’t impossible either.
Longtao, though crippled, was not completely powerless and would eventually make a move against Liang Xiao. With another troublemaker from the divided family adding to the chaos, both of them would inevitably be hindered.
It would be better to take preemptive action and eliminate them one by one.
“Mr. Liang’s physical examination results are very good,” the butler chimed in at the right moment, helping him tidy up the desk. “Except that his glands still need careful nourishment to recover gradually. After another month or two of recuperation, he’ll be fine.”
Huo Lan didn’t speak, focusing intently on listening to him read through the results once. His expression finally softened slightly, and he nodded.
Just as the butler was about to continue, the phone Huo Lan had placed on the table suddenly vibrated twice.
These days, the divided family had vaguely sensed the pressure and had frequently come to plead poverty and show weakness. Huo Lan paid no attention, letting the phone vibrate one wave after another. He raised his hand to touch the small paper umbrella at the corner of the table, slightly adjusting its direction.
The butler helped by taking a look and was surprised: “It’s a message from Mr. Liang.”
Huo Lan was slightly startled. He picked up the phone to look, then suddenly stood up and walked quickly to the window.
Early spring had arrived, but the nights were still somewhat cold. The icy night wind rushed in, instantly making one feel more awake.
Liang Xiao, wrapped up warmly, stood at the bottom of the building, waving vigorously at him.
The butler remembered what happened during the day and was vaguely concerned: “Mr. Liang said—said he wanted to cheer you up.”
Huo Lan frowned: “Who told Mr. Liang that I’m not happy?”
The butler quickly fell silent.
“There’s no need to tell Mr. Liang these things in the future.”
Huo Lan instructed in a deep voice: “Mr. Liang is already working hard enough on his filming. This movie isn’t funded by Xingguan, and the production team is strict—”
Halfway through his sentence, Huo Lan suddenly paused.
Liang Xiao was holding something unknown in his hand, emitting dazzling bright colors in the pitch-black night, drawing several particularly large circles.
The floor was too high to see clearly. But the flowing light was intense, with sparks dispersing with the night wind, illuminating the silhouette in the deep night, almost eye-catching.
“It’s a type of firework that children often play with.”
The butler recognized it and guessed what Mr. Liang wanted to do. He couldn’t help but smile: “They’re very cheap, harmless, and can be held in the hand… they just emit sparks like that.”
The butler thought for a moment: “Mr. Liang probably got them from—”
…from the strict production team preparing to film the young marquis stealing fireworks.
The butler coughed once, swallowing his words in time, and quietly stood aside.
Liang Xiao had taken several at once, lit them together, and was waving them at him from a distance.
Huo Lan’s chest heaved slightly as he gripped the railing outside the window, unable to resist leaning out a bit.
Liang Xiao, holding the brilliant flowing light, made two dots for him, then swung his arm in a wide arc to draw a large curved line.
Huo Lan couldn’t quite understand these signals and, worried about disappointing him by not understanding, quickly turned back and asked the butler in a low voice: “What’s a colon plus parentheses?”
The butler: “…”
The butler didn’t understand two circles with a point either, but this time he felt their President Huo might be overthinking: “Mr. Liang might not be sending you a secret code.”
Huo Lan frowned: “What?”
“Look,” the butler pointed, directing him to look at the bright light traces that Mr. Liang was tirelessly drawing in the night, “Mr. Liang is just smiling at you.”
Huo Lan was stunned for a moment, holding onto the window, and looked down carefully.
…
Liang Xiao was still on tiptoe, looking up and trying hard to draw a smiley face. Upon noticing footsteps, he quickly and skillfully explained: “I know, I know, I won’t stay long, there won’t be any fire hazards, after I finish these I’ll—”
Liang Xiao was lifted up entirely and, out of habit, instinctively wrapped himself around their President Huo: “…go.”
Huo Lan hadn’t waited for the elevator and was breathing lightly, his chest rising and falling slightly, his gaze fixed on Liang Xiao’s eyes.
Liang Xiao opened his mouth slightly, his ears feeling a bit hot. He smiled at Huo Lan and stuffed the last remaining one into his hand.
Huo Lan had never tried these things before and accepted it in a daze: “What is it?”
“It should be the kind that can fly, the really beautiful type.”
Liang Xiao had spent the entire afternoon pestering Director Jin and had only managed to get ten yuan worth of sparklers and this one item. He coughed once: “I saved it for you.”
After all, sparklers didn’t quite match their imposing President Huo.
At the very least, it should be something that could produce colorful, flowing lights in the night sky.
Liang Xiao adjusted Huo Lan’s collar and, worried that he might be afraid to light it, jumped down to get a lighter: “Don’t be afraid, it’s really fun.”
Those ten-yuan sparklers weren’t finished yet. Huo Lan’s gaze fell on Liang Xiao’s eyes, illuminated by the sparkles. He raised the corner of his mouth toward him and nodded.
Liang Xiao held his hand, lit the fuse together, and stared at the sparks: “One, two, three, let go—”
Huo Lan released his hand along with him, watching as the firework shot up into the sky with a whoosh.
Huo Lan lowered his head and asked softly: “Will it be beautiful?”
He had seen fireworks displays before. If it was the kind of brilliant starbursts that bloom in the night sky, he should bow his head and kiss Mr. Liang.
When Huo Lan closed his eyes, all he could see was the smiley face that Liang Xiao had drawn for him. His chest still burning hot, he instinctively didn’t want to miss such a rare moment of tenderness and held him tightly.
“It should have been.”
Liang Xiao looked up and murmured: “It flew a bit too fast…”
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a deafening boom above their heads.
President Huo didn’t know much about firework classifications and instinctively looked up, but Liang Xiao rushed over to cover his ears.
Two seconds later, an even more earth-shattering explosion thundered overhead.
Yin Yin, who was watching developments below through binoculars, quickly retreated as the butler fled, witnessing President Huo’s bedroom window shake before being affectionately shattered by the “two-kick” firecracker.
(advanced chapters available on kofi)
![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]")
