As he listened to Xi Xinyi, the light in Han Yifeng's eyes darkened and he stared at Xi Xinyi. "That means you did plan to use the engagement gift I gave you to force Xiaye to hand over that document! Is that so?"

"No! No! I initially wanted to give it to her. If she could hand the shares over, that would've been great, but if she didn't, I really didn't plan to force her to. I just wanted to use this opportunity to let Grandmother have a proper chat with her to see if there's a way... Yifeng, you have to believe me..." Xi Xinyi quickly explained, her pale face hinting at her vulnerability.

"Those children are so pitiful. There's no way I could've done such a thing. Initially, I already planned to purchase that land to give it to Sister, but I thought that maybe it'd be better if you did it. After all, it's us who wronged her... You know Yueying's current situation as well. I was so worried that she would really sell those shares off. If that happens, Grandmother and Mother... So, as long as she's willing to yield, everything can be discussed, Yifeng... I really didn't think of..."

She sounded guilty in between her sobs. Soon, she could not help but reach out to hold onto Han Yifeng's arm as tears started running down her cheeks. She looked up at Han Yifeng, her pale and weak little face drawing sympathy from anyone who saw her.

"Now that Sister has just called the media, she's planning to make this thing huge. Yifeng, you know I'm having a precarious time right now. No matter what, I wouldn't dare use my reputation to risk it again, and you know that there's nothing I hate more than seeing you troubled."

Xi Xinyi's words made Han Yifeng's grave expression ease a little. He stared at her for quite a while, then said in a lowered voice, "Whether or not you intended for it to, the matter's already at this stage. It's a little sticky. I'll go upstairs and see if there's any way of suppressing the rumors."

Han Yifeng still did not look happy as he lifted a hand to massage the fatigue between his brows, and gently pulled away from Xi Xinyi hand before making his way to the stairs. "I've told you that you can stop messing around about things with Xiaye. Whatever your intentions are, she has already cut off all ties with us, so why do you have to be so untactful?"

"Well, now she's... Times are different..." Xi Xinyi said bleakly before his tall and lean figure vanished at the top of the stairs.

As she watched Han Yifeng's figure disappear, Xi Xinyi unconsciously clenched both her fists with all her might. Amidst her thoughts, there was a hazy pain on her palms.

...

When they exited the center, it was already evening. The husband and wife made a trip to the supermarket to buy quite a few ingredients and then made their way straight back to Maple Residence. When they reached the door, Li Si was coincidentally sending a document over.

Soon, the sky had darkened and Maple Residence was engulfed in splendid lights.

Xi Xiaye arranged the flowers carefully in the vase and briefly tidied up the living room. She could not help but feel her stomach rumble in hunger.

When she reached the entrance of the kitchen, she looked through the glass door and meant to ask him when they could eat. Then, she saw that he was still casually testing the ingredients, seeming very relaxed.

She instantly looked like she was about to break down. Pushing the door to enter, she could not help but ask, "Mr. Mu, I'd like to know when will this meal be ready? You've been attending to it from evening till now and it has already been close to three hours."

When he heard her voice, Mu Yuchen turned over slightly to look at her and smiled indifferently. "Hungry?"

Xi Xiaye frowned and did not answer.

"It'll be done soon," he answered, then handed over a plate of food. "Bring this out first. I'll have a look at whether it's done yet."

Xi Xiaye then took the plate and shot a side look at the pot that was stewing with a slow fire on the stove. Catching a tempting aroma, the hunger in her was further ignited.

Cooking seemed to have become an art when it came to him. He would always work on it unhurriedly with leisure and tranquility. Sometimes, she really had to admire his patience.

...

Finally, a sumptuous dinner was ready. There were her favorite honey sauce steak and wine, but it was not a candlelight dinner.

She picked up her knife and fork and was about to begin eating when she suddenly thought of something and could not help but look up to him. "Next time, we should eat mainly vegetables."

Mu Yuchen was leisurely serving the both of them some wine. He handed her a glass and calmly studied her, his dark eyes flickering with a bright light. "How much did you gain?"

