Chapter 11

Butler x Young Master (11)

Winter arrived in the blink of an eye.

On the coldest day of the season, heavy snow drifted down while biting cold air assaulted their faces like ice knives, turning their cheeks red.

Unlike Huo Shu, all the other heirs went to school by car. Only he rode a bicycle covered in ice.

Huo Yuan wished nothing more than for him to die, so naturally he wouldn’t arrange transportation for him. As an unpopular illegitimate child, the staff at the main residence wouldn’t privately arrange it for him either.

Moreover, Huo Shu didn’t receive a large monthly allowance like the other heirs. He was essentially a young master in name only beautiful, capable, yet tragically impoverished.

Just as Jiang You was about to find a stick to knock the ice off the bicycle, she saw the young man kick it instead. Ice chips scattered down, and after wiping the water off the seat, he said to her, “Let’s go.”

Jiang You swung her leg over and sat on the seat. As she prepared to pedal, a pair of gloves was handed to her. They were leather cashmere gloves, windproof and essential for riding a two-wheeler.

She wasn’t afraid of the cold and waved her hand to decline, but the young man commanded firmly, “Put them on.”

Jiang You: “Oh.”

Fine, if he insisted. She quickly put on the gloves. The seat behind her sank as the young man settled onto it, his long legs easily reaching the ground.

Soon, the bicycle was moving along the snow-cleared road.

Though they weren’t going fast, the biting wind still seeped deep into her collar. She exhaled, her breath forming puffs of white mist.

“Beep”

A harsh honk sounded from behind.

Jiang You had a bad feeling. Sure enough, the next second, a sleek black luxury car swerved toward them. She tried to steer away, but the slippery road made the tires wobble uncontrollably.

“Crash.”

To prevent Huo Shu from getting hurt, Jiang You didn’t jump off immediately. Instead, she turned the handlebars and crashed into a piled-up snowbank on the side of the road.

Huo Shu, seated behind her, could safely step onto the ground, but Jiang You, who was riding, didn’t fare as well. Half her body, along with the bicycle, was buried in the snow.

As the car window rolled down, Huo Liuzhou’s irritating face was revealed. He smirked triumphantly and feigned apology, saying, “Oops, sorry about that. The roads are slippery in winter—our driver didn’t mean to.”

Jiang You couldn’t be bothered to argue with him and ignore him entirely. She stood up, brushed the snow off her clothes, and went to lift the bicycle that had fallen into the snowbank.

She didn’t notice the look Huo Shu shot at the person in the car still cold, silent, and numb, yet flickering with a fleeting hint of murderous intent.

The luxury car sped off, leaving a trail of exhaust fumes behind.

Jiang You righted the bicycle and got back on, calling to the silent figure standing nearby, “Young Master, let’s go.”

Huo Shu withdrew his gaze and sat on the back seat.

Huo Liuzhou was always like this, occasionally showing up to disgust him.

No matter how much he was mocked or bullied, Huo Shu was used to it. But this time was different.

Huo Shu watched as the person in front of him, half-soaked in snowmelt, showed no trace of complaint. She focused on riding the bicycle, determined to reach the school steadily and safely.

“Are you cold?” he asked her against the wind.

Jiang You, concentrating on riding, answered belatedly, “Not at all, Young Master. Are you cold?” She stopped pedaling and turned to look at him.

Meeting her gaze filled with genuine concern, Huo Shu felt a faint warmth spreading through his heart. His eyes darkened slightly as he replied calmly, “I’m not cold.”

It wasn’t cold at all this was the warmest winter he had ever experienced.

Jiang You grinned foolishly, scratched her head, and continued pedaling the bicycle. “I’m glad you’re not cold, Young Master.”

At the servants’ dining hall,

Jiang You learned a major piece of news from Huo Jing’s Steward Li.

The family of Huo Liuzhou’s mother had encountered trouble and was now on the brink of bankruptcy. In her panic, his mother drove directly to the Huo Family Old Mansion, hoping to beg Huo Yuan for help.

Except for the heirs, collateral relatives were not permitted to visit the Huo Family Old Mansion—except during the New Year’s Eve celebrations when Old Mrs. Huo was present.

“Director Huo refused to see her. The bodyguards stopped her outside.”

After all this time, Jiang You had learned Steward Li’s real name.

His surname was Li, and his given name was Chengfeng.

Li Chengfeng’s dining demeanor was rather pleasing to the eye. Though he appeared to eat slowly, he was as swift as lightning. In no time, a wealth of information was conveyed to her.

“Ah? Then what about Young Master Huo Liuzhou?” Jiang You loved money and was fond of gossip. The servants’ dining hall was never short on the latter.

Before long, most of the food on Li Chengfeng’s plate was gone. He wiped his mouth and replied unhurriedly, “I’m afraid he’ll soon be removed from the list of heirs.”

Jiang You couldn’t help but sigh.

Over the past six months, it wasn’t as if no heirs had been removed from the list, but Huo Liuzhou was the first of his status to meet such a fate.

After discussing the gossip, Li Chengfeng spoke of his young mistress, Huo Jing, his eyes revealing a trace of heartache.

“Lately, the business world has been turbulent, and the heirs have been constantly fighting among themselves. The young mistress is visibly exhausted now.”

Jiang You picked up her empty tray and followed him out of the dining hall. Remembering Li Chengfeng’s fate in the plot, she held back but couldn’t resist hinting, “Old Li, a steward and an heir are merely in a master-servant relationship. Don’t invest too much emotion into it.”

Li Chengfeng’s steps faltered for a moment before he continued walking, as if sighing or mocking himself, “I know.”

Just as they stepped out of the dining hall, they spotted a figure kneeling in the snow in the distance.

It was the collateral relative Huo Liuzhou, with his angelic face.

Pure white snow had accumulated in a thick layer on his head and shoulders. His face was pale and haggard, devoid of any trace of his former pride and arrogance.

Heirs passing by paid him no mind, walking straight past him. A few who had been bullied by him in the past stopped to sneer and mock him. The hatred and anger in Huo Liuzhou’s eyes seemed on the verge of consuming him.

“What’s there to be proud of? With his maternal family in trouble, he’s not even worth as much as Huo Shu now.”

“Tsk, after tonight, he won’t even be fit to shine our shoes.”

Jiang You, waiting outside the dining hall, glanced over a few more times. Before she could look away, the young master’s figure unexpectedly appeared before her.

“What are you looking at?” he asked.

Jiang You shifted her gaze from Huo Liuzhou in the distance and shook her head. “Nothing.”

It was just somewhat unexpected.

Not long ago, Huo Liuzhou had been strutting arrogantly before them, yet now his status had been completely overturned, leaving him in such a state. The struggles between families were truly brutal and merciless.

Huo Shu was staring at her intently. Snowflakes drifting in the air brushed past his brows and eyes, his gaze dark and profound. After a long moment, he lowered his eyelids and said calmly, “Let’s go back, then.”

This snow wouldn’t stop for a while.

Jiang You raised a black umbrella, shielding him from above, and agreed.

After taking only a few steps, Huo Liuzhou, who had been kneeling in the snow, suddenly lunged forward. His legs numb from the cold; he staggered toward them as if he might collapse at any moment.

Jiang You immediately stepped in front of Huo Shu, blocking Huo Liuzhou as he tried to reach out and grab him.

“It was you, wasn’t it… No, not you… You don’t have the ability… But it must be related to you… It was you… It was you!”

Huo Liuzhou had completely lost his sanity. His eyes were bloodshot, glaring fixedly at the youth behind Jiang You. He bit his gums until they bled, staining his teeth crimson.

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