Chapter 14: My Person, Your Touch is Different

Chapter 14: My Person, Your Touch is Different

Jiang Fengmian had wrapped his arms tightly around Huo Zong's waist. His head was lowered, buried against Huo Zong's chest, speaking in a muffled voice, which made him seem even more pitiful.

Huo Zong's arm hovered in mid-air, and sensing the slight tremble in the person in his arms, he slowly lowered his arm, resting it on Jiang Fengmian's head and awkwardly rubbing it.

Jiang Fengmian's disheveled head shot up, a tear still hanging at the corner of his eye, his expression one of disbelief.

It was Huo Zong rubbing his head.

Jiang Fengmian yelped inwardly, too preoccupied to cry anymore, and nestled his head affectionately in Huo Zong's palm, rubbing against it gently.

As obedient as a lost kitten, without claws, only capable of pretending to be fierce, crying out in a cute way.

Feeling Jiang Fengmian's gaze on him, Huo Zong felt a little warm, and he casually shifted his gaze away, speaking softly, “I said to stay in the bedroom, why are you still at the door?”

“Where does it hurt? Did Huo Qilin hit you?”

“I was scared, waiting for you.” Tears flowed down Jiang Fengmian's face, and he stubbornly tightened the collar of his clothes, “He wanted to touch me, said he wanted to play with me.”

His clear, spring-like eyes stared directly at Huo Zong, but they were filled with fear. Huo Zong's heart softened, and he rubbed Jiang Fengmian's head again.

There was a chill in his eyes. Jiang Fengmian didn't understand what "playing" meant, but Huo Zong did.

“Go back to your room first.”

Jiang Fengmian shook his head frantically, boldly standing in front of Huo Zong, gripping his wrist with a slightly sweaty palm, but still calmly facing Huo Qilin.

“He's bad, I'll protect you.”

Huo Qilin let out a soft laugh, leaning against the wall, unable to help but laugh despite the intense pain in his body. What a scene he'd just witnessed, two lunatics sympathizing with each other, how curious.

A fool and a lunatic, a perfect match.

Tsk, protecting a dangerous lunatic. He'd like to see just how long Jiang Fengmian could remain happy, maybe he'd die unexpectedly one day.

“Uncle.” Huo Qilin smiled ingratiatingly, his expression unchanged as he explained smoothly, “This fool... my little aunt must have misunderstood. I heard some noise in the room and thought someone had broken in. It's not safe for my little aunt to be alone at home. I didn't mean anything else, just thought he might be bored, so I wanted to keep him company.”

“Uncle, I tried calling you several times but no one answered. I was worried, so I tested the password, and it worked. It's grandma's anniversary, right? You're a good grandson, surely you won't be angry, right?”

Tsk, what a convenient explanation, but in reality, his heart was darker than anyone's.

“Fool, you bring bad luck. Saying Jiang Fengmian is selling himself, what other unspeakable things can you say to me?”

Huo Zong swallowed hard and gave a cold sneer. “Huo Qilin, you and Huo Qing are cut from the same cloth, unfit for proper society.”

Huo Zong's dark eyes stared quietly at Huo Qilin. He wasn't angry, just disdainful. From start to finish, he had always looked down on Huo Qilin.

Gripping Jiang Fengmian's hand firmly, Huo Zong pulled him, who stood on his tiptoes for confidence, behind him.

“When did my person become someone for you to judge? Even Huo Qing doesn't have the right.”

His person...

Jiang Fengmian tightened his grip on the hem of Huo Zong's clothes, exerting subtle pressure with his fingertips. He looked up at Huo Zong's sharp features, feeling an unprecedented sense of security, shielded by Huo Zong's broad back.

Huo Zong had said that he was his. Did that mean there was a moment when he was more important than even the members of the Huo family?

"L-little uncle."

"Huo Qilin, you are not worthy to call me that."

Under the immense pressure, beads of cold sweat began to form on Huo Qilin's temples. From a young age, the thing Huo Qilin feared the most was Huo Zong's emotionless eyes.

That cold, icy gaze was all too familiar. It was the kind of look Huo Zong reserved for dead people. To him, everything in the world was beneath his feet, mere ants.

Vaguely, Huo Qilin recalled a childhood memory.

It had been an ordinary afternoon. Huo Qilin, in his mischievousness, had pushed Huo Zong into the pond. The splash frightened him so much that he took off.

Huo Zong had been thirteen years old at the time.

