I’m Keeping the Overbearing CEO After He Went Bankrupt [Rebirth] 1

Chapter 1: The Overbearing CEO Asks to Be Kept

“Did you hear… that the head of the Huo family, that Huo Li guy, went bankrupt?”

“No way… that has to be a rumor.”

“Yeah, the Huo family’s business is massive. How could they just go bankrupt like that?”

Wine glasses clinked in the hotel lobby. The star of tonight’s banquet was the young miss of the Huo family. Even though rumors had been swirling recently that her eldest cousin, the current head of the family—Huo Li—had his company in the US go bankrupt, the young miss’s birthday banquet was still as glamorous as ever.

As the eldest son of the Huo family, Huo Li had first inherited the small entertainment company his family left him in the country. Using that as a stepping stone, he went to the United States in his early years to start his own business and quickly became a commercial magnate. His network of power was deep and complex, making him immensely wealthy and influential.

The Huo family’s domestic business was managed by Huo Li’s younger brother, Huo Liao. Few people knew the truth about Huo Li’s situation, so for now, it was all just idle gossip.

Chu Qing clutched his wine glass, standing to the side and listening to the group of people run their mouths. He frowned slightly, displeased.

“No, no… let me tell you, my younger brother works at Huo Liao’s company. He heard people say that the family head seems to have returned, and that there really are some financial problems.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely. I think he’s even here at the young miss’s birthday banquet tonight? Not that ordinary people like us would get to see him, though.”

Chu Qing froze.

“Excuse me.” Chu Qing took a deep breath and stepped forward to address the gossiping men and women. “We are currently attending a Huo family banquet. It’s probably best not to be discussing the head of their family behind his back…”

“Tsk.” One of the women shot Chu Qing a look, her attitude clearly one of disdain.

Chu Qing sensed her contempt. Seeing that they had quieted down, he didn’t linger and turned to leave.

“Who was that?” someone asked the woman curiously.

“That’s Chu Qing. You don’t know him?”

“Ah…! No wonder he looked so familiar. And no wonder he was defending the Huo family. Wasn’t there a rumor that he’s being kept by the younger Huo boss, that Huo Liao, the head’s brother?”

“That’s the one. Such a filthy person. He relied on his sponsor’s capital to get roles in a few big-name movies, then botched the performance, ruining the director’s hard work and the original novel. Then the news broke that he was being kept, and he got blacklisted by the entire internet.”

“What a shame… When he debuted, wasn’t he praised as some kind of creative genius with a pure and ethereal voice…?”

Chu Qing vaguely heard their words, but he didn’t care.

After a moment’s hesitation, Chu Qing decided to turn and head upstairs.

Huo Li’s brother, Huo Liao, was up there.

…

“Well, well. It’s rare for you to come looking for me on your own.”

The main hall was filled with unimportant guests, but the upstairs was for private gatherings. Huo Liao was in a private room and had dismissed everyone else when he heard Chu Qing had come to see him.

Huo Liao had a flippant look in his eyes and was dressed in a flashy red suit. He was lounging on the sofa like a good-for-nothing, the table before him littered with empty bottles and cigarette butts.

Chu Qing stood by the door and took a deep breath. “Is Mr. Huo Li back? Did he… did he really run into some kind of trouble?”

Huo Liao’s expression stiffened.

“So, it’s about my brother,” Huo Liao sneered, leaning back on the sofa with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Why don’t you go ask him yourself?”

Chu Qing remained motionless.

“Oh, or should I say, you don’t dare?” Huo Liao shook his head. “After all, you were just a poor student he sponsored years ago.”

Chu Qing’s brow furrowed slightly.

Huo Liao doubled down, getting up and walking over to Chu Qing with a grin. “Little Chu Qing, my brother doesn’t give a damn about you. He’s probably even forgotten your name. Wouldn’t you be better off with me? He can give you money, and so can I.”

As he spoke, Huo Liao leaned in, trying to get closer to Chu Qing.

Chu Qing held out a hand to stop him, his gaze lowered. “Please have some self-respect. I only came here to ask you a few questions. If you’re unwilling to answer, then forget it.”

Chu Qing turned to leave.

He had thought that Huo Liao might, at the very least, drop a few hints, but it seemed it was a lost cause.

“Stop!”

