PHWM Chapter 84.2

The person in charge of the outer perimeter nodded repeatedly, called several people, and had the items moved away.

 

The butler was worried about President Huo and was about to go back to call the secretary’s department when he was grabbed by the head of the bodyguards.

 

The head of the bodyguards looked around and asked him quietly: “What happened when President Huo was in Jiangnan?”

 

“It was when he was with Mr. Liang.”

 

The butler pressed his forehead and sighed: “Back then, when the mistress was giving birth, there was a pheromone conflict, and she became seriously ill. Later, she slowly recovered, and we all thought everything was fine…”

 

Surprisingly, no one had considered that young Huo Lan was also a victim and might have suffered physical damage.

 

Young Huo Lan had already shown subtle signs. During that period, he returned to the main family several times, each time developing a high fever. The butler had worried that he might not be adapting to the northern climate and specially instructed the kitchen to prepare nourishing soups for several days.

 

“There was also a lack of understanding about this illness at that time.”

 

The butler sighed: “Nowadays, if we discovered President Huo had a persistent high fever and poor health, we would immediately check his gland development.”

 

“That serious?!”

 

The head of the bodyguards broke out in a cold sweat: “Fortunately, President Huo pulled through.”

 

“Yes,” the butler didn’t dare to think about it in detail and said softly, “The timing was unfortunate. Mr. Liang had just left, and President Huo was unconscious in the rain for an entire night… If he hadn’t pulled through, it would have been unthinkable.”

 

The head of the bodyguards was taken aback, hesitated, opened his mouth, but didn’t speak.

 

The butler rarely saw him hesitant: “What’s wrong?”

 

“Is this-” The head of the bodyguards, having made a mistake once, cautiously confirmed in advance, “setting the mood? To make Mr. Liang feel sorry…”

 

The butler was exasperated: “What mood would I be setting with something like this? Am I crazy?!”

 

“Mr. Liang is already with President Huo!” The butler almost suspected he was surfing the internet on 2G. “Besides, how could we let Mr. Liang know about this? President Huo forbids us from telling Mr. Liang-”

 

The head of the bodyguards was chastened into stammering: “But… it didn’t rain that day.”

 

The butler: “…”

 

The butler was almost given a heart attack: “Have you only been keeping track of whether it rained each day all these years?!”

 

Back then, young Huo Lan was alone picking up letters by the pool. At least the incident took place at the Huo residence villa. Being able to remember that it didn’t rain at that time was already a miracle in bodyguard work history.

 

Young Huo Lan’s differentiation was in Jiangnan, and it was many years ago. If he could really remember, it would be a serious waste of special talent.

 

“President Huo personally said it was raining at that time! Why would I make this up?”

 

The butler was extremely angry, almost unable to resist giving him a new name: “From now on, don’t call yourself head of bodyguards, just call yourself weather tracker…”

 

“That’s not it.” The head of the bodyguards, embarrassed by the retort, was speechless for a moment before admitting softly, “I was also in Jiangnan at that time.”

 

The butler was stunned: “What?”

 

“Mr. Liang left just a few days before President Huo’s birthday, right?”

 

The head of the bodyguards knew this was also something that couldn’t be told to Mr. Liang and said softly to the butler: “The mistress developed health problems when giving birth to President Huo. Later, although she forgot about it, her emotions would still fluctuate around this time every year…”

 

The butler knew about this and frowned deeply: “The master would take the mistress on vacation to relax during this time. I know, that year I was the one staying at the Huo residence.”

 

“Right.” The head of the bodyguards said softly, “That year, I was the one accompanying them.”

 

“For some reason, during those days, the mistress was particularly restless and often had nightmares.”

 

The head of the bodyguards recalled: “The master heard that there was a temple in Jiangnan with very effective ‘same fate charms’ that could bind two people’s lives together… He specifically took the mistress to climb the mountain and obtained a pair.”

 

The head of the bodyguards: “During that period, we were actually all in Jiangnan.”

 

The butler was stunned and looked at him without speaking.

