When Xi Xiaye finished, Qi Lei did not seem to respond for a long while.

The two of them suddenly fell silent, and there was a faint repressive atmosphere that filled the air.

When he did not answer, Xi Xiaye obviously did not continue questioning. She just quietly lowered her head to sip her tea, then she felt her phone buzz in her pocket, so she took it out.

It was a certain someone's text message reply.

The last message she sent was: Mr. Mu I'm bringing food back for you. Someone treated me to lunch, so I'll get you a set.

He asked: Whose treat?

She responded: Qi Lei.

Now, his new reply was: C hoose the most expensive dishes.

...

When she read this, she really wanted to giggle as she pursed her lips. After a while, she calmed down. At this moment, the waiter had already brought the dishes.

Qi Lei finally snapped back to his senses as well.

When the waiter was done serving them and had retreated, Qi Lei softly asked, "Did Mu Yuchen tell you about Sha Sha?" His tone could not conceal his disappointment.

Xi Xiaye looked up slightly and saw the dim light that flowed in his eyes. She lowered her gaze momentarily and then picked her drink up. "He mentioned her. I know that she and your brother, Qi Feng, were very close, but I think that for her to make someone like you miss her, this Gu Lingsha must be pretty amazing." She then continued sipping on her drink.

When he heard this, a smile surfaced on Qi Lei's handsome face immediately. He looked down at the swaying liquid in his glass, then looked up at her after a while.

"She is quite excellent. She's about your age and is quite competitive. Sometimes, I do see hints of her in you. However, I know that she doesn't share your frame of mind."

Qi Lei seemed to be chasing some faraway memory as there was a listlessness in his eyes. His tone was soft as he spoke, "But she's probably more exceptionally intelligent than you."

When she heard Qi Lei say that without any apprehension, Xi Xiaye did not quite care. She shrugged and said calmly, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so I won't argue with you on that."

She did not care how she looked to other men. As long as Mu Yuchen liked her, she was fine.

When she thought this, even she herself was not sure when she had become so open-minded and generous, yet she could also be quite petty!

Just as how he had said it the other day—

I thought the only woman at this banquet is you!

Seeing her indifferent and calm little face, the light in Qi Lei's eyes flickered for a moment and he suddenly asked softly, "I heard that you used to love Han Yifeng very much... Is that true?"

However, when he said this, Xi Xiaye's movements stopped. Her clear gaze slowly looked at him. As her expression was calm, you could not tell how she truly felt.

In regard to Xi Xiaye's matters, Qi Lei was quite familiar with them. He had long heard about how Han Yifeng used to have a fiancè. In fact, the marriage had been determined since young, but sadly and unexpectedly, Han Yifeng fell for Xi Xinyi after that and rejected the marriage contract. Otherwise, Xi Xiaye and Han Yifeng should have been engaged more than a decade ago.

In fact, he remembered that scene at Elder Xi's birthday banquet.

This woman did not seem to know how to protect herself. As he recalled that scene, he could not help but tense up too.

"That's already the past," Xi Xiaye answered apathetically. She frowned slightly and finished the drink in her glass before she continued, "If we could all meet sooner and love each other sooner, then we wouldn't need to have gone through so many tragic incidents."

"Meet sooner? Love each other sooner? Are you referring to yourself and Mu Yuchen, and Han Yifeng with Xi Xinyi?" Qi Lei asked.

Xi Xiaye smiled and nodded gently as her hair fell on her shoulders in an unruly manner. It interweaved like dark clouds on her chest while she casually twirled it. "But sometimes, it's when the heart is hopeful and can't let go that the one who's hurt will always be the one that gives. Are you that person too?"

She looked at him whilst a hint of a smile floated in her eyes.

As Qi Lei listened, his handsome face flashed with a bitter smile. "Do you suddenly feel like you've found a lot to resonate with me?"

Xi Xiaye spread her arms and said, "If it were in the past, maybe, but now, I'm only left with lament and no resonance."

"I heard that Han Yifeng and Xi Xinyi seem to be getting a divorce. If Han Yifeng goes back to you, would you turn around? After all, you once cared that much about him and you did have a beautiful past."

