The cold evening breeze crushed the faint, mottled shadow in the golden twilight while a dark paper-cut silhouette drove slowly towards the Maple Residence.

Xi Xiaye parked her car and then got down.

When she reached home, she could hear the music playing in the living room from afar. The man must be cooking in the kitchen.

She set her things aside and then walked straight to the kitchen. Indeed, she saw a man in casual home clothes leisurely seasoning as the stove on the side was brewing something on a low fire to. She stood at the door and could smell a tempting aroma. Unable to help herself, she gulped.

Her starry eyes twinkled, and she subconsciously looked around. Unexpectedly, she found Shen Yue handling a fish on the sink.

Mu Yuchen set aside the seasoning he had prepared and took the fish from Shen Yue as he asked softly, "Sweet and sour fish or steamed in broth?"

"Let's make sweet and sour fish. It'll go great with rice! Ah Chen, I realize that your culinary skills are better than your mother's. That girl Xiaye isn't good with this too. Your mother used to always talk about that, worried that she would be disliked because of it when she gets married."

Shen Yue took over the ginger and started washing it.

While upon hearing this, Mu Yuchen chuckled. "Who dares to dislike her? It's not such a bad thing that she can't master it. Some women are meant to be protected. To me, she and Mother are like that."

"You are quite open-minded and tolerant. Back then, when your grandmother told me about you, I took a look and you and immediately liked you. One look and I felt like you would be quite suitable with Xiaye. After that, your grandmother didn't even need to introduce you much. You were just a fellow that I had my eye on," Shen Yue lamented.

"That means I'll have to thank Grandpa for having such a good first impression of me."

"It's alright. I've always trusted my judgment of others." Shen Yue was not very humble.

"Grandpa, he's not as angelic as you say he is. A certain someone has admitted to me himself that he is an evil man." Xi Xiaye's light voice that contained a smile suddenly came from behind. The two of them quickly turned around and saw Xi Xiaye standing at the door.

"You're back." Mu Yuchen's soft and gentle voice was immediately heard.

Shen Yue's sharp eyes looked at the two of them, then he very knowingly tossed aside the things in his hands. "You two handle it. I'll go to the backyard and see what other flowers I can plant for you."

Then, before the two of them could respond, he walked out of the kitchen.

Xi Xiaye shrugged and watched Shen Yue's shadow walk away, then she walked to Mu Yuchen. "Why's Grandpa here? Weren't you two going to play golf?"

"We didn't get to go, so he came over to take some materials on the South River project, and send the wedding guest list over too. We've been fishing an entire afternoon by the lake. Mm-hmm, this is our loot." Mu Yuchen pointed at the fish in his hand and smiled.

"Why do I find that you've been asking Grandpa out quite frequently recently, like two brothers? If it's not fishing, then it's golf, or else some chess game. I don't see you bringing me out often... Also, you haven't sent me flowers for a long while now," Lady Xiaye complained unhappily through glaring eyes.

He was stunned, but moments after that, he chuckled. "You... Are you being jealous of Grandpa? If I don't ask him out, how would Father have any chances to get close to Mother? Who am I doing all of this for? I don't see you being considerate about me."

"You can call me up too."

"If I call you to come as well, then it'd be obvious. Can't you think a little? Grandpa's such a smart person. Do you think he can be easily fooled?" He helplessly shot her a side look.

She then eased a little and rolled her eyes before she began to help him wash the vegetables. "I've just gone to West Park. I bumped into Father and Han Yifeng."

"Han Yifeng? Was he repenting to you or what?" When Han Yifeng was mentioned, Mu Yuchen's low tone was faintly colored with disdain.

Xi Xiaye washed the vegetables with her head lowered as she spoke, "No, Father called him over. He seems to have become thin and much frailer. It must be because of him worrying over Xi Xinyi's problems. I thought that he wanted to tell me to have mercy on Xi Xinyi, but then he said to me that even if he doesn't help them out, someone else would. I suddenly found it quite odd. I think it might be the Yue family, so I wanted to give you a heads-up."

