Chapter 128: Falling in Love—The Whole World Became My Rival (Finale)

As his disbelieving cry rang out, his body shattered like glass, leaving not even a speck of dust behind as he vanished completely.

That stunningly beautiful, dangerously alluring demon, as if he had never existed at all.

Huo Ruanruan sat blankly on the ground.

The demon who had done everything in his power to keep her, who had driven this year’s casualties far beyond those of previous years, who regarded other lives as nothing more than weeds, had nonetheless spoiled her endlessly, as though she were a little princess.

Now he was gone.

And what about her?

What was she supposed to do?

—

After days of relentless rain, the sky finally cleared. At last, the hospital brought good news: the mountain road had reopened, and those who needed to leave the hospital could finally go.

Hao Meili was in low spirits. Not long ago, she had learned that Huo Mingyuan was dead.

Although she had long since given up on Huo Mingyuan and had decided that once she returned home she would break off the engagement, she had never imagined that he would die so suddenly. After all, he was the person she had chased after for so many years; now that she had heard he was gone, she could not help but feel a little melancholy.

With such a huge thing having happened to the Huo family, the third son, Huo Buchang, hurried back from overseas. As soon as the mountain road reopened, he came at once to Lanshan Hospital.

The eldest son of the Huo family was dead.

The second son was missing.

And the Huo family’s little princess had been through such a massive upheaval that her mental state was off as well. The moment she saw her third brother, her face went pale and she burst into tears in his arms.

“Brother, I didn’t kill Big Brother! You have to believe me!”

It turned out that Huo Mingyuan had died in her room in the middle of the night, and rumors had spread that Huo Ruanruan was the one who had killed him. Huo Ruanruan had already suffered the blow of losing one relative after another; now she was being falsely accused as well, and she felt utterly wronged.

Huo Buchang was naturally a handsome man too. Holding Huo Ruanruan with clear distress, he said, “Ruanruan, don’t worry. I’ll make sure everything is investigated properly.”

He sent Huo Ruanruan into the Huo family’s car, then went to look for Hao Meili. Hao Meili was Huo Mingyuan’s fiancee, and it was said that before Huo Mingyuan died, the look in her eyes toward him had been full of hatred.

He knew his eldest brother had always despised this fiancee, yet she clung on like a stubborn plaster. Maybe this had been a case of love turning into hatred.

Hao Meili was waiting for the mountain shuttle in the square when Huo Buchang came looking for trouble. She only found it laughable.

“Are you sick? Huo Mingyuan died in the room of his most treasured little sister, and you suspect I did it? Do I really have that kind of ability?”

Huo Buchang’s face was cold. “Hao Meili, I don’t have time to waste on you. All you need to do is tell me everything you know.”

Hao Meili gave a cold laugh. “Why don’t you go ask your precious little sister instead? The man died in her room, after all. And I’ve heard she often stays in there talking to herself, as if she’s speaking to someone no one else can see. Who knows, maybe she’s the one with the problem, and that’s why she killed him.”

Huo Buchang said, “Impossible!”

At that moment, someone came running over carrying a pile of bags. He bumped into Huo Buchang, and the items in his hands even landed on Huo Buchang’s foot. The young reporter apologized honestly, “Sorry.”

Huo Buchang frowned, his presence stern even in stillness.

Hao Meili asked, “Zhou An, where did you get so many things?”

Zhou An said, “I saw Nurse Bai had a lot of stuff, and she’s leaving the mountain too, so I helped carry some of it over.”

Carrying the things, Zhou An squeezed past Huo Buchang. “Excuse me, make way.”

Huo Buchang was jostled repeatedly by the things in Zhou An’s hands. He stepped back several paces, and in those dark eyes there flickered a trace of coolness, a trace of mockery, and four parts indifference.

“You’re a reporter from that little tabloid?” he said. “The weather’s turning cold. Your paper should prepare to go bankrupt.”

Hao Meili pulled Zhou An behind her and patted his shoulder. “I’m planning to start a newspaper. Bring all your coworkers over, and I’ll make you the boss.”

Zhou An’s eyes lit up. He looked silently toward the horizon, gratitude swelling in his heart: the ancestors in heaven must be blessing him, for he actually had a day when a domineering heiress took a liking to him!

A bus pulled up.

Hao Meili cast Huo Buchang a glance and tugged Zhou An onto the bus.

Huo Buchang’s face turned black.

Just then, a teenager in a hooded sweatshirt with the hood up walked over from the side. His steps were easy, and though he was carrying quite a lot, he still looked cheerful as he walked. He even had the leisure to call back to the girl trailing behind at an unhurried pace, “Yao Yao, hurry up! I want the seat by the window!”

As Huo Buchang turned around, he collided shoulder to shoulder with the boy.

His expression darkened further. “You don’t have eyes—”

The moment the boy’s hood slipped down, Huo Buchang’s unfinished words came to a halt.

Fu Huai sized Huo Buchang up with a critical look. It had to be said that the three Huo brothers did resemble one another somewhat. He curved his lips and smiled slowly, his beautiful face all the more dazzling.

As if merely seeing his smile made even falling into hell worthwhile.

Fu Huai lifted his chin and smiled with bright, wicked arrogance. “You bugs aren’t completely useless after all. Hey, I’ll give you a chance to carry my things.”

For as long as he could remember, Huo Buchang had been the one issuing orders. If anyone dared speak to him in such a commanding tone, he would only think that person had to be insane.

Yet in this moment, he could not suppress the thrill in his heart. Merely because he had received a single glance from the boy, he was filled with a mad joy.

Huo Buchang unconsciously reached out.

