ASPWL Ch2: Extremely Harsh

The design of the Huo family’s old mansion was done by Old Master Huo when he was still alive, and the thresholds of the traditional-style buildings were particularly high.

Huo Yan fell so hard that he was dizzy, lying on the ground for a long time without recovering.

Hearing the commotion, Su Rui turned around immediately. He first let out a small gasp, then quickly walked over to Huo Yan: “Brother Yan, are you okay?”

Huo Yan’s head was buzzing, and he grimaced in pain, struggling to get up with one hand supporting himself, but the pain made him lose his strength.

Su Rui hurriedly stepped forward, extending his hand before the butler could.

With Su Rui’s help, Huo Yan slowly stood up.

The noise from the fall was quite loud, making Mama Huo somewhat worried as she hesitated to stand up.

Ye Leyao craned his neck to watch the scene, unable to hold back a tsk:

【Su Rui does seem to care about Second Brother, huh. Looks like the white moonlight isn’t just after Second Brother’s money.】

【When I read the novel before, I thought he was completely using Second Brother. After all, it really costs a lot of money for a man to have a baby!】

Huo Yan’s expression twisted for a moment upon hearing this.

Just how long would this Ye Leyao keep spouting nonsense?!

Suddenly remembering something, Huo Yan quickly looked up and was relieved to see no unusual expression on Su Rui’s face.

It seemed that Ye Leyao’s nonsense could only be heard by their family.

This was good news, as Huo Yan didn’t want his beloved to hear such awful ramblings.

Meanwhile, Mama Huo, who had just stood up, had a thought upon hearing this, and exchanged a quick glance with Huo Jing, a plan forming in her mind.

Ever since Huo Yan first mentioned Su Rui to them, the Huo family had sent people to investigate all of Su Rui’s background information.

Su Rui and Huo Yan were university classmates. During their university years, Huo Yan had pursued Su Rui, but Su Rui already had someone he loved at the time, the very same “father of the child” He Shi that Ye Leyao mentioned, and he had rejected Huo Yan’s confession without hesitation.

After being rejected, Huo Yan was downcast for a while, then went to join a film crew arranged by Huo Jing, and for a long time thereafter, he had no contact with Su Rui.

It wasn’t until last year when Su Rui graduated from university and also entered the entertainment industry.

By then, Huo Yan was already a rising movie star, while Su Rui was just a newcomer to the industry.

By chance, the two ended up in the same crew, and their interactions gradually increased again.

Mama Huo didn’t know exactly what had happened between the two afterwards. She only knew that after this shoot ended, Huo Yan and Su Rui’s interactions increased more and more, but at this time, Su Rui hadn’t broken up with He Shi yet.

It wasn’t until four months ago when He Shi had to go abroad for further studies that he broke up with Su Rui.

Shortly after breaking up with He Shi, Su Rui got together with Huo Yan.

When looking at the information, Mother and Papa Huo were already suspicious.

With Ye Leyao’s reminder just now—

Mama Huo slowly sat back down on the sofa, looked at the two’s intimate backs pressed together, and sneered inwardly. She said lightly, “Huo Yan, if you leave the house today, all your cards will be frozen.”

Huo Yan turned to look at Mama Huo, his eyes full of disbelief.

Ye Leyao just babbled a few words, and Mama Huo believed him?!

Mama Huo calmly stared at Huo Yan, meaning: She did believe.

Huo Yan laughed angrily.

If Su Rui weren’t by his side, he would have argued with Mama Huo.

Taking a deep breath, Huo Yan quickly calmed down, also understanding Mama Huo’s intention.

They merely wanted to use this method to tell Su Rui that without the Huo family, he had nothing, forcing Su Rui to give him up voluntarily.

Mama Huo and the others assumed Su Rui approached him for money and thought that by cutting off his bank cards, Su Rui would leave him.

But they were wrong.

Completely wrong!

Huo Yan looked up and said to Mama Huo without hesitation, “Fine, cut them off.”

After saying that, Huo Yan reached out to Su Rui, “Xiao Rui, let’s go—”

Ye Leyao’s gaze followed Huo Yan’s movements. He first noticed Su Rui was obviously stunned for a second before holding onto Huo Yan’s arm. Before leaving, he glanced back into the house.

