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 daughter-in-law, pulled Xu Qingqing and Shen Mother aside to talk about the Huo Household.

Xi Lin, Han Jun's wife, asked curiously, "You saw them?" The White Household's eldest daughter-in-law nodded emphatically. "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 one of A City's elite families, but their business later expanded overseas, so they eventually established 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 at fault. Anyway, they meant that it shouldn't affect the relationship between our two families."

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

The White Household's eldest daughter-in-law shook her head. "How could that be? She's different from them. Besides, Huo Pei used to be the mistress of the household."

Shen Can watched Shen Zhuo playing with the White Household's children while listening to their conversation nearby. Ever since their meeting at Huo Xi's home last time, after learning they were on the same side, they had grown closer.

Still, elite families did need this kind of socializing. It not only made family cooperation more convenient, but 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 and wants to push Zhou Jingxuan into Huo Corporation Headquarters."

"Members of the Huo Household, major shareholders, and families with close business 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 vote."

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

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

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

"They should have seen how secure Huo Xi's position was last time. They shouldn't be harboring any bad intentions, right?"

Still, no one really viewed it in a positive light. If the Zhou Household had no ulterior motive, didn't they have their 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 came across Huo Xi outside getting some air.

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

Suddenly, Shen Can heard a name: Huo Huan. "Huo Huan, don't run! Take off those shoes! I want to wear them!"

It's him. One of the people who would oppose the protagonists' group years later, aside from Shen Zhuo and the mysterious person. Though his main goal is to strike at the Huo Household.

The Shen family, Su Nanxing, and Lu Shao all glanced in that direction. 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. How could his gambling-and-drinking-addicted father possibly give up the chance to get money from the Huo Household?

But he's different from the other illegitimate children. His mother was raped. Because of her poor health, she couldn't have an abortion and could only give birth to him.

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

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

His mother is pitiful. Anyone in her place might have been unable to let it go. I don't even know whether it's right to say she was wrong toward Huo Huan, because if you haven't experienced those things yourself, you can't truly understand. Still... isn'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. Anyway, Huo Huan was beaten throughout his childhood.

Yes, Huo Huan wouldn't fight back. When he was young, he couldn't fight back. After growing up and learning how he came into this world, he was even less willing to fight back.

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?

Keeping him by her side was nothing but mutual torture, wasn't it? Seeing him made her uncomfortable and unhappy, while Huo Huan was beaten and cursed at.

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

If not for him, he wouldn't have been born. He wouldn't have been despised and hated by his birth mother, and he wouldn't have been brutally beaten and abused. He would rather never have been born.

He hated his father, and he hated the Huo Household. It was because of the Huo Household that his mother didn't dare report that man. She could only swallow her hatred, and then he suffered even more beatings.

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

Who told the Huo Household not to keep their own people under control? Who told the Huo Household to be connected to that man? The suffering his mother endured and the suffering he endured—he wanted to repay it all to every member of the Huo Household.

Both he and Shen Zhuo fought against the protagonist's adopted sons. But unlike Shen Zhuo, who at least wouldn't use illegal methods, Huo Huan would use anything.

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

The Shen family was somewhat curious about who the mysterious person was. Shen Zhuo and Huo Huan both had their reasons, but 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 have a broken leg, another would go blind. Or there would be car accidents, strokes, X disease infections, accidental falls from buildings.

Not to mention the company. Bribery involving power and sex, illegal profiteering, tax evasion—he could dig up anything. Anyway, the plot said he was the one behind it. Another crazy villain, driven mad by torment.

Of course, the protagonists couldn't lose. So what should happen? Let the people targeting them fight among themselves.

Huo Huan had always known that Shen Zhuo and the mysterious person were also targeting the Huo Household, so he hadn't guarded against them. Then the mysterious person captured him. The methods he used truly weren't clean, so punishment was inevitable.

Yes, that mysterious person was my fourth brother. What could be more suitable for someone with a military background than doing this sort of thing? Maybe the plot kept him alive just so he could capture Huo Huan later.

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

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

After all, any mission that required Shen Yao to use the Shen family's identity couldn't have been simple. It had to involve a massive organization, one with connections to certain people among the elite families.

So none of them believed Shen Yao could survive. They hadn't expected him to be alive, only to have become like that. And even after becoming like that, he still wanted revenge, even though he was destined to fail. Their family truly seemed to have no one with a good ending.