They had just reached Maple Residence when they could hear laughter from afar. Xi Xiaye could recognize that it was Shen Yue and Mu Yinan's cheerful banter.

"We're home. Let's go down."

The car drove straight into Maple Residence and stopped at the cement pavement by the stairs in front of the villa.

Mu Yuchen got down the car first before reaching out to hold her.

"You're back!"

"You're finally back. Quickly come in. It's cold outside. Don't catch a cold now," Zhuang Shurong immediately ordered the servants to help get their things.

"Mother, Grandpa, Grandfather!" Xi Xiaye called out gently as she held her son tightly with both hands. Mu Yinan and Shen Yue had already come over and were fighting to carry him.

"Let me see!"

"I want to carry him first, then you can go!"

Shen Yue walked over, his movements filled with vigor. He immediately reached out to carry Mu Zicheng as he cooed to him. Mu Yinan quickly walked over too.

Xi Xiaye watched them as her beautiful face flushed with a faint smile. She subconsciously turned to look at the man beside her who remained calm, yet there was a tenderness in his eyes. He noticed her gaze, and a faint delight colored his handsome face.

"Missus!"

At this moment, two friendly-looking middle-aged women came to Xi Xiaye and respectfully bowed to greet her.

"Missus, these are the two maternity matrons that I've just gotten for you. This is Aunt Ling, and this is Aunt Fang," Sis Wang came up to introduce.

Mu Yuchen was worried that she would not be taken good care of at home, so he found two maternity matrons for her. Including her and the other servants, there should be seven to eight people in the entire Maple Residence. It was the first time Maple Residence was this lively. While it always used to be desolate with not many people in the huge house, it was now very lively.

Xi Xiaye nodded gently at them. "I'll have to trouble all of you then."

"No need to be courteous with us. This is what we should be doing," the two of them replied respectfully. Clearly, they were well-trained persons.

"We'll go upstairs first. Let me help you up," Mu Yuchen who kept quiet finally spoke up.

Xi Xiaye nodded, she turned to the sofa in the living room and saw Shen Yue was still playing with Mu Zicheng, she smiled, and then let him help her upstairs.

The entire room was already changed beyond recognition. The initial style was changed to a warmer one with light beige as the main tone. It looked elegant and fresh, bringing cheer and light-heartedness.

Although it was just a short 20 odd days, she felt like it had been a century long. Thankfully, everything was fine. Otherwise, she really could not be sure that if anything happened to the child, she would break down...

Xi Xiaye pulled open the floor-length curtains, and what greeted her sight were the final buds of the peach blossoms in the backyard, and many unnamed purple and red flowers. On the side was the gleaming reflections from the swimming pool that refracted a faint golden light that swayed. One felt dazed just watching the entire scenery.

"What are you thinking about?"

As someone's unique scene closed in from behind, her slender body was engulfed in his embrace, and his slightly warm and dry hands held her cold ones. She felt warmth chasing away the final traces of coldness that she caught from outside. She then said softly, "Nothing. Did you find the person who pushed me?"

As she said this, she turned and met his gaze. "I think that it wouldn't have been Xi Xinyi, but since that person dares to mess with our child, I can't let go of them. Even if Xiao Cheng is fine, we can't just let go of someone so evil. Do you know that if you didn't reach in time, our child might've been..."

"I'm sorry. I didn't protect you well." His tone was a little down while his long arms abruptly tightened. "This won't happen ever again."

Xi Xiaye smiled calmly as she lifted a hand to poke at his knitted brows. "It's got nothing to do with you. You've always done great. It was my own neglect. You've opened your wings to hold up the sky for me, so I should work a little harder to catch up with you. I don't want to be a burden to you. I'm worried that you can't be as free as you were before because of me."

"The evening you returned from City B, Qi Lei came looking for me. He told me that Gu Lingsha's joined Qi Kai for work, and has become the other person-in-charge of the South River project. Now that the South River project has begun, there 'll be many things that we need to handle in time. I don't want to look into what this all means. I just hope that you can be more cautious."

"What are you thinking about? You will never be a burden to me. Being free and unaffected is only for those who've got nothing much to lose, Xiaye." He sighed as he suddenly held her by the shoulders and turned her around to face him. His deep eyes were filled with sentiments that could not be concealed. "You have never been a burden to me. I married you not to become a good wife. We can't escape these responsibilities. As for those matters, just leave it to me. I know what to do."