The fact that the two of them could sit down so calmly and chat about these things was probably unimaginable to them.

Nevertheless, when she heard Qi Lei ask this, Xi Xiaye instantly frowned. She responded after a pause, "As much as I cared for him, that was before. As beautiful as things were, it's just the past. No one should live in the past. I've chased him for more than 20 years now. I only realized afterward that I've been going after the wrong person. He doesn't belong to me, and I don't belong to him either.

"However, I still hope that he can live better. After all, no matter what happens, he was once a dream and hope that I chased after. Now that I think about it, he's actually not all that great because I hadn't met him back then..." Xi Xiaye plainly said, then poured him more drink. Qi Lei's still gaze started to flicker uncertainly in that instant as he fixed his eyes on her beautiful face.

Obviously, he could hear that the former and latter 'him' were two different people, so he suddenly smiled. "I'm not any worse than the two of them, but why am I the bad person to you?"

"Because a good person wouldn't keep calling themselves a good person all day." Xi Xiaye shot him a glance.

"Then, what if I call myself a bad person? Will we be able to chat so nicely next time?" Qi Lei raised his brows with a smirk. Then, he took the wine bottle from her and poured her a drink too as he teased.

"No, we can't," she rejected frankly and swiftly.

"Why's that? I think that it's quite amusing to chat with you. I've never befriended anyone simply, especially women!" He raised her brows in surprise at her.

"Because I'm a married woman." She flaunted her hand that had her wedding ring.

"Is Mu Yuchen so stingy that he doesn't even have the money to get you a huge diamond ring? He let you wear such a little thing! No matter what, a larger one should suit you better."

"Only tacky people like you would have such thoughts."

"I won't be going after you. You're not my type. Don't worry."

"You're far from my taste."

"Why... I'm a good..."

"Even if you're a good person, you're not as dashing as he is!"

The two of them then chatted casually.

However, Xi Xiaye finished her meal quickly and then left just when the waiter brought the food she had ordered for takeaway.

It was 1 p.m. when she arrived back at the office. As break time was not over yet, it was still pretty quiet as Xi Xiaye made her way up to the top floor.

"Director Xi!"

She bumped into Mu Yuchen's secretary at the door.

Xi Xiaye nodded. "Is Chairman Mu inside?"

The secretary smiled. "Yes, he's in there."

Xi Xiaye then walked in to see him working hard as she strolled in. The sound of him typing in the quiet space was loud and clear.

She turned over and closed the door. The noise broke his concentration.

Mu Yuchen looked over at the door and saw her coming over. She put the stuff she was carrying down on the table.

She walked towards him and said, "What are you working on? Come and eat."

He naturally wrapped his arm around her waist as she came closer. Sitting down on his lap, his deep voice reached her ears. "The numbers submitted by the Finance Department. How are you back so quickly?"

"I brought you lunch..." She then glanced over at the food on the table.

"Still worried that I'm hungry?" He chuckled happily as he tightened his grip slightly on her waist. His unique scent filled up the space around them and her mind went blank for a while. She turned around and saw his warm gaze.

They looked at each other and love filled the air as if something was quickly bringing them closer to each other. She could not control herself as she tilted her head and kissed his lips.

He would never push such a rare initiative from her away, so he went along with her and just let her do whatever she wanted until he felt himself heating up. Struggling, he tried to suppress the building intimacy.

"Xiaye..." He pressed onto the hand on his chest as he said quietly, "Don't go any lower. I can't control myself..."

She narrowed her eyes at him with a cheeky smile. "I thought you could always keep your calm, you pervert."

"If I can still keep calm from all that teasing, that'd be really dangerous."

He glanced at her. "You really like to tease me lately, should I consider making my stand as the man of the house again?"

She laughed. "It's useless to me. Alright, go and eat first. I've ordered all the most expensive food, but I'm sure it's nothing to someone like Qi Lei. He actually seemed pretty easy to talk to."

"He bought you over with just one meal?" He stood up and squinted his eyes at her. "Last night, you said that he's not a gentleman, but after just one meal, you have such a change of perspective on him. I cook for you every day and you've never even complimented me!"

