Mu Yuchen gave a simple greeting and sat down on the sofa as he poured himself a cup of tea.

"This is a lot of people here in the morning. You guys have a lot of free time." Mu Yuchen sipped some tea before glancing over at Mu Tangchuan.

"It's not a bad thing to gather people for a celebration. I haven't scolded you about not telling us immediately! You're going to be a father soon. Act like one."

As always, Mu Tangchuan was always gentle and serious. "I've just analyzed Xiaye's matter with your grandfather. We know that someone's behind it, so be careful on your own. A lot of things have happened lately, but I'm not going to pry too much into it."

"Mmm, I understand." Mu Yuchen did not want to explain too much, so he lowered his head and gazed at his tea cup.

"I've also heard that you're investigating your aunt again. Xiaye looked for Sis Lan too. Is that right?" Mu Tangchuan stopped moving and asked.

Mu Yuchen put down his cup as he leaned into the sofa. "Lingshi has always wanted to know about her father. This can't remain in the dark forever. It'll be irresponsible to Aunty and Lingshi. No matter what, there should be something." His tone of voice was cold.

"I've put in a lot of effort into this before, but I couldn't find that person. As your aunt insisted, your mother and I gave up in the end."

Mu Zixi's matter was a heavy topic for the Mu family, and they rarely brought it up. Mu Tangchuan must have given it a lot of consideration before bringing it up today.

"Mmm, while your grandparents hardly talked about it, they probably had the same thoughts too. Your grandmother was so furious that she almost chased your aunt out when she was pregnant with Lingtian. She cried every day for a period of time after your aunt's death, but in the end, she calmed down and took care of Lingshi."

"Sis Lan and your aunt were very close back then. I bet she knows something, but we couldn't find out anything from her. She just told us to give up and take care of both Lingtian and Lingshi." Mu Tangchuan searched through his memories.

Mu Yuchen stayed quiet for a moment before speaking up, "Father, I have something to ask you."

"What is it?"

Mu Tangchuan drank some tea and looked at Mu Yuchen in doubt. He rarely saw such a heavy expression on him.

"Did Aunty mention a Mr. Wen to you back then?" asked Mu Yuchen directly.

Mu Tangchuan frowned instantly. "Mr. Wen? This name sounds familiar."

"There's something related to Mr. Wen. He should be the one behind Xiaye getting blocked in the tunnel the other time as well as this scandal. When Xiaye approached Sis Lan, Mr. Wen was involved in their conversation too. I arranged my thoughts and realized that Mr. Wen is coming for me. There are only two reasons he might be coming for me. The first is that I'm involved with Glory World, and the other for revenge. Aside from the Gu family and the Qi family, I don't think there's anyone else who'd hate me this much. However, after I gave it some thought, there could be one more person."

"Who?" Mu Tangchuan's eyes turned cold as he looked at Mu Yuchen.

"Lingtian and Lingshi's biological father," Mu Yuchen replied as he looked into Mu Tangchuan's eyes. "On Lingtian's birthday, Xiaye and I met a man when we visited their graves. He even brought Lingtian a cake. I asked Li Si and the others to investigate, but we couldn't find anything. The cake shop owner said that the man asked her to deliver the cake to his car outside, so she couldn't see his face."

"With that being said, if that person intended to hide his tracks, and we're unable to find him after so many years, he must be extraordinary to a certain extent."

"Mmm, that's what I thought as well."

"Do you suspect that Mr. Wen is Lingshi's father?" Mu Tangchuan squinted at Mu Yuchen.

Mu Yuchen grinned. "I won't make a conclusion without any proof, but what we know now is that Mr. Wen must know something. If he's not Lingshi's father, he would at least be affiliated with him."

...

Xi Xiaye woke up and went downstairs after she washed up. Needless to say, she was shocked by the commotion.

The whole floor was placed with anti-slip mats, and the curtains had been changed into warm-colored tones as if the whole house had been refurbished.

After a simple breakfast, Wang Hui started telling her a long list of things to be careful about.

"You just got pregnant! It'll feel odd at first, but after several months when the child starts to move around, your state of mind will change, and you'll be more aware of your maternal instincts. You'll then realize your heart becomes softer, and you'll be more courageous. The little thing inside you will be as important as your own life."

