There’re Always Paranoid Thoughts to Monopolize Me - Extra 18

It took several tens of seconds for the rest of the people in the banquet hall to come to their senses.

The Huo family’s servants collectively panicked for a moment. Someone rushed to bring a first aid kit, but they hesitated nervously on the side, not daring to approach.

—

At this moment, the emotion in Huo Jun’s eyes was fierce and terrifying. They were already extremely afraid of him, and at this juncture, they didn’t dare to even breathe loudly.

The older servants who had been with the Huo family for many years heard the news and rushed to the banquet hall. Taking the first aid kit from a new servant who had only been there for a couple of years, the butler, who looked to be in his fifties, carefully walked to the side of the two. He glanced at Huo Jun’s bloodied hand, his brows almost knotting with concern.

He hesitated, looking at Huo Jun, before softening his voice and saying to Qin Ke with utmost resignation.

“Madam, why don’t you just give in to Young Master Zhonglou?”

Even if this person hadn’t come to persuade her, Qin Ke was already prepared to concede.

It wasn’t her intention to lay everything bare in front of so many guests, but now she had been forced step by step into this situation.

She shouldn’t have listened to Huo Jun and come up in the first place. She should have known that she could never match his madness… he would disregard even his own life when he went mad.

Qin Ke sighed inwardly, her gaze softening.

“We’ll discuss this later. First, let’s treat your wound.”

Unfortunately, the man in front of her wasn’t one who had learned to “know when to stop.”

After hearing Qin Ke’s words, Huo Jun instead let out a low laugh. He held the back of her neck, but it wasn’t rough from the start. Now he just pulled her a bit closer.

The already small distance between them was further reduced to a hair’s breadth where they could feel each other’s breath.

“Discuss later?… Have you set your heart on divorcing me?”

Qin Ke wasn’t used to such public intimacy, especially with so many eyes fixed on them from behind. She frowned slightly, struggling a bit.

“You…”

As soon as she began to speak, the man in front of her darkened his gaze and kissed her, taking advantage of the moment.

As if afraid she might escape, he disregarded his hand still embedded with glass shards. His arm pressed against her lower back, completely locking her in his embrace.

Huo Jun had never cared about what others thought.

So even though the entire room of guests couldn’t suppress their discussions, he still recklessly lowered his head to kiss the person in his arms. Seizing, plundering, those were emotions he could no longer suppress, accumulated over eighteen months, finally bursting forth all at once.

Under countless stares, Qin Ke’s sense of shame was tormented to an extreme.

She couldn’t bear it anymore and struggled with all her might.

Until there was a light “slap” sound.

The banquet hall fell silent once again.

Even Qin Ke herself was stunned — the burning sensation in her palm, and the slowly reddening mark on the man’s pale, handsome face, all testified to the “violent act” she had just committed.

—

Having slapped Huo Jun in front of so many people, even though it was an accident in the midst of struggle, Qin Ke couldn’t help but feel remorseful about her actions for a moment.

The rest of the people were even more horrified.

Witnessing this man’s mad behavior with their own eyes, they had no doubt that he would be completely provoked and might do something terrible.

However, what no one expected was that after being slapped, Huo Jun merely frowned, and then acted as if nothing had happened, showing no signs of any emotional outburst.

He turned his gaze back, his eyes deep and gloomy.

“This won’t work either… unless I die.”

Huo Jun’s eyes became unfocused, his body swaying forward, and he suddenly collapsed onto Qin Ke. Qin Ke instinctively reached out to support him.

The servants beside them panicked and came to help.

The person who had lost too much blood, still unwilling to give up, pressed against the girl’s ear, “I won’t… divorce. Won’t divorce…”

The weak yet persistent voice made the last bit of Qin Ke’s pretended hardheartedness melt away.

She resignedly raised her hand and gently rubbed the head pressing into her shoulder.

“Alright, no divorce.”

“Qin Qin…”

The man who had lost too much blood held on until he got his answer. With his mind finally at ease, he murmured softly before completely passing out.

Seeing Huo Jun faint, the servants were both nervous and relieved – now they didn’t need to be so cautious. Several of them quickly came forward, each with their own responsibility – to carry him, to call the doctor, to provide emergency treatment… They were busy but not chaotic.

