Noticing the doubt in Ji Zitong's gaze, Su Chen calmly explained the origins of the song to her.

When she heard his explanation, Ji Zitong could vaguely pick up the notes of a foreign tune. It was a little distant and ethereal.

"I didn't expect you to like this kind of music too. I thought you'd at least like that kind of passionate and bold music or even army songs. I remember you lost to a cadet back then, and you sang 'Legend', and earned quite a lot of applause."

Ji Zitong's memory was always very surprising. When Su Chen said this, this information flashed in Ji Zitong's mind while her cold gaze continued to look probingly at him.

She thought that they would fight again this time, but unexpectedly, there was no gunpowder in the air.

"Legend? Genghis Khan?"

A light suddenly flashed in Su Chen's eyes as a happy smile curved on his lips. "You have a pretty excellent memory. This was a figure that your Instructor Mu always loved using as an encouraging figure, the pride of a generation, Genghis Khan."

"But the next generations have different praises and criticisms of him."

"There is no perfect person. If we can get a little inspiration from the journey of his life, that would be what you reap," Su Chen said, and then suddenly sped up his driving.

After a while, the Land Rover that was bathed in blurry lights reached a high-class restaurant.

"Get down!"

Su Chen got down from the car and tossed his keys to the valet while he walked straight up the stairs of the restaurant.

Doubtful, Ji Zitong was on-guard as she watched his back. She had no choice since that letter of guarantee that she signed was still with him, and she needed to get it back from him!

However, by the looks of it, this man seemed to have come over for dinner. She remembered the call he answered in the car, yet she thought something was odd. Before she could overthink, the valet had already gone to open her door, so she could only get down and follow him.

"You, right! Yes, you, come here!"

Su Chen had walked up a few stairs when he suddenly stopped and waved to a middle-aged lady selling flowers from a car on the side. The lady quickly beamed and took two bouquets before walking over.

"Mister, would you like to buy some flowers?"

With a nod, Su Chen looked at the bouquets in her arms, and then his gaze fell onto the blooming champagne roses. He reached out to fix the wrapping paper a little before saying, "This one... How much?"

"$299, Mister!"

Su Chen swiftly paid for it and took the flowers from the lady. He looked down at them for a moment before suddenly passing it to Ji Zitong who reached him.

Ji Zitong was stunned. She looked at the unexpected bouquet and was amazed for quite a while. She then looked up at Su Chen skeptically and said coldly, "What's this supposed to mean?"

"It's for you. Hold it."

Su Chen stuffed the bouquet into her arms. "Help me out. Then, consider me owing you a favor."

He massaged the space between his brows feeling a little annoyed. Then, he slowly walked towards the restaurant, leaving the bewildered Ji Zitong behind.

Flowers?

Ji Zitong looked puzzledly at the bouquet. She could not understand what this guy was trying to do.

Help?

He did not even give her a chance to reject him.

Ji Zitong thought about it for a while and could not figure anything out. After some pondering, she held the bouquet and followed him uneasily. Her brows furrowed into a knot while her bright eyes were filled with an alarm and wariness.

The two of them walked only a few more steps when a waiter came up to them. "Mister, do you have a reservation?"

"Table 009."

"Okay, Mister and Miss. Please follow me this way."

The waiter quickly guided them in.

Ji Zitong just followed him from behind. At that moment, the restaurant was full. It was the kind of very classy Western restaurant with soothing and gentle sounds of a violin filling the entire restaurant. The gentle and warm light set the tone. It was clearly the kind of typical Western restaurant for couples.

"Bro Su Chen! Bro Su Chen! Right here! I'm right here!"

Just as Ji Zitong's sharp eyes were examining her surroundings, she suddenly heard a sweet voice filled with joy coming from the front. She subconsciously turned and looked toward the voice to see a very beautiful girl was waving at Su Chen.

The girl looked quite young and was probably in her 20's. She had a fair, oval face, and seemed quite pretty. Her eyes lit up at the sight of Su Chen.

Ji Zitong was about to turn to Su Chen when she suddenly felt a weight on her shoulders unexpectedly. To her shock, she saw Su Chen's strong arms circled around her shoulders and he pulled her towards him. Ji Zitong subconsciously wanted to struggle away, yet Su Chen's deep voice softly entered her ear. "Cooperate with me and I'll consider my spiritual loss compensated. Then, I'll owe you one. How about that?"