But a hand moved even faster and pulled the boy back.

Bai Yao put the hood back over Fu Huai’s head and tightened the drawstrings. “Behave yourself.”

Fu Huai was carrying things and could not free himself. He could only rub against her in a flustered way and call out pitifully through the darkness over his eyes, “Yao Yao, Yao Yao, Yao Yao—”

Bai Yao dragged him onto the bus and had him sit in the inner seat by the window, then took the outer seat herself. She thanked Zhou An for helping carry her things.

Zhou An asked, “Nurse Bai, are you moving everything away? You’re not planning to keep working here?”

Bai Yao smiled. “Yes, I’m going to work somewhere else.”

Hao Meili and Zhou An both turned curious looks toward the person squeezed into the inner side by Bai Yao. Though they could not see his face, they still remembered that fleeting glimpse of the boy. They had simply never expected him to be Bai Yao’s lover.

Huo Buchang stood in place for a long time. Only when someone behind him called out “Brother” did he finally come back to himself.

Huo Ruanruan waited in the car for a long while, but still did not see Huo Buchang board. She got out and came looking for him. Seeing him lost in thought, she asked softly, “Brother, what’s wrong?”

In just a few days, Huo Ruanruan had grown much thinner. Too many strange things had happened over these days. Ever since that demon who had spoiled her without condition vanished, she had grown more and more frightened, and her face had become haggard. Now she was alarmed by everything and everyone.

Huo Buchang shook his head. “Nothing. By the way, was that woman Bai Yao here too? I thought I just saw her.”

He lifted his head toward the bus, and at a glance his eyes landed on the boy by the window.

The boy loosened the drawstrings that hid his face beneath the hood. He was also looking outside, and directly outward at that. His lips curved, his eyes arched into smiling crescents, and the tear-shaped mole beneath one eye seemed to have凝 into desire itself, letting temptation drift and shimmer with it.

The boy’s teasing gaze settled steadily on Huo Buchang. His exquisite, lovely face seemed to declare plainly that he was born to be a temptation. He flicked a faint glance at Huo Ruanruan, then smiled at her.

Huo Ruanruan froze.

It was that silver-haired boy!

Terrified, she seized Huo Buchang’s arm. “Brother, it’s him! This must all have been done by him—”

Huo Ruanruan’s words were cut off, because Huo Buchang was looking at her with jealous eyes.

It was as if he hated her to the bone, and only if she disappeared from the world would he once again win back the boy’s gaze.

Huo Ruanruan fell into an icy abyss, her whole body turning cold.

There were only a few people heading down the mountain. The bus started up and drove away.

Bai Yao turned Fu Huai’s face toward her with both hands. “What were you looking at?”

Fu Huai wore a smug little expression. “A few bugs were being annoying, so I played with them a little. Let’s count it as a parting gift from me before I leave here.”

Bai Yao pinched the flesh of his cheek. “I told you, be good. Don’t always cause trouble.”

Fu Huai mumbled, “Yao Yao, I’ll be good. I won’t cause trouble!”

Bai Yao let go, then gently rubbed the cheek she had pinched. “I’ve already bought the tickets. Once we get back to the apartment, we’ll pack everything up. Then tonight we’ll go to the station. I’ll say this in advance: it won’t be so convenient to buy things there, so whatever you want to eat, we should buy it first and bring it with us.”

Fu Huai rolled his eyes. “Yao Yao, I want to eat vegetables.”

Bai Yao looked at him suspiciously. “It’ll definitely be easy to buy vegetables there. Don’t you hate vegetables? Why are you suddenly asking for them?”

Fu Huai lowered his head, his fingers tugging and twisting at the hem of her skirt. He muttered, “If I eat more vegetables, then I can ask for a reward.”

Bai Yao: “……”

He still remembered that doing well meant he could get a “reward.”

The boy bent down, knowing full well how powerful his face was, and deliberately leaned close to hers, looking at her with pleading eyes. “Can I? Can I? Can I? Can I?”

Bai Yao was dizzy from his chanting. She covered his mouth and said perfunctorily, “Fine, just be quiet.”

He narrowed his eyes and smiled, then stuck out the tip of his tongue and licked her palm.

Bai Yao quickly wiped her hand on his clothes and scolded him in a low voice, “Don’t you feel disgusted with yourself?”

Fu Huai was innocent and sincere. “Not disgusting at all. Yesterday, Yao Yao even ate a whole lot of my—”

Her face went bright red. “Shut up!”

Fu Huai obediently shut up and began studying the flush staining her cheeks with great interest.

Although the young couple in the back seats of the bus tried their best to keep their noisy flirtation down, faint sounds still drifted out from time to time.

Hao Meili withdrew her gaze and sighed enviously. “Their relationship must be really good. Ah, when will I ever have such a sweet romance?”

Zhou An, this wage slave, was rushing a draft on his laptop. He did not even look up as he answered, “You will, you will.”

Hao Meili stared at him for a long time before realizing that this young man also seemed rather easy on the eyes. She suddenly asked, “Are your teeth good?”

Zhou An looked up. “Huh?”

Hao Meili said, “I think you’re pretty suitable for living off a woman. What do you think?”

Zhou An froze for a good while, looking rather dazed. Only after recovering did he nervously swallow, and after a long pause he finally answered, “Actually, I think so too.”

In a rather good mood, Hao Meili turned to look at the scenery outside the window.

The bus drove steadily along the mountain road, riding the warm sunlight as it gradually left the quiet forested slopes behind.

By the time it reached the bustling town, it had become a tiny, unremarkable speck and vanished into the flow of traffic.