Chapter 11: I Want to Make You Happy – Claw Machine

Chapter 11: I Want to Make You Happy - Claw Machine

Jiang Fengmian's pupils dilated involuntarily. His back lifted off the couch, his spine straightening, as his gaze fixed directly on Huo Zong's jaw.

His slender fingertips pressed against his lower jaw, the knuckles slightly whitening, as if exerting a great deal of effort to restrain his anger.

Jiang Fengmian's eyes flickered, pondering how to answer without letting Huo Zong realize he wasn't completely clueless. That little punk, calling Huo Zong an "old man," really struck a nerve.

The term "old man" had recently become overly inflated. At twenty-eight, one was already considered old, even though Jiang Fengqiu, at twenty-two, was still considered young.

"Jiang Fengmian, is it that hard to answer?"

Huo Zong glanced at his wristwatch. Jiang Fengmian had been thinking for at least 85 seconds, far exceeding his expectations.

Huh, so Jiang Fengmian also thought he was old.

"Huo Zong, you're not old, you're very handsome, extremely handsome."

Huo Zong gave a noncommittal hum, saying coldly, "Is that so."

Jiang Fengmian nodded vigorously, his eyes sparkling like stars were about to burst from them. Huo Zong was by far the most handsome, otherwise, he wouldn't have been so thoroughly captivated by his limited appearances. Jiang Fengmian had saved up in-game resources just to support Huo Zong; it had taken a lot of effort.

"Being handsome and being old aren't necessarily related. One can be old and still handsome."

Jiang Fengmian choked, what a novel way of looking at it. He felt like clapping and giving a thumbs up, unable to refute it.

"Jiang Fengmian, why are you running?"

Huo Zong's face darkened completely. Jiang Fengmian, realizing he couldn't answer, was trying to escape.

"I'm washing my hands."

Jiang Fengmian carefully washed the grease off his fingers. The rose-scented fragrance lingered on his fingertips. As he lowered his hands and looked up again, he met Huo Zong's inquiring eyes, leaning against the doorframe.

A drop plopped from Jiang Fengmian's delicate fingertips, landing in Huo Zong's slightly trembling heart. He furrowed his brow slightly but still took a light gray silk handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to Jiang Fengmian.

"Wipe them."

"Huo Zong, my hands are clean, not dirty."

Huo Zong was a bit confused about what Jiang Fengmian meant. A few seconds later, Jiang Fengmian unexpectedly moved closer, standing on his tiptoes, placing one hand under Huo Zong's jaw.

Their eyes met, and a delicate atmosphere exploded in the small, enclosed space.

Huo Zong's fingers by his side clenched, and he stepped back, but the hand under his jaw didn't let go. Jiang Fengmian leaned into his arms.

His heart pounded fiercely, Jiang Fengmian's head spinning dizzily, enveloped in a crisp, cool fragrance. He couldn't quite tell whose heartbeat it was.

"Huo Zong, you're not old at all. They're just jealous and spouting nonsense. Besides, they seem to not know it's you; they thought it was someone else."

The Huo family had wanted to make a big deal out of it, but Huo Zong had kept the engagement under wraps. No one was foolish enough to bring up Huo Zong's marriage, especially since Jiang Fengmian was... let's say, not the sharpest tool in the shed.

"Hmm."

Jiang Fengmian's soft, fluffy head rubbed against Huo Zong's jaw, and he laughed in Huo Zong's arms, his eyes squinting into mere slits.

Mmm, how nice it would be to be close to Huo Zong every day.

"Jiang Fengmian, stand properly."

Huo Zong **tore** Jiang Fengmian away from his chest, steadied him by the shoulders, and straightened his slightly rumpled clothes. He then sidestepped away from Jiang Fengmian.

"Brother, don't be angry, okay? People said those things just to piss you off. You're not old at all, you're at a totally normal age."

