"Xinghe, you should stop doing this to yourself. Having a past is not a crime.", the man said, loosening his tie, "You had a relationship before me. Big deal? You were emotionally attached to him. You were brave enough to love. As long as your past doesn't affect your present, I won't say a word. And what kind of a boyfriend would I be if I keep poking you about it? About your past relationships.

"Your comfort, your smiles and your safety. I am responsible for all of that. Not your sorrows. Or the tears.

"I have one task. To love you. Like no one ever could. And I believe I am fulfilling that responsibility of mine pretty well?", the man raised his brows with a grin across his lips.

"You are.", the girl could feel a lump forming in her throat, tears already flowing down her eyes, "Mom told me about your silly request at the hospital. How could you, Yuan?"

"Wait... You are already addressing her as 'Mom'?"

"Thank you, Baby.", the girl bit her lower lip, "For this. For asking me to visit them. I might sound crazy to you, but I felt like I found a home today."

"There is nothing crazy about it, Xinghe.", the man laughed his deep magnetizing laugh, "You deserve this. You deserve a home. And I am glad you liked them."

"They love you too, Yuan. And they miss you. Can't you just forgive them?", the girl asked, her voice more of a whisper. She knew she was stepping into his personal territory. "Can't you just talk to them?"

"I talk to them."

"Not like a son. You don't talk. You conversate. There is a difference.", the girl corrected, "You are the President of Xi Corporations when you are with them. You are not... you."

Xi Yuan stared at the girl for some time silently, before he shook his head, "You won't understand."

"Is it even possible for your Xinghe to not understand you?", the girl asked, "Tell me, Bub. What is troubling you? What is pulling you back?"

"Well...", the man inhaled, "I can't talk to them. I want to. But I can't. Although they had no involvement in my grandparents' death, a part of me still blames them for it. The fifteen-year-old child still blames them for it.

"Xinghe, they died with grief and pain in their eyes. Instead of their two sons, and daughters-in-law, and grandkids, they were surrounded by some bloody assassins when they breathed their last. They never deserved such a cruel death. And I could only blame my parents and my Uncle-Aunt for it. I still blame them.

"I know my Mom and Dad weren't at fault. It's just that--"

"You are afraid that you met end up hurting them. That you would say something you aren't supposed to say. And that you would drift apart from them even more. Right?", she knew it. The only reason behind his contemplations could be his fear. Fear of messing up everything. Fear of not being able to fix it back.

Unable to say anything, the man simply nodded.

"Yuan... you will be fine. You won't ruin it. They are your parents. They will understand even if you blame them. They know you blame them."

"I am not ready, Xinghe. For this. For any of this.", the man shook his head, "Don't. Just don't even try."

"Okay. I won't push you to do anything.", the girl sighed, "Take all the time you need. Just remember one thing. I am there for you, whenever you need someone to talk to."

"I know.", the man smiled, "Should we talk about something else now?"

"Yeah.", the girl nodded, "Let's talk about Sherlock Holmes."

"What is your obsession with Sherlock Holmes?!"

"I love him !"

"Excuse me?"

"Okay, not more than you. But I like the Holmes' stories!"

"We might be the only crazy couple reading detective stories. Others just watch 'Titanic' or 'The Kissing Booth'."

"We are not 'others'. We are Xinguan. We read 'The Hound of Baskervilles'. We watch hot detectives.", the girl countered. If not for Huang Biu, there was definitely going to be a fight for Sherlock Holmes tonight. It seemed like it.

___________________________

Meanwhile, City M;

Sun Cheng had already left Qui Chin in the big house. Alone. Helpless. He wanted her to self-reflect and figure out a way to 'free' his daughter from Lu Wei. He had already decided to divorce her.

"The only reason I married you was that I thought you could protect my child. But clearly, you proved me wrong. There's no point to keep you around. You will get the divorce papers soon. When that time comes, sign them.", he had said before he had left.

Nothing seemed to happen good to her lately. Everything! Every little thing was like a dagger being staked right through her heart. Her child had been kidnapped. Her husband was divorcing her. Every project she had been working on had been called off. No one was ready to help her. Her friends, her agency, or even the directors she had slept with, in order to get to where she was today.

As she thought of the head covered in blood, packed in that wooden box, a chill ran down her spine. For the thousandth time now. In a single day. Every time she used to hear the sound of a Police siren, she would hide behind the couch or in the washroom of the huge empty house. She was really scared. Petrified, to be exact.

This was HER plan. Rong Xinghe's plan. She loved to play with her prey, before she killed it. She enjoyed playing with one's mind, their brain. It was the ultimate form of revenge, she believed. The fright. The thrill of knowing that the very thought of you can terrify someone to their core. This was the kind of revenge she preferred.

She simply asked Xi Wei to blacklist Qui Chin. She was well aware of his influence in the entertainment industry, after all. Xi Corporations ruled over almost every important business sector in Country X. Frontline Illumination was one of Xi Corporations' subsidiary companies. It was the mightiest entertainment agency in Country X currently. Xi Yuan didn't care about the agency even a bit. So he had trusted Xi Wei with it, instead of just shutting it off. And surprisingly, the young man was a born talent at it. He had developed it so well that the majority of the entertainment industry bowed down to the Xis' today.

As a result, when the Frontline Illumination blacklisted Qui Chin, no one dared to work with her. This was Rong Xinghe's plan for her that day. A mere exchange of words with her to be brother-in-law, and the woman was jobless.

And yet, this was just the beginning of her destruction.