Elite Saphire Penthouse, 2 a.m.;

"Tell me if you need anything.", Zhi Xi said, as the man nodded at him modestly, "I will.", replied Xi Yuan. As the two men stepped out, they subconsciously glanced at the penthouse beside theirs, only to find it murky and quiet.

"Any idea about her whereabouts?", Zhi Xi pointed his chin towards the girl's place, uncertain.

Xi Yuan shrugged, oblivious, as he checked his watch. It was late. Although it wasn't the first time she'd stayed out for this long, she would always ping him or her brothers, assuring them of her safety. Tonight, none of them received any such message.

The man pulled his phone out and browsed through his contact list. Bringing the phone to his ears, the man waited for a few seconds before he spoke up, "Defence Minister Bo, Xi Yuan here.", he greeted.

"Don't embarrass me, Sir.", the man on the other end laughed nervously, "You don't have to introduce yourself. I have your number memorized. Do tell me, how can I help you?"

"Where is my wife?"

"Military Chief, she... um-", the minister stammered, "I am not aware, Sir. Let me contact her assistant... Mr. Sho-."

"Don't bother. He has no idea.", Xi Yuan cut in, "Besides, what good are you if you can't even handle such a trivial matter?!"

"Mr. Xi... I-", and with a beep, the call was disconnected.

"Seriously? The Defence Minister?", Zhi Xi laughed out, shaking his head, "She doesn't let politicians in on her activities or schedules, Yuan. There are very few people she trusts. And he is definitely not one of them."

"Oh.", the man frowned, looking down at the ground.

"Let me try. She must be with the Hybrids.", Zhi Xi smiled, as unlocked his phone.

"Indeed she was, President Zhi.", the man was just about to dial when David Florence's voice resounded through the open space. The two men turned to look at the source of the voice and there she was, behind the three Hybrids. Drunk, clearly. Trying her best to keep her eyes open.

Xi Yuan strode towards the woman, pulling her in his arms, covering her with his suit, "Are you crazy? It's cold out here.", he whispered worriedly.

"Am oka.", the girl mumbled, her tone as soft as a feather.

"What the hell?!", Zhi Xi glared at Elijah, enraged, "Of all the Hybrids, I'd figured you and Ashfakh to be sensible, Elijah. Why would you let her drink this bad?"

"She had a rough day.", Elijah Williams answered, guiltily, "Even so, I apologize. That's no excuse. She... insisted."

"What and how much, did she exactly drink?", Xi Yuan asked Shawn. The only question that mattered to him. Anything beyond her health and honor wasn't even an issue for the man.

"An entire bottle of Spirytus Stawski Whiskey.", the man replied truthfully, "She wouldn't listen to any of us."

Letting out a long breath, Zhi Xi nodded, "Just don't let her get used to this. More often than not, she has cameras pointed at her. Her reputation matters, Elijah. And so does her health."

"We understand, Sir.", the man smiled understandingly.

"We'll take it from here.", the girl's brother said, "You all can leave."

As the three men drove away, Zhi Xi fixed his gaze at the couple in front of him. Her head resting against his shoulders, the man adjusting his oversized suit around her arms, protecting her from the cold winter breeze. Sweet, he thought.

"I will be on my way then.", the man said to Xi Yuan, "Tuck her in, will you?"

Eliciting a nod from the man, Zhi Xi disappeared from the Elite Housing Arena, leaving the two alone. By now, he trusted the man enough to know that he'd never hurt his little sister while she was drunk. He was too much a gentleman to do so, after all.

::::::::::::::::::::::

2:15 a.m.;

"I look like a Chipmunk!", Rong Xinghe pouted, staring at the floor-to-ceiling mirror in her darling's bedroom, "Why are you marrying a Chipmunk?", she turned to ask the man.

"For the tenth time Xinghe, you do not look like a Chipmunk.", Xi Yuan groaned, as he hauled the girl to his bed he'd set up, a minute or so ago, "And even if you look like one, I find Chipmunks cute and charming. So we're good to go."

"Oh.", the girl smiled, lying on the bed. The man carefully supported her head with one of the cushions and walked around the bed in order to pull off her socks. "I love you.", the girl said, gazing at the ceiling, "Like very much. Very... much."

"You do?", the man laughed.

"Y-yes."

"I love you very much too.", he smiled.

"You... won't. After I tell you... my secret.", the girl smiled sadly.

Xi Yuan stood back up and tossed the pair of socks into the laundry basket before he approached the girl and covered her up with a navy blue fur blanket as he cupped her face lovingly, "That's not possible, Baby.", he said, surety and determination reflecting through his eyes, "No secret is strong enough to rip us apart."

"You should've been... there today.", the girl muttered under her breath, patting the empty space beside her, "Come."

Xi Yuan nodded, lying down beside her, placing his hand over the woman's belly beneath her crop top, he resumed the conversation, "Okay... so what's the big secret of yours?"

"I... Chipmunk...", the girl had fallen asleep, soft snores reaching his ears. Her one hand clutched to his shirt's collar, another over his hand on her torso. She was tired. He could tell it just by the mix of fatigue and stress on her face. Her cheeks blushing, her fingers cold, her toes curled up inside the blanket. She really had had a rough day. But how often did he get to observe her from this close? Naturally, he was going to live every moment of the few hours he had with her until the sun would rise again, and work would take her away from him.

The man waited for the girl to fall into a deep slumber and, for his hands to get warm before it slid up her back slowly and unclasped her bra. He wasn't intending on acting any further than that. He knew his limits and simply wished for her to have a comfortable sleep. But resisting the touch of her skin against his fingers was way more difficult than what he'd imagined. He, after all, had the most beautiful woman in the world, lying right in his arms. It took almost everything inside him to pull his hand out of her top.

"Just... what are you, Rong Xinghe?", the man whispered after a while, drawing circles against her collarbone with his index finger, taking in the sight of her peaceful expression, "How do you still have so much power over me? Even after all these years..."

But he didn't mind. He loved how her presence, her smile affected him. He enjoyed how she made him feel. As if with her, he was always home. As if... she was everything he'd been searching for, all his life.