Huo Qilin had no idea how Huo Zong managed to climb out of the pond. He only remembered that Huo Zong had said nothing, his apathetic gaze like that of a corpse. Huo Zong grabbed his collar and dragged him to the edge of the pond, forcing his head underwater several times before pulling him out.

Huo Zong's hand hadn't trembled once.

Huo Zong had wanted to drown him. Really drown him. If Grandfather hadn't rushed over after hearing the commotion, Huo Qilin would have been in serious danger that day.

The feeling of suffocation was no different now. Huo Qilin swallowed, nervously rubbing his throat as he averted his gaze from Huo Zong.

Huo Zong was tough. When Grandfather whipped him so hard his back split open, he hadn't uttered a single word, only glaring at those present with hatred in his eyes.

Huo Qilin had lied, saying Huo Zong had pushed him in. Huo Zong merely pressed his lips together, offering no explanation.

Even though Huo Zong was drenched, no one asked if he was okay. At that moment, Huo Qilin realized Huo Zong was considered disposable in the Huo family. Grandfather had simply used the incident as an excuse to let out his frustrations. No one cared whether Huo Zong lived or died.

Shivering uncontrollably, Huo Qilin felt like today was a repeat of yesterday. He was scared. Truly scared.

"I-I was wrong, Little Uncle. Don't be angry. I misspoke in my haste. It wasn't intentional."

Tears and snot flowed as Huo Qilin cried out, on the verge of kowtowing to Huo Zong in a sincere apology, hoping to make Huo Zong seem unreasonable.

"There are no outsiders here. You don't need to put on a show. Huo Qing isn't watching. You only know how to pretend in front of him. Who cares about a useless person like you?"

Huo Qilin's face turned pale and then flushed, stammering for a long time without managing to say a complete sentence.

After a long pause, Huo Qilin, enduring the pain, finally snapped in humiliation. "Huo Zong, what do you have to show off? Everything you have was given to you by Grandfather. You're beneath contempt. Without the Huo family, you're a complete waste."

"Which of my words are wrong? It's a fact that you brought misfortune and caused Grandmother's death. It's also a fact that you forced a fool into bed. You may look like a decent human being, but behind the scenes, you're no better than a beast."

Bang.

Huo Zong kicked Huo Qilin, sending him flying across the room. He strode over and grabbed Huo Qilin by the collar, slamming him down hard.

Punch after punch, each one landing solidly.

Even then, Huo Zong's breathing didn't falter. It was as if he was smashing a piece of dead pork, one that was rotten and stinking.

Curling up, Huo Qilin crawled on the ground in a most undignified manner. He howled, exerting great effort to escape Huo Zong's grip.

Covered in injuries, he staggered to his feet, on all fours like a beast, crawling away. He didn't dare to utter any threats, fearing that Huo Zong might actually kill him if he waited any longer.

"Huo Zong, you're handsome."

Jiang Fengmian's eyes sparkled with admiration. The kid was really handsome—cool and collected, never wasted words, and took action when it mattered. He really needed to set that rude jerk straight for his nonsense. And the jerk even dared to tease him, without realizing who he was messing with.

"Brother, your hand is bleeding."

Huo Zong's eyes seemed to hollow out for a second, and the hand hanging by his side trembled uncontrollably. He glanced at it casually, offering no further comment, and said hoarsely, "It's fine, let's go back to the room."

"No, it needs treatment."

Jiang Fengmian stubbornly insisted, blocking Huo Zong. He couldn't shake the sense that Huo Zong seemed a little lonely, and he wanted to hug him.

He only thought about it but didn’t have the guts to actually do it.

Those offhand remarks were deeply embedded in Huo Zong's heart, wounds that had festered for years. They’d start bleeding with just a slight touch.

Jiang Fengmian couldn’t bring himself to touch them.

"Huo Zong started to say—"

Huo Zong choked back the rest of his words. Jiang Fengmian wasn't sure how to handle it.

"I slapped him and punched him in the gut. I saw it on TV, it hurts."

Jiang Fengmian was a little proud, wearing a look that screamed 'Praise me!'.

Huo Zong nodded, "Is it still hurting?"

"It’s hurting right here."

Jiang Fengmian pointed to his heart, mainly angry, wishing he'd hit even harder.

Huo Zong's eyes swept over Jiang Fengmian's reddened hand, where the bruises seemed to gather. He didn’t say anything but let Jiang Fengmian follow him back to the bedroom.

The injury on his wrist was from the watch digging into it, with blood staining the watch face, the blood seeping in, blurring the numbers even more.

