Chapter 12: Who Taught You to Be So Alluring

Chapter 12: Who Taught You to Be So Alluring

Jiang Fengmian was hit with a scam...

The first thing Jiang Fengmian did when he got home was to neatly arrange the stuffed toys on the large bed. He inspected the room with his hands behind his back, feeling satisfied no matter which way he looked.

After a simple lunch, Huo Zong headed to the study to handle his official business.

Jiang Fengmian lay on the bed, thinking about the current situation. Because of his unexpected arrival, Jiang Fengqiu and Huo Qilin had become acquaintances who had crossed paths a few times.

Their real familiarity started thanks to Jiang Fengmian and Huo Zong. Huo Qing was determined to mold Huo Qilin into his successor, placing him in Huo Corporation for some hands-on experience. The first project he managed was a collaboration with the Jiang family.

During their collaboration, Jiang Fengqiu gradually uncovered Huo Qilin's softer side beneath his seemingly impenetrable exterior, which stirred his compassion and eventually won him over.

While the two were officially dating, Huo Qilin wreaked havoc in the company, sabotaging the multi-billion-dollar project that Huo Zong had painstakingly negotiated, all under the pretext of helping Huo Zong relieve some of his burdens.

Jiang Fengqiu was even more merciless. Even after becoming incapacitated, he still allowed Huo Qilin to secretly bully him, fearing that Huo Qilin might have even one good day.

With Jiang Junling out of the picture, the Jiang family was completely under Jiang Fengqiu's control. The novel didn't provide many details about the business battles, so Jiang Fengmian couldn't be certain if Jiang Fengqiu was truly competent.

As the clues became increasingly tangled, Jiang Fengmian buried his face in the pile of stuffed toys, his head spinning. In his current state, he was indeed unable to deal with Jiang Fengqiu.

As he stroked the cat's head, he thought that with the cooling weather, it was time for the winds to stir in the imperial capital. Could Huo Zong just bankrupt the Jiang family?

A scattered piece of paper marked the date Jiang Fengmian would drown, seven months from that day, in the coldest winter in the capital, pushed into an icy lake. The book didn't explicitly say who pushed him, only mentioning that the fool had lost his footing and fallen.

Huo Zong investigated for a long time, but since no one else was present at the time, he had to drop the matter. When the family member died, the Jiang family showed no reaction, dismissing it lightly and telling everyone not to make a fuss, as if it were some random stray or unimportant stranger.

Jiang Fengmian opened his tablet and continued drawing comics. He suddenly remembered that the opportunity for Jiang Fengqiu and Huo Qilin to collaborate arose from a comic adaptation project.

To help Huo Qilin gain a foothold in Huo Corporation, Huo Qing, along with several shareholders, ventured into the entertainment industry, putting Huo Qilin fully in charge. Since the Jiang family specialized in copyright adaptations, they gradually became familiar with each other.

Initially, Jiang Fengqiu wanted to recruit the author of "Cang Lan" to the Jiang family, but the author was a severe introvert and refused to leave home. When Jiang Fengqiu offered to buy the copyright at a low price, the author refused to sell.

Huo Qilin came up with a terrible idea to plagiarize the core plot of "Cang Lan," and had four renowned editors revise the script, rushing to film it before anyone else could. The author had to suffer the loss, and with severe social anxiety, found it difficult to interact with others, let alone fight for his rights. He vanished from the scene, which was truly a pity.

Jiang Fengmian posted the completed content, and the previous episode was extremely popular, with comments that seemed endless as he scrolled.

[The author is definitely not a newbie, could it be a master using a different name? But I've never seen this style before.]

Hmph, it would be strange if they had. Before entering the book, he was a copyright master after all, and now he's drawing from his previous works, which come naturally to him.

[Yunqi: Hello, great one. I've reached an agreement with the editor-in-chief, who agrees to your previous requests. Here's the drafted contract. If there are no concerns, we'll officially sign.]

Jiang Fengmian carefully studied the contract. It was favorable to him, with an 80-20 split on the artwork income and only a 1% platform fee for copyright. There were no hidden traps, so Jiang Fengmian signed it happily.

[Private message: Great one, I love your style. Do you take commissions for custom couples? Price is not an issue.]

[Dong Li: Hello, my price might be a bit steep. Commercial use requires a buyout at X3 the price, about 200,000. Is that acceptable?]

