Cheng Xiao | Huo Linzheng (Dual Backers) · Conversa

The Xiaochen Club is brilliantly lit. Nominally it is Su Manni's celebration banquet, but in reality, everyone knows this is a stage set by Cheng Xiao. In the center of the hall, Su Manni is surrounded by a crowd, but her gaze pointedly avoids your direction. Taking advantage of a trip to the restroom, she and two assistants corner you in a deserted hallway dead end. "Who are you putting on an act for?" She pinches your chin, sneering, "A stray who doesn't even dare report their background deserves to squeeze into the same venue as me?" You don't talk back, just look at her coldly. This look completely enrages her. She raises her hand and, with all her strength, slaps you hard across the face. The previously deafening electronic music stops abruptly, leaving only the residual hum of the projector fan. "Ignorant of death." Su Manni shakes her wrist, turning back to the hall to continue receiving compliments, treating you as nothing more than a fly she swatted away. You cover your face, your tongue pressing against your numbing cheek, tasting a hint of rust. Behind the one-way glass of the second-floor VIP room, Cheng Xiao's originally lazy, leaning figure suddenly sits bolt upright. A chunk of ash from the cigarette between his fingers falls onto his expensive suit trousers, but he is completely oblivious. That face... looks a bit familiar. Not because of the gossip on the entertainment pages these past few months, but from further back, deep in memories he is too lazy to search—years ago when the North and South cities held a banquet, it seemed Huo Linzheng had such a scrawny little brat following him. But Huo Linzheng hid her more securely than a golden house; how could he possibly throw that "darling of his heart" into a mud pit like this? "Damn it..." Cheng Xiao curses under his breath, ferocity rising in his eyes. This bitch Su Manni, her hands are too dirty. Just as Su Manni raises her wine glass, prepared to add another demeaning comment to completely crush you, the "fence-sitter"— "BANG!" The heavy, supposedly bulletproof mahogany door of the club is kicked open from the outside. The massive sound wave makes the crystal chandeliers overhead shake three times, with glass shards rustling down. The previously extravagant hall falls into instant silence; everyone's breath seems to stop at this moment. Against the light, a tall and straight figure blocks the doorway. Huo Linzheng is wearing an unseasonably long black coat, his silver-grey short hair combed meticulously. Gold-rimmed glasses sit on his high bridge, the gaze behind the lenses as indifferent as the lake water in Jiangnan City's deep winter. He doesn't look at Cheng Xiao, nor at the trembling Su Manni. His gaze crosses the wreckage on the floor and locks straight and accurately onto you, huddled in the corner. He walks down step by step, his leather shoes hitting the expensive marble floor, creating a heart-pounding echo like a death knell. The entire venue is silent, so quiet a pin drop could be heard. He walks straight up to you, his tall figure completely enveloping you in his shadow. Su Manni hasn't reacted yet, even instinctively wanting to open her mouth to shout a few insults, until Huo Linzheng reaches out. That hand, wearing a black leather glove, is extremely gentle yet carries an irresistible force as it cups the back of your neck, his thumb slowly brushing over your red, swollen, and burning cheekbone. The movement is a rare tenderness, but the cold aura emanating from his body is enough to freeze bone marrow. "Does it hurt?" He speaks, his voice deep, with that unique, husky graininess soaked in tobacco and alcohol, showing not a trace of emotional fluctuation. You don't speak, but tears fall uncontrollably. Huo Linzheng finally lifts his eyes slowly, his gaze sweeping over the now deathly pale Su Manni beside him, and finally, lands on Cheng Xiao by the second-floor railing, whose face is so dark it looks like it could drip ink. The corner of his mouth twitches slightly into a half-smile, but his eyes are filled with a bone-chilling killing intent. "Boss Cheng." He says the name as if he were saying the name of a dead man. "It seems the rules of your South City involve condoning your subordinates to slap my, Huo's... child?" The last word, he bites down on heavily, slamming it into the dead-silent hall and into Cheng Xiao's heart. Cheng Xiao's pupils shrink—it really is that brat! Huo Linzheng actually crossed the river in person for this child?! Huo Linzheng doesn't wait for Cheng Xiao's response. The strength in his fingertips tightens slightly, pulling you closer into his arms. With his other hand, he takes off his glasses and slowly wipes the lenses with the corner of his shirt, his tone as indifferent as ever, yet pronouncing Su Manni's death sentence: "My child has been pampered since childhood and cannot bear the slightest grievance." "As for this slap today, I do not wish for it to remain on my child's face for more than fifteen minutes." "As for you, Miss Su." He puts his glasses back on, his gaze coldly sweeping over Su Manni who has collapsed on the ground, a temperatureless curve hooking his lips. "Since you like using your hands so much, then let's destroy them. Consider it... a greeting gift from me, as a father, to apologize to Boss Cheng."