Past memories flashed past her mind, and images of her at the playground, carnival, and room escape during their school years flooded her brain. There were memories of her participating in the same curriculum in university, and there were also memories from when he participated in a basketball competition, and she went and supported him. Jian Yi purposely asked for the others to let Song Yu work in Chengshi after her graduation. Even her reunion with Qi Chengzhi on the project was all thanks to Jian Yi. Furthermore, Song Donglin and Yu Qianying were so happy every time he came to her house and brought a lot of gifts with his visit. The four of them would have meals together, with him sat at her side as he looked elegant and well-behaved.

Jian Yi wore a prison uniform, and he had a buzzcut - what happened in the past stayed in the past.

Song Yu sobbed and buried her face in Qi Chengzhi's chest.

Zhou Mingyan was frenzied, and she wailed as the prison guard pulled her back. "What should I do after I am released from jail? My son won't be here anymore. My son… what should I do? What should I do… Jian Yi…"

Jian Yi ground his teeth and looked at Jian Shifu for the last time before the bailiff escorted him away. He glimpsed at the public gallery when he walked past and saw Qi Chengyue stood beside Cheng Dongge and amongst the Qi family. Her stare was cold and emotionless as if she could not wait for him to be jailed forever.

Jian Yi felt only despair and contempt. Initially, Qi Chengyue would do anything for him, but at that moment, all she could think of was for him to go to jail so that she could live a prosperous life.

The bailiff escorted Jian Yi out of the room through a door at the corner of the courtroom. Jian Shifu stared at Jian Yi's face for one last time before he vanished through the door. He then stumbled back to the chair and buried his face in his hands.

Qi Chengzhi gave a handkerchief to Song Yu so she could wipe her tears, and his heart ached when he saw her reddened eyes.

He glanced at Jian Shifu, who sat nearby, and asked her, "Do you want to talk to Jian Yi's father?"

Song Yu shook her head and said, "We put Jian Yi to jail, so I fear our presence may irritate him."

"Then let's go." Qi Chengzhi wrapped his arm around Song Yu's shoulder and left with the rest of the Qi family.

That day, the clouds were like white marbles on blue satin as the sun streamed through the breaks in the clouds in a watery shaft of gold on B city. It was a contrast to the gloomy and somber environment in the courtroom.

From then on, Jian Yi's existence was erased from her life, and he was isolated from the world where the warm light touched.

Song Yu sighed and followed Qi Chengzhi into the car. Then they made their way back to the old mansion.

…

…

Mu Sisi was summoned to Mu Huaisheng's office, and she saw Mu Huili as she entered the room.

Mu Huili and Fang Anci were finally back in the country after decades, and the first thing that they tried to do after their return to B City was to assimilate themselves into the social circle of the upper classes. However, they were shocked to learn that they were not welcomed at all. They yearned to blend into top-notch social circles like The Great Eight Families. Since Mu Huaisheng and Qi Chengzhi were friends, they thought that Qi Chengzhi would not be offended by the terrible things that Mu Sisi had previously done.

At least he should have had a different approach to Mu Huaisheng and not just sat and watched even if he was annoyed at Mu Sisi.

The most direct method to assimilate themselves into a top-notch social circle was to acquire an invitation card to any of the banquets that The Great Eight Families would attend. Fang Anci might have been in the United States of America with Mu Huili for a long time, but her maternal family in B City still had some relevant foundations. So she asked her brother to contact an organizer for an invitation card. She would even pay for it, if necessary.

They did not expect the organizer to reject them as soon as he learned that they were from the Mu family. He could accept requests from any other family, but the Mu family was banned from his events. After Fang Fuquan persisted with his attempts to learn the reason for that, the organizer finally caved and revealed that The Great Eight Families had announced that they would have nothing to do with the Mu family. However, he did not know how long that would last.

Mu Huili was surprised by the news. He thought that Mu Huaisheng and Qi Chengzhi were still good friends.

Chen Zhengming, Mu Huaisheng's assistant, mentioned that all the celebrities from the other agencies also rejected MU's invitation for brand promotion. After they investigated the matter, they found out that it was all thanks to Han Zhuoli, who declared that anyone who accepted MU's invitation would end their collaboration with Han Bang. They would also not be considered for cast selection for any of the movies that Han Bang had invested in.

