Chapter 227: Xiaoran’s Engagement, Qiao An Offering Incense

Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

The engagement banquet was held in the Huo family’s clubhouse, and it was very grand. The people who came to attend were divided into three groups. The Huo family, the Lu family, and the Li family.

These three families were all famous families in the capital. It was obvious that the people who came and went were all respectable.

Lu Mo was wearing a gorgeous and expensive gown. Today, she did not look like a cancer patient at all. Instead, her skin was rosy and she was overjoyed.

Huo Xiaoran was wearing his usual dark suit, but his hair was slightly combed, making him look handsome and charming. However, he looked tired.

The younger generation, such as Li Ze’en, Li Zecheng, Chen Xiao, and Xiao Yue, surrounded the main characters of the day and chatted with them.

Someone sighed with emotion. “Why isn’t Qiao An here?”

The female lead’s expression darkened. She wasn’t magnanimous enough to invite her love rival to steal her thunder, especially not a beauty like Qiao An.

“How could Sister Lu Mo invite her?” Li Ze’en said what was on Lu Mo’s mind. Lu Mo’s face turned pale.

How could she not feel stifled when her pettiness was brought to the table?

At this moment, in order to save her dignity, she could only look up at Huo Xiaoran and say with a smile, “Senior, did you invite Qiao An?”

Huo Xiaoran said, “Yes.”

Li Zecheng teased calmly, “You invited her, but she didn’t come. Uncle, it seems that your ex-girlfriend doesn’t take you seriously at all.”

Li Zecheng’s words slapped Lu Mo in the face.

She was a petty person who did not invite anyone, but ex-girlfriend received an invitation from her husband. However, she disrespected him by not turning up.

‘Yes, Qiao An didn’t come.’

This made Huo Xiaoran feel extremely complicated.

He was both relieved and disappointed.

Just as he was wondering what Qiao An was feeling, Xiao Yue suddenly said, “If Sister Qiao An has really let go of Cousin, she should come to your engagement party openly and give you her blessings, right? In my opinion, Qiao An hasn’t let go of Cousin at all.”

These words were like a bee, stinging Lu Mo until she trembled.

She looked at Huo Xiaoran in fear and reached out to hold his hand tightly. She was afraid that he would turn into a gust of wind and fly to Qiao An’s side.

Huo Xiaoran smiled bitterly. “With her personality, if she really had feelings for me, we wouldn’t be having today’s engagement banquet.”

Lu Mo’s face turned as pale as paper.

Huo Xiaoran was clearly hinting that she was just a spare tire. Although she was a spare tire, no spare tire was willing to admit that he was a one.

“Senior, I suddenly feel a little uncomfortable. Can you send me to the lounge to rest?” Lu Mo only wanted to escape from this scene that would embarrass her.

Huo Xiaoran was quite gentle. “Let’s go.”

He heard Xiao Yue ask Qiao He, “Where’s Sister Qiao An?”

“She went to the temple to offer incense,” Qiao He said. “She goes to the temple every year today.”

Huo Xiaoran suddenly stopped in his tracks.

It was his birthday. Did Qiao An offer incense on his birthday every year?

Her meaning was evident.She must have gone to pray for his safety.

Lu Mo sensed Huo Xiaoran’s abnormality and tugged at his sleeve. “Senior, what’s wrong?”

Huo Xiaoran was like an old monk in meditation and did not react for a long time.

After Lu Mo called out a few times, Huo Xiaoran came back to his senses. He absent-mindedly sent Lu Mo to the lounge.

Qiao An arrived at the White Horse Temple in a pale green muslin dress and long, silky, seaweed-colored hair.

Green was Huo Xiaoran’s lucky color.

Over the years, she’d been a regular visitor to the temple.

She bought the fragrant wax paper money she needed with ease, then donated money to each Buddha and knelt. Finally, she came to the wishing tree and wrote his name in the merit book.

Perhaps it was not the peak season for burning incense recently, but there were only a few names on the page of the merit book. Qiao An glanced at Huo Xiaoran’s name.

Beside the powerful font lay her name, Qiao An.

Tears filled Qiao An’s eyes when she saw the name.

She picked up a pen and wrote her and Huo Xiaoran’s names on the merit book again. However, below their names were the names of the three babies.

She lit the lotus lamp, wrote the blessing, put it in the red brocade bag, and wrapped it around the ancient and vigorous wishing tree.

A breeze blew, and countless red brocade bags floated above her head.

There were also many blown red brocade bags lying on the ground. Qiao An looked at the brocade bags on the ground. These brocade bags must have taken root.

There were also a few brocade bags that were unstable. When the wind blew, they floated down.

One of them actually floated into Qiao An’s arms and pressed against her heart.

Qiao An was slightly distracted. She took off the pouch and hesitated for a moment. “Since you found me,” she said silently, “don’t tell me you want me to help you fulfill your wish?”

With curiosity about this blessed fate, Qiao An slowly opened the brocade bag.

When she saw the powerful handwriting, she was dumbfounded again. This handwriting was inexplicably familiar. Only when she saw the name at the front of the row and the signature did Qiao An realize that this was the wish letter left behind by Huo Xiaoran.

“I’d give my luck, my health, my happiness, everything I have to Qiao An for free. May she live the rest of her life carefree and disease-free.”

Qiao An silently recited this deep wish. Her heart felt like it was being pricked by needles, and tears rolled down uncontrollably.

This was an exchange between Huo Xiaoran and the gods.

She had been questioning his love for her for the past three years.

Even the day before yesterday, she was still questioning him for bailing Li Changhai out.

She loved him, but she never trusted him.

All these years, he’d approached her cautiously and fawned over her under her misapprehension. And because she’d misunderstood him, she’d been in a terrible temper and had spoken harshly to him.

Turning a blind eye to all the kindness he’d shown her.

If he didn’t love her, it wouldn’t be a big deal for her to do this. But he clearly still loved her.

How much it must have hurt him that she’d done this to him.

Qiao An sat on the stone steps. For the first time, she cried like a child.

She finally stopped holding back her pain and let the grievance and pain spill out.

“Miss, why are you crying?”

Suddenly, an unfamiliar hoarse voice sounded beside her ear.

Qiao An quickly wiped away her tears and looked up.

Instead, she saw a familiar face that chilled her.

“It’s you?”

She stood up to escape, but realized that her body was suddenly limp and weak.

Soon, she felt dizzy and fell straight into the man.

The man helped her up the hill.

Qiao An’s head grew heavier…