They were having a good time in the office. Mu Yuchen kept feeding Xi Xiaye while they talked.

"Let's go out tonight. The Mooncake Festival is coming soon and I want to buy some autumn clothing for Grandpa. Usually, it's Mother's job to do it, but since she won't be back for a while, I want you to go with me."

She thought about it when she was drinking the soup and looked at him with her pair of hopeful eyes.

He smiled and patted her head. "If my wife is heading out, of course, I'm going to play the role of her guardian. Finish the soup. I'm all yours tonight."

"Just tonight? Someone told me before that he's mine forever..." She gave him a meaningful smile as her eyes turned gentle. In turn, his heart softened and he barely managed to force himself awake.

"Your Mr. Mu would never say something so flirtatious," he replied calmly while maintaining his usual cool self.

Xi Xiaye chuckled as she glanced at him blushing slightly. She then lowered her head and continued to drink her soup.

Mu Yuchen returned to her normal expression swiftly. He picked up his chopsticks and was about to continue eating when there was a sudden knock on the door. The two of them turned to look.

Zhou Zimo entered with a worried expression on his face.

Xi Xiaye was surprised. Su Chen and Zhou Zimo would visit Mu Yuchen from time to time just to have a drink together or chat for a while. They were pretty relaxed when they came over, but this time...

Mu Yuchen instantly knew something went wrong, so he asked before Zhou Zimo even started talking, "What's wrong?" He also stopped what he was doing.

"Please come to the Su family with me. Su Chen angered Elder Su and he experienced high blood pressure. Su Chen said he's going to run away from home after being scolded. No one knows where he is now. His parents have looked for him high and low the whole night and he's nowhere to be found. Don't you think it's really childish of him?"

Zhou Zimo walked over to pour himself a glass of water and gulped it down.

"Elder Su is having high blood pressure? How is he doing?" Mu Yuchen frowned and grabbed a tissue to clean his mouth as he took the glass of tea Zhou Zimo handed him.

"I heard it's pretty bad to the point that Su Chen was almost imprisoned at home. This only happened once before when we just left the army. Su Chen was forced to work at the Traffic Management Bureau because of that. Otherwise, he'd have gone to the border already."

Zhou Zimo seemed really worried. "To be honest, I do think the elder is quite forceful. Knowing Su Chen's personality, it's not easy even for him to give in once."

"They'll have to do something about their elders at home. Is Su Chen still missing?" Mu Yuchen asked as he picked up his phone and started to call Su Chen.

"Don't bother. It's switched off! I spammed his phone with calls all day." Zhou Zimo pinched the space between his eyebrows helplessly.

"Why is there a sudden conflict?"

Xi Xiaye knew that Elder Su was pretty strict and that Su Chen had a lot of restrictions placed on him. Su Chen was a carefree person who never liked to be confined. He usually complained a lot in his conversations with Mu Yuchen.

"It's autumn now. It's just the season to harvest opium poppy. Several countries near the border are having great harvests this year, so things won't be very peaceful around there. The main cities issued orders to send more people over. It's classified information which I'm not very sure about. It seems like Su Chen wants to go, but the elder objected to it," Zhou Zimo explained.

Xi Xiaye frowned. She understood what Elder Su was thinking well enough.

Like the Mu family, the Su family only had one male heir, and they would never agree to send Su Chen to such a dangerous mission. Back then, because the elder disagreed to let Su Chen go to the border, Su Chen was forced to change his career like Mu Yuchen and Zhou Zimo.

"I heard about this before. Su Chen mentioned it to me, but I don't agree with his idea as well." With knitted eyebrows, Mu Yuchen gave it some thought. "But I do understand what he's thinking."

"After all, he's just trying to avoid marriage, isn't he? His life is perfect here and there's no need for him to go so far away. That's the only thing that bugs him." Zhou Zimo glanced at Mu Yuchen.

"Let's find him first. Give the elder a call and tell him not to worry. We'll find him."

Mu Yuchen started to have a headache. He put down his teacup and looked at Xi Xiaye. "Xiaye, stay at the office first. Postpone the meeting later to tomorrow. Otherwise, just hold the meeting without me."

Xi Xiaye nodded. "Find him first. I'll take care of the meeting. There's not a lot on the agenda anyway."

