Chapter 24 Which Mom?

Chapter 24 Which Mom?

Gu Qingyin ultimately didn’t get to hear Huo Xingye’s first love story from his own mouth, which was a little disappointing, but not by much.

Because Xue Ning told her everything he knew.

The story was cliché—a cold, domineering CEO fell in love at first sight with a woman as sunshine-bright.

To Huo Xingye, Wen Ting was like a light in his long darkness—warm, healing, and impossible to resist.

Unfortunately, that light refused to belong to him alone.

"The Family Head had his heart broken the first time he ever fell in love. He won’t swear off romance forever and become a secular Buddhist, will he?" Xue Ning joked, though deep down, he was genuinely concerned.

Gu Qingyin, however, wasn’t worried. She had read Huo Xingye’s face—there were a few rough patches in his youth, but once he overcame them, he would have a happy family and a content old age.

As the saying goes, "After extreme bad luck comes good fortune."

The next two weeks passed uneventfully.

Gu Qingyin occasionally took commissions. With her youthful appearance and being a female Celestial Master, she earned much less without Liu Ergou vouching for her.

She could have re-registered and tested for certification at the Arcane Arts Association, but she wanted to avoid running into the higher-ups who had previously assigned her missions. She wasn’t keen on dealing with them right now.

The mission from twenty years ago had clearly been underestimated—the supernatural beast she hunted was far stronger than the records indicated.

Gu Qingyin couldn’t say for sure whether it was an accident or deliberate, but either way, she had no intention of making the first move.

After all, she hadn’t hidden the news of her return. Sooner or later, those old foxes would lose patience and come looking for her.

When that happened, the initiative would naturally fall into her hands—after all, she was the only one who knew the truth about that beast.

Meanwhile, after two weeks of recovery, Wen Ting was discharged from the hospital.

Huo Xingye personally picked her up and took her straight to an apartment in the city center. Before leaving, he even gifted her a bank card.

Wen Ting checked the balance and was so shocked that she immediately locked the card in a drawer. The amount was enough to cover everything from her past life.

In over twenty years, she had never spent that much money.

Additionally, Gu Qingyin heard another shocker.

Chen Ling had gotten married—to a fellow Celestial Master. Word was the man had pursued her for seven or eight years, and no one knew why she suddenly agreed. What’s more, they jumped straight to marriage—they registered their relationship on the same day they confirmed it.

Gu Qingyin wasn’t close to Chen Ling, so after satisfying her curiosity, she didn’t dwell on it, even though her instincts told her something fishy was going on.

There were too many strange things in the world—if she meddled in every one, she’d never get anything else done.

One afternoon, bored out of her mind, Gu Qingyin brought some nourishing soup prepared by the family chef to Huo Xingye’s office.

Unfortunately, Huo Xingye was in a meeting.

Without hesitation, Gu Qingyin flopped onto the sofa, split her phone screen, and played a tile-matching game while watching clips of her son.

Before long, the office door opened.

Distracted and not having heard a knock, Gu Qingyin naturally assumed it was Huo Xingye. Without looking up, she said, "The soup’s on the table. Drink it while it’s hot."

The visitor paused mid-step, his gaze landing on the thermos on the desk. He found it utterly incongruous—a bright pink thermos clashing starkly with the office's sterile decor.

Previously, he'd heard rumors that Huo Xingye was in love, but he'd laughed them off. Now, he wasn’t so sure.

The woman lounging on the sofa was making herself right at home—clearly not her first visit. And the fact that she remained so unruffled even after mistaking him for Huo Xingye showed how sure of herself she was. And who else could have given her that confidence? The answer was obvious.

Seriously? Huo Xingye—capable of liking someone?

Just then, Gu Qingyin, who hadn’t received a response, finally sensed something amiss. Her fingers, tapping away at her phone, stilled as she looked up—only to see a tall man wearing a face mask standing before her.

Unfamiliar, yet oddly familiar.

Gu Qingyin’s brow furrowed slightly as she tried to place the source of that familiarity in the bit of his face that showed.

Then, the man tilted his head slightly, one eyebrow quirking upward.

That familiar little mannerism clicked in her mind, and the name burst out before she could stop it.

“Huo Xinghai!”

Huo Xinghai blinked in surprise, instinctively feeling his mask. Even covered like this, she could recognize him? Unless…

“Are you a fan?”

Gu Qingyin couldn’t contain her excitement. “I’m your mother!”

Huo Xinghai didn’t seem offended in the slightest. Instead, he tilted his head again and asked calmly, “Which mom?”

The smile on Gu Qingyin’s lips froze. Her eye twitched as she replied, her tone sweet but deadly, “How many moms do you have?”

Huo Xinghai, completely clueless about the impending storm, shrugged helplessly. “Way too many to count.”

“Oh really?” Gu Qingyin set her phone aside, rose from the sofa, and started rolling up her sleeves with deliberate slowness, removing her bracelets and watch—the watch was a gift from her son, after all. Couldn’t risk damaging it.

Only then did Huo Xinghai finally catch on. “What are you doing? This is Huo Corporation’s office building!”

Gu Qingyin stalked forward with a scary smile.

The next second, a blood-curdling scream erupted from the office—

“NOT THE FACE!!!”

Even with the office’s soundproofing, the secretaries and assistants across the hall in the executive suite heard every word.

They looked at each other nervously, silently debating: Should someone go check?

But no one wanted to handle that mess.

The boss’s relative and the boss’s younger brother were engaged in a family feud—none of them dared interfere.

But if they ignored it and something serious happened…?

God, this job sucked.

“Ahem,” one assistant cleared his throat. “The CEO’s meeting is about to end.”

Their eyes perked up in unison—perfect timing!

So, when Huo Xingye returned to his office five minutes later, he was greeted by the sight of a beat-up Huo Xinghai and Gu Qingyin sitting stone-faced on the sofa. Same old, same old.

Huo Xingye went quiet.

"Bro! You gotta handle her!" Huo Xinghai cried, as if spotting a lifeline, rushing over to complain. "Look how she beat me up!" She wasn’t even inside yet and already hit him this hard—who knows how much worse she’ll mess with him later?

Huo Xingye gave him a sidelong glance and stated bluntly, "I can't control her, and I don’t dare to."

Huo Xinghai widened his eyes in disbelief. "Bro! You're babying her too much!"

No wonder this woman dared to act so tough—she'd been utterly pampered by his brother!

Huo Xingye sighed and asked Gu Qingyin, "What did he do to upset you?"

Gu Qingyin gave him a cold smirk. "He said he has way too many ‘moms’ to keep track of. Shouldn’t I have hit him?"

Huo Xingye paused, then agreed, "Totally had it coming."

Huo Xinghai protested indignantly, "I really do have way too many mom fans to count! Besides, what does it matter to you how many moms I claim?"

Gu Qingyin scoffed. "Huo Xingye, tell him why it matters."

"Mm." Without giving him any time to prepare, Huo Xingye introduced directly, "This is Gu Qingyin, your biological mother."

Huo Xinghai blinked in confusion. "Huh?"