[Private message: 200,000, yes, yes. I have everything except money. The level of detail in your main illustrations is a hundred times better than what I paid 300,000 for. I'm the one who gained. Great one, how about we add each other as friends? I'll send you the requirements and deposit.]

Jiang Fengmian didn't expect the deposit to come through immediately, five thousand at that. He couldn't refuse, and there was no fear of him running off with the money. Fortunately, Jiang Fengmian's card was still usable, or Huo Zong would have found out.

However, as Jiang Fengmian stared at this character setting, it felt strangely familiar, like someone from the novel.

Jiang Fengmian took a closer look and thought it was impossible. He couldn't recall anyone who loved asking for commissions so much.

Ah well, as long as there's money.

The entire afternoon, Jiang Fengmian was so engrossed in his work that he forgot to eat or drink. He was in a rush to finish the content for the next day's update.

Money was the driving force. He had his eyes on a niche watch that perfectly matched Huo Zong's elegance. It cost 270,000 to buy it outright, and he was determined to work hard for two months to buy it for Huo Zong.

Imagining Huo Zong being so touched that he might pick him up, Jiang Fengmian rubbed his sore fingertips and suddenly felt motivated again.

Dong, dong, dong.

After finishing the last stroke, Jiang Fengmian quickly saved and exited his work, stretched lazily, acted like he had just woken up, messed up his hair, and ran to open the door.

"Huo Zong, I just woke up."

Jiang Fengmian's eyes had a few red veins, and his face showed exhaustion, not at all like someone who had just woken up.

"Is that so."

Huo Zong's face clearly showed disbelief. He walked to Jiang Fengmian's bed and pulled out the still-warm tablet from under the pillow, wondering if Jiang Fengmian had gotten hooked on another game.

"Huo Zong, don't look."

Jiang Fengmian hugged the tablet in a mysterious tone, muttering something that even Huo Zong, with his ears perked up, couldn't quite hear.

"Not looking. Come down for dinner."

Jiang Fengmian kept rubbing his eyes so frequently that Huo Zong couldn't ignore it even if he wanted to.

The fish eye Huo Zong had carefully selected changed direction with a soft "plop" and landed in Jiang Fengmian's bowl.

"Huo Zong, I'm scared of fish eyes."

Jiang Fengmian and Huo Zong stared at one another. Jiang Fengmian was genuinely scared and couldn't muster the courage to eat it. Huo Zong had taken the trouble to serve him a dish, but why did it have to be a round, creepy fish eye?

"It's good for your eyes."

The fish really did die with its eyes open!

Jiang Fengmian made a bitter face and mechanically shoved some green vegetables into his mouth. He had already eaten two rounds, but the fish eye remained untouched.

In a way, Huo Zong was really stubborn. He flipped the almost-finished fish over, ate the other eye on his own, and then gazed steadily at Jiang Fengmian without uttering a word.

Jiang Fengmian rubbed his sore eyes again. He scooted closer until he was right next to Huo Zong, their shoulders touching, as if drawing some strength from Huo Zong. He closed his eyes, stiffened, and swallowed the fish eye in one gulp.

Of course, he didn't dare to chew. He forced out a few tears to moisten his eyes, which helped relieve the discomfort a little.

"Huo Zong is so mean, making me eat the fish eye I'm scared of."

"Oh."

Irritated, Jiang Fengmian puffed out his cheeks and glared at Huo Zong with round eyes, silently accusing him. But Huo Zong was too proud and didn't even look at him.

The chair that was once pressed close to Jiang Fengmian's side moved slightly, and the warmth on Jiang Fengmian's shoulder disappeared. The distance between them was now as vast as a galaxy.

Forget it, all the love is gone.

"Jiang Fengmian."

"Huh? Huo Zong, what's the matter?"

"Once you're full, go sit on the couch."

Jiang Fengmian hummed lightly, thinking, 'Okay, okay, Huo Zong is starting to find me troublesome, bad Huo Zong.'

The living room was filled with the sounds of Xiong Da and Xiong Er's shouts. Jiang Fengmian sat cross-legged on the sofa, sucking on a corn candy, chuckling every now and then.

The sofa cushion beside him sank. Jiang Fengmian held a grudge and deliberately didn't spare Huo Zong a glance. After the end credits finished, Jiang Fengmian switched back to the same episode of the show, with the familiar shouts of Xiong Da and Xiong Er.

