Huo Mingjun's hand paused as he was placing the plate down.

However, this small abnormality was quickly and smoothly covered up. He avoided the main point and answered, "People like us generally don't need a reason to do things."

"There are thousands upon thousands of unlucky people in the world, and I haven't seen you bring them back one by one to teach them a lesson," Xie Guan said after taking a sip of milk. "Why me, specifically?"

He couldn't possibly ask Huo Mingjun directly if he had ulterior motives; that would be too rude. He could only beat around the bush and probe carefully. Of course, Huo Mingjun knew what he was pondering, but there were some things that even he hadn't fully figured out himself. Telling Xie Guan now would only completely shatter the already shallow connection between them.

"Cuiping Mountain, do you remember?"

"Mm."

Huo Mingjun pushed the pastries toward him. "When you shielded me from the aircraft, I didn't ask you why either, did I? Eat something."

The gentle look in his eyes was only revealed for an instant before it was withdrawn and replaced by his usual cold expression. Xie Guan knew he had been tactless and touched a sore spot, so he immediately fell silent.

Huo Mingjun was a businessman. Logically, he would only be willing to invest when there was a profit to be made. However, Xie Guan looked himself over and truly couldn't find any surplus value to be extracted. And since Huo Mingjun's lips were sealed as tight as a pearl oyster, he could only temporarily suppress the doubts in his heart and obediently stay with Huo Mingjun at the hotel.

The next morning, the two had breakfast together. Huo Mingjun had no arrangements for the morning and was going to stay at the hotel to listen to a work report from B City. Xie Guan had nowhere to go and was planning to do something to kill time, but Huo Mingjun called his personal assistant, Fang Hui, up from downstairs and had her take Xie Guan out to buy a couple of outfits and some daily necessities.

Assistant Fang hadn't attended the welcome banquet yesterday and deeply regretted missing a big show. Her various attempts to dig up gossip had been fruitless, but she hadn't expected to get just what she needed right when she needed it. With the reverence of one receiving an imperial decree, she respectfully took the supplementary card from Huo Mingjun's hand, tucked it away, and turned to Xie Guan with a meaningful, benevolent smile. "Mr. Xie, let's be on our way."

That smile made Xie Guan shudder inwardly. He subconsciously looked toward Huo Mingjun, and the words slipped out before he could think: "Aren't you coming with us?"

The smile on Fang Hui's face instantly switched to terror.

Asking the Great Demon King Huo to go shopping with you? Young man, do you think we've lived too long?

Huo Mingjun was sitting by the window looking at a tablet. Hearing this, he replied without even lifting his head, "I'm not going. Let Fang Hui help you pick. Her taste is decent."

Assistant Fang's legs went weak. She gave a dry laugh, "Uh... thank you for the compliment, Boss."

Fang Hui was the assistant specially responsible for Huo Mingjun's daily life, so she had a very deep understanding of her boss's temperament. Huo Mingjun's personality was by no means good; he was cold and severe, with an iron fist, and his ruthless methods, especially when dealing with family matters, were often criticized. Fang Hui was his fourth personal assistant. The rumored reasons for the firing of the previous three were "impure motives" and being "loose-lipped," while the unluckiest one was fired merely for exchanging a few extra words with Huo Mingjun's father.

From what Fang Hui knew of him, Huo Mingjun's standards for others and for himself were almost harsh. So when Fang Hui heard that "the boss picked up a man from a porn shoot," she was shocked. And when she saw Xie Guan wander out of the boss's room wearing cheap, street-stall clothes that looked like a drafty sack, and even casually invite him to go shopping together, her illusions were completely shattered.

So the Great Demon King has a Cinderella living in his heart...

Xie Guan was an easy person to get along with. Fang Hui quickly discovered that he knew almost nothing about Huo Mingjun and had simply stumbled into the boss's clutches by accident.

Fang Hui couldn't be sure what Huo Mingjun intended to do with Xie Guan—was he keeping him, or was this his good deed for the day? She didn't dare say too much to Xie Guan, so she could only channel her pent-up energy into a shopping spree.

