Chapter Sixty: Running Away from Home

The night seemed to devour endless thoughts, and a solitary figure stood on the porch, waiting for the silhouette that would emerge from the darkness. The flames of hope and longing that once burned brightly gradually dimmed with the passage of time, and those beautiful eyes grew filled with anxiety and disappointment.

Night flowed by in silence...

Huo Lingtian stood like a statue. His usual aura of power and decisiveness had made him overlook one crucial question from the very start: did Rong Qing feel the same about him? From their initial transaction to their gradual entanglement, from subtle influence to growing intimacy, they had become inseparable—at least in his eyes. To him, Rong Qing was the perfect lover, the most considerate wife, and a partner to weather all storms. But what about her? Huo Lingtian was filled with doubt. He could resort to force, even wield his power, but he refused to use the dirtiest, darkest means on the person he cherished most. He would rather shield her eyes and clear every obstacle, every bloody path, just so she could see a brilliant and glorious future.

“You cling to that girl, but does she love you? Is it worth it, Lingtian?” Huo Zhen spoke again, each word striking at Huo Lingtian’s most vulnerable place. He was unsure—if the three-month agreement was lifted, would she still stay by his side, like a wife, as before? Or was it all for the sake of that damned verbal promise made at the start? Huo Lingtian now hated himself for treating it as a game, and resented that impish little troublemaker who had teased him yet never truly responded! But even so, he would not let go. Even if it meant seizing and possessing her, he would hold on to Rong Qing with all his might. He could not bear to see that clever, bright, muddled, enchanting, and stunning little imp become someone else’s wife. If it came to that, even if it meant destruction, he would keep her imprisoned by his side.

Huo Lingtian turned, his moment of confusion and vulnerability vanishing, and once more he was the powerful, fearless head of the Huo family. “Grandfather, even so—what of it? It’s enough that I love her.”

Huo Zhen looked upon his grandson’s confidence and unyielding resolve. So be it. If this little rascal could come to his senses, it was for the best, and the Huo family hardly needed a political marriage to secure its already formidable position.

“The Huo family takes responsibility for its actions—remember your words today!” The old man, having delivered his final lesson, leaned on his cane and, with a face full of satisfaction, left Huo Lingtian’s villa.

“Heh... old fox!” Huo Lingtian watched his grandfather’s departing figure and muttered under his breath. But there was no hurry now. Though he had spoken so assertively to his grandfather, when it came to that cunning little fox, he was utterly at a loss. Perhaps, he thought, it would be best to push her a little, to force her to see her own heart and make a choice. Of course, if that choice ran counter to his wishes, he wouldn’t hesitate to forcibly change it.

Huo Lingtian spent the whole night at the mansion, frustrated and restless. Lying on that luxurious, soft bed, he felt uncomfortable all over. Without the warmth of that gentle body beside him, his heart was hollow and empty.

At dawn, with dark circles under his eyes, Huo Lingtian drove straight back to the villa. As he stepped into the familiar home, he saw the grass outside freshly mown, the swing swaying alone beneath the old tree, but its mistress had long since gone.

Every trace of Rong Qing—her jewelry, her clothes—had vanished without a trace. Huo Lingtian wandered the house in a daze, searching for even the faintest sign she had left behind, but everything had been meticulously cleared. The clothes that once lay scattered among his own were gone from the closet. The dishes she had used, now left forlorn in the bottom cabinet of the kitchen. The daffodils she loved to tend on the balcony left only a hollow echo of her presence. Even the two laptops that had sat side by side in the study remained untouched in their place. Huo Lingtian, seething, ground his teeth in anger at that heartless, ungrateful little imp. The cold emptiness of the house stabbed at his chest.

Three months—so this was your answer! Rong Qing, well done. You wouldn’t even stay in our ‘home’ for a single moment longer, not even granting him a chance to explain! Huo Lingtian wallowed in self-pity. Hmph, the nights are cold now—who will warm the bed for you? The film set is harsh—who will bring you takeout? Who will remind you, tirelessly, to dress warmly in winter and keep cool in summer?

Alas, our mighty Boss Huo could only lie there on their bed, sighing and groaning, yet in the end, the one he worried for, the one he ached for, was still her. Truly, the more you give, the more you suffer.

Rong Qing had not slept the night before. She had packed her things and, at dawn, dragged her heavy suitcase away from the Xiangshan Villa. Her hair a tangled mess, dressed in shorts and a tank top, she knocked on a friend’s door. When the girl, equally disheveled, opened the door and saw Rong Qing, exhausted and with dark circles under her eyes, she was first startled, then immediately ushered her in.

“Qing, what on earth happened? You look a wreck—heavens, is this everything you own? Did you run away from home?” Meng Lin chattered on incessantly from the moment Rong Qing entered.

“Stop! I’m tired!” Rong Qing rolled her eyes. Heaven knew how hard it was to leave after a sleepless night, lugging a massive suitcase, only to be bombarded with her best friend’s questions. All she wanted now was to collapse into a soft bed and sleep.

She made her way straight to Meng Lin’s bedroom, flopped onto the double bed, and soon drifted into a deep, dreamless slumber.

And what a sleep it was—she slept as if the world had turned upside down, unaware of the chaos her departure had caused. Huo Lingtian was searching for her all over X City, checking every hotel, even issuing a search order at the film crew she worked with.

----Author’s Note----

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