Wang Hui held Xi Xiaye's hands. She was kind and gentle as she put on a smile.

"Grandmother..."

Xi Xiaye was about to pull away, feeling awkward when they made such a big fuss out of it. She looked at Mu Yuchen for help, but he was just calmly reading his newspaper.

"I've talked to your mother. Xiaye, why don't you come to stay in the Mu Residence? It's easier for us to take care of you, and Chen Er can work on his own. Your mother and I will take care of you, so we can be at ease too."

Let Xiaye stay at Mu Residence and leave him alone in Maple Residence?

Mu Yuchen definitely did not want that!

"Sis Wang will stay here. You guys don't have to worry," he replied almost instantly to Wang Hui's suggestion.

Xi Xiaye felt self-conscious. "Don't worry, Grandmother. It's only been a month now. There are a lot of things I need to learn from Grandpa at this time. I can give myself a holiday and spend more time with Grandpa. I have quite a lot of free time nowadays anyway."

"Have you told your grandpa about this? He'll be really thrilled," Wang Hui suddenly mentioned Shen Yue."

Xi Xiaye frowned when she heard Wang Hui. She did not reply and instead looked at the man beside her.

"Li Si has informed him already. We'll head over to the Shen Residence soon," said Mu Yuchen.

Wang Hui nodded. "That's good to hear. Go back more often if you guys have the time. I know your grandpa is trying to let you take over Fu Hua, but I think it's not suitable for Xiaye to do so right now."

She frowned further. "You have a frail body, and there'll be more hardships to come. Leave these worrisome matters for the future."

Xi Xiaye smiled and shook her head. "Don't worry, Grandmother. My body is fine. I'm only in the first month of pregnancy. Grandpa has prepared a group of elites, and Chen is helping me out as well. I'm sure I'll get on track very quickly. It's actually quite easy."

She then shot Mu Yuchen a glare.

Wang Hui intended to have her stay at home, and she did not want that. She knew very well how her body was holding up. She did not want to stay immobilized at home for her whole pregnancy, and with Shen Yue's health deteriorating, she did not want him to work anymore.

"That can't do. It's a huge matter. Just stay at home and rest." Wang Hui sounded determined. Xi Xiaye did not know what to say so she kicked the man beside her. Mu Yuchen turned over to look at her helpless expression, chuckling lightly. He said, "Don't worry, I'll arrange it. Let her do whatever she's happy with."

Mu Yuchen's tone was calm, but it was one you could not reject.

As Wang Hui was about to say something, Mu Yuchen's phone started ringing. It seemed to be a business-related matter, so he let go of Xi Xiaye's hand as he stood up and walked upstairs while he spoke on the phone.

After rearranging the Maple Residence and lunch, Wang Hui and the others returned to the Mu Residence. Before they left, they gave Xi Xiaye another round of reminders.

Sis Wang was an experienced nurse before, so it was a piece of cake for her to take care of Xi Xiaye. Mu Yuchen even let her stay in the Maple Residence for convenience. They cleaned up a room on the first floor and let her stay there. Besides that, the Mu Residence also sent another servant and a chef over.

Mu Yuchen had been getting really busy since Xi Xiaye got pregnant. He took up Xi Xiaye's role in the South River project. In addition to it being the middle of the year, the data for several projects came up and required his attention, so he had been working late for a few days.

The same applied to Xi Xiaye as well, but she had it much easier compared to Mu Yuchen who had assigned her minimal work, mostly just to let her kill time. Xi Xiaye's daily schedule went like this: she followed Shen Yue around in Fu Hua in the morning to learn about the operations. She would then meet Mu Yuchen for lunch and then rest in his office. In the afternoon, she would help out with Glory World's project.

Of course, she had Ji Zitong by her side. After several days, they were not as distant as before, and sometimes they could strike up a conversation.

On the day of the Qixi festival, Xi Xiaye thought Mu Yuchen would visit Mu Zi's grave again, but he did not seem like he was going to. Instead, he asked Ah Mo and Mu Lingshi to bring two bouquets of white lilies over.