Mu Huaisheng and Mu Huili knew that it was a punishment from The Great Eight Families, but they did not understand the reason for that. It came as a surprise to them, as there were no signs or warnings that preluded their predicament.

Mu Huaisheng racked his brain, but he could only think of one possible culprit, and that was Mu Sisi.

"Dad," Mu Sisi greeted him, and then with much hesitation, she mumbled, "Brother."

"Huaisheng, you are more familiar with this, so speak your mind," Mu Huili said.

Mu Huaisheng nodded and gave Mu Sisi a blank stare. "Did you go and find Qi Chengzhi again recently?"

Mu Sisi answered quickly and without much thought, "What are you talking about? I don't have the time to find Qi Chengzhi. I work weekdays and rot at home on the weekends, didn't you know?"

Mu Huaisheng frowned. "Did you really not bother him at all?"

Mu Sisi had not looked for Qi Chengzhi for more than a month after the embarrassing incident in the hospital last time. She assumed what her brother meant when he said 'recently' referred to the past one month.

Mu Sisi did recall that moment, but she thought that the event was so long ago, and Mu Huaisheng only asked for a recent event, right?

Thus, Mu Sisi answered confidently, "No."

Mu Huaisheng and Mu Huili looked at each other for a while, and then Mu Huili said, "You can go back to work now."

"What happened?" Mu Sisi was perturbed, so she asked.

Mu Huaisheng glanced at Mu Sisi thoughtfully and said, "The Great Eight Families are punishing the Mu family. Initially, the project to register with the Wei family's mall was almost complete, but all of a sudden, Wei Ziqi broke the agreement. At first, I thought it was just a business move, and Wei Ziqi had no need to inform me of the details. However, it was obvious that the Mu family was not welcomed at any banquet that The Great Eight Families attended. Furthermore, we couldn't even invite a single celebrity to promote MU's flagship store. This is just the beginning, who knows what other fate awaits us later."

Mu Sisi's expression changed. "You didn't try to find Qi Chengzhi?"

Mu Huaisheng narrowed his eyes in distrust. "Find him?

"Even if we don't speak of the despicable things that you have done, I am still too embarrassed to find him. We have not had much contact with the other members of The Great Eight Families except for Qi Chengzhi and Gui Rongxuan whom you have managed to offend last time. The Gui family didn't punish us for offending Gui Rongxuan at that time, so I assumed that this was not their doing. The only other possibility is that Qi Chengzhi was somehow offended, and out of everyone in the Mu family, it seemed that only you could do that."

"I've said that I didn't look for him at all, so how could I have offended him?" Mu Sisi exclaimed in a slightly panicked voice.

"If you really didn't see him, then go back to work," Mu Huaisheng said coldly.

Mu Sisi pursed her lips and left the room.

…

…

Since Song Yu's physical condition had stabilized, her health status further improved when her parents reconciled with Qi Chengzhi. When her mental health got better, she went back to her work at Chengshi. Even though she did not need the small income from Chengshi, she was enriched with her experience there. She thought that it was too dull to rot at home the whole day.

She told Qi Chengzhi that she would rest at home to nurture her pregnancy a month before her expected date of delivery.

She had mixed emotions about her first day back at work as she felt nervous and excited at the same time.

Qi Chengzhi had also recovered from his injury, and he was back at work too. Qi Chenglin had his hands full as Qi Chengzhi had passed him all of his workloads during his stay at the hospital.

Song Yu unfastened her seatbelt when Qi Chengzhi stopped his car at Chengshi. His gaze rested on her large belly. At that point, Song Yu's belly looked like an inflated balloon, and Qi Chengzhi was a bit worried if she was too big for her pregnancy.

He noticed that only her belly had expanded while none of her other body parts shared the same growth. He was worried that her skinny frame would not be able to support her pregnancy weight anymore.

He only relaxed when the doctor told them that everything was normal during her routine antenatal checkup.

Song Yu's movements were quite clumsy due to her huge belly, and so, Qi Chengzhi initiated the kiss. His warm hands held her face as her head rested on the car seat, and his kiss was soft and loving. She could even feel his long fingers as they massaged the back of her neck and ears soothingly.

Qi Chengzhi was reluctant to let her go as he kissed her. If it were not for the huge amount of work that was the cause for his hectic days ahead, he would bring Song Yu to his office with him.

His kiss transitioned from a tender and loving kiss to a passionate kiss that followed the lines of her lips. His pupils shone through his half-closed eyelids as he savored her delicate skin.

