Chapter 377: Chapter 377: Huo Xingzhou, How Ruthless You Are Chapter 377: Chapter 377: Huo Xingzhou, How Ruthless You Are A pungent liquid was splashed out.
Huo Xingzhou turned his body to protect Qiao Xi in his embrace, yet Liu Huimin’s reaction was even quicker. She stood in front of Xu Xingluo, blocking most of the liquid, and then lost her footing, stumbling onto the deck. She scraped a large patch of skin off her knee, which was seeping with bright red blood.
Liu Huimin cried out in pain.
But the liquid that landed on her didn’t bring any pain, only a strong, pungent sll.
Her nerves were still rattled.
Xu Xingluo had already been restrained by the bodyguards, and she struggled, staring at Qiao Xi and Liu Huimin in disbelief.
“It’s impossible!”
“How could this happen?”
Her voice was as rough as if it were scratched by coarse gravel, harsh and unpleasant to hear. A tallic, blood-like taste was almost spilling from her throat, and her eyeballs seed about to pop out.
“It can’t be like this! I clearly brought concentrated sulfuric acid, how can you be okay?”
Normally, concentrated sulfuric acid would corrode clothes and skin upon contact, and would even emit a foul, burnt sll. But the substance she had splashed only dampened the clothes of Liu Huimin and Huo Xingzhou; their skin was unhard.
How could this be?
Xu Xingluo sniffed the glass bottle and even touched it with her hand; there was no damage.
This was not concentrated sulfuric acid!
It was vinegar!
The high concentration of vinegar also had a strong sll, and everyone was too panicked at first to recognize it.
Now that they had cald down, they realized what had happened.
The supposed bottle of sulfuric acid actually contained highly concentrated vinegar – the acrid vinegar scent nearly convincing enough to deceive, Xu Xingluo nearly had them fooled.
Qiao Xi raised her head from Huo Xingzhou’s embrace, and indeed, everything was as she had suspected.
Xu Xingluo’s sulfuric acid had been tampered with.
She knew it. How could Huo Xingzhou allow such a major oversight at a Huo Family event? It turned out they were prepared all along.
This was a trap for Xu Xingluo, the big fish.
Xu Xingluo’s hair was disheveled, her face a picture of dejection. “Huo Xingzhou, you knew long before what I was going to do. You’re the one who switched my stuff, aren’t you?”
Huo Xingzhou looked at her indifferently. “You were once a Haicheng socialite, the precious daughter of the Liu Family, a well-educated individual, and also a victim of the real vs. fake heiress switch. If you had confessed Xu Guangyao’s cris at the earliest opportunity instead of choosing to cover up and abet, becoming an accomplice, I suppose you wouldn’t have ended up this way. The Liu Family would have treated you well…”
He spoke the truth.
Xu Xingluo sobbed, “Your light words, you make it sound so simple! Do you understand the feeling of falling from the clouds to the dirt? Who are you to…”
“He understands!”
With a voice as sharp as a dropped stone, Qiao Xi looked at Xu Xingluo and coldly said, “He understands better than anyone! When he was trampled upon after the car accident, becoming useless, abandoned by you, his agony was no less than yours! Do you think because everyone wronged you, you have to destroy the whole world? But no one has wronged you; the forr you was fortunate enough.”
Qiao Xi’s heart ached for Huo Xingzhou, her disdain for Xu Xingluo’s deanor only growing.
Huo Xingzhou held her hand tightly, saying coldly, “Zhou Yu, take this person away first. Don’t let her throw a fit here and spoil everyone’s mood.”
“Alright.”
Zhou Yu signaled to the bodyguards who hauled Xu Xingluo away, presumably for a thorough interrogation.
“Huo Xingzhou! Is your heart made of stone? Huo Xingzhou!” Xu Xingluo scread at the top of her lungs.
Zhou Yu casually stuffed a cloth into her mouth, muffling her screams.
“Behave yourself; you’ll be better off. Isn’t it better to be well-fed and taken care of in the ntal hospital? Why insist on causing trouble? Xu Xingluo, this is your last chance.”
The bodyguards dragged Xu Xingluo away, and the fireworks on the deck ca to an end.
…
“Ladies and gentlen, if you’re startled, please move to the banquet hall to enjoy the food and wine.” Huo Xingzhou looked at all the guests. “I’ll change my clothes first; please excuse .”
“President Huo is too polite; it’s all because of that mood spoiler.”
“It was a close call today, quite a unique experience, haha…”
They were all tactful individuals, each leading their partners back to the banquet hall.
