Ice cream was no longer around.
The system felt increasingly upset: [Waaah, Master, we won’t keep cats anymore!]
[Yeah, we won’t keep them anymore.] Lin Wei never intended to raise any cats other than Ice Cream.
At noon, Huo Qijun sent a text saying he couldn’t come back. Just after Old Madam Huo left, Lin Wei couldn’t let Fu Xiaoqing ‘break the rules’ by running to the Huo Building to deliver food; that would be walking into a tiger’s den. He had to go himself.
When he arrived, he discovered that all the employees on Huo Qijun’s office floor were out to lunch, not at all busy. Huo Qijun himself was zoning out in his office while nibbling on the soda crackers Lin Wei had previously delivered.
Seeing Lin Wei come in, his eyes widened in surprise, seemingly not expecting him to appear so suddenly.
“What kind of performance art are you doing now?” Lin Wei stood at the entrance to the office, raising an eyebrow at Huo Qijun’s hurried attempt to hide the crackers, almost making him laugh in frustration.
He had gone through great lengths to invite the female lead to cook for him, a treatment that in his previous experiences with male leads from smaller worlds was pure fantasy. Yet Huo Qijun, instead of eating the nutritious meal prepared at home, lied about being busy at work and chose instead to munch on dry crackers in his office!
They hadn’t even reached the point of a romantic chase, and here he was already rehearsing the trope of a middle-aged couple growing tired of each other! No wonder Fu Xiaoqing didn’t bother to pay him any attention!
Huo Qijun cleared his throat lightly and attempted to justify himself: “I did have something to do, but it got postponed suddenly, so I thought I might just settle for a quick meal.”
If only his glasses adjustment hadn’t made him look so guilty, this statement might have sounded more believable.
Lin Wei was too lazy to argue with him. This time, Huo Qijun was in the wrong, and he made no fuss about the food Lin Wei had brought, eating quietly instead.
After the meal, Huo Qijun felt a bit awkward. To divert Lin Wei’s attention, he forcibly initiated a conversation: “Regarding the charity auction hosted by your family, my mom doesn’t want to go and just sent the invitation to me. Will you be attending?”
As always, he struggled to communicate properly.
Lin Wei internally scoffed. If he hadn’t read the original story, he wouldn’t have known that Old Madam Huo simply didn’t enjoy wasting time at such events. But from Huo Qijun’s description, it sounded like he was trying to stir the pot, making it seem like Old Madam Huo had issues with them!
“I suppose I will.”
According to the original plot, by the time the charity auction took place, Fu Xiaoqing had reluctantly moved into Huo Qijun’s home. At that time, influenced by a desire to show off, Huo Qijun had forced Fu Xiaoqing to dress up and accompany him to the auction.
It was easy to imagine that Fu Xiaoqing’s knack for attracting misfortune in such settings was like a moving mosquito lamp in the darkness; Fu Xiaoqing was the lamp, and Huo Qijun was the exterminator. Lin Wei naturally had to be present to keep an eye on things.
“Are you taking Xiaoqing with you?” he casually asked.
Huo Qijun looked at him as if he were insane: “Why would I take her? Do I want my mom to have an excuse to bother me? Besides, I really don’t want to go either; sitting around for hours is so boring!”
Although it would indeed trigger Old Madam Huo’s annoyance if Huo Qijun did take Fu Xiaoqing as he might have before, it was unusual for Huo Qijun to even consider that possibility.
Lin Wei raised his brows in surprise, asking, “Are you sure you don’t want to?”
“Yeah, sure,” Huo Qijun leaned back in his chair, looking somewhat weary. He could guess that Fu Xiaoqing definitely wouldn’t want to go with him, but given their indirect employment relationship and the matter regarding her brother, it was hard for her to refuse.
In the past, he might have thought whether the fruit was sweet or not, he’d try it out first. But now, for some reason, he just couldn’t summon the energy.
If it were Lin Wei inviting her as a companion, Fu Xiaoqing would have certainly agreed without hesitation!
Just thinking about it felt infuriating.
Seeing that Huo Qijun was determined not to go, Lin Wei wasn’t sure if he should try to persuade him.
Of course, the charity auction would sail smoothly without the main couple’s attendance, preventing a lot of problems. But Lin Wei knew that at this auction, the item donated by Old Madam Huo was the engagement ring she had shared with the late Mr. Huo. In the original story, Huo Qijun got angry when he found out, but he later bought back the rings with happy thoughts about proposing to Fu Xiaoqing.
Now, if Huo Qijun didn’t bring the female lead with him and didn’t want to go himself, should Lin Wei reveal that the rings were going to be auctioned? After contemplating for a moment, he dismissed the idea.
He could explain the source of the information, but what if this dutiful son found out early and impulsively confronted Old Madam Huo about why she was donating something so significant that it was related to his father? That would create an uncomfortable situation.
At worst, he could just buy the ring back and return it to Huo Qijun.
“Hey! What are you thinking about?” Huo Qijun waved his hand in front of Lin Wei, who had been lost in thought.
Lin Wei snapped back to reality and issued a preemptive strike: “Nothing, just thinking that there should be some good stuff at this auction.”
Huo Qijun shrugged it off. It was just jewelry or some collected artifacts, all of which were of no interest to someone of his age and gender.
However…
“If you want me to accompany you, just send me an invitation in your name; that would be fine too.” He felt that Lin Wei might have been considering how to broach the subject earlier.
Lin Wei smiled humorously at these words, stood up and walked away, tossing a remark over his shoulder: “By the way, make sure to clean up the used bowls and chopsticks on the table before you take them home!”
“…Got it! Don’t send any more next time!” Huo Qijun felt speechless; he still had to wash the dishes instead of just eating crackers.
In the end, these few bowls barely got washed; as the young master was not accustomed to work, luckily there was such an ongoing situation that for the next two days, he returned to eat on schedule, behaving without causing a fuss.
Two days later, the day of the charity auction arrived. Lin Wei, as the only idle labor force in the hosting family, was called back early to help, leaving only Huo Qijun and Fu Xiaoqing at the dinner table in silent company.