Xi Xiaye was startled to hear his words and a flickering light appeared in her eyes. He seemed to be out of himself too as if he was wandering through his old memories. He continued after some silence.

"I've been starting to feel weaker since a while ago. I'm afraid that I don't have much time left. My body isn't recovering well and my only wish left is that you can make up with your father. Actually, you should be able to sense that he's never forgotten your mother all these years."

Xi Jiyang suddenly let out a long sigh. "Amidst this whole conflict, if we were to find someone to blame, I'm afraid it was my fault back then..."

Xi Xiaye studied Xi Jiyang with her quiet eyes, noticing that his old face was starting to show signs of loneliness. She felt sad just by looking at him. After some thought, she replied, "Nope, I'm sure you'll live much longer."

"As for Father and Mother, they aren't willing to tell me about it. Anyway, it's actually pretty good right now. There's no need to reopen old wounds again. Moreover, Father..."

"Actually, your father thought about retiring several years back, but I stopped him..."

Retiring?

Xi Xiaye remembered that her father, Xi Mushan's political career was sailing smoothly, and he had the opportunity to go even further. Although he was not really the best father or husband, Xi Xiaye knew that Xi Mushan was an honest person and a strong-willed man in the political field as well. Even Shen Yue gave him high praise when making an objective comment about him.

Xi Xiaye was stunned. She looked downward without saying anything.

"I've heard about what happened between you with Xinyi and your grandmother. She really crossed the line this time. Your father found out about it even though he wasn't around and he gave me a call, so I came to take a look at you."

"Are you trying to defend Xi Xinyi, Grandfather?" Xi Xiaye's hand on the teacup tightened as she raised her head slightly and looked at Xi Jiyang.

Xi Jiyang had a bitter smile. "We're family. Of course, I don't hope for both of you to have such a strained relationship and go against each other. I have a hard time deciding who to side with..."

"So, I don't want you to be troubled by this as well. I just hope that you can stay out of this and not be involved, Grandfather. Can you promise me this?"

Xi Xiaye's darkened eyes lit up with a gleam as she looked at Xi Jiyang. "Grandfather, I'm sure you've heard about what happened at Yueying's stakeholders' meeting today. I just want Mother to be at peace. I wouldn't have given them such a hard time if it weren't for their repeated attempts to bother Mother. I gave them chances over and over again and they threw it away, so don't blame me for doing this..."

Xi Jiyang went silent for a moment, then he said, "I won't ask about Yueying at all... I don't care about these conflicts. I just hope that you can support your father no matter what happens in the future. After all, he lost his biological mother... I... I feel sorry for him..."

"What did you say?"

Xi Jiyang's words stunned Xi Xiaye and she gaped at Xi Jiyang in shock.

Was Father not Deng Wenwen's son?

How was that possible?

Xi Xiaye could not believe it. She looked at Xi Jiyang blankly. This was a piece of shocking news!

"Surprised?" Xi Jiyang seemed to have expected Xi Xiaye's reaction. Smiling, he then sipped some tea and continued, "His biological mother passed away after giving birth to him. I married your current grandmother when he was 6 months old. Aside from the intent of giving him a complete family, it was also because..."

Xi Jiyang did not continue. It was difficult for him to say what came next.

"It's because the Deng family helped you to rise faster at that time, so..." Xi Xiaye finished his sentence.

Xi Jiyang took a pause before nodding. "I admit that because of my eagerness to go higher, I was a little..."

"Does Father know this?"

She clenched her fists as her heart sank. Then, she took a deep breath and looked at the teacup before her.

"Your father knew it all along. When I married her back then, your great-grandmother gave Yueying to her as a gift. She just left your father and I some shares, and just agreed on one condition with her..."

At that moment, there was the sound of the beaded curtains behind them swaying. Xi Jiyang took a pause and looked at that direction cautiously, and Mu Yuchen's figure came into his sight.

"Why are you here?" Xi Xiaye almost screamed before he walked nearer to her.

Mu Yuchen put his phone away and looked at Xi Jiyang who was sitting before Xi Xiaye. Slightly surprised, he then replied to her, "I couldn't reach your phone, so I called the driver and happened to be nearby."

He stopped beside Xi Xiaye.

"Xiaye, he is..."

