The two didn’t stay long at Lin Yan’s hometown. Their planned one-month honeymoon had to be cut short due to the Huo family’s persistent calls.
As soon as they stepped out of the airport, they were picked up by a private car sent by the Huo family, and the newlyweds were forced to embark on the journey back to the Huo family home.
“Nervous?” Huo Jinglin rubbed Lin Yan’s sweaty hand between his own and asked, looking at the straight posture Lin Yan had maintained since getting into the car.
“No, I’m not nervous,” Lin Yan stammered slightly.
This was the Huo family, after all; the Huo family that held full controlling interest in Jin Yi International!
He’d be a fool not to be nervous!
Huo Jinglin clearly sensed his thoughts. He reached out to pull him into his embrace and reassured him, “My parents are really nice. It’s just my grandfather who’s a bit extreme. If he says anything harsh later, don’t take it to heart.”
Taking a deep breath, Lin Yan nodded slightly and relaxed, leaning into his embrace.
Neither of them spoke for the rest of the ride. Huo Jinglin kept gently squeezing Lin Yan’s fingers to tease him and help him relax; it didn’t work very well, but it was better than nothing.
Standing outside the Huo family estate’s walls, which were as thick as city ramparts, Lin Yan realized he really didn’t know much about City C. Isn’t every inch of land here worth its weight in gold? Aren’t there more people than land? Then who could explain why the Huo family’s main residence was built at the foot of a mountain? What had he just heard? Did the entire mountain belong to the Huo family?
Those insufferable rich people.
Lin Yan didn’t even have the energy to complain. After the car entered the main gate, it actually took another ten minutes or so before they saw the second gate. Blinking, he turned to look at Huo Jinglin and asked, “Is your family doing this to deter burglars?”
“Hm?” Huo Jinglin had been looking at his phone, but upon hearing the question, he paused for a moment before laughing. “Why would you think that? This estate was originally passed down from our ancestors. Later, my grandfather took several wives and had quite a few children; it got a bit crowded, so we expanded the compound. Then, after my father and uncles grew up, got married, and had children of their own, we built on to it some more. But our generation hardly ever lives here; the elders actually prefer it, mainly because it’s peaceful.”
“With so many uncles living together, aren’t there any of those dramatic inheritance disputes like in wealthy families?” It wasn’t Lin Yan’s fault that his thoughts were so dark; there were simply too many cases of large families tearing themselves apart over inheritance.
“Other families might have that, but not ours.” Huo Jinglin took his hand, brought it to his lips, and kissed it. “You’ll understand once you get to know us better. Let’s get out of the car now; they must be waiting.”
Lin Yan’s limbs felt stiff as Huo Jinglin pulled him out of the car. He followed closely in his footsteps toward the main house, completely unable to appreciate the scenery passing by.
There was no one else in the main house; just Huo Jinglin’s parents and his older brother, Huo Jingqi. This caused Lin Yan, who had been on edge the whole time, to breathe a slight sigh of relief.
“The little rascal is finally back.” Mrs. Huo’s given name was Su Meiling. True to her name, though she was in her fifties, she was strikingly beautiful, no less so than well-preserved movie stars, and looked as if she were in her early forties. Standing alongside the dashing Mr. Huo, they made a perfect match.
Mr. Huo was the second son of the Huo family patriarch. The patriarch, now eighty-seven, had been married three times and had five sons and two daughters. His daughters had all married abroad and returned home roughly once every two years, while his sons remained close by. They were all quite busy with their lives, so it was only during the Lunar New Year that the entire extended family could gather together.
“This must be Lin Yan?” Su Meiling greeted the reserved Lin Yan with a warm smile; it was clear that this mother was very pleased with the person her son had married. However, Lin Yan suspected that half of her approval stemmed from Mrs. Huo’s fondness for the TV series he starred in.
“Hello, Mrs. Huo,” Lin Yan greeted her with a smile, though heaven only knew how stiff and unnatural it felt.
“Why are you being so formal? You should call me Mom.” Su Meiling came over, took Lin Yan’s hand, and led him toward the living room. She turned her head slightly to look at Huo Jinglin, who was following behind them, and feigned annoyance: “Tell me, how old are you, and you’re still so reckless? If we hadn’t been nagging you, were you really planning to go a whole month without coming home?”
Huo Jinglin shrugged and handed the backpack he was carrying to the servant who had approached him. He took long strides to catch up and said, “We’re newlyweds; of course we have to go on our honeymoon first.” His tone was plaintive, clearly unhappy at being interrupted during their time together.
