After those people left in a hurry, Huo Zhen leisurely trailed behind.
After getting off the highway, he made a direct turn and drove in a different direction.
The car slowly made its way to a certain place and finally came to a stop not far away.
The car door opened, and a man got out. He gently closed the door, and the sound of the door closing didn't stir a single ripple in the quiet air.
The surroundings were filled with the swaying shadows of trees, and the air was permeated with the freshness of the earth. All in all, this place was extremely remote.
The man stood in front of an ordinary building. Looking at a room with the light on, he stepped forward and knocked on the door a few times.
"Who is it?" a sharp voice came from inside.
The man paused for a moment before raising his voice and shouting, "Uncle Chen has something to do today and may not come back. He asked me to bring you food."
The timbre of his voice was extremely discordant with his aura. It was as if those words had been spoken by an ordinary laborer, while the man had one hand behind his back and the other in front of him, looking more like a noble young master paying a visit.
However, the person inside really believed him.
The door was remotely opened. The man wasn't surprised at all. There was no extra emotion on his face. It was as if he was returning to his own home. Without giving a single glance to the surroundings, he directly headed towards the source of the sound.
The sound of knocking on the door outside rang out. The man playing a game in the room showed a look of annoyance on his face. As the knocking continued at a steady pace, the man became increasingly impatient.
"What's all the noise about? Didn't I say to just leave it upstairs?" The man got out of bed and suddenly opened the door. When he saw the person in front of him, he stood there stunned.
His mouth hung open and he forgot to close it.
"You, you, you are...?" The man pointed at the man's face, in disbelief, but ultimately didn't say the name in his heart.
It would be too absurd to say it out loud, but the person in front of him clearly was...?
"It's me, Xue Zhiyao." The man directly spoke up.
A hint of surprise flashed across his brow. It seemed that the Huo family had really done a good job in keeping secrets. His current active state should have been known to everyone in the Huo family.
He originally thought there were quite a few informants, but everyone looked shocked when they saw him.
That could only mean that these people either didn't arrange to gather information, or they didn't take this matter seriously, or their acting skills were just too good.
With these words, the memories in the man's mind overlapped with the person in front of him. He said blankly, "Third Brother?"
Huo Zhen raised his eyebrows, neither confirming nor denying.
Looking through his shoulder into his room, he spread his hands and said, "Aren't you going to invite me in for a sit?"
Xue Zhiyao also glanced inside following his gaze. A look of panic flashed across his eyes, but he still pretended to be calm and quickly said, "Since Third Brother wants to come in, then come in. I'd be more than happy to have you. It's been a long time since we last saw each other. Let's catch up."
The anger he originally had was completely forgotten with this calmness.
The room wasn't big. There was only enough space for a bed and a table. There was no room for other furniture.
The two sat in front of the table. Xue Zhiyao quickly brought over a pot of freshly brewed tea. As the steam rose, he put the tea leaves in and asked, "Does Third Brother want some tea?"
"Up to you," Huo Zhen replied briefly. Looking around, he said, "I didn't expect you to end up in such a situation now?"
He withdrew his inquiring gaze. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Xue Zhiyao's hand tremble and the tea spill on the table. He lowered his eyes and took it all in.
According to seniority, Huo Zhen was Xue Zhiyao's cousin. He grew up with the five sisters of the Huo family. His age was between Huo Zhen and Huo Cheng. Although they grew up together, the relationship between the brothers was just so - so, not to mention theirs.
Moreover, Xue Zhiyao's parents died when he was young, and he was raised in the Huo family. Living in someone else's house was definitely different from living in his own home.
He was sensitive since childhood. Later, the butler adopted him as his godson. Although the butler had great power in the Huo family, he was still different from the master of the Huo family. This clearly distinguished the master and the servant.
After growing up, Xue Zhiyao became increasingly estranged from the Huo family members.
As for Huo Zhen, when their relationship wasn't that estranged, he had an accident and never appeared in public again.
So, after not seeing each other for a long time, their relationship seemed a little better than those who saw each other often, but not by much.
The relationship was still cold. Xue Zhiyao stared at the tea in his hand. After waiting for a long time, the surroundings were still deathly quiet.
"Why did you come this time...?" He finally couldn't help but speak up.
Only then did Huo Zhen put down the cup in his hand. His gaze shifted to his own hand and he said calmly, "I attended a banquet today."
Xue Zhiyao was confused and forced a smile and said, "It's good for cousin to attend more banquets. That's great!"
He had a look of "and then?" on his face.
Huo Zhen gave a soft laugh and fixed his eyes on him. With a meaningful smile on his face, he looked at him steadily and said word by word, "And then an accident happened."
The words suddenly stopped, just like a storyteller leaving the audience in suspense.
Xue Zhiyao's mind was spinning. This person came to find him specifically, so there must be something. Coupled with that look just now, he wasn't sure after looking a few times. This must be targeted at him.
His heart sank. Did he know something?
Huo Zhen slowly sipped his tea again, as if he came here specifically to drink tea.
"That's really unfortunate! Didn't pick a good day," Xue Zhiyao awkwardly continued his words.
Countless possibilities flashed through his mind. He wondered what this person came for, and an answer was about to surface.
"Yes! But this wasn't an act of God. It was man - made," Huo Zhen said.
The hint became clearer. Xue Zhiyao simply dropped his smile and coldly asked, "What on earth are you here for?"
"Your people's operation failed. Don't you know?" Huo Zhen didn't continue to beat around the bush and got straight to the point.
It seemed that he really knew. A look of panic flashed across Xue Zhiyao's eyes. In his panic, his eyes glanced at the phone on the bed. Due to the disconnection, there were big words "Game Over" on the screen.
His heart trembled even more. He didn't think about why this person was interfering in this matter. He panicked and said, "What people's operation? I don't know."
There was no need to guess. His voice was already full of guilt.
Huo Zhen nodded and said, "Since I've told you that your people have been captured, you should understand that your people will soon be interrogated and the real mastermind will be revealed to the other side, right?"
"What are you talking about? I don't understand what you mean," Xue Zhiyao put the phone back into his pocket and tried his best to maintain his outward calm.
Huo Zhen spread his hands. Since this person wanted to beat around the bush, he had nothing to say.
He stood up from the chair, straightened his suit, and left without looking back. "Since my sincerity has been rejected, I'll have to leave first."