Huo Liao grabbed Chu Qing’s arm, pushed him against the wall, and seized him by the collar. “With the shady relationship you had with my brother, you think you have the right to ask about his current situation?”

“Mr. Huo Li and I have no shady relationship,” Chu Qing said through gritted teeth. “Back then… he sponsored my education, that’s all. The only person the public misunderstands me with is you.”

If Huo Liao hadn’t insisted on forcing resources on him, making a big show of replacing actors, and deliberately cornering him with threats and temptations, he wouldn’t have been misunderstood by the entire internet as having a relationship with Huo Liao, branded with the “kept” label.

“So what? In my brother’s eyes, you’re just a dog. You might be better off with me,” Huo Liao sneered.

Chu Qing retorted, “I may be a dog, but if you continue to pester me, I don’t mind blowing this up. When word gets to Mr. Huo Li, we’ll see who has a hard time.”

“You…” Huo Liao seethed.

From Huo Liao’s reaction, Chu Qing thought, it seems he’s tacitly confirming my brother is still abroad.

Having gotten the answer he wanted, Chu Qing pushed Huo Liao’s hand away and turned to open the door.

Huo Liao’s face twisted with rage, and he reached out to grab him.

Chu Qing dodged back a few steps, stomped hard on Huo Liao’s foot, and took the chance to escape.

“…Damn it. You dog,” Huo Liao cursed, leaning against the wall and clutching his foot.

Furious, Huo Liao slammed his fist against the door, the noise successfully attracting his nearby bodyguards.

“Hey! Come here.” Huo Liao crooked a finger at a bodyguard and whispered, “Do something for me.”

Heh heh, so Chu Qing thinks he’s so proud and aloof? In that case, I’ll just…

…

After going downstairs, Chu Qing was pulled into drinking a few glasses of wine. Soon, his head began to feel dizzy, and he decided to call a taxi and leave.

He was already an 18th-tier celebrity blacklisted by the entire internet; of course he didn’t have an assistant or a driver. And being drunk, he couldn’t drive himself.

“Ngh…”

Chu Qing frowned.

The feeling in his body was growing stranger and stranger; it didn’t feel like he was simply drunk.

Chu Qing shook his head and saw Huo Liao’s bodyguard walking towards him from a distance. Connecting the dots between the strange toasts from earlier and the odd feeling in his body, a chill ran down his spine. He immediately turned to run.

That bastard Huo Liao…!

The drug’s effects began to kick in. Chu Qing felt his limbs grow weak, accompanied by an indescribably awful sensation.

He could only force himself to stay conscious, using all his strength to run towards the nearest exit.

The bodyguard behind him quickened his pace.

Chu Qing stumbled out the door and found himself at the hotel’s back entrance. There was an asphalt road for cars to drop people off, but it was surrounded by lawns.

There was nowhere to hide.

The footsteps behind him grew louder. Frightened and anxious, Chu Qing ran forward aimlessly, pulling his phone from his pocket to call the police.

…He really, really didn’t want to make the “kept by Huo Liao” rumors a reality.

“Oof!”

He crashed headfirst into someone’s embrace.

Before Chu Qing could react, the person’s arms wrapped around him.

His vision went dark, presumably blocked by the man’s suit. The man was tall and had a faint scent of cologne, a restrained and calm fragrance.

Chu Qing instinctively struggled.

“Don’t move,” a man’s voice, hoarse and deep, came from above.

Chu Qing froze.

That voice…?

Although he hadn’t seen Huo Li in years, Chu Qing had never forgotten that voice.

However, before he could get a look at the man’s face, he groggily lost consciousness, his body slumping into the man’s arms.

Chu Qing seemed to vaguely hear the man order someone to “take care of” the bodyguard before he was carried into a car.

…

— — — —

The morning sun streamed in through the floor-to-ceiling windows as Chu Qing groggily opened his eyes.

His waist was sore, his entire body ached, and a certain indescribable part of him hurt even more. As he tried to sit up, he couldn’t help but let out a hiss of pain.

“You’re awake?”

Chu Qing stiffened. He turned his head rigidly and saw a tall man sitting on the edge of the bed, smoking.

For now, the man only showed him his back. And while that broad, taut back had elegant, smooth lines that clearly belonged to someone who worked out, the fingernail marks and scratches on it were a bit too conspicuous…

Chu Qing mechanically looked down and saw his own naked body.

