Blinded by Lust chapter 44

Half a month passed. Wu Bie didn’t receive a call or message from Huo Zhanyan, not sure if it was due to his busy studies, his commitment to his promise, or simply playing around. Wu Bie had a lot of free time at work, occasionally checking Huo Zhanyan’s social media, which hadn’t been updated. Their connection seemed to have been cut off.

Maybe it was for the best. Perhaps with more time, he would completely forget about the things between him and Huo Zhanyan. But right now, he was still in the withdrawal phase. Without someone persistently pestering him, he felt an emptiness inside.

A knock on the door interrupted Wu Bie’s thoughts. When he looked up, it was Qin Feng standing at the entrance. “Wu Bie.”

“Old Qin?” Wu Bie stood up to greet him. Qin Feng was the father of Qin Mochong. He had several businesses, and he only came by the shipping company once a week. It was rare to see him. “What brings you here?”

Qin Feng replied, “I was just nearby for a meeting. Any plans for tonight?”

Frankly, it was a bit embarrassing. Wu Bie’s good friends were all still at sea, and the only one he could count on was Chen Xian, who was often hanging out with Shen Jixue. With the ship not yet back, Wu Bie hadn’t gone out much since returning to land. He usually went to work, then came home after clocking out. He didn’t really have any plans.

“Going home to sleep.”

Qin Feng made a drinking gesture toward Wu Bie, “I have an event tonight, just drinking with a few friends and playing cards to pass the time.”

Wu Bie wanted to decline. Qin Feng’s friends were mostly business partners, and he didn’t enjoy those types of gatherings since he wasn’t into business.

But Qin Feng seemed to have guessed what Wu Bie was thinking. “I heard you want to go back on the ship? You’re still so young, why are you always thinking about going back? Life on a ship is like a monk’s. Isn’t it better to stay on shore? Just for tonight, let big bro take you out for some fun.”

“You know as well as I do, your friends are all prominent figures, and I don’t even know them. Isn’t it usually Zhang Ge who accompanies you?”

Qin Feng waved his hand and spoke disdainfully about Zhang. “Zhang’s wife calls him a hundred times a night, killing the mood. That’s the downside of being married. Only you and Chen Xian are still single. Chen Xian is shy, unlike you.”

Wu Bie still didn’t want to go, but Qin Feng caught on to his hesitation and his expression hardened. “You won’t even give your big bro this much face?”

Since the conversation had reached this point, Wu Bie couldn’t refuse anymore. “Since you put it that way, I can’t really say no. I guess I’ll go meet some friends.”

Qin Feng beamed with joy, slapped his thigh, and stood up. “Alright then, you get back to work. I have a meeting, and I’ll have someone pick you up later.”

“No need for the trouble. I can get there myself.”

“I’ll have someone send you the time and address.” Qin Feng patted Wu Bie’s shoulder. “Don’t leave your big bro hanging.”

Convincing Wu Bie made Qin Feng happy. That night’s gathering would include Huo Zhanxing. He had inquired about Wu Bie earlier, so it was clear they knew each other. Whatever the reason, with the connection between Wu Bie and Huo Zhanxing, future business dealings would go more smoothly.

….

“Wow, expelled?” Huo Zhanxing looked surprised at the sight of Huo Zhanyan at the corner of the stairs.

Huo Zhanyan mentally rolled his eyes. How could he have such an unsupportive big brother?

“Can you not speak like that? Can’t I come home for the weekend?”

“Of course, you can.” Huo Zhanxing grinned and put his arm around his little brother’s shoulder. “You used to refuse to come home, but now you’re even back on weekends. You’ve grown up.”

Huo Zhanyan shrugged off the arm on his shoulder. He had fallen behind in his studies and had to make up for it with tutoring. Now that he finally had some free time and had settled his rental arrangements, he came home for a visit.

“Too bad, I have a business dinner tonight, so I won’t be home for dinner.”

Huo Zhanyan didn’t respond, and Huo Zhanxing clicked his tongue twice. “Ungrateful brat, you can’t even pretend to care about your big brother?”

If he didn’t play along with Huo Zhanxing, he knew he’d go on and on about it. So, out of routine, Huo Zhanyan asked, “Where are you going?”

“Ting Shi.”

Ting Shi was a private, members-only club, where his brother usually hung out with a few business friends.

“Oh.” Huo Zhanyan wasn’t interested.

“Oh? So indifferent?” Huo Zhanxing wanted to tease him more, but his phone rang. After a brief conversation, he hung up and said, “Mom and Dad aren’t home. Tomorrow, I’ll take you and Zhanting out to eat.”

Huo Zhanyan wasn’t interested. He hadn’t come back just to have dinner with his brother. He waved his hand to signal him to leave quickly.

