Li Si sent Su Chen to the entrance of his apartment as the rain kept pouring. Qingming was coming soon, and the air had turned very humid recently.

"Alright, I'm fine here. You can go back." Su Chen grabbed his windbreaker from Li Si and walked into his apartment.

Li Si had an umbrella in his hand. He was about to say something, but Su Chen had already walked far away, so he shrugged and returned to his car.

Su Chen walked slowly, suddenly feeling an urge to smoke, so he quickly lit a stick up. He started smoking as he walked back to his own unit while the cold rain continued to fall.

He finally arrived at his unit after a while. Then, he extinguished his cigarette and grabbed his keys in his pocket. However, he saw a skinny figure sitting on the staircase in front of his unit.

Su Chen stopped as his mind instantly sobered up. He looked at the person as he cursed himself.

Damn it!

He totally forgot to give her a pair of keys to his apartment!

Ji Zitong's body was cold and numb, and she had almost fallen asleep.

She had probably waited for over two hours since her flower store closed at around 10 p.m. Her mother told her to go home earlier knowing that she had just gotten married, yet she could not enter the house as he was nowhere to be found. Because she called him and no one picked up, she could only wait outside for his return.

Two hours went past and her body was freezing. As she curled up into a ball, she had no idea when Su Chen stood right before her.

He stood beside Ji Zitong quietly and studied her from above. Moments later, he said, "Get up. It's cold outside. Why didn't you wait at the guardhouse?"

His sudden voice shocked Ji Zitong who looked up at Su Chen's handsome face. A light flashed in her eyes. "You're back. Why are you so late?"

She tried to get up from the cold floor, but her body was numb from curling up in the same position for such a long time that she almost fell over when she stood up.

"Be careful!" Su Chen quickly grabbed her shoulder as he spoke.

Ji Zitong struggled, but his long arm reached her and wrapped around her shoulders to help her stand properly. He also held her bags for her.

"Thank you!" Ji Zitong thanked him as she backed off slightly. She was still not used to such an intimate distance with him.

Su Chen frowned when he saw her acting this way. Something was hidden deep in his eyes as he shuddered a little when he looked at her.

She thought he would say something, but in the end, he did not. He let go of her after she could stand properly. Then, he walked up the staircase and opened the door to let Ji Zitong in.

With a deep breath, she went in.

Su Chen closed the door and switched on the heater. The temperature turned warm a moment later while the two of them changed their shoes.

"Have you had dinner?" Su Chen put his coat onto the hanger as he looked at Ji Zitong who was busy sorting out the stuff in her bags.

"I had some in the store. Have you had any?" Ji Zitong looked at him. She could smell the alcohol on him. Thinking that it was pointless to ask even though she wondered where he went, she then looked down and continued sorting out the stuff she bought.

They were just some items for her daily use. Since she rushed to pack up before coming over yesterday, she still needed some stuff, so she had gone to the supermarket before coming home.

Su Chen seemed to have read her mind. He then explained himself, "I went to have a drink with Ah Chen and Zimo, but I forgot to call you. I'm sorry. Have you waited long?"

"It's alright. It was just a while," Ji Zitong gave a brief reply. They were not really close before anyway, so she did not see the point of explaining. Nevertheless, she also felt it might be necessary. After all, they were married and she had waited for quite a long time.

"Go and take a shower upstairs. I'll make supper for us, and I'll pass you the keys later as well."

"I..."

"Go and shower now. I don't want a sick person staying in my house."

Su Chen interrupted her before she could finish her sentence. He grabbed her bags and put them aside before he pointed at the stairs, signaling her to take action immediately. He was really used to being an instructor.

Ji Zitong frowned, apparently not very pleased with the man's attitude, but she still gave in as she felt cold all over.

Su Chen unbuttoned his sleeves and rolled them up after she went upstairs. Then, he went into the kitchen.

His head felt a little heavy after drinking all night, and because he was pretty hungry himself, he wanted to make some food.

Although his cooking was incomparable to Mu Yuchen's, it was not bad. The three of them always made meals themselves when they served in the army anyway.

It was late and there was no time to make a proper meal. Therefore, Su Chen decided to make some simple chicken porridge. He was so quick that the meal was done when Ji Zitong came out from the shower.

Su Chen grabbed two bowls before sitting down. He looked over when he heard the sound of footsteps.

Ji Zitong had changed into clean pajamas and tied her loose hair into a simple bun. Her face was slightly pink as she had just come out from the shower. Her image differed a lot from her usual cold, distant self, making her quite a unique sight.

