Chapter 5.2 Hug Me

Yan Qing’s hands felt sweaty. She slowly opened the box. Inside sat her phone.

She was still in a state of denial. Maybe President Huo just wanted to return her phone.

Suddenly, An Lan’s phone rang. Just two seconds after picking up the phone, her expression changed to shock. “What did you say? The program is stopping? The executives said they got an order to shut it down?!”

Yan Qing froze. No…Don’t be Huo Yunshen!

“From who?!” An Lan gripped her phone in disbelief. “…..Huo, Huo Corporation?!”

At the same time, the phone in the box vibrated. A new message displayed on the screen. The contact name was “Yun Shen.”

【QingQing, it’s been six hours since we’ve separated. Are you feeling better? The show has been terminated. If you don’t like that, or if you want to speak with me, come to the garage. I’ll wait for you.]

Yan Qing looked at the building wall nearby, tempted to just ram her head in and end this torture.
—

Before the preliminary rankings round, all trainees were to be crammed into average sized rooms. After receiving their rankings, they would then be reassigned to rooms based on their ranking score.

Around lunchtime, none of the trainees were hungry. Ninety girls shuffled into rooms, brimming with anxiety.

The program holding the fates of their dreams was just called to a stop. They didn’t know where to go or what to do. Some held back tears and sniffles, causing others’ eyes to redden.

Yan Qing sat in a corner with her knees pulled to her chest. She looked at the phone in her hands.

An Lan didn’t know about the message. Before she left, An Lan told her not to worry. She told her to wait with the rest of the trainees, and that she didn’t believe Huo Corporation would be so ruthless and suddenly hurt Chengfeng Videos, considering they didn’t have prior history together. There must be a way to fix this!

Yan Qing held random hope, and impatiently waited for updates on the situation.

She didn’t want to, nor did she dare meet with Huo Yunshen.

But soon, a crestfallen staff member came out and announced, “I’m so sorry. We’ve encountered an unexpected issue. Please prepare to leave this program.”

The large auditorium fell into a long silence.

The girls that had helped Yan Qing with makeup were next to her. Some of them began to cry.

Yan Qing’s fingernails dug into the palms of her hands. Her nose reddened.

Huo Yunshen, that unscrupulous maniac, was forcing her to submit. He was willing to put Huo Corporation’s reputation on the line, and use these trainees’ dreams as bargaining chips to push her into contacting him!

He had said he would let her go. That was all lies!

At that moment, her phone buzzed.

[YunShen: Qing Qing. ]

Just two words, but it was as if he was whispering right next to her ears.

Yan Qing took a deep breath and lept to her feet.

She’ll meet him, so what? She wanted to see what exactly Huo Yunshen wanted to do, after she had threatened him with her death. No matter whether she can help the program, she wanted to try. She didn’t want herself to be a burden on the program.

Yan Qing sneaked away from the crowd, exiting the building from a side door. She followed the route that Huo Yunshen messaged her and entered the garage. A long car sat in the shadows. [T/N: limo? Or rjust think of those fancy cars where there are two rows of seats in the back that face each other.]

She knew she couldn’t escape this trap, so she might as well leap in head first.

Yan Qing clenched her fists and walked over steadily. At seven meters away, she noticed that the car door was left open. From the gap, she could see a line of smoke and a man’s side profile.

The garage was cold. The man wasn’t wearing a coat. His button up shirt was already wrinkled, with the first three buttons unbuttoned. He sat with his eyes closed, appearing solitary and gloomy.

He didn’t have the luxurious air of an aristocrat, or second generation chaebol. Rather, he carried the aura of an unbridled demon. His air had the natural reaction of inciting both attention and fear in others.

Yan Qing composed herself and continued to walk towards him, making sure her footsteps could be heard clearly.

Huo Yunshen abruptly opened his eyes, his dark eyes suddenly brimming with splendor.

He prepared to step out of the car: “You’re here.”

Yan Qing stopped him: “Don’t you dare get out. Are you trying to be seen by others? I- I’ll get in!”

