When Xi Mushan brought the bonsai to Xi Jiyang's room, Xi Jiyang was about to sit down on the sofa with the help of a maid.

He was put on IV drips almost every day for the past few days and seemed out of energy and quite weak. He did not even have the strength to get up by himself.

Xi Mushan had already gotten on the phone with Doctor Li earlier to understand the situation. Xi Jiyang was in a bad way, or maybe it was also because of his bad mood that the effect of his recovery was minimal.

Xi Jiyang did not like hospitals and would not go to the hospital unless it was his last resort. Xi Mushan knew why this was the case. He heard that his mother had passed away during a difficult birth at the hospital, so Xi Jiyang resented the hospital a lot.

"Are you feeling better today?" Xi Mushan put the bonsai onto Xi Jiyang's bedside cabinet so that he would be able to see it whenever he looked up.

Xi Jiyang sat down on the sofa. He inhaled strenuously, then said a little weakly as he waved for the maid to retreat, "Feeling much better. If you're busy, you don't have to come back. I know you don't like how the atmosphere at home is like either."

The maid knowingly bowed and then retreated, closing the door.

Xi Mushan walked up to Xi Jiyang and sat down on the sofa across him. He poured Xi Jiyang a cup of water.

Seeing the lonely expression on Xi Jiyang's aged face, Xi Mushan felt bad too. He said with a frown, "Work is alright. You should let the maids bring you out to walk around more. The scenery in the backyard is quite good and will be helpful for your recovery. Breathe in some fresh air and maintain a brighter mood."

"I know my body well. I'm afraid that after my fall this time, I won't be able to keep holding on. You don't have to worry too much. Life and death are up to fate. I'm happy to be able to reach this age of mine," Xi Jiyang said calmly. Although his aged voice sounded very relaxed and there was not much struggle or sadness, the more he acted like this, the sadder it made Xi Mushan feel.

He did not know what he could say to console him. After some thought, Xi Mushan said, "You will live long."

Xi Jiyang smiled as his trembling hand reached up to the table and lifted the cup. However, just as he picked it up, he spilled the water all over himself. He could not even hold the cup steady.

Xi Mushan quickly got up and walked over, helping him to lift the cup and bringing it to his parched lips. Xi Jiyang held the cup with two hands before he could steady it and drink some water with much difficulty.

When Xi Mushan saw this, an aching surfaced from his still heart. He looked at the bonsai that he had just put on the bedside cabinet, and then at Xi Jiyang, who was like a flickering candle in the wind.

"I know my own body. I'm afraid I won't be able to hold on for long. When I leave, you might be able to live better. I know that all these years, you've been very considerate about me," Xi Jiyang sighed and passed Xi Mushan the cup to put back onto the table. He looked at him with dimmed eyes., "Haven't you been resentful of me all these years?"

"That's not true." Xi Mushan sat back down.

"I can see for myself the love between you and Wenna. Both of you are such stubborn people. Now, maybe it was my fault, so you should resent me," Xi Jiyang lamented. The heaviness that had accumulated for a long time in his heart was suddenly relieved at that moment. "All these years, you've been tired out from your persistence. If you want to be freed of that right now, I won't stop you."

When he heard Xi Jiyang, irony crossed Xi Mushan's steadfast expression. He looked like he was laughing at himself. "How do I be freed? I've long fallen into a ghost town and have no way out. This life has just been wasted away. How else can I be freed?"

Xi Jiyang's expression darkened while his aged eyes were looked apologetic. "I should've stopped them back then. I thought that they didn't have any ill intentions, but after the thing happened, I noticed that something was not quite right, so I made up for it."

When he said this, Xi Jiyang suddenly sighed. Then, he calmed himself down for a while before slowly reaching into his pocket and taking out a bunch of keys. Gently, he put them on the table in front of him.

"Inside the safe is the roll of film I managed to get. The password is you and your mother's birthday. Your mother should have none of it. Destroy it, then they won't be able to threaten you anymore. As for what you want to do after this, do as you wish. I'll come up with a way to help you divorce Yue Lingsi. If you want to go look for Shen Wenna, then go."