Before leaving with them, Qin Ke saw Huo Jingyan, who had rushed over after hearing the news.

“Teacher Huo,” Qin Ke said helplessly, “This mess in the banquet hall… I’m afraid I’ll have to leave it to you.”

Huo Jingyan smiled.

“Mm, I’m prepared. You go take care of Zhonglou.”

Qin Ke nodded, about to follow.

Huo Jingyan suddenly spoke again. “Keke, you understand Zhonglou. Because of his childhood experiences, when facing the same situations, his choices and methods are always different from ordinary people… But he won’t harm you.”

Qin Ke’s eyes flickered.

“Of course I understand him.”

So when she heard those rumors and saw those photos from Qiao Xiaoyun, Qin Ke had already guessed what was going on. But seeing it with her own eyes, she seemed unable to control herself from getting angry with him. Qin Ke sighed, “I was impulsive today.”

“Of course not. You’ve been very tolerant of him.”

Huo Jingyan shook his head and smiled again.

“It’s just that… Zhonglou has a side as childish as the most immature kid, and children will use self-harm to threaten those they love most and who love them. In fact, that side is the most vulnerable.”

Qin Ke was stunned and turned back.

But Huo Jingyan wasn’t looking at her anymore. He just smiled and said something before leaving.

“He only shows that side to you. So, thank you for your hard work, Keke.”

Qin Ke turned back with a complex gaze, not delaying any longer, and hurried after them.

****

When Huo Jun opened his eyes, his consciousness was still a bit hazy. In front of him was the floor-to-ceiling window of his master bedroom, the familiar night. But tonight, the moon was exceptionally bright, its disc like a bay full of water, shimmering and swaying, wondering whose shadow it might reflect.

Huo Jun had a slight headache. He moved his eyes away, instinctively wanting to raise his hand to press his temples.

But as soon as his body reacted, his numb right hand twinged with pain.

Pain always helped clear the mind considerably.

In these few seconds, the events before he passed out flooded back into his memory, and Huo Jun’s body tensed.

—

This familiar night wasn’t like the many nights over the past year when he’d wake up in the middle of the night after drinking himself into a stupor at social gatherings.

At least, if this pain was real, then the person who had returned should also be real.

Huo Jun realized this.

Without thinking, he propped himself up on the bed and struggled to his feet, forgetting even to put on the soft slippers on the floor. He quickly walked to the door and yanked it open.

Just as he was about to continue stepping out, he stopped.

In the outer room of the master suite, the floor lamp next to the light gray sofa was on, its soft, dim light blooming like a fully-opened flower in the darkness.

Light and shadow intertwined, falling on the girl sunken deep in the sofa.

The girl had her eyes closed originally, but she was clearly only in a light sleep, maybe not even asleep at all. As soon as Huo Jun walked out, she opened her eyes and looked up at him.

“…You’re awake?”

Qin Ke rubbed her eyes and reached for the remote to turn on the lights in the outer room, adjusting the brightness to a relatively soft level.

She stood up, “The doctor said you lost quite a bit of blood. There’s some porridge specially prepared for you on the bedside table. Did you drink it?”

As she got closer, Qin Ke stopped in her tracks. She frowned, looking at Huo Jun’s feet.

“The floor is cold, and you’re injured now. Don’t be so careless.”

She started to move past him towards the inner room.

“I’ll go get you—”

“It’s not cold.”

Qin Ke felt a tug on her wrist, and then she was pulled into the man’s embrace.

Huo Jun held his girl tightly, the familiar warmth and scent making his eyes sting a bit. He buried his face in her soft long hair, his voice tinged with an unconscious nasal tone.

“Qin Qin.”

The girl responded softly. “Hm?… Not throwing a fit anymore?”

“Qin Qin…”

“Mm.” As if being nuzzled by a fierce little wild beast after it had shown its claws, Qin Ke’s heart melted completely. She reached out to pat his back soothingly, “I’m here.”

