Taming The Hidden Bigshot By Kissing Him
Chapter 481: Sitting on the Fence

Chapter 481: Chapter 481: Sitting on the Fence

The next day.

A faint scent of mugwort lingers in the garden villa of the Huo Family in the Imperial Capital.

Refreshing and mind-clearing.

The guest bedroom had been transformed into a clinic, equipped with a therapy bed and a row of cabinets filled with medicinal herbs.

The Lu Family’s monopoly on traditional Chinese medicine ingredients led to a refusal to sell to Qiao Xi, so Huo Xingzhou had gathered these herbs in Haicheng and had them shipped over. The varieties were numerous. He had even gone out of his way to find a set of Golden Needles to give to Qiao Xi.

Qiao Xi was absolutely enamored with the Golden Needles.

Early in the morning, she pulled Huo Xingzhou into the clinic to get ready to perform acupuncture on him, to nourish his body, since certain individuals were suffering from liver qi stagnation and a deficiency of vital energy and blood.

Huo Xingzhou had stripped off all his clothes, with only a fuzzy blanket covering his lower half.

His upper body boasted superior muscle definition, laying on the therapy bed with his hands nonchalantly propped under his head.

Those cool and distant eyes were always looking at Qiao Xi.

Qiao Xi was disinfecting the new Golden Needles, twisting the end of the needle to insert it into his acupoints. She rubbed a small ball of mugwort fuzz at the base of the needle, which, when lit, could help warm and nurture the body.

Sun Weimeng moved over a small round stool and a little fruit plate, sitting on the side to enjoy the show.

He clicked his tongue twice: "These muscles... truly enviable. Huo Er, why is it that with so much work every day, you still find time to exercise?"

Everyone has the same twenty-four hours in a day, yet there are those who manage to do so much more.

Sun Weimeng looked down at his own flat belly, devoid of muscles!

He was just like a plain white sliced chicken!

Qiao Xi continued with the acupuncture while laughing: "Young Master Sun could also try getting in shape."

Sun Weimeng, with no filter on his mouth, blurted out: "Is there a big difference between experiencing life with muscles and without?"

Qiao Xi’s cheeks tinged with a shade of red.

Her eyes glimmered moistly, twinkling.

Huo Xingzhou gave him a dismissive glance: "Don’t you have any idea?"

Sun Weimeng, looking pitiful, said: "I’m going to sign up for the gym! Once I’ve worked myself into a body full of tendons, I’ll come and show off to you. Whatever that thin layer on you is counts for nothing."

"Then come find me once you’ve grown those muscles," Huo Xingzhou replied with an indifferent tone, utterly unbothered by his petulant words.

Sun Weimeng stuffed a grape into his mouth vigorously.

Watching their banter, Qiao Xi’s lips curled into a gentle smile. With Young Master Sun, the jester, around, both Haicheng and the Imperial Capital were always lively.

She twirled the filiform needle, inserting it into the man’s Jianjing acupoint, which helps relieve fatigue and regulate the shoulder and neck’s circulation of qi and blood. Huo Xingzhou worked long hours, often sitting at his desk for several hours at a time, so she did these little things that were within her power to help.

Buzz buzz.

The smartphone on the coffee table vibrated.

Sun Weimeng eagerly said, "I’ll get it! You two continue!"

He immediately stood up and ran to the coffee table, picking up Huo Xingzhou’s phone. It wasn’t a call but an unread message—an image.

Unknown sender.

Sun Weimeng was curious.

He glanced at Huo Xingzhou, then at the phone, and asked, "Somebody sent you a picture, what’s your lock screen password?"

Huo Xingzhou, still casually lying on the therapy bed, said, "Bring the phone here."

Sun Weimeng, feeling cowed by his authority, obediently placed the phone next to him. But he remained standing beside the bed, reluctant to leave.

He really wanted to know what picture was sent to Huo Xingzhou.

Huo Xingzhou unlocked the phone with his fingerprint, and the message quickly popped up in detail.

He opened the photo.

