Chapter 113: You were always that unsolvable poison, yet you somehow became my only antidote

After a moment of silence, Su Ruoyun said this with a sincere expression, "genuinely and earnestly."

In an instant, inside the enclosed car cabin, Huo Jingcheng's voice drifted out faintly, "This illness only flares up in front of you. Are you the medicine to cure me? Or is it that you were always that unsolvable poison, yet you somehow became my only antidote..."

"..." Su Ruoyun.

His tone was dead serious, inexplicably carrying a hint of a bass-heavy resonance, yet the more he spoke, the more outrageous it became. The more Su Ruoyun listened, the more ashamed she felt. Unable to fathom how a man could say such shameless things, she simply turned her head away, saying nothing, and focused entirely on the scenery retreating past the window.

It was nearly six o'clock in the evening, and a black curtain was spreading across the horizon.

Along the roadside green belt, the Chinese roses had already "exited the stage." The stars of the flowerbeds in June were the daylilies—orange-red, bright yellow, and emerald green, with their slender, graceful stems stretching out to their heart's content. When the wind blew, the flower branches trembled, light and elegant, lively and bright.

Seeing this, Su Ruoyun raised her hand and lowered the passenger-side window. A gentle breeze poured in continuously, and the strands of hair falling by her ears fluttered with the wind. She began to admire the urban maintenance and construction tax on her own.

It was the evening rush hour, and the Hummer moved with difficulty through the traffic, stopping and going. It lived up to Huo Jingcheng's words about "waiting a long time"; without an hour or so, they probably wouldn't reach Su Ruoyun's apartment.

The car drove onto the overpass. As the vehicle rose steadily, the lights of the high-rise buildings at one end of the city gradually unfolded in their field of vision.

Huo Jingcheng looked through the windshield at the traffic ahead, broke the silence in the cabin, and asked Su Ruoyun where she lived.

"You don't know?" Hearing this, Su Ruoyun turned her head back, a flash of surprise in her eyes.

After all, since Huo Jingcheng could know her identity so early on, her apartment address naturally shouldn't be a problem.

"Should I know?" Huo Jingcheng asked back calmly, his expression composed.

"Isn't it easy for you to look it up?" Su Ruoyun threw the words back at him.

The Huo Family was at the top of the pyramid. If Huo Jingcheng wanted to know her information, even if she were a member of the Su Clan, as long as he had the intention, he could find out most of it.

Moreover, these high-ranking scions of noble families always liked to get to the bottom of others; they were always keen on investigating people's backgrounds until they were crystal clear.

They could be secretive themselves, switching between several passports and identities at will, but they wouldn't tolerate the slightest ambiguity from others. Everything had to be "spotless." Some even went so far as to investigate eighteen generations of ancestors.

Hearing this, Huo Jingcheng gave a light click of his tongue, unable to help defending himself: "Do I look like that kind of person?"

Su Ruoyun pursed her lips slightly, her pair of clear, bright almond eyes staring straight at him with an expression that said, "What do you think?"

Immediately, she entered the name of her apartment complex on the center console screen, and the navigation voice sounded in the quiet cabin—"Now navigating for you."

After the navigation was set, Su Ruoyun heard the cabin suddenly "surrounded" by a low, hoarse male voice, as if accusing her.

"You slandered me; apologize to me."

The wind outside was a bit strong, and for a moment, Su Ruoyun didn't know if she had heard clearly or misheard.

"What did you say?"

Huo Jingcheng repeated his words exactly as they were, "You slandered me; apologize to me."

Seeing him acting like a child, "haggling over every ounce" and refusing to let go over a small matter, Su Ruoyun couldn't help but twitch the corner of her mouth. However, she composed her expression and apologized to Huo Jingcheng seriously, "I'm sorry."

Huo Jingcheng was quite straightforward, forgiving her instantly, "It's okay."

The Hummer drove off the overpass, and the streetlights on both sides gradually lit up, shining into a corner of the car. The soft, pale yellow light illuminated the contours of Su Ruoyun's beautiful face and her delicate, clear skin.

A message popped up. She lowered her head, pressed the side button, and unlocked it. It was Xiao Li, an employee at the tea house, asking if she was still coming to the tea house today.

In the afternoon, when she left the tea house, she had mentioned that after the tea was brewed, she would return to the tea house to put the tea set back.

But she hadn't expected Old Man Huo to keep her until now. If she went to the tea house again, the round trip would waste too much time. Su Ruoyun raised her hand, tapped the chat box, and typed on the keyboard to reply to Xiao Li.

After she finished replying to Xiao Li, she lifted her head and stretched her sore neck, but unexpectedly, she caught Huo Jingcheng's gaze in the rearview mirror.

"Are you free this Saturday?"

If he started with that kind of question, the next step would definitely be an invitation.

Su Ruoyun clutched her phone, pondering whether she should be free or not. After three or five seconds, she said, "No."

Huo Jingcheng was blunt: "Are you really not free, or just pretending? I want to ask you out."

"I am free, but I dislike you. Why would I go out with you?" Su Ruoyun still remembered Huo Jingcheng's earlier insistence.

Hearing this, Huo Jingcheng's sharp, thin lips curled into a playful arc. His gaze toward her carried a hint of imperceptible mischief. His long, distinct fingers curled, tapping the steering wheel rhythmically, his tone full of teasing: "It seems you love me quite deeply, to the point of turning love into hate."

Su Ruoyun was completely bewildered. She licked her dry lips, and only after a long while did she find her voice, asking in confusion, "... I didn't say I hate you, did I?"

She felt somewhat baffled, not knowing how Huo Jingcheng's topic could jump so quickly, turning a single sentence into love and hate in his mouth.

"Then you love me?" Huo Jingcheng's reaction was extremely fast; he immediately followed up, his tone carrying a hint of alluring ambiguity.

Su Ruoyun had never thought that there would be another person in the world with more twisted logic than herself.

She pursed her lips, cast her gaze toward him, and stared at Huo Jingcheng silently for a few seconds, "You really should go to the Zongyiyuan to get checked out."

"Alright."

Huo Jingcheng agreed casually. As he spoke, his eyes swept over the surrounding traffic conditions, and his large, bony hands gripped the steering wheel, applying slight force as if to turn left and make a U-turn.

Seeing his movement, Su Ruoyun thought he was really going to the Zongyiyuan. She let out a soft "Eh," hurriedly reached out, grabbed his arm, and said with a hint of urgency in her soft voice, "Don't."

After two or three seconds, the Hummer drove steadily through the intersection.

Not until she saw the faint, elusive smile hanging on the corner of Huo Jingcheng's mouth out of the corner of her eye did Su Ruoyun realize, belatedly, that she had been tricked by the man in front of her. After all...

Huo Jingcheng hadn't even turned on his left turn signal.

She withdrew her hand, the sensation of his firm, powerful muscles lingering in her soft palm.

Su Ruoyun lowered her eyes, her gaze sweeping over her palm nonchalantly, her five fingers curling slightly and unconsciously, clenching into a void. ===== CHAPTER 114 =====