Chapter 62 Like a Ghost

Su Mian kept waking up from coughing mid-sleep, so she simply gave up on trying to rest.

Huo Beihan gently stroked her back while asking with genuine concern, "Do you need me to call the doctor back to adjust your prescription?"

She shook her head. If they added any more medication to her regimen, she would probably resemble a water-injected piece of meat.

"Eldest Brother, are you really going to obey Grandfather and go on a blind date?"

Since she could no longer sleep, she decided to make conversation with Huo Beihan.

Huo Beihan fell silent for a moment before answering with a helpless sigh, "If I don't go, the old man will likely start putting pressure on me again."

Hearing this, Su Mian felt a twinge of pity for him. Even for something as personal as this, he had no say in his own life.

Huo Beihan rubbed his throbbing temples and said, "Speaking of which, there is actually something I need your help with."

She looked at him, completely puzzled, wondering what she could possibly do to assist him. However, since Huo Beihan had helped her out on numerous occasions and rarely asked for anything in return, she was more than willing to oblige. "Tell me, Eldest Brother. As long as it's within my power, I won't refuse."

Huo Beihan was somewhat surprised by her sudden shift in attitude. If she had been asked this just a few days ago, forget about whether she would refuse—she probably would have started plotting how to escape the moment he opened his mouth.

After a brief pause, he said, "Mianmian, to be honest, I have to go on that blind date tomorrow. I was hoping you could help me out the same way you did last time."

*Last time?*

Su Mian recalled the incident when he had dragged her along to act as his human shield. But hadn't Grandfather found out about that afterward? If she tried the same trick again now, she might not even be able to protect herself.

Seeing that she didn't agree immediately, his heart sank, though he refrained from pressing her further. "Mianmian, if you find this too difficult, then just..."

During her silence, Su Mian was thinking about how Lin Xiu and Huo Beinian were still living in the Huo residence. If Grandpa Huo found out she had sabotaged Huo Beihan's blind date, what would happen if he flew into a rage and threw them out of the house?

Noticing the slight look of disappointment on Huo Beihan's face, she quickly cut in, "It's not that I find it difficult. We just need to come up with a foolproof plan—one that protects my identity while achieving the outcome you want."

Although Huo Beihan had no idea what was going on in her head, he knew this couldn't be rushed. Besides, if drawing Grandpa Huo's ire was the price of her assistance, it wouldn't do any good anyway.

Once her fever broke, Su Mian was discharged from the hospital.

Knowing her health was fragile, Lin Mu called her to check in. "Su Mian, if you're still feeling unwell, take a couple of rest days at home. Don't worry, your salary won't be docked by a single cent."

"Thank you, Director Lin."

Throughout the entire day, Su Mian's mind was consumed by Huo Beihan's upcoming ordeal, leaving her distracted and in a daze.

That evening, Huo Beihan sent her the name of the restaurant and the scheduled time, then waited with mounting anxiety for her reply.

The moment she saw the message, an inexplicable wave of tension washed over her, ruining her sleep for the entire night.

After tossing and turning until morning, she finally devised a brilliant, foolproof plan.

The next day, wearing a face more colorful and chaotic than a painter's palette, Su Mian staked out the entrance of the restaurant mentioned by Huo Beihan, intending to give him a "surprise."

Around ten in the morning, Huo Beihan arrived at the restaurant accompanied by an exquisitely featured, attractive young woman. "Mr. Huo, what would you like to eat?"

Distracted, Huo Beihan replied absentmindedly, "Order whatever you like. Anything is fine with me."

The woman felt he was being rather perfunctory, but since she had no desire to get married either, she didn't mind.

Right at that moment, Su Mian burst into the restaurant, grabbed Huo Beihan's arm, and let out an outrageous declaration: "Huo Beihan, you two-timing bastard! Yesterday I asked you when we could register our marriage, and today you're here playing lovey-dovey with another woman!"

"Do you even care about me as your girlfriend? If you don't give me a proper explanation today, don't blame me for not holding back!"

The blind date companion was instantly infuriated by this spectacle. Although they were both merely playing along to appease their families, the Huo family was being utterly disrespectful by sending someone like this to a blind date!

Huo Beihan froze. It took him quite a while to recognize that the bizarrely painted face glaring at him and frantically making eyes was actually Su Mian.

Recovering his wits, he played along and explained to his date, "It's not what you think; you've misunderstood. We already broke up—this woman is simply out of her mind."

Disgusted by his seemingly fickle behavior, the date lost all interest in speaking to him further and stormed out of the restaurant without another word.

Seeing that the woman had left, Su Mian let out a long sigh of relief and collapsed onto a chair to catch her breath.

Noticing that Huo Beihan had remained silent for quite some time, Su Mian asked nervously, "Eldest Brother, what's wrong? Did I... overact?"

Could it be that he actually harbored a good first impression of that beauty and felt she had ruined his blind date?

Huo Beihan snapped out of his trance, pressed a hand to his forehead, and asked, "Is this the foolproof plan you came up with?"

Su Mian nodded and offered an embarrassed, sheepish smile. "Right? See, wasn't it a huge success? That young lady was thoroughly terrified. I'd say I gave a pretty stellar performance, wouldn't you?"

"Yes, it was a performance, all right. A stellar one indeed," Huo Beihan said, repeating the word three times. Staring at Su Mian's current appearance, he was torn between sheer exasperation and amusement. "Next time, could you please come up with a normal method—or at least wear normal makeup? You look like..."

Seeing him trail off, Su Mian pressed on, "Like what?"

Huo Beihan was trying to figure out how to describe her appearance without hurting her feelings, but his silence only convinced Su Mian that he was genuinely angry.

Growing even more anxious, she probed cautiously, "Eldest Brother, did I completely ruin your reputation? Should I call that lady back and explain things to her?"

"What I mean is, your acting was fine—it was just... a bit exaggerated. Next time, just act normally. Right now, you look like a ghost." Huo Beihan had been searching for a gentle way to break it to her, but if he didn't explain immediately, he feared Su Mian might actually run outside and drag the woman back.

*A ghost?*

The corners of Su Mian's mouth twitched. Was it really that exaggerated?

When she looked in the mirror after finishing her makeup, she thought she looked fine—just a standard smokey eye look. Since she rarely wore makeup, any application made her look a bit different from usual, but wanting to avoid the risk of being recognized, she had simply pressed a little too hard with the eyeliner.

"Is it really that terrifying?" Seeing Huo Beihan's ongoing, critical scrutiny, Su Mian lost all confidence.

When he nodded, she pulled out her phone, looked at her reflection on the screen, and nearly scared herself to death.

Her cosmetics must have been of rather poor quality; the eye makeup had smudged, leaving her with two massive dark circles and dark lipstick. It was beyond terrifying—she looked precisely like a mythological ghost haunting the streets.

Su Mian gave an awkward, sheepish laugh, quickly grabbed a tissue dampened with water, and began wiping her face while explaining, "The makeup just smeared. I promise it looked quite decent when I first stepped out."