WARNING! Tsundere President

She could have observed her mother all by herself considering how it was New Year’s Eve and Huo Zhenning probably needed to hold some fancy socialite function to accommodate visiting guests at his mansion after all.

But little did she know, there was literally nobody at the Huo family’s residence that night. Huo Yunting, in accordance with his father’s request, had gotten the hell out of the mansion and returned to the city. Old Mistress Huo was not at home either. The place was more isolated than the hospital.

Lu Zhaoyang sighed, still wondering how things got to this point, reminiscing the voice, the smile of her mother as she made her steamed dumplings. Her favorite was probably pork with leek and a plate of vinegar. It tasted even better with her homemade chicken soup, sour and sweet pork, and a bowl of fragrant rice.

Every part of her standard New Year’s Eve never manifested into reality for her. Only the heart rate monitor’s beeping reminded her that all that remained as a dream. She only hoped to know when her mother would wake up and talk to her.

——

Back at the Golden City bar in the private cabins, as expected on an annual fun-filled occasion like New Year’s Eve, were noisy, lively, alcoholic, less human, more like animals. People were expressing their long inhibited joy and lust by actions such as burning nicotine till it fogged the place.

Huo Yunting was among the screaming ladies as his wine glass never was empty. It was long since he tasted the bitterness of alcohol ever since he imposed a wine-ban himself when Lu Zhaoyang was present.

His two loyal knights were there, Mu Xian and Huo Li, who were confused watching their master drinking like a beer bottle.

Mu Xian elbowed Huo Li once and whispered as he lowered his body, “The hell is wrong with him? I thought this was supposed to be a joyful drinking experience and look at what he’s doing.”

“Well, I dunno.” Huo Li shook his head.

It was already the fourth empty bottle into the ice bucket as they watched the grown man gargling one glass of wine after another.

“GET OUT!” That was the only phrase Huo Yunting said so far, silence returned as the ladies were chased away in bewildered screams, leaving Huo Yunting’s two fans.

“Well…Brother Ting, you’ve changed,” initiated Huo Li all of a sudden.

He remembered his Brother Ting, the alpha beast who would not turn down any beauty who offered a toast with him on his lap. But it was always a forest-fire situation whenever Huo Yunting entered the cabin recently. He just chased the ladies away, a whole cabin of them, like that New Year’s Eve.

“Huo Li has a point,” Mu Xian expressed agreeably, “Look at you, you rushed all of us here just to watch you pulling a long face and tossing bottles. Now my girl’s at school and I can’t pick her up for the bedding of the year! Are you going to do it with me instead?”

Huo Li immediately bounced away from Mu Xian, “How old is that girl? I don’t know which sentence is worse. You know—you have a very interesting taste— very bold taste too…”

Okay—Did you just ask Brother Ting to have intercourse with you instead? Are you a dom top or a submissive bottom?

Huo Li thought while gawking at the two men before him as he sipped his wine loudly.

Huo Yunting’s two brothers might have made a rather entertaining conversation yet the big brother himself had his mind still lingering at the very statement Huo Li made.

He had changed.

Huo Yunting stopped pouring wine into his mouth and surveyed his reflection in the glass. He remembered how he picked juices on occasions like this just because of Lu Zhaoyang.

Wait, when did I care about her so much? I even noticed her details to this extent??

Am I being manipulated by her subconsciously, that I went against the drinking norms with other clients and chose fruit juices instead? 

Am I falling mad?

Or am I falling in…

“H-E-L-L-O, Earth calling Brother Ting. That’s enough bottles today, stop drinking already!” Interrupted Huo Li as he hauled the ice bucket away from Huo Yunting.

“Can’t your squinty eyes see what Brother Ting is doing?” Said Mu Xian as he knocked Huo Li’s shoulder, “He’s obviously thinking about a pretty lassie somewhere!”

“Uh—oh…” Huo Li passed Mu Xian a glare and quickly took his glass to sit right next to Huo Yunting.

“Brother Ting! Happy new year! May your dreams be turned into reality! May your wallet be filled with money! May lassies come into your embrace”

Huo Yunting did not even want to entertain this clown of his. At best, he just swung his glass hard to clink that wine was spilled all over the place.

Huo Li froze with his wet hands. He passed Brother Ting a glance before he laughed awkwardly as he wiped his hands clean.

In Huo Li’s eyes, there was an invisible warning plate right next to the beast—no unauthorized personnel beyond this point. The plate was right. It was better for unauthorized personnel to leave, LIKE HIM FOR EXAMPLE.

“Okay, time to go, pal!” Mu Xian lifted Huo Yunting and asked Huo Li to drive the man home.

On Huo Yunting’s way home, Huo Li’s inner scaredy cat was still shivering as he held the steering. The street was deserted during the night on New Year’s Eve. What accompanied their journey was the dim stars and neon lighting.

Huo Yunting, as the alcohol got the better of him, had his eyes closed. His head was pounding in pain, with his woman’s final words ringing like punishment.

“…You also wanted to kill my mother! Didn’t you?”

“You can do anything, don’t you? You can do anything just to get what you want! You could even do something to take somebody else’s life for your pleasure!” 

“Huo Yunting, I hate you! Only God knows how much I. HATE. YOU!”

Her every expression was still vividly replayed in his mind.

Those bosoms lifting and sinking. Those eyes glaring fiercer than a feint.

That finger pointing at his sin.