At night, in the Grand Lake Villa area.

Qi Lei lay Xi Xiaye on a bed before searching around frantically for medicine. He prepared a damp towel as well.

Yang Sheng came over with some alcohol as he glanced at the unconscious Xi Xiaye. He said worriedly, "Master Qi, if her fever doesn't go down, apply some of this alcohol on her palms and feet. My daughter used to have fever frequently. My mother did this and it was pretty effective."

"Why are you still talking? Hand it over quickly!"

Qi Lei shot him an impatient glance. He then turned over to Xi Xiaye and put his hand on her forehead. His eyes were filled with frustration and had a slight tint of concern.

Xi Xiaye's forehead was covered in sweat. Her body felt warm sometimes and cold other times. She was definitely not resting well as the frown was still pasted on her face. Running out of ideas, Qi Lei used Yang Sheng's method.

"Go down and cook something. Hurry!" Qi Lei urged after taking the alcohol from Yang Sheng.

"Yes, I'll go now!" Yang Sheng sensed that Qi Lei was in a bad mood now. He did not want to trigger any land mines, so he quickly left.

Qi Lei took a deep breath when he heard the door close. His gaze was focused on Xi Xiaye's pale face as he brushed the hair on her face aside while being deep in thought. He saw that she was suffering considerably. "I'm just trying to repay you this time. I don't owe you anything anymore!"

He then started applying some alcohol on her palms and feet.

At around 10 p.m., Qi Lei sent Yang Sheng back after he prepared some porridge. Xi Xiaye's body temperature dropped slightly. Qi Lei himself was covered in sweat too. When he came out of the shower with just a night robe on him, he noticed that Xi Xiaye was sleeping more peacefully now. He put his hand on her forehead again. Upon noticing that her fever was starting to go away, he felt relieved.

He pulled up the blanket a little before switching the lights off. He only left a dim table lamp on, but just as he was about to leave, she grabbed his hand as she called out with her fragile voice, "Mr... Mu... I feel miserable..."

Her voice was weak, but loud enough for Qi Lei to hear. He knew very well which Mr. Mu she was talking about. Stunned for a moment, he turned around and saw her lips still mumbling. After a while, he smiled and was about to pull her hand away. However, she grabbed tighter and tighter onto him as if her life depended on it.

"Mu Yuchen..."

Qi Lei froze and just let her grab onto him. After a few seconds, he looked at her under the dim light. She still had an uneasy expression as she kept mumbling the same few words.

Qi Lei took a deep breath as he put on a bitter smile. "Mr. Mu? Mu Yuchen? What's so great about him? What makes you miss him this much?"

Of course, Xi Xiaye could not hear him, but when she felt someone touching her forehead, she grabbed onto the hand.

...

The night was getting late. When the man did not find the familiar figure after he returned to the Maple Residence, he almost went mad. He made several calls and found out that she was last seen at the Imperial Sky Entertainment Club, so he rushed over. Ah Mo and the others almost flipped the whole City Z upside down looking for her as well.

"Don't be too worried first, Brother. Maybe she went somewhere. We can ask her friends."

By the staircase in the Imperial Sky Entertainment Club, Mu Lingshi felt guilty. She was cleaning up the garage with Ah Mo. There was bad reception inside, so she missed her call. Furthermore, she did not expect anything like that to happen.

Mu Yuchen felt a headache as well as a depressed tug deep inside him. His worries were written all over his face. "She had a fever last night up until the morning. Don't call her for such tiny matters. The people I've hired shouldn't be garbage. If she's needed to handle such simple tasks, why should they be here? Fire them!" he growled coldly before leaving.

"Brother!" Mu Lingshi sighed helplessly as she looked at Mu Yuchen stepping into the darkness outside.

"Master, we're looking at the road security camera footages. Don't worry. We'll find her soon enough."

Ah Mo was worried as well, especially since he knew that things had not exactly been peaceful lately. Perhaps something had happened again!

He had goosebumps just thinking of the incident at City B and the other incident during the wedding dinner. If this time...

Mu Yuchen sat inside the car. He kept quiet for a while as he leaned against the seat and slowly closed his eyes. "Take that curved route. It's near the Maple Residence and she always uses it."