It was this turn that made Ye Leyao notice Su Rui’s belly. He was surprised:

【Hey, I just realized Su Rui’s belly seems to be showing a bit?】

Huo Yan: “…”

Ye Leyao thought about the original plot and understood:

【That’s right, it’s normal to start showing after twelve weeks of pregnancy, it should be the same for men!】

Huo Yan’s grip on Su Rui’s arm unintentionally tightened.

Su Rui felt some pain and softly cried out, looking at Huo Yan with concern, “Brother Yan, what’s wrong?”

Huo Yan quickly let go, “Sorry, did I hurt you?”

Su Rui was in great pain but still shook his head with a smile.

【Unlimited tolerance, high level!】

Ye Leyao commented.

Huo Yan took another deep breath.

Huo Jing spoke up timely to apply pressure, “I will also contact the company to terminate your contract. All current engagements will be halted, and you’ll need to pay a large amount of breach-of-contract penalties. For at least a year, you won’t have any new engagements.”

Huo Yan couldn’t hold back any longer and said angrily, “Do you think you can force me to compromise like this?”

Huo Jing calmly analyzed, “You currently have two top luxury endorsements. The penalty for these two alone amounts to thirty million.”

Huo Yan gritted his teeth, “I can afford it!”

He paused and added, “Besides, Xiao Rui isn’t as shallow as you think! I believe Xiao Rui will support me to rise again!”

Ye Leyao blinked: 【Then, Second Brother, you might as well ask Su Rui if he’d be willing to support you when you have only fifty thousand left after paying the penalties?】

Mama Huo and Huo Jing both cast approving looks at Ye Leyao.

Ye Leyao, focused on watching the drama, didn’t notice the change in expressions around him.

Huo Yan, however, saw their gazes clearly, finding it absurd and laughable. His and Su Rui’s relationship was stable and didn’t need any testing!

Thinking this, Huo Yan turned to Su Rui as if to verify, “Xiao Rui…”

As soon as Mama Huo mentioned freezing all of Huo Yan’s bank cards, Su Rui’s expression slightly changed.

Hearing Huo Jing’s words, his face looked a bit grim.

Seeing Huo Yan looking over, Su Rui quickly adjusted his expression.

But it was a second too late.

Huo Yan clearly saw the complex look that flashed across Su Rui’s face.

He was momentarily dazed and then focused his gaze again, meeting Su Rui’s slightly worried eyes.

Su Rui asked softly, “Brother Yan, are you feeling unwell?”

Huo Yan scrutinized Su Rui carefully, seeing nothing unusual on his face.

He must have been mistaken, Huo Yan reassured himself and said, “It’s nothing, let’s go.”

The two of them turned to leave.

Finally, Papa Huo spoke, adding fuel to the fire, “Huo Yan, you know we’re not joking.”

Huo Yan clenched his teeth, “I know! Dad, you don’t need to provoke me!”

After saying this, Huo Yan glanced at Su Rui beside him, who looked worried.

Their feelings were mutual, and if it weren’t for that accident that night, Su Rui wouldn’t have accidentally gotten pregnant…

Thinking of this, Huo Yan’s gaze fell on Su Rui’s belly again.

This look made Huo Yan freeze.

A two-month pregnant belly…

Was it this big?

As this thought crossed his mind, Huo Yan was startled.

What was he thinking?

How could he be influenced by Ye Leyao’s nonsense!

Xiao Rui probably just gained a bit of weight recently!

Gaining weight is good, it’s good!

The fall earlier had been quite hard, and now Huo Yan walked slowly.

After a while, they had only walked two or three meters away from the Huo residence.

Seeing that they had put some distance between them and ensuring their voices couldn’t be heard inside the villa, Su Rui whispered, “Brother Yan, were Auntie and Big Brother serious about what they said? Are they really going to…”

Huo Yan looked at Su Rui, seeing nothing unusual on his face, hesitated for a second, and decided to tell the truth, “My family always means what they say.”

Whether it was Papa Huo, Mama Huo, or Huo Jing, they were all people who kept their word, which was why Huo Yan insisted on bringing Su Rui home after learning about his pregnancy.

Without his family’s approval, Su Rui and his child would have to live in the shadows, inevitably suffering many grievances.

Huo Yan is a responsible man. He didn’t want his child to be born into an incomplete family, so despite knowing he would face his entire family’s opposition, he resolutely brought Su Rui home.

Hearing Huo Yan’s affirmative response, Su Rui’s expression changed immediately.

