The weather was great since the sun was not overbearingly hot. May was coming soon which meant that it was not cold like winter or extremely hot like in June or July.

The breeze brought along the fragrance of orchids with it from the orchid shrubs by the roadside.

Apart from working on Ah Mo and Mu Lingshi's matter, Wang Hui came over and instructed Sis Wang and the other servants to decorate the whole place after knowing they would be taking their wedding photos. Roses were entwined on the street lamps on both sides.

They had gone over and decorated it this morning without waking the couple up.

Xi Xiaye was reminded about when she had just gotten married to Mu Yuchen and entered Maple Residence as its landlady for the first time. Sis Wang had done something similar too.

She felt a warmth inside her as she thought about it.

She chuckled at her thoughts until she felt something block her front. She raised her head and saw the man standing before the light. His eyes were looking at her with a warm gaze.

They did not need to prepare for a pose because no matter how anyone looked at them, they were perfect for each other. They were absolutely beautiful and romantic.

...

Under the setting sun, he held her hand as they walked past the Grand Waves Villa area. The gentle sunset embraced them as the light evening breeze lifted her beautiful veil. He suddenly stopped going forward and turned toward her.

His eyes glittered when he saw her pretty little face. He left a kiss on her forehead, and then went for her pink lips...

Behind them were their long shadows.

The scenery came to a halt and the photographer did not miss a single beautiful moment, capturing everything.

Somewhere nearby, Mu Lingshi and Ah Mo were standing next to each other.

Watching them, Mu Lingshi took a deep breath. Her eyes behind the pair of huge sunglasses softened and she had a smile on her face too.

"At least, Brother finally found his soulmate. I used to worry that he might be lonely without anyone around him. This is great." Mu Lingshi was relieved.

"Missus is a nice person. Master really loves her," Ah Mo replied.

"Mmm, after knowing her for a while, she might not be the best woman Brother has met so far, but she suits him the most. She has this power that can give others strength. She encouraged me." Mu Lingshi was feeling grateful when she said these words.

Yes, she encouraged her.

When someone was stuck in a difficult place and found it hard to go on, simple words of encouragement could help a person to be strong amidst the hardship.

That day, on the way back to City Z from City B, Xi Xiaye had whispered something to her. She told her that she liked an encouraging poem from Pushkin.

If life deceives you, do not grieve or burn with anger, come what may; give in to the unhappy days and times of joy will come: believe!

She also said that she would rather be a silly woman than be calculative about every little thing. It was better that way.

Now that she thought about it, she was really similar to Mu Yuchen. Their inner thoughts were very close together, and that was how they accepted each other.

Suddenly, Mu Lingshi took a deep breath in. "Fate is sometimes a peculiar thing. I remember when I visited him in New York last year, I told him to find me a sister-in-law. He glared at me that time, and now..."

"The first time Master saw Missus was at the Bamboo Maple Forest Tavern. Grandmother and Grandfather arranged for them to meet. Afterward, Missus was scalded, so Master sent her to the hospital... I think Master thought of Missus as a special person ever since then. He never really cared about other women," Ah Mo said firmly.

Mu Lingshi nodded. "I'm sure Sister-in-law must have something that attracted him. Brother probably didn't realize it. After all, fate is really hard to grasp."

"Will we be like them too, Ah Shi?"

Ah Mo was envious of them. He suddenly turned over and looked at Mu Lingshi, his eyes filled with expectations and love. "While we are envious of them, we could do the same too, couldn't we?"

Mu Lingshi was slightly stunned. She had no idea what to say.

She seemed to be struggling and she clenched her fists too. Then, he took a deep breath and summoned some courage inside him, carefully holding her hand.

His movement was subtle and careful as if he was afraid of scaring her.

Mu Lingshi almost wanted to move away from the warm touch, but Ah Mo quickly grasped her hand.

She did not struggle much because she was being considerate of his bandaged arm. Instead, she let him hold her hand as her eyes behind her sunglasses started to tear up.

The warmth on her palm was so familiar to her as if it had been several centuries since she last experienced this. She realized she missed this feeling.

If she really did what Xi Xiaye told her to and not mind so much about the trivial matters, would she really be happier?

