The ward instantly fell silent. It was so silent that there was an indescribable stillness, a suffocating feeling. Xi Xinyi's expression had turned pale and stiff underneath Han Yifeng's disappointed and dim gaze.

Han Yifeng stared at Xi Xinyi, catching all her reactions. A while passed before he continued, "By this point, I've been organizing and analyzing everything between us from the start till now. I admit that we did have many happy times in between, but, Xinyi, the journey in the future is much longer. I had to reevaluate and reorientate our relationship after everything that has happened."

"Yifeng, that's enough. Please don't continue..."

As if knowing what Han Yifeng was about to say next, Xi Xinyi clung onto Han Yifeng in panic. She wanted to reach out to cover Han Yifeng's mouth, preventing him from continuing.

While Han Yifeng was determined to settle things once and for all, he reached out to catch her hand, and say in an extremely heavy tone, "Xinyi, let me finish."

"I cannot just pretend that all of this didn't happen. Rather than force ourselves to go on like this, we should just be frank. Given your current situation, I won't be irresponsible. When Yueying and the Han Corporation is steady, and all of these rumors have passed, we will settle this thing between us too. This child... I hope that you can get an abortion. I'll do my best to compensate you. Another choice is to give birth to this child, but after one year, I'll hand you the divorce papers and give you a huge compensation."

Han Yifeng had been struggling for the past few days. When he had to make such a decision, he also felt very extremely pained, yet now after the words came out of his mouth, he unexpectedly felt very calm and he seemed to be relieved too.

"What...? Yifeng, you... What are you saying? You want me to abort our child? You want to divorce me?" Xi Xinyi widened her swollen eyes in disbelief and fixed them on Han Yifeng. Her eyes were filled with shock and her whole body turned stiff. "You want me to abort our child? Is it..."

When he saw that Xi Xinyi was about to have a breakdown, Han Yifeng felt indescribable anguish in his heart, but he still answered firmly, "I just hope that these things won't become even messier in the future. Making things as simple as possible if the best ending for the two of us."

"No! I don't want to! I don't want to!"

Bam!

Witnessing Han Yifeng's firmness, Xi Xinyi instantly went mad. She flailed her hands around and swept them across the cabinet. The things on the cabinet fell to the ground. She even picked up one of the glasses and hurled it at Han Yifeng as she held her belly in panic and cried amidst what seemed like a meltdown. "I won't abort him! He's our child! You're so cruel! Get out! Get out! I will neverabort him..."

Han Yifeng did not dodge, so he was hit by the glass and the warm wet liquid splashed all over him. The glass shattered in front of him...

He stood where he was and watched Xi Xinyi who was weeping out loud into the blanket. His eyes darkened as he fell silent for a moment before finally sighing and turning to leave.

Before he walked to the door, Han Yifeng suddenly stopped and said, "You can choose one of the choices between the two. I'm still giving you a choice and I will respect it."

"Do you have to make me abort the child and divorce you because of that small thing with Xiaye? I already said that those things are in the past. Isn't everyone alright now? Why do you have to keep holding onto to it? Yifeng, everyone's tired. If we can just let go of all of this and start again, we'll be very happy. Do you think that even when we've parted, you and Xiaye can return to how you were?"

Xi Xinyi wept and looked at Han Yifeng, her hoarse voice now colored with brimming anger.

With regards to such unreasonable criticism, Han Yifeng felt powerless once again. His back against her, he said without even turning to look, "Whatever that's happened between you and me is just because of our problems. It has nothing to do with anyone else. You don't have to drag Xiaye in. There were already too many problems between us, and you know this yourself."

"Nothing to do with her? Is defending her all you know now? Then, let me ask you, what is this? What is this!?"

As Xi Xinyi's questioning hammered at him, there was a flutter and suddenly pictures rained all around Han Yifeng out of nowhere!

There were pictures of Han Yifeng and Xi Xiaye from the other day at the riverside. The pictures had been taken from all sorts of angles, so it looked like they were very close, as if the two were having a lovers' rendezvous.

Pa!

With the angry sound of that, those pictures flew all around and fell messily about Han Yifeng. He frowned and subconsciously looked down at the pictures.