"Ever since you returned from City B, you have had a lot on your mind, did you find out something?"

Xi Xiaye thought about it, and did not continue the topic earlier, today when she discharged, she thought about this.

Mu Yuchen lifted a hand to hold up his heavy head, then pointed to the chair on the side. "Have a seat first, and I'll explain it briefly to you."

Xi Xiaye did as she was told, and followed his guidance to sit on the chair. Mu Yuchen handed her a glass of warm water before sitting down beside her.

"I met Gu Qiwu the other day."

"Gu Qiwu? Gu Lingsha's father?" Xi Xiaye lowered her head to drink as she said softly.

Mu Yuchen nodded. "That's right. He's Gu Lingsha's father. I'm sure you know a little about what happened at the auction."

"Mmm, I've asked Li Si. He said that you used that pen as an item to put up for auction, and after that Gu Lingsha used the highest bid of $8.5 million to get the pen. I know why you did it, but after that, you couldn't find that person. Instead, that pen fell into Gu Lingsha's hands."

As Xi Xiaye spoke, she frowned. "Why would Gu Lingsha bid for the pen? Could it have been for Lingtian?"

"That may not be it. I think that we've overestimated how much Lingtian could've affected Gu Lingsha. Remember that mysterious man we met at Lingtian's tombstone the other time?" Mu Yuchen's unfathomable eyes started to turn dark as he turned and fixed his eyes on Xi Xiaye.

As Xi Xiaye listened, she squinted her twinkling eyes and nodded. "Of course, I remember. I think that person might very possibly be Ah Shi's father, but we couldn't find any news about that person for a very long time, could we?"

"Mmm, he definitely noticed that we've been looking for him, so a lot of the information has been sealed. He's very skilled at countering our investigations. I think that he should be the person bidding against Gu Lingsha at the auction. In fact, apart from us, Doris was also trailing after him."

"Gu Lingsha's mother? Why would she be trailing that person? Does she know the mysterious person too? In fact, are you sure the person chasing after him was Doris and not Gu Lingsha?" Xi Xiaye frowned and asked a little puzzled.

"It was definitely Doris, so based on my judgment, that pen should've been bid for by Doris and not Gu Lingsha."

"Doris? Is she very close to Lingtian and Ah Shi? Otherwise, why would she... Why do I find some of these things so odd? Is there no way of finding out from Doris who she was chasing after?" Xi Xiaye clutched the glass in her hands tightly as she asked.

Although Mu Yuchen smiled, his gaze darkened slightly. "Even Doris herself doesn't know who she was chasing after, but there weren't many people whom she would spend so much effort into tracking down."

"Have you guessed who that person is already?" She was all too familiar with his silent and bleak expression.

He kept quiet and leaned back against the chair before looking up at the sky and clouds outside the window. For a long while, he did not continue.

Deep in thought, Xi Xiaye turned to look at him and did not continue asking about it. She only gently patted his hand and got up unhurriedly. "When you've straightened things out, let me know. I want to know who this old trash man is too." She then turned to leave the room.

Mu Yuchen turned his head and watched her figure vanish out of the door. His calm lips flashed with a smile. "When I'm sure, I'll let you know."

Then, the sound of a door closing came from outside while the phone in his pocket suddenly buzzed.

He took out his phone to see that it was Ah Bao.

"It's me," Mu Yuchen calmly answered.

"Master!" Ah Bao's anxious voice came from the other end.

Mu Yuchen straightened up slightly and took the glass that Xi Xiaye had set aside on the table. He drank from it and said calmly, "Speak."

In City B, Ah Bao, who was seated in the car, nodded and eased himself a little. "Master, we've found out who Bro Yong is. I've compared the information with him and found out that Bro Yong is a subordinate of the CEO of the Hui Gu Corporation, Gu Qiwu. Because he previously committed a crime, he's been to jail. It was Gu Qiwu who secretly bailed him out. After that, he had been secretly working for Gu Qiwu, and he's been very loyal to him ever since," Ah Bao reported.

Mu Yuchen paused as bleakness colored his handsome face. He sighed deeply and leaned back against the chair before quietly closing his eyes and lifting a hand to cover his forehead. He only opened them after a long while to look out at the blue sky and the white clouds outside the window. Then, he blinked quite a few times before looking down quietly at his hands as if there was something dirty on them.

