Earlston, Scotland, 15:15;

As Xi Yuan walked away from the woman, Huang Biu had a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. It was fear. The coldness in his eyes, and the contempt in his voice; she'd never been a prey to it before. And the more she thought about it, the more the dread twisted in her gut. 

At this time, the phone in her pocket rang up, and absent-mindedly her hand reached for it. The caller was Huang Ling, confirming Xi Yuan's threat. 

"We're investigating how the explosion happened currently.", the man said, "Although... it's weird how all the cameras around your Residency area went off exactly before the incident. 

"I simply called to ask if you could think of someone who might've done this?"

The woman shook her head, "No. I don't know, brother."

"Alright, then.", Huang Ling said after a while, "Stay safe."

After the man had hung up on the woman, he turned to look at the two effortlessly destructed automobiles as he let out a sharp breath. "No need to work on this case anymore.", he eyed one of the investigating officers next to him, "As it turns out, it was some sort of practical prank her friends played on her."

"Are you sure, President Huang?", the man in his forties gasped, stunned. What kind of prank was worth 20 Million USD? It was too absurd to even imagine it, really. But as he elicited a stern nod from the man, the officer knew better than to stretch the issue for long. "I'll be needing Miss Huang's statement to shut the case, Sir."

Huang Ling waved his hands in the mid-air, dismissing the entire team of cops at once. Only when they'd vanished from his line of sight did he speak again, "You think it's Yuan too, right?", he said to the man beside him. 

"For the cars' explosion? Sure.", Elijah Williams chuckled, "But for the situation, I am inclined to hold your sister accountable here, Ling."

Shawn Florence nodded, as he sat over Huang Ling's SUV roof, "20 Million Dollar's loss to the Xi Empire followed by this attack; she had to be ridiculously stupid to assume that we wouldn't figure it out."

"I seriously don't understand Biu anymore.", Huang Ling crossed his arms, his gaze fixed to the garage ruined beyond repair, "Does she even realize the consequences of what she is doing? She is literally pushing herself towards death, or a life far worse than that."

"What do you mean?", David Florence questioned, passing a bottle of beer to his brother, "I am sure Xinghe will be merciful since it's nothing huge. Rumors like these spread all the time, man."

"She might let it go this time.", the man remarked wryly, "But she isn't just Xinghe. She is a Ripper. What if, Biu ends up hurting her on a personal level? Or her family, for that matter. Do you really think she'll be able to walk out of the Alqatil's claws unscathed?"

_________________

Xi Family Mansion;

City A, Country X, 21:30;

While Xi Yuan focussed on the 'Soulagement Pharmas' case in Scotland, and the Xi twins worked on the lawsuit against the Jeongs, the family's elders had concerns of their own to deal with. 

"The comments are extremely harsh, aren't they?", Luo Youyou said, as she stared at her phone. 

Xi Chongkun and Li Jungah were no longer worried about Xi Chonglin and Luo Youyou's underhanded schemes, for the matter concerned the Xi family's reputation just as much as the Superfamily's. Not to mention, this was a business deal Xi Fang was responsible for. If things were to go downhill, their son would be affected no less. Therefore, this time, they were bound to take the high road and cooperate with them. 

"Is there no way to prove Xinghe's innocence?", Li Jungah looked at her husband, "I know she would never do something like that, Chongkun."

"There is one way, actually.", the old man leaned back, his expression earnest.

"What is it?", Xi Chonglin questioned, curious.

"But for that to happen, her medical reports will have to be revealed to the media.", the man explained, "I spoke to Yuan a few hours ago. Apparently, Xinghe's medications are too strong. The ones she takes before going to bed. Benzodiazepines, he said. These medicines are used for sedation mostly; even for the treatment of Insomnia. There is no way that the girl would've been able to get up in the middle of the night in such a state, let alone hack into his laptop.

"Yuan was going to leak the reports by himself tonight, but I stopped him. I thought that it would be better for me and Jungah, to appear in front of the cameras in person. To make a stronger statement, you see. To announce to the world that Xinghe is family now and that the Xis would always back her up, no matter what."

"Goodness...", Li Jungah covered her wide open mouth, surprised, "Among all his other problems, the first thing he did was to find a way to protect her. Such a sweet boy."

"He must love her sincerely.", Xi Chongkun agreed with a proud yet light smile.

"Fine. Let's do it then.", the woman clapped her hands, her tone transforming from emotional to sprightly with each word, "I will schedule a Press Conference first thing in the morning tomorrow."

"Should we be there as well?", Luo Youyou asked, her voice low. She had, more often than not, been at crossroads with Rong Xinghe ever since the couple had gotten together. So she wasn't really expecting to be welcomed in this affair. But even so, all the four of them standing together on the stage would be more beneficial to the Xi family, she thought. 

"Definitely, Youyou.", Li Jungah's lips curled up, as her words sent the woman in a state of incredulity, "Even though it'd be me and Chongkun addressing the journalists tomorrow, you two will also be required over there. Both Yuan and Fang need us now.

"Despite the differences between us, we are their parents, Youyou. We're supposed to be there for them at times like these. Otherwise, what good are we, really?

"And to be honest, apart from that, Xinghe is so much more than a daughter to me now. I am not even doing this for Yuan, you know. It's her. Xiao Xinghe. She doesn't deserve to be treated so unfairly just because she chose to be a part of Yuan's life. Once, my son asked me to love and support Xinghe the way her own mother would've done, had she been alive. So that's what I am going to be, here onwards. Her Mother. A safe space for her to go to, whenever she'd be in search for comfort and solace."