HSS CH52

Chapter 52: Not a Philanthropist

Lin Miao had never thought of concealing his relationship with Huoyuchuan. In his eyes, they were just one of the countless couples in the city, ordinary and unremarkable, no different from anyone else. However, now that they were exposed to the public eye, so many people seemed to have an opinion about them—simply because they liked each other, and both happened to be of the same gender.

But their relationship was their own business; it had nothing to do with others. Unable to contain himself, Lin Miao also replied to the post: “So what if I like guys? Are you paying my rent?!”

However, it seemed that no one cared about right or wrong anymore. People just found an outlet for their frustrations and started cursing indiscriminately. He Yu and Zhou Zhuo couldn’t stand it either and joined Jiang Leming in the argument.

Although occasionally there were a few different replies, like “Is it true? They seem like a good match” or “Can we ship them? Can we?” these were quickly drowned out by countless insults.

Lin Miao felt increasingly distressed as he looked at the offensive comments. If those people knew the other person in the photo was Huoyuchuan, would they go and curse him too? Would it affect his company?

No, they couldn’t let that happen. “About this matter…” Lin Miao said to Jiang Leming and the others, “Let’s not tell Huoyuchuan for now.”

Jiang Leming was a bit worried. “What about you?”

“Most of them are just joining in for the fun,” Lin Miao said, looking at the post. “I’ll find out who posted it and get the post deleted. In a few days, everyone will forget about it.”

He forced a smile and said, “It’s okay. That’s just how the internet is—news spreads fast and fades quickly.”

Zhou Zhuo was still angry. “Just let them keep cursing you like this?”

“I’ll talk to the counselor,” He Yu suggested. “Maybe we can get it under control.”

Lin Miao nodded, thanked him, and checked the time again. Huoyuchuan would be coming to pick him up soon. Worried that Huoyuchuan might be seen, he quickly sent him a message saying he would stay in the dormitory for the next few days and that Huoyuchuan didn’t need to come for him.

Huoyuchuan quickly replied, “Why are you staying in the dormitory?”

Lin Miao glanced at the banners and balloons set up around the school for the upcoming anniversary celebration and quickly came up with an excuse. “The school anniversary is in a couple of days. My classmates and I are going to help out, and it will be late.”

Huoyuchuan: “That busy?”

“The school anniversary is a big deal,” Lin Miao said. “As soon as it’s over, I’ll be back, okay?”

He added, “I’ll miss you too.”

In the office, Huoyuchuan looked at the invitation from the school on the table and smiled slightly as he replied, “Okay.”

Lin Jianxing was delighted to hear that Lin Miao wouldn’t be staying at Huoyuchuan’s place anymore. He thought Lin Miao had finally come to his senses and was going to distance himself from Huoyuchuan. He quickly tidied up and went back to his own place in high spirits.

On the day of the school anniversary, as Lin Miao was rushing to the auditorium, someone gently tugged at his school bag from behind. He turned around and saw Huoyuchuan.

“Why… why are you here?” he asked.

Huoyuchuan looked at him with slightly lowered eyes. “Don’t you welcome me?”

“No, it’s not that,” Lin Miao said, worried that someone might see them. He hurriedly pushed Huoyuchuan away. “You should go back…”

Some students passing by glanced over.

Lin Miao quickly let go of Huoyuchuan and loudly said, “Mr. Huo! Are you looking for Principal Wang? His office is this way!”

He then guided Huoyuchuan as if he were giving directions.

Huoyuchuan frowned but didn’t say anything and followed him forward. Once they were out of sight, he grabbed Lin Miao. “Why pretend not to know me?”

“I didn’t, I was just joking,” Lin Miao said nervously. “You should go back. We’re very busy with the school anniversary today. I’ll come back and spend time with you later.”

Huoyuchuan stood still, expressionless.

Lin Miao felt even more uneasy. “Wh-what’s wrong?”

Huoyuchuan turned away and continued walking. “Didn’t you say you were looking for Principal Wang?”

“I made that up,” Lin Miao tried to persuade him. “Principal Wang might not even be there…”

Huoyuchuan took out an invitation from his pocket. “But Principal Wang invited me here.”

Lin Miao was taken aback. “Ah?”

Huoyuchuan explained, “He wanted to thank me for the donation to build the teaching building.”

Lin Miao finally remembered that Huoyuchuan had mentioned donating before.

“How much did you actually donate?” Lin Miao asked, puzzled and curious. “Principal Wang actually invited you to the anniversary.”

Huoyuchuan replied, “Not much.”

Lin Miao didn’t believe him. “Then Principal Wang wouldn’t have invited you.”

Huoyuchuan said, “He’s just a nice guy.”

Lin Miao: “……”

They went to the principal’s office, but Principal Wang wasn’t there. He had gone to the auditorium. So Lin Miao took Huoyuchuan directly to the auditorium.

Principal Wang was checking the program schedule. Seeing Huoyuchuan, he was very pleased and arranged a seat for him in the front row for the VIPs.

The evening party was about to start, and Lin Miao quickly went to find Jiang Leming and the others in the back seats.

Huoyuchuan glanced at Lin Miao’s seat from a distance and sent a message to Little Zheng.

On stage, the host was warming up the audience, and then the performances began one after another.

After a few performances, during the intermission, Principal Wang took the stage to give a speech. After talking about the school’s history, he introduced Huoyuchuan with great fanfare, praising him and his company highly once again. He expressed his gratitude for Huoyuchuan’s generous donation and invited him to say a few words.

Huoyuchuan paused for a moment, then stood up and walked to the stage.

He took the microphone from the host and looked at Lin Miao in the audience.

However, the audience was packed with people, and no one knew who he was looking at.

Lin Miao saw that he seemed a bit unhappy and was puzzled.

Huoyuchuan slowly began, “First, I want to apologize. I don’t want to lie.”

He calmly said, “I’m not a philanthropist. The reason I donated was because I had an argument with my boyfriend. He wouldn’t see me, so I had to find an excuse to come and see him.”

The audience was stunned. Someone shouted in excitement and quickly covered their mouth.

People started whispering, asking who his boyfriend was.

Jiang Leming looked at Huoyuchuan in shock and patted Lin Miao beside him. “Brother Chuan, you’re amazing……”

Lin Miao was also stunned—what was Huoyuchuan doing?!

Principal Wang was a bit embarrassed. “Mr. Huo is really… passionate, haha…”

Huoyuchuan didn’t react and continued, “Today, I have something I want to say to everyone here.”

His composed gaze swept over the entire auditorium. “Between him and me, we don’t need others to meddle.”

After he finished speaking, he handed the microphone back to the host and said to the principal, “Sorry, I have to leave now.”

He walked off the stage and headed straight in a certain direction.

Then, everyone saw him walk up to Lin Miao and extend his hand. “Lin Miao, let’s go home.”