After his brother left, Huo Zhanyan returned to his room and took out his car keys from the drawer. The timing was a bit awkward; he wasn’t sure if Wu Bie was still at work.

He opened Wu Bie’s social feed, but there was nothing new. Although he hadn’t actively reached out to him, he always kept an eye on his updates.

How should he start the conversation with Wu Bie? Should he just ask where he was? Wu Bie probably wouldn’t tell him. Or maybe he should tell him he was back and ask if he wanted to meet up. But what if he refused? Every time they met, it was because he went to find him. Huo Zhanyan wasn’t sure if Wu Bie would agree to meet this time.

As he hesitated, his finger accidentally tapped on Wu Bie’s profile, and before he could react, a message had already been sent.

“I—!” Huo Zhanyan raised his phone in panic. He wasn’t ready for this. Worse, it wasn’t a text message, so he couldn’t retract it. Should he tell Wu Bie it was a mistake, or should he take this chance to ask him out?

Before he could decide, he saw the “typing” notification from Wu Bie. The reply came faster than expected, but his heart sank when he saw it was just a cold “?”

Words felt insufficient. Huo Zhanyan couldn’t gauge Wu Bie’s emotions from such a short response. He couldn’t tell if Wu Bie missed him at all.

Meanwhile, Wu Bie had just parked his car at Ting Shi when his phone buzzed. He thought it was a message from Qin Feng, but when he checked, it was from Huo Zhanyan.

Seeing the familiar name without a contact note, Wu Bie wasn’t sure how he felt. It was a mix of surprise and a heavy emptiness, as if something unexpected had just blocked his heart.

It was like knowing he was about to forget the past for good, only for Huo Zhanyan to pop back into his life at the worst possible moment.

Wu Bie could guess what Huo Zhanyan might say. Maybe it was a long-overdue greeting, maybe a cautious probe, maybe…

But when he opened the message, all he saw was a poke from Huo Zhanyan. What did that even mean? He felt a surge of irritation and replied with a “?”

After turning off the car, Wu Bie didn’t rush out. He sat inside, waiting for Huo Zhanyan’s reply. After a long pause, a message finally appeared.

“Are you still at the office?”

A bold and absurd idea flashed through Wu Bie’s mind: Could Huo Zhanyan have returned? But isn’t he studying in the neighboring province? Although transportation is convenient nowadays, making a trip back isn’t difficult or time-consuming, but what would be the reason for him to come back specifically? It couldn’t be for…

Stop. Wu Bie killed off his wishful thinking right there. He didn’t care why Huo Zhanyan was back, nor did he want to know or dig deeper.

“Did you forget what you said? Not to message me.”

Of course, Huo Zhanyan hadn’t forgotten, but saying not to message Wu Bie was just a stalling tactic. Could he really not send a message?

He acted pitiful, “Did my messages bother you?”

Wu Bie snapped like he had swallowed a bomb, “Of course.”

But Huo Zhanyan couldn’t tell if Wu Bie was genuinely angry or just saying it out of spite. “What are you busy with?”

“Busy with a date.”

Huo Zhanyan’s heart skipped a beat when he saw those words. If what Wu Bie said was true, that was the last thing he wanted to hear. He was terrified that in the short time he’d been away, someone new might have appeared by Wu Bie’s side.

He suppressed his anxiety, “I don’t believe you.”

Wu Bie laughed in frustration. What was that supposed to mean? Was Huo Zhanyan looking down on him? He snapped a photo of the river view in front of him and sent it to Huo Zhanyan with a defiant message.

“Why would I need to lie to you?”

Huo Zhanyan quickly opened the photo, zooming in as much as he could. It was of an open-air parking lot, and the river view from this angle looked familiar, like it had been taken near Ting Shi.

Wu Bie was at Ting Shi. What was he doing there?

He thought about how Wu Bie, a straight man, usually had to deal with social events. If his older brother had business at Ting Shi, then Wu Bie would be there for the same reason. But was there a woman with him?

The possibility made Huo Zhanyan feel awful. He wanted to call Wu Bie, to question him, but he didn’t dare. He was afraid that if he pushed Wu Bie too hard, he’d be locked out again, and it would be like starting over from scratch.

He knew Wu Bie liked women. Did it have to be women? Did Wu Bie really like women that much?

Huo Zhanyan suddenly stood up, took a few steps, then returned. He opened the cabinet and found a messy wig among his things from the hospital.

So what if it’s a woman? Huo Zhanyan thought viciously. No other woman was allowed near Wu Bie!

Holding the wig, he rushed to Huo Zhanting’s room and knocked on the door.

“Ge…Ge?” Huo Zhanting, who was doing homework, opened the door to find Huo Zhanyan fuming with a wig in his hand. “What’s wrong with you?”

Huo Zhanyan declared resolutely, “Zhanting, I need a dress, a black one, that I can wear!”

“Huh?”