The girl glanced at the man standing beside Lu Wei before nodding her head at her brother and took a deep breath in. Although she wanted to keep him away from danger , she knew that her brother was also making some sense. Ningtao was her family and there was a possibility of her acting impulsively or emotianally , in this case. Most importanly , she understood that Xi Yuan was too worried about her to let her out of his sight for even a nanosecond. So it was better for her darling to stay with her.

"Alright.", the girl smiled ,"By the way , where is bro Bo and bro Xi ?"

"They are handling the paparazzis out there.", replied Lu Wei before he pointed his index finger towards the hospital entrance ,"Could you just take care of those journalists , Kiddo ? Its just too much for me to..."

But before the man could continue any further , Xi Yuan squeezed his left shoulder and smiled at him ,"Senior Lu , don't worry about any of this. All you need to do is focus on Mrs. Lu. I and Xinghe will take care of everything else."

Lu Wei stared at the man silently for sometime before he spoke up ,"Didn't I told you to address me as your brother ?"

Xi Yuan blinked at the man with a perplexed expression before realization finally struck him. Oh right ! They were a family now. The six men had already given him the right to treat them like his own brothers. It was just that he was finding it difficult to get used to all of that. Anyhow , it wasn't the right time for him to think about all of that. Things more important than these were waiting for him and Rong Xinghe.

"Um... We will take our leave now , bro... Lu ?", the man said , as he scratched his neck hesitantly.

Lu Wei simply passed a smile to his sister before he sat back down on the hospital bench , waiting for the surgery to get over. Right now , his wife was his first priority. As far as the identity of the mastermind was concerned , he knew he could trust his sister and Xi Yuan with that. One was his sister , while the other one had been his student. He knew how efficient and influential both of them were , more than anyone.

__________________________

After the couple dealt with the team of journalists standing outside the hospital and ensured a proper security for the girl's family , they headed straight towards the hotel Ningtao had been staying in.

Xi Yuan was driving the SUV while the girl was sitting in the passenger seat looking through her e-mails , as six military jeeps followed behind them. The man stayed silent for sometime , trying his best to not bring the topic up. Yet , he felt like it was important for them to discuss about it.

"I am sorry.", the man ended up whispering to himself.

"What are you apologizing for ?", the girl turned her head to look at Xi Yuan with a muddled expression.

Xi Yuan was taken aback by the girl's reaction as he didn't thought she would've actually heard him. But then again , this was none other than the mighty Military Chief of Country X. A woman with extraordinarily sharp and alert senses was whom he was in love with.

"For the four months of pain I gave you , Xinghe.", the man sighed ,"I never realized how difficult it had been for you."

The girl closed her eyes as the memories of those four months started floating in front of her eyes ,"That wasn't your fault , Yuan. You were attacked that day , and you couldn't possibly do anything about it. Everything was just... so beyond our control. Most importantly , my pain was burdened by my... regrets."

"Regrets ?", the man frowned.

"The regret of not expressing my... true feelings to you. The regret of not telling you how much I... love you before all of that happened to you. Yuan.. I was really scared when I saw you like that. Unconscious and motionless. You weren't responding to my confession... and to my pleas. You weren't waking up to... wipe my tears , like you usually did. And that scared me. I realized how much I had gotten dependent on you. I was... so addicted to you by then.

"I never got tired of taking care of Xi Corporations for you , despite the fact that I had a nation's security to manage. It just... hurt to not feel your arms wrapped around me , hun. That was really... painful for me. I just want you to know one thing , Yuan. I can fight the entire world for you , but... I can't do that wihout you. I love you so damn much !", the girl explained.

Xi Yuan's grip over the stearing wheel tightened as he listened to the girl's words. He never thought that his every touch , every hug and his every word meant so much to her. Most importantly , she had fallen for him long before she had confessed to him in the hospital. She was hiding her feelings inside her heart throughout the time she was with him , before he was attacked.

"Exactly when did you realized your feelings for me , Xinghe ?", the man asked after sometime.

"When you opened up... to me about the death of your grandparents.", the girl replied ,"When you revealed that frightening... chapter of your dark past to me , even though it was breaking you from the inside , I realized how important I was for you. You didn't... wanted to keep me in the dark , no matter how difficult it was for you. You trusted me with such an excruciating memory , Yuan. And that was very brave of you , darling !

"When you told me about your childhood autism and how your grandparents were killed , I felt as if thousands of needles were pierced into my heart. How can a person.... as amazing as you be destined for something like that ? You deserve the world , Yuan. And that was when I realized how much I loved you. I had fallen for you , Mr. Xi ! Hard..."

A genuine smile appeared across the man's lips as he caressed the girl's hair ,"Thanks for telling me about it. I really love you , honey."

"I love you too.", the girl smiled back ,"But lets focus on the person I am going to kill now."

As he looked at the girl's eyes turning few shades darker and smile converting into a devilish smirk , Xi Yuan couldn't help but sigh helplessly. It was one hell of a transformation from love to hatred ! Anyway , no matter what she wanted to do , he was already her partner in crime by default. This was what he had promised her when they had started their relationship with a simple friendship. She was to kill and he was to bury the body. That had always been the protocol.Their protocol !