Unexpectedly, he saw pictures of him and Xi Xiaye!

Stunned, he suddenly seemed to think of something and his face sank. His stern face flashed with coldness as he looked up abruptly at the tearful and angry Xi Xinyi. Coldly, he demanded, "You hired someone to follow me?"

Xi Xinyi did not answer Han Yifeng's question. She just silently cried as she looked at Han Yifeng with a fury that could not be concealed in her swollen eyes.

Han Yifeng's face fell. He looked down apathetically and bent over to pick up the pictures that had fallen to the ground.

All of them were indeed shot very clearly and looked intimate. Suddenly, the scene of him meeting Xi Xiaye the other day flashed through his mind...

That day, Mu Yuchen had been there too!

Suddenly, Han Yifeng had a complicated expression. His chest started to feel an indescribable tightness.

A memorable love...

These words flashed through his mind all of a sudden. Instantly, they suddenly became like ice needles, piercing into his body. All he felt was coldness, pain, numbness...

"Didn't you say that you and her are a thing of the past? Then, tell me, what are these? Yifeng... I've always believed that you loved me deeply and wouldn't cause such a huge ruckus over these things, but this time, why...? You've already forgiven me so many times. Would this one time make a difference? I just need this once! Is it because of this? Is this why you're treating me this way?"

Xi Xinyi's hands clasped tightly around him as she stared at Han Yifeng questioningly.

Han Yifeng suddenly shut his eyes with fatigue. He inhaled sharply and opened his eyes after a while. Casually tossing the pictures aside, he did not bother with Xi Xinyi any further and continued walking away.

"Xiaye and Mu Yuchen already got married before the New Year. Don't you think that all of this is such a joke?"

With that said, the tall figure vanished out of the door...

What!?

Xi Xiaye and Mu Yuchen were married!?

Before the New Year!?

Xi Xinyi was shocked. Her eyes momentarily went out of focus. It was as if all of her energy and emotions were sucked away. Her body fell limp and she collapsed onto the bed.

How could this be...?

How could she be married?

If Xi Xiaye really was married to Mu Yuchen, how could there not have been any news at all? With the Mu family's background of being a well-known family, how could they have accepted a daughter-in-law like Xi Xiaye? And with a man like Mu Yuchen...

Previously, she had guessed that there was something more between Xi Xiaye and Mu Yuchen. She thought that there must have been more than just a relationship between a superior and subordinate, yet she never would have guessed that they would be husband and wife!

They were actually husband and wife!

Well, then all the disdain and trouble that Mu Yuchen had directed towards her finally seemed to make perfect sense!

Xi Xinyi started to tremble.

This is impossible!

Why is Xi Xiaye so lucky every time?

She could not accept this fact, but hearing it from Han Yifeng, it had to be real...

Still, why would there be no news at all? It was such a huge thing! The Mu family should have some sort of indication somehow. She had never seen them propose marriage to the Xi family. How could Xi Xiaye have married Mu Yuchen?

Maybe they were still keeping it a secret from the Xi family. If Grandfather and Father found out that Xi Xiaye had done that, it only proved her disregard for the Xi family.

Xi Xinyi suddenly clenched the blanket in her hand tightly. Her stunned eyes slowly returned to normal. She shifted uncertainly for a while and her expression changed. She could not reveal how she currently felt!

This was extremely complicated!

She was terribly frustrated!

...

The silent night gradually lifted. Heralded by the pitter-patter of the rain and the rustling of the cool breeze, the gloomy curtain that covered the sky was soon blown away and a new day began.

A rainy day was indeed a good reason to dawdle in bed.

Yet, Xi Xiaye did not find that sleep came easily.

She slept until the middle of the night when she felt incredibly miserable. Her throat was itching and she kept coughing. Clearly, her cold had become worse! Initially, she had been infected by Mr. Mu. In addition to that, she got caught in the rain yesterday, so how could it not get worse?

Mu Yuchen got up in the middle of the night to get her some medicine. She then finally eased a little. Overall, both husband and wife did not have a good night's sleep.

Xi Xiaye had a bad habit. When she was not sleeping comfortably, she would habitually roll around, kick the blanket away, pull it away, then cover herself again. She would be very irritable, disturbing Mu Yuchen in the process too.

