The more Luo Li acted like this, the less at ease Chu Jing felt.
But things had already gone this far—there was no turning back. Even if he wanted to change his mind now, the Huo family already knew about Luo Li’s existence. They wouldn’t just let it slide.
Perhaps it was Luo Li’s panicked expression that finally calmed him down a little. Chu Jing slowly released his grip, straightened up, and slid out of bed.
“Forget it.”
“It’s the thought that counts. Once I secure the inheritance, I’ll get you out of there as quickly as possible.”
Right.
Just hang in there a bit longer. It wouldn’t be much longer…
Worst case, he’d plant more eyes and ears inside to prevent any slip-ups.
Though that’s what he told himself, Chu Jing’s expression didn’t soften in the slightest. Luo Li shivered uncontrollably, hugging his knees as he curled himself into a tiny ball.
Fortunately, the man didn’t say anything more. With an irritated wave of his hand, he grumbled, “Enough. Go to sleep!”
…
No matter how much preparation they’d done beforehand, this was still happening in a rush. All that was left now was for Luo Li to handle things on the fly as best he could.
As he saw Luo Li off, Chu Jing issued one final reminder. “Remember this: by seniority, you’re their elder. Make them show you some respect, understand?”
Luo Li nodded, only half grasping it.
He was so young—how was he supposed to play the role of an elder?
Still, to keep Chu Jing from worrying, he nodded solemnly, pretending he had it all figured out.
~~~
Zhaohua Mansion.
A crowd of servants stood in the hall, holding their breath and keeping their eyes glued to the floor. They didn’t dare look up at the handsome young man seated in the grand central armchair.
Huo Cheng was the eldest son of the family and the one who most resembled Master Huo in bearing. Mature and steady, he adhered strictly to the household rules. No one in the mansion dared cross him—they all saw him as the true backbone of the family now.
Rubbing his brow, Huo Cheng asked, “…So you’re saying Father kept a male prostitute as his mistress outside?”
The butler who had brought the news nodded. “It seems they’ve been together for quite some time. That male prostitute has a few tricks up his sleeve—quite the coquettish and haughty type.”
Huo Cheng didn’t particularly care whether Huo Jieqi had racked up any romantic debts. What irked him was that this little hustler had chosen this exact moment to show up. His intentions couldn’t have been more transparent.
The butler continued, “What do you think? Should we give him some money and send him packing…?”
With Huo Jieqi dead, keeping a mistress around was nothing but extra trouble. Huo Cheng tacitly agreed. “Let’s see him first.”
~~~
Night had fallen, and the lamps were lit. A lavish dinner had been laid out in the mansion.
Luo Li arrived in a carriage from the Huo family. The little beggar had never ridden in anything so luxurious before. The interior was toasty warm, with seats lined in thick marten fur. Before he knew it, he’d dozed right off.
The carriage rattled on until it entered a wooded stretch of road. Then came a knock on the window from the coachman outside. “Little… sir. We’ve arrived at the mansion.”
The title felt awkward as all get-out, but Luo Li paid it no mind. He hopped down from the carriage and pulled his white trench coat tighter around himself.
Chu Jing had prepared the coat for him—the qipao was underneath. Chu Jing’s instructions had been clear: keep the coat on if no one questioned his identity. But if anyone doubted he was the mistress, take it off and act more seductive.
He hadn’t explained exactly how to pull off “seductive,” though.
As he made his way toward the mansion’s entrance, a wave of uncertainty finally washed over Luo Li.
“Little Seven, all three of the Huo sons are players, right?”
“Yes,” 007 replied. “They need to claim Huo Jieqi’s inheritance to lift the curse on them. Your main quest is to stop their curses from being broken. Snatching a share of the inheritance would be a great way to do that.”
With that, the Task Panel popped into view.
【Task One: Safely remain at the Ho Family Mansion without your identity being suspected by the players.】
It didn’t seem… too difficult.
Unfortunately, that thought had barely formed when it was shattered by an impatient shout.
