The wedding banquet continued on till quite late and Mu Yuchen drank a lot too. He was currently sitting on the sofa with Su Chen and some other good buddies as they chatted. Relaxed beside Xi Xiaye were also Su Nan and Ruan Heng.

"Xiaye, I can't drink liquor, but I'll replace it with tea to wish you and Master Mu many happy returns."

"It was not easy for you to reach this stage. Steady now!"

Su Nan and Ruan Heng's faces brimmed with faint warmth. In the past few days, they saw Mu Yuchen bring nothing but warmth and affection to Xi Xiaye, so they were not worried.

Xi Xiaye pursed her lips as she nodded. "Mmm, you two too. These few days, you've been worn out, so rest well in the next couple of days, especially you, Nan Nan. You seemed to have lost weight in these two days. Ruan Heng, you should be careful too. It's been quite a few months now. In just a few months, we'll be meeting the little bub!"

Xi Xiaye's gaze was gentle as she looked at Su Nan's baby bump. You could tell that she seemed to have admiring envy in her eyes.

Su Nan quickly caught onto her gaze. She could not help but pull her hand to gently lay it on her bump as she smiled to say, "Sometimes, I can kind of feel them moving. If you're envious, how about having one to play with soon?"

When Su Nan said that, Ruan Heng could not help but reprimand her softly, yet his eyes were filled with doting. "Are children meant to be played with?"

Xi Xiaye went along with it and caressed her friend's baby bump. Then, she pulled her hand back and smiled. "Do you think it's so easy to have one? We'll be quite busy at work after the wedding. Earlier when I went to the hospital for a checkup for Mother's eyes, my mother even got the doctor to prescribe something to nurse my health or something. She said that I'm imbalanced in terms of nourishment. Do I look like someone who lacks nourishment?"

"You used to, but not anymore! You look quite good. That goes to show that Master Mu takes care of you well. Watch out and don't become all chubby from the care till you end up looking like me! Then, that would be the end for you!"

As Su Nan said this, she subconsciously touched her lower chin. A few days ago, her double chin seemed to have looked more prominent, but after a few days of being busy, it seemed to be diminishing.

Ruan Heng frowned and looked at Su Nan. "Nan Nan, being healthy is the most important. Who cares if you're chubby or skinny? You're not an unmarried woman anyway. It's just me who's looking at you. I didn't even say anything, but it's you who's being self-loathing!"

This woman had been flipping out on him because of her weight issue recently. Initially, they thought of having a child only after a couple of years into marriage, yet unexpectedly they did not use protection well and struck only after two times. At first, this annoyed Su Nan for a long time.

Now that her weight kept increasing steeply, she could not slow down. In just a few months, she had gained at least ten kilograms of weight, shocking Su Nan herself!"

"You can do some suitably easy exercises. Perhaps it would help you for labor in the future. After you've given birth, then you can think about how to lose weight. For now, it's the little one in you that's the most important!"

Xi Xiaye smiled and shook her head as she slowly got up. "Okay, you two sit around first. I'm going to the washroom."

Su Nan and Ruan Heng nodded.

"Come back soon. We'll wait for you right here." Su Nan still wanted to ask more about Shen Wenna's condition.

Xi Xiaye nodded, then she walked towards the corridor.

The washroom was at the end of the corridor and there was another on the other end.

She realized she had drunk quite a bit as she walked through the long corridor. Her head felt like lead. With a deep breath, she forced herself to stay sober as she continued walking ahead.

The washroom was empty. The swaying and flickering neon lights outside refracted in, making the place seem even more unusually still.

Xi Xiaye walked through the beaded curtains that hung down, going for the sink. After she washed her hands, she then fixed her gown a little before walking into the washroom stall.

...

At this moment, on the sofa at the wedding banquet venue.

"Su Chen seems to be getting an earful again, look!" Zhou Zimo hinted with his eyes to Mu Yuchen beside him as his gaze looked teasing.

Mu Yuchen calmly looked up, following Zhou Zimo's gaze. He saw that the elder from the Su family had brought a very young and beautiful girl to Su Chen who seemed to be saying something. From afar, you could already see that Su Chen did not look very pleased. He wanted to leave, yet the stern, white-haired Elder Su had already stood behind with clenched fists to block his way.

