Chapter 38: What Is Wrong With Me?

Chapter 38: Chapter 38: What Is Wrong With Me?

The two vehicles eventually left the airport and made their way through the city.

After several minutes of driving, they turned away from the busier streets and entered a quieter part of the city.

The surroundings gradually changed.

The towering commercial buildings disappeared behind them, replaced by elegant villas, carefully maintained gardens and private roads lined with trees.

Xi Yunxui looked out through the window.

"This area is much quieter."

Zhou Rui glanced back briefly.

"This is a private residential district."

Xi Yunxui nodded.

She looked toward the villas outside.

Even the houses here were enormous.

Modern people really know how to build houses.

The cars continued forward until they finally entered a small but luxurious villa compound.

The compound wasn’t as enormous as the Huo residence, but it was still beautifully designed. Several buildings stood within the grounds, surrounded by gardens, stone pathways and neatly trimmed greenery.

The lead vehicle slowly approached the main residence and came to a stop near the entrance.

Xi Yunxui looked around.

"We’re here?"

Zhou Rui nodded.

"Yes."

Xi Yunxui carefully picked up her small backpack and made sure King C was still resting quietly inside.

She opened the car door and stepped out.

Huo Jingchen remained inside.

He had another meeting to attend, and it was clear from the documents Zhou Rui was carrying that they wouldn’t be staying here for long.

Xi Yunxui turned toward him.

"Young Master, I’ll go inside first."

Huo Jingchen nodded.

"Alright."

Xi Yunxui gave him a small bow.

Then she turned and walked toward the main house.

She had only taken a few steps when—

A hand gently but firmly caught hers.

Xi Yunxui stopped.

Her body stiffened.

She slowly turned her head.

Her eyes widened.

"Huh?"

Huo Jingchen was standing behind her.

He had gotten out of the car.

His hand was wrapped around hers.

Xi Yunxui looked at their hands.

Then at him.

"Young Master?"

She was genuinely confused.

"Why did you come down?"

Huo Jingchen didn’t answer immediately.

He was staring at her.

More precisely...

He was staring at their joined hands.

The moment his fingers had closed around hers, a strange sensation had spread through him.

Warmth.

Comfort.

And, inexplicably—

Happiness.

It was immediate.

So strong that it caught him off guard.

Huo Jingchen’s expression remained calm, but his mind was anything but calm.

Why am I feeling this way?

He had simply seen her walking toward the house.

For some reason, the thought of her disappearing inside without him had made him act before he even thought about it.

His hand had moved on its own.

And now...

He didn’t want to let go.

The realization made his heart beat slightly faster.

I really need help.

He looked at Xi Yunxui again.

She was still watching him with innocent confusion.

There wasn’t a trace of suspicion in her eyes.

She was simply waiting for him to explain.

Huo Jingchen finally spoke.

"You shouldn’t go home without me."

His voice was quiet.

Soft.

And the words came out far more naturally than they should have.

Xi Yunxui blinked.

Huo Jingchen continued,

"Wait for me."

The way he said it sounded almost like a husband speaking to his wife.

Don’t go home without me.

The moment the words left his mouth, Huo Jingchen seemed to realize how they sounded.

His ears became faintly warm.

He released her hand.

"That’s all."

Before Xi Yunxui could respond, he turned around.

He walked back toward the car with considerably more speed than before.

Xi Yunxui remained standing there.

Her hand was still slightly raised from where he had held it.

She stared after him.

"Young Master..."

But he was already getting back into the vehicle.

The door was closed.

The car soon pulled away.

Xi Yunxui watched it disappear through the gates.

She remained there for several seconds.

Then she lowered her hand.

"What was that?"

She had no answer.

---

Inside the moving car, Huo Jingchen sat silently.

He looked down at his hand.

His fingers slowly curled.

He could still feel the warmth of Xi Yunxui’s hand against his palm.

He stared at his fingers as though they belonged to someone else.

Why did I do that?

This wasn’t something he normally did.

He was disciplined.

Controlled.

He had spent years learning to keep his emotions and actions in check.

He didn’t impulsively touch people.

He didn’t chase after people.

And he certainly didn’t stop someone simply because he didn’t want them to leave.

Yet with Xi Yunxui...

He had done all of those things.

He had opened the car door for her.

He had held her hand.

He had laughed more in front of her than he did around most people.

He had repeatedly found himself looking for her.

He had even begun thinking about whether she had eaten properly.

And now he’d just told her—

Don’t go home without me.

Huo Jingchen leaned back against his seat.

His brows tightened.

"Something is wrong with me."

He knew it.

