Whether it was Shen Shaoqing or Huo Zhen, they both thought that a天之骄子 like Huo Linsheng would surely be enraged when seeing such a scene. He might abandon Ling Nuan because of it or turn away coldly. After all, it was hard for a man to accept wearing a cuckold.
However, the truth was that Huo Linsheng walked calmly towards this store.
Shen Shaoqing didn't intend to let Ling Nuan go. How long had it been since he last got close to her? How long since he last stayed so intimately with her? Even though he knew there might be Huo Xiao's men nearby, he still couldn't resist touching the person in front of him.
Just as he was about to touch Ling Nuan's lips, a sudden tug came from behind, pulling him away forcefully. Shen Shaoqing was caught off guard and fell directly to the ground.
Without Shen Shaoqing's support, Ling Nuan was about to fall to the side. But instead of falling, she leaned into Huo Linsheng's arms.
"Huo Linsheng," Ling Nuan couldn't help but call out his name, her eyes slightly red and her tone a bit cautious.
Huo Linsheng took a look at Ling Nuan's situation. She was so sleepy that her eyelids were heavy and about to close at any moment, but she still forced herself to stay awake. She wanted to explain to Huo Linsheng that she had nothing to do with Shen Shaoqing, that she didn't like him. She just had been too careless and fallen into Shen Shaoqing's trap.
Huo Linsheng naturally noticed something was wrong with Ling Nuan's appearance. Or rather, when he saw Shen Shaoqing getting close to Ling Nuan, he knew something had happened to her.
Whether Ling Nuan loved Shen Shaoqing or not, he didn't know. But before Huo Xiao paid the price, she was unlikely to give up their relationship voluntarily. This was Huo Linsheng's greatest confidence.
"It's okay. Go to sleep," Huo Linsheng said with a cold expression but a gentle tone towards Ling Nuan.
At that moment, Ling Nuan suddenly felt at ease. She thought that since Huo Linsheng had come and seen her in this state, he must be able to guess that she had fallen into Shen Shaoqing's trap and that she had nothing to do with Shen Shaoqing. Thinking this way, she no longer resisted the drug in her body and fell into a deep sleep.
After seeing Ling Nuan fall asleep, Huo Linsheng looked coldly at Shen Shaoqing.
Seeing Huo Linsheng's expression, Shen Shaoqing suddenly laughed.
"Do you know where this is?" Shen Shaoqing asked.
Huo Linsheng's eyes darkened slightly.
"This is the snack street near our school. When Nuan Nuan and I were in school, this was our favorite place to come. Although these snacks are cheap and from street vendors, Nuan Nuan was so happy at that time. Huo Linsheng, this is something you can never compare to me!"
Shen Shaoqing was frantically provoking Huo Linsheng. "The love in college was so beautiful. We didn't have to think about anything else, just simply like each other. Do you know? At that time, many people envied Nuan Nuan and me. They envied me for having such a beautiful and outstanding girlfriend like Nuan Nuan, and they envied Nuan Nuan for having such a loving boyfriend.
"You're nothing now," Huo Linsheng interrupted coldly.
Shen Shaoqing was also hurt by Huo Linsheng's words, and his expression turned ugly for a moment.
"The past is the past. Only incompetent people keep looking back. You're a loser," Huo Linsheng retorted coldly.
Shen Shaoqing's expression darkened even more.
He gritted his teeth and said, "You're jealous of me! Jealous that I got to have Nuan Nuan's past."
Huo Linsheng scoffed. "The past? It's only been a few years. But I have her present and her future. And your future," Huo Linsheng sneered in disdain, "will probably be spent in prison."
Hearing this, Shen Shaoqing's face changed slightly.
They had planned to drug Ling Nuan and deliberately make Shen Shaoqing act intimately with her to make Huo Linsheng misunderstand. A man surely couldn't accept wearing a cuckold. Coupled with Old Mr. Huo, Ling Nuan would surely be abandoned and naturally couldn't stay at Huoshi anymore. Then she wouldn't be able to do anything later.
They never thought about one thing. That was, what to do if they were caught after drugging her?
Huo Linsheng directly called the police.
Ling Nuan was still sleeping soundly. The problematic sparkling water she had drunk was still on the table. And since the store was randomly chosen by Ling Nuan, although Huo Xiao's men had managed to drug her secretly, they didn't have time to deal with the store's surveillance cameras.
So, the surveillance cameras clearly captured everything Shen Shaoqing said, even the scene of Huo Xiao's men drugging her.
After Ling Nuan was examined in the hospital and confirmed to be okay, she was taken away by Huo Linsheng. As for Shen Shaoqing... he had already been arrested.
Ling Nuan slept very deeply this time.
When she woke up, it was already midnight.
She looked blankly at her surroundings. Only a pale yellow lamp was on in the room. The dim light made it hard for her to recognize the room at first. It took her a while to remember that this seemed to be the room in the Huo family's old mansion, the room she shared with Huo Linsheng.
At this moment, Huo Linsheng was sitting by the window, holding his phone and doing who - knows - what.
"Awake?" Huo Linsheng spoke first.
Ling Nuan came back to her senses and asked, "How long have I been sleeping?"
Huo Linsheng replied, "Not too long. Ten hours."
Hearing this, Ling Nuan looked at Huo Linsheng a bit guiltily and was about to come clean. "Before, Shen Shaoqing bought the house where my grandma lives from my uncle. That house was my grandma's only wish before she passed away. Shen Shaoqing used the house as a bait to ask me out. I..."
"I'm sorry. I didn't tell you right away, but I promise I won't see him again. Even if he uses the house to tempt me, I won't go," Ling Nuan even held up her finger, looking like she was swearing to the sky.
Huo Linsheng looked at her. "Your grandma's house?"
"Yeah. That house was bought by my grandpa and grandma through their hard work," Ling Nuan said, her expression becoming sad and emotional when talking about her family. "My grandma and grandpa had an arranged marriage, but they loved each other very much. The year my grandpa passed away, my grandma's health suddenly declined. If it weren't for worrying about me and my mom, grandma... "
"That house holds a lot of memories for my grandma. It's a very important place for her."
Huo Linsheng believed what Ling Nuan said. She didn't like Shen Shaoqing. She did all this for the house. But as for the means she used in the middle, that was unknown.
Suddenly, Huo Linsheng said, "You sent me the address before you left."
Ling Nuan replied with an "um". "Although I tried my best to avoid any problems, I was afraid that Shen Shaoqing and Huo Xiao would do something desperate. You're the person I trust the most."
If something really happened to her, Huo Linsheng would surely come to her rescue as soon as possible.
Hearing this, Huo Linsheng smiled faintly and said, "Ling Nuan, don't you think this scenario seems familiar?"
Ling Nuan was stunned.
Familiar?
Ling Nuan suddenly remembered the time when she pretended to fall into a trap to scheme against Huo Xiao. She had sent the location to Huo Linsheng, so when she was in trouble, Huo Linsheng was able to come to her rescue immediately and see through Huo Xiao's conspiracy.
Although this time, Ling Nuan didn't do it deliberately, in Huo Linsheng's eyes... what was the difference between these two things?
"This time, I didn't scheme against you," Ling Nuan said.