"Yes, Master! Don't worry. We'll go right away!" Ah Mo gave the chauffeur a signal. He started the car and did not say anything.

After driving for a distance, Ah Mo's phone rang. It was the Traffic Management Bureau. His expression darkened after the short conversation. He turned towards the quiet Mu Yuchen, struggling to talk. "Master, they found Missus's car on the curved route..."

"Where's she?" Mu Yuchen opened his eyes instantly, throwing a sharp gaze at Ah Mo.

"There's no one in the car. The car is locked!" Ah Mo replied carefully.

Mu Yuchen trembled slightly. "Head over right now. Get them to find her as soon as possible!"

"Yes!"

The chauffeur sped up.

They soon arrived at the said location. Then, they saw the car parked aside from afar.

Mu Yuchen got out of the car quickly. When he went near the car, of course, it was locked. He got people to break into the car forcefully and then found Xi Xiaye's phone lying inside. It showed a ton of missed calls from him and Ah Mo. He quickly searched her call log, then he saw several missed calls to him...

As well as the calls to Mu Lingshi and Ah Mo...

His hands trembled and his eyes darkened.

Where did she go?

Mu Yuchen's hand held onto the car door tightly as his eyes darkened. He looked at the surroundings to find that it was just undeveloped land around. There was no reason for her to come here this late at night.

Ah Mo was getting anxious when he noticed Mu Yuchen's expression getting worse. As he was about to offer some words of comfort, his phone rang. When he took it out, he saw an image attached to a message, and the content was shocking!

It was an intimate picture of Qi Lei holding Xi Xiaye. They had just come out of the car, and the angle of the photo was pretty ambiguous.

Was Missus with Qi Lei?

Ah Mo started having cold sweat as he turned to Mu Yuchen who seemed unstable at the moment. After giving it some thought, he went over to him. "Master, look. A strange number sent this to me."

Mu Yuchen grabbed it swiftly. His expression changed for a moment and returned to normal after that. However, his eyes were still stormy. At the same time, his phone started ringing, so he quickly answered the call.

The voice that reached him gave him a surprise. "Mu Yuchen, it's me..."

Inside the villa, Qi Lei was standing on the balcony on the second floor. He held a freshly lit cigarette between his fingers as he gazed downward at the reflections of the light on the lake. His handsome face seemed a little desolate from the reflected lights.

Mu Yuchen clenched his fists as he heard his voice. He asked coldly, "What did you do to her?"

"What do you think?" Qi Lei laughed coldly.

"If you dare to do anything to her, you'll face the consequences!" Mu Yuchen's eyes darkened even further while his tone of voice was icy cold.

"So, what are the consequences? Hunt me down forever? Will you make me disappear in a car accident as well?" Qi Lei's bitter laugh continued.

"I told you that was really an accident. It's up to you to believe what I've said." Mu Yuchen took a deep breath and tried his best to suppress his anger. "Where's Xiaye?"

"She just had a shower and fell asleep." Qi Lei's teasing chuckle reached him.

Mu Yuchen's expression turned into a stormy sky. His hand that was holding Xi Xiaye's phone tightened and he almost squashed the phone.

"Do you feel heartbroken? Back when Shasha was in the accident, I swore to myself that I'd make sure you have a taste of what it's like."

"If it's about Gu Lingsha, you should look for Qi Feng or me. Why are you involving Xiaye? She doesn't know anything! I'll end you if you do anything to her!"

Mu Yuchen's eyes turned ferocious. A chilly aura gathered around him, even Ah Mo shivered slightly by just looking at him.

Qi Lei started laughing loudly. "Didn't expect to have this day, did you? I've touched whatever that I could. By the way, she smells great! No wonder you are so obsessed with her. Although Shasha is still better, you do have good taste. I'll send her back tomorrow. Don't worry. She's safe now..."

Before Qi Lei was done talking, Mu Yuchen smashed his phone uncontrollably. "Damn it!"

"Master!" Ah Mo was shocked.

Mu Yuchen lowered his head and took a deep breath. His eyes quickly dimmed as he felt a dull pain in his chest. He was in agony even just breathing.