As Mu Yuchen watched on, a smile flashed on his handsome face and he shook his head. "Grandfather Su is like this. Su Chen has protested for so many years now, but I haven't seen him win a single time."

"Grandfather Su is quite a frank person which is good. Look at my old folks. Now, that's annoying without a word! They would just bring girls home and you'd have to meet them no matter what. It feels they've been unreasonable gangsters their whole life, always strong-arming me! Thankfully, Grandfather Mu is a businessman, so he's not as unreasonable," Zhou Zimo lamented sympathetically.

"Elder Zhou is quite a reasonable person. If you want to relax earlier, it's better if you act quickly. In another few more years, when it's about time, we can even go out together in pairs."

"Those are childhood dreams of us buddies going out together, but look at all these years. It hasn't even been realized until now!"

"I don't mind you two bringing your families along," said Mu Yuchen suddenly with a grin. Then, he slowly stood up.

Because he realized that Xi Xiaye's seat had been empty for quite a while now, he looked around but did not see her anywhere. He suddenly felt uneasy.

...

"Huh? Xiaye's been gone for quite a while? It's been more than 10 minutes!"

On the other end of the room, Su Nan was puzzled as she looked at the time on her phone. She could not help but grumble, "Where's Xiaye?"

Just as Su Nan said that, Mu Yuchen's deep voice was calmly heard.

"Master Mu!"

Su Nan subconsciously turned around and looked over to Mu Yuchen who stopped in front of her.

"She said she was going to the washroom, but she's been gone for quite a while now. She wouldn't have gotten too drunk, would she?"

Su Nan frowned and looked at her phone screen that remained lit. Deep in her gut, she felt like something was not right!

When she explained this to him, Mu Yuchen's handsome face darkened, as did his gaze. "How long has she been gone for?"

"About 10 minutes now. Could something have happened to her? She looked like she drank quite a bit too."

Su Nan started to be anxious now. Full of concern, she turned to Ruan Heng, yet before she could finish, Mu Yuchen had already turned and walked in huge strides toward the washroom.

Inside the toilet, Xi Xiaye could hear the sound of footsteps outside. She did not find it out of the ordinary, so she tried to open the door after she was done flushing. To her aghast, however, she tried for a while and it still did not budge!

She frowned when she still could not open the door after several more attempts.

Obviously, someone had locked the door from outside!

Xi Xiaye then remembered the footsteps from earlier. It must have been that person!

She started to have doubts as her eyes were turned furious. She knocked on the door and yelled, "Is there anyone out there? Let me out! Anyone there?"

However, no one answered her as she kept slamming on the door. No matter how hard she tried, she could not open the door and no one was answering!

Xi Xiaye's heart sank as she started to feel uneasy. She anxiously wrung her hands and then she noticed she had not brought her handbag in.

The turmoil within Xi Xiaye became worse. She took a deep breath and tried to keep calm as she raised her head and looked around while thinking how to get out. Suddenly, the lights in her sight dimmed and she felt a chill behind her with some hissing nearby!

She started breaking out in a cold sweat. Curling her body up and glancing backward carefully, she then realized there was a colorful spotted snake hovering over the little bin at the side!

It was a venomous snake!

It was staring right at Xi Xiaye as it had its forked tongue flickering out!

Xi Xiaye's whole body strained as she started to tremble!

A snake!

An animal she was extremely afraid of!

Fear emerged in her eyes as her face turned pale. Inhaling a deep breath as she clenched her fists and held onto the door handle, she tried to apply strength on it but the door did not budge at all!

The snake started slithering forward and Xi Xiaye's body shook as she watched it inch closer. She was too afraid to make any noise. Fear consumed her as her palms were full of sweat!

Who had locked the door?

Moreover, where did this snake come from?

Xi Xiaye forced herself to relax. She moved slowly and turned her body around, but the snake in front of her was onto her. No matter where she moved, its eyes stared right at her as it closed in slowly!

Xi Xiaye was getting more and more nervous.

Was someone trying to harm her?

...

On the other hand, Mu Yuchen rushed towards the washroom. When he arrived at the corridor by the staircase outside, he saw a sign saying that the washroom was out of order at that moment.

