When Xi Xiaye and Wang Hui returned, it was already past five in the evening.

There were many people in the temple. Wang Hui and Zhuang Shurong had even especially asked a Great Master for a protective talisman for the couple, hoping for them to be safe and sound in the days to come. After that, the three of them went shopping for a while, so they returned a little late.

When they reached home, Mu Yuchen and Mu Yinan had already finished preparing dinner. They took their seats at the table.

The table was full of dishes that were sumptuous. The dishes were all personally attended to by Mu Yuchen while Mu Yinan assisted. It was such a rare moment as it seemed to be his first time preparing for such a grand feast.

Xi Xiaye seemed to have gotten used to the man's cooking in this period of time, especially when she saw the honey sauce pork ribs before her. She felt her appetite increase and she practically licked her plate clean. She even inhaled all the vegetables that Mu Yuchen had served her.

After dinner, Mu Yuchen and Xi Xiaye's phone seemed to ring at the same time.

On his end, it was obviously Zhou Zimo calling to rush him, while for her, it was Su Nan.

"Hello? Xiaye, Happy New Year! May you have a prosperous New Year! Our guests are all almost here now. Are you on your way?"

The call had just gotten through when Su Nan's voice came through.

Xi Xiaye accepted the water that Mu Yuchen handed her. She took a gulp and then answered, "I've just finished dinner and I'm about to leave. You guys play first. I'll reach soon."

"Okay, then hurry up, alright? We'll wait for you!"

"Mmm," she simply answered before hanging up and getting up. The man beside had already packed up and was waiting for her.

"Let's go," she said.

"Go to the wardrobe and put on another overcoat. It's a little cold out there."

His deep voice held a firmness that did not allow defiance.

Xi Xiaye frowned and looked at him. After thinking about it, she then obediently went back to get a windbreaker before picking the car keys up from the table.

On the way to Zhou Zimo's place, they coincidentally passed by Emperor. The one who drove was Mu Yuchen. City Z was not as crowded as it usually was, probably because many people were on holiday and had gone home to celebrate the New Year.

However, the area around Emperor was livelier than it usually was.

After the car turned at a busy traffic junction, it stopped steadily on a driveway before Emperor.

Xi Xiaye unbuckled her seat belt. When she glanced at the time, she noticed that it was only slightly past 7 p.m., so she then told him, "I'm getting down now. Drive safe. Right, don't drink so much if you're driving. At about half-past 10, I'll call you again."

"Mmm, put on the windbreaker. Have you taken all of your things?" He handed the windbreaker to her and said softly.

"I've got everything."

She reached over to take the windbreaker he handed her and was about to get down the car when he pulled her in. Before she could react, he planted a cold kiss accurately onto her forehead. By the time she could absorb it fully, he had already leaned over and helped her open the car door.

She subconsciously lifted a hand to touch her forehead as she stared at him looking startled. Then, after a while, she got down from the car slowly and walked towards Emperor.

While he watched her figure vanish at the entrance of Emperor, he took his phone to quickly make a call. After he hung up, he started the car again.

Following the details of the chosen venue, Xi Xiaye followed the waiter straight to room 801.

"Miss Xi, this is room 801. Please enter. If you need anything, you can call for room service," said the waiter very eagerly.

Xi Xiaye nodded. "Thanks!"

"You're welcome!"

As she watched the waiter walk down, Xi Xiaye ambled to the door. Before she entered, she could already hear the lively clamor and peals of laughter.

She reached out to push the door...

"Xiaye, you're here!"

The first one to notice her was Su Nan, who swiftly got up and walked over to her. However, she did not look too good.

While Su Nan's sudden movement made the entire room instantly quiet down, everyone looked towards the door together —

Xi Xiaye calmly looked around too and noticed that quite a few people were sitting on both sides of the sofa. They looked familiar and seemed to be junior high or senior high school classmates. There were about more than 10 people, but what made Xi Xiaye's eyes darken was the one sitting in the middle of the sofa surrounded by several people. It was Xi Xinyi!

Why is she here?

Xi Xiaye's eyes narrowed as she subconsciously looked to Su Nan who was extremely annoyed as she leaned into Xi Xiaye's ear. "I don't why she came either. I invited Sun Mei who was at Wang Ziluo's place. She came with Wang Ziluo and Sun Mei. I'm guessing that Wang Ziluo told her... Right, do you still remember Wang Ziluo? He's the one who always wrote you love letters back then. He was the class monitor in the third class. He's just returned from abroad a few days ago. Do you remember?"

Su Nan had just finished, and before Xi Xiaye could answer, there was already a bright and pleasantly surprised voice that rang out. "Xiaye! It's really you!"

Xi Xiaye looked to where the sound came from, and then she noticed that the few people beside Xi Xinyi had all gotten up. One of them was the familiar Wang Ziluo. He was tall, handsome and very cheerful.

Wang Ziluo's family background was pretty decent. As the young master of the Wang Corporation, he was, of course, the most popular figure among this group of people. The people there were most probably chasing after Wang Ziluo!

When he saw Xi Xiaye, Wang Ziluo's eyes lit up, his eyes could not hide how she took his breath away while Xi Xinyi who stood behind him just stared at her. Her expression had mixed emotions, and she looked like she wanted to say something, but was hesitating on whether or not to walk up to her.

"Xiaye, oh my God! I almost couldn't recognize you! You're getting prettier and prettier!"

"Exactly, she's indeed a beauty. I probably wouldn't recognize her on the streets!"

"I heard that she's even become a Director at Glory World. If there comes a chance, be sure to look out for us!"

...

The crowd's courteous voices were heard as their eyes were filled with envy.

Xi Xiaye rarely joined such gatherings. Had she known that there would be so many people, she probably would have straight up rejected Su Nan. All these years, she had been reclusive. Apart from work, she usually would not go out and be in too much contact with anyone.

Wang Ziluo picked up the two glasses of wine from the table and walked towards Xi Xiaye, his face bright with a warm smile. "I thought Su Nan was kidding, but you really are here. It's been so many years, yet you really haven't changed at all. Happy New Year!"

Then, he handed a glass of wine to Xi Xiaye.

Xi Xiaye indifferently looked at him and nodded slightly. She accepted the wine and thanked him before raising the glass slightly to say, "Apologies for being late. Here's wishing everyone a Happy New Year."

"Happy New Year!"

Everyone responded by lifting their glasses too.

She downed the glass in one go, then Xi Xiaye found a corner to sit down in. Su Nan sat right beside her while Ruan Heng was surrounded by several people and was forced to drink some more.

Wang Ziluo had been crowded around by everyone when he went back to sit with Xi Xinyi.