"Master, are you alright?" Ah Mo's concerned tone dragged him out of the vortex.

Mu Yuchen managed to calm down after a while and his eyes returned to normal as calmness returned to him. He said quietly, "Check where Qi Lei might possibly be staying. He seems to have a villa in the Grand Lake Villa area."

He remembered Xi Xiaye had told him about it before. He then sat inside the car.

"Yes, Master!" Ah Mo quickly made several calls after a brief reply. Following some short conversations, Ah Mo quickly turned towards the quiet Mu Yuchen.

"Master, it's No. XX in the Grand Lake Villa area!"

"Head over there now!" Mu Yuchen said calmly as he looked out of the car window.

"Yes!"

...

On the other hand, Qi Lei smirked when he heard a loud crash from the other end of the line. He left his phone aside and rested his arms on the railings as he looked at the lake below. The reflections on the lake's surface made it look surreal.

The cold light flickered before him while the freezing wind blew through, and his shadow still seemed lonely as ever.

He stared at the lake for a long time. When he turned around, he saw his own reflection on the glass door. He looked at it for some time. Then, as if he saw something dirty on it, he tried to wipe a certain spot on the glass door with his hand.

However, the more he wiped, the more his own face seemed blurry, so in the end, he gave up and just stood there in silence instead.

Some time passed until he suddenly heard someone ring his doorbell. He came back to his senses and went to the corridor to take a look. To his shock, his door was already smashed in. Several bodyguards in black suits rushed in with Ah Mo at the front!

Of course, Qi Lei knew Ah Mo!

Did they arrive already?

Qi Lei squinted his eyes as he stared down coldly.

As Ah Mo just barged in, another person followed him inside as well.

Who else could it be aside from Mu Yuchen?

Qi Lei put on a cold grin as he leaned against the railings and had a wicked smile. His eyes were focused on Mu Yuchen down below.

When he noticed Qi Lei's gaze, Mu Yuchen looked upwards and their eyes met. Ah Mo and the others could sense the spark in their surroundings. The air seemed to have stopped moving.

Mu Yuchen did not stop and just went up the stairs as Ah Mo followed behind him.

"You're fast," commented Qi Lei as Mu Yuchen appeared before him.

Mu Yuchen glanced at him but did not reply. His gaze was cold and sharp as he pushed him aside and went in uninvited.

Mu Yuchen very quickly found Xi Xiaye on the bed. A faint smell of alcohol reached his nostrils.

He walked over and pulled the blanket open while Xi Xiaye frowned as she slept uneasily.

She still looked pale, so he reached up to feel her forehead. Her temperature had already returned to normal. He also realized that the clothes she wore were the ones he had picked for her.

"Let's go home, Xiaye."

He leaned down and planted a kiss on her forehead, then carried her up and swiftly left the room.

He had just walked out when he saw Qi Lei standing before him. Mu Yuchen stopped in that instant to gaze down at the woman in his arms. After a while, he met Qi Lei's gaze indifferently.

Qi Lei's gaze was cold with a hint of hatred that could not be concealed as he stared at Mu Yuchen through gritted teeth. His gaze practically wanted to pierce through Mu Yuchen.

While Mu Yuchen's expression was as calm as water, the light in his eyes was still as a moon's splendor. You could not tell how he was feeling as he just looked at Qi Lei apathetically. Without saying anything, he turned to the staircase.

Qi Lei staggered forward a little as if he wanted to stop him, yet he held himself back, and just watched Mu Yuchen's figure and the fine black hair that poured from his arms. Suddenly, an overwhelming gush of indescribable feelings surfaced within him.

He felt faintly miserable and his chest felt heavy as if it was hard to breathe.

When he reached the staircase, Mu Yuchen suddenly stopped and calmly said, "Thanks, Master Qi." His tone was low, and you could vaguely hear a hint of sincerity.

Qi Lei was instantly stunned. He stared at Mu Yuchen's figure as his body tensed up and he trembled slightly before laughing out loud all of a sudden. "Haha... Mu Yuchen... Mu Yuchen! I live to see the day that you thank me! Don't you think that it's quite ironic?" His laughter was mixed with some degree of loneliness.

