There’re Always Paranoid Thoughts to Monopolize Me - Extra 13.1

Hearing the voice behind her, Qin Ke’s figure stiffened. She hurriedly turned around to look.

The man who spoke was leaning against the doorway, with a tall shadow cast behind him by the floor lamp inside the room. The light was dim, and emotions couldn’t be discerned in the man’s features. Only the taut, sharp line of his jaw was faintly visible.

Qin Ke dejectedly raised her hand and rubbed her hair.

“…You ‘followed’ me.”

The man walked in, his laughter low and cold. “You’re secretly hiding a boy toy behind my back, and you dare blame me first?”

“Don’t corrupt the child, he’s still young.”

Qin Ke was dissatisfied with Huo Zhonglou’s choice of words and glared at him.

“Did I say something wrong?” As he finished speaking, Huo Zhonglou had already approached her, unceremoniously hooking his arm around the girl’s waist and pulling her into his embrace. Then he narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze dangerously lowering to look at the child standing in the lamplight, “Isn’t this little pretty boy about to elope with you?”

Qin Ke: “……”

Qin Ke helplessly pulled down Huo Zhonglou’s arm from her waist, “Are you a child too… Getting jealous and upset over a child, aren’t you being childish, Huo Zhonglou?”

Huo Zhonglou snorted a laugh, his eyes revealing a low, oppressive darkness, “I don’t think he considers himself a child.”

Just as he said.

Huo Zhonglou’s fierce gaze, full of killing intent, was something that normally not just a child, but even most adults could hardly withstand. However, at this moment, the child bearing the full brunt of his ferocious gaze didn’t yield at all, coldly maintaining a stiff little face, staring back at him.

Qin Ke sighed helplessly, extending her hand to cover the eyes of the man beside her.

Her delicate white palm covered Huo Zhonglou’s eyes.

“Huo Zhonglou, you’re becoming more and more impressive, now you’re even getting upset with a child?”

“……”

Huo Zhonglou naturally felt embarrassed by this behavior as well. He frowned slightly, pulling down the girl’s hand and bringing it to his lips, kissing it discontentedly.

“You have three minutes to explain the situation.”

Qin Ke’s cheeks flushed, withdrawing her hand, “Then you can count here, I’m taking this child to eat.”

With that, Qin Ke pulled up the silent little fellow and walked towards the outer room.

A few minutes later.

In the outer room.

The food on the table remained untouched, and behind the table, two faces that looked like they had been copy-pasted and then shrunk and infantilized, lined up expressionlessly looking at Qin Ke.

Except, the bigger one looked a bit fiercer, while the smaller one looked a bit more pitiful.

Qin Ke: “……” Headache.

After serious thought, she decided to start resolving from the “point of contention” that could probably still be reasoned with.

Qin Ke looked at Huo Zhonglou.

“Don’t you think he looks a lot like you?”

“So you hid it from me?”

“…I just wanted to wait until Huo Jingyan confirmed his relationship with you before telling you.”

“Relationship? What relationship?” Huo Zhonglou narrowed his eyes slightly, “You suspect me?”

“…I don’t.”

“I’m not interested and will never be interested in anyone other than you, let alone touch them.”

“…Mm, but for blood relations that look alike, apart from father and son, it could also be… something else.”

“What does that have to do with me?”

“……”

Qin Ke was completely stuck.

After a long while, she asked helplessly, “This little guy might be your brother, don’t you care at all?”

Huo Zhonglou coldly glanced at the child beside him, “Even if it’s true, it’s just the old man’s legacy from his philandering outside. What does it have to do with me?”

Qin Ke seemed choked for a moment, before dejectedly saying after a long while. “Fine, I overthought it. I shouldn’t have hidden it from you, I’m sorry.”

Huo Zhonglou narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at her, “Hiding someone in your room without telling me, you think a simple sorry will resolve it?”

Qin Ke: “…You could phrase it in a way that’s less likely to cause misunderstandings.”