His thumbs caressed her cheek with affection. He could not resist the temptation and planted his mouth on her cheek and compressed it softly before he moved toward her lips again.

He stuck his lips on hers, and his breath felt warm against her cheek. He really did not want to let her go.

He cherished every single moment with her, and he did not want her to leave his sight, especially after the kidnapping.

Song Yu was out of breath, and she lifted his face with both of her hands. The softness and tenderness of her touch on his face caused Qi Chengzhi to tremble.

Song Yu ran her fingers through his perfectly proportioned features on his handsome face. His gaze was so soft that he appeared mellow, and her heartbeat increased as she admired him.

She grinned and took the initiative to kiss his lips. "I know you left out a bunch of work during your hospital stay, but no matter how busy you are, please take good care of yourself."

"I might be busy this afternoon, so Chang Lai will come and drive you to lunch," Qi Chengzhi said softly. His breath felt warm on her lips, and she could even smell the light fragrance of coffee from his mouth.

"Okay." Song Yu nodded, and then she suddenly yelled, "Ah!"

Qi Chengzhi's expression changed and asked urgently, "What is it? Are you feeling unwell?"

"No, Youjin kicked me," Song Yu said as she quickly touched her belly. "This is the first time that he had kicked me. Ah! He kicked again. Hurry, come and feel it."

Qi Chengzhi was surprised by the information, but he quickly put his palm on her stomach. He felt extremely anxious and excited at the same time. He stared at her stomach with intense focus.

Song Yu was disappointed when there was no further movement from the baby after a while. "Why did he not move again?"

Song Yu peeked at his watch as Qi Chengzhi still had his palm on her stomach. She said, "I think you should get going since you have so much work to do. Let's try it again at night. He might move again then."

"Let's wait for a little while more." Qi Chengzhi was reluctant, and he wanted to continue to wait for the baby to move.

Song Yu then remained still and waited with him. She tried to encourage the baby and said, "Youjin, please move around a bit."

After approximately three to four minutes, Qi Youjin kicked again, and coincidentally, the kick was right at the center of Qi Chengzhi's palm. Qi Chengzhi felt the slight vibration that it caused.

Qi Chengzhi looked at Song Yu with delight as he was touched and amazed by it. He could not describe the joy that he had felt then.

Qi Chengzhi had been a calm and quiet man, but he grinned like a child who just had sweets. Song Yu could not help but smile with him as well. However, Qi Youjin only kicked once, and he rested still afterward. It seemed like he was like a sloth.

After a while, Qi Chengzhi frowned. "Is it painful when he kicked you?"

"No, the kicks were soft. It felt like he was just stretching himself at that moment," Song Yu said with a smile.

Qi Chengzhi stared at Song Yu's stomach with a soft expression. Then he suddenly lowered his head and kissed her stomach. With a mellow and steady voice, he said, "I appreciate it."

Song Yu blushed, but she was also reluctant to leave him due to the previous disastrous event that they went through.

She peeked at the time again. She would be late for work if she did not leave then. Even though Director Zhao gave her special privileges, she did not think it would be nice to break the rules like that.

"I'm going up now. Please be careful on your way to the office," Song Yu said as she kissed him again.

Qi Chengzhi nodded. As Song Yu opened the door, she heard another car door closed behind her. She turned around and saw that Qi Chengzhi had followed her out of the car. She was confused, but she let him hold her hand. "I'll walk you up."

The kidnapping incident scared Qi Chengzhi. He was worried that Song Yu would meet another accident even though it was a busy building.

Song Yu did not reject his offer, and she let him hold her hand as they walked into the office building. However, she became apprehensive after that. She wondered if her insistence on going to work was a good idea since it would make Qi Chengzhi worried and tired at the same time.

The general public took care not to crowd anywhere near her when they entered the elevator as they saw that Song Yu was a heavily pregnant woman. Many people arrived at the building in the early morning, but they were willing to wait for the next elevator as they did not want to crowd the elevator, especially when there was a pregnant lady there.

Even then, Qi Chengzhi protected Song Yu with great care.

It was fortunate that those people did not know who Qi Chengzhi was, as his name did not correspond with his behavior. So, there was no commotion as all.

Qi Chengzhi safeguarded Song Yu as they walked out of the elevator when they reached the floor for Chengshi. After they turned a corner, they finally reached the doorstep of the design department. Song Yu did not want Qi Chengzhi to enter with her, and so she said, "We're here, so you can leave now."