 

“Because we needed to climb the mountain, we kept an eye on the weather those days, and it was all clear skies.”

 

The head of the bodyguards had also been made to doubt himself by the butler’s scolding and spoke with almost no confidence, trying hard to recall: “The period after that should also have been clear. If it had been raining, the master wouldn’t have let the mistress climb the mountain.”

 

The butler stared at him blankly, suddenly remembered something, and his face paled.

 

The head of the bodyguards felt extremely guilty and lowered his head: “We didn’t know President Huo was in danger at that time. If we had known, we would have definitely persuaded the master and mistress to go to him…”

 

The butler had no time to reflect on this with him and grabbed him to confirm again: “It didn’t rain that day.”

 

The head of the bodyguards nodded: “It didn’t… what’s wrong?”

 

A thought vaguely emerged in the butler’s mind, and he shook his head in a daze, breaking out in a cold sweat: “This is bad.”

 

The head of the bodyguards was startled and became a bit nervous: “What’s bad? Is it serious? I’ll call someone to prepare-”

 

The butler waved his hand and said softly: “I’ll go call Mr. Duan.”

 

The butler grabbed the head of the bodyguards and emphasized: “Don’t tell President Huo about this matter for now.”

 

The head of the bodyguards was confused: “Why would I tell President Huo about this? President Huo doesn’t make it rain…”

 

The butler couldn’t explain it to him, sighed heavily after a while, and hurried away.

 

–

 

There were too many items sent by the branch family, and it took quite some time to arrange them properly. By the time the butler arrived at the cemetery with his people, President Huo was already standing in front of his parents’ graves.

 

The butler’s call with the manager didn’t successfully exchange information for the first time. Duan Ming knew nothing when asked, probably because the film set was too busy, and he hastily responded a few times before hanging up.

 

The butler felt uncertain and had to temporarily suppress all his conjectures. He walked to President Huo’s side and said softly: “President Huo.”

 

President Huo nodded slightly.

 

“All the items have been brought.” The butler softly awaited his opinion. “There’s quite a lot, should we…”

 

“Hand them over to the cemetery staff to arrange.”

 

President Huo said: “No need to worry about it.”

 

The butler nodded, found someone to give instructions, and had the items taken away.

 

President Huo stood silently for a while, then closed his eyes briefly.

 

“You can’t blame yourself…”

 

The butler roughly knew what he was thinking and, after a moment of silence, carefully spoke in a gentle tone: “What pheromones are isn’t something you or the mistress could decide, and the mistress’s illness wasn’t your fault.”

 

The master had always been stern with young Huo Lan, and when the mistress’s condition worsened, the rebukes and displaced anger were countless.

 

The butler knew that an outsider’s words wouldn’t help much, but he still tried his best to persuade him: “You’ve already done well enough. If Huo Corporation had gone bankrupt and liquidated back then, how many people would have lost everything overnight…”

 

“The head of the bodyguards said… the master and mistress sought same fate charms.”

 

The butler: “They bind two people’s fates together for life and death. This was the master and mistress’s wish, and they got what they wanted. They must be very happy now.”

 

President Huo’s expression changed slightly, and he opened his eyes.

 

After his differentiation, young Huo Lan was never allowed to see the mistress again. The butler guessed he didn’t know about this and patiently explained: “It’s a charm from a temple, said to be effective if your heart is sincere. Many people go to seek it.”

 

The butler tried his best to divert his attention: “Would you like to seek one with Mr. Liang? It’s just at-”

 

President Huo said softly: “No.”

 

The butler was taken aback.

 

“There’s no need for a shared fate in life and death.” President Huo half-crouched down, looking at the tombstone that had been wiped clean of dust. “If I die someday, he should still live well.”

 

The butler hadn’t expected him to think about this and was startled: “You-”

 

“I’ve made a will, and I’ll have it notarized in some time.”

 

President Huo: “The company will be properly arranged, and my assets will belong to Mr. Liang, without secondary division based on kinship.”

