Earlston, Scotland, 09:30;

Rong Xinghe rushed into Xi Yuan's study as soon as she'd woken up, her one hand gripping onto her phone. "What happened?!", she questioned him, anxious, "Are you alright? I just had a word with Little Panda."

Xi Yuan raised his head to look at the girl, his brows knit together. He seemed to be occupied with something urgent, so the girl halted at the entrance, waiting for him to conclude his work. The man reverted his gaze to his laptop screen a moment later, typing furiously over it. Five more minutes passed by before the man shut the device close and leaned back in his chair, worn out with fatigue. "I can't believe this.", he mumbled under his breath.

"What is it, Yuan?", the girl asked, her feet frozen to the threshold of the room. His typing speed wasn't average. In fact, it was nowhere near average. The only person she'd seen wield computers with such proficiency was her Bro Al. And from the looks of it, she was sure he was creating or editing some sort of software program. She'd always known of him to be a technocrat. But to think of his foundational skills, it was somewhat surprising, even to her.

"Come here, Xinghe.", the man said, his eyes close, his voice soft yet jaded. It crushed her to watch him in such a state. But at the moment, she did not know of what could pacify his distressed mind. All she could do was comply with his wishes. So she walked over to him obediently.

Gradually, the man opened his eyes, turning to look at the woman; the sight of her pleasantly rosy face, her disheveled hair, tranquilizing his heart to an unimaginable extent. At least, she slept fine, he comforted himself. His work was important, yes. But even so, none were as much a priority to him as her. As long as she was recuperating well, nothing else mattered.

"What is going on?", Rong Xinghe blinked at the man, repeating her question.

"Well... I was trying to figure out who hacked into the system, and as to why the central emergency alarm inside it didn't go off.", Xi Yuan explained, taking both her hands into his, "The software installed in all my gadgets is highly sensitive, so much so that the moment an intruder is to get through the last line of the security code, the system self-destructs itself. Hence, it becomes impossible for the interlopers to access any of the internal documents.

"But not only did the hackers managed to get through such a complicated program without exterminating the system, they even grabbed a privileged business file.", he glanced at the girl, a cunning smile across his mouth, "Frankly speaking, I am significantly impressed by the hackers' finesse at this point."

"Hackers?", the girl frowned, "As in plural?" From what she'd known after her years with Zhi Al, hackers didn't prefer to operate in groups, for their job required utmost concentration and delicacy. Whilst dealing with Xi Yuan's complex software, why would one take such risks?

"Yeah.", the man nodded, "From what I could find out up till now, two devices received 'root' access to the laptop last night. Somewhere around half-past two. I couldn't get hold of both the IP addresses though, for I wasn't there during the in-action intrusion. Otherwise, I would've at least located them.

"But it's strange how they stole the most trivial file. Twenty Million Dollars is but a drop in the ocean for Xi Corporations. It didn't affect the Medical section of the business too savagely either."

Rong Xinghe thought for some time before she looked at her darling, "What if they did take every other file too, and are waiting for another opportunity to attack the company? Couldn't that be their strategy?"

"My software wasn't that weak, Love.", Xi Yuan smiled, "It records the screen in an automation mode, even while I am not working. No matter what the hackers might've had done, the system would have captured every little detail of the process. Only the 'Soulagement Pharmas file' was copied to an external drive. Everything else, they left untouched."

"Oh.", the girl nodded, her expression earnest, "So what should we do now?"

"Well, we should have breakfast first.", the man stood up from his seat now, "I'll quickly prepare some Omelette with sauteed mushrooms while you finish your Banana-Berry smoothie. I am sorry I didn't prepare the meals before you got up, though. It won't happen again. I promise."

"Mr. Xi, leave things to the staff for once, will you?", Rong Xinghe sighed, "Do you have to be so hard on yourself always? I am sure you've been up for hours already."

"You expect me to trust outsiders with your diet after what He Chen did to you? Seriously?", Xi Yuan stared at the girl, his expression placid, "Not happening."

"I can cook too.", the girl pointed out, "You should get some sleep first, Yuan. I will handle the meals for today."

"Xinghe--"

"You need to realize, Lover, that looking at you like this hurts me more than any disease, or bullet ever could.", the woman cut in, her voice stern, "Go and get some sleep. It's an order."

"Firstly, I am not your Military Subordinate.", the man crossed his arms, smiling cheekily, "Secondly, even if I were, you're practically jobless right now. Your commands are of no meaning currently, Sweetheart."

"Do you have to remind me of that?", the girl groaned, pouting at the man.

For the first time that morning, Xi Yuan laughed out, his voice resonating through the small wood-paneled room. "Fine. You really wish to cook?", he looked at her then, eliciting a nod of excitement from the girl.

"Alright.", he said approvingly, "But I'll be watching you. I don't need sleep, Xinghe. I need you. I want to listen to your insights about this issue. And your suggestions about what should be done next. Please? I won't work at all. I will just accompany you while you cook, the way you usually do."

"Okay.", the girl agreed after a few seconds of consideration. She wouldn't have been able to sleep as well, had it been any of the Military Forces at risk.

There had been times when no matter how much it shattered them, her brothers and Xi Yuan had chosen to respect her decisions, of putting her own life under threat. This man stood by her side, regardless of the dangers that came with her profession. Then, how could she not honor his decisions and choices now? Wouldn't that be too hypocritical of her?

"So do you have any suspect?", the man asked her, as they stepped out of the study.

"Huang Biu.", the woman replied, a bone-chilling coldness in her gaze.