He halted mid-step and his eyes darkened as he tried to calm down. Just as he was about to turn around, an urge within him propelled him forward.

He took a deep breath and followed his heart to advance forward.

He quickly pushed the door to the female washroom open and called out to Xi Xiaye, "Xiaye?"

Thud!

He heard the sound of footsteps from inside, but no one replied.

"Xiaye!"

Mu Yuchen looked around and his sharp eyes saw that the door of the first toilet stall was tied up with a rope to the pillar beside it. The patter of footsteps came urgently from there.

"Xiaye!"

Mu Yuchen's heart sank and he rushed over, quickly untying the ropes and opening the door.

"Don't come near here! Be careful!"

Xi Xiaye had heard his voice long ago, but she could not reply because the snake was already right in front of her. She had no idea how to escape from this narrow space!

However, the snake was startled when Mu Yuchen barged in. In reflex, its flexible body vaulted towards Xi Xiaye's shoulder, shocking her. She quickly evaded it. However, the snake moved even more swiftly and was about to reach her shoulder. In the next moment, a large hand pulled her back!

Xi Xiaye could only feel herself in his arms and smell his unique scent as she released all her fear and hugged him tightly!

Bang!

Thomp!

They swiftly backed off.

"Are you okay?" Mu Yuchen looked at her worried after they had retreated to safety.

Xi Xiaye shook her head anxiously. "I'm alright. I don't know where the snake came from. I... Oh my god, it followed us out!" As she was about to say something more, she glanced by the door and saw the venomous snake nearby.

Thud!

"Ah Chen, Xiaye, move!"

Before they could react, Su Chen's voice came from behind them. He leaped over and crushed the snake with the mop in his hand. With a lightning-fast motion, the mop landed right on top of the snake's head and he grabbed it as it struggled. Xi Xiaye trembled again when she saw that.

"Don't worry! It's alright!" Mu Yuchen hugged her tightly as he looked at the snake in Su Chen's hand. He glanced over at the ropes on the floor as his eyes turned extremely cold.

"It's venomous! How could this be here?" Su Chen frowned as well as he looked at Mu Yuchen and Xi Xiaye.

"Master, Missus, are you two alright?" Li Si and the bodyguards in black suits rushed over too.

"Clean up the scene here first!" Su Chen handed the snake to one of the bodyguards who quickly took it from him.

"Li Si, go and get the security camera footages around here. Be quick! And get people to guard each and every entrance. Don't let anyone leave yet!" Mu Yuchen's expression was chilly just like his tone of voice. Even his stare was extremely sharp.

"Yes, Master! Right away!" Upon noticing the seriousness of this matter, Li Si left quickly after a brief reply.

Thud!

As Li Si vanished out of the door, Zhou Zimo and Su Nan came rushing in.

"Xiaye! Xiaye! How are you feeling? Are you alright?"

Su Nan was freaked out. Before Xi Xiaye could react, she rushed in and grabbed her as she looked around frantically.

Xi Xiaye took a deep breath. The fear in her eyes had not totally left yet, but she patted Su Nan's shoulder. "Don't worry, I'm fine, I'm fine!"

She turned around to look at Mu Yuchen and noticed that he was hiding his arm. She squinted at him and quickly grabbed his left arm to roll his sleeve up only to see a bleeding bite mark!

"You were bitten!" Xi Xiaye yelled out of shock as her body shivered! "Go to the hospital now!"

Her heart was beating like a bullet train. She grabbed Mu Yuchen and was about to rush outside.

"It's okay!" Mu Yuchen pulled her back with a frown. "Don't worry!"

"Okay, don't move him. Does anyone have a small knife?" Su Chen spoke up. Immediately, one of the bodyguards handed him a sharp little dagger.

"Don't worry, Xiaye, it'll be alright! Move aside for a bit," Su Chen comforted her as he grabbed Mu Yuchen's bitten arm. He carefully sliced a cross mark on the bite before lowering his head and sucking out the poisonous blood. He only stopped when the blood he spat out became bright red again.

He took the Band-aid one of the bodyguards passed over and stuck it onto Mu Yuchen's arm. Then, he went over to the sink to rinse off the blood in his mouth and wash his hands.

