Volume One, Chapter 37: Huo Mingting, Let Her Go

Ye Sheng had been busy all morning, so much so that lunch had long passed by the time she finally sat down in her office and opened her meal box. For a moment, she was taken aback and asked Mia, “Is this from our cafeteria? Since when did the food get so good? There's even chicken soup?”

“Of course not.”

Mia smiled, her eyes crinkling. “Professor Huo had it delivered. I got a portion too. Following the boss means not only meat on the table, but soup to drink as well.”

Breakfast delivery was already something, but now even lunch was being sent over. Ye Sheng had never experienced this kind of treatment before. With a sigh, she snapped a photo and sent it to Huo Lintong.

— What have I done to deserve this?

Huo Lintong didn’t reply—he was probably busy—so Ye Sheng didn’t dwell on it and put her phone down to eat. The chicken soup was delicious, and the spare ribs were tender; Ye Sheng ate contentedly.

Her phone rang. Glancing at the screen, she saw it was Wan Sandao calling.

“Third Brother.”

Wan Sandao had the classic rasp of a smoker’s voice. “Eating?”

“Mm, Lin-ge sent me lunch. I never knew before—he really knows how to take care of people.” After boasting to her own brother, she couldn’t help boasting to Third Brother as well.

Wan Sandao burst into hearty laughter. “You haven’t seen anything yet. You only know the half of what my big brother can do.”

Ye Sheng chuckled—there was truth in that.

She’d spent her first years of university at home, while Wan Sandao was running a business nearby, helping Ye Zhun keep an eye on her.

Rough around the edges as he seemed, Wan Sandao was actually a careful and warm-hearted man, and Ye Sheng had always been close to him.

In contrast, she hadn’t spent much time with Huo Lintong.

“I have something to tell you,” Wan Sandao’s tone grew serious. “Someone’s been looking into me these days.”

Ye Sheng’s heart gave a sudden jolt, and she instinctively thought of Huo Mingtian.

Wan Sandao assured her it was nothing—that even if they dug up everything about him, it wouldn’t matter. He was a legitimate businessman now; he had nothing to hide.

“But if it really is your ex-husband… the question is, why would he be investigating me?”

Ye Sheng thought back to what Huo Mingtian had said to her that morning, his attitude, and suddenly understood. Dryly, she said, “He probably thinks that after I went abroad, I got together with you.”

“With me? Got together—” Wan Sandao paused, then swore. “He thinks we’re a couple?”

Ye Sheng was speechless. “Maybe.”

Wan Sandao clicked his tongue. “Why’s he suddenly concerned about you? Don’t tell me he’s not over you and wants to remarry?”

“He wouldn’t dare,” Ye Sheng replied coldly. “And even if he did, I’d never give him the satisfaction.”

Wan Sandao roared with laughter. “Bold and proud—just like my little sister!”

They chatted a bit longer before hanging up.

No sooner had she put down her phone than she saw a message from Huo Lintong: You deserve it.

— What have I done to deserve this?
— You deserve it.

Ye Sheng nearly burst out laughing. She felt like an inflated balloon that Huo Lintong had just popped with a pin—all the pent-up frustration instantly vanished.

Big brother actually had a sense of humor.

—

Huo Lintong had just left the lab, his phone buzzing with unread messages and missed calls.

He replied to Ye Sheng first, but before he could do more, a call came in—from the Meishan Research Institute.

“Professor, an armed squad has broken into our lab base. The alarm’s been triggered! We’re not sure what organization they belong to…”

Huo Lintong’s brows knit tightly. He called his assistants over and spoke into the phone in a low, steady voice, “Shut down the lab. Everyone evacuate to the escape passage immediately. All core data is backed up—don’t worry.”

“Yes, sir!”

On the other end, evacuation began in haste. Striding forward, Huo Lintong calmly issued instructions to the team behind him about which departments to notify.

Once Huo Xiaobei was accounted for, Huo Lintong headed straight to Meishan.

—

That afternoon, Huo Mingtian was restless through his social engagements, waiting for news from Meishan.

After seeing off his business partners, he got into his car. He’d rushed through the drinks to finish early, and a dull ache throbbed at his temple as he leaned back with his eyes closed, trying to relax. Just then, his phone rang: “Beep—”

He opened his eyes to see Chu Yue calling and answered immediately.

“It’s over?”

Chu Yue’s voice was tinged with the gloom of impending disaster. “We made a mistake. Messed up. I’m about to be put under confinement, so I can’t talk long. Behave yourself—don’t act rashly!”

“What?” Huo Mingtian was bewildered, about to ask more, but the call ended abruptly.

He called back, but the phone was off.

A mistake? Trouble? Confinement?

Suddenly, fear gripped Huo Mingtian as he leaned back in his seat. Could “Wan Sandao” really have such powerful connections?

Was he really that formidable?

His headache throbbed even harder.

Night fell, and the city lights flickered on.

Ye Sheng neither left work early nor late today. After a sleepless night and a busy day, she felt dizzy and lightheaded as she got out of the taxi—one of the reasons she never wanted to buy a car.

She simply didn’t have the energy to drive to and from work.

The moment she left the office, she felt the strength draining from her limbs. So when a tall figure suddenly lunged at her in the building’s corridor, she didn’t have the energy to mount a strong defense.

“Mmm—”

A hand clamped over her mouth, pressing her against the elevator wall. Instinctively, she aimed a strike at her attacker’s lower body, but Huo Mingtian caught her knee.

The two of them—former husband and wife—locked eyes in the dimly lit corridor.

Huo Mingtian?

The motion-activated light flickered on for a moment, then went out again.

Ye Sheng caught a clear look at Huo Mingtian’s face and smelled the alcohol on his breath. She frowned deeply—he’d gotten drunk and come here to make a scene?

“Do you even know what kind of man that Wan fellow is, and you just went off with him?”

Huo Mingtian’s eyes were bloodshot, his voice hoarse. “Ye Sheng, you divorced me for a con artist. Do you have any idea how angry I am… or how I’ve lived these past years?!”

It seemed as if he wanted to crush her bones, but the moment his gaze met Ye Sheng’s, all he wanted was to kiss her.

Just as his lips were about to touch hers, a deep, dangerous voice rumbled from the shadows.

“Huo Mingtian. Let her go.”

Both Huo Mingtian and Ye Sheng froze, turning toward the source of the voice.

In the shifting light, Huo Lintong’s sharply handsome face came into view. Emerging from the darkness into the light, he reached out, pulling Ye Sheng firmly into his arms, sheltering her completely.