Adopting and Raising the Male Lead and the Villain

by Usui Takumii

not mine, new novel . org

7. 121 to 140

Chapter 121 – I am Huo Chengming (3)

Chen Mingye came over before long.

When Zhong Yuhuan walked out of the front door of the Lang's, Chen Mingye's eyes lit up. He smiled and said, "Oh, you are so pretty today! Especially pretty today! This outfit looks great on you! If you stand in front of a camera, you'd look much better than many actresses!"

As soon as he finished, he received a cold stare from Lang Jinzhi.

Chen Mingye smiled and stopped. Feeling a little awkward, he changed the subject, "Come, come. Get in the car, you two! Let's go eat. My treat…."

Lang Jinzhi said nonchalantly, "I am treating."

Resigned, Chen Mingye nodded, "Okay, okay, you just like fighting over it. Sure! You can treat! Take me and your cousin somewhere expensive!"

Naturally, Chen Mingye didn't care about the cost of food; he was mainly joking with Lang Jinzhi.

Support our newn0vel(0rg)

Zhong Yuhuan, however, could tell from the exchange that the two of them were quite close.

Along with Secretary Cheng, they all piled into the car and headed toward a private restaurant.

Compared to when she went overseas, Zhong Yuhuan had changed a lot.

Her features had completely grown out, and she had grown taller and slenderer.

To put it lightly, had Young Master Nan really professed his love for Zhong Yuhuan a few years ago, he just might get arrested. He just might end up with 3 – 10 years of prison time!

That wouldn't be the case anymore…

No matter who professed their love to her or dated her, it would all be legal now.

Xu Yunhui might not even recognize her.

Well, one couldn't be too careful. When they got out of the car, Lang Jinzhi thought about it for a little before he pulled Zhong Yuhuan into his arms.

He has a large build and with his arms around her, Zhong Yuhuan's delicate and petite body was even less noticeable. All the more nobody would pay any attention to her.

It was already 11 PM after they finished dinner.

Dinner lasted for a little over four hours.

At least two hours of that was Chen Mingye yakking on all by himself and catching up with Lang Jinzhi.

By this time, it was entirely dark outside and not very many people on the street.

It's not a bad time to go over to the hospital now.

Chen Mingye drove and took everyone to the hospital. He even headed to the urgent care unit and faked having gastroenteritis.

As for Zhong Yuhuan, Lang Jinzhi, and Secretary Cheng, they've snuck upstairs quietly.

When they reached the right floor, Zhong Yuhuan took a look from afar and said, "What a coincidence… someone just walked out from his room."

"Xu Yunhui?" asked Lang Jinzhi.

Zhong Yuhuan chuckled and shook her head, "No, it's the actress. That wasn't surprising. As stubborn as he is, he could only be the one who wrong others but he wouldn't allow anyone else to wrong him. Naturally, he'd want to faceslap Xu Yunhui the first chance he got. Which was why he had this actress come over. Naturally, that'd force Xu Yunhui to make her next move."

Zhong Yuhuan walked toward Zhong Chi's patient room in quick steps.

"Aren't you worried that Xu Yunhui is nearby?" reminded Secretary Cheng right away.

Zhong Yuhuan shook her head, "If this actress is here, Xu Yunhui would for sure stay away to put up a show of how tolerant and open-minded she is. Plus, she had planned to take action again shortly. She wouldn't want to make herself look guilty by being here at this time."

Secretary Cheng couldn't help but chuckle. "You had it all figured out."

Zhong Yuhuan smiled and put on an innocent look.

She walked over to the patient room.

The bodyguard looked up at her and paused.

"I am Zhong Yuhuan," she said.

The bodyguard had also spotted Lang Jinzhi, etc. who were behind her and immediately let them through.

Somewhere else at the same time.

Young Master Nan had just walked out of a bar. He blinked and saw a small, black car parked in front of him.

There were two tall young men standing next to the car. Were they staring at him?

Young Master Nan was annoyed. He walked up to them and said, "What are you looking at?"

Li Jinyuan smiled and said, "C'mon over, let's have a chat."

"Chat your as….." Young Master Nan didn't get too far before he was stopped with a fist.

The familiar fist finally brought back his very painful memories of being beaten up by a little child.

"Godd*mn, you are Huo Chengming?"

"I am Huo Chengming." Huo Chengming gave him a switch kick and said, "Get in there. We need to talk."

Chapter 122 – Waiting at the Hospital (1)

Even Zhong Yuhuan was startled by Zhong Chi's current look, but she was able to calm herself down quickly. Carefully, she studied and memorized the way that Zhong Chi looked right now.

If the original owner was still around, she just might feel reconciled seeing him like that.

Zhong Chi, naturally, had no idea what was going through Zhong Yuhuan's mind. Seeing her in front of him, he finally remembered that he was a father and asked her how life was overseas.

The better her life was overseas, the stronger Zhong Chi's dislike for Xu Xing.

Zhong Chi finally couldn't help but let out a sigh and said, "It's better to raise you close by."

Regardless of their closeness to him or how good or bad they have grown up to be, Zhong Yuhuan was simply much more outstanding than Xu Xing in comparison.

Zhong Yuhuan asked, "Is it?"

Zhong Yuhuan's smile was a little bit peculiar but Zhong Chi didn't notice it.

Support our newn0vel(0rg)

Zhong Chi paused and asked, "When did you arrive?"

"I came as soon as the plane landed."

"You should go get some food then. Take a bodyguard with you," said Zhong Chi as he frowned, obviously recalling what Xu Yunhui had done again.

Zhong Yuhuan nodded agreeably.

She only meant to come and see what he looked like right now and be close by when the axe fell. She had never intended to wait on him by his bedside the entire time.

Zhong Chi wasn't worth that.

Zhong Yuhuan opened the door and summoned one of the bodyguards.

They didn't go very far but found a random restaurant that was nearby. Zhong Yuhuan had already eaten before she went to the hospital; she merely told Zhong Chi that she went straight from the airport. Naturally, she'd have to put up the front of having a little bit of food.

The bodyguard saw her serious look and assumed that she was upset. He didn't think anything was out of the ordinary and just stayed by her side quietly.

That detour took about two hours.

They left the restaurant and went back to the hospital.

Zhong Yuhuan walked around the garden for a bit.

When the bodyguard suggested for her to go back upstairs for some rest, his walkie-talkie buzzed.

"What's the matter?"

"Get over here now! Something has happened to Mr. Zhong!" The voice from the other end was distorted.

The bodyguard turned around and was about to start dashing before he remembered Zhong Yuhuan.

He quickly looked over at her and said in a low voice, "You should come with!"

Zhong Yuhuan nodded.

Lang Jinzhi said in a low voice, "I'll wait for you downstairs. Call me if you need anything." Having said that, Li Jinyuan gave the bodyguard a look. The bodyguard immediately felt a chill down his spine and couldn't help but add, "Don't worry, Young Master Lang. We will protect Miss."

Zhong Yuhuan followed the bodyguard back upstairs.

It was already chaotic upstairs. Zhong Chi's condition took a dive all of a sudden; he was undergoing multiple organ failure. He was pushed into ICU. Outside of the ICU, Assistant Zhao stood there stunned. He was pale with sweat pouring down his face.

He was just reporting to Mr. Zhong about matters at the office. They were two hours in when he suddenly….

Zhong Yuhuan stood calmly in the hallway.

It was much more chaotic when she died in her previous life. Witnessing this scene all over again, it didn't stir up much in her.

Xu Yunhui probably didn't expect that to happen so quickly either, so she wasn't able to arrive at the hospital very quickly.

Chapter 123 – Waiting at the Hospital (2)

Zhong Chi was still in ICU when Xu Yunhui and Xu Yushan rushed there, disheveled.

"Where's Mister? Where's Mister?" Xu Yunhui was pale and she was too weak to stand on her own two feet. Xu Yushan was the one who caught her fall. Even her voice was distorted slightly.

That was pretty good acting.

"You should just wait here…" She was stopped by the bodyguard.

Xu Yushan was infuriated by the action of the bodyguard. None of the Zhong's bodyguards treated her like she was the Miss of the family!

"What's the matter? Why are you trying to stop us? My dad is inside and we are worried!"

The bodyguard was unmoved by her words. "Madam and Miss Yushan, please join Miss and wait over there."

Support our newn0vel(0rg)

Xu Yushan was a little stunned when she heard that. She couldn't comprehend his words right away. "What did you just say?"

Xu Yunhui's reaction was much faster than her daughter's. Her face changed colors immediately, and she wasn't able to hide that. She turned and looked immediately and saw Zhong Yuhuan who was standing in the hallway.

Slender and tall, she had already grown into an attractive young woman.

Xu Yunhui felt as though a bucket of cold water had been dumped on her.

Xu Yushan blurted out, "Why are you here?"

At the same time, she was suddenly washed over by a pang of envy. Even though she already had a good marriage lined up; even though Zhong Chi was about to die and she would have everything she had ever wanted and Zhong Yuhuan would lose her backing… but Xu Yushan still couldn't help but felt envy toward her.

Zhong Yuhuan looked like a shining pearl by just standing there wordlessly and motionlessly.

She drew both attention and envy.

Zhong Yuhuan gave her she-was-being-ridiculous look and asked, "I shouldn't be here?"

Xu Yunhui pinched Xu Yushan on the back of her hand, which prompted Xu Yushan to control her emotions a little. "No, I was just curious. Aren't you overseas? Why did you come back all of a sudden?"

