Chapter 65: I Misjudged You

Elsa swiftly changed her expression, putting on a bright smile. “Oh, oh, I was wondering who was stirring up trouble here—it turns out to be my dear nephew! Come, let your aunt take a look at you, have you lost weight? It’s been so long since we last met. You all treat me like an outsider; no one ever comes to visit me.”

Huo Fourth wore an expression as if he’d lost his father, forcing himself to walk over. This woman’s smile was laced with daggers; dealing with her was never straightforward. In truth, Huo Fourth had intended to invite his second sister-in-law to show off a little, but unfortunately, she wasn’t skilled at that—she only knew how to stir up resentment. No wonder she and the Grand Devil were at odds.

Once he approached, Huo Fourth’s handsome face was kneaded like dough by his little aunt. But suddenly, he had an idea and leaned in to whisper, “Auntie, please calm down. You know how Second Sister-in-law is; she’s always like this with the Grand Devil, so you can’t really blame her for her lack of manners or decorum.”

Elsa replied in a low voice, “I was born a bandit myself; I can understand those without refinement. But, little Huo, you’ve been rather lively lately, haven’t you? Are you caught in the middle, stirring things up among everyone?”

“No, no, really, I haven’t,” Huo Dongjun shook his head vigorously. “I genuinely have no say in the matter. Auntie, your money, your honor and reputation—it truly was him who burned it, not me! I’m not crazy.”

Elsa’s cheek twitched slightly, and she glanced at Zhang Ye. Elsa didn’t trust Huo Fourth, but she did trust Zhang Ye. Now, it seemed more and more likely that the Grand Devil was behind all this. Elsa couldn’t make sense of it: the whole world seemed about to slip free from his "domain," and he hadn’t managed affairs for ages, living feebly and unable to care for himself—yet suddenly he appeared in full form, increasingly active. There was something uncanny about it.

But at this point, almost no one could see him; not even probing or confirming was possible. Conversely, Huo Fourth had become the person most able to reach him? Elsa stopped thinking about the money issue and quietly said, “Huo Fourth, let’s set that matter aside. Tell me, has he been acting strange? What’s he thinking? What does it mean when that dog, Zhang Ziran, said ‘he’s not himself’?”

Huo Fourth thought, Do you take me for a fool?

He immediately put on a mournful face and copied the words he’d just used against Zhang Ye: “You’re all cunning old foxes, yet you come to bully an honest man like me. If he could be understood, would he still be himself? I know nothing about power, nothing about his intentions, nothing about his temperament or character. You don’t actually need my opinion, but you love to ask me, just so you can make me take the blame. My mother died early, and a motherless child is like a weed. My mother is your sister—even if our skin and hair are a little different, Auntie, you have a duty to look after me, not just to set traps for me.”

Helplessly, what he said was true. The Grand Devil’s thoughts and actions were unfathomable. Zhang Ziran was even more unpredictable, nobody knew what she was thinking—she might be talking nonsense. It was also possible the Grand Devil was deliberately spreading rumors through Zhang Ziran, then secretly observing everyone’s reactions.

In short, none of the old foxes could be trusted. For Elsa, Huo Fourth, though not trustworthy, was at least the easiest to control. To some extent, his complaints weren’t wrong; within the family, he was the scapegoat, the punching bag, the hopeless one.

Yet, to a certain degree, the Grand Devil did value relationships. Huo Fourth had a good mother—she was the Grand Devil’s ninth aunt, one of the few in the family who hadn’t participated in suppressing him. She was also the Grand Devil’s mother’s close friend.

Huo Fourth’s mother was a fine person, though a womanizer; she never married, slept with different handsome men every day, and eventually had Huo Fourth. After getting pregnant, she paid the man to disappear and hide his identity, but still let her son take the surname “Huo.”

Because of this, even if Huo Fourth wasn’t the old drunkard’s biological son but just a nephew, when the Grand Devil’s era arrived, he began to fare better. Though a wastrel, the Grand Devil protected him to some extent. Rumor had it, when the Grand Devil was gravely ill, he listed Huo Fourth in the family trust documents, and his ranking was fairly high.

After all this, Elsa, despite her lingering displeasure, didn’t intend to say more. She leaned in and whispered to Huo Fourth, “Go on, get rid of that damned lunatic Zhang Ye, and don’t let her wander around my yacht.”

Huo Fourth breathed a sigh of relief, turned and walked over, signaling to Jiang Yaowen and Zhang Ye that the matter was settled. With that, Yu Chengmin and Jiang Yaowen were finally able to relax.

Huo Fourth approached Zhang Ye and whispered, “Thirteenth Aunt says—”

“Fuck Thirteenth Aunt!”

Zhang Ye snapped and impatiently turned to leave.

Huo Fourth hurried to follow her; he certainly didn’t dare stay behind alone.

Zhang Ye spun around and pointed at Huo Fourth’s nose, “Stay away from me, you’re no better than the rest.”

Huo Fourth stammered, “Second Brother, he—”

“Fuck your Second Brother,” Zhang Ye interrupted before he could finish, then strode away.

Huo Fourth wanted to say, “Second Brother is here too,” but she didn’t even give him a chance to explain. He thought, How can you be so reckless, raging against heaven, earth, and air? Is that really the way to go?

Fortunately, things were finally settled. Now, Huo Fourth could finally relax and indulge a little, otherwise he’d been feeling chilled to the bone lately, as if there was nowhere to hide in this vast world...

Zhang Ye stormed out, intending to board the plane and leave, but saw a woman lingering near the helicopter—it was Xu Meihui.

“Madam Ye, I didn’t expect you to come here. I saw you just now but didn’t dare disturb you, so I waited here,” Xu Meihui said with a hurried smile.

Recently, Xu Meihui and her group had been acquired and merged into one of Zhang Ye’s holding subsidiaries. Xu Meihui was adept at seizing opportunities, but unfortunately, she rarely got to see Zhang Ye. She basically reported to the chairman Zhang Ye appointed to the company, but even he seldom saw her.

Zhang Ye recalled Xu Meihui, not concerning herself much with business, but she scanned her up and down and found her rather appealing. She stepped closer. “Did you wait here just to see me?”

“Nothing in particular—just wanted to meet and leave a deeper impression,” Xu Meihui replied with a smile.

Zhang Ye’s mind wandered. She boldly reached out and pinched Xu Meihui’s backside.

“Oh...” Xu Meihui hadn’t expected that, and it left her feeling chilled.

Xu Meihui was someone who got things done, not someone to fool around with, and Zhang Ye knew that perfectly well. She was just teasing.

Standing in front of the plane, they exchanged a few words, when Zhang Ye’s eyes lit up—she noticed a stunning woman nearby and, slightly lewdly, pointed. “Who’s that?”

Xu Meihui glanced over. “That’s Ni Feihong from ‘Most Beautiful.’”

Zhang Ye hesitated for a moment. “If you can get her to come entertain me for a bit, it’ll make things much easier between us in future.”

I @#￥

Xu Meihui truly hadn’t expected her to be like this; she was bewildered, her expression odd, but she couldn’t say anything more. She watched Zhang Ye’s plane depart from the Poseidon.

Turning away, Xu Meihui took a special route, deliberately “running into” Ni Feihong, pausing to chat as if reluctantly.

During this, two groups of wealthy men arrived, all trying to approach Ni Feihong, but with her own mission, Xu Meihui now played the role of “guardian,” shooting them a few sharp glances. The hangers-on among them hurried off in panic, knowing full well Xu Meihui was a formidable person...