The picture filled the entire screen of the phone.

"Holy cow!"

Sun Weimeng let out an exclamation, "This is explosive news! If Lu Yingxue knew, she’d definitely blow her top! She might even lose interest in attending the Golden Needle convention."

Qiao Xi was also curious, she craned her neck to sneak a peek and then stopped in her tracks.

Is that Young Master Zhong and Xiang Mingzhu in the photo?

It’s a bit blurry.

But you can see that the photo’s background is a high-end hotel, and both of them entered the hotel together. There’s also a timestamp at the bottom of the photo, which is from last night’s wee hours.

So, after they parted ways with Young Master Zhong, he went off with Xiang Mingzhu to book a hotel room?

Sun Weimeng teased with a laugh, "Management master right here! Engaged to one cousin while having a clandestine meeting with another cousin at night, now that’s what you call eating from both sides of the cousin spectrum! Is Young Master Zhong trying to take down both the Lu Family and the Xiang Family?"

Listening to Sun Weimeng’s comments, Qiao Xi’s lips tightened slightly.

This Young Master Zhong doesn’t play by the rules.

Does he really fancy Xiang Mingzhu?

If so, his taste is seriously lacking.

Qiao Xi felt an inexplicable disappointment deep inside, always feeling that he shouldn’t be this kind of person.

Qiao Xi spoke out, "Doesn’t he fear Lu Yingxue finding out?"

A flicker of amusement passed through Huo Xingzhou’s eyes, "The Lu Family and the Xiang Family are busy dealing with the stock market and their export messes, no one will notice this matter. Young Master Zhong is tactful, he’s not the type to be stepping on two boats and capsizing it."

"Then how did you..."

"I had someone keep an eye on him." Huo Xingzhou said indifferently, "In the world of business, only those with aligned goals will become allies. The day he wants something that conflicts with my desires, we will become enemies."

Huo Xingzhou didn’t trust Young Master Zhong.

And Young Master Zhong, similarly, didn’t trust Huo Xingzhou.

"Are you currently allies?" Qiao Xi asked softly.

"Mhm."

Qiao Xi felt a little worried, "Becoming enemies with the Zhong Family must be dangerous. Young Master Zhong is very cunning and decisive. Thinking about it now, his being with Xiang Mingzhu isn’t likely out of affection. Could he be using Xiang Mingzhu?"

Huo Xingzhou’s gaze fell on her as he countered, "Do you think someone as proud as he is would take a fancy to Xiang Mingzhu?"

Qiao Xi already had her answer deep down, Zhong Yi didn’t fancy Xiang Mingzhu, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t take advantage of the situation.

Did he even sell out his body?

Sun Weimeng seemed to have thought about this too, asking: "So, did he actually sleep with Xiang Mingzhu? Tsk tsk, what a waste. I think if they did sleep together, it would be Xiang Mingzhu getting the better end of the deal. Young Master Zhong is really handsome."

To the point where even Sun Weimeng, a man, finds him attractive.

Huo Xingzhou’s gaze dropped, of course not.

How could Young Master Zhong possibly sell his body.

He was probably just bestowing some tenderness on Xiang Mingzhu, trying to get information from her through pillow talk.

Like the Xiang Family’s future plans, strategies to save the stock market, so he could better play his hand against the Xiang Family, making trouble from within.

But in front of Qiao Xi, Huo Xingzhou didn’t want to affirm this.

He merely stated, "That’s a question you should ask the parties involved."

This is Young Master Zhong’s payback for last night’s matcha latte and stirring trouble.

Whenever an opportunity arose, both Huo Xingzhou and Young Master Zhong chose to slander each other in front of Qiao Xi.

This was the tacit understanding between love rivals.

Sun Weimeng was really curious indeed, and said with a nod, "If there’s a chance, I’ll ask him in person. I thought I was quite the playboy, but it turns out Young Master Zhong is even more so. Cousins, wow!"

Actually, he thought to himself, when a man and woman go to a hotel room late at night, something must have happened.

As he was imagining, the phone vibrated again.