She was surprised. "Mr. Mu, are you being jealous right now?"

"You think a gentleman like me would get jealous over him? Don't you think that'd lower my standards?"

The darkness on his face vanished instantly. She almost forgot this man had a nasty tongue. She just smiled without saying anything as she started browsing through the data on the laptop.

"The land Grandfather left for you is now officially yours. The documents are inside the second drawer on your left. The West Park documents will be done in two days. What are you going to do?" he asked as he sat down on the sofa opposite her.

Xi Xiaye then remembered Xi Jiyang's last words. She hesitated for a moment before saying, "Lawyer Wang called me yesterday and told me he'll head over to West Park this few days. It must be about this. I'll wait for his call before deciding whether I'll go over or not."

Xi Xiaye was obviously not really interested in such things. She did not have many fond memories of West Park, but that place was her grandfather and father's home. It had been passed down through the Xi family and it might mean a lot to Xi Jiyang and Xi Mushan, so she should protect it for them.

Xi Xiaye gave it some thought and asked, "Maybe Grandfather left West Park to me because he foresaw something. Mr. Mu, Grandfather is a very smart person. Apart from compensating, don't you think there might be something else?"

"He probably hopes that you can protect West Park. It's also the only thing he can give you. You have to know that the house is worth quite a lot. If Yueying were to fall into a financial crisis, it could be put up to use." Mu Yuchen was straightforward about this matter.

Xi Xiaye took a deep breath and sighed, "It will just be an empty house even if I kept it safe. Father has no son. He only has me and Xi Xinyi. The house will be empty once we're married, like Grandpa's house. Fortunately, Mother accompanied Grandpa along the years so that he wouldn't be lonely. I can't ask Father to return to West Park after all this."

"Let it be then. If he can accommodate Mother well, he can just stay at the Shen Residence. I know Father is pretty good at chess and likes fishing. He shares the same interest with Grandpa."

"Don't you remember that Grandpa almost killed Father the last time? I know how he is. Father will need to put a lot more effort in to be forgiven." Xi Xiaye felt a headache coming on.

"Father isn't as weak as you think. He must be well-equipped to climb this high in the political scene. You need to understand him better."

"Well, Father did go to the Shen Residence yesterday. Mother said that he's shameless and she couldn't chase him out no matter what." Xi Xiaye seemed helpless.

"That's a good thing. A man can't get his woman without being a little shameless. You can expect a positive outcome from them."

"What is that!? They are almost 50 years old! I didn't see you being shameless to court me anyway. How did I marry you again?"

Wait, why did these words sound so familiar?

In the next few days, the couple was busy at work. They left the house early and returned late. Xi Xiaye replaced Li Si as Mu Yuchen's personal assistant for the whole week, so they were always together.

In contrast to their harmonious lives, the show business scene in City Z was not as peaceful.

First off, when Chenye Movies and Television was announced, many higher management staff from Yueying Culture Media Company moved over. All the major stakeholders shifted over to Chenye Movies and Television as well as some of the popular artistes under Glory World.

Many artistes under Caitlyn's lead announced their joining Chenye Movies and Television and most of Yueying's resources were brought over as well. Consequently, Yueying now faced a crisis. Their funds were siphoned empty and the ongoing big projects were halted. Needless to say, the downfall of Yueying shocked the whole industry!

Xi Xiaye had not paid much attention to the news lately, and she hardly followed the entertainment news. Because she fully immersed herself in her job, she only found out what happened to Yueying a week after it happened.

Mu Yuchen had been right beside her for the past few days, but he covered the news up from her. He did not want her to be affected by these negative news which was why he constantly kept her by his side.

In the evening, inside Mu Yuchen's office at Glory World Corporation.

Mu Yuchen was standing beside the tall bookshelf as he was reading a book. The evening breeze blew past the half-opened window and lifted the curtains slightly.

Li Si stood before the office table and called out to him politely, "Master!"

His voice was soft as he was worried that he might be bothering Mu Yuchen. However, his timid voice was heard rather clearly in the quiet office.