“Is there any misunderstanding? Am I not stating facts?”

“…He’s just a child.”

“A child who wants you to marry him?”

Qin Ke: “……”

Mentioning this, Huo Zhonglou’s gaze grew even colder. He glanced at the child beside him, as if suddenly remembering something, and asked, “A few nights ago, did you sleep in the same room with him?”

“Of course not.”

Qin Ke denied without hesitation. She was certain that if this question wasn’t explained quickly, the man in front of her would go crazy in ways she couldn’t even imagine.

“I’ve been sleeping on the sofa bed this whole week.”

Huo Zhonglou’s expression eased slightly.

“Starting tonight, let him stay in the guest room.”

Qin Ke hesitated for a moment, but ultimately decided not to argue with him while he was in a jealous mood. She nodded, “Then you can go back first. After he finishes dinner, I’ll send him to the guest room.”

Before Huo Zhonglou could speak, Qin Ke added.

“With you around, he definitely won’t touch his dinner at all.”

“…”

Huo Zhonglou narrowed his eyes slightly, casting a dangerous glance at the child who had been keeping his head lowered the entire time. His gaze fluctuated for a few seconds before he reluctantly agreed.

“Fine.”

Qin Ke stood up and walked Huo Zhonglou to the door. Just as she was about to close it, she saw the figure in front of her suddenly turn back.

“You still have—”

The rest of her words were swallowed as the man bent down and kissed her.

Caught off guard, Qin Ke’s right hand, hanging by her side, almost instinctively raised to hold onto the man’s arm. This action, however, caused a dark light to flash in Huo Zhonglou’s black eyes. He took advantage by stepping forward, kissing her more deeply.

The girl’s left hand, resting on the door, unconsciously tightened, her fingertips turning slightly white as they pressed against the door edge.

From inside the room came the crisp sound of cutlery colliding with porcelain.

“…!”

Qin Ke suddenly came to her senses, remembering there was still a seven or eight-year-old child in the room behind her. Her face flushed, and she pushed the man away.

“…Huo Zhonglou!”

She was embarrassed and angry, but could do nothing except chide him helplessly in a lowered voice.

“Good night.”

The man’s lips curled into a smile, a satisfied light passing through his eyes.

Qin Ke finally closed the door, unable to bear it any longer.

She leaned against the door, repeating to herself “nothing happened” a few times, before turning around and trying to speak in a relaxed manner.

“Alright, I’ve chased away the annoying one. Now you can eat dinner—”

“I’m not a child.”

The boy sitting in the chair with his eyes lowered suddenly spoke, interrupting Qin Ke.

His black hair, which Qin Ke had previously tied back simply, revealed a side profile that still had a bit of baby fat. His face showed no emotion. His voice was equally flat and emotionless.

“So, don’t treat me like a child who doesn’t understand anything.”

Qin Ke walked in, torn between laughter and tears.

“How old are you this year? Seven? Eight? In any case, you’re definitely not ten, right? That big brother just now and I are both more than ten years older than you. To us, you really are a child. There’s nothing shameful about that.”

“—I don’t want to be a child!”

The boy’s low, hoarse voice suddenly exploded.

Qin Ke was startled, her footsteps stopping in shock. After a moment of dead silence in the room, she finally reacted, furrowing her brow slightly.

“Why?”

“……”

The boy who had jumped to the ground still kept his head lowered, but his hands at his sides were clenched into fists. Perhaps due to using too much force, even his body trembled slightly.

He gritted his teeth tightly, and in his eyes hidden behind his lowered hair, emotions utterly incongruous with his apparent age swirled darkly.

“Because it’s useless,” he said, almost enunciating each word.

—

Because he was just a child, so she didn’t take him seriously at all. Because he was just a child, so he couldn’t stop that man from doing anything to her. Because he was just a child, so no matter what he said, this woman wouldn’t take him seriously at all!