He couldn’t keep pretending otherwise.

There was something about Xi Yunxui that he couldn’t explain.

It was almost as though an invisible force was quietly drawing him toward her.

The more time he spent around her, the more difficult it became to ignore.

And that was precisely what worried him.

Huo Jingchen had never been someone who lost control of himself.

Not over business.

Not over family matters.

And certainly not over a woman.

Yet Xi Yunxui had somehow become the exception without even trying.

He closed his eyes briefly.

Why her?

He didn’t know.

And the more he thought about it, the more he realized that guessing wasn’t going to solve anything.

There were cultivators who specialized in matters beyond ordinary reasoning.

People who could read fate.

Interpret spiritual fluctuations.

Examine relationships between people and detect unusual phenomena.

A thought suddenly occurred to him.

The Wei Sect.

The Wei Sect was one of the cultivation forces known for its expertise in divination and spiritual deduction.

Perhaps they could tell him what was happening.

Perhaps there was something unusual surrounding Xi Yunxui.

Perhaps there was even something affecting him.

Huo Jingchen opened his eyes.

He made a mental note.

I’ll visit the Wei Sect.

He had to find out what was happening to him before his increasingly strange behavior became something he couldn’t explain even to himself.

"President Huo."

Zhou Rui’s voice interrupted his thoughts.

Huo Jingchen looked forward.

"We’re almost at the meeting venue."

He glanced out the window.

The building they were approaching was already visible ahead.

His expression immediately returned to its usual composed state.

Whatever had been occupying his mind moments ago was pushed aside.

There was work to do.

And there was another identity he carried that very few people outside the cultivation world knew about.

He wasn’t merely the president of the Huo Corporation.

He was also the leader of the Bureau of Cultivation.

That position came with responsibilities that couldn’t be neglected.

Huo Jingchen straightened his cuffs.

"Let’s focus on the meeting."

"Yes, President Huo."

The car continued forward.

Whatever thoughts he had about Xi Yunxui would have to wait.

For now.

---

Meanwhile, Xi Yunxui was still standing at the entrance of the villa.

She eventually walked inside.

Yet her mind remained on Huo Jingchen’s strange behavior.

She reached the doorway and stopped.

Don’t go home without me.

She repeated his words mentally.

Then she frowned.

Why had he said that?

More importantly...

Why did his recent behavior toward her seem so strange?

He had started paying attention to her.

He frequently looked for her.

He seemed unusually pleased whenever he saw her.

He had opened doors for her.

He had held her hand.

He had even taken her on an airplane because he wanted her to travel with him.

And now he had specifically asked her to wait for him.

Xi Yunxui couldn’t understand it.

She sat down for a moment.

She had never experienced romantic love in her previous life.

There simply hadn’t been room for it.

Her life had revolved around her younger siblings.

She had spent her youth worrying about food, school, money and their future.

Love had always seemed like something that belonged to other people.

Something distant.

Something she might think about someday when she had the time.

Then that day never came.

She had died before she ever experienced it.

So when it came to relationships between men and women, Xi Yunxui had very little understanding.

She didn’t recognize the signs.

She didn’t notice the way Huo Jingchen’s eyes softened whenever he looked at her.

She didn’t recognize his sudden desire to remain near her.

She didn’t understand why his mood seemed to improve whenever she appeared.

And the possibility that he might actually like her?

That thought never even occurred to her.

Why would it?

He was the eldest young master of the Huo family.

The president of one of the most powerful companies in the country.

A man surrounded by beautiful, wealthy and talented women.

She was simply a maid.

A maid who had only recently entered his life.

Xi Yunxui shook her head.

It’s impossible.

There had to be another explanation.

Perhaps he was simply lonely.

After all, running such a large corporation couldn’t be easy.

He had responsibilities in both worlds.

Perhaps his family was busy.

His younger brother was a doctor.

His younger sister was an actress.

His father and mother had their own affairs.

Maybe he simply didn’t have many people around him whom he could trust.

Xi Yunxui sighed.

"That’s probably it."

Yes.

That had to be the reason.

Perhaps Huo Jingchen had simply grown accustomed to having her around.

Perhaps he enjoyed the comfort her presence brought.

Nothing more.

Xi Yunxui nodded firmly to herself.

"I’m his maid. I just need to do my job well."

She stood again.

She had no idea that the explanation she had settled on was completely wrong.

And perhaps the most amusing part was that, even if someone had told her the truth directly, she probably wouldn’t have believed them.

Because in Xi Yunxui’s mind...

A man like Huo Jingchen could never possibly fall for a maid like her.