"Dad asked me to come back."

"That's not possible!" Xu Yushan blurted out.

Xu Yunhui pinched Xu Yushan again angrily.

Xu Yunhui's face changed colors, and she was barely able to contain herself, "Oh, I don't mean much by that. I just felt that your timing was very peculiar…"

Zhong Yuhuan gave her a cold sideways glance, "Oh."

Xu Yushan gritted her teeth. She felt looked down upon. Suddenly, she fell silent. She worried that she would blurt out something that would cause her problems.

As the time Zhong Chi spent in ICU increased, Xu Yushan became more and more manic gradually.

Especially when she could see Zhong Yuhuan's image every time she turned her head. That made her even more manic.

Xu Yunhui was able to contain herself originally, but she had just done some insane things. What if something went wrong now… she wouldn't be able to handle the consequences! So she, too, started to become worried.

Zhong Yuhuan became the calmest of all of them.

At a hotel 50 km out.

Inside a black sedan.

Young Master Nan was trapped in between Li Jinyuan and Huo Chengming and wasn't able to go anywhere.

Young Master Nan gritted his teeth in anger.

The two had grown even taller and could easily restrain him.

"We've heard that you are about to get married?" asked Li Jinyuan as he patted Young Master Nan lightly on his shoulder.

Young Master Nan gritted his teeth and refused to talk.

He shall not give in!

Huo Chengming also patted him on his shoulder, "Are you not going to talk?"

Young Master Nan suddenly remembered how he'd looked back in the free combat studio… Young Master Nan shuddered instinctively and said, "No, I am not getting married. Who said I am getting married?"

He was still waiting for Zhong Yuhuan. Thought Young Master Nan to himself as he grinded his teeth.

Especially when these two came specifically to instigate.

He wanted Zhong Yuhuan even more so than before!

Such is love!

Love was not meant to be easy!

He was determined to see it through to the end!

"Is that so? So why did we hear that your family is already preparing for your wedding," said Li Jinyuan as he smiled and patted Young Master Nan on his neck. Young Master Nan felt a prickly feeling on his neck and his entire body froze. He felt difficulty breathing all of a sudden.

Did everyone here practice free combat?

Holy sh*t!

Young Master Nan couldn't help but cuss to himself before he started, "I am not aware of that. It's the truth. I would have resisted!"

Li Jinyuan squinted at him. "Good then."

They were well aware of the type of person Young Master Nan was. He has had a string of girlfriends all this time so it wasn't surprising that he'd turn down his marriage to be able to goof around for longer.

Chapter 124 – Waiting at the Hospital (3)

Li Jinyuan stood up and let him through. "Alright. You can go now."

Huo Chengming gave him a kick on his butt and said, "Now get!"

Young Master Nan could only say another "god*mn" to himself. All this for love!

After Young Master Nan was gone, Huo Chengming had the chauffeur start the car again.

Li Jinyuan suddenly looked at him and said, "You seemed to have to change a bit."

He was more gangster-like the way he acted.

Huo Chengming returned a nonchalant look. "Haven't you too?"

Support our newn0vel(0rg)

Li Jinyuan smiled. "I guess you are right."

The two had an understanding and didn't elaborate further on their recent activities.

Li Jinyuan looked more serious and said in a deep voice, "I don't think this is the reason why Huanhuan returned to our home country."

"Then it must be something even more serious," said Huo Chengming and frowned.

Lin Jinyuan suggested, "Maybe we should just call her and see where she is now?"

Huo Chengming kept his lips shut tightly.

Li Jinyuan said, "…. Godd*mn it! Are you really that stubborn and still insisting on this surprise?" Li Jinyuan finally slipped and cursed. After he had finished cursing, he even felt a sense of superiority. Man, he is way more straight-lace than I am! How could he be so stubborn on such a cliché idea!

Huo Chengming frowned. "Okay. Let's wait till the morning. We'll call her in the morning."

Li Jinyuan rebutted, "I'll call her."

"No, I will call her."

"No, I will call."

No, I will…"

Chauffeur: "…"

Li Jinyuan squinted, "You called last time."

Huo Chengming: "….. Sh*t. Fine! Then you call! Whatever!"

After Li Jinyuan and Huo Chengming returned to the hotel, the thought of the call weighed down on them and they barely got any sleep. The next morning, Li Jinyuan woke up early, got dressed, and made the call to Zhong Yuhuan cleanly and tidily as though he was performing some sort of a ritual.

"Huanhuan."

Yeah?" Zhong Yuhuan's voice coming from the other end sounded a little tired.

"Where are you?" asked Li Jinyuan.

"At the hospital," said Zhong Yuhuan instinctively.

After that, she paused for a little bit and said, "You guys didn't return too, did you?"

"Which hospital?" asked Li Jinyuan, avoiding the questions.

Zhong Yuhuan gave him the address, resigned.

Li Jinyuan, "Wait for me there, Huanhuan."

He hung up after that.

Huo Chengming thought; what do you mean by 'Wait for me, Huanhuan'? Shouldn't she be waiting for us?" ****, did he not have a name?

Li Jinyuan, again, applied his skill of avoidance. "Let's go."

Huo Chengming wasn't exactly in the mood to be petty about the details either. The two of them turned, rushed down the stairs, and headed toward the hospital.

Zhong Chi was still in ICU.

Zhong Yuhuan had been up all night and was fairly tired.

Even more tired than her was Xu Yunhui and her daughter. Xu Yunhui's face that was propped up by expensive skin care products was now visibly aged and swollen. The same could be said about Xu Yushan. The two of them had worried all night long; that was a lot more damaging than just one sleepless night.

Zhong Yuhuan went downstairs to get some breakfast and also to wait for Li Jinyuan and Huo Chengming.

She called Lang Jinzhi as she was on her way downstairs to see where he was.

As soon as Zhong Yuhuan stepped into the elevator, a crying girl also ran inside and even bumped into her.

Outside of the elevator, someone shouted, "Awesome! Just awesome! Ling Zhilan, you ungrateful piece of sh*t! You wouldn't even save your own brother! Get out! You get the hell out!"

Zhong Yuhuan paused for a second. Her brain even blanked out for a brief second.

Zhong Yuhuan couldn't help but turn and look at the girl.

The girl has on a pony tail and the most popular short sleeves and pants from Taobao. Her style wasn't outstanding and even a little bit outdated, but she was elegantly pretty. Her lips were pressed together tightly, her look was stubborn, and her eyes sparked.

….. This was the original female lead!

This was the scene right after the original female lead was reborn in the original novel!

Had she not heard the name out of the blue, Zhong Yuhuan had almost completely forgotten about the female lead's existence!

Chapter 125 – We Have All Grown Up (1)

"What are you looking at?" The girl suddenly looked up at Zhong Yuhuan and her tone was a bit cold.

Zhong Yuhuan quietly turned away her gaze and asked, "Would you like some tissue?"

"No," said the girl coldly.

Oh, she almost forgot.

Immediately after the female lead's rebirth was when she started to shine and was filled with anger.

It would be best if she didn't walk right into her warpath.

Zhong Yuhuan quietly shifted closer toward a corner.

That was when Zhong Yuhuan's cellphone started to ring. She fished it out and took a look. Caller ID indicated that the call came from Li Jinyuan.

Support our newn0vel(0rg)

Zhong Yuhuan couldn't help but take another look at the female lead, Ling Zhilan. Zhong Yuhuan couldn't describe how she currently felt.

She answered the call.

Li Jinyuan's voice came from the other end, "Huanhuan, we are downstairs now. Which floor are you on?" His voice sounded worried

Zhong Yuhuan paused for a second, then immediately responded, "Just wait for me downstairs. I am not ill. I'll explain when I meet up with you."

Li Jinyuan's voice returned a little toward normal, "Okay, I'll wait for you."

And, just like that, he had excluded Huo Chengming again.

On his end, Huo Chengming's face darkened a little.

Li Jinyuan pretended that he didn't see it and just stared in the direction of the elevator lobby.

The elevator arrived on the first floor quickly. The door opened and Zhong Yuhuan walked out. Ling Zhilan fell back a step behind her and also walked out of the elevator.

Zhong Yuhuan spotted Li Jinyuan and Huo Chengming immediately.

They had grown progressively taller and stronger, pushing 1.9 meters. One of them had on a sports jacket and the other one was in a suit. The two of them standing there were as attractive as a scenic spot.

Their faces, though, hadn't changed much.

Perhaps she had been with them for too long already, she no longer felt anything special about their looks.

Zhong Yuhuan walked up to them.

Before she could say anything, Li Jinyuan pulled her into his arms.

He pressed gently on her back and said in a low voice, "You are not the one who is ill?"

Zhong Yuhuan wasn't sure how to react to his hug. Plus, due to the height difference, her face was buried almost entirely into his chest. She could only reply with a muffled voice, "Oh, not me. My dad."

Huo Chengming was frowning originally and staring at Li Jinyuan's action.

But after he heard her words, he stopped frowning. This was not the time and place. He asked in a low voice, "What happened?" After he had said that, he reached out and pulled Zhong Yuhuan out of Li Jinyuan's arms and carefully studied her appearance.

"You didn't sleep last night?" Huo Chengming could tell right away.

"Ugh, I couldn't sleep. He's still in the ICU."

Huo Chengming also pulled her into his arms and said, "Huanhuan… it will be alright."

"Huanhuan, it will be alright," said Li Jinyuan also as he, too, wrapped his arms around them.

