"That bastard! I'll kill him" Zheng Yuan growls, seething with anger.

"Father, please," Shi Lian says, trying to calm him.

Her father is so mad right now that if he sees Zheng Yi in front of him, he will kill him.

Unable to handle his fury, he tells Hui Yin, "Get out! From this day on, we have no relation with you!"

"Uncle, please, please, don't say that" Cai Li begs, her eyes filled with tears. Zheng Yuan jerks away from his arm from Cai Li's hold. He turns on his boots and leaves the living room loud sound as he goes.

"Hui Yin, please, just go. Cai Li, Yinzhen, please understand.."Sha Sha requests them, sobbing.

Hui Yin gets up meekly and grabbing Cai Li's arm, she pulls her with herself while calling Yinzhen to come with her. She does not say anything to Shi Lian. Yinzhen passes an apprehensive look at Shi Lian which Shi Lian cannot comprehend. The three of them leave the Mo Mansion.

Sighing, Shi Lian asks her mother to stop crying. "Mother, why are you crying? I am safely here with you."

Sha Sha looks at her and takes her in her embrace. She hugs her tightly, feeling scared after hearing whatever happened to Shi Lian. "I feel sorry, my daughter. I couldn't protect you. Your own uncle.... " she sobs, choking midsentence.

Shi Lian strokes her back gently. "I know mother. You don't need to feel sorry. I was the one who didn't tell you anything."

She knows her mother is emotional and sensitive when it comes to situations like this. She calms her until she longer is whimpering.

She takes her mother to her room and when she reaches there, she finds her father sitting on the edge of the bed, his head down and his fingers weave tightly.

Making her mother lie down on the bed, she tells her to sleep snd forget about what happened today. Smiling, she puts the comforter over her body.

She then goes to where her father is sitting. She bends to her knees to get a look at his face. She reaches to hold his hand and squeeze it.

"Father, I hate to see you like this," she says, her tone concerned. "I didn't tell you about him because I didn't want to burden you. I wanted to fight my own battles and I did."

Her father tilts his head to meet her eyes. She notices his eyes are watery and somewhat red. "It's a shame, as a father, I couldn't give the protection to my daughter."

"No father, you protect me like no other and I am grateful for your protection."

He asks her about what happened with her and hoe did she got hold of him. She tells him everything, only removing some points which she thought os not necessary to tell him.

She tells him that it's not his fault but her uncle's but he feels hurt knowing her brother tried to kill her daughter.

"Rest well, father. And please, don't think about it" Shi Lian says, more like orders him. Saying good night, she exits the room and heads towards hers.

She locks the door after reaching inside. Exhausted, she drags herself inside the bathroom and freshens herself up.

Fifteen minutes later, after taking a cold shower, she feels better now. She forgets she hasn't eaten dinner. She is too tired to go and eat so she drops the idea.

Changing into her nightwear- silk top and shorts, she dries her hair and goes straight to bed. But then she remembers giving a call to Zichen so she gets up and goes to find her phone.

Grabbing her phone from the dressing table, she slides inside the bed again. Turning it on, she finds twenty missed calls from him and texts one after another.

She hurriedly dials his number and waits for him to pick it up.

Seconds later, he picks up. She apologizes for not picking his call. "I am sorry, Zichen. I was busy so I forgot to call you. Are you mad at me?"

She hears him sighing and she knows he is mad. "Not really, now that you have called."

She breathes a sigh of relief. "Why did you called me so many times? Was there something important to tell me?" she asks.

"Missed you. I wanted to see you so badly but you kept on declining my calls. I was worried if something happened to you so I kept on calling you until I received your message."

Her heart swells, "I missed you too. I have barely seen you in two weeks and it's just.... I miss you too much" she expresses.

"What were you busy with?" he asks. She bites her lip, hating that she has to lie to him. She should tell him but the other part of her is hesitating. She does not want him to know how messed her family where her uncle tries to kill her.

"You know, company and all. We are super busy with the upcoming collection that we hardly get time to have our lunch" she lies, half laughing.

"Oh," he says but his tone tells that he does not believe her. "Company work, huh?"

She gulps, feeling guilty. "Y-yes yes. "

He sighs, "Fine then. So what are you doing?"

She is glad he changed the subject. She answers him coquettishly, "In my bed. Missing you."

"Don't" he warns, "it's already hard for me to not meet you and if you keep saying those words, I might do something insane."

She chuckles, having fun teasing him. "Too bad. I was missing you so badly, not only me but my body aches for you."

"Shi Lian" his voice is low and dangerous but she isn't stopping. He can't come and slap her butt so she says whatever she wants.

"I am naked, hot, and turned on, Zichen," she says, her voice raspy and seductive.

"Goddammit" he grits and it amuses Shi Lian more and more.

"I want you" she whispers but she does miss her. She thinks to stop now because he is already getting pissed off. "I—"

"Keep your windows open" he orders and hangs up. Shi Lian, dumbfounded, blinks twice to register what just happened. Why did he end the call? And for what reason he asked her to keep her windows open?

Wait, is he coming? No way. That's far from possible. There's no way he will come to her house this late at night. He knows the rules and he also knows paparazzi are everywhere.

She pouts, thinking if she should call him back or not. Deciding not to since he is the one who ended the call, she puts her phone aside and closes her eyes, trying to sleep.

She is tired and as soon as she closes her eyes, she falls asleep.

~ An hour later ~

*Bang* *Bang*

What's the sound? Shi Lian thinks to herself, awake from the annoying sound. The sound keeps on coming and looks like she has to wake up and see who is disturbing her. Winching, she opens her eyes and looks in the direction from where the sound is coming.

It takes her some time to realize that someone is there outside her window. Fear creeps inside her and she is fully awake now. She gulps, her throat dry but the banging is still coming.

She throws the comforter aside and puts her feet down from the bed. Taking cautious steps, she walks to the window, fearing to see the dark figure outside.

"Wh-ho?" she asks, meekly, gripping the hem of her silk shorts tightly.

She can't hear anything since her window is soundproof. She is confused about what to do? She is also scared at the same time. Who must be around now to bang on the window?

She grabs an ancient vase which is on the table beside her and gripping it tightly she goes to open the window.

She is frightened as hell. Every hair on her skin is on high alert. Her heart pounds inside her chest and her stomach is churning for no reason.

Thousands of thoughts come to her mind. She thinks if it's a ghost. She believes there's no ghost but in this kind of situation, she had no choice but to think of every possibility. Fuck, what if it's a thief? Oh no, what if it's the creepy man? She gets more scared as she thinks.

At that moment, her phone rings and she hurries to go pick it up, sweating profusely.

It's Zichen. She gapes why he is calling her now. She taps on the green icon and brings the phone close to her ear. "Hello?" she speaks but her eyes are on the window. She now realizes that the banging has stopped but the dark figure can be seen.

"Hurry up and open the window. I am damn near there to fall" he tells her, his voice frustrated.

Shi Lian's eyes widen and her breath hitches. She glances at the window again. She quickly goes to the window and opens it. As soon as she unlocks, Zichen lands in her room, breathing hard.

Shi Lian closes the window and covers it with the curtains as well. Pushing her hair behind her ear, she bends downs to check out Zichen.

"What on earth are you here?" she hisses.

He is breathing hard. "It's all your fault. You shouldn't have said those words to me."

Oh, God! He is here for real? So when he said to keep the windows open, he wasn't lying.