Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Forget it, let the little lord bump his head against the wall—he’ll figure out on his own that even releasing animals should be done within one’s means.

That much would wear you out till you cry.

“What about the food? Can you finish it all?” Huo Liangzhou asked helplessly.

Qi Mo glanced at him. So, even you, the tool, are falling short now.

“For releasing them. I’m feeding the fishies,” Qi Mo said with a serious expression, staring at the man before him.

Huo Liangzhou, just how many fish are you planning to feed? Won’t that pollute the water?

Never mind, forget I asked.

As long as you’re happy.

Is my little lord out of his mind, or has someone tricked him again?

Seeing the man remain silent with a stern expression, Qi Mo’s face darkened, and he muttered in a small, aggrieved voice, “Husband, didn’t you earn money for me and our baby to spend? They say you’re very rich. I only spent a little today, just a tiny bit. Can’t I? Or… do you have a mistress outside? Do you not love me and our baby anymore?”

Qi Mo even gestured with his hands—first spreading his thumb and forefinger about a dozen centimeters apart, then shrinking it to just three or four centimeters—to emphasize how little he had really spent, not even a fraction of it.

His voice was sweet and whiny, making even Qi Mo cringe inside, his scalp tingling!

Looking at the young master, who seemed on the verge of tears, Huo Liangzhou knew he screwed up.

“No, I could never stop loving you or our baby. You’re my rightful husband/wife. There’s no one else but you. Every penny I earn is for you and our child to spend. Spend however much you want. Don’t cry, sweetheart.” The usually cool-headed Huo Liangzhou, who never flinched even during billion-dollar negotiations, was now overwhelmed.

At this moment, he wished he had more hands. He wanted to pull the young master into his arms, wipe away his tears, but with only one free hand, he was struggling.

Holding the baby with one arm and using the other to brush away the tears rolling down the young master’s cheeks, Huo Liangzhou finally managed to wrap an arm around him. “Come on, let’s go home. Don’t cry, sweetheart. Get whatever your heart desires. I’ll wire you the cash.”

With his husband’s reassurance, Qi Mo finally brightened up.

Huh, so this trick actually works. His cousin and cousin Qi Huai always acted like this—whimpering, playing innocent first—and every time, it made others scramble to comfort them.

Qi Mo had observed this after the apocalypse.

Now, putting it into practice, he hadn’t expected it to be so effective.

He had his hubby right where he wanted him in no time!

Back home, Huo Liangzhou passed the baby to Nanny Zhang.

“Sweetheart, don’t be upset. My money is yours anyway. You can spend however you like,” Huo Liangzhou said stiffly, trying to console his young master.

In truth, Huo Liangzhou was a razor-sharp negotiator, always in control.

But with the young master, none of that worked—it would only scare him.

Ever since bringing the young master home, he had been trying to change, but breaking habits isn’t easy. The sweet young master scared easily.

Qi Mo eyed the careful man before him and finally spoke up. “Just kidding! I’m planning to send supplies to the poorer districts.”

"Xiao Mo wants to do something good—don’t worry, your man won’t stand in your way. Give as much as you like, buy whatever you want," Huo Liangzhou said softly, his tone coaxing.

The phone rang again.

Qi Mo picked it up—it was Chen Feng once more.

This time, Qi Mo was ready and answered.

"Hello, Brother Chen Feng, is there something you need?" Qi Mo asked after taking a deep breath.

Chen Feng stood by the floor-to-ceiling window of his office, gazing at the city lights below. "Ah Qi, why didn’t you pick up earlier?"

"I was holding the baby," Qi Mo explained.

At this, Chen Feng relaxed. He couldn't shake the feeling that Qi Mo was slipping from his grasp.

If Qi Mo's loyalty shifted to Huo Liangzhou and he stopped listening, how could he keep using him?

"Are you free tomorrow? We’re heading to the farm to pick strawberries. You can bring the baby along—let them experience nature," Chen Feng suggested with a smile.

Qi Mo remembered that in his past life, Chen Feng had indeed called him around this time.

But back then, there had been no mention of a farm trip.

Instead, Chen Feng had spoken about the Huo Clan Consortium’s plan to take over the Haicheng port construction—a disaster waiting to happen.