The two tall and strong young men just trapped her in the middle.

Zhong Yuhuan felt that she had turned into a biscuit sandwich, "…"

She definitely felt that she was handling it fine when they were kids.

Back then, she could handle both the male lead and the villain at the same time, with room to spare!

Why did it seem so much more…. difficult after they have grown up? Was it because she was too short?

Zhong Yuhuan wasn't sure what to make of that.

"I am alright," said Zhong Yuhuan.

As she was saying that, she saw Ling Zhilan through the gap. Ling Zhilan suddenly turned around when she reached the hospital entrance and looked over at Li Jinyuan, then at Zhong Yuhuan.

Zhong Yuhuan, "?"

The male and female lead shouldn't know each other at this point yet?

Ling Zhilan also noticed Zhong Yuhuan looking at her and turned around and walked out of the hospital.

On their end, Li Jinyuan and Huo Chengming were completely oblivious about that. They didn't care about others looking at them. If it wasn't the location right now, they would have picked her up in a hug and coax her.

That was the one thing that they wanted to do most when they were young… when she was unhappy or down on her luck, they hoped that they could grow taller and stronger as quickly as possible. That way they'd be able to wrap their arms around her. She was so slender and petite, they could for sure wrap her in their arms.

Finally, Zhong Yuhuan found it difficult to breath and pushed the two of them off.

After the two tall boys moved to the side, Zhong Yuhuan immediately felt a breath of fresh air.

"I am fine. Really. I am."

Chapter 126 – We Have All Grown Up (2)

Li Jinyuan suddenly lifted his hand and touched her on her cheek. His fingers were a little warm. Startled, Zhong Yuhuan took half a step back.

Li Jinyuan pulled his arm back, feeling a little at lost. Her cheek, it was so pleasant to touch.

Zhong Yuhuan stopped herself on her tracks.

This time it was Huo Chengming who lifted his hand. He pressed his hand where Li Jinyuan had touched earlier. Rubbing her cheek, he said in a low voice, "It's cold. You must have cried."

"I didn't," said Zhong Yuhuan as she touched her own cheek. It was just a bit on the cool side, but Huo Chengming and Li Jinyuan wouldn't believe her.

Li Jinyuan asked her tenderly, "Have you eaten anything yet, Huanhuan? Let's go get some food, hmm?" He sounded like he was coaxing a child.

This was like a role reversal of how she was taking care of them when they were still kids as though they were toddlers.

Support our newn0vel(0rg)

"I was just about to go get some food. I assume you haven't eaten either? Let's go buy some food and we can eat on our way back. I can't be gone for too long." She still needed to keep an eye on Xu Yunhui.

It was a bit of a hassle, indeed. But this was the critical moment. Better to put up with some hassles now and be done with it once and for all.

"Okay, then let's go get some food and eat on our way back." As they were talking, the two of them flanked Zhong Yuhuan once again.

They have always been walking like that, nothing out of the ordinary.

But now Zhong Yuhuan felt a little bit odd.

Zhong Yuhuan asked, "Don't you think we look like a basin from the back when we walk like this?"

"A basin?" asked Huo Chengming, baffled.

Zhong Yuhuan lifted a finger and drew up the outline of the three of them in the air, "Isn't this like a basin?"

Li Jinyuan smiled and said, "Is Huanhuan unhappy that you are now shorter than us?" Having said that, Li Jinyuan suddenly reached out, wrapped his arm around her waist, and lifted her straight up.

He had been wanting to do it for a while now.

Zhong Yuhuan: ?

She was stunned.

And didn't even know how to think for a while.

Since when had Li Jinyuan become so sturdily built?

Li Jinyuan smiled and said, "Now we are no longer a basin."

Zhong Yuhuan, "…"

But now we have just turned into a hilltop!

That didn't look much better either!

Zhong Yuhuan had completely forgotten that when they went to Cornwall for fun a while back, she had said something similar and Huo Chengming had picked her up. She had mentioned that to Li Jinyuan afterward and said how wonderful it was to be tall. And that even the air quality was better when one was higher up…

That had seared into Li Jinyuan's mind since then and he still hasn't forgotten about it.

Huo Chengming gave Li Jinyuan a look and frowned, but he didn't say much.

Li Jinyuan carried her all the way to the breakfast place. The boss lady looked at them, surprised, then smiled and said, "Bringing your little sister here to get breakfast?"

Li Jinyuan nodded happily.

Zhong Yuhuan couldn't help but tug him on his ear and said, "I'm his older sister."

Li Jinyuan just pretended that he didn't hear her.

The boss lady smiled and wrapped up the buns, shumai, and soy milk and handed them over to Huo Chengming who was standing to one side. Naturally he was also the one who paid.

Seeing that, the boss lady couldn't help but smile again, "You guys are so close. Not like in my house. My two kids fight with each other every day."

Huo Chengming had been keeping silent this entire time and finally he blurted out, "She is cuter."

The boss lady paused for a second and smiled from ear to ear, "Yes, yes. Cute sisters always make one wants to spoil them."

Zhong Yuhuan found her comment amusing and wanted to laugh, but she also felt a warmth feeling inside of her along with an odd sensation.

Where did they learn all these pretty words and all these bizarre actions from?

First, they went over to her school and wanted to give her a surprise. Then, they followed her back to their home country and each of them saying sweeter words than the last. Did they get some sort of training on this while she was in Sydney?

Zhong Yuhuan kicked Li Jinyuan a little and asked, "Let me down already. Aren't you tired?"

"I won't get tired of carrying you. Or I can carry you on my back as well," said Li Jinyuan with a smile.

Zhong Yuhuan shook her head and said, "No, thank you."

Li Jinyuan sighed all of a sudden. "You used to let me carry you on my back when we were in junior high. Now you won't let me do that anymore."

"That's because we were still kids back then." Zhong Yuhuan wasn't sure if she should laugh or cry at his comment.

See? Even Li Jinyuan had learned the art of talking! He has learned to talk about the past!

Chapter 127 – We Have All Grown Up (3)

After Zhong Yuhuan had finished saying it, she reached out to get the soymilk from Huo Chengming. Huo Chengming avoided her hand and said, "You start with the shumai. I got the soy milk. When you want it, you can drink from my hand."

Zhong Yuhuan nodded and took the shumai from him.

Li Jinyuan reached out for the soup dumpling, but Huo Chengming grabbed it and wouldn't let him have them.

Li Jinyuan smiled at him and said, "I am going to feed them to Huanhuan."

And that's when Huo Chengming let go of them.

The boss lady chuckled out loudly from behind them, "It's so nice to have two brothers. We only have one boy and he just bullies his sister day in and day out."

Zhong Yuhuan turned and smiled at the boss lady before she turned and kicked Li Jinyuan, "Call me big sister."

Support our newn0vel(0rg)

Even when he was kicked, Li Jinyuan was still smiling. He smiled and said to her, "Huanhuan."

Zhong Yuhuan sighed. She had really wanted a young brother. Now she no longer has one.

She knew from the day when Li Jinyuan changed the way he referred to her that this day would come.

The three of them hadn't quieted down at all since they've got together, not even through breakfast and all the way back to the hospital.

After they arrived back at the hospital, Zhong Yuhuan suddenly remembered Lang Jinzhi.

She gave the shumai to Huo Chengming to hold onto them while she fished out her cellphone.

"What's the matter?" asked Li Jinyuan, concerned.

"I want to give cousin a call."

Huo Chengming asked in a deep voice, "Your cousin came too?"

"Yeah, he came with me.

Huo Chengming and Li Jinyuan were both speechless immediately.

Zhong Yuhuan pulled out her cellphone and dialed the number.

She turned and saw the two trying to hide the emotions on their face and looking a bit peculiar.

Zhong Yuhuan asked, "What's the matter?"

Neither Huo Chengming nor Li Jinyuan said anything.

And just then, Lang Jinzhi had picked up the phone on the other end.

"Hello?" Lang Jinzhi's voice sounded a little hoarse.

Zhong Yuhuan thought to herself, was he up all night too?

"Cousin, where are you now?"

"Secretary Cheng and I are at the hotel next to the hospital. Is it all over yet?" asked Lang Jinzhi.

"No, not yet."

"Well, okay then. Let me know when it's all over and I will come and pick you up." Lang Jinzhi didn't even try to talk Zhong Yuhuan into getting some rest first. He was really trying to let her do things her way.

Zhong Yuhuan remembered Lang Jinzhi's usual crisp and concise manner and worried that he'd hang up the phone right away and quickly added, "Don't forget to get some breakfast, cousin."

"….. okay," replied Lang Jinzhi.

He didn't hang up the phone.

Zhong Yuhuan was a bit baffled. "Something else you want to talk about, cousin?"

"Oh, no, that's it," said Lang Jinzhi just now snapping out of it. He hung up after he had responded back to her.

Zhong Yuhuan put away her cellphone and was about to turn back to Li Jinyuan and Huo Chengming when her phone rang once again.

Zhong Yuhuan picked it up, and she heard a frantic voice. "Miss, where are you right now? Quickly! Come back to the hospital room… Master, Master is not going to make it…"

All of a sudden, Zhong Yuhuan was drained of all emotions.

That fast, eh?

Zhong Yuhuan walked quickly toward the elevator.

Li Jinyuan and Huo Chengming didn't say anything else. They just frowned slightly and looked a little worried. They didn't have the mood to be envious of Lang Jinzhi anymore. They followed behind Zhong Yuhuan quickly, throwing away the breakfast that was left in their hands on their way.