All these years that she had trapped herself in her lonely castle, she was not the only one who was in sorrow about it.

After giving it some thought, she took a deep breath and told him, "Give me some time, Ah Mo."

In surprise, he looked at her and saw the faint tears in the corner of her eyes, so he nodded. "Sure, no matter how long it takes, I'll wait for you forever."

"Mmm, I'll be back... Alright, pack up the stuff and let's not bother them."

...

The photographer went back satisfied. Xi Xiaye was exhausted after the shoot, especially since she was wearing high heels the whole time. She quickly took her heels off when everyone started leaving, then she looked at the man beside her with her pitiful eyes.

The man squinted his eyes at her and shook his head helplessly. he lowered down and said quietly, "You can wear sandals if you want. The dress is too long for anyone to notice anyway."

Xi Xiaye climbed onto his back and replied, "You're too tall. We won't look matching if I stand beside you without it."

She circled her arms tightly around his shoulders, and answered rather matter-of-factly, "The most matching couple in this world is us. Who dares to say otherwise?"

He brazenly retorted, "Can you be any more shameless? Have you ever seen someone pair a wedding dress with sandals?"

...

When they returned to Maple Residence, Ah Mo and Mu Lingshi were already done packing up. Mu Yuchen asked them to stay for dinner, but both of them did not stay. Obviously, they did not want to disturb the couple spending time with each other.

After dinner, Mu Yuchen went to answer a call. It was from Su Chen.

There was suddenly a strong gust of wind outside. It looked like it was about to rain, and there were lightning bolts from time to time in the night sky too. Xi Xiaye was worried, so she made a trip to the hospital. Shen Yue had already gone back while Xi Mushan had gone over earlier.

After Xi Xiaye helped Shen Wenna with her shower, she helped Shen Wenna lie down again.

When Shen Wenna lay down, she suddenly said to Xi Xiaye, "Go home. It's fine with Sis Fu watching me here. I just can't see. It's not like I have some illness and can't move."

"When did Father come over?" Xi Xiaye helped fix Shen Wenna's blanket as she asked.

"He came over in the afternoon. Your grandpa even..." Shen Wenna sighed, not wanting to continue. "Okay, go home. You've been tired the entire day. It's fine if you don't come. I'll be fine on my own."

"It's fine. I don't have the habit of sleeping early either. There might be a thunderstorm tonight, so I came over to take a look, and at the same time, talk to the doctor. Otherwise, I'd be worried. Go to sleep earlier then. You can be discharged when your condition stabilizes in another two days."

"Mmm, don't come over in the next two days. It's going to be the first of May soon. You have to be busy delegating work. Ah Chen's busy too. Don't keep dragging him over. I'm fine."

Shen Wenna obviously did not want to be a burden to them. They had a lot of things to worry about, and she heard that Shen Yue was even planning to get Xiaye to familiarize herself with Fuhua's business. When that happened, she would have even less time and she would need to adapt eventually.

As Shen Yue's daughter, truthfully, she had not done much for Shen Yue. Instead, she made him worry for her his entire life.

And now...

"Mother, don't think too much. You are the mother that I respect. Taking care of you is what I should do, just as how you raised me."

Xi Xiaye suddenly stopped what she was doing and silently looked at Shen Wenna whose eyes were hollow. She struggled for a while, before she said softly, "Mother, do you... still love Father?"

When she heard this, Shen Wenna was startled. After a long while, she muttered, "Didn't I answer this before?"

"I wanted to ask if you still love Father now. Not if you once loved him."

Xi Xiaye's eyes lit up with hope. She fixed her gaze onto Shen Wenna, not wanting to miss any changes in her expression. "Father has always loved you deeply. I have always hoped that the two of you could get back together again and that Father could return to our side."

"I know that you've been hurt by what Father did, but... but..."

Xi Xiaye did not continue in the end because she realized that every time she spoke about this, tears would form at the corner of Shen Wenna's gently shut eyes. Her hands had also clutched onto the blanket tightly.

She could only sigh and finally got up to quietly leave.

When she left the ward, Xi Xiaye's eyes were moist. She leaned against the cold wall and took a few deep breaths before she forced the numbing pain in her chest away. She was about to wipe the tears at the corner of her eyes away when a white handkerchief was handed to her.