After working through the whole morning in the office, Mu Yuchen was a little worried when Xi Xiaye was not there yet. He looked outside the window and noticed the sun was slowly setting in the west. He called her phone, but he could not reach her, causing him to frown instantly.

As he was about to give Ji Zitong a call, there was a sudden knock on the door and his secretary came in.

Li Si had been traveling to and fro City Z and City B after he took over Ah Mo's role for Movie City. Mu Yuchen had two other secretaries now, and Secretary Bai was one of them. He was capable and was part of the team Mu Yuchen had brought back from abroad. After half a year of being here, he was thoroughly familiar with Glory World's operations now.

"Chairman Mu, this is the document submitted by the Administrative Department. Please take a look." Secretary Bai put the document onto the table.

Mu Yuchen nodded, then he asked, "Did you see Director Xi when you went to the Planning Department just now?"

Secretary Bai paused before replying, "I just wanted to tell you. Director Xi just called and said she's going to the cemetery. She told you not to wait for her and she'll head back directly to the Maple Residence later."

Mu Yuchen looked down, not saying anything for a while. "What day is it today?"

He remembered the Qixi Festival passed a while ago, and she had mentioned that she would be visiting Xi Jiyang's grave in a few days.

Xi Jiyang...

It had been roughly three months...

He had passed away for three months already!

It was just in the blink of an eye.

"It's the 14th of July. Everyone says it's the Zhongyuan Festival now, but it's not really that popular anymore, especially for city folks."

Mu Yuchen nodded quietly as he put his phone on the table. He turned his chair and faced the sky outside. "Okay, you can leave now."

...

14th of July.

Xi Xiaye was not particularly familiar with this day. She just happened to hear someone mention it some time ago. After some people from the rural area said they were going back to visit their ancestor's graves, she then remembered.

Xi Jiyang had passed away for some time already, and she rarely took notice of what was happening with the Xi family.

She heard that Deng Wenwen was quite unstable in the rehabilitation center. With Xi Mushan being absent in City Z, Mu Yuchen sent Li Si to visit her. Of course, Mu Yuchen never told her about it since he did not want to burden her anymore.

As for news about Xi Xinyi and Yue Lingsi, she had not heard about them for a very long time now. Yueying seemed to be getting better because of Xi Xinyi, but there was totally no information about Yue Lingsi at all. Apparently, the people from the Yue family were furious to find out about her scandal. Even Elder Yue was almost hospitalized from high blood pressure.

Everything that happened replayed scene by scene in her mind. Xi Xiaye felt like she was dreaming.

The car drove through the cold and pass the silent roads. Soon, it stopped slowly by the roadside magnolias.

After Ji Zitong parked the car, she softly called out to Xi Xiaye who sat in the back seat with a solemn expression as if there was a lot on her mind, "Director Xi, we've reached Qingshan Cemetery!"

After she heard Ji Zitong, Xi Xiaye was stunned for a moment. She eased herself from her trance and then turned to look out the window. What greeted her were the silent tombstones up ahead.

"Okay, wait for me here. I'll go up myself."

Xi Xiaye carried a bouquet of daisies as she pushed the car door open to get down.

Because she could observe the situation at the tombstones up there from her position, after some thought, Ji Zitong nodded. "Okay, be careful, Director Xi."

Xi Xiaye replied her with a smile, and then made her way upwards. Ji Zitong got down from the car and stood beside it, her gaze following Xi Xiaye's every movement.

The grave keeper of this cemetery frequently cleaned the place. As she walked over, she noticed that apart from some fallen leaves, the ground was like the tombstones, practically spotless.

Xi Xiaye walked slowly up the flight of stairs, following the route based on her memory and made a turn. When she looked over, the figure that greeted her took her by surprise!

Han Yifeng?

Why was he here?

Dressed in a dark tailor-made tuxedo, he stood there all alone silently in front of Xi Jiyang's tombstone. From the side, his expression seemed a little lonely and bleak. He stood there unmoving. By the looks of it, he seemed to have been there for quite a while!

She did not expect him to come. Even if someone were to visit, it should be Xi Xinyi...