"Huanhuan, don't rush," said Li Jinyuan tenderly.

"You still have us," said Huo Chengming. He paused, then added, "Huanhuan, we have all grown up."

Grown up enough to be able to protect her and for her to lean on.

Chapter 128 – Now… Will She Think That He's A Great Cousin? (1)

Zhong Yuhuan went back upstairs. It was chaos outside of the ICU. Xu Yunhui leaned against the wall as though she was about to pass out. Xu Yushan kept on wiping away her tears and looking over at the elevator's direction at the same time. She was obviously checking to see whether Zhong Yuhuan had returned.

To her dismay, Zhong Yuhuan walked over and even smiled at her.

After Xu Yushan had recollected herself, she saw Li Jinyuan and Huo Chengming behind Zhong Yuhuan. She didn't recognize them right away and sneered at her, "Dad is at his critical moment right now and you brought friends with you? Does this look like the time and place for a gathering?"

Zhong Yuhuan casted her a glance and said nonchalantly, "They are also kids of the Zhong's. Why can't they be there? You are the one who shouldn't be here."

Xu Yushan was a little baffled before she finally recognized who they were. Zhong Yuhuan's words had also alerted her.

They, too, were children of the Zhong's…. that was right. Back then, Zhong Chi did recognize the two children brought home from the Social Services. So when it came time to divide up the inheritance… were they entitled to a part according to the law?

Plus, looking at how they have turned out, Xu Yushan couldn't help but think about Xu Xing, who was always criticized by Zhong Chi.

Support our newn0vel(0rg)

Comparing him with these two in front of her…

There was that much of a gap between them.

Xu Yushan gritted her teeth and looked at them with animosity. She met the gaze of Huo Chengming. Just one quick look and she shuddered and immediately retracted.

Her heart pounded and cold sweat broke out on her back. Even her breathing became more careful.

How, how could Huo Chengming look at her like that?

What made Xu Yushan feel even worse was that she felt genuine fear!

And then the door opened up.

The doctor walked out. Looking a little gloomy, he said, "We have done everything that we could. Mr. Zhong… Mr. Zhong had passed away at 10:12 AM…."

Xu Yunhui slid down against the wall onto the floor.

Zhong Yuhuan immediately said, "Assistant Zhao, notify the police, now!"

Assistant Zhao had already collected plenty of evidence under Zhong Chi's instruction. He didn't, however, expect Xu Yunhui would be so bold as to do it a second time so soon. And succeeded!

Assistant Zhao replied gravely, "I already did a little while ago."

This was when Huo Chengming and Li Jinyuan realized that Zhong Chi might not have died of natural causes.

Zhong Yuhuan suddenly felt a warmth feeling on the tips of her fingers, like someone had grabbed her hand.

She reflexively turned and looked.

She saw that Huo Chengming had subtly reached out and held the tip of her hand with his hand.

Zhong Yuhuan's look mellowed out a little. She pulled her hand out of Huo Chengming's grip and walked in front of Assistant Zhao. "Assistant Zhao, I think we need to have a talk."

Assistant Zhao nooded.

Boss Zhong was gone, and he had learned of the true nature of Xu Yunhui and her daughter. Xu Xing was the son of Xu Yunhui plus he was young. It'd look like the only one left to step into Boss Zhong's shoes would be Miss Zhong.

"Miss Zhong. Our thoughts are with you," said Assistant Zhao in a low voice, "Let's take care of Boss Zhong's funeral matters first."

Nobody expected Zhong Chi to die from such a dramatic poison plot. They had been keeping the words from spreading, but that would prove to be challenging from this point forward. And then, nobody could say for sure what would happen to the Zhong's stock price…

Xu Yunhui rubbed her temple, and her heart sank a little.

Now that Zhong Chi was gone and Zhong Yuhuan was just a little girl who had just come of age this year. What could she handle? Anyway one looked at it, Assistant Zhao should be talking to herself, right?"

Xu Yunhui couldn't help but chime in, "Assistant Zhao…"

Chapter 129 – Now… Will She Think That He's A Great Cousin? (2)

Assistant Zhao turned and looked coldly at Xu Yunhui as he spoke, "Madam, please wait here."

The bodyguards were still waiting nearby. Having heard Assistant Zhao's words, one of the bodyguards walked over. "Madam, please take a rest at the seat and take care."

They all have been telling her to take care of herself, but for some reason, Xu Yunhui didn't feel any genuine emotions behind the words. She even felt a chill, a chill that went to her chest then spread through all of her limbs.

"I am alright. What are we going to do with Master's funeral matters?" asked Xu Yunhui again.

Now that Zhong Chi was gone, there was no more need to pretend to be tolerant. She might as well just be open about her intentions. The timing of it all was only too important. If she missed her window, it might very well mess up her plans that follow.

Assistant Zhao said in a low voice, "Madam, Miss and our upper management will take care of that."

"Huanhuan is still so young. She might not be able to handle it." Xu Yunhui started to get a little anxious.

She thought she had been very thorough in what she had done. The family doctor from before had run away. Nobody would suspect her. After all, she had always been so docile with Zhong Chi… but now, what was going on?

Support our newn0vel(0rg)

Why did Assistant Zhao look like he was trying to exclude her?

Xu Yunhui's heart dropped again.

Assistant Zhao said, "Miss had been living independently overseas for years, of course she could handle this."

Xu Yunhui's face froze."What I meant to say was, Huanhuan is still young. We need to take good care of Master's affairs. Yushan and I should help as well…"

"You should get some rest. Miss is the only legal heir. She is the one who should be handling the affairs."

Xu Yunhui paused for a little and then asked, "What did you just say?"

Xu Yushan changed colors, "What the hell are you talking about? Aren't Xu Xing and I dad's kids too? What do you mean by she's the only rightful heir?"

Xu Yunhui started to panic a little by now as well. Trying to feign calmness, she said, "Even though Master never officially recognized the kids, I was married to him. A DNA will also show that they are related…"

Assistant Zhao didn't care about any of those things. He just turned to Zhong Yuhuan and said, "Miss, why don't you go to take care of Boss Zhong's affairs first."

Zhong Yuhuan nodded and never looked again at Xu Yunhui mother and daughter.

They would never know that they were never at the same level as Zhong Yuhuan from the very beginning. Xu Yunhui and Xu Yunhui had been treading on thin ice and only knew to use plots and manipulation to get what they wanted. Xu Yunhui didn't know how to raise Xu Yushan properly and definitely not Xu Xing. She thought that once Zhong Yuhuan went overseas, they had won the battle. What they didn't know was that the ball had always been in Zhong Yuhuan's court even when she was overseas.

Zhong Yuhuan didn't even bother wasting her time in volleying with them. By then time she came back as a well-trained and well-educated individual, they no longer even stood a chance against her.

That was the difference of being from different socioeconomic levels and having the ability to see the big picture.

Zhong Yuhuan took a few steps forward before she turned around and said gently to Li Jinyuan and Huo Chengming, "Wait for me."

Huo Chengming, "Okay."

Li Jinyuan, "You go, Huanhuan."

Both of them felt complicated emotions within them.

Zhong Yuhuan had always been a bright and shiny star to them.

Under that fragile and overly pretty look, there was a strong and determined heart. She had always been a step ahead of them. Even at times like this, she was handling everything with ease. How could anyone not fall for her?

Xu Yunhui and Xu Yunhui could only look on as Zhong Yuhuan walked further and further away. Their hearts were racing and they even felt difficulty breathing.

What was going on?

Xu Yunhui sensed that Zhong Yuhuan's stance was high and mighty.

She never even looked at them as her equals…

She felt unreconciled.

She had spent so many years planning for this moment…

Xu Yunhui gritted her teeth.

Chapter 130 – Now… Will She Think That He's A Great Cousin? (3)

Right then, the elevator's door opened up again, and a string of people walked out of it. They were all in police uniforms, and all of them looked cold and solemn.

"Who called us?"

Assistant Zhao answered, "I did."

"Where's the suspect?"

Assistant Zhao looked at Xu Yunhui.

Xu Yunhui felt a chill in her heart and suddenly had a bad feeling. Her bad feeling came true the next minute.

Assistant Zhao said, "It's Ms. Xu Yunhui and Miss Xu Yushan. Boss Zhong and I had suspected they were scheming to harm him. Boss Zhong had a feeling about it… but this came a lot faster than we had anticipated."

Xu Yushan's expression changed drastically and she shouted, "That's bullsh*t! You must be colluding with Zhong Yuhuan! She has you in her pocket, right? My mom and I would never do such a thing to dad!"

Support our newn0vel(0rg)

The cops didn't care about her shouting and just said coldly, "Bring them back and keep them under observation for now. We will question anyone who's a suspect in this…"

It had finally dawned on Xu Yunhui.

Zhong Chi knew about it already!

He had known about it!

Tears came streaming down Xu Yunhui's face.

That god*mn man…..

Knowing what kind of a man he was, he must have changed up the will after he had found out… Would he have people completely block them from getting anything using DNA analysis? That is a possibility… that man loved to have control over everything. He would turn his back against anyone who wouldn't follow his orders. She had been with him for years, and Xu Xing has still yet to be accepted into the Zhong's. She should have known better…

It's over.

It's all over.

This time Xu Yunhui slid down for real, and wasn't even able to get back up.

Li Jinyuan and Huo Chengming had more or less figured out what was going on.