"I even found out that Gu Qiwu's assistant had been at the place Miss Mu Zi bought in Xiang She Residences years ago," Ah Bao added on.

Mu Yuchen calmly lowered his gaze, slowly stood up, and propped himself up with one hand against the window. He fell silent for a long while before saying a little wistfully and softly, "Find a way to get Gu Qiwu's DNA. I'll get someone to send Lingshi over. I want you to do this DNA report abroad. Find a few more authoritative doctors."

"Yes, Master," Ah Bao answered while Mu Yuchen had already hung up. The phone in his hand slipped and fell onto the table beside him.

Why was it him?

It really was him...

Mu Yuchen propped himself up weakly against the window in front of him as an indescribable gloominess rose in his throat. If that were true, would that mean that Lingtian had known for a long time already?

If that were true, then he could only scoff bitterly and ridicule his own sorrow.

His head felt immensely heavy, and his eyes dimmed with blurriness. After that, he had to set the glass down and turn around to leave the bedroom.

Downstairs, Zhuang Shurong and the servants busied themselves, and lunch was soon served. Xi Xiaye had also been waiting on the sofa downstairs for a long while, yet she did not see Mu Yuchen, so she had to carefully go upstairs again.

He was gone from the bedroom, but she did find him lying down and sleeping on the lounge chair in the study room by the shelf.

Xi Xiaye thought about it, then walked over and reached out to gently push him, "Don't sleep now, wake up and have some food before sleeping again."

Just as her fingers touched his wrist, she could clearly feel his temperature boiling. She glanced at his tightly shut eyes again, and it was clear that he slept incredibly uneasily. From the crease between his brows, she could see that he was suffering. Xi Xiaye was immediately shocked, so she quickly reached out to feel his forehead.

Indeed, he was burning!

Was he not alright just earlier?

How did he get so feverish so quickly?

Xi Xiaye looked at him with concern as she held his hand tightly and shouted, "Someone! Come quick!"

Zhuang Shurong, who had just walked up, quickly rushed in when she heard Xi Xiaye's shouts. "What's wrong?"

"Mother, he has a fever. He's burning! Quickly send him to the hospital!"

When Zhuang Shurong heard her exclamation, her expression turned solemn. She quickly took her phone out and was about to make the call when Mu Yuchen suddenly lifted a hand to push her phone away. He opened his eyes and said weakly, "I'm fine. I just caught a cold. Mother, go downstairs first. Xiaye, just help me to the bed to lie down for a bit."

"You're very feverish. Why are you still trying to be strong? Mother, please call for Dr. Zhong to make a visit. I'll help him to the room to lie down." Xi Xiaye took a look at him and sighed helplessly before bending down to help him up.

"You can't. Let Sis Wang do it." Mu Yuchen did not forget her physical condition.

"I'm fine. I can. You be careful. You were fine earlier. How did you suddenly get a fever?"

Xi Xiaye's brows frowned into a knot, yet Mu Yuchen did not have the energy to answer. When they reached the bedroom, he just fell to the bed, and everything after that was a blur.

He only faintly remembered Xi Xiaye covering him with a blanket, and then Dr. Zhong seemed to have come and put him on an intravenous drip. Later, the woman seemed to have helped him change and wipe his body. He felt his body fluctuate between feeling cold and hot, and only after that did his condition gradually ease a little.

The sky turned quiet as a gray tone shrouded the whole place. Darkness crept in slowly.

Inside the quiet and comfortable bedroom, Mu Yuchen stirred slightly after a day of sleep. He opened his eyes and put his hand onto his heavy head, glancing around as he sat up. His eyes returned to normal. When he turned around, he saw a huge pair of eyes watching him.

"Father, you're awake?" Mu Zirui was lying beside the bed as he stared at Mu Yuchen intently.

"Xiao Rui? Why are you here? Where's Mother?" Mu Yuchen took a deep breath and sat up.

Mu Zirui grabbed a glass of water and medicine on the table beside the bed and handed them to Mu Yuchen, "Have some water first, Father, and take your medicine. Mother is putting Brother to sleep. She told me to give you these when you wake up."

Mu Yuchen smiled and patted Mu Zirui's head before taking the water and medicine from him. Then, he quickly consumed the medicine.

Mu Yuchen had Mu Zirui sit on the bed and asked, "What time is it now?"