Qi Chengzhi peeked into the office and smiled. "You made me feel like I should be hidden from everyone's view."

"That's not true. I only fear that your presence will cause overwhelming stress to my colleagues," Song Yu mumbled.

Qi Chengzhi suddenly lowered his head and kissed Song Yu on her lips. His sudden act caused her to observe her surroundings quickly, and she sighed in relief when she realized that there were no observers. She blushed as red as a tomato.

"Be careful on your way to the office and remember to give me a call or text when you arrived," Song Yu told him. She would give him the same lecture every day whenever he drove her to work before her pregnancy, or when she sent him to his office during her vacation days. Qi Chengzhi only felt warmth and affection every time she did that.

"Duly noted. I'll leave after you go in. Ask Chang Lai to come up to the office and wait for you in the afternoon. Don't go down alone, and I'll come up to fetch you at night too," Qi Chengzhi said as he gently squeezed her hands.

Even though Song Yu thought that it was a bit much since Jian Yi's kidnapping case was an unexpected one and she did not believe that there was anyone else who would want to hurt her, she still nodded and promised him. He was a little too careful about the whole thing, but she knew that he only wanted the best thing for her.

She glanced at Qi Chengzhi again before she walked into the office.

Qi Chengzhi turned around and saw Ruan Danchen as she came out of the engineering department.

Ruan Danchen was at a loss when she saw Qi Chengzhi, but she smiled at him. "Young Master Cheng."

Qi Chengzi remained silent, but he nodded at her as he walked away.

Ruan Danchen felt a little embarrassed when she turned around and looked at his figure from the back.

She guessed that Song Yu had returned to work when she saw Qi Chengzhi, and sure enough, she noticed Song Yu at her desk when she entered the office. She quickly expressed her concern and asked for her condition, which Song Yu clarified that all was well.

"Ah! I'm too used to you sitting beside me. When you were not around, I would still turn around to talk to you, but every single time I did that, there was only an empty seat next to me. I felt so bored as I couldn't find anyone to talk to anymore," Ruan Danchen complained as Yang Yunshu entered the office with a bag.

Yang Yunshu was stunned to see Song Yu at the office, but then she pursed her lips and looked as if she was disgusted by the view. She mumbled as she took her seat at her desk, "Why does she still come to the office with her huge belly sticking out? Did she think of this office as her home now that she's married to a wealthy man? To come and go as she pleased? No one batted an eye when she came in to do nothing, and now she wanted to come to the office to be a young madam? Go home to play your young madam role, please. There's no need to pretend to be independent. She's so annoying!"

Of course, Song Yu did not hear what Yang Yunshu had mumbled under her breath, and she also did not expect the office environment to change so much while she was not around. Yang Yunshu actually came back!

"Why is she back at the design department?" Song Yu lowered her voice to ask Ruan Danchen.

"There was a lack of staff in the design department after you left. I'm in charge of interior design, so I don't know much about exterior design. I can only handle some parts of your work, and no one could handle the designs for the new community area. Director Zhao did not want to hire new staff, so he moved Yang Yunshu back here. It was a good thing that you only had the Qilin Hotel project. Otherwise, all of them would go to Yang Yunshu," Ruan Danchen answered softly.

Song Yu understood the situation, and she did not care whether Yang Yunshu returned to the department or not. She would not dare to cross her path anyway, in case Director Zhao would be unhappy and took actions against her.

Director Zhao also remembered that Song Yu was to return to work that day. That was why he went straight to the design department instead of his office when he arrived that morning.

"Song Yu, are you feeling much better?" Director Zhao smiled as he walked toward her. He was unusually kind to her.

Yang Yunshu had her back toward them and rolled her eyes. Song Yu smiled and said, "I'm feeling better now, sorry to trouble you these past few days."

Song Yu wanted to stand up, but Director Zhao stopped her. "No need for formality, just sit down and talk. It wasn't troublesome at all. However, if you come back to work then you have to take better care of yourself. Let me know if you need anything."

Director Zhao knew that he could not afford to offend Song Yu after she got married to Qi Chengzhi. He even needed to please her, especially since she was pregnant with the grandchild of the Qi family. He would need to take greater care of his actions with her.

"Director Zhao, is there anything for me to do?" Song Yu inquired.