He could only increase the temperature in the room and was tormented until it was close to dawn. When he finally saw her fall asleep, he did not feel sleepy anymore, so he got up.

When Xi Xiaye woke up it was already close to noon. She felt her head spinning and when she opened her eyes in a daze, a soft voice filled with concern entered her ears.

"You're awake? How are you feeling?"

Before she could say anything, a slightly warm hand touched her forehead. "You don't have a fever..."

Xi Xiaye subconsciously lifted a hand to check her forehead too. She coughed quite a few times, and then sat up all sickly. When she turned to look at her caregiver, Mu Yuchen's extraordinarily handsome face greeted her sight.

"It feels pretty horrible..."

Meeting his concerned and warm gaze, she could not help but lift a hand to tap her dizzy head. Her voice was particularly raspy and dry and her beautiful face was faintly scarlet too.

Mu Yuchen pulled her blanket away and said in a deep voice, "Get up and wash up, then eat your medicine. It's no harm catching a cold once or twice in a year. Later, remember to train your body more. Yesterday, I've told Ah Mo to bring a motorcycle over. From now on, every Friday night, I'll ride one round around the villa with you."

Xi Xiaye then remembered in a stupor that he had mentioned that in University A, but he was really putting it into action now!

"Where am I going to find the patience? It'll already be so late after work, and the villa area is so huge..."

She thought about it and sighed as she whined with a raspy voice. Her body felt like mush all over and she could not get her energy levels up.

"I'm allowing you to leave work one hour earlier every Friday," he casually said, then handed her clothes. "That's enough. Quickly go wash up. Take your medicine, then come down to eat."

Xi Xiaye could not help but scratch her messy hair and frown. "Then, quickly prepare the water for me. Just put the clothes on the rack... Why are you looking at me? Shoo, go..."

Mu Yuchen raised his brows at her meaningfuly, then he took the clothes and walked to the bathroom without a word.

Half an hour later, she finally stepped out.

"Is it okay? Like this?"

She stood in front of the dressing mirror and studied her reflection as she asked the man who was talking on the phone by the bedside.

Mu Yuchen hung up as he looked up and then nodded in satisfaction. "Anything looks good on a stunning figure like yours."

When she heard this, her beautiful face immediately flashed with a happy smile as she replied, "Of course! Even Su Nan who has the reputation of a devillish figure says that I'm a natural clothes hanger..."

"Better not jinx it... I pray that in another few years, you can still maintain this." Mu Yuchen chuckled, then got up and walked over too.

"Why can't I maintain this? Even if I've had children, I can maintain it. Look at our mothers. They are both over 50 years old, yet they still look very young and beautiful. When I shop with my mother, people think that she's my sister. It's either saying that I'm aging or that Mother's young..."

"Young and beautiful? Maintanenance... Well, Mother goes to the spa almost every week. Have you been going? Last year, on a sudden impulse, she asked someone to buy some skincare products that are still sitting in the car. Last week when I said I'd go with you, you didn't respond. You're just lazy!"

"Don't you like me now?" She frowned and suddenly turned to look at him with an upset gaze.

When she said this, Mu Yuchen could not help but press his hand to his forehead and sigh softly, "Pretend I didn't say anything. You're naturally beautiful and you don't need those things... Missus, I'm sincerely encouraging you to enjoy your rights and privileges as a woman. I've never seen a woman more foolish than you."

...

Because of Mu Yuchen's words, there was a knot in Xi Xiaye's heart. After lunch, she could not hep but call her best friend, Su Nan, and say to her, "Nannan, Mu Yuchen keeps telling me to go to the spa or something. Do you think he feels I look worn out or am showing signs of aging?"

After Su Nan heard her description and confusion from the other end, she giggled and answered after a long while, "Xiaye, I'm so done with you! So, you've actually started to care about your looks? Don't worry. As long as you act coquettishly with Master Mu, you'll be the world's most beautiful goddess to him. You've always been a goddess to me, so how could you be that bad? In fact, Master Mu's personally going with you... Pfft, that dude Ruan Heng's too lazy to even go with me!"

