Volume One, Chapter Eleven: The Woolen Hat She Knitted Herself

Huo Lintong had originally not intended to enter the room.

As a man, entering a girl’s room was inappropriate, quite improper.

But Huo Xiaobei clearly had no intention of leaving; he was fully absorbed in the chessboard, not even lifting his head when his father arrived.

Ye Sheng said, “Let’s finish this game first. You might as well come in and have some fruit.”

Huo Lintong replied with a polite, “Sorry to intrude,” then waved his hand, “No need to be so formal with me. You’re neither my student nor my subordinate.”

“To be precise, I should actually call you ‘Uncle Master,’” Ye Sheng laughed, “but I wouldn’t dare.”

Huo Lintong said seriously, “Don’t. If your brother hears, he’ll think I’m taking advantage.”

Then he looked at Ye Sheng and said, “If you like, you can just call me Brother Lin.”

Professor Huo becoming Brother Lin certainly felt more intimate.

Ye Sheng didn’t hesitate, and called out, “Brother Lin,” boldly and naturally. Among the three musketeers, Huo Lintong had always been the eldest brother.

Huo Lintong acknowledged with a simple, “Mm.”

“Shengsheng, it’s your turn!” Huo Xiaobei finally took a critical step.

“Coming.” Ye Sheng handed the fruit platter to Huo Lintong and walked over.

The pair, one big and one small, continued their match.

The hotel room wasn’t large, and Ye Sheng didn’t have much stuff, but after staying for some time, it looked a little cluttered. Huo Lintong helped tidy up a bit, careful not to touch anything he shouldn’t, not even casting an extra glance.

Huo Xiaobei’s little brows furrowed again. Seeing his serious expression, Ye Sheng couldn’t help but smile and looked up at Huo Lintong, saying, “Xiaobei has real talent for chess; he’s a promising seedling.”

“Mm.” When it came to this, Huo Lintong was far from modest. “Everyone says so.”

He glanced at the chessboard, then looked at Ye Sheng, but said nothing.

Ye Sheng poured Huo Lintong a glass of water, and they chatted about the medical aid project.

Ye Sheng said, “All the patients who needed attention have been seen. We’ll probably finish up by the end of the month.”

“I know.”

Huo Lintong said, “I’ll probably return to the capital with your hospital’s convoy.”

Ye Sheng was surprised.

“This medical aid mission, your brother invested a lot of money, so I have to help promote it a bit.” Huo Lintong uttered two words with a deadpan expression, “Show support.”

He said it so seriously, it was actually quite amusing.

Ye Sheng couldn’t help but laugh.

Huo Xiaobei looked up, “What does ‘show support’ mean?”

He’d actually heard this time...

The adults coughed in unison, and answered together, “Nothing.”

Ye Sheng then remembered that Huo Lintong was also a shareholder in Huatai Pharma, an original major shareholder at that. “Well, there’s no helping it… You have to do it.”

Huo Lintong looked at Ye Sheng for a moment before saying, “You really are a family.”

Yes, all equally shameless.

Ye Sheng chuckled softly, “You and Third Brother are closer to my brother than I am. You’re true brothers, I’m the one who came as a bonus with a phone plan.”

Huo Lintong’s lips twitched into a smile.

Turning his head, he saw that Huo Xiaobei had actually fallen asleep.

Huo Lintong took off his jacket and draped it over the boy, wrapped him up and lifted him into his arms, meeting Ye Sheng’s worried gaze, “Playing chess for too long can be exhausting, takes a lot of concentration. It’s nothing.”

Ye Sheng frowned, “It’s my fault, I should have gone easy on him.”

“You shouldn’t go easy. A chessboard is like a battlefield.” Huo Lintong said, “Besides, the little guy is sharp—he’d notice right away if you let him win, and then throw a tantrum.”

Those words of reassurance smoothed the furrow in Ye Sheng’s brow.

Rain was falling outside.

Rain in the mountains meant cold. Ye Sheng worried the two would catch a chill if they went out like this, so she took two knitted wool hats from her suitcase.

Without a word, she placed them on their heads.

“This…” Huo Lintong had never worn such a hat before, and was completely stunned, embarrassed to take it off.

Ye Sheng said, “It’s cold outside, keep it on. Take it off once you’re in the car.”

She reached out to tidy Huo Xiaobei’s hat, explaining, “I actually knitted these for my brother and Third Brother, they’re brand new and unworn, not dirty. I’ll just knit more for them later, I’m quick at it, it’s no trouble.”

She put on her own coat and grabbed an umbrella from the side, “Let’s go, I’ll walk you out.”

Her words were crisp and decisive, yet warm-hearted in a way that made refusal impossible.

As the door opened, a figure swiftly slipped to the staircase.

Huo Mingting stood in the corner, watching the trio head toward the elevator—man and child each wearing a black and blue knitted hat.

He recognized Ye Sheng’s handiwork at a glance; she had made one for him before as well.

He had felt it was undignified, and never wore it.

Now, it was someone else’s turn.

Huo Mingting’s expression was cold and stern, his jaw tense, and he scoffed inwardly: Still the same old trick.