Chapter 86: The Hug [1]

Chapter 86: Chapter 86: The Hug [1]

The late-afternoon sunlight bathed the Huo residence in a soft golden glow, lending the surroundings a warm and peaceful atmosphere. A gentle breeze drifted through the compound, carrying a refreshing coolness that mingled pleasantly with the lingering warmth of the day. The leaves overhead rustled softly, and for a moment, the world seemed unusually quiet.

Huo Jingchen and Xi Yunxui continued looking at each other beneath the golden light.

Neither of them spoke.

Xi Yunxui was unsure whether she should greet him first or simply excuse herself and continue toward the main residence. Huo Jingchen, meanwhile, remained with his phone pressed to his ear, his dark gaze fixed on her as though he had momentarily forgotten that someone was still waiting on the other end of the call.

The silence stretched until a voice finally came through the phone.

"Hello? President Huo? Can you hear me?"

The person on the other end sounded as though they were checking whether Huo Jingchen was still listening.

Huo Jingchen’s attention shifted.

He glanced away from Xi Yunxui and responded in a low voice, giving the person a brief instruction before ending the call. After lowering his phone, he slipped it into his pocket and turned back toward her.

However, Xi Yunxui had already begun retreating.

She had taken several quiet steps backward, intending to leave before the situation became awkward. Unfortunately, Huo Jingchen noticed her movement almost immediately.

"Xi Yunxui."

His deep voice stopped her in her tracks.

Xi Yunxui’s shoulders stiffened slightly. She had no choice but to turn around and face him again.

"Yes, Eldest Young Master?"

Her tone was respectful, and her expression remained composed, although she secretly wondered why he had called her back.

Huo Jingchen studied her for a moment. Then, after noticing the servants nearby casting curious glances in their direction, he turned slightly toward the main residence.

"Follow me."

Xi Yunxui blinked.

"Where are we going?"

"Just follow me."

He said it so naturally that Xi Yunxui did not think to question him further. She simply nodded and followed him.

The moment they began walking side by side, the servants who had been pretending not to watch them immediately lowered their voices and began whispering among themselves.

"Look, it’s Eldest Young Master and Xi Yunxui again."

"She’s always around Eldest Young Master."

"Unbelievable."

"Is she trying to become a phoenix by clinging to Eldest Young Master?"

"Who knows? She probably thinks she can change her fate by getting close to him."

Their whispers grew bolder as Huo Jingchen and Xi Yunxui moved farther away.

Neither of them heard a word.

Xi Yunxui was too busy wondering where Huo Jingchen was taking her too, while Huo Jingchen appeared completely unconcerned with the curious looks following them.

They entered the main mansion, crossed the quiet hallway, and continued toward the library. It was only when Xi Yunxui recognized the familiar corridor that she realized where they were headed.

She glanced at Huo Jingchen.

"Eldest Young Master, are we going to the library?"

"Yes."

"Is there something you need me to do?"

Huo Jingchen did not answer immediately.

Instead, he stopped in front of the library door and reached into his pocket. He took out a small key, inserted it into the lock, and turned it with a soft click.

The door opened.

Huo Jingchen stepped inside first, then held the door open until Xi Yunxui had entered. Once she was inside, he closed it behind them, and the sound of the lock settling into place echoed faintly through the quiet room.

The familiar scent of old books and polished wood surrounded Xi Yunxui.

She looked around the library, and a small sense of pride warmed her chest as she remembered the work she had done there earlier. The shelves were neatly arranged, the tables were free of dust, and every book had been returned to its proper place.

Although the library had been large and exhausting to clean, the result had been worth the effort.

Xi Yunxui walked farther inside, her eyes moving over the shelves.

I really did a good job.

She was still admiring the neat arrangement when she suddenly felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist from behind.

Her body stiffened so abruptly that even her breathing seemed to stop.

The warmth of Huo Jingchen’s body reached her before her mind could fully understand what was happening. His arms closed around her waist with controlled strength, drawing her back against his chest, and the sudden pressure made her fingers curl instinctively at her sides. Her shoulders rose, her spine went rigid, and her eyes widened until the neatly arranged shelves before her blurred at the edges.

For one stunned second, she could not even feel the floor beneath her feet.

The familiar library, the quiet rustle of leaves outside, and the faint scent of polished wood all seemed to recede into the distance. There was only the solid presence behind her, the steady heat of his chest against her back, and the careful weight of his arms holding her as though he had no intention of letting her slip beyond his reach.