Xie Guan was an entertainer by trade, with a superior physique. Changing into suitable clothes was like a complete transformation. This older maiden, Fang Hui, couldn't help but sigh in admiration, her "Cinderella" theory becoming even more firmly established in her mind.

Xie Guan took the shopping bags from the sales clerk. Just as Fang Hui was about to get up from the sofa, Xie Guan naturally extended a hand for her to lean on. "Are you tired? We've been walking all morning. Let's find a place to sit and rest for a bit."

Assistant Fang's maidenly heart fluttered dramatically for a moment.

On the surface, she smiled and said okay, but internally, she was like a dead dog: "Damn it, even a great guy like this has been snatched up by the Great Demon King."

At Xie Guan's insistence, Fang Hui only picked out two sets of inexpensive clothes, and then, following Huo Mingjun's instructions, bought him a phone. It wasn't yet lunchtime when they returned to the hotel. Huo Mingjun had just finished dealing with some documents from the company. Seeing the two of them enter, he raised an eyebrow in surprise. "That was fast."

Fang Hui didn't get to see a stunned expression on his face and was a little disappointed, muttering to herself how this wasn't the ending she'd been promised. Then she heard Huo Mingjun continue, "Not bad. Much easier on the eyes."

For once, Xie Guan seemed a bit awkward and shy. He thanked him in a low voice, "You've spent too much."

Huo Mingjun added, "Clothes make the man. Most people in this world are visual creatures. Never mind what's on the inside, at least don't let your outside look pathetic. If you had just a bit more backbone..." He glanced at a certain someone craning her neck to curiously watch, swallowed the old grievances that were on the tip of his tongue, and deftly changed the subject, "...you wouldn't have ended up in my hands getting a lesson."

Xie Guan tried hard to keep his lips from smiling. "No, your lesson was right."

Fang Hui thought to herself, "I'm such a third wheel."

In the afternoon, Huo Mingjun went out to meet a representative from Longfeng Group. Xie Guan bought a SIM card and installed various social media apps on his new phone. Recovering his WeChat was a lot of trouble, but thankfully, he could still log into Weibo. The moment he went online, he was flooded with a deluge of private messages. He could feel Wang Ruolun's roars even through the screen.

[Where are you? Are you there?]

[Why did you suddenly terminate your contract with the company? What happened?]

[Answer your phone!]

[Damn it, how old are you, still pulling a vanishing act? Don't scare me! Call me back!]

[I'm gonna call the cops!!!]

[I'm heading to the filming location soon, there's no signal in the mountains. If you see this message, call this number.]

The most recent message was from 6 a.m. the day before yesterday, probably written in a hurry by Wang Ruolun before he left. He must have been driven to desperation by Xie Guan, to the point of leaving the production team's contact information.

He looked at the screen full of exclamation points brimming with murderous intent, and a spark of warmth spread from the bottom of his heart. Suddenly, he felt like he was alive again.

Huo Mingjun, Wang Ruolun, President Nie waiting in her car late at night, Director He who had given him multiple chances... This world wasn't entirely filled with the likes of Wang Zhe and President Zhang. To escape the heavy, oppressive clouds, he had plunged headfirst into a dead end like a bird startled by a bow. But so what if he terminated his contract? Not being able to get a role in B City didn't mean he would starve to death—the Chinese entertainment industry was as vast as China itself. Could a mere investor truly blot out the sky with one hand?

How could he have been so shortsighted as to abandon nearly ten years of perseverance for people like that?

Xie Guan sent a message back to Wang Ruolun: "I'm in Hong Kong. I lost my phone and didn't see your messages until now. I'm doing fine, don't worry. I'll be back in a while."

Huo Mingjun was out at a social engagement and didn't return to the hotel until almost ten o'clock. A TVB wuxia drama was playing on the television. Xie Guan heard the sound of the door opening, looked over his shoulder, and then stood up to greet him. "You're back."