"Why should I help you? Don't forget that the grudges between us aren't that simple!" Ji Zitong sneered in disdain. The bouquet that she held before her chest hid the disgust that surfaced on her expression.

"I'll apologize for all the things in the past. I'm sure you wouldn't ruin this for me, will you? The letter of guarantee is still with me. Don't you want it back?" Su Chen reminded.

Ji Zitong paused and turned to stare at him for a long time. "Instructor Su, are you begging me right now?"

When she said that, Su Chen's expression shifted. The hand that laid idly by his side tightened before he sighed and then lowered his voice to say, "Yes, consider me begging you."

Ji Zitong lowered her gaze. Even though she did not answer, she did stop struggling.

Su Chen smiled, and then pulled her over to greet the young woman.

"Bro Su Chen, who is she?" Mary Hu studied Ji Zitong whom Su Chen held as they walked over. Her face immediately sank and her tone instantly became cold as she glared Ji Zitong hostilely.

Su Chen gently let go of Ji Zitong and pulled a chair open chivalrously.

"This is my date, Ji Zitong. Zitong, this is Miss Mary Hu, but you can just call her Mary," introduced Su Chen elegantly with a smile.

Ji Zitong shot Su Chen a look. Seeing his calm expression all happy, she could not help but sneer on the inside, yet her beautiful face shone with a cooperative smile as she reached a hand out to Mary Hu. "Hi, Miss Mary. I'm Ji Zitong. It's very nice to meet you!"

Stunned, Mary Hu's gaze went back and forth between Su Chen and Ji Zitong. In that instant, a raging fire was lit within her. She took her bag from the chair on the side and glared furiously at Su Chen. Her expression was terrible. "Bro Su Chen, what is the meaning of this? I'll find Grandfather Su for an explanation!"

Bam!

When Mary Hu walked past them, she even bumped into Ji Zitong who sharply caught her arm as she evaded her.

"Go away. It's not nice to meet you!"

Mary did not hide her annoyance for Ji Zitong at all as she shot her a cold glare and then left in a fury with gritted teeth.

She was quite hot-tempered. In fact, she seemed quite naive in personality and could not quite conceal her feelings, everything she felt would be written across her face.

"Sit down." Su Chen did not even glance at Mary. He just sat down in Mary's seat and called for the waiter to attend to them.

Ji Zitong finished ordering and as she handed the menu back, she asked, "Your girlfriend? Are you an old cow trying to eat young grass?"

Su Chen unbuttoned his sleeves and rolled them up. He wiped his hands and raised his brows to object, "What do you think?"

"What do I think? Of course, I'd think that. Otherwise, what could you have meant earlier? I'm not interested in being your excuse. You can return the letter of guarantee to me now, Instructor Su!" Ji Zitong's tone was distant, and there was even a hint of sarcasm.

Su Chen pulled at the tie on his collar as he said plainly, "Mary's like that. Just ignore her. Eat first. I'm hungry. I can't remember where I put the thing. Maybe I'll remember when I'm full."

"You..."

Ji Zitong subconsciously clenched her fists tightly. She was afraid that she would punch him. Instead, she tossed the bouquet of flowers onto the table. "You'd better not be playing tricks with me. This is not the army camp anymore!"

"If we were in the camp, I wouldn't be this polite."

Su Chen smiled nonchalantly. His smile seemed piercing to Ji Zitong. She almost could not hold herself back from wanting to beat this guy up!

Compared to the storm on Su Chen and Ji Zitong's end, Xi Xiaye's night was not quite peaceful either.

Xi Xiaye sat at the dining table while Sis Wang swiftly served her a bowl of rice. She picked up a delicious-looking dish and wanted to eat it, yet before she could put it into her mouth, the aroma of it made her nauseous, so she quickly covered her mouth and ran to the washroom.

She puked it all out. Following her, Sis Wang was also worried. Her expression shifted as she quickly went up to help her and handed a glass of water to her. "Missus, you've been having bad reactions. Have you been too tired these past two days, or does the food not suit your taste? How about I call Dr. Zhong to come for a visit?"