Huo Zong's fingertips lingered before finally taking the watch off.

Jiang Fengmian rummaged through the cabinet for the first aid kit, and in the time it took to turn around, Huo Zong was gone from the bedroom.

The sound of dripping water began, and Jiang Fengmian ran over quickly.

The water trickled down Huo Zong's wrist onto the watch face, doing nothing to fix the crack, but the bloodstains remained.

It was painfully obvious.

Jiang Fengmian's eyes were filled with heartache, strengthening his resolve to make money and buy Huo Zong a unique watch, a watch that was truly Huo Zong's own.

Huo Zong carefully wiped his palm clean, avoiding the wound on his wrist and buckled the watch back on.

The raised mark on the skin under his watch flashed by, which Jiang Fengmian didn’t quite see, feeling like it might be a scratch.

"Brother, let me help."

"I can do it myself, you wouldn't know how."

Jiang Fengmian stared at Huo Zong, his eyes filled with unignorable stubbornness, holding a cotton swab and gently dipping it into some disinfectant.

"I'm injured, I can treat it."

Huo Zong stopped his obstructive movement, forgetting that before, Jiang Fengmian had treated his own wounds. He never mentioned the abuse but took pride in being able to treat his wounds.

He had never met someone like Jiang Fengmian before, which was quite rare.

The icy cold wrist was held by Jiang Fengmian, and as the disinfectant was being applied, Huo Zong unconsciously trembled.

"Whoosh—"

"Brother, it doesn't hurt, I'm being careful."

After applying the medicine, Jiang Fengmian couldn't help blowing on the area. The proximity was such that if he moved slightly, Jiang Fengmian's lips might just touch him.

"Jiang Fengmian."

"Yes, yes, go ahead."

"Apply the medicine yourself."

Jiang Fengmian needed a magnifying glass to see his own wound, yet Huo Zong had already noticed it.

Hehe, his little one still cared about him.

Jiang Fengmian intended to playfully act spoiled to get Huo Zong to apply the medicine for him, and maybe even touch Huo Zong's fingers again. But before he could say a word, Huo Zong's phone rang.

Darn, the call came at the worst time.

"Hello, Mr. Huo, everything's been handled. It was a major director who incited some people to go on strike after receiving benefits from Huo Senior. There was some unrest after you left, but luckily the vice president was there to keep things barely under control."

"Mhm, handle it according to the company's regulations."

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Fengmian looked at Huo Zong longingly, looking somewhat dejected. "Huo Zong, was I wrong? You're busy, I shouldn't have tried to contact you."

From Chen Chen's tone, it seemed He Zong had left an important meeting to come back, but in fact, he could have easily dealt with He Qilin.

There was no need to let him delay serious matters.

"You did nothing wrong. If there's danger, you should contact me. Stay away from He Qilin; he has rabies."

Jiang Fengmian stifled a laugh and hummed in agreement. The three words "rabies" spoken seriously by He Zong hit right at his heart. His head buried in the sofa cushion, his shoulders shook with suppressed laughter.

He Zong, not understanding, thought Jiang Fengmian was crying out of anxiety. His gaze locked on the strands of hair that curled up, he quickly rubbed them.

"No more crying."

Wow, He Zong is so domineering, he really likes it.

With that pat on the head, Jiang Fengmian's hand no longer hurt, his back wasn't sore, and he felt energized enough to fight.

"Okay, no crying, I'm happy. With you here, I'm not afraid."

Jiang Fengmian knew He Zong would always come back. He wasn't the kind of person who was cold-hearted and indifferent to everything. Even if he showed no emotion on the surface, deep down, he cared.

"He Zong, can you pet my head again?"

He Zong's body tensed as Jiang Fengmian almost buried his head in his chest. Half of Jiang Fengmian's body hung over his knee, the warmth of his palm seeping through the thin trousers.

He closed his eyes, restraining his itching fingers, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. His fingertips gently pushed Jiang Fengmian's forehead, moving him away.

"No."

The emotion in He Zong's eyes was something Jiang Fengmian couldn't understand. He tilted his head, let out a disappointed "oh," and patted his own head a couple of times.

"Huo Zong, you’re different when touched."

"Jiang Fengmian, go play."

What a abrupt change of topic, no lead-in at all, just straight to the point of shooing him away.

Tsk tsk tsk, Huo Zong is too domineering, not really a fan!

Hmph, if not, then so be it. Jiang Fengmian tugged at his hair, grabbed the ointment, and ran off. Actually, he wasn’t that eager either.