However, when Xi Xiaye said this, Mu Yuchen paused what he was doing for a moment as a cold light surfaced in his dark eyes.

Moments after, he continued what he was doing. "Don't worry. The Yue family won't be able to do much. Yue Lingsi's problems are enough to cause them a headache. You don't have to worry about these things, okay?"

Xi Xiaye nodded. "Mmm, I'll leave it up to you."

...

At the same time, when Han Yifeng reached the office, working hours had long passed and the entire building was quiet.

Secretary Wang looked at Han Yifeng with concern as he softly suggested, "CEO Han, Miss Xinyi is still waiting upstairs. It's about time for dinner. How about you talk over food? Two days ago, you still had gastritis."

Han Yifeng sat in the car and slowly wound the window down to look at the empty office building, nodding. "Call her to get her to come down then."

"Okay, CEO Han."

Secretary Wang then called Xi Xinyi. He had just hung up for less than five minutes when Xi Xinyi had very quickly appeared at the lobby.

"Yifeng!"

When she saw the car parked up front, Xi Xinyi immediately walked up anxiously. Her gentle and beautiful face looked pale and worn out. When she saw Han Yifeng in the car, her beautiful eyes instantly welled up with tears as she stared at him.

Han Yifeng just slowly closed his eyes and sighed. "Get in. Let's go eat first."

Xi Xinyi bit her lip and nodded, then she walked around the car to get in through the other side. She opened the car door and got in.

Once Xi Xinyi got into the car, she started to speak and choked on her sobs as she did. She subconsciously held her showing belly and looked helplessly at Han Yifeng. "Yifeng, where did you go these past few days? I've looked all over for you... My mother..."

However, before she could finish, Han Yifeng had already responded, "I know about everything. You don't have to tell me anymore. We can talk after dinner."

He stopped her from continuing, then lifted a hand to massage his heavy head. Feeling weary, he quietly shut his eyes, clearly not wanting to talk.

The light in her eyes sank as her eyes became hot with tears. She bit down hard on her lips and covered her face with both hands as she looked down.

The car started with a rumble.

"Go to Emperor," Han Yifeng said coldly without even opening his eyes.

Xi Xinyi's quiet sobbing reached him, making him irritated.

He opened his eyes after a while and glanced at Xi Xinyi. He noticed that she was crying helplessly, so he took a deep breath before tossing a piece of tissue onto her lap. Then, he turned to face the window.

The sky turned dark as the street lamps were starting to light up. With the lights streaming into the car, their shadows kept flashing backward as crowds were swarming both sides of the street. However, Han Yifeng felt lonely when he saw this scene.

Xi Xinyi finally lifted her head after crying for a long time. She took the tissue Han Yifeng handed her and wiped the tears on her face away. He was still looking outside the window when she turned towards him, sniffling again before calling out, "Yifeng..."

"Save your cheap tears, Xinyi. It's not good for the child inside you," Han Yifeng said quietly after a while. He did not know what else he could say and his words became weak.

Xi Xinyi unconsciously touched her stomach, sniffling again and looking at Han Yifeng with her teary eyes. "Yifeng, you still care about our child, don't you? I know you're not this cruel. I don't believe them when they say you don't want to see me. You're the only one I've left now. You're the only one. Sister not only ruined Yueying, but she also chased all of us out of West Park. Are you really going to do nothing and watch us struggle?" She looked like she was in deep pain and sorrow as her eyes reddened.

"I'm your wife and I'm bearing your child right now. I don't believe that you'd be cruel to me and our baby. Didn't we say we'll be with each other forever? We've lasted so long, we got married, and even have a child now. What will I do if you're abandoning us now? Yifeng, what should I do?"

She then started crying as she covered her face. She had been enduring the circumstances for so long that she needed a place to express herself. The recent incidents almost suffocated her. Although her numerous crying sessions did not help relieve her pain and depression, she just could not stop crying.