"Why not watch the next episode?"

"Can't watch it. You need a membership."

Huo Zong casually took the remote and glanced at it. The movies and TV shows had only been watched a little; it seemed he'd watched this content over and over again when home alone.

"Just a moment."

Huo Zong generously bought year-long subscriptions for all the apps. He turned off his phone screen and tossed the remote to Jiang Fengmian.

"You're all set. Now you can watch it."

"Wow, thank you, brother."

Huo Zong lifted his eyelids and leaned back slightly, stretching out his palm towards Jiang Fengmian. "Call me brother again, and I'll charge you."

"Here."

Jiang Fengmian made a half-hearted gesture and placed it in Huo Zong's palm, then gently closed Huo Zong's fingers over it.

Their fingers brushed and then parted.

Huo Zong's palm felt a scorching heat. He nonchalantly hid his hand and said in a hoarse voice, "Who taught you to do that?"

To do something so enticing.

"Idol drama."

"Jiang Fengmian, from now on, don't express your gratitude like that."

Jiang Fengmian nodded dismissively. He only behaved that way with Huo Zong. In his world, there were only two kinds of people: Huo Zong and everyone else.

After the commercial break, Jiang Fengmian finally got to watch his Xiong Da and Xiong Er movie. The scenes flickered by, and by the time he came to, Huo Zong was no longer by his side.

At this point, Huo Zong must have gone to work.

Indeed, he was working overtime. Practicing how to catch dolls.

In just a few minutes, Huo Zong had figured out the adjusted claw machine. He tried setting the machine to the ultimate difficulty mode, and his previously perfect success rate plummeted.

Huo Zong wasn't frustrated; instead, he was filled with fighting spirit. After three attempts, he was back to a perfect success rate.

Huo Zong rubbed his knuckles, where there seemed to be a faint sensation of Jiang Fengmian's tender palm. He leaned against the cold wall and exhaled, the skin under his shirt glowing red, marked from where he had pinched himself hard.

It seemed he was no longer satisfied.

The moon hung high. The cold light poured in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting Huo Zong's slightly hunched shadow on the wall. His eyes darkened, he took a sip of ice water, his flawless clothes unwrinkled, and he closed the door and went downstairs.

Huo Zong held his hand loosely as he walked quietly to the sofa. In just this short distance, Jiang Fengmian had rubbed his eyes at least three times.

The TV sound stopped abruptly. Jiang Fengmian turned his head and noticed the eye drops in Huo Zong's hand.

"Jiang Fengmian, for your eyes."

A warm feeling spread through his chest, reaching his stiff limbs and foggy mind. Jiang Fengmian couldn't quite put his feelings into words.

In a daze, his eyes welled up again.

Huo Zong, who appeared cold-hearted, was actually more attentive than anyone. He acted without a word.

"Brother, I don't know how to put the drops in, can you help?"

Afraid Huo Zong might refuse, Jiang Fengmian quickly lay down on Huo Zong's lap. He gazed up at Huo Zong, feeling the area under his head stiffen as Huo Zong likely clenched his jaw, his jaw tightening.

"Brother, you're the best."

Jiang Fengmian opened his eyes wide, revealing faint red streaks. He pursed his lips, clearly clinging to Huo Zong as his lifeline.

After a brief, silent standoff, Huo Zong raised his still somewhat stiff arm, unscrewed the cap of the eye drops, and leaned slightly forward.

Huo Zong was so close that Jiang Fengmian could see the movement of his Adam's apple.

Huo Zong was nervous too.

"Jiang Fengmian, don't blink so fast."

"Oh."

Jiang Fengmian stared intently at Huo Zong's Adam's apple, his eyes rolling upward, cooperating as Huo Zong put the eye drops in.

"Move your eye around, close it."

Jiang Fengmian gave a soft hum, his breathing steadied as he was enveloped in a familiar scent.

By the time Huo Zong realized something was off, Jiang Fengmian was already sound asleep.

Huo Zong: "Hmm?"

Was Jiang Fengmian faking it? Falling asleep just like that.

Huo Zong glanced at the time, 9:42. He clenched the eye drops tightly, his expression cold and wooden.

Just then, Jiang Fengmian murmured and shifted, finding a comfortable position. A faint smile graced his face, looking truly content in his sleep.

Huo Zong's icy demeanor grew even colder.