 

“Why are you suddenly thinking about this?” The butler was a bit anxious. “You’re in good health now, safe and sound without illness or calamity, and in our setting, there are no forces that could kidnap or harm you…”

 

President Huo frowned: “Don’t say such things, it’s inauspicious.”

 

The butler: “…”

 

The butler swallowed his words hard, weakly: “Yes, you were talking about your… will.”

 

“It’s just a precaution. In the future, every year, I will make adjustments based on changes in the company, but the asset division won’t change.”

 

President Huo: “The villa will belong to Mr. Liang, and whether to rent or sell will be entirely up to Mr. Liang’s decision.”

 

The butler ventured: “Why can’t Mr. Liang… live there himself?”

 

“If I die, all the staff will also be dismissed.” President Huo frowned. “With the villa completely empty, what if he’s afraid of ghosts?”

 

The butler gave up struggling, crouched down beside him, and conceded wholeheartedly: “…Yes.”

 

The butler roughly guessed his train of thought and gently probed: “Is it because of the master and mistress’s plane accident that you feel you should prepare in advance in case of any unexpected events?”

 

President Huo’s expression darkened.

 

“…” The butler didn’t really understand his classification of what was auspicious or not, but still closed his mouth, no longer saying inauspicious things, waiting for President Huo to continue with his will instructions.

 

President Huo was quiet for a while: “If he insists on living in the villa, tell me when he burns paper offerings for me.”

 

The butler opened his mouth but didn’t speak.

 

The butler secretly took a walnut from his pocket and placed it not far from President Huo: “…Alright.”

 

President Huo’s gaze fell on the walnut. After trying to resist for a while, he reached out and took it in his hand: “You can’t persuade him, I’ll tell him myself.”

 

The butler carefully imagined the scene of their President Huo personally telling Mr. Liang and reminded him: “You just said Mr. Liang is afraid of ghosts…”

 

The butler, seeing the small snowflakes above his head, stopped talking and closed his mouth.

 

“He should live well, be able to do whatever he wants, buy whatever he wants, and… not memorize books if he doesn’t want to.”

 

President Huo squeezed the walnut, lowering his eyes and speaking softly: “I don’t want a shared fate in life and death.”

 

The butler looked at him quietly, his heart aching: “But Mr. Liang might miss you.”

 

President Huo shook his head: “He is much stronger than me.”

 

Liang Xiao was actually much stronger than him. Even when ground down and crushed by fate, covered in wounds, he could catch his breath and then smile as he got up again.

 

President Huo felt uncomfortable under the butler’s stare and frowned slightly: “I won’t die, it’s just a hypothesis.”

 

The butler, who in a few days would have to help him print and notarize this hypothetical will, exhaled and said weakly: “Yes.”

 

“He will adjust himself well. Even if he misses me, he won’t allow that state to continue for too long.”

 

President Huo: “He actually doesn’t allow himself to truly show weakness.”

 

The phone placed to the side vibrated twice. President Huo didn’t pay attention to it and continued: “If he really misses me, he will just endure it himself and stop thinking about it.”

 

The butler picked up the phone: “Yes.”

 

President Huo lowered his gaze.

 

He still clearly remembered the force with which Liang Xiao, delirious with fever, had desperately hugged him, crying hoarsely when affected by events from ten years ago.

 

“Until the next time he misses me.”

 

President Huo’s chest ached to the point of numbness, and he clenched his fist slightly: “He could probably force himself… to endure for ten years.”

 

The butler looked at the message notification: “…Yes.”

 

President Huo couldn’t help but frown deeply. He didn’t continue, pulling himself out of the near-obsession born from being entangled in his parents’ unexpected past and the branch family: “Whose message?”

 

The butler: “Mr. Liang’s.”

 

President Huo was slightly taken aback.

 

President Huo instinctively straightened up and adjusted his clothes: “What did Mr. Liang… say?”

 

“Mr. Liang says,” the butler read, “he misses you very much and asks if you miss him too? If not, he’ll wait ten seconds and ask you again.”

 

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