Even after the apocalypse, the project never got off the ground, and the Huo family paid dearly for it.

"I’m busy tomorrow, sorry, Brother Chen Feng," Qi Mo declined.

Chen Feng pretended to be disappointed. "Alright. Actually, I heard President Huo is planning to take on the Haicheng port project. I was wondering if you could put in a word for me—get the Chen family in on it too."

"Oh, sure. I’ll mention it to my husband," Qi Mo agreed.

Huo Liangzhou watched Qi Mo hang up, his chest tight with jealousy.

After all this time, still calling someone else “Brother”? Was he really inferior to some silver-tongued pretty boy?

"Husband, the Haicheng project is bad—it’s a total scam. Let’s acquire the Jiang family’s supermarket instead. I heard it’ll only cost a billion to take over their inventory. And they have a food processing plant too—they make drinks and compressed biscuits. I want to send food to places where people are starving and parched. Their children are nothing but skin and bones, their bellies swollen… It’s so heartbreaking," Qi Mo said, looking at his sullen husband with hopeful eyes.

Just moments ago, everything had seemed fine. But after one call, his husband was brooding again.

Men are so hard to read, Qi Mo thought. He just couldn’t understand the mind of a tycoon.

Huo Liangzhou mused, My darling must’ve seen something on TV again. Seeing our chubby, thriving baby compared to those emaciated children on screen must have upset him.

In truth, Huo Liangzhou had no idea that what Qi Mo remembered wasn’t from TV—but from his own child. Yan Yan, once plump and healthy, later withered to a skeleton, with a bloated belly, oversized head, sunken eyes, and limbs like toothpicks.

Hearing Qi Mo’s plea, Huo Liangzhou looked into his beloved’s expectant gaze.

That look—Huo Liangzhou was powerless against it.

So damn adorable.

Those wide eyes reflected only him.

His heart pounded wildly, and he wanted nothing more than to sweep Qi Mo into their room and take him right then and there.

However, hold back—don't scare the young sir.

Huo Liangzhou silently warned himself not to act recklessly, clenching his back teeth. "Fine. We'll acquire the Jiang family's company, buy up more supplies, and ramp up production of food and drinks to send over."

Qi Mo smiled.

Once they had it, those food and supplies would become Huo Liangzhou's leverage.

When the apocalypse first hit, things were chaotic at first, but Huo Liangzhou already ran a security company full of ex-military men.

He could hold his own and build something big.

In the end, they hadn’t stayed together, but Qi Mo knew how formidable Huo Liangzhou was.

Too bad Huo Liangzhou didn’t care about him—only about the kid.

But he didn’t want to hand the baby over to Huo Liangzhou either.

Huo Liangzhou would eventually marry someone he loved and have children he truly wanted.

Their marriage was just duty, not love.

Once he left Huo Liangzhou, he wouldn’t marry again. The idea of the baby getting eaten, the thought of what this world would become—it made Qi Mo never want to have kids again.

But he was already pregnant. In their last life, the babies might have been eaten before even opening their eyes.

They never got to see what this world looked like.

This time, Qi Mo wanted to bring them into the world—to let them see sunlight, see him, see their big brother Yan Yan.

With such a large stockpile of supplies, raising the kids wouldn’t be an issue.

Besides, after the apocalypse, people would be the real threat. So Qi Mo felt he needed weapons to protect himself and the children—knives, guns, crossbows…

That settled it: tomorrow, after securing the water tower, he’d buy formula, then weapons.

A little over ten days wasn’t long—he had to hurry.

"Hubby, you gotta hurry. I want to get it all sent over fast. Can we do it in ten days?" Qi Mo asked, looking at Huo Liangzhou’s blank expression.

Huo Liangzhou answered simply, "Yes."

"Eat something. You've been gone all day—you’ve gotta be exhausted." Huo Liangzhou fought to keep his cool, playing it cool—no easy feat.

The two ate in silence.

Qi Mo, who'd gone hungry for months during the apocalypse—

Sweet and sour ribs, his favorite. Winter melon soup, so good. Cheese prawns, he loved them. Tender beef, delicious. Steamed fish, so fresh…

Normally, he picked at his food like a bird, satisfied with just a bite or two. But today, he finished two bowls of rice.