Xi Jiyang's sharp gaze noticed that there was something more to their relationship. Moreover, this elegant, charismatic, and seemingly familiar man before him was not an ordinary person.

Xi Xiaye then moved aside and made space for Mu Yuchen. Hesitating for a moment, she said, "Grandfather, he's Mu Yuchen.... We... got married at the end of last year..."

"What?! You... You're married to him?" In utter shock, a light flashed through his old eyes. He glanced at Xi Xiaye and then turned his eyes to Mu Yuchen.

Mu Yuchen soon calmed down and greeted politely, "Hello, Grandfather. I'm Mu Yuchen."

Xi Jiyang was a man who had gone through a lot. He soon suppressed the shock within him and asked, "This...what's happening? Why do I not know about this at all? Does your father know?"

Xi Xiaye did not reply. Instead, she looked down silently. The answer was obvious!

"We wanted to visit home, but we got delayed because we found out that Father has gone outstation. Please forgive us, Grandfather," Mu Yuchen replied quietly as he sat down beside Xi Xiaye.

"Mu Yuchen... You... Are you Mu Tangchuan's son?"

Xi Jiyang felt that Mu Yuchen's face seemed familiar. Soon after jogging his memory, he got his answer. Mu Tangchuan had worked with him before and took over his job after he retired.

The corner of Mu Yuchen's lips lifted slightly, curving into an elegant smile. She gladly answered, "Father has always praised you highly. Grandfather, we should have visited you sooner."

As he listened, Xi Jiyang paused, his old face flashing with a smile. "You are Tangchuan's son... Then, how did you two... How did you end up together?"

Xi Jiyang remembered that back then at his birthday banquet, Xi Xiaye had still been...

"He's my senior and my superior." The person who answered was Xi Xiaye as she shot Mu Yuchen a look. Then, she took a cup for him and poured him some tea. "He's very good to me, so we got married. Grandfather, you don't have to ask anything. Just wish us well."

Pausing as she looked up to Xi Jiyang, she said, "I've been doing well. I wanted to go back and visit you before the New Year. Mother mentioned it too, but after we thought about..."

When she said this, Xi Xiaye did not continue, but Xi Jiyang already understood her. He fell silent for a moment, then nodded. "Since you've put it this way, I won't say too much either. You've found a good home for yourself. Obviously, I'm happy. By the looks of it, your father doesn't know either, I suppose?"

Xi Jiyang was no stranger to the name Mu Yuchen at all. In fact, he was Mu Tangchuan's son. Their family background was celebrated and worthy of admiration. Besides that, he had previously heard of the Mu family's young master being a rare talent. At today's meeting, he could see that he was outstanding indeed!

He really never would have thought that Xi Xiaye would be able to get attached to such an important person. In fact, to marry into a prominent family like the Mu family was not easy.

Xi Jiyang could not hide the puzzlement in his eyes as he examined Xi Xiaye and Mu Yuchen for quite a while, yet he could not notice anything unusual. Instead, he could tell that Mu Yuchen seemed to be quite caring and considerate about Xi Xiaye. In fact, he looked at her with a different kind of gaze. As a man himself, Xi Jiyang naturally understood what that gaze implied.

He waited for quite a while and yet did not hear Xi Xiaye answer. Mu Yuchen then reached out and gently held her cold hand that was perched on her knee under the table, and he answered Xi Jiyang, "When Father returns, I wonder if you'd be willing to come for a meal with him. It'd be good for both sides of the family to meet. As for the rest, if it's too rushed, we might need to arrange it nearer to the wedding."

Now that he thought about it, they could only do it like that. Initially, after Han Yifeng found out, Mu Yuchen had already made plans that they would eventually need to meet Xi Jiyang and Xi Mushan, but she had not said anything and he was not willing to probe at her wound, so the matter was temporarily set aside.

Xi Jiyang hesitated for a moment, then he said, "Your father might only return to City Z in another two days..."

"Mmm, I'll arrange everything. Thank you, Grandfather, for taking care of Xiaye. She's always been very grateful for you." Mu Yuchen tone was genuine and his eyes were dense with sincerity and gratitude. His elegant manner naturally won him Xi Jiyang's approval.

