“It wouldn’t matter if he did,” Huo Boyan said calmly. “I’m dating a guy. I don’t need his approval.”
It wasn’t that he feared Huo Junlin’s reaction; he just worried it would affect their brotherly bond.
Before Zhu Ran could say more, Huo Boyan changed the subject, pinching his cheek. “You’re going to be late for work. Pack up—I’ll drive you to the gallery.”
“Oh.” Zhu Ran nodded and grabbed his phone as he left.
The bulletproof sedan merged into Hong Kong Island’s narrow, dense traffic grid. This time, besides the driver, there was a strange adult man in the passenger seat.
Zhu Ran only glanced once before Huo Boyan explained, “My personal bodyguard. Things haven’t been stable around me lately. I’m worried they might target you, so I’ve arranged protection for you and your family too.”
Zhu Ran tensed immediately. “Is it serious? Are you in danger?”
Huo Boyan paused, then countered, “Why aren’t you worried about yourself?”
Zhu Ran truly lacked any sense of crisis. For the past twenty years, he had lived in the country with the best public security. Aside from the occasional elbow, shoe, or backpack assault on crowded buses and subways during school, he had never experienced anything like this TV drama scenario. Though Huo Boyan made it sound grave, it all felt distant to him.
Before Zhu Ran could respond, Huo Boyan smiled and teased, “You like me that much? Not even caring about your own safety?”
Zhu Ran was speechless and pulled a straight face. “Huo Boyan, I’m being serious.”
“It’s fine,” Huo Boyan pinched his fingertip, a sharp glint flashing across his still-gentle face. “Huo Zhixiao has way more wife, kids, and family than I do. They’re all under my watch. If he has any brains, he won’t touch you. I arranged this just in case.”
Zhu Ran finally relaxed, though pressure settled in belatedly.
Huo Boyan hugged him and said tenderly, “Sorry for dragging you into this, but it won’t last much longer.”
Whether from firm confidence or to reassure Zhu Ran, Huo Boyan stated assuredly, “It’ll be over soon.”
On the surface, the Huo Corporation family remained calm, with media even reporting a recent collaboration. The press release came from Huo Tinghua’s secretary office, the photo showing the family happily together, intimate and harmonious.
But insiders knew that beneath this fragile peace, the battle between Huo Boyan and Huo Zhixiao had intensified.
Zhu Ran’s life continued as usual. He went to the Wang Zhuoying Gallery three days a week, but his regular sedan had been swapped for a bulletproof one, and two bodyguards shadowed him discreetly.
The good news was that his boss Vivian had finally secured an exclusive agency deal with that artist. No coffee run this time—Vivian treated him to a proper dinner.
Zhu Ran truly admired his temporary supervisor. Amid a gallery full of rich second-gen employees who had studied abroad, Vivian was the only one who had quit her job on the mainland and switched careers to art management in her thirties.
“There was that trendy phrase a few years back about rebooting your life,” Vivian smiled and turned to Zhu Ran. “I didn’t have much confidence then—just wanted to take a gamble. But it looks like it turned out okay.”
With that, they left the restaurant together. Vivian asked how he was getting home. Zhu Ran had already spotted Huo Boyan’s car but couldn’t say it outright, so he vaguely said he had something else to do. It was just a casual question anyway, and seeing he was busy, Vivian left on her own.
Zhu Ran immediately yanked open the car door and slipped inside. Before he could greet him, Huo Boyan’s kiss landed. Zhu Ran didn’t resist, parting his lips to deepen it.
They met so infrequently now, and it was hard to find time to spend the night together.
Huo Boyan was busier than ever, and Zhu Ran lived with Wang Ruyun. The last overnight stay had nearly exposed them, so he didn’t dare make excuses to go out again.
Thanks to Vivian’s dinner today, Zhu Ran could steal this moment with Huo Boyan.
When the kiss ended, both were breathing raggedly. The driver pulled onto the main road and slowed down.
Huo Boyan stared at Zhu Ran’s lips. “You drank?”
Afraid Huo Boyan would be upset, Zhu Ran mumbled, “Yeah, just two glasses of sake…”
Huo Boyan felt displeased. Just imagining Zhu Ran dining, drinking, and smiling with someone else ignited a fire in his chest.
But he knew his possessiveness was unreasonable. Zhu Ran had a social life; he wasn’t Huo Boyan’s pet. He had no right to interfere.
Still, he wasn’t happy. He hadn’t even had Japanese food or sake with Zhu Ran. Yet this Vivian woman, just his boss, got to.
“Zhu Ran, let me be your boss.” Huo Boyan blurted out of nowhere.
Zhu Ran: ?
“Huo Boyan, did work fry your brain?”
Huo Boyan didn’t reply, instead biting Zhu Ran’s lip punitively, overwriting the last trace of alcohol breath before reluctantly releasing it.
He didn’t want to seem too eager, as if meeting Zhu Ran was just for making out. But two seconds after parting, looking at Zhu Ran’s moist, affectionate eyes, he overturned his own resolve.
He nipped Zhu Ran’s lip again, lost to lust as he murmured, “What to do? I really want to whisk you away.”
Zhu Ran couldn’t answer Huo Boyan’s question—he knew he’d agree without hesitation if he opened his mouth.
Luckily, Huo Boyan didn’t need a response and sealed their lips with another kiss.
The sedan cut through the thick night, stopping beneath the lush phoenix tree in Shallow Water Bay’s Mid-Levels district, but neither of them mentioned getting out of the car.
Zhu Ran was immersed in this overwhelming pleasure, completely oblivious even when someone passed by outside the window. Just a short while ago, he would have trembled in fear at the sight of a stranger.
Habits were truly terrifying. In just a few days, he had already grown bold enough to make out with Huo Boyan in the car without batting an eye.
But Huo Boyan was ultimately a man of propriety, and Zhu Ran had his reservations too—they couldn’t possibly go all the way right there in the car.
It was already 11 p.m. Even with evening engagements, heading home at this hour was a bit too late. Zhu Ran didn’t dare linger. He hastily straightened his disheveled clothes and reluctantly climbed off Huo Boyan.
Huo Boyan sat in the back seat with his legs spread wide, his breathing still unsteady. His clothes were even more rumpled than Zhu Ran’s, but he made no move to fix them. Instead, he reached out with one hand and gripped Zhu Ran’s wrist, his deep gaze falling upon him, making Zhu Ran’s heart soften and his face heat up.
“Alright, I have to go back now.” With that, Zhu Ran steeled himself, pulled his hand free, and shut the car door.
But the next moment, the window rolled down, and Huo Boyan poked his head out from inside.
Zhu Ran thought he had something to say and leaned down. “What’s wrong?”
In the instant that followed, Huo Boyan yanked his upper body into the car, sealing his lips once more.
When Zhu Ran entered the house, his face was still flushed. He stood in the garden for a full two minutes, making sure nothing seemed amiss before going inside.
He didn’t notice that in a bedroom on the villa’s third floor, whose balcony faced the main gate, one window stood wide open.