The band in the banquet hall began playing a dance tune, and many couples took to the floor to waltz. Clusters of guests gathered, chatting over snacks, the topic on everyone’s lips being the family secrets Xu Xingluo had revealed, much to their amazent.
And on the deck.
The fireworks had co to an end.
The distant lighthouse was incredibly dazzling, as the deck lights shone upon mbers of the Huo Family and the Liu Family. Du Juan and Yang Yuerong helped Liu Huimin to her feet, looking at the dirt and wounds on her body, “Why don’t we go back to the resting room and change clothes? I have a spare set.”
Liu Huimin’s hair bun was in disarray, and with her face streaked with tears, she shook her head.
“It’s okay.”
Du Juan said, “You need to tend to that wound on your leg too; it’s quite big.”
The deck was rough, and such brisk friction couldn’t have resulted in a minor injury. Even a slight lift of her skirt revealed the raw, bloody ss at her knee, and the fabric was scraped through.
Obviously, she was hurt from the fall.
Du Juan’s feelings were mixed as she said, “Why did you rush out to shield her? Xingzhou had already said those words to provoke her, there must have been another trick coming. This yacht belongs to the Huo Family, how could Xu Xingluo possibly bring sulfuric acid aboard?”
At first, they hadn’t grasped what was happening, but gradually the truth began to dawn on them.
Liu Huimin wept profusely, her gaze blurred as she looked at Qiao Xi, “I didn’t think it through, thankfully it wasn’t concentrated sulfuric acid.”
If it had been sulfuric acid splashed on her, she would have had no regrets.
She owed it to Qiao Xi.
As a mother, she was supposed to protect her child.
Even if it had been sulfuric acid, so what? After all the wrongs she had committed, she deserved to be disfigured and burned. If it ant regaining a shred of her child’s heartfelt trust, it would be enough.
“Yes, thankfully it wasn’t concentrated sulfuric acid.”
Holding a child, Yang Yuerong said softly, “My soul nearly flew away in fright, thinking how, if that much sulfuric acid had hit Huimin, what would we have done. She has always been pampered, cherished throughout her life, and I never imagined she’d run out like that.”
She said these words also to endear Liu Huimin to others.
Hoping the hostility from the Huo Family towards her wouldn’t be so strong.
“What mother doesn’t genuinely love and favor her own child? Sotis, this unconditional love is taken advantage of by wicked people, leading to repeated mistakes.”
Yang Yuerong hinted enough.
Having heard her words, Qiao Xi’s hands fell to her sides, her tone exceedingly calm as she said, “Mom, Jiaojiao. Xingzhou and I will go upstairs to change our clothes first; the banquet is still going on.”
She had so doubts that needed clarification from Huo Xingzhou.
Du Juan nodded, “Alright, take your ti.”
“Understood.”
Qiao Xi took Huo Xingzhou’s arm, hesitated with her steps, and said, “Mom, since Miss Liu is also a guest of the Huo Family, can you trouble yourself to take her upstairs to change her clothes and treat her wounds? So as not to let outsiders criticize the Huo Family’s hospitality.”
The Liu Family felt a surge of joy, especially Liu Huimin, whose tear-stained face even managed a smile.
“Alright.”
Du Juan agreed.
The child is a good one, and her heart is tender. It’s just a pity that she’s been hurt so deeply by the Liu Family.
Watching Qiao Xi and Huo Xingzhou walk away, Du Juan deliberately put on a stern face and said to Liu Huimin, “Our Xixi is kind even to cats and dogs; anyone getting hurt on our Huo Family’s territory, she would do the sa. Don’t flatter yourself.”
Liu Huimin acted as if she hadn’t heard Du Juan’s words, believing that Qiao Xi’s attitude had softened, and that she had changed her perception of her.
“She’s a good child; I haven’t been a good mother. I will definitely work hard to beco a good mother. Yunye, would you accompany to change the bandages?”
“Mm.”
Xu Yunye’s expression was cool, even a little aloof. Recently, since Liu Huimin had been going out of her way to cook delicious food for him at ho, his grievances against her weren’t as strong.
The Huo Family led the Liu Family upstairs.
The deck quieted down, with the lights flickering.
Zhong Yi leaned against the railing, his mouth curving into an enigmatic smile.
With his charming eyes and casual deanor, he glanced at Xiang Mingzhu and said, “You look rather unwell. Is sothing bothering you?”
When he was unhappy, he would take it out on others.
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