Han Yifeng just sat there quietly as he was still looking outside without saying a thing.

Xi Xinyi's tears never stopped as the car moved forward. After some time, the car finally stopped.

"CEO Han, we've arrived!" Secretary Wang said quietly. He saw what happened in the back from the rearview mirror. Xi Xinyi kept on weeping while Han Yifeng just stared outside the window with a frown. It was his first time being in such an awkward situation.

They were still a pair of loving couple not so long ago. They would usually hug each other or kiss passionately during a time like this, but who would have expected this today?

Secretary Wang was really quiet, fearing that he would step on a landmine and make Han Yifeng angry. Han Yifeng's temper was getting worse as well, and he was on edge lately.

Han Yifeng left the car swiftly while Xi Xinyi wiped her tears away and followed him as well.

The waiter brought them to the reserved room and they sat down opposite each other. The atmosphere in the room was pretty tense. Secretary Wang could feel it even when he was guarding the door outside. Han Yifeng had probably agreed to meet Xi Xinyi this time because he wanted to talk about the divorce again.

The dishes were served quickly. It was French that night. They ordered these dishes pretty frequently when they came before.

Han Yifeng drank some wine and then said quietly, "I've heard about what happened. Glory World left and the whole of Yueying has been emptied out. Combined with the debts accumulated along the years, the situation was still in control with the support from both Glory World and Qi Kai, but with Glory World's sudden retreat, Qi Kai hasn't said anything. It's just a matter of time till Yueying declares bankruptcy."

Xi Xinyi's expression darkened as she sniffled and nodded. "Yes, that's what Yueying is facing right now. The bank gave us a final notice saying that we'll be forced into bankruptcy if we can't pay up. Several movies were stopped, Yifeng. If we can continue filming those movies, Yueying will be saved! Trust me, Yifeng. I'm confident about it!"

She grabbed Han Yifeng's arms as he was her last hope while she begged helplessly, "I can't let Yueying fall. I've invested so much. Help me, Yifeng."

Han Yifeng felt a slight pain because she was grabbing his arm so tightly. It took him a while to struggle away from her grip. "Xinyi, Yueying was already on the verge of falling anyway. I think it's pretty good for it to fall now. You can come to the Han Corporation to work after that."

"I don't want it! I don't want Yueying to go bankrupt. I've lost everything and I can't lose Yueying now! Yifeng, if it weren't for Xi Xiaye, I'd still be popular and Yueying wouldn't be reduced to such a state. She even took West Park away. Isn't all that enough already? Is she trying to end me?"

Xi Xinyi felt aggrieved. She peered at Han Yifeng with red eyes. "She's happy now, huh? Yueying has become like this, and Grandmother had a stroke. Everything that's happened right now is her fault! Mother is breaking down as well! Why can't you be considerate towards me as my husband?"

"Yueying will fall because of the inability of you lot. If you had a powerful internal structure, there's no way people could've just torn it apart! About Mother, those scandals are the truth. She should be able to take responsibility for what she has done and not blame others. As for how those things came to light, the Yue family should be clear about that!"

Xi Xinyi felt anguish when she heard Han Yifeng's cold tone. She looked at Han Yifeng with her swollen eyes. "You're on Xi Xiaye's side, aren't you? Han Yifeng, you've changed! Don't forget just how much you hated her before. Are you regretting your choices back then?"

Her language was harsh as she bit her lip and all her sorrow shone through her eyes. She clenched her fists angrily.

Regret his choices back then?

This question hit Han Yifeng like an enormous rock. Emotions crashed through his mind as he closed his eyes and barely contained himself.

He did not reply as she observed him carefully.

"Don't forget that you were the one who said to leave together. You were the one who rejected Xi Xiaye. Don't tell me that you regret being with me now! Have you really forgotten all the pleasant memories we had together because of these?"

Han Yifeng felt a pain in his chest. He had to admit that he was responsible for causing what had happened today.

