When he saw her handing him something, Mu Yuchen instantly stopped and looked a little surprised at her little face blushing. Seeing how shy she was, he could not help but laugh. He squinted his eyes and looked at her. Then, he unhurriedly took the envelope while saying meaningfully, "Is this a love letter?"

When she heard him, Xi Xiaye rolled her eyes. "Do I look like someone so tacky?"

He smiled and then reached out his long fingers to take the envelope. Opening it, he pulled out what was inside.

What greeted his eyes was unexpectedly a drawing of him reading while laying on the couch. It was drawn very life-like except that he was shrunk into the size of a palm and drawn onto a little card.

She had drawn him so nicely?

Mu Yuchen stared at the card for a long while. For the first time, he noticed that he was actually so dashing!

"Why does this quiet, handsome man look kinda familiar? He looks quite dashing too like I've seen him somewhere before..."

His eyes flashed with a faint light as he looked up slowly at her. His mouth turned into a faint curve, while one hand held her by the shoulders.

She could not hold back and playfully punched his torso with a fist. "Stop acting! I don't usually draw people."

When Xi Xiaye finished, Mu Yuchen's handsome face flashed a smile, and then he remembered that comic hidden in the folder on his shelf. "I know. You only draw pigs..."

When she heard this, Xi Xiaye instantly straightened up in alarm and squinted. She glanced at him coldly. "You wouldn't be beating around the bush to curse me now, would you?"

After being with someone like him for a long time, she felt that her awareness to be on guard had increased. Otherwise, she would be easily taken advantage of.

He blinked in amusement and smiled without a word.

"How annoying! You're making insinuations about me!" She looked at the smile on his lips and could not help but jump on him. "Return that to me!"

He immediately raised an arm and said, "Do I look like someone like that? I was just telling the truth, but thank you, Missus, for making me look so dashing in your drawing."

Then, he gently hugged her. After some thought, he softly asked, "Do you think he looks more handsome, or do I?"

When he said this, Xi Xiaye was stunned. She looked up in shock at him, her twinkling eyes flickering with a gentle light. She stared at that handsome face of his for a very long time in earnest, and then said with a serious expression, "He's more handsome than you."

Hearing her reply, his tranquil, dark eyes instantly started to ignite with a glimmer. He seemed quite satisfied. "Good. Your standards are the same as mine."

Had he done all of that just to disguise self-praise?

Xi Xiaye ignored him. Seeing that it was already late, she was about to say that she wanted to go home when suddenly the phone in her pocket buzzed. She quickly took it out to look.

It was Xi Mushan!

Her eyes reflexively flashed with a cold light that contained mixed emotions. She looked up at Mu Yuchen to see that he was looking at her phone screen.

"It's Father..."

Could it be about Xi Xinyi's matter?

"Answer it," he said softly and tightened his hug around her shoulders.

Xi Xiaye hesitated for a moment before finally taking a deep breath and sliding to answer.

"Xiaye, it's me, Father..." Xi Mushan's deep and raspy voice came from the other end very quickly. She could vaguely hear him lightly coughing. He seemed to be sick and sounded a little weak.

"Mmm..." Xi Xiaye answered. She struggled for a while, and finally could not help but ask, "Are... Are you okay?" Her beautiful brows frowned slightly.

She was not sure why but when she heard his voice, Xi Xinyi's words suddenly echoed clearly by her ear, making her feel something indescribable.

"If it wasn't for Father, you'd be in jail already. Father almost got demoted because of you. He would've been done for if Mother didn't ask for help from Grandfather and Uncle!"

She remembered that back then, she had even cried in front of Xi Mushan, begging him to ask the school not to expel her.

At that time, the answer he gave her was the cold view of his back.

After that...

The on-and-off coughing kept coming from the other end. On such a cold and silent night as this, it sounded particularly lonely.

"It's fine. It's just a little cold. I just got off the plane. Your father's told me about you and Mu Yuchen's thing. Tomorrow, if you're free, let's meet."

When he said this, Xi Xiaye instantly looked up and sought Mu Yuchen's opinion. She saw Mu Yuchen nodding gently. "Mmm, okay."

"Xiaye, can you... Can you... ask your mother to come along as well?" Xi Xiaye was about to hang up when Xi Mushan's weak voice seemed to sound a little rushed. "Call your mother to come along too. Let's consider it a reunion dinner..."

