As Li Qiang's hand was about to touch Huo Rou's cheek, she dodged to the side with a "snap!"
Li Qiang clutched his stinging face, looking at Huo Rou in disbelief.
"What a feisty one!" Li Qiang savored the sensation of Huo Rou's hand on his face, his smile growing more distorted. He spat and advanced on Huo Rou again.
"This is my turf in the countryside. If you know what's good for you, come to me willingly. Your sugar daddy doesn't even want your son, so he's probably tired of you."
Li Qiang felt that a woman as beautiful as this, with such a house, could only be a kept woman.
The power disparity between men and women gave him confidence, but he needed to act fast before the son returned.
Seeing Li Qiang clinging to her again, Huo Rou was also getting angry.
There were bound to be a few ruffians in the countryside, but she had beaten them up once, and they hadn't dared to approach her again. Was this guy mentally unstable?
Before Huo Rou could kick him, Old Zhang arrived.
"Who are you? Get out of here quickly!" Although Old Zhang was old, he was a regular at the gym. The muscles he revealed momentarily calmed the excited Li Qiang.
"Oh, hiding a man, are we?" he jeered, not backing down, and continued to laugh lewdly. "With someone like him, you might as well be with me. I'm younger and much more energetic!"
Hearing his vulgar words, Old Zhang was furious. The young master had asked him to look after Huo Rou, and now she was being harassed at her doorstep.
He rolled up his sleeves and moved to drive Li Qiang away.
"Beep—" A minivan screeched to a halt in front of Huo Rou's house.
A man in a suit and sunglasses, followed by a group of burly men, got out of the vehicle.
"Hey, what are you doing!" the man in the suit shouted, seeing Old Zhang rolling up his sleeves and striding menacingly towards Li Qiang at the door.
When Li Qiang saw the group of men, who looked like a gang, his legs involuntarily began to tremble.
He quickly scurried a few steps to the side, forcing a smile and thanking the man in the suit, "Bro, I didn't get hit, thanks."
"Not hit? Sister Rou, should we help you beat him up then?" the suited man asked Huo Rou politely, turning to her.
Upon hearing that the leader knew Huo Rou, Li Qiang was terrified and bolted.
Li Xiaohua, holding a pair of gloves, had just arrived. "Dad, I brought the gloves! But didn't Aunt Huo go out?"
His confusion went unanswered as Li Qiang only cared about running away.
Huo Rou looked closely at the man who had approached her and asked softly, "Are you Xiao Zhuo?"
"Wow! Sister Huo, you still recognize me," the man said, smiling as he took off his sunglasses, revealing a face scarred by a knife.
Old Zhang was startled and instinctively stepped in front of Huo Rou defensively. Huo Rou smiled and introduced him, "This is one of my regular customers' subordinates, Wang Haozhuo."
Wang Haozhuo gave Old Zhang a polite smile. The scar on his face twitched with the smile, looking rather frightening.
"What happened to your face?" Huo Rou asked as she led them inside.
Wang Haozhuo scratched his head sheepishly. "Last year, I had a conflict with people from another establishment, and I accidentally got cut."
Hearing this, Old Zhang's heart pounded. What kind of people did Miss Huo know?
Huo Rou showed little reaction, merely reminding him mildly, "Old Mr. Jiang promised me he would run a legitimate business. You all should be careful too."
"That was an accident. Everyone knows we're completely legit now," Wang Haozhuo grinned, a gold tooth glinting in the sun.
The group arrived at the flower room. Huo Rou gestured to the equipment inside and said, "I won't have you sit down. I've just started tidying up, so you can get straight to work."
"Certainly, Sister Huo. You do your thing, and I'll come to you if there are any problems." Wang Haozhuo waved his hand, and his men filed in, beginning to dismantle the equipment in the flower room.
Huo Rou didn't want to stand guard over them and took Old Zhang back to the living room.
Old Zhang kept looking back at the group, who were clearing things out like they were ransacking the place. He was quite worried but didn't know how to voice it to Huo Rou. He excused himself, "Miss Huo, you carry on tidying. I just had a nap and want to take a walk outside."
Seeing Old Zhang's eyes constantly drifting towards the flower room, Huo Rou smiled knowingly and said nothing more.
By the time dusk settled, Wang Haozhuo had finished moving things and was calling his men to leave. Old Zhang finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Miss Huo, what are you looking for? Let me help." After seeing the group off, Old Zhang returned to find Huo Rou squatting in front of a cabinet, rummaging through it.
Shenfeng, who had also been let out, was now whimpering and circling around her.
"Looking for instant noodles," Huo Rou replied to Old Zhang. She patted Shenfeng's head. "You don't let me eat instant noodles, and I'll starve. Help me find them."
Shenfeng whimpered and nudged Huo Rou's hand with its mouth, wanting her to follow it outside. Huo Rou stood up and followed Shenfeng to the backyard.
The tomatoes and peppers were growing perfectly.
"You don't expect me to cook, do you..." Huo Rou hesitated, looking at Shenfeng.
Shenfeng let out an "awoo," indicating agreement.
Indeed, the instant noodles couldn't be found, and there were no restaurants in the countryside. Huo Rou had no choice but to pick some vegetables from the automatically irrigated vegetable patch in the backyard to prepare a meal.
Old Zhang's cooking skills weren't great, so he volunteered to help from the start.
The moment Huo Rou threw the unevenly cut vegetables into the pot, things went out of control.
Old Zhang was setting the table outside when he heard a loud "bang" from the kitchen.
He hurried back to the kitchen. Amidst the smoke, Huo Rou emerged, holding a spatula.
"Miss Huo, are you alright?" Old Zhang rushed forward to ask.
"I'm fine," Huo Rou said calmly. "How about we just have boiled vegetables and a plate of sugared tomatoes?"
Old Zhang now understood. When it was just him and Huo Rou, his cooking skills seemed to be the better ones.
He took the spatula from Huo Rou. "Miss Huo, you go wash up. I'll stir-fry."
"Thank you for your trouble." With the cooking duties handed over, Huo Rou walked out of the kitchen just as her phone rang.
"Mom, have you eaten?" An'an's innocent smiling face appeared on the screen.
Huo Rou's soot-stained face also appeared on An'an's phone screen. "Mom, what happened to you?"
"About to eat," Huo Rou smiled helplessly, holding her phone. "Where are the instant noodles at home?"
"Ah, I gave them all to Xiao Fang and the others," An'an said, patting her head in annoyance. "I didn't expect I wouldn't be home. Mom, I'm so sorry."
Qin Ningyi returned from work and, walking over to An'an, heard her apology and saw Huo Rou's dishevelled state on An'an's phone screen.
"What happened to you?" Qin Ningyi's face showed a moment of panic.