She Lost Memory Before the Divorce

Chapter 168: Chapter 0168: Huo Tingxiao’s First Love

“Lanlan, can you tell Mom, what’s really going on?”

Shen Ying felt heartbroken seeing her daughter like this.

“Mom, if… if I divorced Huo Tingxiao, could you… accept it?”

Mu Lan looked at Shen Ying, trying to speak with an air of casualness.

But as soon as she began, her voice was so raspy it became hard to contain the heartache.

Shen Ying hugged her, gently patting her back.

“Silly child, whatever decision you make, Mom will stand by you, I can accept it.”

Mu Huaifeng looked at the mother and daughter embraced in each other’s arms but did not speak.

Outside the gate of the Mu family, Huo Tingxiao’s car had not left.

“Got a cigarette?”

He Yan was stunned for a moment, then quickly took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, handed one over, and opened his lighter.

Huo Tingxiao felt uncomfortable taking the first puff because it had been many years since he quit smoking.

Ever since the day Mu Lan teared up from coughing because of his smoking after they got married, he hadn’t smoked in front of her and had inadvertently quit.

Under the moonlight, Huo Tingxiao leaned against the car door, his gaze downward, his profile appearing somewhat forlorn amidst the smoke.

This was the first time He Yan had seen Huo Tingxiao like this, completely lacking the air of strategy and victory from a thousand miles away he had at the negotiating table.

In his mind, Huo Tingxiao was like a godly being. He even thought this man didn’t possess the normal human passions and rarely showed his true emotions.

But now, the agitated and downcast Huo Tingxiao reminded He Yan that everything was real, proving that even someone as powerful as him had the side of an ordinary man.

“Boss Huo, I actually think that if you tell Mrs. Huo your true feelings, she will forgive you.”

Huo Tingxiao exhaled a ring of smoke.

Looking up, his dark eyes carried a chill.

“True feelings? She… might not want to listen.”

“Why wouldn’t she? Actually, Mrs. Huo really cares about you. If she didn’t care, she wouldn’t be this angry.

I think you two just lack effective communication, and… sometimes you really aren’t transparent enough.

Women sometimes need directness. If you tell her directly that you love her, this wouldn’t have happened.”

Huo Tingxiao looked at He Yan, his brows furrowing, clearly considering the feasibility of his words.

“Just saying I love her would turn the situation around?”

He Yan almost cried at his boss’s naivety, blurting out:

“Boss Huo, have you never been in love before?”

After an exceedingly long silence, Huo Tingxiao nodded.

“Yeah.”

He Yan was dumbfounded. He had considered many possibilities, but never this one.

So, his wise and invincible boss had never been in love. No wonder he often made unimaginable decisions, ones no normal human would make.

So that said, was this… Boss Huo’s first love?

“Sometimes, it’s not enough to just show your love through actions, you have to say it, especially for women, who as sensory beings, find the power of those three words to be quite significant.

Moreover… Boss Huo, you’ve always been saying things like you only indulge her but don’t love her, it’s inevitable that Mrs. Huo might fall into the mindset of not being truly loved.

No matter how well you treat her, she might still feel that she’s not loved in your heart.

Women need security.”

Huo Tingxiao said nothing, simply took another drag on his cigarette in silence.

“But she mentioned divorce.”

He Yan was utterly exasperated.

“Boss Huo, it’s understandable for someone to say harsh things when they’re angry. You can’t be so obstinate.”

Huo Tingxiao slowed his speech, enunciating clearly.

“In the past seven years, she never mentioned divorce, but on the day of the car accident, she was actually bringing divorce papers.

After that…”

Huo Tingxiao fell into a loop of thought. To say he was conflicted would be an understatement; it was more like he was afraid.

Afraid that this time Mu Lan had truly made up her mind to leave him.

He was even more afraid that he no longer had any chance to win her back.

Extinguishing the cigarette butt, Huo Tingxiao spoke indifferently.

“You go back.”

He Yan was stunned for a moment.

“And what about you?”

“I’ll stay here.”

“It’s late and the dew is heavy, it’s very easy to get sick like this…”

Huo Tingxiao looked up, his gaze completely brooking no refusal, leaving He Yan no choice but to agree.

“If you get tired, just rest in the car, I’ll be going then.”

With that, He Yan walked away.

Mu Lan lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.

Glancing at her phone, it was past one in the morning, yet she felt no hint of sleepiness.

She got up and walked to the window, and was startled to see the man already standing by the car parked at the door, almost instinctively hiding behind the curtains.

How could he be here…

And Huo Tingxiao, with his keen eyes, caught sight of a shadow, his eyes instantly lit up, but then were quickly replaced by disappointment.

He must be going mad, to be seeing hallucinations.

Mu Lan frowned, cursing to herself:

“What’s with this act of a love saint at this hour? He couldn’t possibly be standing there on purpose to let me see him and soften my heart, could he?

Huo Tingxiao, you’re really cunning, but I won’t… won’t soften.”

Even though she said she wouldn’t soften, she couldn’t help but worry. After struggling for a while, Mu Lan put on a light jacket and tiptoed downstairs.

Huo Tingxiao had not expected her to appear before him, and for a moment didn’t know how to react.

He even scoffed at himself.

“I’m seeing hallucinations again…”

Mu Lan frowned.

“What are you doing waiting outside my house in the middle of the night without going home?”

Huo Tingxiao looked at her, moonlight spilling on her face, her long hair casually draped, with a soft breeze blowing, she seemed like an elf standing right in front of him.

“You…”

In disbelief, he extended his hand until he touched her face, feeling the real warmth, and only then was sure that the person before him was real.

Mu Lan was startled by his action and quickly stepped back.

“What are you doing?”

“Just making sure you’re real.”

“…”

Mu Lan looked at him, sarcastically retorting:

“Stop playing games with me, Huo Tingxiao, what are you doing at my doorstep in the middle of the night?”

Huo Tingxiao looked at her angry expression, the whirlpools in his dark eyes holding some flickering light, concealing what emotions lay beneath.

“I wanted to wait for you to wake up tomorrow so we could have a proper talk.”

This reason made Mu Lan scoff.

“Your reason is laughable, what, trying to garner my pity, thinking I would soften because of this?

Huo Tingxiao, aren’t you being childish? I really don’t understand, what are you trying to achieve with this? Just to tell me you don’t want a divorce?

I really don’t get why you won’t agree to the divorce.”

“Mu Lan, I want to explain to you properly, and also, I think I’ve made it very clear, the reason why I don’t agree to the divorce.”

Mu Lan looked at those dark eyes, feeling a certain emotion ready to burst forth, and subconsciously retreated a bit.

“You…”