Whether a person was cultured or not would usually be revealed through their words and actions. Xi Jiyang had rolled in the business world of mutual deception before and he could judge people well. From a simple meeting like this, he was already in admiration of Mu Yuchen.

With Xi Xiaye's personality, she was a little like her father too. In Xi Jiyang's heart, he actually favored Xi Xiaye more because she was more like Xi Mushan, while the latter was a scar in his heart that he could never erase...

How was he supposed to admit that back then, when the old fellow from the Han family locked Han Yifeng and Xi Xiaye's marriage down, he had thought it was a mistake?

Xi Xiaye was too accommodating to Han Yifeng, while Han Yifeng was such a privileged brat. He was fairly arrogant and did not suit with Xi Xiaye's stubborn yet sensitive personality.

Maybe she should have matched with a better man.

Now, it seemed that everything was falling into place as he wished. That was great then since it was Xi Jiyang's wish to see the children happy within his lifetime.

Xi Jiyang squinted his aged eyes towards this couple before him. Suddenly, there was a light of happiness in his eyes. He unexpectedly recalled how back then, Xi Mushan and Shen Wenna seemed to have been like this too. They had sat before him, looking well-matched and hoping that he could give them his blessings.

Now, it was all just destiny making fools out of people.

Quite a while after, he sighed and said softly with a mix of happiness and melancholy, "I don't know what else I can say. I can only wish the both of you to be loving till your old age and be happy forever."

Xi Xiaye nodded gently as she said hoarsely, "Thank you..."

"Okay, let's leave it at that. We'll chat again when we meet. I know that the both of you are busy, so I won't disturb you two anymore. I'm leaving now. When your father returns, I'll give you a call."

Xi Jiyang sighed deeply, then he slowly stood up and staggered a bit. Mu Yuchen swiftly held him up. "Be careful, Grandfather!"

Xi Jiyang held onto his staff tightly and lamented, "I'm old and no good now."

Then, he gently patted Mu Yuchen's arm and said by his ear in a lowered voice, "Be good to Xiaye. This child has been suffering quite a lot since she was young. Since you're married to her now, you have a responsibility to care for her well... I'll leave her in your good hands..."

"Don't worry, Grandfather, I will." Mu Yuchen steadied Xi Jiyang while his deep tone had a hint of determination.

Xi Jiyang nodded. Although he wanted Mu Yuchen to let go of him, Mu Yuchen helped him walk all the way out of the door and into his car while Xi Xiaye just sat in her seat and silently watched this scene.

Moments after that, Mu Yuchen returned casually.

When he saw her in a daze and not snapping back to her senses, Mu Yuchen then reached out and helped her fix her slightly messy hair that tumbled onto her chest as he asked softly, "What are you thinking about that you're so entranced?"

When his voice entered her ear, she slowly regained her senses. Her eyes suddenly revealed a tinge of loneliness as she said in a hoarse and gloomy voice, "Nothing. I just suddenly felt that my heart being heavy... There are some things that I clearly want to do, yet I don't know how to start. Grandfather just told me that Father has never forgotten Mother, yet now, what use is there in saying all of that?"

As he listened, Mu Yuchen's eyes hardened. Then, he held up his tea and casually sipped it. Calmly, he said, "There are some things that you'll realize aren't actually hard at all only when you do it. There are always many possible outcomes to things, so one of them will definitely be the outcome that you want. So, don't be sad. No one can tell the future for sure."

As she listened to such emotional words, Xi Xiaye suddenly felt sad.

She quietly lowered her head, her slender fingers stroking the teacup in her hand. Rubbing and rubbing the delicate ceramic, she then suddenly stopped. Her long eyelashes fluttered a few times. As Mu Yuchen lowered his head and closed in, he could see her being absent-minded and dazed.

He fell silent for a moment, then sighed helplessly. Softly nagging her entwined with some warmth, he teased, "I didn't know that you could be this emotional. This isn't a good thing. You should fix that..."

She then slowly lifted her head to look at him, a hoarse voice coming through. "Am I bothering you by feeling rueful and wanting to vent for a little? What's wrong with being emotional?"

Clearly, she was upset and approaching at him with such rage. Nevertheless, he was used to it, so he just looked down and chuckled. Without arguing with her, he poured her some tea as he said in a low voice, "How was the situation on the other side today?"

