【Huo Yin, I know what you’re thinking, but do you even have the nerve? My Baby is just such a tiny little girl.】
【My daughter isn’t allowed to play mommy for that mangy mutt without my say-so (eyeroll).】
【That said, I kinda wanna see Little Lili’s reaction to being called mommy. Bet it’d embarrass her to death—she’d probably kick someone with those little rabbit legs of hers.】
【Yep yep, I’m ready, I’m ready!】
【Little mommy, I’ve laid down nice and comfy. Hungry hungry, feed me feed me!】
Huo Yin felt those two words rolling around endlessly between his teeth. He didn’t know how much self-control it took him to force them back down his throat.
He really wanted to say them. But right now, the time might not be ripe.
Lifting his gaze, he met Bern’s amused and challenging stare.
An explosion went off in Huo Yin’s ears.
Fuck it.
Why worry about so much? If he wants to call it out, then call it!
“He is my—”
Luo Li suddenly kicked him. The little leather shoe connected squarely with the man’s calf, making Huo Yin suck in a sharp breath of pain. Bern burst into unreserved laughter.
“Why so tense? I was just joking.” Bern said. “Huo Yin and I already knew each other from our student days in France. I didn’t need him to tell me who he is.”
He paused, then shifted gears. “I heard the Little Madam ran into some gunfire yesterday. How are you holding up? No injuries, I hope?”
Luo Li’s fingertips clenched tight in an instant.
“. . . None.”
“That’s a relief. If those blind fools had hurt you, I’d be heartbroken.”
Huo Yin let out a cold laugh. “I think Mr. Bern can drop the fake concern. Everyone knows the Huo Family and you don’t see eye to eye. For all they know, you might have arranged the whole thing yourself.”
He had met this man while studying abroad, and they’d rubbed each other the wrong way from the start.
But he knew Bern had his uses, so for the sake of the Chamber of Commerce, he could cooperate with the foreign devil.
Daring to lay a hand on Luo Li, though—that had crossed Huo Yin’s bottom line.
He wouldn’t let this greedy lunatic off the hook.
As Luo Li listened, the flush on his soft, pinkish little face drained away bit by bit, turning pale.
Those gunmen, and even the driver—they were all this foreigner’s men, weren’t they?
It was all because of this guy that he’d nearly lost his life.
Remembering that night’s scene, Luo Li couldn’t help shivering in lingering fear.
Seeing the boy’s guarded expression, Bern knew Luo Li was convinced he’d sent the gunmen. A stiffness flickered across his smile for a moment.
But he recovered quickly. “Looks like I picked the wrong time to show up at this banquet. Now I’m getting my motives questioned.”
Bern regretfully donned his top hat and raised his glass of wine. “In that case, I won’t impose on the Little Madam to drink with me. I’ll take my leave first.”
Luo Li went on high alert at once.
He’s leaving? But Huo Cheng had said they needed to corner him at this banquet.
If this guy slipped away, what about the inheritance…
“W-Wait!”
He suddenly snatched the lychee wine from Bern’s hand. “I… I’ll drink it.”
Before Huo Yin could stop him, Luo Li squeezed his eyes shut and downed the whole glass.
A sweet, faintly spicy flavor flooded his throat in an instant. The alcohol was light—more like sweetened water.
Bern looked startled for a second as the boy stepped right up to him, mere inches away. Having gulped it too fast, a few drops trailed down his pointed chin onto his chest. A misty haze clouded those almond-shaped eyes.
Reflexively, Bern pulled out a handkerchief and gently dabbed at the boy’s flushed lips.
Luo Li dodged his hand in annoyance, only to hear the foreigner lower his voice to a whisper meant just for them.
“I’m truly sorry, little cutie.”
“I only meant to kill Huo Cheng. If I’d known he’d drag you everywhere with him, I never would’ve let them act so rashly and scare you.”
His smile remained mild and gentlemanly.
“I’ve already dealt with those men. No need to keep around dogs who botch the job. Can you forgive me, little cutie?”
Luo Li’s pupils contracted, his face growing even paler as he backed away awkwardly.
What a timid thing. Bern thought. Like a little rabbit… a little doe rabbit.
He knew full well this was bait Huo Cheng had sent out, yet he still took the hook willingly.
He even wanted to cherish him, cradle him in his palm, stroke his trembling back from fear, let this skittish young doe nestle in his arms—apologizing to him all the while, inching ever closer.
Bern felt himself spiraling out of control.
Just then, a massive crash echoed as something shattered, followed by a chorus of startled cries nearby.
“Did the lights go out? Power failure?”
“Anyone there? Waiter! Waiter!”
Chaos erupted in the banquet hall. People kept bumping into him nonstop. In the pitch dark, Luo Li lost all sense of direction, unable to see or hear clearly. He could only cling to the wall to stay upright.
And right at that moment, a task prompt popped up in front of him.
【Task Four: Stop Huo Cheng from finding Bern. Help Bern escape the hotel.】
…Heavens.
Why didn’t this task show up sooner? If he’d known, he wouldn’t have drunk that wine—he could’ve just let Bern go!
Luo Li wanted to cry. Worse still, that drink—which had tasted just like sweet water—packed a brutal afterburn, leaving his head fuzzy and spinning.
He could barely walk straight anymore.
Luckily, the crowd was surging toward the exits too. Caught up in the flow, he soon heard the doors swing open. He stumbled once, then made it into the corridor.