Huo Zong looked at Jiang Fengmian suspiciously; he had the feeling that Jiang Fengmian wasn't the fool everyone said he was. He seemed pretty sharp.

"You know how old I am?"

Jiang Fengmian shook his head and fidgeted with his burning fingertips, shyly saying, "You look very handsome."

Well, maybe I was imagining it.

"Come on, let's see if there's anything you wanna buy."

After going through the floors one by one, the 10,000 yuan Jiang Fengmian had was only enough for a tie.

"Hello, may I take a look at this tie?"

"Of course, here you go."

It was a black silk tie. Jiang Fengmian picked it up. It felt light but held its shape well and shimmered under the lights, perfect for Huo Zong.

Jiang Fengmian held the tie against Huo Zong's neck, giving off this intellectual and restrained vibe.

"Wrap it up, here."

The staff's eyes widened in surprise. These days, not many people pay in cash, and even fewer would drop 10,000 yuan all at once.

"Alright, just a moment, that's 278 yuan in change."

The tie was packaged in a light blue box. As soon as they stepped out of the store, Jiang Fengmian handed the bag to Huo Zong.

"Huo Zong, this is for you."

"For me?" Huo Zong had thought Jiang Fengmian was just seeing how it looked, not that he had bought it for him.

The tie had cost nearly 10,000 yuan. He'd taken Jiang Fengmian out to help him get used to society, not to have him buy gifts.

"It looks good, it's your money."

Jiang Fengmian was just passing on someone else's favor; he just wanted to make Huo Zong smile.

Huo Zong rarely received gifts. His mother died from complications during childbirth. Come to think of it, Huo Qing and Sheng Lan were truly in love. Sheng Lan was already in her forties when she had Huo Zong, and it was an unexpected pregnancy. Huo Qing wanted her to get an abortion, but after a lot of back and forth, he agreed to let her keep it.

The risks of giving birth at an advanced age were too high. In the later stages of pregnancy, the baby was in the wrong position, so Huo Qing set up a private medical care room at home for 24-hour monitoring, allowing Sheng Lan to focus on resting.

The day Huo Zong was born, a heavy snowstorm hit. Even with all the preparations, Sheng Lan suffered severe bleeding after her cesarean section, and the blood supply at home quickly ran out. The snowstorm blocked the roads, and Sheng Lan couldn't hold on until more blood could be delivered.

With his beloved wife gone, Huo Qing initially wanted to abandon Huo Zong, but remembering Sheng Lan's last words, he could only bear the grief and keep the child.

From the day he was born, Huo Qing never held Huo Zong even once.

From the first day, Huo Zong was fed formula and took his first steps and learned to speak without his father's involvement. Huo Qing never once fulfilled his role as a father.

The more he had loved this child before, the more he despised him after Sheng Lan's death.

Huo Zong, with "Zong" meaning indulgence, whether he wanted to live or die, it had nothing to do with Huo Qing.

Huo Zong's birthday was the anniversary of Sheng Lan's death, a day no one celebrated. It was a day everyone avoided discussing. Until the age of twenty-eight, Huo Zong had received gifts only a handful of times.

Huo Qilin is only four years younger than Huo Zong. As soon as he started to remember things, he knew his nephew was extraordinary. The whole family doted on him, saying he's the family's lucky star, bringing hope to the quiet household.

His name was given by Huo Qing, who stayed up all night thinking of it. Huo Qing raised him personally, giving him the fatherly love Huo Zong longed for.

Jiang Fengmian thought about the emotional detachment. The issues Huo Zong revealed were just the tip of the iceberg. His almost unhealthy obsession was very well hidden.

Just like all these years, Huo Zong's likes never changed. It was a watch—a watch Huo Qilin had thrown away, which Huo Qing had casually given him. Once he got his hands on something, he never let go, and no one could touch them.

Jiang Fengmian's fingertips rested on Huo Zong's wrist. His fingers brushed over the fine cracks on the watch's face. He stared at Huo Zong and softly said, "Brother, be happy, okay?"