Xi Jiyang closed his eyes weakly. Even speaking for a while made him feel weak and worn out. He breathed in and then continued, "I know you've been spending a lot of effort looking for this thing all these years. Now that you have it, the threat's removed too. How you should redeem yourself after this, I can't help you."

When he heard Xi Jiyang, Xi Mushan's sharp gaze fell onto the bunch of keys before Xi Jiyang. Surprise lit his eyes. "How did you get it?"

Xi Mushan knew how well Deng Wenwen had hidden these things. He had looked for 20 years but still could not get it.

"After Xiaye signed that contract to transfer her shares, I hired someone to follow her. Earlier, I managed to get the password to her safe, and indeed, I found those things as well as the proof of yours and Xinyi's DNA compatibility back then."

When this was mentioned, Xi Mushan's eyes darkened.

How could he forget that between them there was still a shred of evidence that could not be erased? Xi Xinyi!

He lowered his head sadly as he stared defeatedly at the bunch of keys. There was a sudden sorrow in his heart. Many times, he had imagined how their lives could have been, yet he still dared not imagine the hope of having her again. He dared not fantasize the scene of the three of them happily together again.

Xi Mushan did not say anything, but the loneliness and bleakness could not be concealed on his handsome face. He lowered his head silently and let the heartache spread all over him as he closed his eyes. After a long while, he opened them and returned to his previous calm.

"Now that the children are all grown up, you two should plan for yourselves. You can't just live the rest of your life like this. I've also endured till this moment before... before I understood... that life is short. I just... I just hope that you can live well. Otherwise, I won't pass on peacefully..."

Xi Jiyang's aged voice held a helpless sigh. "If only back then, if the two of us had persisted, maybe everything would've been much more peaceful... Otherwise..."

Xi Jiyang did not continue. When he saw Xi Mushan remain silently, his energy waned and he muttered something about being tired.

Xi Mushan left the room after helping Xi Jiyang lie down, taking the set of keys Xi Jiyang had given him.

He saw Yue Lingsi lying on the sofa while Xi Xinyi comforted her as he went downstairs. When they heard the sound of his footsteps, they raised their heads.

"Father, are you heading out again? Tonight's dinner..." Xi Xinyi asked carefully.

"I have an appointment tonight. You guys have fun with the celebrations." Xi Mushan glanced at Xi Xinyi without slowing down as he walked toward the door.

"Xi Mushan, you're neglecting both of us right now! Do you have an appointment or are you meeting that witch, Shen Wenna? Xinyi was discharged today and we can't even have dinner together? You bastard!" Yue Lingsi could not stand Xi Mushan's attitude anymore. As he was leaving the house, she grabbed the ashtray on the table and hurled it towards him!

Pa!

Bam!

In defense, Xi Mushan raised his arm and the ashtray made contact with his arm. It was such a loud crash that Xi Xinyi was shocked.

The ashtray then shattered on the floor and Xi Mushan's expression darkened with pain. However, it just stopped him for a few moments before he proceeded on his way out quietly.

"Mother! What's wrong with you?! Are you trying to make Father dislike you even more?" Xi Xinyi could not believe what Yue Lingsi had just done. Every time she had a fight with Xi Mushan, her logic just vanished out of the window. Not only would she yell, but she could also be violent as well. The usual elegance that was present in her daily life was nowhere to be seen. Xi Xinyi was irritated by her irrationality.

"Father will just dislike you even more if you keep doing this. If you learn more to be like Shen Wenna, maybe Father would change his mind," Xi Xinyi mumbled.

However, before she could finish her sentence, Yue Lingsi could not stand it anymore and glared at Xi Xinyi irately. "What did you say? So, even you think I'm not on par with that witch Shen Wenna? Just what's so good about Shen Wenna? What's so good about her? Huh? Each and every one of you speak of her like a holy maiden. I'm ten thousand times better than her. Just who does she think she is? Is she better than me? Why should I learn from her? I hate her self-righteous and cold attitude, always acting all high and mighty. Hmph, witch... Even her daughter is the same!" Yue Lingsi started criticizing and lashing out with all her inner anger. If she still kept it inside, she might very well go insane.

Xi Xinyi frowned quietly and just let her rant.

Night fell and the lights blanketed the whole city again, making it look beautiful and mesmerizing.