His breath brushed against the side of her neck and cheek.

A tremor passed through her, beginning at the base of her spine and spreading outward in a wave that left her skin prickling. Her lips parted slightly, but no sound came out. She tried to turn her head, yet the movement stopped halfway when she became acutely aware of how close his face was to hers.

Her hands hovered awkwardly in front of her, uncertain whether to push him away, cover the hands at her waist, or simply remain still. Even the smallest movement felt dangerous. Her heart was beating so violently that she was certain he could feel it through her back.

Huo Jingchen did not speak.

He only held her.

His embrace was not careless or impulsive. There was a restrained urgency beneath it, a tension in the way his arms tightened for a brief moment before settling again. When he had seen her walking away from him in the courtyard, something inside him had reacted before reason could intervene.

For an instant, it had felt as though she were slipping away—quietly, easily, returning to a distance he could no longer cross. He had wanted to stop that feeling, to reassure himself that she was still there beside him, within his reach, and not merely a fleeting presence disappearing the moment he looked away.

Now that she was against him, he could feel the warmth of her body and the faint tremor running through her. The certainty steadied something restless inside him. He did not need an explanation or a response. He only needed to know that she was truly there.

Xi Yunxui, however, was far from calm.

Her startled reaction deepened with every passing second. The first shock gave way to confusion, then embarrassment, then a flustered awareness of every point where they touched. Her cheeks gradually heated, and the tips of her ears burned beneath her hair. She could not understand why he had brought her into the library only to embrace her from behind, nor why the thought of pulling away suddenly seemed so difficult.

Her mind raced in frantic circles.

What is happening?

Why is Eldest Young Master hugging me?

Did we come into the library for this?

She could feel the steady rise and fall of his chest against her back, the warmth of his breath against her skin, and the firm yet careful hold of his arms around her. Each detail made the situation feel more real, more impossible to dismiss as a momentary mistake.

Xi Yunxui remained frozen in place, her fingers trembling faintly as they hovered at her sides. She was afraid that if she moved, she would make the embrace even more awkward, but if she stayed still, she had no idea how long she would be expected to endure the unbearable closeness.

Her thoughts tangled together until she could barely form a coherent one.

Her brain had already gone into overdrive.

---

Huo Jingchen remained silent for a long moment.

His arms were still wrapped around Xi Yunxui’s waist, but the strength in his hold had gradually eased. He could feel how tense she was beneath his touch, how her body remained stiff as though she were afraid to move even an inch.

He knew he had startled her.

Ordinarily, Huo Jingchen would have released her without saying anything. He was not accustomed to explaining his actions, much less revealing the emotions behind them. However, when he imagined letting go of her now, a strange reluctance settled over him.

He lowered his head slightly, his chin almost brushing against her hair.

"Let us remain like this," he said quietly.

Xi Yunxui’s eyes widened.

His voice was deep and low, but there was something unusual in it. The words did not sound like an order, nor did they carry the calm authority he usually used when speaking to others.

Instead, they sounded almost like a request.

"Just for a little while."

The faint tremor hidden beneath his voice made Xi Yunxui’s thoughts come to an abrupt halt.

For a moment, she wondered whether she had heard him correctly.

Huo Jingchen was asking her to stay in his arms?

And not because he wanted something from her, but simply because he wanted them to remain like this?

The realization left her strangely unsettled.

She could not see his expression, but she could hear the emotion in his voice. It was subtle, carefully restrained, and perhaps even unfamiliar to him. Yet beneath that restraint was a weariness that tugged painfully at something inside her.

It sounded as though he had been holding on to something for far too long.

As though releasing her, even for a moment, would leave him alone with a feeling he did not know how to handle.

Xi Yunxui’s fingers slowly relaxed.

The tension in her shoulders eased little by little, and her rigid back softened against his chest. She did not fully understand what had caused the change in his tone, but she could not bring herself to ignore it.

Something in his voice twisted her heart.

It was not a sharp pain, but a dull, uncomfortable ache that spread through her chest and made her feel as though she had accidentally touched a wound he had carefully hidden from everyone else.

She lowered her gaze, allowing a quiet sigh to escape inside her mind.

It’s just this once.

Her lips pressed together.

I’ll let him hold me just this once.

With that thought, Xi Yunxui stopped resisting.