When Xi Xiaye stopped to examine him, Han Yifeng seemed to have realized her presence. He subconsciously turned around and indeed, he saw her.

She was dressed in a black dress, and her hair was casually tied into a neat bun. She looked frail and slender while her fair complexion was cold and graceful. She seemed to look the same as before, yet as he studied her, he seemed to have realized that a lot of things had changed.

Han Yifeng was obviously surprised to see her too. It was only when he drove past those little alleys and saw people selling paper cutouts and mock ingots that he found out it was the Zhongyuan Festival today. He thought about how Xi Mushan was abroad, and Xi Jiyang had been nice to him before, so he came.

Xi Xiaye only hesitated for a moment before she walked over.

"Xiaye, I'm surprised to see you here." Han Yifeng looked at Xi Xiaye beside him. It was hard to hide the hint of happiness in his deep tone. He did not know why his gloomy mood for the past few days instantly lifted at the sight of her. The gloomy clouds rolled away, letting the sunshine in.

Xi Xiaye did not answer him as she just silently bowed and put the white daisies on Xi Jiyang's tombstone. She stared at that familiar face on that tombstone, and after a while, she suddenly got up and gently closed her eyes. Her expression was calm as she silently said a prayer.

Han Yifeng did not bother her either. He just silently watched her from the side.

It was at this moment that he could see the tranquility and distance between her brows. She did not seem as cold as usual, yet it made him feel a faint a heartache at this sight. In his daze, he suddenly realized that it felt like they were on two ends of a straight line. Apart from what held them together in the middle, they were actually becoming more and more distant, and they would never meet in the middle again.

Han Yifeng thought about many things, including the past, the present, and the future. He then realized that he had been wrong right from the start. Even though Xiaye did not like to speak back then, she did not know how to defend herself and was quite reclusive, yet she was very kind and gentle!

He had seen her buy all the flowers from those sellers many times because she could not bear to see them work so hard, and wanted them to rest earlier. In fact, she would always visit places like orphanages.

How could someone like her have the heart to frame Xi Xinyi?

And why did he time and time again ignore all her kind intentions?

Why had he been so heartless back then?

She had done so much, so he should at least be moved, yet back then he felt nothing at all. Even right now, every time he thought about those things, he would feel happy yet heartbroken.

He was happy because she had actually been so good to him, and heartbroken because he knew that he would never have that again.

Every time he reminisced these things, he would feel more and more guilt towards her. At the same time, among these beautiful memories, she began to take more and more space in his heart.

He was very depressed, but he would not tell her because from the looks of it, he knew that she was doing well, and that was enough for him.

Mu Yuchen could bring her far more happiness than he could ever. Even Han Yifeng admired a man like that.

When he saw the sadness gradually surface between her brows, he suddenly could not help but console her. "Grandfather is doing better on the other side, Xiaye. Don't feel too sad."

Then, Xi Xiaye slowly opened her eyes and looked calmly at the tombstone before her, her tone slightly apathetic. "On the other side? We still don't know whether there's really reincarnation in this world. Perhaps humans are like this. Even if we lived gloriously before, or went through many hardships, once we leave this world, everything vanished into thin air. In the end, we take nothing with us."

Listening to her say all this, Han Yifeng paused and then sighed softly. "Yes, once we leave, we'll be gone forever. I hope that all of this unhappiness can finally be settled too," he said sadly.

However, he knew well that this was only his hope. Xi Xinyi had already...

As Xi Xiaye listened, a sneer curled on her lips. She did not answer. Instead, she leaned down and looked at Xi Jiyang's photo.

"It's already been three months, but it feels like it was just yesterday. Xiaye, sometimes I really hope that there is a so-called exchange. I would use my next 10 or 20 years of life to change for a chance to return to the past. Maybe we... we could..."

Han Yifeng fixed her eyes on her. Then, he saw that a light shifted in her twinkling eyes which were as clear as autumn waters.

"There is no maybe. There are many unhappy things in the past. If it were back then, I might have thought the same things as you, but now, I'm not willing to anymore. Instead of evading all these facts from the past and limiting ourselves, it'd be better to face it bravely. When you are left with nothing, you'll realize that there's not much to lose."