Even as they were amazed by how skilled Zhong Yuhuan was, they also felt a pang of sadness for her. She had lost her mother a few years ago, and now, just a few years later, she had lost her father too, and in such a ridiculous incident at that…

Suddenly, Li Jinyuan said in a low voice, "I bet you Lang Jinzhi helped out a lot in this matter."

Huo Chengming, "We let him beat us to it."

They wish they could, immediately, at this very moment, become a better and more powerful version of themselves. That way… that way they'd be more quality to be in her life?

Huo Chengming said in a low voice, "It doesn't mean there's nothing left for us to do though."

Having said that, Huo Chengming looked over at Xu Yunhui and Xu Yushan's direction and said, "There might be other players backing them for them to commit such a crime…" Huo Chengming pulled out his cellphone and made a call.

Li Jinyuan watched his actions, squinted, and asked, "What have you been doing this last two years?"

Huo Chengming casted him a glance and said, "You never mentioned what you were up to either, no?"

Li Jinyuan kept his mouth shut.

There was only one Zhong Yuhuan, but there were two of them.

As they have gotten older and older, more and more do they wish they were Zhong Yuhuan's only brother.

The kind of possessiveness that had been carved into their bones filled their entire body and they would never be rid of that.

They would never say it out loud, but deep down inside, they have been competing with each other. Naturally. they would not reveal how far they had gotten.

Even if they were going to reveal that, they would only reveal it to Huanhuan.

Thinking of that, the two of them exchanged a look, and both wiped away the sharpness in their eyes.

At the same time, Lang Jinzhi walked out of the hotel and arrived at the bottom of the hospital.

She would probably be a little sad still?

A few years ago, when she was just a little girl, she had gone through the loss of her mother.

He wasn't there by her side right away.

This time, he was right there with her.

Now… would she feel that he's a great cousin?

Chapter 131 – "Return to your home country and enter into the entertainment circle. Have you ever considered that, Young Master Li? You have a built-in advantage already!" (1)

Xu Yunhui, in fact, did have someone who backed her.

Her original intention was to pay off someone in the Zhong's upper management, but Zhong Chi was way too controlling of a person. He would buy things for her, but he wouldn't give her too much cash. The amount that the Zhong's upper management had asked for was way over what Xu Yunhui could afford.

Xu Yunhui didn't know what else she could do. In the end, Xu Yushan told this to her own husband.

That Mr. Nan was no good man either. After he learned of their plan, his first reaction wasn't to let Zhong Chi know, but to help Xu Yushan get her share of the inheritance; that way he would be able to benefit from that as well.

His status was not high among the Nan's. Otherwise, he wouldn't have married Xu Yushan in the first place.

That was why he was envious of the Zhong's inheritance as well.

He reached out to an upper management of the Zhong's in the name of the Nan's. He didn't need him to be on his side; he just needed him to give them a heads up when the time was right.

Support our newn0vel(0rg)

He had further hired a group of thugs and had them wait around the hospital. Once they saw Lang Jinzhi or Zhong Yuhuan, they were to stop them on their way. This group of thugs arrived after Zhong Yuhuan had already showed up. They had arrived at the hospital and planned to act against Zhong Yuhuan. Not so much to injure or kill her, but kidnap her somehow and keep her away for a short while. That would allow time for Xu Yunhui to try and manipulate Zhong Chi's will.

But now, this group of thugs was dragged into a back alley.

The alleyway was not very bright. In the darkness, all one could hear was muffled moaning noises.

Zhong Chi hadn't done himself a favor either. He was too self-centered, and all he cared about was himself.

Now that he was murdered by Xu Yunhui, and he still couldn't get a break from it all.

In order to investigate the real cause of death, his body was moved to the coroner's office. Xu Yunhui and Xu Yushan, on the other hand, were brought to the police station after the interrogation by the police.

Zhong Yuhuan didn't need to say anything, and Assistant Zhao was already helping out in every way. He brought with him Zhong Chi's lawyer and started going through the matters of the will with Zhong Yuhuan. Zhong Chi did not have a will, but he had explicitly told his lawyer that under no circumstances were Xu Yunhui, her daughter, and her son to have any of his inheritance. It was quite broad, whether it was from the angle of the DNA or anything else… no way they would be able to get any of it.

Meaning, Zhong Yuhuan was now the sole legal heir.

Even Zhong Yuhuan must sigh after she had found that out from Assistant Zhao.

Zhong Chi had always been a self-centered tyrant, believed only in himself, and was also very vindictive. Which was why he took away what they had been wanting for years immediately after he found out what Xu Yunhui and her crowd did to him. His decisiveness surprised even Zhong Yuhuan.

From a certain perspective, the two of them were made for each other.

Chapter 132 – "Return to your home country and enter into the entertainment circle. Have you ever considered that, Young Master Li? You have a built-in advantage already!" (2)

After taking care of most of the matters related to the will, Zhong Yuhuan finally felt extreme exhaustiveness, and her mind still started to slip.

Catching her look, Assistant Zhao thought she was sad about Zhong Chi's passing. He felt sad for her as well; now Miss Zhong was truly an orphan…

Recalling how Miss Zhong went and caused a scene in front of their company just a few years ago, Assistant Zhao was no longer able to hold any grudges against her. All there was left was compassion for her.

"You should get some rest, Miss Zhong. The rest can wait till tomorrow."

Zhong Yuhuan didn't feel very well either. She nodded and started walking in the direction of the elevator.

She was half way there when an arm reached out from the side and caught the upper half of her body, half pulling her into his arms.

"How come you look so pale?" Huo Chengming's voice rang next to her ears with a hint of almost undetectable anxiousness.

Support our newn0vel(0rg)

"I have been up all night," said Zhong Yuhuan as she yawned. Her head now felt even heavier than before. "Let's go home first. To the Zhong's. Good timing, you guys haven't been back there for a while now…"

Before she was even done talking, Huo Chengming picked her entire body up and said, "We'll talk in the car. Now close your eyes and get some rest."

Zhong Yuhuan couldn't help but let out a deep and long yawn. "Let me down. It's not good if others from the Zhong's see it."

"Why not?" asked Huo Chengming in a muffled voice.

"It looks like we are happy to be going home…"

That's when Huo Chengming finally reluctantly let her down. He didn't, however, let go of her wrist. Li Jinyuan and Huo Chengming each have one of her wrists in their arms, almost carrying her out. It might not look the most appealing, but it did make it easy for Zhong Yuhuan to walk.

After they had walked out of the elevator and to the front entrance of the hospital, they saw a man who was sitting on a bench outside of the hospital sit up and turn toward Zhong Yuhuan.

"Huanhuan," came Lang Jinzhi's soft voice.

Then his look paused, obviously he had noticed Li Jinyuan and Huo Chengming.

Zhong Yuhuan was a bit surprised as well. "How come you left your hotel, Cousin?"

"I am waiting for you," said Lang Jinzhi as he walked in front of her. "How come you look so pale."

"Oh, it's not a big deal. I didn't get any sleep last night was all," said Zhong Yuhuan as she yawned again uncontrollably.

"Go take a nap at a hotel nearby first," said Lang Jinzhi immediately.

Zhong Yuhuan squinted and studied Lang Jinzhi for a little while before she said, "Umm, Cousin… you have dark circles under your eyes."

Lang Jinzhi was surprised. "Really?"

He had always paid a lot of attention to his appearance. He had always eaten and slept following a set schedule. As much as a workaholic that he was, he rarely ever sacrificed his sleep for work. This was the first time that Zhong Yuhuan had seen dark circles on him.

"You go back to the hotel first. You still have to work tomorrow. I will return to the Zhong's with them. I have a little bit more to take care of."

Upon hearing that, Lang Jinzhi looked over at Li Jinyuan and Huo Chengming and asked, "How come you two are back?"

"We're worried about Huanhuan."

Lang Jinzhi nodded and quietly examined the boys in front of him. Or should he say young men? They had grown so tall already and made it difficult for one to look at them like children.

Lang Jinzhi had an odd sensation of being unhappy, as though his role as a brother had been replaced.

"Hurry and go get some rest, Cousin," said Zhong Yuhuan as she nudged him forward gently.

Lang Jinzhi gave Li Jinyuan and Huo Chengming another look.

They would accompany Zhong Yuhuan back to the Zhong's.

Lang Jinzhi felt a bit of regret and disappointment. He was just her cousin. He couldn't be by her side all the time like the other two could.

Zhong Yuhuan, somehow, was able to sense the little bit of disappointment on Lang Jinzhi.

Chapter 133 – "Return to your home country and enter into the entertainment circle. Have you ever considered that, Young Master Li? You have a built-in advantage already!" (3)

Zhong Yuhuan thought about it for a little, pulled herself free from Li Jinyuan and Huo Chengming, took a step forward, and threw her arms around Lang Jinzhi. Lang Jinzhi was quite tall and had wide shoulders. Zhong Yuhuan couldn't quite wrap her arms around him entirely, but she was able to give him a hug and said, "You get some rest, Cousin."

Lang Jinzhi paused for a little and that odd, unhappy sensation was gone.

He didn't expect that Zhong Yuhuan was the one who'd give him a hug.

Wasn't he the one who was here to comfort her?

How could she do that? Each motion of hers was enough to soften another person.

Lang Jinzhi freed himself of her arms and put his arms around her instead.

He had wanted to hug her, since a long, long time ago.

Support our newn0vel(0rg)

Back then, he started slowly sensing that this little cousin needed to be coddled.