The entire hotel seemed to be blacked out—even the areas outside the hall were shrouded in darkness. Amid the clamor, Luo Li strained to make sense of the noise. Suddenly, he caught some broken Chinese.
“Where is he? Mr. Bern.”
“Have you seen him?”
It sounded like Bern’s men searching for him.
A waiter replied hurriedly, “Terribly sorry, it’s chaos right now. Please wait a moment—we just spotted Mr. Bern and will bring him over shortly.”
Another waiter chimed in, “Please don’t wander off, Mr. Huo Cheng is on his way. The banquet isn’t over yet…”
At that point, Bern’s men switched to English, calling out for him.
It looked like they’d finally reunited with their boss after the crowd separated them.
Luo Li overheard the nearby waiters too—likely under Huo Cheng’s orders to keep eyes on Bern and stop him from leaving.
Now that Bern was back with his subordinates, escaping Huo Cheng’s watch would be tough…
“Little Seven, Little Seven, what should I do?”
007 stayed silent for a beat. “My access only lets me guide you out of the hotel.”
That would have to do.
Bern’s foreign lackeys looked like headless chickens… Better for Luo Li to lead Bern out himself, following 007’s directions.
Luo Li bit his lip and headed toward the voices of that group of foreigners.
But his vision was growing blurrier by the second.
That tiny bit of wine had such a fierce kick?
The dark corridor was packed shoulder-to-shoulder. He thought he heard Bern’s voice.
Without a second thought, Luo Li grabbed hold of the man’s arm.
Forcing down his drunken haze, he whispered in a soft, mushy tone, “D-Don’t talk. They’ll recognize you.”
“And don’t worry about me or why I’m doing this. Just follow me, got it?”
Bern’s body stiffened for an instant, then he smoothly drew Luo Li’s slender little arm closer into his own.
A hot fog clouded Luo Li’s eyes. It was already pitch black—he could barely see a thing before, and now even less.
His ears and neck burned. His legs felt wobbly too. He’d meant to drag Bern outward, but his steps grew unsteady. Before long, he needed the man to support him instead.
“That drink of yours… it’s so weird.”
The boy rubbed his eyes. His warm breath puffed onto the back of his hand—even he found it scorching. “I told you… I don’t drink.”
Bern hesitated, then reached up to brush his earlobe.
He flipped his palm over, cupping the boy’s cheek, and gently kneaded it.
Luo Li squirmed away from the warmth of his hand with a tiny, displeased whine.
He tried to follow 007’s guidance for directions, but for some reason, 007 had gone completely quiet. It felt off.
Like it wanted to say something but held back.
Luo Li’s booze-soaked little head couldn’t puzzle it out. They were almost at the stairs when Bern suddenly halted.
Luo Li got annoyed and tugged at the man’s sleeve, stubbornly determined to pull him along.
But Bern wouldn’t budge.
“Are you an idiot or what?”
Luo Li huffed. “Huo Cheng wants to catch you—do you even know that? He used me as bait to lure you in…”
The phrasing felt off, but he didn’t notice. “I’m not exaggerating. It’s all because you hogged… uh, Master Huo’s assets. Huo Cheng hates your guts. That inheritance was supposed to go to him, the eldest son, you know?”
Both his small hands seized Bern’s large one, urging him onward with all his might.
“Everything I said is true…”
“Huo Cheng told me himself. He thought I’d side with him. Hmph, as if.”
He hadn’t rehearsed the lie, and now he faltered, unsure how to keep it going.
Maybe it was the alcohol making him bold. He hesitated, then put on a sticky, aggrieved act. “It’s because he’s… Master Huo’s son.”
“The one in my belly is Master’s real child, though…”
“Why should the inheritance go to him…? I’m not helping him.”
Bern seemed to buy the explanation. He gripped Luo Li’s hand in return and followed him downstairs.
Luo Li felt a bit more at ease, though a sliver of doubt lingered in his heart.
Why did it feel like… Bern was being too quiet?
He was usually such a chatterbox, always spouting weird nonsense—a total pain in the neck. This sudden silence was making Luo Li uneasy instead.
They descended the stairs floor by floor and soon reached the second floor.
This level was lined with suites for the guests, spaced well apart. Faint laughter floated from the women, laced with panic and coquettish protests.
Someone was probably using the blackout as cover to cop a feel from the ladies.
Luo Li led Bern forward a few steps, only to run into a man and woman at the corner.
The woman pushed him away. “Hey, what if someone sees us?”
The man chuckled lowly. “It’s pitch black here—who could see anything? Why not seize the moment…”
Suddenly, the wet sounds of lips and tongues entwining cut through the chaos, stark and jarring. Luo Li’s ears burned as he tried to hurry past them—but at that instant, Bern clamped down on his hand.
Bern refused to move. He planted himself right beside the kissing couple and stayed there until they slipped sideways into a suite and shut the door behind them, muffling the noise completely.
Then Bern tugged Luo Li’s hand and pushed open the door to another suite.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
Luo Li couldn’t figure out his intentions.
“This is around Huo Cheng’s suite… What are you doing coming in here? What if he comes back?”
But Bern snaked an arm around his waist, let out a muffled grunt from his throat, and pinned him against the bedside table.
Only then did Luo Li jolt all over.
A horrifying possibility flashed through his mind.
Right after, a familiar husky voice sounded by his ear.
” Bern”—no, Huo Cheng seized his chin, his deep magnetic baritone rumbling out.
“Who were you planning to sneak out with?”
