"You must be Yue Ning, Chen has told me a lot about you," Kang Beichen stretched his hand for a handshake.
Yue Ning stared at the hand for a while, which caused the entire atmosphere to feel awkward.
"Oh, it's my sister's boyfriend, how are you doing Mr. Kang. Pardon my rudeness, I was just trying to recall who you were," Yue Ning exclaimed, but she didn't take his hands, leaving him hanging.
Yue Ning looked at Yue Chen who was visibly panicking.
"Brother Feng, it isn't what it looks like, don't listen to what my sister is saying, he isn't my boyfriend," Yue Chen was quick to debunk Yue Ning's words.
"None of my business," Huo Feng replied with a straightforward face.
Before Yue Chen could reply, Huo Feng had already walked away, not without holding Yue Ning's hands.
Yue Ning, on the other hand,, did not forget to stick out her tongue at Yue Chen who stomped her feet angrily.
Kang Beichen did not notice Yue Chen's attitude, instead, he had his eyes on Yue Ning.
"Your sister is quite different from what you told me about," he suddenly muttered, and Yue Chen immediately turned her attention to him.
"What do you mean by she's different? Didn't you see how she disrespected you?" Yue Chen asked with wide eyes. She was in immense disbelief.
"She just feels different. Perhaps it's because I just met her," Kang Beichen replied with a small smile.
Meanwhile, Yue Chen blinked her eyes, seeing that Kang Beichen's gaze was on her sister. Her heart felt itchy, and she couldn't stand it.
"Let's go," Kang Beichen said to her, snapping her out of her thoughts.
She smiled at him, but inwardly, she was already planning a million ways to take care of Yue Ning. She would never allow her man to be close to that stinky girl.
Huo Feng seemed to be on Yue Ning's side. She could not afford for Huo Feng to do the same.
Yue Ning who was unaware that she was being plotted against was having a conversation with the system.
"System, why does the Male Lead look different from what the author described him in the novel?" She asked curiously as she walked into the car.
She had a thoughtful look on her face, and she had no idea that this expression on her face attracted Huo Feng who hated to admit it.
'Well, it is simple. This is because of the presence of the host, a lot of things will change because of your presence. This is known as the butterfly effect,' the system replied with a matter-of-fact tone.
Yue Ning nodded, gaining a new understanding.
Kang Beichen wasn't unattractive, but something about him felt off. It was like a character whose charm had dimmed in translation.
The author had made sure that readers thought that his appearance was on Huo Feng's level.
But due to her presence, Kang Beichen couldn't hold a candle to Huo Feng.
"Mrs. Huo, what's on your mind?" Huo Feng asked, snapping her out of her thoughts as she turned to look at him with a confused look.
"Sorry, you said?" Yue Ning asked. She didn't hear the question which he had asked.
Huo Feng stared at her for a while, and he felt uncomfortable after realising that she wasn't paying attention to him.
"I asked what was on your mind as you weren't paying any attention to me," Huo Feng didn't realize it, but his voice had a hint of complaint in it.
Yue Ning held this, and she was tempted to burst out laughing, but she held it in.
Yue Ning chuckled. "Mr. Huo, even if I told you what's going on in my mind, you might not get it." She leaned back against the seat, allowing herself a small smirk. It wasn't a lie. Not even she fully understood it sometimes.
Huo Feng stared at her intently. Yue Ning, on the other hand, had her breath caught in her mouth.
Huo Feng continued looking at her, but he couldn't read her face, and he felt frustrated.
At the same time, his eyes trailed down to her lips.
It has to be said that Yue Ning was truly blessed with full lips. It made people want to kiss it, and Huo Feng was not exception.
'Shit, what am I even thinking about?' he thought to himself. For the first time, he was at a loss on what to do.
"Mr. Huo, it is better for you to drive now. We don't want to arrive at the ancestral home when dinner is all cold," Yue Ning said when she noticed he wasn't driving, snapping him out of his impure thoughts.
Huo Feng exhaled before igniting the car and driving away.
'That was close,' Yue Ning thought to herself as she held her chest which was weirdly beating fast.
Huo Feng gripped the steering wheel a little too tightly. He couldn't shake the image of her lips — soft, inviting, completely off-limits. Damn it. What was wrong with him?
Twenty-five minutes later, the car pulled up in front of an ancient looking type of building.
Yue Ning stared at the building, and she let out a sigh.
The ancestral home blended an ancient charm with subtle modern touches, redwood beams and stone lions met soft courtyard lighting and minimalist interiors. Tradition lingered in every carved detail, while quiet elegance hinted at a life gently evolving. It showed how typical Old Madam Huo was.
Yue Ning could only exhale as she recalled her tasks. She didn't know if she could be able to complete it.
"Two hours, I just need two hours to complete it," Yue Ning muttered under her breath.
"What do you need to complete in under two hours?" Huo Feng asked.
The sudden question startled her, and she snapped her head immediately.
"Mr. Huo, I thought you said we should stay out of each other's business, but looking at you right now, you are going against your rule," Yue Ning chuckled.
Huo Feng opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn't. Yue Ning's words had completely caught him off guard, and he had no response to her question.
"Let's go in, Grandma is waiting for us," Huo Feng said, as he clumsily opened the door.
"Darn it, I don't have any gifts. How can I visit his grandmother without any gifts?" Yue Ning murmured to herself, but it was already late. There was nothing she could do.
'Relax host, the system knows you are not financially stable, so it has placed a one of a kind antique in your pocket, you should be able to gift it to the old lady,' the system spoke up, surprising Yue Ning.
"You are being quite nice, how many points did it cost?" Yue Ning asked suspiciously.
She couldn't be blamed. Her system was a capitalist, and would always use any opportunity to make her lose her points.
'Sorry to burst your bubble host, but this is a gift, so it doesn't cost any points,' the system replied proudly.
Yue Ning squinted her eyes, but she didn't give a response as she walked into the building with Huo Feng. She hated to admit it, but she couldn't trust the system.