She Lost Memory Before the Divorce

But Huo Tingxiao ultimately repressed his curiosity and turned to leave the hospital room.

Huo Qidong watched the old Mr. Huo with an indifferent expression, their father-son relationship having slowly eroded over years of estrangement.

The old man was well aware of his failing health, so this time, he felt many emotions stirring within him. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Qidong, I know you still hate me."

"It’s all in the past, you don’t need to dwell on it.

After so many years, I’ve given up too."

The old man gazed at his once pride-and-joy eldest son, filled with regret.

If only he hadn’t been so stubborn back then, their relationship wouldn’t have soured to what it had become now.

He had wronged his eldest son, causing him to become what he was now, and even more so, he had wronged Huo Tingxiao...

"Qidong, about what happened back then, I wronged you. You can blame me, hate me, I accept it all."

Huo Qidong’s face remained calm, but a storm raged within him.

He fell silent for a while, struggling with great effort to calm his emotions.

"Dad, let’s leave the past in the past."

Mr. Huo knew his eldest son simply couldn’t get past this barrier in his heart. After a moment of silence, he spoke:

"Qidong, actually back then..."

---------

While father and son spoke in the hospital room, Huo Tingxiao stood outside in the hall, near another room with a slightly ajar door, from which occasional sounds of argument seeped.

"It seems the old man still can’t let go of big brother. After so many years, big brother has long stopped concerning himself with the Huo family’s affairs. What is there left for him to care about? He even brought up matters from thirty years ago... Sigh, being alone with our mother, we never really held a position of status, so I don’t expect much from the old man."

Huo Qitang’s words left the others at a loss for how to respond.

"Big sister, don’t say it like that. You’ve been by dad’s side all these years, he’s sure to appreciate your kindness."

Huo Qilian’s intention was to comfort her, but Huo Qitang, always one to overthink, felt her sister’s words were a veiled mockery. After all, everyone was clear on how she had returned to the Huo family. She couldn’t trust that the others weren’t looking down on her behind her back, making up stories about her. Therefore, she didn’t believe this was consolation.

"Little sister, why do I feel there’s something off about what you’re saying? How well have you taken care of dad all these years? How often do you visit in a year?"

"Big sister, you’re overthinking again, I was just..."

"Enough, stop arguing every time we meet."

The moment the second-eldest of the Huo family spoke up, the two sisters dared not provoke further fights.

Everyone understood that the old man’s condition might not be good this time, and any small action could make everyone jumpy.

After a nap, Mu Lan checked the time and was surprised to see it was already past ten in the morning. She got up, washed up, and received a call from Tang Xin, informing her about the court date and that Liu Ai was coming to the studio for a fitting that afternoon.

Yet she kept thinking about Huo Tingxiao and why there hadn’t been any news from him. She didn’t dare to disturb him rashly.

Sitting at the dining table, she absentmindedly nibbled on her food, her eyes fixated on her mobile phone.

When Li Sao saw this, she couldn’t help but speak up:

"If you’re worried, why not send a message to ask?"

Mu Lan’s face turned red, and her voice was soft and sweet.

"Li Sao..."

"I reckon the young master doesn’t want to bother you, perhaps he’s also waiting for a message from you."

Mu Lan paused, realizing there might be some truth to Li Sao’s words, and quickly typed out a message to send.

"How’s everything?"

The next second, a reply came from the other side.

"It’s alright, don’t worry about it."

Mu Lan bit her lower lip, knowing full well that Huo Tingxiao was more than capable of handling things and she didn’t need to worry, but still...

She couldn’t help but think of him, and then she sent another line of text.

"I’m not worried; I just miss you."

When she realized she had sent the message, Mu Lan hurriedly clicked to recall it in her panic.

The chat box immediately showed "typing..."

Upon seeing that message, Huo Tingxiao’s gaze was fixed on the screen, and he subconsciously wanted to reply with "Yeah, me too."

As he watched the message being retracted, a sinking feeling inexplicably gripped his heart.

Was she still not a hundred percent trusting in him, afraid to reveal her feelings, for fear of being let down by him once more?

For the first time, Huo Tingxiao also tasted this kind of agony, tormented by uncertainty, unable to control himself.

Meanwhile, Mu Lan watched the perpetual "typing," and after a few seconds with no message coming through, she couldn’t help but wonder, did he see it or not?

She bit her lip, feeling inevitably nervous.

It was just like when she had a secret crush on him, afraid that he would find out, yet also afraid that he wouldn’t.

Now that the two of them had reconciled, her feelings were getting a bit...

Until Huo Tingxiao finally sent a message—"I miss you."

Mu Lan was startled, but her heart warmed immensely, so she admitted honestly.

—"The message I just retracted was ’I miss you,’ too."

A smile finally appeared in Huo Tingxiao’s eyes, and the anxiety he had felt while texting also became much more stable.

—"You don’t need to come to the hospital today, we have enough staff."

Mu Lan pressed her lips together.

—"They haven’t given you a hard time, have they?"

Huo Tingxiao glanced at the partially closed door; as long as the elders had been in discussion behind it, there had been arguments.

—"No, don’t worry."

Mu Lan knew he must be sparing her the worries but didn’t call him out on it.

—"I will go to the studio this afternoon to help Liu Ai try on the dress. Call me if you need anything, don’t forget to eat lunch, and take care of yourself."

—"Yeah, you too."

Mu Lan sent a cute hugging emoji, then hastened her eating pace, tidied up, and went to the studio.

After learning about the dress incident, Liu Ai felt quite sympathetic towards Mu Lan.

"Who did you manage to offend?"

"I don’t know yet, the other party took all the blame onto themselves.

But they really went all out, the agencies are also costing a lot of money. For my small studio to attract such envy, it is indeed surprising."

Liu Ai did not expect her to still manage a smile, admiring her positive attitude.

"No wonder you told me to prepare a backup dress. If you really can’t finish in time..."

"There are other options I can offer you to wear, but after all, they weren’t your first choice. You can decide whether to wear your agent’s backup dress or one from my studio."

Mu Lan was all business, but Liu Ai naturally opted for her brand.

"Of course I choose you. Let’s try it on."

Mu Lan handed the altered backup dress to Liu Ai, and after trying it on, Liu Ai stood in front of the large dressing mirror and casually struck a few poses.

"Charming."

"Didn’t think Liu the Supermodel was so narcissistic."

Liu Ai gave Mu Lan a wink.

"Best red carpet look, it’ll definitely be mine, and I’ll take you to the trending searches."

Mu Lan was amused by Liu Ai’s comment.

"Sure, I’ll be waiting."

Liu Ai’s phone suddenly rang, and Mu Lan glanced at the flashing caller ID, unable to hold back a raised eyebrow.

"So, is it official?"

Liu Ai’s face instantly reddened.

"Not yet, it’s still ambiguous. I don’t want to move too fast and pierce the paper window."