Xi Xiaye lifted a hand to stop Sis Wang. She rinsed her mouth and then sighed as she held onto her baby bump. "It's fine. I'll just have to take it easy."

"I find that you're becoming thinner. If this continues, I wouldn't know how to explain it to the Master," Sis Wang said anxiously with a tinge of sadness.

Even though there was a break these few days, she did not see her getting enough rest. Through the windows, she could see that late at night, the study room lights on the second floor would still be on.

"Missus, please rest well in the next two days. Nothing is more important than the baby."

Xi Xiaye nodded gently. She pulled her hair back and washed her hands, then slowly went out.

She returned to sit back down at the dining table before softly saying, "I know my own body. It's fine." She gripped her chopsticks tightly while looking at the dishes before her. A few seconds passed before she finally managed to force herself to eat it.

"Missus, I'll prepare some more plain and nutritious Crucian carp soup for you... Or how about you tell me if there's anything you want to eat? I'll make it for you..."

She wanted to eat his honey sauce pork ribs...

But...

She paused before shaking her head. "Anything's fine. Do as you see fits. I don't have many thoughts about it, but, Sis Wang, your cooking is quite similar to his. It's much better than the restaurants outside. All these home-cooked food are done quite well. I enjoy them."

Xi Xiaye gingerly picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork ribs as she smiled at Sis Wang.

"Earlier, when I was helping Master in the kitchen, I would sometimes gauge the recipes. Furthermore, Master told me about your preferences."

Sis Wang smiled and looked Xi Xiaye with some admiration. She thought about it before continuing, "Missus, Master is so good to you. I've never seen such a considerate man such as Master. Missus, you've really lucked out!"

When she heard this, Xi Xiaye could not help but smile. She slowly swallowed the food and wiped her mouth before she responded, "It's not just you. He also said to me that our happiness is sometimes built in the eyes of others, but I must admit he does treat me quite well."

"Master didn't use to like talking much. I've been looking after him every day even since before he left City Z. When Maple Residence was set up, I came over too. I feel like ever since you joined the family, Master has changed a lot."

"Hasn't he been the same? How has he changed?" Xi Xiaye felt like he was a two-faced profiteer, but he did not previously reveal himself. She had always thought he was a stiff and decent kind of person.

"Master was quite hostile back then and didn't like to talk much, but he's different now. A day before Master left, he even gave me directions for breakfast, just the way you like it."

Sis Wang sighed and paused. "Especially after Master Lingtian's incident, even though I don't know what exactly happened, but that one time, Master must've been heartbroken. After something happened to Master Lingtian, Master fell very sick. On the seventh day of Master Lingtian's passing, he was even drunk and had a high fever. Master Ah Mo and I were so worried. I was still a nurse then with Dr. Zhong in the intensive care unit."

Upon hearing all of this, Xi Xiaye was stunned. She could not help but feel pain in her heart. She stopped what she was doing, and thought about it, then sighed. "He's like that. Even if he was incredibly upset, he wouldn't say a word. In the end, it's only him who suffers."

Nonetheless, he seemed to have told her many of his problems. Still, when he had shared them with her, his tone was mostly calm.

Sis Wang nodded. "Yes, that's how Master's like. But, Missus, ever since he married you, Maple Residence has become livelier. Everyone's waiting for the arrival of your little master or little princess. Master even told someone to set up two swings in the backyard two days ago, just right underneath the flower porch. They should be done quite soon."

"Swings?" Xi Xiaye raised her brows in puzzlement.

"Yes, Master says that the backyard is quite huge, so we could just set up a simple playground."

Xi Xiaye went back upstairs after a simple dinner. She then put on her sleeping robe and went to the study room after showering. After that, she started working on the data Lan Zilang sent to her on the computer.

However, not too long after she sat down, an icon popped up at the bottom right corner. In a glance, she noticed it was Su Nan.

She clicked it open—.

Su Nan: Xiaye, I'm heading to the hospital tomorrow to wait for the delivery. There was a tiny accident yesterday, and when I went to the hospital for a check-up today, the doctor said I might have to deliver prematurely. I've been advised to be hospitalized immediately.

Xi Xiaye frowned when she read her message. She quickly replied: What happened? Where's Ruan Heng?

Su Nan replied: I kind of slipped on the staircase, but it's no big deal actually. My estimated delivery date is pretty close. Ruan Heng has forbidden me from using my phone in the past few days so...