Ji Zitong looked at Su Chen when she noticed he was staring at her. She did not really mind and just acted normally. He averted his gaze away and signaled her to sit in front of him.

Ji Zitong sat down obediently.

He put a bowl of soup in front of her. "Have some ginger soup. It's great to prevent a cold." He then started getting some porridge for her.

Ginger soup?

Ji Zitong frowned. She did not really like the taste of ginger, so she glanced at the hot ginger soup before her, and then looked at Su Chen who had just made her dinner. She felt a slight warmth rise from deep inside her heart as she swiftly gulped it down.

"It's late and I can't really make anything fancy, so let's just have some porridge. Do you have any food that you don't like?" Su Chen passed her a bowl of porridge as he asked.

Ji Zitong took it from him and replied, "Thank you. I'm fine. I'm not a picky eater." She then slowly enjoyed her porridge.

To her surprise, it was pretty tasty. She was reminded of dinner last night. "I was honored to have a meal prepared by Chairman Mu before at his place. His cooking is really impressive. I didn't expect yours to be not too bad as well, Chief Su."

Su Chen looked at her and raised his eyebrows. "Of course, the three of us are exceptional. Our women are surely blessed. The kitchen is a man's place. Didn't you notice that all the head chefs are men? Women shouldn't be involved in this kind of work."

His pride as a man started to show again. Su Chen and Zhou Zimo did not really like to cook before, but after hanging out with Mu Yuchen, they started to get influenced, so they started to take responsibility of their housework.

Ji Zitong chuckled. "I suppose at least, you're better than those men."

Her mother was the one who handled all the cooking at home. She came from a typical family where the woman managed the housework and the man was the breadwinner, but Su Chen's words gave her a new perspective.

They said that the people you mix with were a reflection of yourself. This was probably a valid example of that.

Su Chen accepted her compliment generously, and the two of them chatted about their lives back when they were serving in the army, as well as their hobbies. They were like a pair of friends who were reunited after many years with no awkwardness between them.

After they finished their supper peacefully, Ji Zitong did the dishes as Su Chen checked his phone. He noticed that there were several missed calls, so he walked upstairs and started calling them back.

Ji Zitong cleaned up and sorted out the stuff she bought. Su Chen was done showering when she went upstairs. However, he was talking on the phone with someone while he was on the bed. When he saw her lying down on the other side of the bed, he quickly ended the conversation.

Ji Zitong was much calmer than last night, but she was still not used to this feeling though she was firm that she was sure of her role now.

She had always been a tough person after all. After experiencing some unease before, she was now starting to accept her reality.

Su Chen's arm grabbed several keys from the bedside table along with some cards. He then handed them to Ji Zitong. "These are the keys to our home, the card to the restaurant we went to before, a bank card, and the keys to the Su Residence. Keep them. The pin number to the bank card is 345678. Remember that. There are two cars in the garage and you can drive whichever you want. The keys are inside the drawer of the coffee table in the living room. The Land Rover was a gift from Ah Chen, but I don't think it's suitable for a woman like you to drive it," Su Chen explained to her.

Ji Zitong was stunned to see the things he passed her. She sat up slightly and stared at them for a while. Then, she looked at him and was hesitant to take them.

"Keep it. You have the right to, and I won't ask much from you. I think you're great as Mrs. Su. If you have time to visit my grandfather, please do. They seem to like you a lot. I'm pretty busy and need to go abroad frequently, so I rarely go back to visit."

Moreover, Su Chen did not want to go back since they would always urge him to get married soon, or the elder would lecture him in the study room. He was almost traumatized by all that. Hopefully, things would get better since he was married now.

Ji Zitong was silent, only accepting the things after a while.

"Take your time. My parents aren't here now. They'll only be back in a few days. I'll bring you home then. You've met my grandfather and my sister. Oh, by the way, I'll call my sister tomorrow and ask her to pick some clothes that you'd like. She'll visit you at the flower store directly," Su Chen then informed her.

"It's fine. I have enough clothes." Ji Zitong kept the things and put them on the bedside table on her end.

"You do? You always wear the same outfits. My sister sells fashionable women's clothes. Just go take a look. You'll regret if you don't start dressing up now." Su Chen knew this way too well because his mother always complained in front of his father.

Ji Zitong did not say anything. She lay down once again after she put the things aside. Inside the small, cramped space, she could smell his wild and fresh scent the moment she closed her eyes, and she was getting nervous, really nervous.

The rain continued to fall until late at night, and the sky turned tranquil as the lights behind the curtain flickered.