Closing the door behind her, Yan Qing avoided any physical contact with him. She nimbly took a seat on the opposite side of his. “Huo Yunshen, you’re using Huo Corporation recklessly to do this kind of thing. Are you crazy?”

He smiled. “Compared to you, Huo Corporation is nothing.”

Yan Qing was ready to smack him. “What do you want exactly?”

Huo Yunshen’s eyes peered into hers. Six hours since he saw her last… It was like a lifetime had passed by.

He squeezed the armrest to calm himself own. He handed her a manila envelope. “After the plane accident, we kept your DNA sample on record. We analyzed it with your current sample. The results are in here. I didn’t lie to you. You really are Yun Qing. There’s something wrong with your current memories.”

Yan Qing was filled with rage. “…No wonder Min Jing pulled my hair yesterday. It was for this?! How much more psychotic can you get?”

Huo Yunshen lowered his voice and implored her. “Qing Qing, take a look first.”

Yan Qing didn’t open it. She couldn’t tolerate his ridiculousness.

Huo Yunshen pulled the papers out of the envelope, and placed it in her lap. Yan Qing didn’t need to look to know that the results definitely supported Huo Yunshen’s case.

President Huo was impressive as expected. Just because she looked like Yun Qing, a show that had its own producers, investors and sponsors came to a halt. A DNA report was completely too easy for President Huo to manipulate. As long as he wanted, he could also create evidence to prove that she was Wang Qing, Li Qing, Zhang Qing, or any other Qing.

If she believed him, that means she was refuting her previous twentysome years of experience. Did he think she was that dumb?

Yan Qing threw the report back to him and sat up with her back straight. “President Huo, please stop with these useless actions. I won’t believe your words. So let’s not carry this out. What exactly do you want me to do for you to not mess with the program?”

Huo Yunshen picked up the papers. His shaking hands wrinkled the papers, as he lingered on the positive result conclusion. His throat felt dry.

He had already guessed that this would be her reaction.

But when he was forced to see it himself, he still felt like she had just cut off a layer of his heart.

In the three years without Qing Qing, he had been pushing his body to the limit. Today, his stomach problems were untimely appearing. He was barely able to even sit up straight.

His conscious, his blood was all roaring her name, craving her warmth.

Huo Yunshen’s bloodshot eyes peered up at Yan Qing.

Yan Qing’s expression remained stone cold.

“Tell me. Tell me what it’ll take for you to not interfere with the program!”

Huo Yunshen shakily reached out a hand. “Hug me.”

Yan Qing thought she misheard. “You…What did you say?”

His blanched lips parted. “I said, Qing Qing, hug me.”

Yan Qing didn’t know if she was angry and frightened. Her ears reddened. “Can you speak like a normal person!”

Huo Yunshen’s gaze fixated on her. There was not a glimpse of his usual severe, brazen air that people associated with him. He didn’t hide his weak side from her. Speaking slowly, word by word, his hoarse voice whispered. “Please, hug me.”

This demand was too unexpected. The wall Yan Qing had constructed between the two of them was useless.

She was at a loss of what to do. After awhile, she awkwardly asked. “….Are you sure? That if I hug you, you’ll stop interfering with the program?”

“I’m sure.”

“You promise?”

“I promise.”

Yan Qing closed her eyes. This man never followed a predictable pattern. She didn’t know how to react. But she thought this was a profitable trade. At least, it was better than kidnapping her. It was just a hug, it’s not like it’ll cost her an arm or a leg.

For the sake of the program!

With determination, she leapt forward to his side. Leaning down, she stretched out her arms and gently pulled Huo Yunshen in.

Huo Yunshen gritted his teeth. He gripped her waist, pulling her closer.

Yan Qing felt something was off, and moved to separate away. Huo Yunshen’s ice cold palm swiftly appeared at the nape of her neck. His fingers tightened, with the fingertips adding pressure on a certain nerve.

“Qing Qing, don’t worry.”

Yan Qing was only able to hear those words before a numbness shot through her body from the pressure point.

Her vision faded to darkness as her body softly landed into the crook of his arm.

Huo Yunshen lovingly kissed the spot behind her ears, and whispered. “Let’s go find your memories.”