Chapter 104
Seeing Huo Ran cry, Ye Zhi also felt heartache. Enduring the pain from his wound, he squatted down and took out a tissue to wipe away her tears, comforting her, “Be good, I’ll take care of you again. I signed a one-year work contract with your dad. I’ll fulfill it.” He looked back at Huo Youcheng, “Is that okay?”
Huo Youcheng has always doted on his niece, and since Ye Zhi is essentially working at home, how could he disagree? He joked, “Sure, but taking care of you doesn’t include accompanying you to sleep.” He gently tapped Huo Ran’s forehead with his finger, “Crying won’t help. I won’t compromise on this.”
Huo Youcheng’s bedroom was on the left side of the second floor, one of the rooms with the best lighting in the whole building. Originally, before they got married, the Huo family had prepared a bridal chamber for him, also in a particularly good location in the city center. It was a standalone villa, but at that time, Huo Youcheng was resentful about the marriage, so he never thought of letting Ye Zhi ‘taint’ his private space. After they got married, he didn’t let Ye Zhi move in, and he rarely lived there himself.
“I should have moved back then and brought you with me.” Huo Youcheng regretted, “Otherwise, there wouldn’t be someone else competing for you with me now.” He joked while holding Ye Zhi’s hand and squeezing it.
Throughout this hospital stay, Huo Youcheng had been making such intimate gestures. He was essentially a romantic who didn’t hesitate to give warmth to the one he loved.
But Ye Zhi didn’t feel it. He defended Huo Ran, “Ranran is still young, she didn’t mean it.”
“You spoil her too much. I can already imagine that if we have a baby, you’ll probably spoil the child to heaven.” Huo Youcheng hinted in his words and gestures, leading Ye Zhi to the bedroom door and saying, “You open the door, I have a surprise for you.”
Ye Zhi, feeling a bit uncomfortable, turned the doorknob. When he opened it, his eyes were greeted by a sea of red accompanied by a fragrant scent.
Huo Youcheng had prepared a sea of roses for him.
In this season, it required air transport from the warmest southern regions to have such beautiful and tender flowers. They bloomed one by one, representing the most passionate love.
There were a lot of flowers, arranged on the table, sofa, floor, and even the bed. Ye Zhi was a little stunned, unable to recover for a while. Huo Youcheng gently embraced him from behind. Because of their height difference, he could lean his chin on Ye Zhi’s shoulder just by lowering his head, and his voice lingered in Ye Zhi’s ear, “I’ve noticed that you really like flowers recently, so I prepared this gift for you. Do you like it?”
Ye Zhi whispered, “I like it.”
No one would dislike such beautiful flowers, and it was the first time Ye Zhi had received so many flowers. It felt like a dream, somewhat making him feel Huo Youcheng’s sincerity.
He was touched but still couldn’t bring himself to be moved.
Huo Youcheng chuckled softly, leaning in naturally to kiss him, his scent spreading, mingling with the scent of roses, making the fragrance even richer.
He was his husband, and Ye Zhi couldn’t refuse his kiss. He subconsciously closed his eyes.
The unfamiliar touch made him feel a sense of fear, afraid that the other party would bite him heavily at any moment, just like Huo Youcheng had done to him before. Because of this fear, his lips trembled uncontrollably, and his stiff body moved back involuntarily.
But Huo Youcheng was already standing behind him, so the more he moved back, the more he moved into his arms.
Sensing his trembling, Huo Youcheng couldn’t deceive himself that it was due to excitement or joy. When he opened his eyes, he saw Ye Zhi’s pale face clearly, and a pang of heartache swept through his heart. He immediately apologized, “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have treated you like that before. So you’re afraid of being intimate with me now, aren’t you?” He felt that he had finally found the reason why Ye Zhi had seemed unhappy during this time and why he had been so careful to avoid physical contact with him.
“But don’t worry, I won’t do that anymore. I won’t be rough with you anymore. I’ll definitely cherish you.” Huo Youcheng kissed him on the lips. “Do you believe me?”
Ye Zhi avoided his gaze without answering. Huo Youcheng knew that mere promises were useless. The wounds from the past would still need to be slowly healed through actions.
However, temporary healing wasn’t effective. A simple kiss was fine, but whenever Huo Youcheng tried to deepen it, Ye Zhi would tremble uncontrollably. After several attempts failed to return to normal, Huo Youcheng finally refrained from going further.
He decided to take it slow.
Madam Huo didn’t return to her husband temporarily and planned to wait until after Huo Ran’s sixth birthday. With her return came more people, including the driver, the cook, two bodyguards, and two maids. With these additional people, plus Huo Youcheng returning home every day, the spacious house became lively.