He had been wanting to give her a hug since.

Finally, he was able to make it up to her. Made up for not being there for her when her mother passed away.

"It was so difficult to hug Cousin. Much better when I being hugged by Cousin," said Zhong Yuhuan with a smile.

"Mm," said Lang Jinzhi in a low voice. "I'll hug you. From now on, it will always be me hugging you."

Zhong Yuhuan struggled a little, patted him on his waist, and said, "Alright, Cousin, you should go back. I am so tired. I should go back too."

"Mm," said Li Jinyuan as he finally let go of her slowly.

Assistant Zhao, waiting behind them, also had dark circles under his eyes. He bowed slightly to Zhong Yuhuan after he saw that and said, "Take care of yourself, Miss Zhong. And get some rest."

Zhong Yuhuan nodded, "Thank you for everything, Assistant Zhao. Please see to it that my Cousin returns to the hotel."

When Assistant Zhao heard her comment, he couldn't help but smile. "Okay, I will do that."

Lang Jinzhi and Assistant Zhao turned around and started walking away.

Zhong Yuhuan turned to look at Li Jinyuan and then Huo Chengming before she said, "Let's head out too."

"Mm, we have our car with us," said Huo Chengming in a low voice.

Zhong Yuhuan noticed that they were also a little down. After they got inside the car, she couldn't help but ask, "What's the matter? You two are tired too?"

Huo Chengming did not say a word.

Li Jinyuan, on the other hand, gave her a smile all of a sudden and said jokingly, "We were thinking how nice Huanhuan is and there are so many who like Huanhuan. There are Cousin Lang and Maria, then there are also Langdon and Joseph. Oh, let's not forget Yang Sen and the group from before… all of them were so fond of Huanhuan. Where do Huo Chengming and I rank? When there are more in the future… Huanhuan will forget about us…."

This time, Li Jinyuan didn't mind dragging Huo Chengming down with him.

Granted, what Li Jinyuan had said was also what was on Huo Chengming's mind. So, he just pressed his lip shut without correcting him.

Zhong Yuhuan was a little stunned.

Wait a minute….

They were the male lead and the villain.

Both of them have halos!

Plus, both of them already had their own careers and quite successful at them as well.

How did they feel so inferior and actually worried whether she'd remember them in the future?

"So will that be the case?" Li Jinyuan turned and asked.

His voice softened as though it was infused with a little bit of careful worry.

Zhong Yuhuan took a deep breath before she finally fully comprehended that fact that they were genuinely worried about this.

She said, "Of course not. Even after you are married… we will still hang out together…"

Now, it was Li Jinyuan's turn to be stunned.

Get married?

Who's getting married?

That was never a part of their life plans.

Ever since the very beginning, the only thing that had crossed their minds was to become successful, to stand at the apex of their field, to have power and status, and to protect her flawlessly…. Other than that… What else was worth doing in life?

Nothing.

Huo Chengming didn't say anything. He just quietly lifted his arm, covered up Zhong Yuhuan's eyes, and said, "Get a little bit of sleep first?"

Zhong Yuhuan didn't seem to be bothered that the subject was changed abruptly in the middle. She was very agreeable. "Okay."

She lifted her head a little, leaned against the back of the seat, and closed her eyes. Her long lashes brushed Huo Chengming's palm and immediately Huo Chengming felt a sense of serenity within him.

It would take time to take care of all the businesses within the country. Zhong Yuhuan immediately applied for a temporary absence from school. Her application was approved quickly.

At some of the overseas schools, one could take time off to gain work experience or even to travel the world. As long as there's a legitimate reason, the school would approve.

At the same time, Li Jinyuan and Huo Chengming had also made up their minds.

Stay in the country too.

Li Jinyuan gave Wei Jie a call.

When Wei Jie received his call, his first thought was that he had gone insane.

"Your career has really been taking off overseas. Now you are telling me that you want to launch your career back there?" said Wie Jie, shocked.

Li Jinyuan couldn't care less. "A good career should be controlled by the person himself, not the person being controlled by it. Is being a model really all that? Is that the top of the career?"

Wie Jie started to calm down slowly. He had been working with Li Jinyuan for a while now and knew that this young master was never as gentlemanly and tender as he looked. In fact, he has a lot of pride in him and always radiated the sense of looking down on everything else around him. As far as he was concerned, his current success – being so popular within English – was probably not much at all.

He could accomplish a lot more if only he wanted to.

Wie Jie took a deep breath and an idea began to form in his head, "…. Return to your home country and enter into the entertainment circle. Have you ever considered that, Young Master Li? You have a built-in advantage already!"

Chapter 134 – Should I Be A CEO, An Oil Painting Artist, A Ballerina, Or An Actress? (1)

After the paperwork to take over the inheritance had been completed, the funeral for Zhong Chi, and having a meeting with all the upper management, half a month had gone by.

Zhong Yuhuan couldn't help but lament that she was lucky that Zhong Chi died right when she was of age. Things would have been so much messier otherwise.

Everyone who was once Zhong Chi's secretary, assistant, or chauffeur, now all became Zhong Yuhuan's.

Zhong Chi might be a scumbag, but he was good in business; otherwise, the Zhong's would not be as successful as it was today. The ones that he had hand picked to be by his side might be competent ones. Which was also why Zhong Yuhuan had no desire to swap them all out as soon as she had stepped in. It was probably better off if she kept everything as is and allowed the company to continue to function as normal.

Zhong Yuhuan's decision made many let out a sigh of relief. They were worried that the first thing she'd do after taking over the company was to swap out a bunch of people and muck things up at work.

Once everybody was calmed, there wasn't a lot of turmoil from Zhong Chi's passing.

In fact, it had given them more ambitions.

Support our newn0vel(0rg)

After all, there was no way that Zhong Yuhuan would be able to manage the company, so naturally, they'd have lots of room to grow.

How wonderful was that?

Their working hard for the company, truthfully, was still making money for her. At the end of the day, she'd still be making more money.

"Thank you so much for your help, Assistant Zhao," said Zhong Yuhuan as she smiled at Assistant Zhao.

Assistant Zhao quickly waved his hands. "No, no. No need to thank me. I am just doing my job."

As they were talking, the car arrived outside of the Zhong's mansion.

Zhong Yuhuan got out of the car and walked inside the mansion. It was very quiet inside the mansion. Assistant Zhao followed behind her, carrying her bags.

Zhong Yuhuan looked around and finally found only Huo Chengming. Huo Chengming had a notebook with him and was saying something solemnly. Once he saw Zhong Yuhuan, he immediately closed the notebook up.

"You are back, Huanhuan." Huo Chengming stood up and was going to take over Zhong Yuhuan's bag reflexively. He only realized that Assistant Zhao was the one who was carrying her bag after he had reached out his hand. Huo Chengming frowned subtly.

Huo Chengming brought Zhong Yuhuan over to the couch and had her sit down. He went inside the kitchen himself and returned not too long after with a plate of strawberries and cherries in tow.

Huo Chengming placed the washed fruits on the table and said, "Have a little bit?"

All Zhong Yuhuan wanted to do was to reach out her hand and open her mouth. She couldn't be happier. She nodded and did not turn him down.

Zhong Yuhuan looked up at Assistant Zhao. "Have you heard anything from the investigators?"

"They are more or less done with collecting the evidence and would be prosecuting her for homicide soon," replied Assistant Zhao.

"What about Xu Yushan?" asked Zhong Yuhuan.

Assistant Zhao said in a resigned tone, "Xu Yushan pushed everything onto Xu Yunhui. Of course, this is not something that she could stay out of just because she wanted to. If all goes well, she would probably be listed as an accomplice."

Huo Chengming, who hadn't said much up to this point, interjected all of a sudden, "Have they looked into Xu Yushan's husband?"

"What?" asked Assistant Zhao, a little stunned by the question.

"They should look into him too. They would most likely discover something of interest." While he talked, he looked down and focused on peeling nuts on the coffee table and putting the shelled nuts into a clean bowl. He exuded a leisurely type of majesty.

Assistant Zhao was stunned once again.

How was it that he felt a sense of majesty coming from Young Master Huo? Young Master Huo was how old?

Zhong Yuhuan, on the other hand, was confident in Huo Chengming's ability. Even though she didn't know what exactly he had been up to the last few years, it was most likely something of a big caliber? Given Huo Chengming's personality, he wouldn't have said that if he didn't know something already.

Zhong Yuhuan finally said, "Yeah, can you please keep an eye out on that, Assistant Zhao?"

Assistant Zhao nodded and quickly added, "Oh, yes, of course. That's my job. As soon as I get back, I will have someone look into that Mr. Nan."

Zhong Yuhuan smiled and said, "You should take off, Assistant Zhao. We are done here."

Chapter 135 – Should I Be A CEO, An Oil Painting Artist, A Ballerina, Or An Actress? (2)

Compared to Zhong Chi, Zhong Yuhuan was a much easier boss and a pretty one at that. Who didn't like to work for a boss like her? Hearing her words, Assistant Zhao couldn't help but smile at her before he put down her bag and took off.

"Where's Li Jinyuan?" asked Zhong Yuhuan while biting into a strawberry.

She didn't ask how Huo Chengming found out about any of this.

"I don't know." Huo Chengming still didn't look up but put a round macadamia nut into Zhong Yuhuan's mouth. It had a strong milky taste to it.

"I don't like this one," said Zhong Yuhuan after she chewed it a couple of times, cringing her nose.