Saving money became his goal. Jiang Fengmian set a small goal for himself recently: to buy Huo Zong a new watch.

The gift bag left deep marks on Huo Zong's palm. His heart was deeply touched by Jiang Fengmian's gentle smile, trembling and throbbing.

"Once the money is given to you, it's yours."

After a long while, Huo Zong's Adam's apple bobbed as he rasped, "Thank you."

"Huo Zong, I'll be happy if you're happy."

Jiang Fengmian rubbed his hands together, a shy smile on his face. "Hehe, Huo Zong, can you buy me a little toy?"

"There are no toys sold here. Let's go to another place."

"There are! There are! Here."

Jiang Fengmian had already spotted a row of claw machines on the fourth floor in the play area, filled with toys that were exactly Jiang Fengmian's type.

"Huo Zong, is this money enough?"

The 278 was passed back to Huo Zong. He stared woodenly at the "behemoth" in front of him. If he couldn't grab a toy, wouldn't that be losing face?

He thought about how to suggest coming back next time, but facing Jiang Fengmian's expectant look, he could only bite the bullet and exchange ten coins first.

"Jiang Fengmian, you try."

"Okay! Okay!"

Jiang Fengmian was actually a claw machine expert. He had a bunch of toys he'd won at home. But in front of Huo Zong, he needed to hide his true skills a little, pretending to struggle, managing to grab only three with ten tries.

"Huo Zong, Huo Zong, no more coins, but I want one more toy."

Huo Zong narrowed his eyes. It didn't seem that hard.

"Wait."

Huo Zong boldly spent a large sum of money, exchanging one hundred coins all at once.

"Here, play."

"Huo Zong, my hand hurts."

Jiang Fengmian bit his lip, showing his palm, which had no visible injuries, insisting that it hurt here and there, and that Huo Zong must help him grab a toy.

"Which one do you want?"

"The white kitten, it would make a perfect pair with it."

Seeing Huo Zong's posture, Jiang Fengmian thought he had probably never played before. The machines had likely been tampered with. It was uncertain if Huo Zong could do better than him.

The clacking sounds came one after another.

It wasn't the sound of catching dolls, but the continuous sound of coins being inserted.

"Huo Zhong, how about..."

A sharp glare flew over, and Jiang Fengmian dared not utter a word. Huo Zhong had almost bought out all the coins, yet still couldn't catch a doll.

"Jiang Fengmian, since you like this one, I'll only go for it."

"Mm-hmm, Huo Zhong, you're really good at this."

How could he not be considered skilled if he could buy out all the coins?

Thanks for the blind praise, but Huo Zhong still wished Jiang Fengmian would stop talking.

"Just a moment."

Huo Zhong, unable to save face, walked straight to the staff area, summoned the manager, and made his point clear in no uncertain terms.

"I can't catch the doll; you figure it out."

"Sir, there seems to be a malfunction with the claw machine. Please wait a moment."

After the technician's quick repairs, Huo Zhong hit the mark on his first try, successfully grabbing the white kitten.

"Jiang Fengmian, here you go."

Jiang Fengmian hugged the soft plush toy, burying his face in it, his wet eyes fixed on Huo Zhong, revealing his obvious delight to anyone who looked.

"Thank you, I like it, I like it."

Huo Zhong discreetly wiped the sweat from his palms. To be honest, he had never been this nervous, not even when negotiating deals worth billions. Fortunately, Jiang Fengmian didn't grab him again; if she had, he would have lost all his dignity.

"Hmm, let's go home."

Huo Zhong nodded with restraint, half a step behind Jiang Fengmian, he sent a text message to Jing.

[Deliver two pre-set claw machines to the West City villa.]

Jing stared at the text in confusion. So that's why he needed his phone number—to send a text. Phew, for a moment, he thought he was going to lose his job.