Initially, the moment she spoke, Xi Xiaye had already realized that she was wrong. She wanted to take her words back, but she could not. When she looked up at him, what greeted her sight was his calm, smiling, handsome face. Instinctively, she eased off a little.

She bowed her head and sipped her tea, then said plainly, "I checkmated Xi Xinyi, yet she still wanted to use her old tricks to get back at me. Had Vice President Liu not been around, I would've wanted to give her a few slaps like a King Kong's finger. I almost wanted to pinch her bones to pieces."

When she thought about this, Xi Xiaye could not help but frown. There were still faint twinges of pain from her arm. Meanwhile, the moment she said this, Mu Yuchen's eyes instantly hardened across her.

"Where did she hurt you now?"

Xi Xiaye reflexively pulled up the sleeves on her left arm, a clawed bruise on her fair arm greeting his sight with a shock. If it were not for the two layers of clothes in between, there would probably have been bloodshed.

"Don't you know how to resist?" He frowned and held her by the wrist to take a better look. "Put some medicine on that when we get back. Next time, be smarter. When you see her with that Han Yifeng, maintain a 10-meter distance."

When he said this, loathing flashed through his eyes. He had a very bad impression of Han Yifeng and Xi Xinyi.

"It's fine. She didn't get to scratch me. In a few more days, the bruise will go away on its own."

She pulled down her sleeve and drank more tea before she stuffed a piece of dessert into her mouth. "Have you eaten? Looking at the time, there seems to be another hour before it's time for work..."

"I don't have too much of an appetite. I'll make some good food when we get home tonight. Let's not work in the afternoon. Let me bring you somewhere." As he said this, without even waiting for her answer, he already pulled her to get up.

"Where are we going?" Xi Xiaye quickly emptied her cup to wash the dessert down. She set aside the cup in a hurry. "It's not good to just skip work for no reason."

She did not want to leave a bad record at work.

"You are now accompanying the Chairman to do an on-site inspection. Obviously, it doesn't count as skipping work," he answered matter-of-factly.

Xi Xiaye could not help but shoot him a sidelong look. In the end, she could only follow his lead and walk ahead.

...

On the way, it was him who drove because the driver who had sent her over earlier had already gone back.

She asked him where he was bringing her, but he did not answer. He just returned a very mysterious smile to her. Finally, Xi Xiaye got lazy to keep asking him after that.

She turned the music player up, then leaned against the car window and closed her eyes to rest.

While the weather was still gloomy outside, it was not raining as it had been earlier. There were only the occassional drops falling from the sky as the cool breeze blew, showing signs of drying the ground.

The car sped along the main street, passing through the misty rain as they drove towards a certain direction in the city center.

As Xi Xiaye was sleeping soundly, she faintly felt the car come to a stop. Then, she heard the sound of a car door opening and closing.

She opened her drowsy eyes and pulled at the blanket. She was not sure when it had covered her. Turning to look at the seat beside her, she realized that the man had already gotten down from the car.

She lifted a hand to rub her blurry eyes and sit upright. When she looked out of the car window, she saw his tall and handsome figure standing outside.

She looked around and vaguely felt that the surroundings were quite familiar. After some thinking, she pulled the blanket on her away and fixed her slightly messy, long hair. Then, she pushed the car door open and got down too.

"Why are we here?" She reached his side and cried out. Her voice had a joy that could not be disguised.

Mu Yuchen turned to look at her, his eyes reflecting a warm light. When he saw her walk over, he gently hugged her by the shoulders and said in a low and sentimental voice, "I've been meaning to come back and take a look. I haven't been back for quite a long while now."

Xi Xiaye looked up at him and saw that he looked rather relaxed and happy. His face had a calm smile too. Following his line of sight ahead, what entered her sight was a wide, green area. There were quite a lot of mango trees and peach trees planted. At the moment, the peach trees were in full bloom with bright, vivid colors...

Past the green area were school buildings that had just been freshly painted and were surrounded by several tall water banyans. The students would only be back to school after the 15th day of the lunar year, thus at the moment, the entire school compound was silent.

The large and small cemented paths towards the school buildings were very clean. They looked like they had just been swept. As it was engulfed in the misty rain, the scene before them looked a little surreal.