Volume 1, Chapter 34: Two Different Faces for Day and Night?

"Get out!"

Huo Yanchuan hung up the phone abruptly.

Whether startled or otherwise, Ruanruan began to cry even louder. The tears rolling down her face—which bore a five or six-part resemblance to Tang Ruan—vividly mirrored the way Tang Ruan had looked years ago when he pushed her away.

Huo Yanchuan was momentarily dazed.

She reached out to grab his leg. "Young Master Huo, you were clearly not like this last night."

He had been so enamored with her last night, yet now, he avoided her as if she were a plague.

Huo Yanchuan’s body stiffened slightly. He pulled his hand away, his eyes dark and inscrutable. Last night, he had mistaken it for a dream, and combined with her resemblance to Tang Ruan, he had allowed himself to indulge. Now that the dream had ended and reality had returned, he would not continue to make the same mistake.

"I will give you a sum of money. Do not appear before me again."

Ruanruan froze, a flicker of panic crossing her eyes. She reached out for him, weeping, "No, Young Master Huo, I... I really like you."

"I won't disturb you. I'll be obedient, just let me stay by your side."

"But I don't like you!"

After last night, he had suddenly realized that he had fallen in love with Tang Ruan without even knowing it. Thinking of his past neglect of her, he clenched his fists, silently swearing to win Tang Ruan back. He decided that as soon as he finished washing up, he would go to the Tang Corporation to find her, tell her he had finally recognized his own heart, and beg her for another chance.

Ruanruan seemed deeply struck, her eye sockets reddening as she retracted the hand she had used to pull at his clothes.

"I understand, Young Master Huo. I'm sorry for causing you trouble."

She stood up numbly and went to the bathroom to change. Once dressed, she stopped at the entryway. "Young Master Huo, do you really not like me at all?"

Huo Yanchuan did not answer. "I will have Li Yong transfer the money to your account shortly."

Ruanruan smiled, her heart turning to ash. "Thank you, Young Master Huo."

She reached out and pulled the door open.

Outside, a crowd was swarming, blocking the hallway completely. She was met with the frantic sounds of shutters clicking and camera flashes.

"She’s out! She’s out! Quick, get in there!"

"Young Master Huo, Young Master Huo..."

"Is it true that you and this young lady are in a relationship?"

"Young Master Huo, what is your connection to this girl who looks so much like Miss Tang?"

Ruanruan was blinded by the flashes, unable to even open her eyes, and was passively pushed back into the room by the surging crowd. The reporters snapped away, capturing the disheveled, properly dressed Ruanruan, and then turning their lenses toward Huo Yanchuan, who sat on the bed, shirtless and marked with ambiguous red bruises.

With the scattered clothing on the floor and the lingering scent in the air, anyone with a shred of sense knew exactly what had happened in that room the night before.

The news spread like wildfire. Under the most popular post, likes and comments climbed rapidly.

[Is Young Master Huo trying to find a fake because he can't win back the real one?]

[Honestly, this girl really does have a resemblance to Tang Ruan. I heard Huo Yanchuan has been sending flowers to Tang Ruan every day, trying to win her heart back.]

[Ugh, if I were Tang Ruan, I’d be absolutely disgusted!]

[If you can't sleep with the real one, you sleep with a look-alike stand-in. This cliché is so sickening!]

[Doesn't anyone else think Huo Yanchuan is disgusting? Acting all devoted, sending flowers during the day, then holding a stand-in in his arms at night...]

[It’s true! Given his family background and circumstances, plus their history together, there’s no reason for Tang Ruan to refuse him. Turns out she saw his true colors.]

***

At the Tang Corporation building:

"Ugh, how did I never realize Huo Yanchuan was such a creep?" Lin Jie couldn't help but complain.

Playing the part of the devoted lover, sending flowers and confessing his feelings by day, only to be wrapped up with a stand-in by night. Two faces for day and night? He was practically schizophrenic!

Tang Ruan smiled but said nothing.

Lin Jie leaned in, curious. "Ruanruan, did you know his true colors all along?"

Tang Ruan shook her head. She had just found out, too.

"Then how come you..." remain so indifferent to all his advances?

Tang Ruan replied, "I don't like to graze on old grass."

***

At the Huo Manor:

Huo Yanchuan was bound tightly and forced to kneel in the living room. It was the men of Elder Huo who had dragged him back from the hotel, and they had not been gentle; the ropes were biting into his skin.

Zhang Shuqin was heartbroken. She couldn't help but plead, "Father, Yanchuan was clearly set up by someone. He didn't mean to do this."

Elder Huo closed his eyes, pretending not to hear. He often wondered how it was that Zhang Shuqin, a lady from a prominent family, could be so ignorant of the fact that spoiling a child was as good as killing them. Every time Huo Yanchuan did something wrong and he tried to punish him, she would intervene with excuses.

Seeing that Elder Huo remained unmoved, Zhang Shuqin continued, "Father, that woman had plastic surgery to look like Tang Ruan; it’s obviously a trap set by someone else. If Yanchuan couldn't control himself, it was only because he loves Ruanruan so much..."

The Huo family had acted swiftly. While bringing Huo Yanchuan back, they had also investigated the woman thoroughly. Her name wasn't Ruanruan; it was Yao Fen. She hadn't been born looking like Tang Ruan; it was the result of surgery. After the transformation, she had used Li Yong and others to get close to Huo Yanchuan and climb into his bed.

This was clearly premeditated!

"Shut your mouth!"

Elder Huo could no longer contain himself. "You say he loves Ruanruan now? Where was that love all this time?!"

Seven years he had failed to cherish her, and now that the engagement was broken, he claimed to be in love. He wasn't ashamed, but Elder Huo felt the shame for him!

Zhang Shuqin lowered her head, not daring to meet the elder's gaze.

Ignoring her further, Elder Huo commanded, "Bring out the family whip."

The butler nodded, and moments later, returned with an ornate carved box. Zhang Shuqin knew exactly what was inside: the whip used for family discipline. It was different from an ordinary whip, embedded with many barbs that would tear flesh with every strike.

The last time it was used was over twenty years ago. A distant relative had driven a young girl to suicide, and since her family had political influence, they demanded justice regardless of the Huo family's offers. To appease the public, the elder had invoked the family law. After an hour of punishment, the relative’s back was a ruin of raw flesh, and it took two months before he could even stand. And that wasn't the end of it—he was thrown into a police station the moment he could walk and remained in prison to this day.

Recalling that bloody scene, Zhang Shuqin shivered.

"Father—"

"If you say another word, get out."

Zhang Shuqin could only watch with tear-filled eyes as the butler carried out the punishment. Each strike of the whip tore through skin and flesh. At first, Huo Yanchuan tried to grit his teeth, stubbornly refusing to cry out, but gradually, he could bear it no longer. He collapsed onto the floor, wailing.

"Mom, Dad, save me! Please, save me!"

"Grandfather, I was wrong! Please, spare me!"

"Second Uncle..."

***

Half an hour later, Huo Yanchuan’s back was soaked through with blood, a mangled, gruesome sight.

Elder Huo raised his hand. "That is enough."

The butler withdrew the blood-dripping whip and retreated to the side.