At around half past nine, the night classes at University A were ending. The bell rang and Shen Wenna started packing up her stuff before she switched the computer off.

"Alright, class ends here today. See you guys in the next class."

"Goodbye, Teacher!"

Shen Wenna was now teaching a second-year general elective subject, so night classes were common. She would usually stay over at the school whenever there were night classes instead of heading back to the Shen Residence.

It was still pretty lively around when the class just ended. Shen Wenna did not drive today, so she walked toward her apartment after packing up and found herself an unexpected guest.

"What are you doing here?" Shen Wenna frowned as her expression turned cold when she saw Xi Mushan.

Xi Mushan looked at her without saying anything. The strong reek of alcohol coming from him made Shen Wenna frown even deeper. His eyes seemed empty. He was very drunk indeed!

Shen Wenna ignored him as he kept quiet. She took her keys out and went past him to open the door. Just as she was about to close it, Xi Mushan stopped the door from closing with his hand.

"Wenna..." Xi Mushan called out to her in his hoarse voice, trying to force himself in.

"Get out!"

"I don't want to!"

Xi Mushan shut the door, the strong alcohol smell from him almost making Shen Wenna pass out. Looking at her with his red eyes, he mumbled, "I'm not getting out, not getting out, Wenna... I'm not going anywhere. I'll stay here... Here... Not going anywhere..."

After that nonsensical sentence, he stumbled toward the sofa nearby and collapsed on it.

Shen Wenna was startled for a moment and only came back to her senses after a while. She turned around and saw him fast asleep on the sofa, totally ignoring how she felt. She stormed over angrily. "Get up, Xi Mushan. Get out! Go back to West Park! Get up! Get up right now!"

Xi Muhan was dizzy as she shook him. At the same time, he struggled. "I don't want to. I'm not going back to West Park... Don't leave me, Wenna..."

He curled up on the sofa and was determined to stay, agitating Shen Wenna.

"You're a real bastard! I'd have called the police already if not for our daughter! Bastard!" Shen Wenna nudged him roughly several times before taking a deep breath. Then, she sat down on the sofa beside him, exhausted.

Xi Mushan mumbled as he continued sleeping with a frown. He seemed to be in a lot of pain and his face seemed much skinnier than the last time she had seen him.

She heard that Xi Jiyang was very sick right now, so he must be really worried. Xi Xiaye had mentioned it the last time she came. Things did not look well for Xi Jiyang.

Shen Wenna rarely followed up on the Xi family because she hardly had any contact with them. With the exception when Xi Mushan sent her some gifts sometimes, there was no communication between them.

While Yue Lingsi looked for her a lot of times, she hardly entertained her.

However, her peaceful life was still disrupted. If Yue Lingsi found out that Xi Mushan was at her place, it was going to be chaos.

She heard passing whispers about what had happened lately. The Xi family was having some conflict with the Han family. Shen Yue had mentioned that Xi Mushan had had a fight with the Yue family; it must be because of Xi Xinyi.

The Yues and the Xis...

She was starting to get a headache and decided to stop thinking about it. Grabbing her bag, she went into the study room.

As the lights illuminated the city, beside the railing in a certain Movie City in City B.

Mu Yuchen stood beside Xi Xiaye. There were still a lot of people who were busy shooting at night.

Xi Xiaye gripped the cold railing with both her hands as her eyes glittered. She looked down for a long time without saying anything. Suddenly, she felt a warm weight on her shoulder before she came back to her senses.

She turned around and noticed that he had put his jacket over her. He only wore a black shirt in the windy weather. With the dim light shining on him, he looked very peaceful.

"It's pretty cold out here," he said quietly with warmth in his tone.

She smiled at him as she closed her eyes and pulled the coat snugly around her. After a while, she continued looking downward and sighed, "People only see what happens in front of the camera, and rarely know how much effort is put into making it work. It seems really tough."

Mu Yuchen laughed as he grabbed her shoulder gently with one arm. "Of course, it's tough. Everyone has their own worries. Alright, it's pretty late now and we should go back. If you want to see more, we'll come again tomorrow."

They then walked away.

