Chapter 4

Butler Young Master (4)

Huo Yuan was in his forties, yet time had left few traces on him. His handsome features carried a cold sharpness, and his long legs, encased in suit pants, moved with vigorous, powerful strides.

The male lead, Huo Shu, bore no resemblance to him in appearance except for the powerful aura surrounding him and those pitch-black pupils, whose depths held the same accumulated cold-bloodedness and murderous intent, as if cast from the same mold.

The second son, Huo Ye, followed behind, while the eldest son, Huo Jing, was away on a business trip.

As they approached, Jiang You could clearly sense the young man beside her gradually tensing up.

Huo Shu had to join the Huo family to entertain guests from other families.

Jiang You walked behind him, her attention shifting elsewhere.

At the corner, she saw the third daughter, Huo Jing, approaching the butler.

According to the records, this direct-line daughter of the Huo family had been personally groomed by Huo Yuan since birth and carried his highest expectations.

After all, she was his biological daughter, and her methods and actions most closely resembled his own.

“Father,” she heard the sixteen-year-old girl call out in a clear, cold, and respectful voice.

Seeing her, Huo Yuan’s expression softened considerably, and he nodded, signaling for her to stand by his side.

In contrast to her treatment, when Huo Yuan laid eyes on Huo Shu, his gaze darkened, and his disgust was palpable.

Huo Shu remained expressionless, falling to the very back of the group.

Greetings, toasts…

In less than an hour, they met nearly all the high-ranking members of the other families.

Compared to the other heirs, he had drunk the most. At such a young age, Jiang You personally witnessed him down over a dozen glasses of various alcoholic beverages.

“Urgh—”

Once he was away from the Huo family, the young man could no longer hold back. He rushed to the restroom in a few quick steps and vomited violently.

The strong smell of alcohol permeated the air. Jiang You waited for him to finish vomiting before handing him the sobering-up medicine she had prepared in advance.

“Young Master.”

After vomiting and rinsing his mouth, Huo Shu leaned against the sink, his alcohol-flushed face looking slightly better. Beads of sweat dotted his forehead, and his long, delicate eyelashes trembled almost imperceptibly.

He slowly raised his head, his sharp, handsome features half-hidden in shadow and half-bathed in a cold, pale light. His deep, penetrating eyes fixed on her, carrying a scrutinizing gaze.

Jiang You stood in place, her eyes lowered and posture unwavering, allowing his gaze to fall upon her. She called out respectfully once more.

“Young Master.”

Huo Shu did not trust her, not just her, but by the end of the novel, he had never trusted anyone.

He did not take the sobering-up medicine from her hand, instead splashing cold water on his face.

The icy water soaked his face, and glistening droplets slid down his sharp jawline. After drying himself briefly with a handkerchief, he strode out of the restroom.

Seeing this, Jiang You, whose hand had grown sore from holding the medicine, had no choice but to put it away and follow him, muttering to herself inwardly.

What a highly cautious child.

Leaving the banquet hall and arriving at the hotel’s garden, the young man walked straight through a semicircular archway and sat down on the edge of a flower bed.

They couldn’t return just yet; only when Huo Yuan left could they do the same.

Jiang You sat on a small flower bed away from him. Before she could rest for long, she heard hurried footsteps approaching.

The person arriving was Chu Muci, the protagonist of the banquet.

“H-Huo, classmate,” Chu Muci had run after him, panting heavily, her pretty face flushed. She stopped in front of Huo Shu.

Huo Shu’s fair complexion still bore the lingering redness from the alcohol. His dark hair was slightly disheveled, revealing a gaze that held a bit less of its usual coldness. Hearing her, he lifted his eyelids slightly.

Chu Muci’s eyes curved into crescents, her cheeks flushing even deeper. Unconsciously, she pinched the hem of her skirt and said with feigned nonchalance, “I thought you wouldn’t come.”

Huo Shu stood up, his peripheral glance sweeping past the female housekeeper who was watching from a distance.

Just like last time at school, whenever someone approached him, a vivid energy utterly at odds with her otherwise lifeless appearance would flicker in her eyes. Those slender phoenix eyes, set in her plain, unremarkable face, sparked curiosity.

Huo Shu shifted his gaze back to the person before him, his eyes icy cold.

It was just like being in the banquet hall, forced to drink and socialize with those heirs.

Yet no matter how much he loathed it, these were things he had to do.

“It’s an honor to attend the birthday banquet of the Chu family’s young lady,” Huo Shu said expressionlessly.

He had heard this line many, many times in the hall.

On such occasions, only the direct descendants had the privilege to attend; even the collateral branches were excluded.

Chu Muci didn’t detect anything amiss in his words. At this moment, she was too overwhelmed with excitement, being able to speak with him face-to-face was a long-cherished dream come true.

She nervously smoothed the curly hair draped over her shoulder, her heart pounding so fiercely it felt as if it might leap out of her chest.

Before she could speak, the young man rose and stopped two steps away, pulling a small gift box from his pocket and handing it to her.

“Happy birthday.”

Chu Muci’s mind buzzed with elation as she stared at the gift box in his hand.

“For… for me?”

Huo Shu replied succinctly, “Yours.”

Since he had attended the birthday banquet, it was only natural to bring a gift.

Chu Muci accepted the small box, her palm feeling as if it bore a heavy weight. She yearned to open it right then but quickly suppressed the impulse.

Pressing her lips together, her ears throbbing with the beat of her heart, she took a step closer, eager to confess her feelings.

“Mu Ci!”

A call came from afar.

Chu Muci pretended not to hear, her lips parting slightly. “I…”

“Mu Ci! Where are you?”

The voice grew nearer.

Huo Shu’s eyelids fluttered faintly as he said calmly, “They’re looking for you.”

Chu Muci bit her lip, releasing a soft sigh after a moment. Reluctantly, she waved goodbye and said, “See you next time, Classmate Huo.”

With that, she lifted her skirt and vanished from sight.

Huo Shu’s gaze shifted, meeting the eyes of the female housekeeper who had been staring intently from a distance.

She clearly hadn’t expected him to look her way so abruptly and immediately lowered her eyelids, pretending nothing had happened.

Only when his gaze had completely left her did she slowly raise her head, noticing the young man had returned to sitting by the flower bed, eyes closed as if resting.

Perhaps it had all been her imagination.

Jiang You knew he had prepared a gift, a glass bead bought by the roadside. It wasn’t cheap but compared to what the others in the banquet hall had gifted, it was worlds apart.

This young lady of the Chu family was utterly devoted to him. Likely, if Huo Shu so much as hinted, she would pressure her father, even to the point of desperation, to change the arranged marriage to him.

Yet, to her surprise, if not for the young lady seeking him out, Huo Shu wouldn’t have taken the initiative to give a gift at all.

Nor did he seem inclined to use her.

‘So, what is he really after?’ Jiang You rested her chin in her hand, lost in thought, unable to figure it out.

“Tap, tap.”

Before long, footsteps sounded nearby again this time, more than one person.

Jiang You counted silently; there were at least five or six people.

“Young Master Huo, it must have been that lowlife who seduced the Young Lady of the Chu Family.”

“Just like his actress mother thinking a pretty face can turn a sparrow into a phoenix.”

The slanderous and mocking words grew clearer, flooding into his ears.

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