Still in a stupor, she reflexively took it and wiped the corner of her eyes as she looked up to see who it was. Then, she realized that the person before her was unexpectedly Qi Lei!

"Why is it you again?"

Xi Xiaye was about to cry out, but Qi Lei lifted a hand to shush and stop her. She then realized that it was late at night and that she was at the hospital.

"Why are you here?" asked, Xi Xiaye frowning as her movements stopped too.

"My friend was hospitalized. I know that Aunty Shen is here, so I wanted to come over to take a look. What? Why are you looking at me like that? I'm telling the truth. Even though I do have that bit of grudge with Mu Yuchen, I've always had protective feelings over the fairer sex. I wouldn't attack you. Don't worry!"

Qi Lei was not like before this. He was always the oddball, but now he seemed much more normal instead.

"Qi Lei, I'm warning you. Don't think about going for my mother!" Xi Xiaye scowled and glared at him.

"What are you saying? I don't like older women. Of course, I wouldn't think of going for Teacher Shen, but there is an extremely high possibility of me going for you. I might now be getting in touch with my future mother-in-law right now. Everyone could get to know each other better first. What's so bad about that?"

The bedazzling smile on Qi Lei's face blossomed like a flower as he admired Xi Xiaye's face that darkened.

She looked so cute even when she was angry!

"I'm very sorry. I'm taken now. You'd better stay far away from me. You are the most shameless man I've ever met!"

"You can't get women if you aren't shameless! Would Mu Yuchen have been able to get you if he wasn't shameless?" Qi Lei laughed.

Xi Xiaye was speechless. She really wanted to hit him in the head. Instead, she glared at him, then turned around to leave as she cursed, "Lunatic!"

"I'm not crazy! Xiaye! Also, hey, you dropped something, do you still want it?"

Xi Xiaye only stopped walking when he pointed this out. She turned to look and noticed him swaying a pen at her.

A very familiar pen!

It looked like hers!

Xi Xiaye's brows perked up. She then remembered the book she had lost and this pen. It seemed like she had forgotten to bring it back after accompanying Shen Wenna on that walk.

She did not say anything, just picking up her pace and continuing to walk ahead.

When she walked out of the hospital, it was already raining cats and dogs outside. By the time Xi Xiaye quickly ran to the car and got in, she was half-drenched.

The sky continued to flicker with lightning as Xi Xiaye quickly drove away from the car park. As she was about to step on the accelerator and speed ahead, she saw that Qi Lei had caught up with her. He knocked on her car window.

"Give me a ride too. I stay in the Grand Lake Villa area. It's on the way anyway and my car can't seem to start," spoke Qi Lei with a deep frown through the half-opened car window. She could see that his clothes were practically soaked while his car tires seemed to have been punctured.

As Xi Xiaye watched him in his sorry state, she suddenly laughed, rejoicing in his misfortune. She shrugged helplessly and stepped on the accelerator. The car sped ahead and left him stranded.

Qi Lei ran after the car for a few steps. When he saw the car slowly driving further away and finally vanishing at the turn ahead, he felt annoyed and cursed, "Vile woman!"

He bent over with hands on his knees as he panted. Qi Lei really wanted to run up and strangle this woman. He had never seen a woman like her who dared to embarrass him!

Yet, just as he was panting with his head lowered, suddenly—

Screech!

Swoosh!

With the sound of brakes squealing, water splashed and splattered on him, making him dirty!

His eyes darkened. He was just about to see who was this annoying and arrogant person was when he looked up and saw that the car had unexpectedly stopped beside him. Xi Xiaye was rolling her window down as she squinted at him. Then, she tilted her head, indicating for him to get into the car.

The burning fury in Qi Lei's heart extinguished a little as he glared at her and walked around the car. He was about to open the front passenger door beside Xi Xiaye, yet she said coldly, "Sit behind!"

"I like to sit shotgun!"

Qi Lei was angry and wanted to open the car door, yet he could not. After that, he walked behind, feeling all flustered, and opened the car door to get in.

Xi Xiaye casually threw him a towel before starting the car.