He patted her head. "Alright, the documents are all on the table."

"Mmm."

He quickly grabbed his coat and rushed out with Zhou Zimo. Xi Xiaye started to worry when she saw that their expressions seemed terribly grim.

After Mu Yuchen and Zhou Zimo left, Xi Xiaye tidied up and began to prepare for the meeting later.

When she did not hear any news from Mu Yuchen the entire afternoon, she realized that it seemed to be a little more serious this time. She had never seen Su Chen act out like this before. Previously, through her interactions with Su Chen, she could tell he was a candid and open-minded person. This time, Elder Su must have crossed the line if he was forced to this extent.

The sky gradually darkened. Initially, they had planned to go shopping and prepare some autumn wear for Shen Yue, but it looked like that would not be happening anymore. Coincidentally, Zhuang Shurong called her, so Xi Xiaye just made her way home early.

On the other end, when Mu Yuchen and Zhou Zimo found Su Chen, he was at the fencing center they had frequented before. Su Chen was already worn out and all sweaty as he lay sprawled on the floor. Mu Yuchen and Zhou Zimo helped him to the resting area with each of them taking one side. Then, they tossed him to the ground, and the entire space instantly fell silent. There was only the sound of his panting and breathing.

"How did you know I was here?" Su Chen sighed as he wiped the beads of sweat on his face away uncomfortably and looked at Mu Yuchen nervously.

Mu Yuchen shot Zhou Zimo a look, and he quickly whipped his phone out to call the Su family to inform them that he was safe.

"There aren't many places that you can go to. What's wrong? From what I remember, you rarely go against the elder's wishes. However, this time I remember advising you against going to the border."

Mu Yuchen gestured to the attendant on the side who very quickly handed Su Chen a wet towel and water.

Su Chen took the towel and wiped his face with it before speaking annoyedly, "I'm sick of staying in City Z. I just wanted to have a change of environment and live some peaceful days. I'm already more than 30 years old. When can I do things as I wish, why do I have to do as they say? They keep being violent and lecture me like they're training animals. Do they think I'm those soldiers under them?"

"The elder is like that. You've tormented him and almost got him hospitalized. Everything can be discussed. You're just too hot-tempered. You didn't make Mother Su cry any less," Zhou Zimo frowned and expressed helplessly.

"Exactly, I didn't torment them, so I've always let them push me around. I let them make me join the military academy and change my career path. Everything I did, I abided by their wishes, and now I even have to marry a woman that they've chosen. Why? When have I ever done anything because I wanted to?" Su Chen released all his suppressed unhappiness all at once.

"Did the elder choose someone for you already?" Mu Yuchen quickly caught onto the key point from Su Chen's words. He subconsciously squinted as he fixed his eyes onto Su Chen.

When he heard this, Su Chen could not help but feel frustrated. He clenched his fists and punched the ground hard as he spoke through gritted teeth, "They gave me a month's time to find a woman. Otherwise, I'd have to go with their arrangements and marry Lin Ran."

"Lin Ran? Isn't she your superior's daughter? She seems to have coveted you for a long while now. Earlier, I even heard that she got quite close to another young heir. Elder Su doesn't have to force a woman onto you, does he?"

When Su Chen finished, Zhou Zimo instantly raised his brows and looked at him in surprise. "But this is how the elder works. He just puts an assignment down. You're going to be 33 next year. I can understand how he feels. Like my old man says, you're going to be a golden leftover-man."

"Don't talk about me. What about you? My grandfather only became all anxious after seeing Ah Chen. He's moving too fast, and he's even having a son soon. I thought that I could use this change to have a few years of peace, but my grandfather and father are extremely against it."

"If you have any more peace and quiet, you're going to remain unmarried. Joining the army over there takes three to five years. You'd be 40 when you get back. You're crazy!" Zhou Zimo disagreed as well. It was no wonder the elder would be so angry. Was he not causing trouble?

"Evading responsibility is not the best way to solve a problem. Instead of having these struggles every time, why don't you face it head on? After all, it's something that you have to go through. It's inevitable," Mu Yuchen finally continued to speak up after he fell silent for a while. His eyes were as deep as the ocean while he looked calmly at Su Chen.

