C108 Little Chaperone

Yuvyuv suddenly found herself enveloped in the man's embrace, blinking in surprise. She wondered if she had misheard and tilted her fair face up, her big eyes wide with curiosity. "What did you just call me?"

Huo Lingxiao gave a teasing smile. "I said, where to, my Yuvyuv?"

Yuvyuv's mind went blank for a moment. This man had actually called her by her name. She lifted her chin slightly, her beautiful amber eyes filled with confusion. "Why did you call me by my name?"

It was a silly question, almost naive. But Huo Lingxiao's handsome face darkened slightly, his smile fading. He playfully pinched her waist, making her wince, and said with a chuckle, "I can call you whatever I want. Do I need your permission?"

Yuvyuv snapped back to reality, wanting to retort, "As if I care." But she paused, realizing their position was a bit too intimate. They were in a hospital corridor, albeit a quiet one with few passersby. Still, she didn't want anyone to get the wrong idea.

She quickly tried to push him away. "Let go of me. We're in a hospital. People might talk."

"Oh, my Yuvyuv is worried about gossip?" Huo Lingxiao smiled, tightening his grip on her waist. "Come on, it's your first day at the hospital. Let me treat you to a nice meal."

"Let go first," Yuvyuv demanded, her temper flaring. What did he take her for? She might not care about her reputation, but she wouldn't let herself be treated like this.

As she struggled, a familiar voice echoed down the corridor. "Yuvyuv, Huo, what brings you two to the hospital together?"

Yuvyuv looked up, and when she recognized the figure in the hallway, her face lit up with joy. She didn't bother pushing Huo Lingxiao away; instead, she happily waved her hand and called out, "Ziming!"

Huo Lingxiao heard that call, and the little woman in front of him showed no restraint in her happiness as she shouted, "Ziming!" His handsome face suddenly darkened.

Without warning, he grabbed the little woman in his arms and turned to head toward the other end of the hospital.

"Hey, hey... wait, Huo Lingxiao, stop! What are you doing? Ziming is right there, and I haven't even had a chance to say hello."

Yuvyuv stumbled as she was pulled along, nearly tripping several times, only to be steadied by the man whose expression had inexplicably turned stormy.

What was with this man, switching moods like the weather? Just a moment ago, he seemed in a great mood, even saying he wanted to treat her to something nice. Now, in the blink of an eye, he was scowling as if someone had offended him.

Hmph, she thought, demons really do have a different temperament than normal people.

Yuvyuv fumed silently. She also thought about Ziming, who had been left behind. She really wanted to talk to him.

She wanted to ask if the man wearing the Ghost King mask at the masquerade ball that night was Ziming.

Ziming, or Chen Ziming, was the eldest son of Dean Chen. When Yuvyuv was growing up, he was one of the brothers who took care of her in the neighborhood.

At the masquerade ball, she had suspected that the man in the Ghost King mask was someone she knew, based on his tone. Although he sounded angry, it was clear he was upset about her being out so late.

That's why she guessed it might be one of her brothers from the neighborhood. So when she saw Chen Ziming earlier, she wanted to ask if it was him that night.

In the apartment at the military hospital, Yuvyuv sat at the dining table, staring at a spread of delicious food, but she had no appetite. Her large eyes were fixed on the man across from her, who wore a perpetually stern expression.

"Are you going to eat?" Huo Lingxiao asked, his usual temper slightly restrained as he glanced at the little woman across from him. He hadn't had the chance to deal with her yet, but she was already acting defiant. It seemed he'd been too lenient with her lately.

"I'm not eating. I have no appetite," Yuvyuv replied, deliberately pushing her plate away and glaring at Huo Lingxiao. "Besides, I don't like dining with someone who has no manners."

Huo Lingxiao raised an eyebrow. "Oh, are you saying I'm impolite?"

"Aren't you? When Ziming greeted us from afar, we ignored him and walked away. If that's not rude, then what is?" Yuvyuv accused. "You're just very impolite."

Yuvyuv was furious. How could this man be so capricious and domineering? Just because he didn't want to acknowledge someone didn't mean he could drag her along with him. No wonder he was such a loner as a child, with his cold demeanor that kept others at bay.

Hmph, Yuvyuv thought, recalling how she used to try and play with him when they were kids, despite his aloofness. Even though he would always call her a "tag-along."

The more Yuvyuv thought about it, the angrier she became. This man was truly ungrateful. She had tried to keep him company when he was alone, enduring his insults just to make him smile.

As Yuvyuv sat there, her head bowed in silent anger, she suddenly felt a chill down her back. Turning around, she found herself face-to-face with Huo Lingxiao, who had somehow moved to stand right behind her.

Yuvyuv was so startled that she instinctively shrank back. "What are you, a ghost? Why are you standing silently behind me?"

"What do you think? Calling out to Ziming so affectionately, huh?" Lingxiao grabbed the clueless young woman in front of him.

Yuvyuv found the man's anger a bit baffling. She tried to free herself from his grip. "What are you talking about? That's Ziming, and you know him—he's Mr. Chen's son."

"Oh, Mr. Chen's son. How close are you that you need to call him so intimately?" Lingxiao held her tightly, preventing any movement.

The more Yuvyuv listened to his clearly irritated questioning, the more she felt something was off. "What do you mean? If I don't call him Ziming, what should I call him? I've always called him that since I was little. Besides, didn't I also call you Lingxiao when we were kids?"

Lingxiao's stern expression softened slightly at her last words. He suddenly lifted her chin and said, "Say it again, let me hear it, and maybe I'll calm down."

"What, say what?" Yuvyuv was a bit confused.

Seeing his expression darken again, she quickly caught on and tentatively called out in a soft voice, "Lingxiao?"