Earlier, when he had seen her standing before the weighing scale, looking all dispirited and upset, he could not help but want to laugh.

When she heard him, Xiaye's little face instantly flushed with scarlet. She took the wine he handed her and took a sip before she mumbled, "The point is it didn't go past three digits..."

He chuckled, and then his long arms reached over to help her slice her steak. "Personally, I don't advocate that being thin is beautiful. You're not a model or a dancer or an actress. Isn't it enough that you're healthy?"

As he said this, he picked up a piece of sliced meat and put it to her mouth. She was stumped for a moment, then she opened her mouth to eat it. She watched as he begun continuing to slice her steak. Taking a deep breath, she said, "Mmm... Don't give me that nonsense. Actually, most people judge others by their looks just like us. If our first impression hadn't been positive, we definitely wouldn't have the chance to be where we are right now..."

"Based on what you're saying, are you hinting to me that the first time you saw me, you already thought I was pretty good? That I met the standards of your ideal Prince Charming and was husband material?"

The man was far from humble as he glanced up at her. His eyes flowered with a faint tenderness and he stuffed a piece of steak into her mouth again as his smile flashed gently.

She rolled her eyes at him, chewing with gusto, and then washing it down with some wine. She said disapprovingly, "My ideal Prince Charming should be cultured, speak humorously and be knowledgeable, low-profile and reserved, mature and steady, knows everything in the heavens above and the earth underneath our feet, tall and dashing, valiant in presence, always appearing when I need him the most, forever thinks that I'm the most beautiful goddess to him, treats me better than he treats himself, and apart from me, he definitely wouldn't take a second look at another woman... Do you think you can do all of these, Mr. Mu?"

It was almost as if every woman who asked such a question would have such yearnings and hopes. At this moment, Xiaye's delicate face flashed with a faint vibrance.

"But you're already great, Mr. Mu. I'm quite satisfied with the life I have right now." She sincerely lifted her drink, and offered a toast to him.

He smiled and gladly reciprocated the toast. He thought about it, then said, "Missus, even though your Mr. Mu isn't perfect, he's really a good person. Prince Charmings aren't real, but he's the real deal.

You definitely won't lose out by going with him."

She calmly looked at the gorgeous curve of light that swayed in his wine glass. His bright and smiling handsome face that entered her eyes looked a little bedazzling.

Quite a while after, she nodded with a peaceful and light tone, unlike her usual hostile self. "I will."

Ding!

Then, she closed in with the glass in her hand.

He picked up the wine bottle and poured her more as he asked, "How are you planning to resolve the issue with the orphanage?"

Xi Xiaye drank a spoonful of soup, her starry eyes twinkling for a moment. Then, she answered calmly, "Just set it aside for now. I'll see how Xi Xinyi's end responds. I quite understand Xi Xinyi's tricks. For the storm this time, if she can't hold on till the end, she'll definitely just toss away that land and pretend to do it in the name of charity. I don't want this storm to just subside like that. That would be too easy on her. In the end, all I'll be doing is let her win with a good reputation instead."

Then, she could not help but look up at him. "Do you have a way of making her suffer a double loss after trying to trick the enemy? Make me feel good too?"

He was always so low-profile and reserved. The way he looked so calm and undisturbed made it hard for her to see through him. She just felt like he was an unfathomable mystery. In fact, he seemed to have his own issues but he had never mentioned it to her.

"If I can let you ruthlessly take revenge, what's in it for me?"

Hearing her question, he suddenly looked up at her with interest, yet he soon allowed his silent eyes to settle on the super huge television screen in the living room. It seemed to be reporting some news on Xi Xinyi and the rest joining some sort of charity event.

Today's news had yet to be reported and she wondered how the situation was.

Indeed, he did not change his inherent quality of a profiteer!

Xi Xiaye ignored him and shot him an annoyed look. Then, she lowered her head and continued to quietly eat the steak that he had helped her slice up.

After dinner, she felt lazy, so she pushed the cleanly picked plates to Mu Yuchen for him to wash, then she went upstairs.