He still wasn't quite used to being around Huo Mingjun and seemed a little reserved, but at least he had taken the initiative to speak. Huo Mingjun was incredibly perceptive and could tell at a glance that he was different from before, knowing that he had finally come to terms with things. He grunted an "mm" and was about to speak when a piercing, dry itch suddenly rose in his throat. His Adam's apple bobbed, and he immediately broke into a violent coughing fit.

"What, did something go down the wrong way?" Seeing him covering his mouth with his hand, coughing nonstop, a faint flush spreading across his cheeks, Xie Guan poured a glass of water and handed it to him. "Here, drink some water to calm it down. Are you okay?"

He leaned closer and smelled the faint scent of smoke on Huo Mingjun's suit. He got up to turn on the ventilation, and after returning, he gave Huo Mingjun a light pat on the back with the heel of his palm. "Take off your jacket. Have you had this cough before? Did Assistant Fang bring any medicine?"

Huo Mingjun let him take off his suit jacket. Xie Guan then pulled off his tie as well and undid the top two buttons of his shirt to let him breathe a little more easily.

Ordinarily, anyone who dared to unbutton Huo Mingjun's shirt would have been sent flying two hundred meters before they could even touch him. But at this moment, perhaps because Xie Guan's way of caring for someone was unexpectedly skillful and gentle, Huo Mingjun didn't even have time to consider whether he was crossing a line. He only felt a sense of comfort that was completely different from usual.

Unlike the trust he had in his assistant, he placed himself in Xie Guan's hands with complete confidence, not because of any beneficial relationship, but because he knew subconsciously that he would receive wholehearted care from him.

Because Xie Guan was mindful of his kindness.

From the moment he decided to give Xie Guan a helping hand, this relationship had been quietly established. He had never thought of getting anything in return, but at an unexpected moment, he suddenly became aware of its existence, and had unconsciously placed it at the top of his "can be relied upon" list.

The hot water soothed his dry throat, and the light fragrance of bath soap lingered in the air. Huo Mingjun finally caught his breath after the violent coughing spell. He took the tissue Xie Guan handed him and said in a hoarse voice, "It's an old problem, I'm fine."

Xie Guan frowned. "You've been coughing for almost ten minutes and you call that fine? I'll go ask if there's any medicine."

Huo Mingjun waved his hand to signal it wasn't necessary and cleared his throat. "It's not an illness. Someone was smoking at the dinner party tonight, it irritated my throat. It'll be fine in a little while."

Xie Guan sighed. "You'd better not talk. Drink some water."

The sudden flurry of activity broke the initial awkward atmosphere. Once things quieted down, that sense of constraint threatened to return. The TV drama reached its closing credits, and a somber Cantonese song echoed through the room. Although the two of them were sitting side by side, the living room felt inexplicably vast and empty.

In the end, it was Huo Mingjun who broke the stalemate. "We head back the day after tomorrow. If there's anywhere you want to go or anything you want to buy, you can have Fang Hui go with you tomorrow."

Xie Guan quickly said there was no need to trouble her, but Huo Mingjun said, "You've been in Hong Kong for a few days, but I doubt you've had the mind to get to know the place. Since you have the chance, it would be good to go and have a look around."

A hint of a teasing smile flashed in his eyes. "Although the beginning of this trip wasn't all that great, at least we can end it with some good memories. Lest in the future, all you remember is how I scolded you until you cried."

Xie Guan didn't expect him to bring up old scores. Remembering how he'd lost face that night, he became as embarrassed as a freshly steamed mitten crab.

However, he didn't talk back. He held his tongue and tolerated Huo Mingjun's teasing, a stark contrast to the explosive, firecracker temper he had on the first day.

The emotional wall that lay between them seemed to have melted.

Of course, Huo Mingjun knew why. It was like picking up a dirty, bedraggled little animal, risking a few scratches to wash it clean, stroking its fur to soothe it, and then picking it up. The little thing would then know who its master was.

However, this change wasn't just happening in Xie Guan. Hadn't he himself also softened and let his guard down?

The relationship between people, isn't it just a matter of mutual taming?