If he had followed the planned path back then, would today be any different?

After a while, Han Yifeng finally replied, "I don't want to make any comments regarding the past. I'm sure you yourself know why Yueying arrived at such a state today. If you want me to save Yueying, I can help you."

"Yifeng! Really? Are you really going to help me save Yueying?" Xi Xinyi's eyes flew wide open and her whole body was strained as she stared at Han Yifeng with an electric current of thrill in her eyes.

"But I have one condition. If you agree to it, I'll purchase Yueying and then help it to get back on track before giving it back to you."

"What is it?" Xi Xinyi's heart sank when she heard Han Yifeng's suggestion. It was as if she already knew what was he going to say, so her body tensed up.

"You didn't sign the divorce papers Secretary Wang sent to you before and wanted me to talk to you." Han Yifeng drank some wine. He thought for a moment and then continued without being considerate toward Xi Xinyi's whose face already turned pale. "I told you I can't give you the future that you want. Our love has ended in this conflict, so it's the best for both of us to let go earlier. I'll follow all the terms listed in the contract. You can let me take care of the child after you've given birth. If you agree to sign the divorce papers, I'll help you save Yueying."

Han Yifeng listed his conditions calmly as he searched inside his briefcase and took out a drafted divorce contract to put before Xi Xinyi.

"Think about it. I won't make any compromise on this. I'm firm on getting divorced."

His words stabbed her heart like a cold, sharp needle.

Xi Xinyi looked at the divorce contract in front of her and then raised her head to face Han Yifeng. She could not believe what he just said.

"Do you really have to divorce me for Xi Xiaye?"

"This issue is only between us. Don't involve others into this. Do you think you can erase all the lies you've told me before with just some tears? Xinyi! You always think that it doesn't matter and you always need everyone to be considerate about you! You only blame other people. You're so wicked for wanting to destroy your own sister! Do you think you can cover the whole truth by just saying 'I didn't do it on purpose'? You're ridiculous!"

"It's all in the past now! Isn't she still living fine and alive right now? I don't understand why you're so obsessed about what happened in the past! Do you think you can turn back time by taking her side now? Impossible! She'll never go back to you again! She's so happy staying by Mu Yuchen's side. Remember how she said she loved you? She's a fake! She turned to another man in the blink of an eye! Only me, Han Yifeng! I'm the only woman who loves you the most in this world! Do you understand?!" Xi Xinyi could not hold her anger in anymore and her rage burned like a pyre!

"Love? If you really loved me, you should've quitted your acting career when I asked you to do so and stayed by my side three years ago! If you loved me, you wouldn't have hidden so many things and treated me like your plaything!"

Han Yifeng put on a bitter smile as he looked at the angry Xi Xinyi with her face all puffy and red. "I can't accept how you always act all regretful after you've made mistakes, and you even pretend like nothing has happened when you're exposed. You just blame it all onto others. You don't repent at all. I'm afraid of your behavior. No matter what, one must find fault in themselves after a mistake is done. Only then do you start to see what else went wrong. Didn't you tell me this before? Why can't you do it yourself?"

Han Yifeng's words made Xi Xinyi freeze. She stared at Han Yifeng blankly as a cold light flashed in her eyes.

"So, now you'll only help me if I agree to divorce you?" Xi Xinyi grabbed the document before her, crumpling the paper in just an instant.

"Yes, this is the only condition. You can choose to do so or not." Han Yifeng's voice turned bitter. He looked at Xi Xinyi firmly. "Please know that Yueying is only left with problems right now. The huge amount of debt will clear Yueying out in no time. Even if it were me, it'd be tough. Think about it yourself."

Han Yifeng stood up as he finished his sentence. "I'll wait for your answer." He then left the room.

Secretary Wang peered into the room with concern before leaving with Han Yifeng.

Whoosh!

With the sound of their footsteps moving further away, Xi Xinyi tossed the divorce papers away and stood up furiously as she flipped the table.