Her writing was gentle and elegant unlike his powerful scrawls.

However, they complimented each other and seemed harmonious together.

It was the first time she wrote his name above hers, as well as her first time writing his name...

Xi Xiaye was headstrong all her life, but she was now enjoying the gentle and peaceful life he had created for her.

Her love for him was irreplaceable.

She used to think that true love was very far away from her grasp. She had been damaged and in despair. Her mother told her to believe it when it came, to look forward to it.

Everyone would find their love eventually. In this whole wide world, there would be someone that protected you.

Sometimes, she felt bliss when she thought about him and that would put a grin on her face as it did right now.

By the time she realized she could smell a unique fragrance behind her, long fingers grabbed her hand and she was hugged from behind. His magnetic voice reached her ears. "This is the best writing I've ever seen, my dear."

Embarrassed, Xi Xiaye quickly covered her writings and glanced at him. "Why are you always so quiet?"

Mu Yuchen smiled, his eyes seeming mysterious. Xi Xiaye gave him a confused look and he laughed instead. He let go of her hand before patting her head. Suddenly, he took out a large bouquet of blue roses.

It was a bouquet of fully bloomed roses in a deep and mesmerizing blue.

Xi Xiaye chuckled. Her eyes were delighted as she quickly grabbed them. "It's been some time since you sent me flowers. I thought you forgot about it already!"

"How could I forget? I can even forget myself, but I won't be able to forget you." His face suddenly got closer to hers.

Xi Xiaye could almost see Mu Yuchen's tail wagging behind him. Her smile was getting wider as her laughter filled the room. She gently tapped Mu Yuchen's face and then said, "Mr. Mu, I'm starting to realize that you're pretty cute... but your queen will fulfill your wishes. You're an obedient little puppy."

She left two kisses on his cheeks. "How could I have conquered such an amazing man?"

Mu Yuchen could not help but stare at her. He had no idea who this shameless woman was!

"It's getting late. Let's go home."

After an intimate moment together, Xi Xiaye suddenly looked out of the window.

He nodded as he grabbed the remote control and switched off the screen. She swiftly packed up as well.

She put on his coat for him as she asked, "When did Grandpa go back?"

"Originally, we planned to have dinner together, but he didn't want to wake you up as you were still asleep, so he went back with Uncle Lan. Are you hungry?" Mu Yuchen handed his briefcase to Li Si who just came in as he spoke.

Xi Xiaye touched her stomach. "Now that you mention it, I am a little hungry."

"Grandmother should be done cooking dinner soon." He put his arm over her shoulder and walked outside. Li Si closed the door before catching up with them.

When Wang Hui was done with the finishing touches of the last dish back in Maple Residence, the doorbell rang. Sis Wang opened the door and saw her Master returning to the Missus.

"Come in and close the door quickly! Sis Wang, prepare some warm towels for them. The weather is really cold. Dinner will be ready soon!"

Wang Hui quickly told the servants to serve the dishes. She gave Sis Wang instructions when Mu Yuchen and Xi Xiaye came back home from the bitter weather outside.

Sis Wang soon handed them the warm towels. When Xi Xiaye wanted to wipe her face with it, the man beside her grabbed the warm towels to check the temperature before carefully wiping her face and her hands for her. He was being gentle and thorough.

Xi Xiaye was used to him serving her, so she just let him did what he wanted before she walked over to the dining table. "What did Grandmother make? I smelt something lovely the moment I stepped into the house. I'm famished!"

"I made some pigeon soup for you. Here, have some to warm yourself up. You look much better than before, so you need to have more nutritious meals. Here, drink up. Let Ah Chen go to the office on his own. You'll be exhausted if you follow him everywhere." Wang Hui quickly handed Xi Xiaye a bowl of soup.

"It's fine. I feel bored staying at home and just wanted to go out for a little," Xi Xiaye replied.

"Okay, I know what you youngsters are thinking about. It's especially inseparable during times like this! I'm kind of similar when I was pregnant with your father. Your grandfather would've loved to keep me in his pocket, but I wasn't as carefree as you guys. I had to continue working for the military and only got to rest at home a month before my expected delivery date. I didn't feel like going anywhere when my body got sluggish. I felt annoyed just looking at your grandfather."

While Wang Hui was reminiscing her pregnancy, a smile appeared on her face.

"I still have a few months to go..."

"It'll go by in the blink of an eye. You should be popping right after the new year. You need to be careful during this period of time and not exhaust yourself too much. Ah Chen, you need to be alert. It's fine to neglect your work now. If your grandfather could do it, I'm sure you can do better.

"Mmm." Mu Yuchen gave a brief reply and helped her sit down.

...

After dinner, Wang Hui was sitting on the sofa watching the TV while Xi Xiaye was putting the flowers into a vase. Mu Yuchen went upstairs.

After some time, Mu Yuchen came down, pulling on a simple windbreaker.

"Heading out?" Xi Xiaye frowned. She still had two blue roses in her hand.

"I'll just be within the villa area. I'll be back soon. I've prepared the bath water for you already, so go and take a bath."