“What for? I already said I’m not going!”
A young man in a crisp Western-style shirt stood just inside a doorway, his face twisted in disdain and malice. “Sitting at the same table as that kind of person? I’d rather drop dead.”
The butler cajoled him patiently. “Third Young Master, the Eldest Young Master is already there. How can you be absent? It’s just one dinner. If you don’t like him, we eat, pay him off, and send him on his way.”
But Huo Yin slammed the door with a thunderous bang, making it abundantly clear he had no intention of saving face.
With no other choice, the butler turned back—only to come face-to-face with a bewildered young man standing in the corridor. Those bright, watery almond eyes blinked once, twice, as he clutched at his overly long sleeve. “…I’m Luo Li.”
The butler’s heart skipped a beat. Had the boy overheard him suggesting they kick him out?
He hurried to reassure him. “Our Third Young Master was raised abroad since he was little. He’s got a stubborn streak and gets shy around strangers. It’s not that he’s deliberately skipping dinner.”
Luo Li hadn’t quite processed it yet.
Instinct told him more trouble was the last thing he needed, so if the Third Young Master didn’t want to come, fine.
But then he remembered Chu Jing’s advice: he had to put on airs, act all high and mighty, if he wanted the young masters to take him seriously.
A-all right, then.
He’d try putting on airs.
“Is he deliberately snubbing me?”
Luo Li planted his dainty little hands on his hips. Delicate brows furrowed into a tiny knot, and his soft pink lips pursed in a pout. “He looks down on me, doesn’t he?”
Now it was the butler’s turn to break out in a cold sweat. “Of course not! Please don’t take it the wrong way.”
“I’m his elder, at least! It’s our first meeting, and he won’t even have dinner with me? Does your family have no manners at all?”
Sweat beaded between Luo Li’s fingers. Every word out of his mouth had come straight from Chu Jing’s crash course—he’d only managed to memorize these lines.
Anything more, and he was at a loss.
“Yes, yes, of course. Please don’t get upset—you’ll only hurt yourself.”
The butler bobbed his head obsequiously. “Let’s go meet the Eldest Young Master first. I’ll try persuading the Third Young Master again.”
Luo Li huffed, putting on a show of reluctance before letting the matter drop.
…
In truth, his little heart was thumping like mad. He let out a huge sigh of relief.
Watching the boy’s slender, graceful figure retreat down the hall, the butler sighed inwardly to himself.
What a crafty one!
So young, yet with such lofty ambitions.
This mansion was in for some turmoil from here on out.
And upon closer inspection, it wasn’t just his cunning that stood out.
That nose was pert and soft all at once. Narrow shoulders, a face as tender and white as crystal jelly cake. Those thickly lashed almond eyes took up half his face, and every so often, he’d puff out his pale pink cheeks, squinting like some small, adorable creature.
…
He really was stunning.
He even smelled nice—not the cloying perfume of the brothels, but something fresh like newly bloomed flowers, the scent wafting straight into one’s nostrils.
Lost in admiration, the butler escorted him right into the grand hall, where dinner had already been laid out.
Luo Li’s calves trembled with nerves. The young man seated at the table glanced up and gave a cool nod. “Have a seat.”
Huo Cheng had a high nose bridge and deep-set eyes. He wore a brown wool overcoat, his features sharp and angular, already carrying the unmistakable air of a family patriarch. The moment he sat there, the entire room fell silent, heads bowed.
His gaze settled on Luo Li. “I hear you used to live in Jinzhou City’s East Alley.”
East Alley—the heart of the red-light district.
Luo Li bit his lip and murmured his assent.
“Master Huo was always busy with business. We never heard of him indulging in whores. So how exactly did the two of you meet there?”
Luo Li lowered his lashes. “That’s right.”
Huo Cheng took a sip of tea, clearly mulling it over.
“Father rarely spoke to us about his private life, so none of us knew you existed. But now that we do, we can’t very well ignore it.”
