En route to Scotland, Xi Corps' private jet;

It was a long flight with hours to waste, and none of the two were sleepy just yet. So they spent the night playing one classic game. One good old source of entertainment. Truth or dare. It was a fun way to know each other better. Furthermore, both the man and the woman were perfectly comfortable with revealing their truths to one another.

"Dare.", Xi Yuan shrugged.

"Umm... do me.", the girl said a while later, "Do my impersonation. Let me see how you notice me, how you look at me exactly."

"Okay.", the man laughed, climbing down the bed at once and walked out of their bedroom. About five seconds later, he returned back, stepping in casually, looking at the plane's interior next to the bed's right side-table with wide-open eyes, "Is this how you are going to go on a date with who could possibly be your potential wife, Bro Mo?!

"Everyone, back off! Let me have a look at his wardrobe first.", he said, turning to approach the wall, both his hands over his hips, "Remember one thing, Bro Mo, women enjoy special treatment. Now, Miss. Cheng might be a self-reliant lady, but you could always compliment her eyes, her smile. Not clothes, though. Make her feel cherished for her natural form, hmm?

"And yeah, DO NOT look at any other woman when she is sitting opposite to you. Watch her as if she's an angel or a mesmerizing landscape. Divine. Charismatic. Got it?"

Xi Yuan then turned around, smirking at Rong Xinghe, "And Yuan, you, are you making notes?"

"Wha--", Rong Xinghe burst out laughing, "I am not so strict with my brothers!"

"Yes, you are.", the man shook his head in denial, "And will you let me finish please?"

"Okay, okay. Sorry.", the girl said amid her laughter. He was so focused!

Xi Yuan turned back around, pulling his phone out of his pocket, "What is it, Mr. Shou?", he said into it, furrowing his brows, "Oh... Since he isn't confessing to anything, he is of no use to us. Just kill him then. I don't care if he's the son of a politician. This disgrace of a creep shot two of my men right in front of my eyes, terrorist or not. I want him to beg for death before he breathes his last, Mr. Shou. Do we understand each other?"

Rong Xinghe looked at the man's accuracy with amazement. He was so observant. It was as if he had memorized every word she'd ever said. She did speak like that to her brothers in the former tone, and to Shou Wu in the latter one. Did he really notice her so intensely, she pondered?

The man then tucked the phone back into his pocket, approaching the girl with swiftness, "I got to go, Mr. Xi.", he said, capturing her lips into his for a quick peck before letting go and blinking twice, "Miss me, okay? I love you! Buh-bye."

He then got down the bed again, and tossed his head to one side, "How was I?", he asked in his usual and comforting deep tone.

"Wow!", the girl clapped her hands excitedly, "Hats off, Mr. Xi!"

"Thank you, thank you.", the man smiled cheekily, sitting back on the bed beside her, "I'll be waiting for the Oscar.", he added, eliciting another breezy giggle from her.

"Your turn.", he said after some time as the neck of the bottle pointed towards Rong Xinghe, "Truth or dare?"

"Truth.", the girl answered as a yawn skipped her mouth.

"Alright.", Xi Yuan tapped his chin, "What did you think of me when we first met?"

The girl giggled, remembering their meet-cute, "Well, I assumed you to be a bartender. Let's start there."

"Go on.", the man smiled.

"But there was something. I felt it. Your eyes. Or maybe your aloofness. I don't know.", the girl confessed, her voice sweet and entrancing, "I'd never felt like that before, of that I am sure. I had never found any other man as breathtakingly handsome as you.

"I liked you, you know? Since then. Even though I'd addressed you as a bartender, you didn't allow others to make fun of me. You played along, instead. You shielded me from humiliation then. You always do. But that night, you were such a gentleman. Maybe I never realized my feelings until I almost lost you, but I'd always liked you, Yuan. Since the night we met."

Xi Yuan did not say anything. He simply closed in onto the girl, erasing the distance between their lips. His kiss wasn't soft at the moment. It was fierce, passionate, intoxicating, replicating the blaze she'd ignited inside his heart with her warm, mellow words.

The girl too did not struggle. With her toes, she pushed the glass bottle down the bed, in case it'd end up hurting him. Xi Yuan helped the girl lie down carefully, adjusting the pillow beneath her head, his body overshadowing hers. He couldn't go further than this, and he was aware of it. Rong Xinghe was too weak right now. Not to mention, she was still on her periods.

He just wanted to feel the fervor of her touch, her lips, her fingers behind his ears, for it made him feel the warmth of a home. She made him feel like no one else ever could. And he wished to celebrate it, for the next second, the next minute, the next hour, and for the limited eternity, he had with her.

_______________________

Xi Family Mansion, 00:50;

"I... I did not mean...", Lu Wei's presence was so overbearing, so strong, that Luo Youyou couldn't even speak without fumbling for words. The palms of her hands had already been covered in sweat, her legs trembling with fear.

"If there is one thing I hate more than false accusations, it's lies, Mrs. Xi.", the man scoffed, "You meant it. Every word of it. Specifically, the 'golddigger' part."

"We apologize to you, Son.", Xi Chongkun said in a defeated tone, "Let go of it this time. I request you."

Xi Family had always had high regards for Lu and Zhi family. The three families had had years of friendship together. And he couldn't let Luo Youyou's stupidity affect that, could he? What more, Lu Wei and Zhi Xi were the ones who'd molded Xi Yuan into who he was in the world of business. The King. Xi Yuan looked up to these two men the most. He respected them from the depths of his heart. How could he allow the Xi family's internal politics to scar the connection his son shared with Lu Wei then?

"Please, Uncle, do not apologize.", Lu Wei responded lightly, "You haven't wronged Xinghe's honor here. And as far as forgiveness is concerned, I am afraid that's not how my family works. There are consequences. Even to words.

"Besides, it's not happening for the first time, is it? Her brother, Luo Chen, did something similar on your birthday too. I cannot just sit back and watch such an ill-reputed family scandalize mine, can I? These miscreants need to be taught a lesson, now more than ever."