After cruising around for the whole afternoon and taking a tour around Movie City, because Xi Xiaye was wearing a thin-soled shoe, her legs were about to give out. She frowned when Mu Yuchen moved forward.

"What's wrong?" He turned around when he noticed that she did not move.

Xi Xiaye raised her eyebrows and squinted at him. Suddenly, she lowered her voice. "Mr. Mu, I'm going to do something inelegant now. Are you going to judge me?"

Mu Yuchen narrowed his eyes as well as he looked at her little face, not saying anything.

Without waiting for his reply, she took off her shoes and revealed her pretty little pair of feet. Then, she picked her shoes up and walked over to him to hold his hand. "Let's go."

Only then did he notice that she was actually rather short. She could barely reach his chin after taking off her shoes. Like she mentioned before, she really did seem like a beautiful, petite woman, but the scene of her did not really fit the atmosphere at the moment.

"It's pretty cold on the ground. Hop on." He took her shoes and squatted down. His intention was obvious.

Xi Xiaye had a wide smile and she quickly hopped onto his back. "You only realize you should do it now. Tsk tsk, Mr. Mu, you've failed as a guardian."

"You're taking me for granted now, huh?" He ranted, but there was no anger in his tone at all.

She crossed her arms in front of his chest and he started piggybacking her. As they walked past the gentle sunset, their long shadows were cast on the ground.

After a while, she suggested by his ears, "Why don't you sing something? You sang really well last time, Mr. Mu."

"Shouldn't you be the one singing now?"

After some hesitation, she looked at the light in front, and then her beautiful warbling brushed past his ears.

"As evening fell, a maiden stood at the edge of the woods.

In her hands lay the reins of a stallion.

And ne'er had I seen a girl as fair, nor heard a gentler voice anywhere."

...

His heart softened like mush. After she sang for some time, she suddenly said, "Mr. Mu, I think I know where we should go for our honeymoon."

"Hmm?" He replied quietly, "Where do you want to go?"

"I want to go to South America. I want to see the large fields there and ride a horse through the fields with a rifle in my hand. It'd be great if Ah Shi and Ah Mo could come with us too," she said hopefully.

"Then, we'll have our wedding there," he replied without any hesitation.

"Great!" She grinned happily as she rested her face on his warm back.

Happiness came upon her. She told herself she should embrace it with her arms opened wide. Xi Xiaye, you have to persist and not give up. These things are never far away from you...

Mr. Mu carried Mrs. Mu all the way back. He did not know how long they walked for, but it was near midnight when they arrived back at the hotel, and she was already asleep on his back.

Fortunately, she was not really heavy. She would always talk about maintaining her weight halfway through a meal.

Mr. Mu had been keeping himself fit. Together with Zhou Zimo and Su Chen, all of them had strapping bodies even long after they retired from the army. Su Chen and Zhou Zimo would participate in five-kilometer runs from time to time. Some time ago, they invited him to join them and even prepared a camouflage suit for him.

"Master!"

Li Si who had been waiting for Mu Yuchen at the hotel entrance quickly came up to him, noticing that Xi Xiaye was asleep on Mu Yuchen's back. As he was about to say something Mu Yuchen stopped him. "She's asleep. Don't wake her up. We'll talk upstairs."

They then went into the hotel.

Inside the room, Mu Yuchen carefully put Xi Xiaye on the bed, he put her under the blanket before leaving the room.

Li Si had been waiting for quite a while outside, and he quickly prepared a cup of tea when Mu Yuchen came out.

Mu Yuchen sat down on the sofa and took the tea from Li Si. He took a sip from it and pointed at the seat opposite him, signaling Li Si to sit down. "Update me."

"Yes, Master!" Li Si sat down and reported, "We've started the investigations. Information from the hospital stated that the truck driver is in the final stage of liver cancer. He didn't really suffer heavy injuries, just some bruises, but we're still investigating whether he was directed to do so."

Mu Yuchen nodded as he placed the cup of tea on the table. He continued, "How are Ah Mo and Lingshi?"

"Ms. Lingshi came over early in the morning. She's in the hospital taking care of Ah Mo right now. When she heard that the incident this time wasn't a light accident, she decided to move into Ah Mo's villa after he returns to City Z. She should've some thoughts of her own about that," Li Si related quietly.