Mu Yuchen paused, but he did not answer before he continued walking downstairs. When his figure was about to vanish out the door, his voice came again, and he left a sentence floating in the wind. "If it's because of Gu Lingsha, she's not worth it. She'll be returning to City Z soon, so you will see her again."

When he finished, he was already gone. Qi Lei remained stagnant there. In that instant, he experienced a mix of emotions!

Did he just say that she would be returning to City Z soon?

She?

Shasha?

She really did not die, did she?

Qi Lei subconsciously clenched his fists and his chest could not help but quiver slightly again.

...

The Grand Lake Villa area was not too far from the Grand Waves Villa area. It was only a 10-minute ride if one sped all the way. Mu Yuchen carried Xi Xiaye to the room right away. After he settled her down on the bed, he sat down on the bedside. His heart that had worried about her could finally be at ease now.

He pulled the tie around his neck away with one hand as he said softly, "Xiaye, open your eyes. I know you're awake."

When he finished saying that, he had already pulled his tie away and tossed it aside as he glanced to the woman.

Upon hearing his voice, the hand that curled up beside Xi Xiaye's body tightened slightly. She struggled for a while before slowly opening her eyes. Her misty eyes still had a weak light in them as she looked at him.

When he rushed in to carry her from Qi Lei's bed, she had begun to regain consciousness in a daze. However, she did not know what to say.

Should she tell him that she had called him many times, yet could not get through? Or should she tell him that she had suffered the entire night, then Qi Lei had saved her and helped her the whole night and helped her fever go away? Or should she say something else?

"You're angry..." Xi Xiaye spoke softly. Her voice was dry and raspy.

"Didn't I tell you to stay at home and rest? You never listen to me, do you?" He tried hard to control his emotions that he wanted to let out.

His worry, his gloom, his anger, and even his jealousy wanted to lash out!

His tone was stern and reprimanding while his gaze was not as warm as before as he looked down at her.

Xi Xiaye was stunned. She had been married to him for a while now, and she had never seen him this furious at her. When she thought about it, she felt quite helpless and innocent. She looked up at him in disbelief, feeling wronged as she endured how horribly she felt. Quietly, she turned away with her back against him as hot tears started to well up in her eyes.

When he saw her sorrow, the anger in him subsided a little, yet he was hurt that she had turned her back against him.

"Can't I just say something now? You like to be headstrong. I didn't stop you. You suffered the whole night! What if you had met someone else? I have to criticize this attitude of yours! You aren't aware at all. What about your bodyguard? What did I tell you? When I'm not around, you need to have your bodyguard, yet you ignored my words!"

Mu Yuchen stared at her narrow back. Without toning the sternness in his voice down, he sounded just like a strict father lecturing his disobedient daughter.

Xi Xiaye felt even more aggrieved when she heard this!

Everything had happened so suddenly. How could she have remembered the bodyguard? She could not get through Mu Lingshi and Ah Mo's phone either, so she had gotten worried. In fact, did she not call him afterward as well?

Only God knows where he had gone then since she could not get through his phone either!

Yet, now all the blame was on her and he had spoken so meanly. She was not his employee, but his wife. Could he not be gentler!?

Seeing her keep quiet, he commanded sternly, "Speak!"

She ignored him, her chest heaving because of the anger she tamped down, and her shoulders trembled too.

"Xi Xiaye!" he shouted her name.

Finally, she angrily picked the blanket up to cover her head.

He very quickly pulled it away and tossed it off the bed as he fixed his eyes on her.

"I don't want to talk to you. Give me back the blanket!" She was quite stubborn as she propped herself up to glare at him angrily.

"You have to explain it even if you don't want to!"

"What's there to explain? Don't you know everything already? I felt ill and I called you, but you didn't pick up. Qi Lei so happened to pass by and saved me. It's just that simple."

"You felt ill and you still went out by yourself? This awareness of yours hasn't been sorted out for too long now. Now, you've turned back to how you were!"

"Yes, I did! I'm dumb, I'm stupid. Anything you says goes, okay? It's none of your business. Get out. I want to sleep. Give me the blanket... Ah!" Xi Xiaye responded angrily, and the more he listened, the worse Mu Yuchen's expression looked. Before she could finish, he pulled her over!