"The sky has turned dark already! Grandmother and the others have gone back home. Great-grandmother just fell asleep. Brother woke up the moment Mother finished her shower," Mu Zirui touched Mu Yuchen's forehead with his little hand. "Father, are you feeling unwell?'

Mu Yuchen grabbed his hand and asked, "I'm alright. Why aren't you asleep yet?"

Mu Zirui gave it some thought before he gave Mu Yuchen a serious reminder. "I'll sleep after Brother falls asleep since there's no school tomorrow. Father, you need to wash your hands more frequently. It'll be more difficult to get sick that way."

Mu Yuchen chuckled. "Who told you that you can avoid getting sick by washing your hands frequently?"

"The teachers at the kindergarten. I also saw Mother wiping your face and hands."

"Xiao Rui, there could be many reasons for a person to fall sick. Not washing your hands means not taking good care of personal hygiene which is one of the aspects. A lack of physical training could lead to getting sick as well. Don't eat anything dirty too. That's why you have to start training yourself in kindergarten. Play more with other children instead of just watching them like before. You're not going to make friends like that. Understand?"

Mu Yuchen patted Mu Zirui's head. He was surprised at himself for saying so much to this kid even though he was not particularly a talkative person.

Mu Zirui nodded. He thought about something again before asking, "Father, if I don't like someone, should I still play with him?"

"You don't like him? Why not?" Mu Yuchen leaned against the bedhead as he asked.

"Because he doesn't let the other children play with me."

"Then, you'll have to come up with a way to make other children play with you. Remember that you cannot fight in school. If there's anything you can't solve, then come home and discuss it with us. Back when I was in kindergarten, I was the boss of the whole place. Even the teachers were impressed. Teachers always like children that have good grades and are influential over other children. Do you understand what I'm saying?" Mu Ycuhen tried to simplify what he was trying to say.

Mu Zirui was a smart child, so he grabbed Mu Yuchen's arm. "I understand, Father! I'll do my best and be the boss!"

Mu Yuchen chuckled as he tapped Mu Zirui's head. "Cheeky little thing! I told you to memorize both your mother's and my number. Have you done it?"

"Yeap, yours is XXXX. Mother's phone number is XXXX. Our house address is Maple Residence, number 9 in the Grand Waves Villa area, right, Father?"

"Good, you need to memorize Great-grandfather's address and phone number as well. When I have some free time, I'll bring you around City Z. At least, you'll know how to get home if I leave you alone at the train station."

Master Mu thought this knowledge was relevant to a kid.

...

"What are you guys talking about?"

Xi Xiaye came in through the side door and saw Mu Zirui lying on the bed looking at Mu Yuchen. The two of them were chatting about something. Mu Zirui looked like he was having fun as Mu Yuchen's hand was on Mu Zirui's head.

"Father said he'll bring me to take the trains one day, Mother." Mu Zirui turned his head the moment he heard Xi Xiaye's voice.

"That will need to wait. It's getting late now and you should go back to your room and sleep. I'll read you some stories. Change into your pajamas quickly."

Xi Xiaye glanced at Mu Yuchen and was relieved when she noticed he was not as pale as before. "Go and take a bath. I've prepared the water for you. I'll go to Xiao Rui's room."

Mu Yuchen nodded. "Is our son asleep?"

"Yeap, he can be easily awakened. His ears are very sensitive and he'll awaken at the slightest noise. Let's go, Xiao Rui. Time to sleep."

"Oh, goodnight, Father!"

"Goodnight." Mu Yuchen took his hand away.

...

Mu Zirui's room was right beside Mu Zicheng's room. It was just a door away.

Xi Xiaye took out a clean set of pajamas and was about to change it for Mu Zirui. Unexpectedly, he hid under the blanket and popped out his head as he said, "Mother, I'll change by myself. I read it in the book that I shouldn't let girls see my body so easily."

Xi Xiaye could not help but giggle after hearing Mu Zirui's words. She gently knocked on Mu Zirui's head. "Just how old do you think you are?! I just bathed you a few days ago. I've seen everything on you! You shouldn't let girls see you when you grow up. I'm not a little girl."

"But..."

"No buts. Come out. I'm changing for you!"

Xi Xiaye dragged Mu Zirui out of the blanket and quickly changed him into his pajamas. Then, she read Mu Zirui several stories until he fell asleep.