The car was very warm. Qi Lei was all wet, so he took the towel to wipe his face as he looked at Xi Xiaye through the rearview mirror. "You're really heartless! Do you think it's very fun to make fun of me?"

"It's actually quite fun." Xi Xiaye grinned without hiding it. "I don't care what grudges you have with Mu Yuchen in the past. If you're capable, then go look for a fight with him. Don't come bothering me and my mother. Otherwise, don't blame me for not being courteous."

"Oh? What are you going to do? Why are you so certain that I'm doing this because of Mu Yuchen? Also, you're so protective of him, but do you know everything about him?" objected Qi Lei. His handsome face curved with a cold, demonic smile.

"He's my husband. If I don't protect him, who else do I protect? You?"

"You've got a pretty tough temper!"

Xi Xiaye laughed coldly as she sped up, and the car drove through the rain at lightning speed.

She had chosen to take the Ninth Crooked Bend. It was the secluded road towards the Grand Waves Villa. Since it was the weekend, plus it was a rainy night, she believed it would probably be very lively over there. Perfect timing! She could make this lecher suffer a little!

She did not want to speak to him either, so she turned some upbeat music on, and then sped up the car which pierced through the rain like a sharp arrow.

Her adept driving skills shocked even Qi Lei as he watched her. There was a faint cold scent that filled the air in the car which should belong to her. Her hair that fell on her shoulders were rather wet from the rain earlier too.

Qi Lei kept quiet. He just watched her drive with narrowed eyes.

Screech!

He was not sure how long had passed when suddenly there was the sound of a car braking ahead, then a strong pair of light came from the front. Qi Lei subconsciously turned to look out of the window and noticed two race cars by his side. The rain outside had stopped a little.

Screech!

There was the sound of brakes squealing.

Ka!

Xi Xiaye had quickly changed gears ahead, and the car suddenly accelerated.

Bam!

The sudden increase in speed caught Qi Lei off-guard, so he fell hard against the seat!

Swoosh!

There was another fierce and sudden turn before Qi Lei could react. His head slammed against the car window on the side!

He then realized that the woman was racing with this group of lunatics. They roared past and the honkings were extremely piercing!

Xi Xiaye had almost stepped all the way down on the accelerator while both her hands skillfully handled the steering wheel. With a beautiful drift, she cut the Hummer in front. She did not even hear the bumps that came from the back seat!

She had done this on purpose!

This annoying woman was definitely doing it on purpose!

Qi Lei finally understood it now! No wonder she smiled so evilly earlier!

After the car made seven or eight turns, Qi Lei rocked from left to right till his head hurt. His whole body hurt too. He managed to hold onto the car handle above and steady himself, yet his body still rocked with the car. After a while, he felt dizzy and his chest was distressed as he thought about how miserable he felt.

He gritted his teeth as he watched Xi Xiaye, who kept pursing her lips into a smile while looking at him through the rearview mirror from time to time. He wanted to just jump at her and hit sense into her.

This was the first time Qi Lei had fallen for a woman's trick. He just knew that she would not be so kind!

Xi Xiaye's bright eyes looked at the ashen and angry Qi Lei through the rearview mirror and felt much better. Her chest instantly lightened.

Screech!

Just as Qi Lei almost could not bear it and was about to vomit, Xi Xiaye finally stepped on the brake!

Bam!

Ugh!

With a loud bump, a grunt came. Qi Lei almost had not had time to feel the pain when he immediately got down from the car miserably.

The sound of vomiting was heard. When Xi Xiaye turned to look, Qi Lei was holding onto the car door and throwing up on the ground. His brows were furrowed into a knot.

"We've reached your Grand Lake Villa area. Please close the car door!"

"You did this on purpose! Annoying woman!"

Qi Lei threw up until his legs felt weak. He wiped his mouth and then glared at Xi Xiaye furiously.

Xi Xiaye shrugged, smiling innocently. "VP Qi, I was just kindly giving you a ride home. What do you mean by doing things on purpose? People frequently race on this road. Mr. Mu and I always come here to race. I didn't know that you'd have car sickness. How weak!"

"Xi Xiaye!" Qi Lei shouted through gritted teeth. Then, he kept on laughing coldly. "You're not mad. Your driving skills are pretty good!"