When Mu Yuchen finished, Su Chen was stunned for a moment. He then propped himself up and subconsciously turned to look at Zhou Zimo who was just as stunned as he was. Then, the two of them exchanged a look before nodding.

"We're not as optimistic as you are. I know that you and your wife Xiaye were once in my situation. It's just a matter of fate. This is something that can't be begged for. Forget it. Don't lecture me anymore. I won't go then. I feel much better after sweating it out. The two of you are quite good at looking for me if you found me here," Su Chen spoke helplessly as he surrendered to fate.

"Okay, don't be like this now. Just get any woman to be your date and that'd be better than Lin Ran. The elder probably wouldn't be that cruel. He wouldn't be able to force you then, would he?" advised Zhou Zimo as he reached out to pat Su Chen's shoulder.

"Stop bringing those women into this."

"I know you have high standards! Your taste is quite unique anyway. Based on your personality, I think gentle and quiet girls suit you," said Zhou Zimo with a smile.

"You're suited for gentle and quiet girls! Obviously, I like young and lively ones. The quiet ones are boring," Su Chen immediately refuted as he sloppily wiped his face and then got up. "Since you're here, let's go have a drink. I've been annoyed for the past few days. I'm going to stay at your place for a while."

Then, he hurried to change in the changing room.

After Su Chen's figure vanished inside, Zhou Zimo shrugged. "Since when is he so good at recovering? Also, how did you know he'd come here to pass the time? He seems to have released all of his anger this time," Zhou Zimo looked curiously at Mu Yuchen and asked.

Mu Yuchen got up casually and calmly. "We came here a few times before. On the elder's end, you should slowly talk to him about it. Don't pressure them too hard. You know how Su Chen's like too. Some things require more time to get used to."

Zhou Zimo nodded. "I pity this fellow too. Once the elder gets stubborn, no one can handle that temper of his. Well, it's because of you. Once you got married, you've brought on a lot of pressure for us buddies. Weren't we fine before this?"

When he heard this, Mu Yuchen suddenly turned to look at him with a chuckle. "It's not a bad thing to be living an entirely new kind of life."

When Mu Yuchen said this, Zhou Zimo only shrugged.

"I haven't asked you yet. How does it feel being a father-to-be? I went to see Grandfather Mu and the rest at the Mu residence the other day. They all look quite well. They couldn't stop talking about their great-grandchild. I can tell that they're all really looking forward to the child."

Upon hearing this, Mu Yuchen just chuckled without a word.

Obviously, he was really looking forward to it, and of course, apart from anticipation, he was mainly feeling a little worried, especially when he saw her reacting badly. He never knew that pregnant women suffered so much. The doctor said that there were still many things to pay attention to, and it sounded like there was quite a lot to look after.

"You're so happy that you're forgetting your duties!" Zhou Zimo sighed upon seeing him like this. He vaguely felt disoriented.

When Su Chen was done changing, the buddies left together.

Mu Yuchen drove straight ahead to the north of the city near the Grand Waves Villa area. He remembered bumping into Xi Xiaye there once. There was a pretty good entertainment club, and if he drank too much, he could go straight back to Maple Residence.

Unexpectedly, Su Chen did not drink as much as he usually did. Instead, it was Zhou Zimo who drank quite a lot. He drank quite a bit and soon felt tipsy.

His tolerance for drinks was actually not that high. After a few glasses, he suddenly remembered that his woman might be waiting for him at home. Subconsciously, he fumbled in his pocket but reached nothing. He then remembered that he seemed to have forgotten his phone in the car.

In the end, Zhou Zimo drank way too much whilst Mu Yuchen began to feel tipsy too. Instead, Su Chen was more sober than usual.

When they were about to leave, Zhou Zimo had already blacked out from being inebriated. His entire weight fell onto Mu Yuchen, so Su Chen could only help him get his coat and put it over his shoulders as he said, "You help Zimo and stay at your place for the night. I have to make a trip back to the bureau. There are some things I left in the office which have to be checked daily. How annoying!"

"What about you? Are you going to stay over in Maple Residence too? I've already prepared quite a few rooms." Mu Yuchen steadied Zhou Zimo and looked at Su Chen.