This comfort only made Huo Jun feel more aggrieved. As an injured patient, with his girl who he hadn’t seen for so long by his side, he showed his softest and most childish side without any reservation. “Qin Qin… did you not want to come back? Did you just want to take the chance to throw me away?”

“I didn’t.” Qin Ke replied resignedly, her voice soft.

“Then why did you want to divorce me.”

“…”

Qin Ke was helpless, but she couldn’t help curving her eyes in a silent laugh.

“Those photos and rumors of you with those women while I was abroad, were they true?”

Huo Jun choked for a moment. After a while, he mumbled.

“The photos were taken with models and photographers. The rumors were fake, I personally drafted the headlines and subheadings. I wanted to trick you into coming back.”

“Mm.” Hearing this, Qin Ke showed no surprise at all, clearly having guessed as much already. “Then I’m the same. The anger was real, but talking about divorce was fake. I was too angry and wanted to teach you a lesson.”

“…So can you forgive me now?”

Qin Ke smiled gently.

“Why is your tone so soft? It’s not like you. Where’s that domineering attitude from the banquet? Especially when you said the girl next to you was your new girlfriend, no one dared to contradict you.”

“…”

Huo Jun tightened his arms, holding the girl in his embrace even closer.

Qin Ke chuckled, “Alright, we’ll settle this account tomorrow. Now — you’re injured, go back to bed and rest.”

“What about you?”

“Me?” Qin Ke took half a step back, “Your hand is injured, it’s not convenient for me to be here, so I’ll go to the guest room first…”

Before she could finish, the person who had been “obedient” just a second ago suddenly frowned and without a word, bent down and scooped Qin Ke up in his arms.

“You can’t leave, you have to stay with me.”

“……”

Qin Ke was still dazed, and in the blink of an eye, Huo Jun had carried her back to the inner room of the master bedroom.

****

Early the next morning.

In the dining room of the Huo family’s main building.

Huo Jun and Qin Ke sat next to each other. Someone who had brought this on himself was now temporarily disabled in his right hand, sitting next to Qin Ke, contentedly enjoying her attentive service.

Due to last night’s chaos, Qiao Xiaoyun hadn’t had time to leave and had also slept at the Huo family’s house. At this moment, she arrived at the dining room a step later, guided by a servant.

After seeing that the two of them didn’t look at all like they were about to divorce yesterday with their hostility towards each other, Qiao Xiaoyun almost thought she had been dreaming.

Sitting at the dining table for a while, she still couldn’t quite accept it, looking at the two with a dazed expression.

Qin Ke helped Huo Jun cut his sandwich, placed the plate in front of him, and then withdrew her gaze.

“Teacher Huo, why isn’t Sister Yan An at home?”

Huo Jingyan, sitting opposite the two, smiled upon hearing this.

“There’s an event at her school, so she’s been away on a business trip for the past two weeks — it’s a good thing she’s not here, otherwise if she saw the scene you two caused last night, she’d surely lecture you all morning.”

Qin Ke thought for a moment, then said fearfully, “No, probably for a whole day.”

Qin Ke and Huo Jingyan exchanged a few more words. Beside her, Huo Jun couldn’t bear it any longer. After throwing several glares at Huo Jingyan to no avail, Huo Jun loosened his grip, and the fork in his left hand fell to the ground.

There was a crisp “clatter” sound.

The servant nearby quickly came over to replace Huo Jun’s fork.

But a certain someone felt no guilt.

“Qin Qin.”

“Hmm? What’s wrong?” Qin Ke quickly turned back, “Does your hand hurt?”

“My left hand has no strength, feed me.”

Qin Ke: “…”

“…” Even the usually composed Huo Jingyan opposite them seemed to choke for a moment, before speaking after a few seconds. “Young Master Zhonglou, we have a guest present, mind your image.”

With Huo Jingyan’s reminder, Huo Jun noticed Qiao Xiaoyun, who was still in a semi-petrified state.

Huo Jun was silent for two seconds, then turned to Qin Ke.

“Qin Qin, she scolded me yesterday.”

Qin Ke: “.”

“…!?”

Qiao Xiaoyun choked on her milk, and after finally suppressing her cough, she was quite angry. No longer caring about boss or no boss, she turned to Qin Ke.