Upon being enlightened by Su Nan, Xi Xiaye felt much better.

She found a book from the study room to pass some time while he busied himself with reviewing data from the New York branch office and talk on the phone with the people there. He spoke fluent English.

Xi Xiaye vaguely paid attention to his conversation. It sounded like a secretary was being moved over, then she recalled that previously when Ah Mo had been transferred, he said that the branch office would send an assistant over. She seemed to have asked him about this before.

When he hung up, she closed the book in her hand and put it back onto the shelf. She walked to his side picked up a glass of water to drink her voice was still vaguely hoarse. "Are you planning to hire a man or a woman as your secretary?"

He put his phone aside, then reached around her waist and chuckled. "Li Si's alright. I don't need one for now. Whether it's a man or a woman, they're the same to me."

She shot him a glance of disagreement, pulled open the drawer and took her own phone out. "How can it be the same? Don't you know that office romance has always been a hot topic?"

"Who'd dare to think of the great Director Xi's Mr. Mu? I think she's too tired of living!"

When she heard this, she smiled and shrugged mischievously. She looked at the time on her phone. It was already 3 p.m. in the afternoon.

"Tidy up and get ready to leave. It's already 3 p.m. It'll be just right if we go now."

...

Maple Residence was not too far to the airport with the highway. When they reached the airport, it was 4 p.m. on the dot. The husband and wife parked outside and made their way to the entrance of the airport.

There were not many people at the airport departure gate, so they could see very clearly from the outside.

The husband and wife had just stood there for a short while when Mu Yuchen's phone rang. It was Mu Lingshi telling them that she was about to come out.

"Lingshi studied and worked part-time in France. She's been there for quite a few years now. She managed the night clubs for the branch over there. Besides being quite competent, she's also considered an experienced DJ. Previously, she was rebellious like my aunt. She's changed quite a bit in recent years. Later, when you meet her, don't be too shocked. She's a pretty great girl, just as straightforward as you and pretty silly too..."

When they were waiting, Mu Yuchen did his best to describe Mu Lingshi to Xi Xiaye, yet she could vaguely pick up some sorrow in his voice although his expression gave nothing away.

Xi Xiaye raised her brows and shot him a glance. She was about to say something when there was a commotion ahead. They looked up and saw that tourists had begun to walk over.

A stream of people quickly rushed up toward them. Xi Xiaye watched from afar. She subconsciously turned to look at the man beside her, yet he was just staring at a certain direction ahead. A bright flash of silver-gray greeted their sight.

With a petite and slender figure, she had trendy dark purple hair that went past her shoulders and a black hat worn tilted on her head. She wore silver-gray androgynous pants and a coat. Inside, she wore a long, white blouse and she had on a pair of sneakers. Her skin was as white as jade, and she donned huge sunglasses that covered almost her whole face. She also had earphones on as she strolled with a trolley case in one hand, and the other in her pocket.

While Xi Xiaye was checking her out, the girl had also seen them. She casually shrugged at them and then walked over in huge strides.

"Bro!"

Mu Lingshi stopped in front of Mu Yuchen and put her earphones away. She looked at Mu Yuchen before turning her gaze to the side and stopped abruptly on Xi Xiaye.

"Mmm. This is your sis-in-law, Xiaye. She's Lingshi." Mu Yuchen nodded as he introduced plainly.

The instant Mu Yuchen finished, Mu Lingshi examined Xi Xiaye for quite a while through her lenses. She looked up and down several times before slowly lifting her sunglasses.

Mu Lingshi's sunglasses had just been taken off when Xi Xiaye's eyes darkened while she still examined her.

Unexpectedly, on Mu Lingshi's delicate face was a scar that crossed from her right forehead all the way to her cheek. It was a very long scar. Even though the wound seemed to have faded from surgery, it still looked vaguely scary.

From the outline of her face, she should be a stunning girl, but with that scar on her face, she looked...

Her eyes were bright. Xi Xiaye seemed to be able to see the stillness from the grind she had been through all those years. She looked very peaceful.

Xi Xiaye took a few more glances at her and suddenly felt pity for her. Perhaps, it was because of the introduction Mu Yuchen had given her earlier.