"Just bring him back. I'll probably rest in the office today. There are some things I need to rush. You didn't drink too much, did you? Can you drive?"

Then, he reached out and waved a hand in front of Mu Yuchen who pushed it away. "I'm fine. We're very close. I'll ditch you then. I'm going to go back now. Xiaye's still waiting for me."

In fact, because he did not even give her a call, she was probably going to be unhappy when he got back. Thankfully, it was only slightly past 10 p.m., hence it was not considered too late.

As Su Chen listened, he could not help but lift a hand to rub the space between his brows. "You have the potential of being a wife slave. Just let her wait for a while. What's the rush? Okay, you get lost then. I'll get the bill!"

Then, Mu Yuchen helped Zhou Zimo out the door while Su Chen waved to the waiter to settle the bill and left too.

It was a lovely night outside. A slender crescent moon hung in the night sky. The moonlight was bright and refreshing.

Su Chen found his car keys from his pocket and was about to walk to his car, but he was caught off guard. Before he could move, a soft hand had suddenly held onto his shoulders. He subconsciously wanted to move away, yet at this moment, there was the unmistakable sound of puking.

The smell of alcohol filled the air, and with it came a strong odor!

He felt a faint warmth at the leg of his pants followed by terrible wetness. The stench was madly overpowering!

Su Chen immediately frowned. When he turned to look, he realized that it was a woman puking while being in a state of nausea!

Dressed in a gray formal dress with smooth hair at shoulder-length, she had her head lowered as she clutched onto him like a lamp pole and puked all over him...

She had her head down, so he could not see how she looked like, but Su Chen knew that at this moment, he was extremely angry. No, he was pissed!

What bloody luck! He was already enraged at that point, and now this woman had puked all over him. He was smelly and dirty now. What was going on with all these turns of bad luck one after another? How was he supposed to live his days?

"Go away! What's wrong with you?" Su Chen shoved the woman that held on to him away, feeling annoyed, yet before he could react, he felt a pain on his shoulder. A sharp nail had quickly hooked itself onto his shoulder, and he felt like he was suspended mid-air.

Swoosh!

Bam!

Su Chen was caught off-guard with this off-shoulder throw. In the blink of an eye, he was thrown to the ground. Pain soared from his waist, and before he could cry out, that woman had already come over. Her knees pinned his torso down tightly as she threw punches at him like rain to greet him. Involuntarily, Su Chen screamed!

Everything happened so quickly that he did not have time to react.

He was not sure how many more punches he had to receive. He only felt his ears buzz with pain, and a warm stench filled his nose. He then struggled away from the woman pinning him down after much effort. He threw a punch at her, yet she did not seem to feel pain. On the contrary, she began to hit him even harder!

"Whoa! Where is this bitch from, acting all crazy and being drunk now?!"

Su Chen was extremely annoyed. He took a careful look at the woman's face. She was a complete drunk who was swinging punches without properly assessing the situation!

She even hurt him all over with the blows!

His wrist seemed to be sprained!

Now that she was done punching, why was she not letting go of his arm?

...

Mu Yuchen obviously did not know about Su Chen's tragic situation. After he helped Zhou Zimo home, Xi Xiaye was waiting on the sofa for him.

Sis Wang helped settle Zhou Zimo in, then he sighed a breath of relief. He explained a few things to Sis Wang before going upstairs.

"Why are you so late? You didn't answer your phone either. Did you find Su Chen? You reek of alcohol. Why did you drink so much?" She walked over and helped him take off his suit. To her disgust, the strong smell of booze made her dizzy.

He reached out to pull his tie away and said in a gentle tone, "It's fine. We found him. I left my phone in the car."

He casually tossed his tie aside and hugged her delicate shoulders. He was about to lean down for a kiss, yet Xiaye gently lifted a hand to push him away. "I don't want to... You stink of alcohol!"

"Just for a bit..."

He did not care whether she wanted it or not. He leaned down for the kiss and got a few minutes of sweetness before he let go of her.

"What did you have for dinner?" he asked in concern out of habit.

This man seemed to be quite concerned with her diet recently. Usually, even if she did not have meals with him, he would always ask her about what she had eaten.

Xi Xiaye panted slightly. After a while, the mistiness in her eyes gradually dissipated.