Huo Chengming suddenly placed his open hand in front of her and said to her, "Spit it out if you don't like it. I'll peel an almond for you."

Zhong Yuhuan blinked at his thick and wide palm. Spit where? Spit into his hand?

Support our newn0vel(0rg)

She couldn't bring herself to do it. She pushed away his hand, chewed it a few more time,s and swallowed it. "No, that's too wasteful."

Huo Chengming didn't say much after that, but he did peel an almond for her.

The almond was much to Zhong Yuhuan's liking, but she still couldn't have too many of them. She didn't want to break out. After eating a few of them, she put her hand on Huo Chengming's and had him stop peeling. As for the macadamia nuts that he had peeled earlier, he ate them one after another.

"They are very high in calories," reminded Zhong Yuhuan.

Huo Chengming answered, "That's not a problem. I burn much more calories in a day than that."

His words immediately brought back her memory of coming into contact with his arm just a little while ago.

It was strong and sturdy.

Was that how he has been burning his calories?

Zhong Yuhuan did not get an answer to her question.

After the fruits and the snacks, Huo Chengming turned immediately into a good big brother and urged Zhong Yuhuan to go to bed early. Zhong Yuhuan hasn't been getting enough sleep lately so she fell asleep almost as soon as she hit the bed.

Right before she fell asleep, she couldn't help but wonder where Li Jinyuan had gone.

She wasn't able to get hold of Li Jinyuan at all in the next few days that followed. Right when she was about to call up Wei Jie and ask him, she looked through her text and finally saw one from Li Jinyuan.

"Huanhuan, I have been busy with work lately and won't be able to see you for a few days. Huanhuan needs to get some good rest. From Li Jinyuan."

Zhong Yuhuan smacked herself on her head.

She has received so many texts lately that she had missed the one from Li Jinyuan.

Even though she had found out about his whereabouts, she gave Wie Jie a call anyway.

"Young Master Li has been busy expanding the market within the country. I won't divulge any more for the time being. We will share as soon as we find out more," said Wie Jie cheerfully from the other end.

After she had hung up with Wie Jie, Zhong Yuhuan quickly spotted Li Jinyuan, and it was on television.

It was a reality TV show, and Li Jinyuan joined as one of the candidates.

Ah, so he followed the original script after all!

In the original novel, Li Jinyuan never studied abroad or had the experience as a model. The first time he had encountered the entertainment circle was on this variety show. Ling Zhilan would also have joined an all-girl reality TV show, but according to the original novel, she would not have won in the show. She would, later on, gain reputation online first, Finally, after some twists and turns, she would join the entertainment circle and start her acting career.

Zhong Yuhuan must lament on the mighty power of the original novel.

Chapter 136 – Should I Be A CEO, An Oil Painting Artist, A Ballerina, Or An Actress? (3)

October came before everybody knew it and the weather got colder.

Huo Chengming started to get busy as well, and Zhong Yuhuan was the only one left in the Zhong's mansion.

Xu Yunhui and Xu Yushan had also received their sentencing in court.

Zhong Yuhuan didn't go to court as everything was cut and dry. What was the point of her being there? She would be better off to take the time and do what she needed to get done.

She took the opportunity to return to school for two more months before she returned back to her home country.

When she returned, Yang Sen and the gang were back as well. Yang Sen even gave her a call, "Zhong Yuhuan, do you want your paintings to be at an art show? My buddy that I had mentioned before is planning on having an art show in the country next month."

Zhong Yuhuan, Huo Chengming, and Li Jinyuan had taken a lot of random classes in the past. Basically anything that sounded remotely interesting.

She had taken piano, oil painting, and for a little while there, even ballet lessons.

Support our newn0vel(0rg)

Oil painting, among all of them, was the one that she spent the longest time on.

Except that she had been so busy that she didn't have a lot of completed work. Yang Sen was the only one who still remembered them and wanted to have an art show for her.

Zhong Yuhuan didn't feel ashamed of her work.

They were just paintings; good or bad, they could be there for all to see.

After her experience in her previous life, she lived a lot more carefree this time around. She was not intimidated to do many things.

Zhong Yuhuan gave it some thought and finally nodded and set a time to meet up with Yang Sen.

The day that they left, Zhong Yuhuan thought about it and finally sent Huo Chengming a text, letting him know that she was taking off before she went to the art show venue with Assistant Zhao.

She hasn't seen Yang Sen and the crew for a while now as they were all in different countries. None of them were short of money, but they were short on time. Most of the time, they were only able to meet up on social apps.

After she got out of the car, Zhong Yuhuan looked around the entire venue and looked for a while before she heard someone calling her name.

"Zhong Yuhuan! Zhong Yuhuan! Over here!"

Zhong Yuhuan turned and looked. She saw a young man in a black leather wind-breaker. He has his sunglasses hooked in one finger and his car key in another, waving at her.

Yang Sen was a little chubby back in the days but as he had grown taller over the years, he had also become skinnier.

Zhong Yuhuan walked up to him quickly.

Yang Sen didn't think too much before he gave her a hug. "Oh boy, you are becoming prettier and prettier for sure! My older sister just asked me not too long ago whether I know any pretty girls and to introduce them to her… She had just taken over my dad's film company and was worried about finding new recruits. Are you interested, Zhong Yuhuan?"

"How much time would I need then?" said Zhong Yuhuan as she counted with her fingers. "I need to be a boss, a painter, and someone asked me if I want to become a ballerina…"

Hearing that, Yang Sen snickered, "Alright, alright. Show off!"

Chapter 137 – My Future Husband (1)

Zhong Yuhuan didn't have a lot of drawings and Yang Sen put them all up at the art show. However, he didn't put her name on the label, but the alias she always put on her drawings – Yufu (Fish and Bird). Back in junior highschool. Li Jinyuan and Huo Chengming entered into a science competition. Their team name was "Jumping Fish and Flying Bird." Zhong Yuhuan was too lazy to come up with an creative alias, so she took two words from that name, combined them, and came up with her alias.

The art show had started.

Assistant Zhao waited outside as Zhong Yuhuan walked inside the venue with Yang Sen. Inside the venue, there were plenty of artists from overseas, some of them older in age, and there were a few up and rising young artists as well.

Looking around the room, one would see the artists with crazy facial hair, ostentatious and bold clothing, long hair, or those with some sort of a tattoo on their wrists…

Looking back at Zhong Yuhuan. She had on a little white dress and a brown LV purse. Her hair was down to her shoulder, and she looked seemingly very docile.

Even Yang Sen couldn't help but turn to look at her and said, "You really don't look like an artist."

"Then what do I look like?"

"Honestly. You look more like a ballet dancer. But not really. Ballet dancers are usually cold and stuck up. That's you not," said Yang Sen with a smile. "You look like a lot of things, or none at all."

Support our newn0vel(0rg)

Zhong Yuhuan couldn't help but laugh. "Ah well. Not much I can do about it. I have a wide range of interests."

"The important part is that you are good at them. Tsk. You just make others envious," said Yang Sen next to her.

Zhong Yuhuan couldn't help but ask, "How's racing working out for you?"

"Now I know you don't really care about me. I have won a few trophies already. I was on TV, even. And you didn't even know about it!"

"Did your folks beat you?"

"Nah, they didn't. But I feel bad for my sister. She had just graduated from college and was immediately forced into the company." Yang Sen pursed his lips and said, "No, Zhong Yuhuan. Why is your focus always whether I was beaten up? Don't you have something to say about my trophies?"

Zhong Yuhuan couldn't help but lament that all the little Second Generation Rich had all grown up. She also didn't think that what she had casually said that one time had such great influence on them. Now all them either went in the direction of pursuing their dreams or went into financial management in earnest and were at the point to enter their family businesses and giving it a try… almost none of them turned into a playboy who just wanted to cruise through life!

She still didn't, however, sang his praises. She merely said, "Invite me next to time to see it with my own eyes. I'll praise you then."

"Do you even have the time?" asked Yang Sen as he looked her up and down dubiously.

"I didn't before. I do now."

In the past, she had to spend every waking moment that she had to try to complete her schoolwork at the shortest amount of time possible. That way she'd be able to return to China the moment something happened with Zhong Chi.

Now that the dust had settled, she no longer needed to live her life that way.

All she needed to do was to wait till the story arc in the book was over, then she'd really be able to enjoy her life happily.

"Alright, that works… you really don't plan on giving the entertainment circle a try?"

Zhong Yuhuan shook her head and said, "For fun, maybe. For real, nah."

She had no desire to run into the female lead.

Yang Sen nodded. "Okay. Let me find out more from my sister. I'll keep you posted."

Zhong Yuhuan gave him a gesture that they should stop chatting. The two of them remained silent and quietly walked around the art gallery.

When it was over, Zhong Yuhuan even bought a couple pieces of artwork and had Assistant Zhao bring them into the car.

Zhong Yuhuan and Yang Sen parted ways after they had a meal together.

Chapter 138 – My Future Husband (2)

After Zhong Yuhuan had gotten into the car, another car pulled up slowly on the side of the street and rolled down its window.

Secretary Cheng said in a lowly voice, "Is that Young Master Yang? He, too, had been overseas before. He just returned a couple of months ago."

Lang Jinzhi frowned slightly.

When Secretary Cheng saw that, he said, "Miss Zhong is already of age and it's the right time to date. Never mind that Miss Zhong and Young Master Yang were high school classmates. At the very minimum… he is better than that Young Master Nan."

