There’re Always Paranoid Thoughts to Monopolize Me - Extra 17.1

“Wow, the Huo family’s estate is so huge!”

Qiao Xiaoyun drove her small car, carefully handling the steering wheel as she moved slowly along the road, her eyes scanning both sides.

“It’s so grand… It’s like a private tropical rainforest. In all my life, I’ve finally seen the legendary ‘home where you can ride horses.'”

Qin Ke sat in the passenger seat, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

“At this speed, why don’t we just stop the car and I’ll take you for a tour?”

“Huh? That wouldn’t be appropriate, would it?”

Qiao Xiaoyun responded instinctively, then realized Qin Ke was teasing her. Embarrassed, she said, “Well, this is my first time here– and Keke, when you and Huo Zhonglou got married, you didn’t even have a formal wedding. Otherwise, I definitely would have come to broaden my horizons years ago, right?”

Qin Ke smiled gently, “It’s not too late now, is it?”

“How can getting married be the same as about to get divorced–”

Qiao Xiaoyun’s mouth was faster than her brain could stop it. She choked for a few seconds, then lightly slapped her own mouth.

“Cough, I was just joking.”

Qin Ke was smiling as she looked at her, “Why? Weren’t you the one who said you’d support me all the way? Why aren’t you continuing?”

Qiao Xiaoyun pouted, “Well… I was really confident at first. But on the way here, I thought, given the Huo family’s influence, if Huo Zhonglou really wanted to divorce you, he wouldn’t have waited until now, so he…”

Qiao Xiaoyun resentfully tapped the steering wheel, grumbling, “I think he clearly intends to keep the red flag flying at home while having colorful flags flutter outside. If that’s the case and he doesn’t agree to divorce you… then, then what should we do?”

Qin Ke chuckled softly.

“If it’s truly what I want to do, no one can stop me.”

Qiao Xiaoyun was stunned by this nonchalant statement. It took her a while to find her voice, and she gave a thumbs up.

“Cool.”

“Just focus on driving, okay?”

“Oh.” Qiao Xiaoyun turned back. The car was quiet for a while as it turned around the last bend and slowly came to a stop in front of the Huo family’s main building. Looking at the impressive building complex, Qiao Xiaoyun swallowed, “Cough, what if, I’m just saying what if… what if this Huo Zhonglou insists on keeping you, um, the Huo family must have quite a few bodyguards and security personnel, right?”

Qin Ke smiled as she unbuckled her seatbelt, patting the car seat, “Isn’t your vehicle still here? Worst case scenario, you can drive me away?”

“Huh–??”

Before Qiao Xiaoyun could finish being surprised, Qin Ke had already opened the passenger door and gotten out.

Qiao Xiaoyun quickly turned off the engine, grabbed her car keys, and opened the driver’s door to chase after her. But as soon as she opened the door, she saw someone wearing a small formal uniform standing outside the car.

“Miss Qiao, just give me the keys, I’ll park the car for you.”

“Uh, okay.”

Qiao Xiaoyun’s mind went blank as she handed over the car keys.

It wasn’t until she watched her car being driven away that Qiao Xiaoyun suddenly woke up.

“Ah ah! Keke! Our escape vehicle has been confiscated!!”

“……”

A few meters ahead, at the bottom of the steps, Qin Ke turned back to look at Qiao Xiaoyun, holding her head in exasperation under the shocked gazes of the servants nearby.

She joked helplessly, “Keep it down, Xiaoyun.”

“…!” Qiao Xiaoyun came to her senses, belatedly covering her mouth.

She gave a silly smile to the formally dressed guys on both sides welcoming them, then awkwardly took small steps forward, pulling Qin Ke up the stairs–

“Keke, let’s go quickly, I’m so embarrassed, wuwuwu.”

Qin Ke didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, and could only let Qiao Xiaoyun pull her up.

At the main entrance of the building, the household servants stood on both sides. As soon as they saw Qin Ke and Qiao Xiaoyun approach, they bowed simultaneously–

“Miss Qin, welcome home.”

“…”

Qin Ke’s steps faltered, but in the end, she just nodded, holding onto the dazed Qiao Xiaoyun as they walked through the doors that were opened for them.

They passed through the entrance hall and into the main hall.

“Keke, why do they seem… not at all surprised that you’re back?”

“…” Qin Ke’s eyes flickered, then she smiled and said, “Maybe because the security personnel at the estate’s main gate reported it already.”

“Oh, oh, I see.”

Qiao Xiaoyun responded, scanning the area in front of them, “Wasn’t there supposed to be a banquet? Why don’t I see any guests, only servants?”

“The banquet hall is on the second floor. These two spiral staircases on the left and right lead directly there.”

“Then we…”

Qin Ke lowered her eyes, “There are too many people over there, we should avoid it.”

Qiao Xiaoyun paused for a moment. She seemed to think of something and turned back to look at Qin Ke.

After a few seconds of silence, she sighed.

“Sometimes, I really think you and Huo Zhonglou are a good match. Why did it come to this…”

Qin Ke pretended not to hear the latter half of the sentence and just smiled, asking, “Why do you suddenly say that?”

“Because… I feel like you’re very indifferent to other people, um, of course you’re much nicer to me. But with Huo Zhonglou, I often sense that you’re indulging him endlessly, even compromising on principles that you would never waver on for anyone else…”

Qiao Xiaoyun scratched the back of her head a bit embarrassedly,

“Maybe I’m overthinking it.”

Qin Ke’s eyes flickered slightly.

Then she smiled, neither confirming nor denying Qiao Xiaoyun’s words, and just pulled Qiao Xiaoyun towards the corridor on the left.

