Chapter 3

Throughout his hospital stay, unless a call came in, his phone remained with me.

I limited his screen time every day. He never objected and calmly submitted to all my rules.

When his business associates heard that he had been hospitalized, several came to visit.

I happened to be outside taking a call, and when I returned, I found a guest in the room.

As soon as Huo Jingheng saw me come back, he said with a perfectly serious expression, “Honey… give me my phone for a moment. I-I need to make a call.”

It was the first time he had called me honey, and he had done it in front of someone else.

I knew it was only for show, yet the word still stunned me. I didn’t react until he spoke again.

“I won’t be long. Just two minutes,” he promised frankly.

Flustered, I dug the phone out of my bag and handed it to him.

“Mr. Huo, is this your wife?” the man beside him asked.

Huo Jingheng gave a slight nod, took the phone, and immediately made his call.

With nothing else to do, I remembered that it was time for his medicine. I prepared the pills and waited to give them to him when he finished.

The moment the call ended, he returned the phone, took the medicine from my hand, and swallowed it.

The entire sequence was smooth and practiced. To an outsider, it looked like a solemn, well-established routine, performed without the slightest hesitation or delay.

The people beside us stared in astonishment. They had never imagined that the arrogant, unapproachable business titan of public rumor was so thoroughly under his wife’s thumb.

Nor had they expected to see Huo Jingheng so gentle and compliant.

Perhaps only in front of family could a person’s true nature be fully revealed.

Despite his many days in the hospital, no one from the Huo family had called or visited.

Assistant Lin had once told me in private that Huo Jingheng had always been distant and estranged from his family.

Before our marriage, I had accompanied him to the Huo residence once. Even then, I noticed the barrier between him and the rest of his family.

On the day of his discharge, I left Huo Jingheng in the room while I handled the paperwork.

When I returned, I overheard him talking with Assistant Lin.

“Boss, look how well you’ve recovered. Having Madam here to care for you really does make all the difference.”

Huo Jingheng did not answer, tacitly accepting the remark.

“By the way, why haven’t you replied to any of my messages these past few days? You only picked up when I called.”

“She has my phone. She only gives it to me when a call comes in. The rest of the time, she won’t let me use it.”

Huo Jingheng spoke blandly, though his tone carried a touch of grievance, a little helplessness, and more than a hint of willing acceptance.

Assistant Lin let out a meaningful sigh.

As far as he was concerned, someone had finally appeared who could rein in his workaholic boss.

As soon as we came home from the hospital, Huo Jingheng buried himself in his study again.

I knew he lost all sense of time once he started working, so I reminded him to rest.

When I first moved in, I thought it would only be the two of us. He rarely ate at home, and I could cook for myself, so we never hired a housekeeper.

I asked Assistant Lin to deliver some groceries and cooked several light dishes.

“Come out and eat!” I called, knocking on the study door.

He emerged at once and sat at the dining table. During his illness, the distance between us had quietly narrowed.

Since he had only just left the hospital and was still recovering, I made a point of reminding him over dinner,

“Don’t eat until you’re too full. These dishes are easy to digest, but your body still needs time to recover.”

He nodded.

Lately, he did whatever I said without arguing.

That evening, after washing up, I passed his room and saw him undoing his pajama buttons, preparing to change the dressing over his incision.

I walked in of my own accord. “I’ll do it. Sit still.”

He looked good in clothes. It turned out he looked just as good without them.

Afterward, I was about to leave when I remembered something else and turned around.

“Oh, right. Your phone…”

Before I could finish, Huo Jingheng handed it over with practiced ease.

“No. I was going to tell you to put it on silent and not look at it late at night.”

He nodded obediently. A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes, though I failed to notice it.