Lang Jinzhi paused for a little before he recalled some other details. "I've heard from grandpa that Yuhuan's betrothal was set by aunty before she passed away?"

"At this day and age, I don't think they will be able to hold us to that…" said Secretary Cheng.

Lang Jinzhi said in a low voice, "Then we should pick a time and clarify that with the Nan's. We don't want them to come around and make a fuss about Yuhuan's dating life."

Secretary Cheng, "You mean to say…."

Support our newn0vel(0rg)

"My grandpa is old and Yuhuan doesn't have any other elders. I guess it'd have to be me."

Hearing that, Secretary Cheng couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

What a wonderful cousin.

Even Secretary Cheng was amazed by that.

After all these years, he was surprised to witness the changes with Lang Jinzhi.

From not being able to get along with this cousin of his at all to now wanting to interfere with all aspects of her life… that was quite a drastic change.

Zhong Yuhuan had no idea that her cousin happened to run into her going to the art show with Yang Sen. Nor did she know that someone had secretly taken a picture of her and posted it online.

In this digital age, people were always posting nice pictures online every day, but this one of Zhong Yuhuan was particularly eye-catching.

Behind her, there was the painting of a forest at night by an Italian artist. The colors were dark, and the entire background seemed depressed and scary. Zhong Yuhuan, standing in front of it with her head turned and smiling, was the only bright light in the picture.

And the drawing was like a beast that was about to swallow her up.

The contrast between light and dark immediately made the picture much more eye-catching.

Not to mention that the girl standing in front of the painting was very pretty. She had delicate and lively eyes and brows, her neck slender, and her body tall. The dress she was wearing perfectly complemented the contour of her body. She was the living testimony of elegance by just standing there.

That's not something that an usual internet influencer could rival.

The picture captioned "I Thought The Drawing Ate The Girl" gained traction on the web almost immediately.

Zhong Yuhuan had no idea about any of this until Han Yingying, who had always been following with entertainment news, gave her a call. That was when Zhong Yuhuan finally went online and searched.

She didn't find the news about herself right away, but she came across a trending search about Li Jinyuan first.

"Puppy Love"

She clicked inside and it was all WeChat messages on Li Jinyuan.

There were plenty of his pictures on WeChat, all of them screenshots from that reality TV show. It has his side profile, front profile, full body…. Any angle that one could imagine. And there was even one where he had cat ears on.

Zhong Yuhuan couldn't help but pound on the bed when she saw that.

The dignified male lead was wearing cat ears!

That being said, she wondered what Huo Chengming would look like in cat ears.

Chapter 139 – My Future Husband (3)

Zhong Yuhuan scrolled down on her phone.

"Look at that Li Jinyuan! That's what a true graceful man of the upper class should look like!"

"Oh, that's bull! What man of the upper class?! I saw him on the show yesterday, and he was still very much a young man. He'd make the perfect boyfriend! I find him so utterly irresistible!"

"OOOOhhhhhhhh. He's by far the best one on the show! What's the point of the competition? What saw we just skip the whole competition? Please just let him have his debut, go onto variety shows, and came up with photo albums! I am very willing to spend my money on him!"

"Am I the only one who thinks he looked somewhat familiar?"

"What's the last poster trying to say? Are you suggesting that he had plastic surgery? Not again. These types of cliché move to smear a new person…. Puke."

"No! For realz! What I wanted to say was, nobody else thinks that he looked a lot like that British supermodel Rafael?"

Support our newn0vel(0rg)

Zhong Yuhuan raised her brows.

Rafael was the name that Li Jinyuan went by overseas.

Awesome.

More and more people appreciated Li Jinyuan's attractiveness.

When both Li Jinyuan and Huo Chengming have better careers and more and more fans…. That ought to take care of their sense of insecurities?

Zhong Yuhuan clicked out of the WeChat discussion and finally found the "I Thought The Drawing Ate The Girl" trending search.

She clicked inside of it… sure enough, it was her.

She looked at the comment sections and it was all sorts of praises. Zhong Yuhuan, feeling uncomfortable about all the compliments, quickly backed out of it. She went to look at the other trending searches instead.

The one right below hers was "Male Lead of CEO Novel".

Zhong Yuhuan clicked inside of it. To her surprise, the first thing she saw was a picture of Huo Chengming.

What an odd day.

Did the three of them line up to get onto the trending searches?

Zhong Yuhuan quickly read the content of the WeChat post.

"The poster was in finance. The Third Annual Finance Conference was held in City Ning two days ago. Poster wasn't able to attend, so I looked through the video from that day afterwards. The entire conference was three hours long. Normally, I'd fall asleep watching something like this…. But not this time! OMG! Can you imagine? Among all the middle-aged men was a young man, perhaps just a tad over 20. He was in suit and tie and he was so GD handsome! I almost wanted to drop to my knees and sing 'I Am Conquered'. Now I finally know what male leads in these CEO novels look like! So there are CEOs that look like that in real life!….. I am attaching some screenshots below. Not the best work, but it will have to do. [pic] [pic]"

And the comments below:

"Want to bed."

"Okay, that's my future husband."

"Ugh. You wish! He's mine!"

"Which Second Generation Rich is that? The Second Generation Rich in our country have reached this level already?"

…

No wonder he had been so busy lately. So he went to attend this conference, huh?

Zhong Yuhuan couldn't help but take a look at the screenshot in this discussion. Then she took a screenshot of the discussions on Li Jinyuan and Huo Chengming. Finally, she took a screenshot of the entire trending list.

This was the gathering of the century!

What a coincidence that all three of them were on the most trending list together? And for all different reasons to top. Just forced together like that.

Zhong Yuhuan felt that she could treasure these few screenshots for life. She'd look at them over and over again in the future.

After she had clicked out of it, she sent them over to Huo Chengming. Naturally, she sent it along with the discussions below as well.

"Is that you?" She asked.

On the other side, Huo Chengming clicked open the WeChat and immediately saw words like "Want to bed" and "Husband".

For some odd reasons, his heart skipped a beat, and he almost stopped in his breathing.

Chapter 140 – L*wd WeChat Comments (1)

But Huo Chengming quickly saw the actual content in Wechat.

The heartbeat that was skipped had returned to his chest. Huo Chengming felt that his entire chest was on fire, as though his immediate reaction earlier made him feel both ashamed and guilty.

The feeling came and went quickly. In fact, it was so quick that Huo Chengming didn't even have a chance to figure out what had just happened.

Huo Chengming carefully read the entire content in Wechat before he responded.

[Yes, that was me.]

[But I have no idea what this Wechat article was about.]

[Is that how all the netizens talk nowadays? They just say… they want to bed?]

Support our newn0vel(0rg)

Huo Chengming rapidly fired out three messages in a row.

[It's like a very high-end way of praising someone? It more or less means that you are so good-looking and outstanding that it makes people want to bed you. - Something like that.]

A high-end way of praising someone?

Huo Chengming was a little stunned.

One would use "want to bed" to mean that someone was good looking?

Well, Huanhuan was quite pretty too….

A thought suddenly popped into Huo Chengming's mind, but Huo Chengming immediately suppressed it.

His heartbeat increased all of a sudden and his fingers that were still wrapped around the phone started to shake. This was a very unfamiliar feeling.

Huo Chengming frowned.

What am I thinking?

He refocused all of his attention back to the Wechat chat window.

Zhong Yuhuan had sent over a new message.

[You, me, and Li Jinyuan all made it onto the Trending Searches today. What a coincidence, right? I even took some screenshots. I will keep them as mementos for the rest of my life!]

Trending searches?

Huo Chengming was not unfamiliar with that. But every time that he had clicked them in the past, all he had ever seen were pointless news on entertainment. He has since stopped reading them.

Now that Zhong Yuhuan had brought it up, Huo Chengming immediately clicked out of his Wechat messaging and switched over to the Wechat client side and located the Trending Searches.

He didn't see anything that has to do with them.

Then, Huo Chengming suddenly recalled that Zhong Yuhuan had attended an art show and she even made a point of telling him before she went.

So… "I Thought the Painting Ate The Girl".

Did that trending search have something to do with Huanhuan?

Huo Chengming clicked inside of it.

Sure enough, he immediately saw a picture of Zhong Yuhuan. She was standing in front of the drawing and would immediately attract anyone's attention.

Huo Chengming's eyes flickered and wanted to stare at the picture for longer, just so he could imprint the image of the picture into his mind.

Another message came from Zhong Yuhuan.

[Have you seen it? We are meant to be together, right? LOL. 😊]

Huo Chengming finally looked away from the picture.

Right when he was about to click out of it, Huo Chengming couldn't help but lift his finger and save every one of those pictures. Then, he recalled all the comments that Zhong Yuhuan had shown him earlier.

Huo Chengming's face darkened a little, and he clicked into the discussion area of the top trended search.

"What kind of a beauty is that? Oh, my lord. Woo woo woo woo. I am crying!"

"Such a beautiful girl. I can eat 8 bowls of rice just looking at her!"

"Little sister is too pretty. And, can someone please tell me what brand was the dress that little sister was wearing? I want to get one too!"

"Please tell me which art show I need to go to in order to meet someone as pretty as little sister…"

"Ten minutes! I want the contact information of little sister! Hurry up!"

…

Huo Chengming let out a sigh of relief.

Luckily, nobody said they wanted to bed her. Nor did anyone start referring to her as "wife". Otherwise, he would have to report them all. Hopefully, all of these accounts would be banned anyways.