She did not deliberately pay attention to the situation on Xi Xinyi's end and went straight to take a bath after going upstairs. Coincidentally, Su Nan called, then she started chatting with her.

When Mu Yuchen went upstairs, she was still in the bathroom chatting happily away with Su Nan, so he did not disturb her and went straight to the study room.

He had just sat down before the desk when Ah Mo's call came through.

"Hello?" He answered with a lowered voice.

"Master, I found out that Xi Xinyi did get someone to investigate the Missus many times. It's an international number. Xi Xinyi and Wang Zilou met on a plane to Bali last year. After that, they kept in touch. Xi Xinyi's friend, Huang Shanshan, has always liked Wang Ziluo. Last autumn, Huang Shanshan had specially flown over to visit Wang Ziluo, but he seemed to fancy Missus. Previously, he tried to find out news about the Missus..."

Mu Yuchen listened to Ah Mo report as his long fingers habitually propped up his forehead. After he contemplated for a moment, he answered with a gentle but muffled voice, "Anonymously e-mail the complete details of Xi Xinyi investigating your sis-in-law to Han Yifeng. Get someone to tell Huang Shanshan. Just say that not too long ago, Wang Ziluo and Xi Xinyi had a great time together in Bali.

"Got it, Master! Right, Master, earlier I got news that Yue Lingsi's returned to the Yue residence. I think it must be because of Xi Xinyi's scandal. The government's process of signing the documents have yet to be completed. Thankfully, they just want to retract and straight up deny that it ever happened."

"We can't let the scandal subside just like that. Think of a way to let that document get through tomorrow itself, and let the media have a trace to follow," Mu Yuchen said before hanging up. At this moment, coincidentally, the study room door was pushed open. Xi Xiaye walked in with a glass of water in her hand.

"You go bathe too. I've prepared the water for you."

She put the glass of water beside his hand, then bent over to pull open a drawer and take out a USB from inside. It had the South River project documents on it.

"Don't look at them now. Rest well these next two days."

He reached over to take the USB from her and tossed it back into the drawer as he slowly got her to get up with his arms around her.

"I wanted to finish the few graphs..." Xi Xiaye hesitated for a moment and protested.

"It's the same if you do it during working hours. I have something for you." His deep voice brushed past her ears. He held her by her slender shoulders and his hand reached over to the tall bookshelf behind. Then, he took a folder down and casually handed it to her.

"What is it?" She looked up in puzzlement at him and asked softly.

His handsome brows raised and he grinned. "Won't you know once you open it?"

"How mysterious!" Xi Xiaye softly nagged before opening the folder. When she pulled the document out, she saw the details of Yueying Culture Media Company!

Her eyes lit up and she quickly flipped through the document and roughly examined it. A while after that, her beautiful face flashed with a radiant smile. She could not help but look at him with admiration. "How did you get it so quickly?"

He smiled without a word. Obviously, he would not tell her that actually since last year, he had already begun attending to this matter.

"37%? With this, you can already become Yueying's second-largest shareholder! But why is this 17% assigned to my name?"

Xi Xiaye looked a little shocked as she waved the document in her hand. She could not hide the pleasant surprise in her eyes.

He smiled calmly and lowered his eyes. Gesturing at the document in her hand, his gaze fell onto her delicate little face. "It's my wedding gift to you. Do you like it?"

When she heard this, Xi Xiaye was stunned. She quietly looked at the document in her hand and peeked at that familiar bold and flowy signature at the bottom of the page. A warmth suddenly flashed across her heart and she started to turn misty-eyed.

Quite a while after that, she looked up at him and happily nodded. She said in a slightly raspy voice, "I like it. I... I thought that it would never return to me ever again..."

"Even without that, I could obviously help you fight for it. How would it have never returned to you?"

His sentimental and tender voice spoke, bringing a hint of consolation with it, yet it made her choke up for some reason. Her chest suddenly felt stifled and upset.

Finally, she could not hold back and reached out to gently surround his waist with her arms, submitting into his embrace. She clenched the document tightly in her hand and said in a hoarse voice, "I won't thank you now..."