When she heard this, Xi Xiaye was stunned for a moment and did not answer for a long time.

"Don't worry. It will just be me and your grandfather. I know that you don't want to see them," Xi Mushan explained.

She could hear the hope in Xi Mushan's voice. In fact, it seemed like he had not found out about Xi Xinyi's matter yet.

After a long while, Xi Xiaye just said, "I'll try." Then, she hung up, her twinkling eyes unable to hold back the extremely mixed feelings she felt.

"What are you thinking about that you're so entranced?" Mu Yuchen called out to her quite a few times, but she did not react. He just took her phone and then called the Mu residence as he said, "It's good to meet up too. Haven't you been wanting to matchmake your parents again?"

"But I don't know if back then... Also, Father's already..." Xi Xiaye muttered, concern between her brows.

"I've never supported the spirit of sacrificing yourself for others. Since someone else has stolen what's yours, why can't you steal it back? If you like it, then you've got to have it. Why should you see them be happy while you suffer all of this?"

Mu Yuchen looked at her disapprovingly, then the call to Mu residence got through. It was Wang Hui who picked up. When she saw who called, she did not even wait for Mu Yuchen to speak and quickly called out sweetly for her granddaughter-in-law.

"Have you eaten all those things? There's still more at home if you've finished them. Come home with Chen Er. The strawberries in our yard are ready for picking. They're pretty good..."

Wang Hui rambled on before noticing that no one had spoken on Xi Xiaye's end, so she then stopped.

"Tomorrow, call Grandfather, Father, and Mother to make a trip to Maple Residence. Xiaye's grandfather and father are coming over from her end." Mu Yuchen's calm voice was heard.

"Chen Er? What? Grandfather and Father? Xi Jiyang and Xi Mushan, right?"

"Mmm, let's meet tomorrow. Rest well."

...

Mu Yuchen hung up, then turned to look at her. When he saw her frown, he breathed in and patted her head. "Let's go home. I'll persuade Mother..."

She then nodded and looked at him gratefully.

It was already late at night when they arrived back at Maple Residence. It was hazy outside with cold weather and it actually hurt a little when the icy cold breeze assaulted their faces.

Xi Xiaye closed the half-opened window before she checked through the fridge and storeroom to see what they needed. After that, she called Sis Wang to get them to go over earlier to clean up and only went upstairs after finishing all of that.

The man was playing Starcraft after he showered. She could hear the theme music of the game from far away. Upon seeing the focused look on his face, she decided to leave him alone and went into the bathroom for a bath instead.

As usual, he had prepared the water for her after he finished.

When Mu Yuchen went back into the bedroom, she was done bathing and was flipping through some blueprint-like documents on the bed. He switched off the lights and the bedroom went dim. Her focus broken, Xi Xiaye suddenly lifted her head.

He went beside her and grabbed the blueprints from her to study them with the dim wall light. They were documents of the South River project. He sighed before leaving them on the chair aside. "You must be really motivated to read these in the middle of the night."

He slipped beneath the blanket. Before Xi Xiaye could react, his long arms wrapped around her and his hoarse voice reached her. "Since you're so motivated, why don't we have some fun ourselves?"

Xi Xiaye was stunned for a moment. His pleasant fragrance made her lose herself again. Suddenly, her restraints were removed as he pressed down onto her. His cold kiss accurately landed on her collarbone...

She took a deep breath and wanted to say something before, but she now forgot all about it. She noticed that she had become less and less resistant to him. Unable to help herself, she was getting more and more used to him sleeping beside her.

Sometimes, when she woke up during the night, without even looking, she would unconsciously reach out to the side until she touched his body, and her tightened chest would relax after she knew that he was still beside her. Then, she would continue sleeping as she held his hand.

Xi Xiaye did not realize that Mu Yuchen was like a drug to her. As days went by, she was slowly getting more and more addicted to him, and it would be too late to stop when she recognized it.

After a while, she relaxed and took off his clothes with her slender arms. She then asked quietly beside his ears, "Have you called Mother?"

"I'll call her tomorrow. Focus now, Missus!" He said with an uneven tone, then...

...

