Chapter 35 Part 2

At this distance, she couldn’t hear Huo Yunyi’s “inner voice” anymore. She roughly estimated… so the effective range was within five meters?

As Lu Ningshuang pondered this, Qin Yushu’s low, steady voice prompted her from the side, “It’s your turn.”

?

Lu Ningshuang looked up, but Qin Yushu wasn’t looking at her; she was gazing straight ahead. Lu Ningshuang followed her gaze.

She saw Old Master Huo, who had seemed somewhat stern at their first meeting, now softened by the joy of his birthday banquet, smiling kindly at her…

And at Qin Yushu beside her.

Lu Ningshuang: (embarrassed)

Alright then~ President Qin was heading into battle, and she was coming along for the ride.

She was ready!

After all, wasn’t that exactly why she had come today?

So, Lu Ningshuang sidled closer to Qin Yushu and whispered, “Then lower your arm a bit, okay?”

“What?” Qin Yushu didn’t understand.

Lu Ningshuang: “So I can take your arm?”

Qin Yushu didn’t immediately respond to Old Master Huo’s call. Instead, she turned back, her dark gaze lingering for a moment on Lu Ningshuang’s soft, innocent face.

She naturally understood—this was an arm-linking gesture. At weddings or formal events for male Alphas and female Omegas, the female Omega would often do this to her male Alpha, walking half a step behind.

“Miss Lu.”

She wasn’t calling her “Youyou” anymore.

Qin Yushu reminded her, “You’re wearing high heels today.”

Lu Ningshuang: “……Ah?”

Qin Yushu: “Don’t forget you’re an Alpha, so are you planning to trail meekly behind me like a little bird depending on a person?”

Lu Ningshuang:!!!

Right.

“Eaten enough?” Qin Yushu suddenly asked.

Lu Ningshuang nodded.

Qin Yushu: “Let’s go.”

In the end, she walked side by side with Qin Yushu up to Old Master Huo. There had been a few others beside him originally, but upon seeing Qin Yushu approach, they tactfully dispersed.

Now, it was just Old Master Huo, Huo Yunyi, Qin Yushu, Lu Ningshuang, and Uncle De, the trusted aide attending to Old Master Huo—five people in total.

Old Master Huo’s attitude toward Qin Yushu remained mild, as if he were truly a kindly old man concerned for the younger generation.

But ever since the head of the Qin Family had passed away, Qin Yushu’s position now allowed her to stand on equal footing with him. Maintaining this attitude carried a hint of mockery.

It inevitably smacked of relying on his age to act superior.

Before formally taking the stage, Old Master Huo had already stood with Qin Yushu and exchanged a few words.

Now, after a simple greeting, he shifted his gaze to Lu Ningshuang beside her.

“This is?”

The commotion between Huo Yunyi and Lu Ningshuang earlier hadn’t been small; everyone around had heard what they shouldn’t have.

Even if Old Master Huo truly hadn’t known beforehand, Huo Yunyi had been following behind him the whole time. A quick question or two would have clarified everything. Now, asking directly in front of her.

Qin Yushu’s expression remained unchanged as she repeated what Lu Ningshuang had told Huo Yunyi earlier: “My nominal Alpha from our new marriage—Lu Ningshuang, Miss Lu.”

This was like rubbing salt in Huo Yunyi’s wound. Before Old Master Huo could even react, he was instantly provoked.

“Someone worthy of President Qin’s full trust must be extraordinary. So, which prestigious Lu Family does this Miss Lu hail from?”

Lu Ningshuang knew this transmigrator had checked her “Character Panel” and already knew everything about her background. That was why he was attacking her right there.

The poor loser who once hated rich second-generation heirs, once he got money, instantly became the very type he despised.

And looking down on others.

So maybe it wasn’t hate—he just resented that the position wasn’t his.

“No need for any Lu Family.”

Qin Yushu said, “Miss Lu being my Alpha now is enough.”

“Hiss—”

Huo Yunyi scoffed outright, “Isn’t that just a pretty boy living off a woman? This is rare—first time I’ve heard of a female… Alpha being a kept man!”

Lu Ningshuang wasn’t angry at all, really.

After all, she had done exactly that; no reason not to let others say it. Besides, some people like transmigrators couldn’t even snag a soft rice meal if they tried!

Proud.jpg

“Shut your mouth!”

“The new heir chosen by Chairman Huo doesn’t seem to know how to speak properly yet.”

Qin Yushu’s half-smiling voice overlapped with Old Master Huo’s stern rebuke.

Whether the latter was putting on a show was unknown, but the former had dropped even “Grandpa Huo.”

—What Lu Ningshuang didn’t care about, someone else was caring about for her.

Old Master Huo clearly read the implication in Qin Yushu’s words and barked at Huo Yunyi again, “Step down!”

Huo Yunyi grudgingly replied: “Yes.”

Lu Ningshuang heard his inner voice again: [This old man is playing the exact same game himself. I’m sticking my neck out for him, and now he’s unhappy about it.]

[Old fart! He’ll die sooner or later, and the Huo Family will all be mine. Let’s see him complain then.]

Well, well!

Lu Ningshuang nearly applauded: What a filial grandson this was?!

Though she didn’t know much about elite families, business intrigues, or high society, she knew others schemed with hidden blades. Who exposed everything outright like Huo Yunyi?

The transmigrator’s butt decided his brain.

Huo Yunyi had already checked Old Master Huo’s remaining lifespan via the System. Poor Old Master Huo still had to clean up after this troublesome grandson.

“Sigh, I mentioned to Yunyi earlier that there was once a marriage agreement between you two. He took it to heart and kept tabs on your news afterward. Weren’t you two even having dinner together not long ago? So it made him feel…”

“Not just him—even this old man never imagined it. Yushu, I’ve watched you grow up, and yet you suddenly got married, to someone so outside our circle.”