However, Huo Yan had already looked away and didn’t notice his suddenly grim face. He continued, “I’ll go to the hospital myself later. You go home first. After I handle things at the hospital, I’ll come to pick you up. My parents are very decisive; we definitely can’t stay in my villa anymore. Don’t worry, I’ll quickly find a better place for us to move to. Don’t you have a prenatal checkup at the hospital tomorrow morning…”

Su Rui’s steps suddenly halted.

Huo Yan noticed his stop and felt a sudden pang in his heart, “Xiao Rui, what’s wrong?”

Su Rui quickly composed his facial expression, and when he looked at Huo Yan again, his eyes were already red, “Brother Yan, you don’t need to accompany me for tomorrow’s checkup; I can go by myself.”

Huo Yan’s expression froze; for a moment, he thought he had misheard.

It took him a while to come to his senses, forcing a smile despite his wounded lips, “Xiao Rui, I’m the child’s father, of course, I should go to the checkup with you…”

Su Rui suddenly let go of Huo Yan’s arm, “Brother Yan, you stay home.”

Huo Yan’s face immediately turned grim, and he stepped forward to grab Su Rui’s hand.

But Su Rui abruptly took a step back.

The living room sofa had no view of the yard. Ye Leyao, holding his phone, had just reached the door and saw this scene, his eyes lighting up, and he couldn’t help but sing:

【Is your half-step retreat serious!】

【Such a small move causes so much harm!】

The off-tune singing instantly assaulted the ears of everyone in the Huo family.

Huo Yan heard the distorted singing but couldn’t bother with it at the moment. He struggled to control his emotions, which were stuck in his chest, looking at Su Rui in confusion, “Why? I know my family doesn’t accept you and has wronged you, but Xiao Rui, don’t worry, I will definitely…”

“But I can’t break you apart from your family just because of the child!” Su Rui seemed to find a reason, suddenly lifting his head, and a tear slid down his cheek.

Ye Leyao: 【Pfft, hahaha—】

The laughter wasn’t loud.

But it was piercing.

Huo Yan fought to suppress the throbbing veins in his temple, earnestly looking at Su Rui, “I won’t regret it, nor will I blame you, Xiao Rui, as long as you stay with me, I will…”

“But I will feel guilty,” Su Rui cried sorrowfully, tears streaming down, “I will feel ashamed. After all, they are your family, Brother Yan. How can we have a complete break because of me? And… if you really leave with me today, what about your endorsements, your pending dramas, and your team? We’re adults now, we can’t be irresponsible! If you really disband your team, what will happen to those people who lose their jobs?”

Huo Yan opened his mouth, then quickly closed it. It took him a long time to say, “But… isn’t this being responsible now?”

Su Rui turned his head, “These are different matters!”

Ye Leyao: 【What a self-consistent fallacy!】

Huo Yan could no longer maintain his smile, his expression desolate, his heart feeling like it was being pricked with needles, “Then… Xiao Rui, tell me, what should I do now?”

Having read many novels, Ye Leyao knew how the plot should develop at this point and shouted in his heart:

【I know! I know!】

【Of course, stay home and give me money!】

Ye Leyao’s voice echoed in his mind, making Huo Yan suddenly fear hearing Su Rui’s answer.

The next moment, Su Rui spoke in an extremely aggrieved tone that matched Ye Leyao’s guess but was more tactful—

“Stay home, don’t break up with your parents and brother because of me; it’s not worth it. The child in my belly is yours and mine; I will take good care of the baby…” He paused and smiled weakly, “As for the rest, I won’t ask for much. After the baby is born, I’ll work hard and try to provide a good environment for him to grow up in.”

Su Rui said, “Brother Yan, you are the baby’s father. I believe you won’t mistreat me and the baby.”

Ye Leyao shook his head:

【See! In essence, he just wants money!】

【And he says he isn’t with my love-struck second brother for money!】

Having made his decision, Su Rui turned to leave, not forgetting to say, “Don’t follow me!”

Huo Yan, heartbroken, watched Su Rui’s back in disbelief until he saw Su Rui quickly walk out of the villa’s yard. He was deeply shaken and took a step back, his body teetering.

Ye Leyao timely commented:

【Second brother looks like he’s about to break~】

Huo Yan could no longer control his emotions. His blood was boiling, and he had a lump stuck in his chest. Turning too quickly, his vision went black, and he fainted!