They only stopped around midnight and she slept away soon afterward. It was near noon when she woke up the next day. Things were pretty happening downstairs when she came down after washing up. Mu Yinan, Wang Hui, Mu Tangchuang, and Zhuang Shurong were all present. However, what surprised Xi Xiaye was that even Shen Yue was there. To her disappointment, Shen Wenna was nowhere to be seen.

Shen Yue was talking to Mu Yuchen on the veranda and he nodded from time to time, appearing to be in agreement with what Mu Yuchen was saying.

Sis Wang and the others were working in the kitchen while Wang Hui and Zhuang Shurong were looking at a piece of traditional watercolor art together. It seemed like Wang Hui had painted it herself.

"Xiaye, I heard from Chen that you're handling the South River project. Is that true?" Mu Tangchuang asked Xi Xiaye as she sat down on the sofa.

Xi Xiaye nodded. "Yes, Father."

"The documents from the government should be ready sometime in the middle of next month. You have to make good use of your time now, especially since there's pretty fierce competition this time." Mu Tangchuan beamed.

"I got it, Father." She already knew that Qikai was very capable, and they would probably be their top competitor this time.

Mu Tangchuan wanted to say something again, but as his eyes glanced over to Mu Yinan beside him, he stopped and just nodded.

After a while, Xi Xiaye went outside when she heard the sound of a car engine. Mu Yuchen, who was chatting with Shen Yue, followed Xi Xiaye outside as well.

"Mother?" Xi Xiaye was surprised to see Shen Wenna. She did not expect Mu Yuchen to actually able to convince her to come.

She then looked at the man beside her in surprise. "How did you convince Mother? I've mentioned it to Mother before, but she didn't answer me. I thought..."

"I have my ways." Mu Yuchen did not answer her directly and just gave her a mysterious smile instead. He then walked in front and greeted Shen Wenna, "Mother."

Shen Wenna nodded with a smile. "I'm not late, am I?"

"It's alright. My parents are here, and Father-in-law should be here soon," Mu Yuchen replied humbly.

Shen Wenna's eyes darkened slightly. She then drew a deep breath. "Mmm, let's go in for now."

Xi Xiaye did not say anything at all as her eyes were focused on observing Shen Wenna's beautiful face. She did not miss the brief moment of sorrow on her face.

"Xiaye, you go in with Mother first. I need to call Ah Mo. Pass me the phone." Mu Yuchen turned around and looked at Xi Xiaye.

She was startled for a moment before nodding and handing him the phone before going towards Shen Wenna.

"Is the school going to start the new semester soon?" Xi Xiaye found a topic to talk to her mother about.

"Mmm, I just came over from the school. We are planning to hire several more lecturers this year, so I shouldn't be as busy as I was last year. I can be more focused on supervising my thesis students," Shen Wenna replied.

...

The mother-daughter pair then went into the house.

As Mu Yuchen was about to call Ah Mo, another car arrived and he raised his head to take a look.

It was Ah Mo and the others!

Xi Xiaye and Shen Wenna halted in their steps and looked back when they heard the cars arriving.

The car slowed down and stopped near Mu Yuchen. There was another black car right behind it and Xi Xiaye recognized the person driving as Xi Mushan's secretary, Ah Hui!

Xi Mushan and Xi Jiyang are here!

Xi Xiaye had this thought in her mind.

Xi Xiaye looked back at Shen Wenna worriedly. Her mother did not seem very at ease and her eyes darkened a little before taking a deep breath as she looked at the car.

Xi Mushan came out first. His sharp eyes darted over the moment his feet touched the ground. Beside him, Mu Yuchen could feel Xi Mushan's eyes soften when he looked at Shen Wenna. They then hardened a little and went back to their usual calm in the end.

"Chen!"

"Grandfather, Father," Mu Yuchen greeted politely.

"Let's go in." Shen Wenna went into Maple Residence without so much as a glance at Xi Mushan and Xi Jiyang.

Xi Mushan's expression darkened when he noticed that.

"Let's go in now. It's pretty cold outside," Mu Yuchen said, signaling Xi Jiyang and Xi Mushan to go in. Ah Mo, Ah Hui, and two bodyguards in black suits were holding a bunch of stuff as they plodded over.