Well!

All the preceding words excused Huo Yunyi, but the final turn targeted Lu Ningshuang’s mismatched status with Qin Yushu.

Now that the transmigrator had taken over Huo Yunyi’s body, strictly speaking, the current “Huo Yunyi” had no blood ties to Old Master Huo. But that perceptiveness was truly grandfather-grandson material!

Qin Yushu remained steady and unruffled: “It seems not just Mr. Huo—Chairman Huo, you’ve misunderstood as well.”

“Oh?” A sharp glint flashed in Old Master Huo’s spirited eyes.

“If we’re talking marriage agreements, it wasn’t between me and this current Mr. Huo anyway. Besides, it was just a joke between you and my grandfather. He never mentioned it before he passed away years ago, so how can you dredge up old matters now and treat them as truth?”

This satirized Old Master Huo for being opportunistic, profit-driven, and unwilling to commit without guaranteed gain.

“My marriage to my Alpha wasn’t about her background—purely and solely because she is the one I fancy. How could that not be a beautiful thing?”

“Moreover, at this point, I no longer need a match of equal status to shore up my position.”

Qin Yushu delivered the latter half with particular confidence.

But it left Old Master Huo speechless.

—Qin Yushu didn’t need it, but the Huo Family did—for the current Huo Yunyi, desperately so!

Qin Yushu’s tone remained dense as ever. Before Old Master Huo could speak, she lowered her voice slightly and continued.

“I thought others might not understand, but I didn’t care. At least, ever since Grandpa passed, you’ve always said you treat me like your own granddaughter, Grandpa Huo—that you would accept and sincerely bless me finding true love.”

“I never expected… it seems Yushu was being presumptuous.”

“Since that’s the case, those two cooperation deals with Huo Corporation should be reconsidered…”

Well!

She switched from the formal “Chairman Huo” back to “Grandpa Huo,” then dropped an absolute bombshell!

This combination of soft and hard tactics utterly overwhelmed Old Master Huo’s aged frame.

First, before he could press Lu Ningshuang, Qin Yushu had shielded her completely.

And her stance was resolutely clear.

If you acknowledge it, I’ll honor some old sentiments and call you “Grandpa Huo” in public; if not, it’s strictly business from now on—”Chairman Huo.”

Note that “Chairman Huo” wasn’t respectful; Qin Yushu was his equal now—partners or rivals in plunder and strife!

Second, Huo Yunyi’s recent performance had deeply disappointed Old Master Huo!

The tasks assigned had been completed (mostly thanks to the System’s cheats), but barely, only passably.

Even worse than when he first brought him back a year ago.

Back then, he was still “Huo Qi,” not yet granted the name as a Huo descendant. His work was inexperienced, but carried a spark, a drive. Yet after a year of grooming, he’d become utterly mediocre.

This made Old Master Huo suspect: Could someone get worse with more training?

The older he got, the more obstinate he became, used to unilateral decisions, intolerant of advice. He wouldn’t blame his own methods—so only one possibility:

Huo Yunyi had someone behind him!

His early excellence came from that person’s strategies; the recent slump from a fallout with them.

What nonsense!

He needed Huo Yunyi’s Huo bloodline, but even more, that “brain” behind him!

Old Master Huo immediately issued a death order: Find that mastermind and respectfully invite them back. If they could focus on the Huo Family, it would secure them for decades, if not a century.

As for Huo Yunyi, if he couldn’t be propped up, let him sire heirs for the family. At his age, Old Master Huo couldn’t handle that anymore.

Thus, anyone with eyes could see through the transmigrator’s tricks—except him, smugly chasing women.

However.

The investigation results weren’t back yet, and on his seventieth birthday, Huo Yunyi caused another scene!

The stage was set perfectly, yet it collapsed on the spot—over his weakness for women, even daring to flirt with a female Alpha in such a solemn setting… Even Old Master Huo felt exhausted, yet had to clean up.

—Illegitimate sons were illegitimate; from humble origins, utterly unfit for the stage!!

Now, Old Master Huo just hoped to find that mastermind soon and have Huo Yunyi fulfill his duty.

Didn’t he like women?

Then give him ten or eight female Betas and Omegas—female Alphas too. Lock him in the bedroom to breed nonstop, produce three to five heirs, and his mission would be done.

The Huo Family had single heirs for generations. With this philandering seed, to avoid inferior genes, multiple backups weren’t excessive?

“Sigh.”

Old Master Huo let out a breath.

He wanted to step forward and pat her hand intimately, but Qin Yushu was a bit too far, so he gave up.

“Yushu, I truly treat you like my own granddaughter. But you—my old bones are failing, and now you won’t even call me ‘Grandpa Huo’ anymore.”

Qin Yushu complied smoothly: “Grandpa Huo.”

Anyway, calling him “Grandpa” once wouldn’t kill anyone. On the road, if you saw an elderly man, you’d still have to call out “Grandpa”!

“Since the cooperation is basically settled, it naturally has to continue. Otherwise, all those people who stayed up nights preparing would have worked for nothing?”

Old Master Huo laughed heartily, half-joking, half-earnest. “Yushu, our two families aren’t the type to go back on our word like that. We can’t disappoint all those folks working under us.”

Qin Yushu smiled and chimed in, “You’re right, Old Master. Everything proceeds as planned, then.”

But compared to Old Master Huo’s apparent ease, she was the one truly holding the initiative, completely calm and composed. There was no helping it—after all, the Huo Family was on a downward slope, while the Qin Family was thriving.

The Huo Family had no choice but to swallow this threat.

“Good, good, good!”

Old Master Huo immediately beamed, repeating “good” three times. He paused, then said nostalgically, “If only Yunxuan that child were still here…”