And on the floor beside the bed was a pile of fabric—his clothes, plus a wrinkled suit.

…

???

Chu Qing’s mouth fell open.

Anyone with common sense would know what had happened.

The man extinguished his cigarette, tossed it into a nearby trash can, and then turned to look at Chu Qing. “I applied some medicine for you last night. Are you still uncomfortable anywhere?”

Huo Li handed a small bag of medicine to Chu Qing.

That one turn was all it took. Chu Qing was struck by lightning, frozen in place, staring wide-eyed at him.

This man… this man…

Isn’t that Huo Li?!

???

The man, who was nearly a decade older than him, was perfectly calm, his face still wearing that same stern expression.

He had strong, chiseled features, and his expression and posture radiated an air of cold indifference that kept people a thousand miles away, as if he were coated in a layer of ice.

Chu Qing had always known that this man had a presence so powerful and aggressive it could intimidate people just by standing there, his sharp aura enough to kill.

Those eyes were so cold they were almost without warmth.

But right now, this very person was shirtless and handing him medicine for… that place.

Huh???

“Mr. H-Huo…”

“Mm, I’m back.”

Huo Li picked up his white dress shirt and suit from the floor and began to put them on.

Chu Qing still hadn’t processed anything, his mind a complete mess. He dazedly replied, “…Why?”

“Because I’m bankrupt.”

“…?”

Wait… what bankrupt?

He’s really bankrupt?

Huo Li stood up and finished dressing by the floor-to-ceiling window, speaking with the same imposing air as if he were about to acquire the hotel. “It just so happens you slept with me, so you have to take responsibility. You can keep me from now on.”

Chu Qing: “???”

“I… I…”

Chu Qing was so stunned by Huo Li’s “you slept with me” and “take responsibility” that his mind went blank. He scrambled to sit up and grab his clothes, but the movement pulled on his lower body, and the pain made him sit back down.

Chu Qing glanced at his own body.

…It looked like an artist’s palette. The man across from him was a complete beast.

It was clear that Chu Qing was the one who had been thoroughly ravaged and needed someone to take responsibility for him.

Seeing this, Huo Li stepped forward to help Chu Qing with his clothes.

“Don’t, don’t come over!” Chu Qing clutched the blanket, looking like he was about to cry.

What kind of f*cking surreal world was this?!

Then, something even more surreal happened.

Huo Li held out his hand to Chu Qing.

Chu Qing: “?”

Huo Li said, his face impassive, “The fee.”

What…?

Chu Qing blinked. “Huh?” he managed.

“Didn’t I say you’re keeping me?” Huo Li said. “Last night, while we were doing it, you were shouting that I was bankrupt and that it was okay, you could sponsor me.”

Chu Qing said weakly, “It was sponsor… not keep.”

“But you slept with me.”

“…”

“So ‘sponsor’ became ‘keep’.”

“…”

Chu Qing felt that Huo Li…

…had completely broken character.

“I… I don’t have any money,” Chu Qing asked, still dazed. “Are… are you really bankrupt?”

“Yes.” Huo Li had already put on his suit jacket. Although it was a bit wrinkled, he still looked no different from the all-powerful CEO Huo who could command the wind and rain.

“It’s fine if you don’t have money. You can owe me,” Huo Li said, still perfectly calm, discussing this outrageous topic in a cold, level tone.

Chu Qing had lost the ability to speak.

Then, Huo Li held out his hand to Chu Qing again.

Chu Qing: “…I, I can’t pay you back right now.”

Besides, he had no idea how much Huo Li cost for a night. God knows why he would even need to know something like that.

“You have fifty yuan, right?” Huo Li crossed his arms and looked at Chu Qing.

“I do, but why do you need fifty yuan…”

Huo Li stated with utter conviction, “To take a taxi home.”

Chu Qing: “…”

With a blank expression, Chu Qing picked up his wallet, pulled out a fifty-yuan bill, and gave it to Huo Li.

“Thank you.”

Then Huo Li turned and walked towards the door.

Chu Qing: “…Where are you going?”

Huo Li: “To get a taxi, go home and pack my luggage, and prepare to move into my sponsor’s… your place.”

And then Huo Li left.

“…”

“??!”