As they went into Maple Residence, because Mu Tangchuan had worked with both Xi Jiyang and Xi Mushan before, they greeted each other. Also, Wang Hui and Mu Yinan had contacted Xi Jiyang before, so they were not exactly strangers.

Still, Xi Jiyang was surprised when he saw Shen Yue!

How was he Shen Wenna's father? Was he the grandpa Xiaye mentioned before?

Xi Jiyang was lost in his thoughts for a while as he stared at Shen Yue in disbelief. Shen Yue just gave him a cold smile.

Xi Jiyang quickly turned over to Xi Mushan. Seeing that he was not surprised at all, he asked, "You knew about this long ago, didn't you?"

Xi Mushan did not answer him. Instead, he averted his gaze with an unpleasant expression, especially because of the fact that Shen Wenna did not look at him again since he came in.

Shen Yue, of course, seemed displeased about him being there as well.

Mu Tangchuan and Mu Yinan tried to soften the atmosphere to make things go more smoothly.

After a while, lunch was ready and the whole family sat down together. Xi Mushan sat beside Shen Wenna, but the both of them did not look very comfortable. Since everyone knew what had happened, they purposely avoided some sensitive topics.

Xi Xiaye would really love to know how Xi Jiyang and Xi Mushan would react after they found out about what happened to Xi Xinyi, but they seemed pretty distant, so she could not deduce anything from their expressions.

The man beside her would try to join in the conversation from time to time. He could obviously feel that Shen Yue was being pretty harsh towards Xi Jiyang and Xi Mushan, but he restrained himself for Xi Xiaye's sake.

After lunch, Xi Xiaye felt like the atmosphere in the living room was suffocating, so she went out to the veranda for some fresh air. Unexpectedly, Xi Mushan went out with her as well.

"Today must be tough for you, Xiaye." Xi Mushan coughed a little, his voice sounding hoarse.

Xi Xiaye held onto the railing and looked at Xi Mushan, his expression clouded as he went silent for a moment. He did not say anything and just shut his eyes.

"I've heard about what happened to Xinyi. I have no right to ask you to forgive her. I'm just going to let you guys be. Your grandmother experienced high blood pressure yesterday and she's now resting at home. She's thinking about letting Xinyi take over Yueying. She asked her to retire from the entertainment industry after all that has happened lately and just focus on running Yueying."

Xi Mushan sounded sorrowful when he spoke. "As for the things you sent to West Park, your grandfather and I looked through them. I'm sorry for what you've gone through all over the years. I know that you don't have a good impression of the Xi family, but you can never erase the fact that we're related by blood... So, come back often if you have the time..."

"I thought you'd ask me to let go of Xi Xinyi. Father, actually I've been longing to know did you separate with Mother back then because of the power of the Yue family?" Xi Xiaye's eyes suddenly brightened when she spoke as she observed Xi Mushan's face quietly.

Xi Mushan was stunned for a while. His eyes looked complicated, and Xi Xiaye seemed to sense a resentful vibe from him.

Hidden under his sleeves, his hands clenched into fists.

After some time, Xi Xiaye smiled before he could reply. "I've never thought of you as someone like that, but what if I told you Mother told me that she has reserved all her feelings for you even until now... Would you feel guilty about it?"

"She would never let me blame you, but, Father, isn't it enough having one woman that loves you? Why did you betray her, and betray our happy family? No, you betrayed Mother much earlier... Xi Xinyi's birthday isn't that far away from mine..."

Xi Mushan's face froze up as he heard Xi Xiaye's question, he felt horrible when he saw Xi Xiaye's mocking expression, he wanted to say something back, but it seemed as if everything he said would be just a pathetic excuse.

Noticing that he kept quiet, Xi Xiaye took a deep breath and went back into the living room. She saw Shen Wenna standing beside the door just as she turned around.

She was a little startled, but did not say anything and went on her way.

"Wenna..."

The two of them looked at each other for some time. Shen Wenna had a complicated and painful expression on her face. She wanted to leave right away, but after some thought, she still went towards him.

"Long time no see. You seem pretty good just like... just like before..."

Xi Mushan looked at Shen Wenna who was beside him now. His deep voice was uneasy, and even a little nervous.

No one would ever guess that even he, a seemingly powerful politician, could act like an inexperienced and fearful teenager before her. Had it not been for that single mistake, could they still be happily married right now?