“How can you say it’s useless?”

Unable to understand the boy’s subtext, Qin Ke didn’t notice the emotions in the boy’s eyes at this moment. She walked over, feeling a bit of a headache.

Now, Qin Ke was more certain that this little guy was blood-related to Huo Zhonglou – this generation of the Huo family probably all inherited genes that could make them go crazy at any time.

But fortunately, he was young, so he should still be easier to guide.

She felt she’d better nip this crazy seedling gene in the bud, to prevent this little guy from harming others and himself in the future.

Thinking this, Qin Ke exerted her greatest patience, walked up to the child, and bent down supporting herself on her knees.

“Don’t be in such a hurry, child. You’ll grow up one day.”

The boy kept his head down and mumbled.

“…Will you wait for me?”

“Hm?” Qin Ke didn’t hear clearly, “What did you say?”

The boy in front of her raised his head.

Those eyes hidden behind the black hair finally revealed themselves, and something deeply etched in them made Qin Ke’s heart startle–

“Sister, will you wait for me to grow up? Everything he can give you, I can give you too – including myself.”

The boy stepped forward, a nearly ferocious emotion flashing across his handsome little face – he suddenly reached out and grabbed the wrist of the girl in front of him who had not yet come to her senses.

“Don’t let him kiss you, touch you, don’t be with him… Wait for me, I’ll grow up very soon!”

Qin Ke was truly frightened by the child in front of her – this demeanor and look in his eyes were disturbingly familiar.

She stepped back half a step almost without thinking.

Almost simultaneously, her phone on the table suddenly started vibrating.

Qin Ke was called back to her senses by the ringtone of her phone. She hurriedly went over to pick it up, answering the call without even looking at it, and hastily walked into the inner room.

She subconsciously closed the door behind her.

Although unwilling to admit it, Qin Ke knew deep in her heart that she must have looked like she was fleeing in panic – in front of a child who was clearly only seven or eight years old.

But that look in his eyes…

It was too much like Huo Jun.

Qin Ke didn’t dare to think further.

And the familiar voice in her ear once again pulled back her consciousness.

“…Miss Qin?”

Qin Ke looked at the caller ID with a headache, then put the phone back to her ear. She steadied her breath, “Butler Huo, I’m sorry, I didn’t see it just now… What’s the matter, is there something at this late hour?”

“Yes, Miss Qin, didn’t you ask me to investigate that child’s background before?”

Qin Ke’s eyes lit up, her body unconsciously straightening. “Do you have any results?”

“We do have something, but also nothing.”

Qin Ke: “…?”

Huo Jingyan was silent for a few seconds on the other end of the phone before saying, “This child seems to have appeared out of thin air. I can’t find any possible background for him – even if, as Miss Qin said, he appeared at the Huo family’s old house a week ago, there’s no trace of this child in any of the surveillance videos of all entrances and exits of the Huo family in the past month.”

“…!”

Qin Ke’s breath suddenly tightened.

“You’re saying he appeared in the Huo family without a sound?”

“We can’t rule out the possibility of oversight. But at least in this round of investigation, I couldn’t find his background.”

“……”

“I’ll do another screening here, but I heard that Young Master Zhonglou also knows about his existence. Given the current situation, I’ll send someone to pick him up from Miss Qin’s place – before confirming his background, Miss Qin should try not to have contact with him.”

“But-”

“Your wedding with Young Master Zhonglou is just around the corner. Leave this matter to me, you should focus on preparing for the wedding.”

“Alright,” Qin Ke leaned against the door, “…I understand.”

The call ended.

Qin Ke’s mood was momentarily too complex to describe.

Soon after, she heard the faint sound of servants entering the outer room behind her.

Low voices of conversation could be vaguely heard. Qin Ke wanted to listen but didn’t dare to – before verifying her thoughts, she seemed a bit afraid to face that child. On the other hand, she was worried that they might have made a mistake, which would make her feel even more guilty towards that child.