“If we go around this way, we can bypass the second floor…”

“Miss Qin.”

A voice suddenly interrupted Qin Ke’s words.

Qin Ke’s smile faded as she turned her head towards the source of the voice. It was an unfamiliar face, possibly a new employee who had joined the household in the past year and a half, or maybe an assistant or subordinate from Huo Jun’s company…

Qin Ke pulled back her wandering thoughts and smiled faintly, “Yes?”

“Miss Qin, are you going to see Young Master Zhonglou? He’s in the banquet hall on the second floor. He heard you’ve returned and asked me to invite you up to see him.”

“…The banquet hall?”

Qin Ke frowned almost imperceptibly.

“He wants me to meet him in the banquet hall on the second floor? Isn’t there a banquet going on there?”

“That’s what Young Master Zhonglou said.”

Qin Ke: “I’m not prepared to attend the banquet, I’d rather not disturb the guests–”

“Miss Qin,” the person smiled bitterly, “Please don’t make things difficult for me. I’ve received strict orders from Young Master Zhonglou to bring you upstairs. If you don’t go, Young Master Zhonglou might not meet you anywhere else.”

“…!”

Qin Ke’s reaction to these words was mild, but Qiao Xiaoyun beside her couldn’t help but get angry.

“If he wants to see Keke, Huo Zhonglou should come down himself! Who does he think he is? Keke is his wife now, not his subordinate, and certainly not his servant! What right does he have to make Keke–”

“Xiaoyun, it’s alright.”

Qin Ke smiled slightly, seemingly not angry at all, with a hint of meaningful emotion flashing in her eyes.

“Since he wants to meet in the banquet hall, then let’s meet in the banquet hall,” she said.

“Keke, aren’t you being too lenient with Huo Zhonglou!?” Qiao Xiaoyun exclaimed, unable to help clenching her fists in anger.

“Then please follow me upstairs, ladies,” the man said.

“…”

Qin Ke turned around, soothingly patting Qiao Xiaoyun’s hand, and then the two of them followed behind the man, winding their way up to the second-floor banquet hall.

The banquet hall in the Huo family’s main building had one main entrance and two side entrances. Usually, the main entrance was never opened for banquets, and it was generally only opened when the rarely seen Old Master Huo made an appearance, to show the status of the head of the household.

According to custom, Huo Zhonglou should also enter through the main entrance, but he was casual and free-spirited, always entering through either of the side entrances like other guests.

Qin Ke, having been in the Huo family for several years, was very familiar with this.

So when she saw the man walking in front of them heading straight to the main entrance of the banquet hall without looking back, and gesturing for the servants on both sides to open the doors, even Qin Ke was stunned.

“You…”

The man seemed to have anticipated this, turning around at that moment, moving to the side to clear the way.

He bowed and extended his arm in front of the slowly opening main doors—

“Miss Qin, please,” he said.

As the main doors opened wide, the rest of Qin Ke’s words no longer had a chance to be spoken—hearing the commotion, almost all the guests in the banquet hall gradually ceased their chatting, and like a contagion, gazes came pouring in one after another.

Finally, they all converged on the empty space revealed at the center of the main entrance, on Qin Ke and Qiao Xiaoyun.

It was Qiao Xiaoyun’s first time experiencing such attention, and she was so nervous she almost stumbled, instinctively retreating a bit behind Qin Ke.

This movement finally brought Qin Ke back to her senses.

Qin Ke gave a complex look at the young man who was bowing, and could only sigh inwardly. “Let’s go,” she said in a low voice to Qiao Xiaoyun beside her.

Qiao Xiaoyun nervously asked, “Are we really going in?”

Qin Ke replied helplessly, “There’s nowhere to retreat, nowhere to hide, what else can we do but go in?”

“…”

“How about I count to three, and we both turn and run downstairs together?”

Qiao Xiaoyun: “……”

Qiao Xiaoyun muttered softly, “Wouldn’t that be too cowardly?”

Qin Ke chuckled. She reached out and pressed on Qiao Xiaoyun’s waist, “Stand up straight, chin up, chest out, let’s go.”

“…Alright, let’s go! I’ll accompany you through fire and water!”

Encouraged by Qin Ke, Qiao Xiaoyun had almost taken on the resolve to make a glorious sacrifice.

Qin Ke smiled gently, and walked in together with Qiao Xiaoyun.

The banquet hall of the main building was very spacious, with self-service drink areas on both sides, and a brightly lit, mirror-like white wall in the middle.

When the guests noticed the main door opening wide, they had already begun to part spontaneously, creating a clear path directly from the main entrance.

As Qin Ke and Qiao Xiaoyun walked between the gradually parting guests, they could still hear hushed discussions from both sides:

“Who are these two, how can they come in dressed so casually?”

“I don’t recognize them, could they have wandered in by mistake?”

“How is that possible? This is the Huo family, who could wander in by mistake, let alone make it all the way here?”

“That’s true.”

“Pay attention – they came in through the main entrance. I’ve been to Huo family banquets a few times, and the only time I saw someone use that entrance was when Old Master Huo walked through it – that’s the door only the head of the household can use.”

“The head… of the household?”

“Hiss, I think I know who it might be.”

“Looking at her age, it’s probably really her…”

“Huh? Who are you all talking about? It’s so mysterious – these two young ladies look so young, I don’t think I’ve ever seen them before?”

“Of course you haven’t seen them. The current official mistress of the Huo family, the wife of Young Master Huo – how many people at this huge banquet have actually had the fortune to meet her in person?”

“??”

“Are you saying she’s the wife that Huo Zhong…cough, Young Master Huo married a few years ago!?”

“Oh my god…”