Su Chen wiped his hand with the tissue handed by the bodyguards as he said, "Alright, now we'll head to the hospital. It'll be fine after injecting the antidote. Don't worry."

"Let's head to the hospital now then," Xi Xiaye said decisively.

"I'll head over with you guys. Zimo, stay here and take care of the rest. Let's go." Without waiting for Mu Yuchen's reply, Su Chen dragged him out and Xi Xiaye followed right behind them.

...

A car was already waiting as they arrived at the entrance of the Imperial Sky Hotel. They rushed straight to Hospital T after they got into the car.

The doctor immediately examined Mu Yuchen's wound.

"Master Mu, Master Su, it's alright now. The wound was treated in time, and with the snake captured, it'll be fine after we inject the antidote. Be careful at home and don't let the wound come into contact with water," advised the doctor as he looked at Mu Yuchen elegantly adjusting his sleeve.

He asked curiously, "Master Mu, this poison is quite strong and this snake doesn't usually appear easily. How...?"

Mu Yuchen did not reply to the doctor. Instead, his expression just darkened.

Xi Xiaye frowned slightly as well. He was holding her hand, and Su Chen appeared to be deep in thought.

After a while, Mu Yuchen stood up. He grabbed Xi Xiaye's hand, but his eyes were looking at Su Chen while his tone was calm. "Let's go back. Zimo should be arriving at the Maple Residence soon."

Su Chen nodded and turned to give the doctor a smile before leaving with Mu Yuchen.

It was already midnight when they arrived back at the Maple Residence and Zhou Zimo was waiting in the living room.

Sis Wang and the others had been working until pretty late recently, and today was no exception either.

"I didn't tell them what happened, so they wouldn't worry. All of them have gone back already. So, what happened?" Zhou Zimo asked with a frown as they sat down.

Mu Yuchen looked at his bandaged wound before glancing at Zhou Zimo. "Have you found the security footages?"

Zhou Zimo's expression darkened as he lowered his head. "Li Si went to look for it just now and realized the security cameras are being repaired. Someone must've planned this."

Su Chen's expression darkened as well. Mu Yuchen still seemed calm as if he had already seen this coming.

"Have some tea first. I'll prepare something to eat." Xi Xiaye brewed tea for them and then went back into the kitchen.

"Ah Chen, I think Xiaye was the target! I wonder who the perpetrator is! That snake couldn't have been there on its own unless someone put it there. We'll wait for news from Li Si."

"I think that the possibility is very high. Do you want to ask Xiaye if she...?"

Before Zhou Zimo could finish his sentence, Mu Yuchen raised his hand and stopped him. His expression turned chilly. "It might not be that case. This reminds me of the accident in City B."

Su Chen and Zhou Zimo were both startled by Mu Yuchen's words. They traded glances with each other. "You mean you suspect..."

"It's still unclear right now. I can't make a very good guess, but what happened today is definitely intentional. When I rushed over, there was an 'out of order' sign outside the toilet. It means that someone arranged it in a way to lock Xiaye in there after she went into the washroom and then leave the venomous snake there. The intention was obvious," Mu Yuchen analyzed calmly.

"The doctor investigated the venom in the hospital. It's not lethal. Due to the Imperial Sky Hotel's patrol schedule, they would patrol around the hotel every hour, so they would've surely noticed and questioned it if they saw that the toilet was under repair. Then, they would've found out what happened inside."

"I understand what you mean now. The perpetrator isn't trying to kill. Maybe he or she has the same intention as the previous incident in City B. Is he or she trying to leave us a warning? A threat?" Zhou Zimo understood it almost immediately, but his expression was still grim.

"Things would be much more complicated if that's the case. The enemies are in the dark and we can't fully protect ourselves from them. No wonder Ah Mo has been extra careful than before, and there are more people around you now," Su Chen said with a serious expression.

"Who is making such a deliberate plan against you?" Zhou Zimo asked with a frown.

Mu Yuchen put his hand onto his forehead as he replied with an exhausted tone, "They were sending strong messages here. My opinions are still under speculation, so we'll wait for news from Li Si. I hope things aren't like what I imagined."

The two of them nodded when they noticed how exhausted Mu Yuchen was.

"Alright, let's not overthink it now."