He shot the butler a look, and a redwood box was promptly brought forward.
“These are bank vouchers—good for thirty thousand silver dollars at the city bank. On top of that, there’s a land deed. We’ve already purchased a house for you in town.”
Huo Cheng slid the box toward him. “Take it. Consider this my way of honoring Father’s wishes.”
Luo Li was utterly dumbfounded.
How much money? And land? A house?? Had he heard that right?
With treasures like these, why bother with the inheritance? He could just grab the cash and bolt! He could live like a young master on the spot!
007 cleared his throat. “The task.”
Luo Li snapped back to reality. It took every ounce of willpower to shove the temptation aside.
He twisted his fingers together for a good long moment before managing to say, “I… I didn’t come here for money.”
Remembering Chu Jing’s endless instructions, he continued haltingly, “Master Huo told me he’d take care of me for life! Now that he’s gone, I… I still have his memento. I can’t just abandon him like that.”
His pink fingertips clenched tight at the memory of all that money he’d heart-wrenchingly pushed away. His heart ached.
“If I go anywhere but the mansion, people will gossip about me.”
“No matter what… you can’t make me leave….”
Huo Cheng watched as the boy’s eyes gradually reddened, suspicion blooming in his mind.
“You mentioned a memento. Mind showing us what it is?”
Luo Li blinked, caught off guard.
The Blood Beads were right there on his ankle—nothing to hide.
So he bent down and hiked up the hem of his trench coat. “Fine, take a look….”
He unfastened the little brown leather boot with its clasp, bit by bit. Cupping the heel in his palm, he eased it off. His right foot, wrapped in a white cotton sock, slowly slid free.
Huo Cheng’s expression changed in an instant. “You—”
Even if the other was a man, this act of removing his shoe was far too brazen.
Before he could stop him, this rule-breaking young hustler had already hooked a finger under the edge of his cotton sock and lifted that one snow-white foot—its lines soft and gracefully fluid—right up to him.
The Blood Beads swayed at his ankle, their vivid red glow blazing brightly and utterly eye-catching.
“Here, this is it.”
Huo Cheng frowned. He was just about to tell him to take it off for a closer look when an unfriendly grunt sounded from outside the door
“Hey.”
Huo Yin stood behind the door, hands jammed in his pockets, his expression exceedingly sour.
The young man cut a tall, lean, and athletic figure, clad in fashionable Western-style clothes that lent him a dashing, rakish air. Yet the innate arrogance between his brows refused to fade, and paired with his handsome features, it gave him the unmistakable aura of heaven’s chosen son.
Huo Cheng was a bit surprised. “A Yin, what are you doing here?”
“This is my house. What’s stopping me from coming? Or are you two up to something you don’t want me to see?”
Huo Yin came out firing on all cylinders. “Besides, wasn’t it this… auntie who wanted me here? Said I was deliberately snubbing him. How exactly was I snubbing him?”
First meetings were all about establishing dominance.
But this young man before him was far too aggressive, leaving Luo Li flustered and tongue-tied, unsure how to fire back.
007 cleared his throat. “For a hothead like this, don’t go full throttle. Try playing the victim card instead.”
Playing the victim…
Fine. Luo Li would give it a shot.
“I didn’t mean anything by it. I just wanted to have dinner with you two tonight.”
Luo Li’s voice came out soft and nasally congested, a complete one-eighty from his earlier arrogant, venomous attitude. He wasn’t cut out for verbal sparring, but as an ace Drum of Retreat, folding and playing weak was second nature.
“It’s so cold outside. I rushed the whole day to get here, and if I couldn’t even see you… I’d be really upset.”
Afraid of the cold?
Huo Yin sneered inwardly.
He had seen it with his own eyes just moments ago—that shameless young hustler lifting his leg right there in front of everyone, his plump, tender toes pointed toward Huo Cheng.
And that leg beneath the trench coat… it was bare, plain as day.
Not even wearing pants.
Dressed like that, and now whining about the cold?
