Huo Huan

"Oh, you should've seen it. There were so many children the Huo Household had acknowledged and brought back." He Lan, the White Household's eldest sister-in-law, pulled Xu Qingqing and Shen Mother over to talk about the Huo Household.

Xi Lin, Han Jun's wife, asked curiously, "You saw them?" The White Household's eldest sister-in-law nodded heavily. "Of course. I saw them when I went to their old residence. All those children were there, being made to learn etiquette."

The Huo Household had an old residence in A City. They were also one of A City's prominent families, but their business later expanded overseas, so they eventually had another old residence in M Country.

"What did you go there for?" Xi Lin asked in confusion.

"The Huo elders called us over to say that Huo Zhenyun was the one in the wrong. Anyway, they meant that it shouldn't affect the relationship between our two families or anything like that."

Xu Qingqing thought of something as well. "Is Huo Pei learning etiquette there too?"

The White Household's eldest sister-in-law shook her head. "How could that be? They're different, and besides, Huo Pei used to be the mistress of a household."

Shen Can watched Shen Zhuo play with the White Household's children while listening to the women talk nearby. Since their meeting at Huo Xi's home last time, after learning they were on the same side, they had become friendly.

However, wealthy families truly needed this kind of socializing. Not only did it make family cooperation more convenient, but it also allowed them to gather plenty of information.

"But before long, you should all be making a trip to the old residence too. Huo Zhenyun has gone mad—he wants to put Zhou Jingxuan into Huo Corporation Headquarters."

"Members of the Huo Household, major shareholders, and families with close ties to Huo Corporation will probably all have to go. That's what my husband said. They'll see whether he gets in based on the voting results."

After hearing the White Household's eldest sister-in-law, Shen Mother recalled how frequently the Zhou Household had been hosting gatherings recently. "So they're trying to win over some shareholders and business partners."

Xi Lin was speechless after hearing that. "Has Huo Zhenyun lost his mind? It's not enough that he returned to the Huo Household—he wants to arrange for him to enter the company too?"

"Although some sons of daughters who married out of the Huo Household have indeed entered Huo Corporation, this situation is different. What exactly are they trying to do?"

"They should have seen how secure Huo Xi's position was last time. Surely they wouldn't have any bad ideas, would they?"

Still, no one really saw it in a positive light. After all, if they had no ulterior motive, didn't the Zhou Household have its own company? Why insist on going to Huo Corporation?

On Saturday night at the Huo Household Old Residence, Shen Can and Su Nanxing walked side by side behind the Shen family. They chatted as they walked, only stopping when they ran into Huo Xi, who was standing outside in the breeze.

The Shen family, Elder Su, and Huo Xi began talking, so naturally Shen Can and Su Nanxing were no longer suited to continue their conversation.

Suddenly, Shen Can heard a name: Huo Huan. "Huo Huan, you're not allowed to run! Take off those shoes—I want to wear them."

It's him. It's him—the one who, years later, would oppose the main cast alongside Shen Zhuo and the mysterious person. Though his main goal was to strike at the Huo Household.

The Shen family, Su Nanxing, and Lu Shao all looked over. They saw only a thin, small child being chased by a chubby child and several others.

I'd forgotten. He should be acknowledged and brought back this time too. After all, he's an illegitimate child as well. How could his gambling-and-drinking-addicted father possibly give up the chance to get money from the Huo Household?

But unlike the other illegitimate children, his mother was raped. And because she was in poor health and couldn't get an abortion, she could only give birth to him.

Because she was filled with hatred, she hated this child too. She named him Huan—calamity, misfortune.

She often beat and abused him to vent her anger. After giving birth, she had to endure far too much gossip, and her reputation was ruined, so she could no longer find a good partner.

His mother was pitiful. Anyone in her place might have been unable to let it go. I don't even know whether I should say she was wrong toward Huo Huan, because if you haven't experienced those things yourself, you can't understand. Sigh... but wasn't Huo Huan rather pitiful too?

She hated Huo Huan's father too, but she couldn't take revenge on him, so she could only endure it. Then she took out her anger on Huo Huan. In any case, Huo Huan was beaten throughout his childhood.

Yes, Huo Huan wouldn't fight back. When he was little, he couldn't. After growing up and learning how he had come into this world, he became even less willing to resist.

Shen Mother was somewhat shocked. If she truly disliked him that much, she could have sent him to an orphanage, or let someone unable to have children adopt him. That should have been possible, right?

Wasn't keeping him by her side simply torturing each other? Seeing him would make her uncomfortable and unhappy, while Huo Huan would be beaten and scolded.

Amid her daily curses, Huo Huan naturally learned who his father was. But he had no desire to acknowledge that man as his father.

If it weren't for him, he would never have been born, never have been loathed and hated by his birth mother, never have been beaten and abused. He would rather never have been born.

He hated his father, and he hated the Huo Household. Because it was the Huo Household that made his mother afraid to report that man. She could only swallow her hatred, and then he had to suffer even more beatings.

He wanted that man dead. He wanted everyone in the Huo Household to experience the same feeling he did—the feeling of suffering the consequences of someone else's actions.

Who told the Huo Household not to keep their own people in line? Who told the Huo Household to have ties to that man? The suffering his mother endured, the suffering he endured—he would make everyone in the Huo Household repay it all.

Both he and Shen Zhuo fought against the male lead's adopted son, but unlike Shen Zhuo, who at least didn't use illegal methods, Huo Huan would use any means necessary.

And the Huo Household had no idea he even existed. They were busy fighting Shen Zhuo and the mysterious person, while he made their lives utterly miserable.

The Shen family was a little curious about who this mysterious person was. Shen Zhuo and Huo Huan both had their reasons, so what was this person's reason?

Huo Huan either didn't act at all, or when he did, someone from the Huo Household was bound to suffer. One would break a leg, another would go blind. Or there would be car accidents, strokes, infection with X disease, accidental falls from buildings.

And that was before mentioning the company. Power-for-sex deals, illegal profiteering, tax evasion—he could dig up anything. Anyway, the plot said he was the one behind it. Another unhinged villain, driven mad by torment.

Of course, the male lead still couldn't lose. So what could they do? Make the people targeting them fight among themselves.

Huo Huan had always known that Shen Zhuo and the mysterious person were also dealing with the Huo Household, so he never guarded against them. That was why the mysterious person captured him. The methods he used were indeed dirty, so punishment was inevitable.

Yes, that mysterious person was my fourth brother. Who was more suited to doing this than someone with a military background? Maybe the plot kept him alive precisely so he could capture Huo Huan later.

Why didn't anyone recognize him? Because he had lost three fingers, gone blind in one eye, and lost an ear. No one could recognize who he was anymore.

The Shen family no longer knew how to express what they were feeling. When they learned Shen Yao had gone missing, they had thought he must have died in the plot.

After all, the mission that required Shen Yao to use the Shen family's identity could not have been simple. It had to involve a massive organization, and it was even connected to some people among the wealthy families.

So none of them had believed Shen Yao could survive. They had never expected that he was alive, only to become like that. And even after becoming like that, he still wanted revenge, though it was certain to fail. Their family truly had no one who would end well.