"I've never wanted to hear those two words from you." He gently patted her head and consoled her, "Next Wednesday is Yueying's general shareholders' meeting. It's best if you attend as Glory World's executive director. I'll get VP Liu to accompany you, hmm?"

Xi Xiaye nodded as she softly answered, "Okay, I'll go."

He smiled gladly and then suddenly squeezed her tightly.

She leaned on his slightly warm chest closely. Her cold fingers that were behind his back suddenly felt a little warmer. It was not sure how long had passed before he finally pulled away from her slowly and lowered his head to watch her. He saw that her eyes had reddened, so he teased a little helplessly, "I only gave you a little gift, but you're already so touched? Is your heart made from water?"

Xi Xiaye blinked as she gripped the document in her hand tightly. Her starry eyes appeared like crystal light as she looked up quietly at him and said in a hoarse voice, "I'm touched because of you. Aren't you happy?"

He smiled gladly and objected, "So, you always get hurt easily. Sensitive people are like this. When someone does something nice for you, you think they're a good person. It's not really a good thing to be so easily moved, Missus..."

"Are you a good person then?" She blinked and asked.

"Only I am the exception. You just have to remember this." His tone was unquestionable while his noble and handsome face instantly turned serious, yet she could not help but giggle out loud seeing him. She then responded in her raspy voice, "Okay then, the entire world's only left with one good person and that's you. Everyone else is bad..."

He happily raised his brows, seemingly quite satisfied with her awareness. "Missus, I realize that you're really getting better and better at judgment! Okay, keep the document properly, then go back to the room and rest well. I'll go and take a bath."

He patted her head again, and then let go of her before walking out of the door.

Xi Xiaye watched his tall figure disappear in the doorway, yet she felt a little distracted. She looked down at the document in hand for a long time before looking up in the direction that he had just vanished...

She had to admit that when he smiled calmly and handed it to her, something indescribable in her heart was moved and softened. Her neglected heart that was riddled with scars had been swayed too.

She did not know how to tell him that apart from feeling moved, she actually felt a faint joy and maybe a little bit of something else too, something she had not had the time to look into.

Sometimes, it was just as he said — she was easily moved.

A very, very long time ago, she seemed to have encountered such soft and fragile feelings before. However, the roles had been reversed. The one giving out love had been her, while the one being loved then had been Han Yifeng...

She already stopped probing all the past that she could not bear. Now, she did not know whether she really loved Han Yifeng and how deeply she had loved him. Ever since she could understand and feel so deeply, she was used to it.

She was used to being good to Han Yifeng, used to loving him...

Later on, she realized that because she was used to loving, once someone else was kind to her, she would not be able to handle it and was easily satisfied, easily moved...

So, if he continued to be this good to her, then should she not also be kind to him with all she had?

She took a deep breath, looked down at the document for a long time, and then quietly put it away.

When she returned to the bedroom, the main light in the bedroom was not switched on. The dim, warm light came from the wall lamp beside the French windows and the faint light from the bathroom.

She walked towards the bedside and switched on the light. When she saw the clock on the nightstand, she noticed that it was only slightly past 8 p.m. She did not have the habit of sleeping so early. After some thought, she then took out a tablet from the drawer and was planning to watch a movie.

However, she found all the movies not very interesting. It was a long search before she found an inspiring movie that had pretty commendable reviews. It was a very, very old movie that she remembered watching when she was in university, "Forrest Gump".

Only a few minutes into the movie, the blanket beside was lifted and a certain person's familiar fragrance entered her nostrils. Before she could react, he had already pulled her into his embrace. His calm and raspy voice asked, "What are you watching?"

Then, he looked at the tablet in her hand, "This movie? Shouldn't you women be watching 'Titanic' or something new and romantic?"

"Who said so? I like this... Hmm, right, I heard that quite a few latest movies are pretty good. When you're free, let's go watch some of them."

She suddenly remembered that previously when she drove past a cinema on the way back, she had seen the promotional signs in front of the cinema, and the crowd of young lovers lingering around the entrance.