Earlston, Scotland, 11:30;

Clutching onto the edges of 'Jane Eyre' written by the English Novelist Charlotte Brontë, the girl read the book to her darling, her toes curled by the arresting words inscribed within.

"I should not shrink from you with disgust as I did from her: in your quiet moments you should have no watcher and no nurse but me; and I could hang over you with untiring tenderness, though you gave me no smile in return; and never weary of gazing into your eyes, though they had no longer a ray of recognition for me.", she read out, her tone more of a whisper.

Unable to read any further, the girl adjusted her favorite bookmark between the pages and shut the book close. So emotional...

Letting out a shaky breath then, she turned to her Yuan for comfort, only to find him slumbering behind her. His head upon one of the luxe faux fur pillows he'd brought along, his one hand upon her right thigh.

She had seen this coming, though. He was too exhausted to stay awake, provided he'd been working since the early morning; preparing breakfast for the two of them whilst handling his office work simultaneously weren't tasks that could be thought of as undemanding. But that was alright. She could pacify her sentimental little heart with chocolates and cakes too, right?

The girl was about to stand up from the floor when a strong and equally wise hand wrapped around her left wrist, and in the very next second, yanked her against a broad chest. "There is no cake in the house.", Xi Yuan mumbled sleepily, "Stay."

"Wha-", Rong Xinghe blinked at the man, shocked to her core. Did he just listen to her thoughts? Bloody hell!

"Don't think too much.", the man added next, "I've been listening to you. It's sad. What the girl in the book is going through. But don't you dare to slip away from me because of that.

"It's not safe for you to go on a food hunt in bakeries throughout Earlston right now, Xinghe."

He listened to that thought too, the girl gasped, her eyes open wide.

"Wait. What do you mean by 'not safe'?", the girl shook her head, focussing on the later part of Xi Yuan's words.

"Xi Corporations. Old rival. Steven1984.", the man answered in short, knowing she'd fill in the blanks by herself, his eyes still closed.

"Informer?", the girl raised her brows.

"Bro Al."

"Got it.", Rong Xinghe nodded faintly a while later, resting her head upon his shoulders, closing her eyes lightly, "You know I can protect myself, right?"

"I know.", the man smiled, pulling up the warm blanket that'd tumbled down by the girl's movements, up to her shoulders, "But who will protect me if you'd be gone, Ma' Jolie?"

Listening to the man's words, the girl couldn't help but laugh out a short genial laugh. He could be so cute at times...

About half an hour later, when Xinguan were both asleep in each other's irresistible presence, the fireplace a few meters from them still burning with blazing golden flames, Butler Tang walked in, his footsteps nearly inaudible. The old man looked at the couple with a hint of nostalgia in his eyes for a few seconds, before he pulled his phone out and clicked a picture of the two. Ah, the young love, he smiled to himself; as he forwarded the photo to Li Jungah.

Shortly after, the woman called him, her tone immensely cheerful, "Thank you for putting my heart at ease, Mr. Tang.", she said, her voice relieved, "Look out for them until their security arrives, alright?"

"You have my word, my lady.", the Butler replied, "I will protect Young Master with the last drop of blood running through my veins if that's what it takes to make sure that he lives on. You have nothing to worry about here."

"Shield the Young Lady too, Butler.", Li Jungah smiled tenderly, "She is your Young Master's heart. She is the reason he breathes."

"Certainly, Ma'am.", the man replied modestly, "I'll watch out for her too."

"And while you are at it, please click more such ardent pictures of these two.", the woman grinned, "We'll be needing a lot of those before their wedding."

"..."

____________________

Rong Family Mansion, City A, Country X, 17:35;

"What were you doing with the young lady from the Huang family last night, Yufan?", Gu Hong approached her son, an envelope of pictures in her hands, "And what if the media were to get hold of them?"

Rong Chang and Rong Quiang too soon joined the mother and son in the old mansion's living room, as they followed the source of disruption.

"It's nothing, Mom.", Rong Yufan responded indifferently, reverting his gaze to the files he'd been reading, "She happened to be in the same hotel last night, so I invited her for some drinks. We're barely acquaintances, to be truthful."

"Huangs can't be messed with, dear.", Rong Quiyang explained to the man calmly, "Even if you like her, pursue her carefully. From what I've heard, Huang Ling treasures his sister more than his entire business."

"Yeah, but Yufan needs to start thinking of forming a family too, right?", Rong Chang suggested, his eyes glued to the pictures in his hands, "And to gain the Huang family's backing, it'd surely be a great advantage for us. What do you think about it, son?"

"I don't like women who are spoiled by their families.", the man scoffed, shutting the laptop on the coffee table, "I want someone much... tamed and powerless. I could use Biu for as long as I want. But do not get your hopes high, Dad. Huangs and Rongs are not happening."

As the young man disappeared from their line of sights in the study, the three elders exchanged helpless glances among themselves. To date, they did not know the person who'd been secretly backing them up. The fear of that person pulling back his financial support at any time was always a constant, hence.

And therefore, they were hoping to find someone more reliable. The best way to do so was Rong Yufan's marriage, but the man refused to even consider the idea. He seemed to trust this mysterious investor of theirs too much, they thought. But who was this person? Only if there was a way to figure that out. Sigh... how troublesome.