“Little brother, I don’t blame Mom for scolding you, but you should at least have come back so the family could meet Lin Yan before you left. Grandpa’s been talking about him every day lately.” Huo Jingqi patted the seat next to him, gesturing for him to sit down, then looked across at Lin Yan, who had been pulled into a seat by his own mother. He asked with a smile, “My brother hasn’t been giving you a hard time, has he?”
Lin Yan quickly shook his head. “No, no, he’s great.”
Mr. Huo’s name was Huo Xuanze. Among the five brothers, he had the mildest temperament, always wearing a smile, and speaking in a soft, slow, and gentle tone.
But Lin Yan was most wary of this type of person who smiled at everyone and everything. There was no doubt about it; this man was the quintessential “smiling tiger.”
“Kid, you’re overthinking things. Since you and Jinglin have already registered your marriage, naturally you’re entitled to half of what belongs to him.” Huo Xuanze set down his teacup; the white porcelain clinked softly against the tabletop. The sound was faint, but it sent a shiver down Lin Yan’s spine.
“I…” Licking his dry lips, Lin Yan mustered his courage to look Huo Xuanze straight in the eye. “Dad, I know our actions were impulsive, but I can assure you that even if I’d known his identity before we got married, I would’ve dragged him to the notary’s office. I don’t want to build our relationship on an unequal foundation, even though…” He lowered his eyes and stole a glance at Huo Jinglin, who had been watching him the whole time. Feeling more confident, he continued, “Although this might seem overly sentimental, I’m serious.” Now he couldn’t help but feel relieved that his earlier decision had been so clear-cut; if nothing else, the financial aspect alone would silence most of the Huo family.
Huo Jingqi raised an eyebrow and tilted his head to look at his younger brother, who was sitting beside him with his legs crossed. He leaned in and whispered, “Your wife’s pretty sharp; she’s definitely on your side.”
Huo Jinglin chuckled. Of course he was.
Huo Xuanze clearly approved of his stance as well. If nothing else, at least his attitude was commendable.
“Don’t use that formal address; it’ll make us look ridiculous to outsiders. Call me ‘Dad.'”
Lin Yan paused for a moment, then quickly nodded and corrected himself, “Dad.”
He knew that Huo Xuanze’s words didn’t necessarily mean he fully accepted his relationship with Huo Jinglin, but the fact that he didn’t outright oppose it was, to him, the greatest form of support.
“Mom and Dad, we just got off the plane and Lin Yan is tired, so we’ll go rest for a bit. He’ll come talk with you later.” Huo Jinglin stood up and pulled Lin Yan to his feet. “Where’s Grandpa?”
“He went to play golf with Old Zhuang. He probably won’t be back for a while. You two should go take a shower and change your clothes. Come down for lunch in a bit.” Su Meiling said with a smile. “Your second older brother had someone deliver quite a few crabs this morning. You like them, don’t you? I’ll cook them for you for lunch.”
Huo Jinglin gave a soft “Mm-hmm,” said goodbye to his dad and older brother, then took Lin Yan’s hand and headed upstairs.
In Huo Jinglin’s bedroom, the moment they walked in, Lin Yan’s legs gave out and he sank to the floor. Huo Jinglin reached out, wrapped his arm around Lin Yan’s waist, and lifted him up.
“You’re such a wimp.”
“I was scared to death,” Lin Yan whimpered weakly, resting his head on Huo Jinglin’s shoulder. This was even more exhausting than filming. Just thinking about having to face that old man later, who was rumored to have a terrible temper, made him feel sick to his stomach.
“Go take a shower. At least my dad, my mom, and my brother don’t have any bad feelings toward you.” Huo Jinglin pinched his cheek, leaned in, and kissed him, then reassured him, “My grandpa has a terrible temper and loves to meddle in everything. Just ignore him.”
Lin Yan pinched him. “Don’t talk nonsense.” Ignore him? If he dared to ignore Old Master Huo, he’d probably be kicked out in less than a day.
In the living room, Huo Xuanze glanced at Su Meiling, then turned to his eldest son and asked, “What do you think?”
“I think it’s fine. As long as my little brother’s happy.” Huo Jingqi was the first to speak up.
“It seems like a good match now. You know what our son is like; once the marriage certificate is signed, it’s too late to change our minds.” Su Meiling sighed. Although same-sex marriage had been legalized a couple of years ago, deep down, parents still hoped their son would find a woman to carry on the family line; after all, the chances of a man getting pregnant were vanishingly small.
“Let’s just wait and see. Anything is possible.” Huo Xuanze actually had a high opinion of Lin Yan. There was no other reason; there wasn’t a trace of insincerity in the young man’s eyes. He genuinely didn’t care about their family’s status or wealth.
“Alright, I’ll go check on the kitchen. You two can chat.” Su Meiling nodded and got up to leave.