“Keke, did your man injure his brain yesterday?? He doesn’t even remember what he said himself yesterday, right! And you’re still indulging him!”

Suddenly becoming the poor soul caught in the middle, Qin Ke blinked innocently.

In the end, it was Huo Jingyan who came to the rescue.

Huo Jingyan smiled and said to Qiao Xiaoyun. “What he said last night was intentional.”

Qiao Xiaoyun: “?”

“Keke had just gone abroad not long ago, and the media had already started to speculate. Rather than having a bunch of people spreading rumors in the future, it’s better to control the narrative ourselves — these were Young Master Zhonglou’s exact words.”

Huo Jingyan continued.

“However, I think there were also some people who wanted to use this incident to provoke Keke to come home.”

Qiao Xiaoyun choked for a moment, instinctively rebutting. “Then why did he act and speak like that after Keke came back last night?”

“That was to provoke Keke.”

Qin Ke was stunned, this was something she hadn’t thought of.

“Why?”

“…”

Huo Jingyan smiled and looked at Huo Jun.

“Want to share your pre-designed ‘script’ yourself, Zhonglou?”

Huo Jun had been expressionlessly glaring at him for several seconds, and now he turned away, pretending not to hear.

Qiao Xiaoyun was curious. “Script? There’s even a script? What script?”

Huo Jingyan joked. “It’s quite complicated, with high randomness. If I have to summarize, it’s probably Keke getting angry, him getting splashed with wine or slapped, and then humbly coaxing her back.”

Qiao Xiaoyun: “…??”

Huo Jingyan explained a bit, “The main purpose was to establish the legitimacy of the Huo family’s official wife, as there were too many rumors in the circle calling Keke a Cinderella. However, if you want to understand his thought process, it might be difficult, but I’ve made some guesses — probably to let all the guests know that the official wife who can keep him in check, no one has the right to criticize anymore?”

“…”

Qiao Xiaoyun didn’t know what expression to make, looking towards Huo Jun.

Huo Jun pretended to be deaf and dumb.

Qin Ke, on the other hand, recalled, “No wonder I couldn’t understand last night, why I accidentally hit you. It was actually intentional on your part?”

“…” Huo Jun gave Huo Jingyan a cold glare, “I didn’t, he’s talking nonsense.”

But Huo Jingyan smiled, “However, although Young Master Zhonglou’s plan was implemented in a roundabout way, it achieved the desired effect.”

Huo Jun’s eyes flashed.

He already knew that Huo Jingyan had wrapped up last night’s banquet, so Huo Jingyan should indeed be the most aware of the guests’ reactions.

After holding back for a few seconds, Huo Jun still lightly coughed and asked. “What did they say?”

Huo Jingyan couldn’t help but smile.

“They said a lot. Many people were frightened by your behavior last night. To sum it up… now probably everyone in the whole city knows that the Huo family has such a master of the house, who loves his wife to the point of madness, obsessive to the verge of perversion.”

Qin Ke listened helplessly, but Huo Jun smiled.

“That’s good.”

Qin Ke: “…How is that good?”

Huo Jun: “From now on, probably no man will dare to stand within a meter of you.”

Qin Ke: “…”

Qin Ke looked back.

—

Sure enough, even the servants in the house were keeping their distance from her.

Qin Ke turned back, thought for a moment, then suddenly smiled, “Then you probably won’t have any more ‘new girlfriends’ either, right? Don’t you regret it?”

Huo Jun was rarely caught off guard for a moment. He immediately reined in that hint of arrogance in his brow and eyes, putting on the pallor of an injured patient.

He even reached out to hold Qin Ke’s hand.

Qin Ke laughed and pulled away.

“Stop pretending.”

Huo Jun: “Let’s have another wedding ceremony at home, okay?”

Qin Ke: “Hmm, why? Sounds like a hassle.”

“…”

“Playing pitiful won’t work either.”

“Qin Qin…”

“Haha, alright alright, don’t tease, it tickles– okay okay, we’ll have another ceremony…”

“…”

Qiao Xiaoyun took a bite, swallowing her food angrily.

—

Why on earth did she come from so far away, specifically to eat this dog food breakfast??