Ji Zitong was feeling really nervous. Su Chen dragged the blanket a little towards himself. She turned and their feet touched each other. He frowned as he felt the icy cold sensation.

Ji Zitong was startled for a moment as well. Before she could react, the man got closer, freaking her out as he embraced her. His big figure wrapped her up completely.

She took a deep breath and pushed him away. "Don't do this. Give me some time!"

Su Chen did not move away from her and still held her down tightly as if he had not heard what she said.

She struggled as he pushed him, her voice starting to get angry. "Su Chen! Let go of me!"

"Move if you don't want me to force myself upon you! I'm not really a patient guy. You better get used to this quickly." Su Chen's voice was firm while his arm around Ji Zitong's waist tightened. His wild and fresh scent filled the room, and his firm chest felt like a heating stove, instantly burning her into nothingness.

"You..."

When Ji Zitong kicked him, he reacted quickly and locked her foot down with a chuckle. "You're still the same as before, acting like a wild cat whenever you get angry, but I recently gave lessons to a lot of people like you."

"I'm not under you, and I'm not your subordinate! You can't do this to me!" Ji Zitong struggled and struggled but to no avail.

Su Chen laughed and his voice was very gentle as he responded, "We're married. You don't think I'll be a monk forever, do you?"

"Shameless!" Ji Zitong pinched his hand and scolded him.

He backed off after he had teased her enough. Then, in an upright tone, he said, "I'm telling you the truth right now, and it's a serious problem. I'm not an upright gentleman. Of course, I'm not a willful monk-in-training as well. I'm just a normal man. Why else do you think I married you? I'm not looking for a platonic relationship. Do you understand me?"

What a bastard!

In the dark, Ji Zitong's face turned bright red. Although she was angry and frustrated, in the end, she ignored him and closed her eyes.

"Why aren't you talking?" he asked after she did not reply for quite a while.

Ji Zitong remained silent,

"Ji Zitong, say something!" Su Chen grabbed her waist again, but she gave him another kick.

Master Su took a deep breath and gave up when his woman stopped giving him attention. He closed his eyes, yet his arms never let go of his woman...

The long rain continued. Qing Ming was just around the corner. Xi Xiaye rested at home for a very long time. Sometimes, she would visit the Shen residence and the Mu residence.

She would visit the hospital for check-ups every week or two as well as drop by to see Ruan Heng.

Ruan Heng was still unconscious. Su Nan went back to her previous company and worked as a fashion designer. Since she was very experienced and had been working with the owner for a very long time, her benefits there were pretty decent.

Ruan Heng's condition had stabilized, but there was no sign of him waking up. Mu Yuchen contacted the hospital and got some experienced specialists to take a look at him. Frustratingly, all of them said his waking up depended on his willpower. Su Nan would visit the hospital every day after she finished work to talk to Ruan Heng, wipe his body, and massage his limbs. She did not want his body to get stiff. Otherwise, there might be more issues when he woke up.

Su Nan started to get used to her new life. Instead of being lost like before, she was much more positive now.

On the sofa in Ruan Heng's room, Su Nan handed a glass of hot water to Xi Xiaye as she asked, "How're you recovering? And about your job... Last time, when I went back to our school, I bumped into Aunty Shen. She said you're planning to take over your grandpa's company. Are you sure you can handle Fuhua Property Development?"

Xi Xiaye took the glass as she answered, "I'm doing very well now. I'll be working again in a few days. I'll head back to Glory World to handle some things. Mu Yuchen is busy learning more about Fu Hua from my grandpa, so I'll work on the seasonal statistics now before going to Fuhua. Mu Yuchen's been working a lot with Grandpa recently. I think it won't be very difficult with his help."

"You are really lucky to have found a good husband, but you should still take care of yourself. You look even skinnier after you've given birth." Su Nan was concerned.

Xi Xiaye smiled before she sipped some water. "I'm worried that I'm not recovering. I've been eating more lately."

"It's good to eat more. I was pretty anxious a while back and almost became anorexic. I vomited whatever I ate, but I only got better recently. Anyway, I have something to tell you. My mother told me that Xi Xinyi came to see Ruan Heng a few days ago. I think that it's pretty weird. I wanted to tell you about it before but I forgot. What do you think about this?" Su Nan suddenly remembered what her mother had told her several days ago.

Xi Xinyi?

Xi Xiaye frowned when she heard that name.

Ever since their conversation in her room last time, she had never seen her again. She remembered that Xi Xinyi insisted that she had not pushed her, then...