Mu Yuchen raised his head from the book and glanced at him. Then, he flipped a page and asked, "How's it going?"

"Master, the new company has now settled down. The filmings we arranged beforehand have now started rolling and there are two new movies under discussion. We're planning to have a new artiste to become the female lead while Caitlyn is willing to be the female co-lead," Li Si reported.

Mu Yuchen nodded. "Get Vice President Liu to take care of things over there now. When everything is on track, find someone to take over the management. Make sure to get this done before the end of next month."

"Yes, no worries, Master!"

Li Si then continued, "By the way, Yueying... I don't think they'll be able to survive much longer. All of their partners have left. If they still can't solve their funding issue, then they'll need to declare bankruptcy. Deng Wenwen came here several times saying that she wants to meet Missus, but the guards stopped her and said both you and Missus have gone abroad."

"Did Qi Kai do anything?" Mu Yuchen closed the book and put it back on the shelf before he walked toward the large window and looked out at the vast evening sky outside. His expression was calm.

"They don't seem to have taken any actions yet, Master. The newspapers are saying that Missus is taking revenge and destroying Yueying without any consideration. Should we do something about this news?" Li Si looked at Mu Yuchen hesitantly. "They said something along the lines of 'daughters from different mothers act against each other'. I'm worried that it will affect you and Missus. Also, I heard Elder Yue went to complain to Mayor Xi, so..."

"Daughters from different mothers act against each other?" Mu Yuchen mumbled to himself as a cold smile appeared on his face. "What else can the media do aside from degrading others?"

He never had a good impression of the media and entertainment industry, especially regarding his aunt, Mu Zi. Li Si knew about this very well, so he did not say anything else.

"So, what should we do now?" Li Si asked for further instructions.

"It's time to release the news about Yue Lingsi." Mu Yuchen sat down on his chair and pinched between his eyebrows tiredly. "The Yue family has been getting on my nerves lately. Vice President Zhang Lan went over to Qi Kai for business yesterday and the second brother from the Yue family gave her some trouble. I'm very upset with that."

"Qi Qiming already thinks of us as a threat. If it weren't for the Elder Chairman's orders to avoid conflict, I'm sure there'd already be chaos by now. Please be careful, Master." Li Si looked at Mu Yuchen with concern.

Mu Yuchen did not reply, so Li Si went on after a short pause, "Master, Lawyer Wang has announced Elder Xi's will to Deng Wenwen and the others a few days ago. I heard Deng Wenwen got so angry that her blood pressure skyrocketed up and she was sent to the hospital. I guess she'll keep coming to see Missus."

"Let her be. If she comes, ask the security guards to send her away. Also, get someone to keep an eye on Qi Kai," Mu Yuchen said coldly.

"Yes, Master! By the way, should we let Missus know about Chenye Movies and Television? Things are already settled on this end. Yesterday, Caitlyn said she wanted to congratulate Missus, but I stopped her. The popularity of our news is on the rise, so it's just a matter of time before Missus finds out..."

Before Li Si could finish, Mu Yuchen's phone started ringing. He looked to see that it was Shen Wenna!

Mu Yuchen frowned and quickly answered the call.

...

Xi Xiaye never expected to bump into Deng Wenwen in Hospital T.

She had taken some time off to accompany Shen Wenna for her checkup at the hospital. Unexpectedly, just as she helped Shen Wenna into the car, she heard Deng Wenwen calling out to her from behind.

Inside a coffee shop near Hospital T.

Xi Xiaye and Deng Wenwen sat opposite each other. The waiter soon served the coffee they ordered.

Deng Wenwen looked exhausted and her appearance seemed as if she was almost a decade older. She was watching Xi Xiaye flip through the newspapers and magazines with a complicated expression on her face.

After reading through the news, Xi Xiaye was surprised at first, but towards the end, she stopped revealing her emotions and calmed herself down.

She put the newspapers and magazines down and looked at Deng Wenwen with a cold smile. Then, she gave Deng Wenwen the newspapers and magazines back. "So? You're just here today to show me this news? I didn't know it caused such a big ruckus, but this is really amazing news to me."