And he wanted a third.

Huo Liangzhou was stunned. What was up with him?

"Xiao Mo, stop. You can’t eat anymore. You’ll get a stomachache," Huo Liangzhou tried to stop him.

Only when his hand was held back did Qi Mo snap out of it—the table nearly cleared by him alone.

He rubbed his belly—his appetite had skyrocketed, likely because of the pregnancy.

But he was seriously stuffed.

"I ate way too much. Auntie Zhang’s cooking just keeps getting better. I’m stuffed," Qi Mo said somewhat sheepishly.

This was his post-apocalyptic starvation trauma kicking in. No matter how much food there was, he felt the urge to hoard it all—afraid someone might take it.

Auntie Zhang, minding the little one in the living room, thought, *I know my cooking is decent, but it shouldn’t be this delicious.*

Huo Liangzhou put his chopsticks down. "Auntie Zhang, bring some digestive tablets."

She set the little one down on the playmat, then immediately headed to the storage room.

Soon, she returned with a bottle of digestive tablets.

Huo Liangzhou poured water, popped out a tablet, and held it to Qi Mo’s lips.

With two little kicks in his belly, though he was full, it wasn’t serious enough for medicine.

"Medicine’s always got some side effects," Qi Mo thought. He pretended to take the pill, slipping it into his space instead, then took a sip of water.

"Feeling sick? Wanna walk it off?" Huo Liangzhou asked, looking at the young master clutching his stomach.

Qi Mo shook his head. "I’ve been on my feet all day. I’m wiped—can’t move."

"Then just sit and chill," Huo Liangzhou said, guiding him to the couch.

He sat next to Qi Mo, played with the baby on the mat, then grabbed his paperwork.

His skin was pale and smooth, his eyes sharp and hooded, his lips thin but tempting, his jawline defined, fingers long, legs lean, waist trim, abs chiseled, and Adonis belt strikingly sexy.

Whether in profile or face-on, flawless—perfect proportions.

No matter how you sliced it, Qi Mo thought Huo Liangzhou was god-tier handsome, leagues ahead of any so-called celebrity.

His eyes drifted to the baby. Though chubby, the child clearly took after Huo Liangzhou. "My kid’s gonna be a heartbreaker too." The thought filled him with pride.

Gritting his teeth, Qi Mo swore to himself, *I’ll raise my adorable kid right. I have to see him grow up.*

Huo Liangzhou’s pinky twitched.

*That intense stare… Does Qi Mo actually like me? Is there a place for me in his heart?*

He let go of the pen, adjusted his tie, and shot Qi Mo a look.

Watching Qi Mo dote on the baby, Huo Liangzhou sighed to himself.

Well, even if he wasn’t in Qi Mo’s heart yet, their kid had claimed a spot—permanently.

*If our kid’s in his heart, that’s basically me too,* Huo Liangzhou mused.

He smirked inwardly.

Just like that, he was in a better mood.

Sidling up to Huo Liangzhou, Qi Mo reached out and tugged at his sleeve.

Huo Liangzhou nearly dropped the documents in his hand, turning his head to see the young master batting his big eyes playfully. “What’s wrong, Xiao Mo?”

Inside, the sight of such an adorable young master was almost too much for Huo Liangzhou—he felt a surge of desire to have his way with him right there on the sofa.

Suppressing the urge, Huo Liangzhou caught the young master’s restless fingers.

Qi Mo leaned closer and whispered, “So, that Chen Feng wants shares in Haicheng, right? Can you get him some? That bottomless pit—think it’s enough to sink Chen Feng?”

Seeing the young master’s eyes gleam, Huo Liangzhou clenched his jaw and eyed him warily. “How do you know Haicheng Port is a trap? And why do you want to sink Chen Feng? Did he bully you or make you unhappy?”

Or was Xiao Mo still carrying a torch for Chen Feng and trying to help him?

If the Huo family stepped back, Chen Feng really could get part of the Haicheng Port bid.

The realization hit Huo Liangzhou like a bucket of ice water.

Huo Liangzhou’s expression turned stormy.