Xi Xiaye stopped replying and made a call instead.

"I thought you were asleep!" Su Nan's cheerful voice reached her ear.

"I don't really sleep early. Plus, I have some work to do. What's wrong? What did the doctor say?" Xi Xiaye asked.

Su Nan took a deep breath before letting out a sigh. "I'm fine. I'm in the hospital now. I'm just talking to you because I'm feeling bored, so bored that I think I'm getting sick! By the way, Xiaye, I forgot to tell you that Ruan Heng mentioned Yue Lingsi is hospitalized here as well. I heard she can't walk anymore as someone severed her hamstrings. She'll need to spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair. Xi Xinyi didn't seem to care about her. She's pretty much useless now. I feel so relieved!"

Su Nan only found out about what happened to Yue Lingsi earlier that day, but Xi Xiaye was aware of it a long time ago. The information she got from Mu Yuchen was far more accurate.

Both her legs could not walk again and one of her hands was severely injured. Her mobility would be extremely limited in the future. However, it surprised her that Yue Lingsi accepted her new reality very easily. She thought she would be ranting and complaining now that she had become disabled!

"But Xi Xinyi had it good. I heard she moved into the Han Residence. Her baby's full moon celebration should be around the corner. Ugh, she's just like a cockroach! I don't know how she's still able to survive. I just don't get it! Han Yifeng is such a coward. How could he still accept a woman like her? He must be blind." Su Nan started scolding her and making her feel uncomfortable.

Xi Xiaye just smiled. "Alright, stop getting angry. Set a good example for your baby!"

"How can I not be angry? The film she's been working on with Qi Kai is going to be released soon. She might make a comeback with it! It's a wonder that she could make it through all that."

"Just leave her be. As long as she doesn't overstep my boundaries, I don't really care. She's pretty tame right now. Mu Yuchen told me to not get into trouble with her. I'm sure he has a plan of some sort in mind. As for you, just stay in the hospital and wait for your safe delivery. I'll visit you tomorrow."

"No, don't come. Come only after I've delivered. It's a hassle coming here. Where's Master Mu? He's letting you work at night?"

"He went abroad. Alright, Nannan, you should rest now. I have an incoming call. Bye."

...

It was not hard to guess a certain man would call her at this time since he should be just done with breakfast now.

"Why did you take so long to answer the call? Not sleeping yet?"

The man's gentle voice reached her ear. He would call her every day at this time, and send her a text message every morning.

She suddenly felt his presence as she heard his familiar voice. Since she was unable to see him, she felt a bit empty inside especially when the little thing inside her stomach was being mischievous. She hoped he could appear before her instantly.

"What's wrong? Not going to say anything?" He sounded concerned when she did not say anything. "Are you feeling uncomfortable? Sis Wang told me your nausea was pretty strong just now. We can ask Dr. Zhong to come tomorrow, or even ask them to take you for a check-up at the hospital. I can make the arrangements."

"I'm fine." She leaned back into the chair as she spoke in a child-like tone, "I'm just not used to it... When are you coming back?"

He smiled and felt a little bit helpless. "It's only been a few days. I told you to come with me, didn't I? Who insisted on staying back there? If you're afraid, I can ask Mother or Grandmother to stay with you for some time."

"I'm not afraid. I just feel that something isn't right. Something is making me uncomfortable. I miss you, Mr. Mu. Do you miss me?"

It was so easy to express how much she missed him now. In the past, Xi Xiaye would never believe that she would act like this one day. Her eyes started to warm up as her voice turned hoarse.

It was hard for Mu Yuchen to hide how happy he was on the other side of the phone. He sighed. "Missing you is a required course. What do you think?"

"Do you think that I'm becoming unreasonable now? I don't know why I've become like this. It's all your fault!"

"Yes, it's my fault."

Xi Xiaye knocked her own head. "Good that you know. Lei Ya wants us to raise its points. I spoke to CEO Lei today. He isn't very well-mannered, so the negotiation broke down..."

"Let it be then. I know about that person. Didn't I ask Vice President Wen to meet him? How did it end up becoming you? If something like this happens again in the future, just throw the dining plates at his face. Understand?" Mu Yuchen sounded unhappy and he used some harsh words.