He walked over, putting the vase with the flowers onto the shelf and patting her on the shoulder before walking out of the door.

The winter nights were exceptionally cold. Even if there were countless stars in the sky, it could not ward off the bitter cold.

Mu Yuchen's handsome figure walked underneath the cold streetlights. After a while, he reached the gazebo by the lake where Li Si and Ah Bao had already been waiting for quite a while.

"Master, you're here!" Li Si and Ah Bao bowed honorably.

Mu Yuchen nodded calmly as he reached out to fix the windbreaker on his shoulders before stopping by the railing. "How's it going?"

"Master, I've brought this pen to quite a few cities according to Ah Mo's orders, and at least at a famous antique shop in City B. I've found some news about it," Ah Bao said in a lowered voice.

When Ah Bao said that, Mu Yuchen immediately frowned slightly. "City B?"

"Yes, Master! It was XX jewelry section in XX antique store of City B. The shop owner there is an old man. According to what he told us, he says that this pen was custom made by the person who bought it. Because the situation was rather unique, he remembered it quite clearly," Ah Bao responded as he handed the folder to Mu Yuchen.

Mu Yuchen reached out to take it, and borrowed the dim light to open the folder. Quickly, he took the pen out, and what also fell out was that yellowing photograph.

Mu Yuchen bent down to pick up the fallen photo. The words on the back greeted his sight clearly.

Holding it up to scrutinize, he silently looked up at Ah Bao moments after that. "Continue."

"Yes, Master!"

"He said that back then, the person who wanted this pen made was a very handsome, young man. The man looked like someone of status and was generous in spending, but he appeared humble too. I showed him Qi Qiming's picture, and he was certain that it was not Qi Qiming. The height did not match, but because the man wore sunglasses then, so he did not get a good look at his face either. Nonetheless, he can be sure that he should be someone from City B."

"That man told the shop owner to deliver the thing to XX residence mailbox on Dao Er Street. After that, I checked on the address, and this is when something weird happened. That residence is... under Miss Mu Zi's name! Right now, that house has been demolished, so most of the information was lost. Initially, I wanted to check when Miss Mu Zi bought the residence, but I couldn't find anything. Before Miss Mu Zi passed away, she wrote in her will that after she passed, that residence could be auctioned off, and all of the profits would be donated to welfare agencies."

Ah Bao's words were no doubt like a bomb dropped right into Mu Yuchen's lake of a heart, causing many waves!

A residence registered under Aunt's name?

How could that be?

Light flashed in Mu Yuchen's mind. From what he remembered and from some of the information that showed that Mu Zi rarely went to City B, how could she have gotten a residence there?

In fact, XX residence was not cheap. Based on what he knew, after Mu Zi passed away, all the assets were left to Lingtian and Lingshi. That was a huge sum of money as well. If she really had bought it, she would not have had such a huge sum of money left.

"Master, I highly suspect that someone else intentionally erased all of that previous information. I visited the old residents nearby and showed them Miss Mu Zi's picture. They were sure that Miss Mu Zi was the owner of the residence back then, but she never went there often. Sometimes, she wouldn't even be there in a month, and when she was there, she'd wear shades. She probably didn't want to be recognized," Ah Bao continued to say softly. He noticed that Mu Yuchen did not look too pleased, so he paused, but Mu Yuchen gestured at him for him to continue.

"All the old residents there say that they've never seen Miss Mu Zi interact with anyone else. Sometimes, they'd see a black car send Miss Mu Zi back to her place. It had a local car plate, but we don't have the actual number plate, and we have no way of finding out."

When Ah Bao finished, Li Si could not help but frown again. They finally found a clue and now the trail ended just like that.

He turned and looked a little worriedly at Mu Yuchen, yet he saw his Master's unfathomable expression. Instead of the gloominess from before, he seemed to be enlightened.

"Master, do you have a plan?" Li Si asked softly.

Mu Yuchen smiled mysteriously, the calm corners of his mouth curving up. "A cover-up only makes matters worse! Since we have reached this point in our investigation, it would be much easier to continue. Circle in on all those with status and positions in City Z. Those are people who can get them to erase such information. I think it would be much easier than trying to pick a needle out of the haystack! Also, go to the De Bao auction in City B. Auction this pen and try to promote it more widely. I'll personally inform the De Bao auction president."

When Mu Yuchen said this, Li Si's eyes immediately lit up. He could not help but look at Mu Yuchen admiringly.

How did he not think of this!?

That pen with a white Qinghua porcelain body with those sapphire gems on it was quite significant in price! According to the estimated value, it was definitely an item worth collecting!

If that person was really from City B and custom-made this pen years ago, then perhaps he would not be willing to let this pen fall into someone else's hands, or at least, it would attract his attention. Then, he would get the people at the auction to take note, and then with a little filtering, maybe...

Master was Master indeed. He was incredibly smart!

Li Si could not help but laugh. "Master, you have such a way with things! With our attack from both angles, I'm sure we'll get to the bottom of it this time!"

"According to the clues you guys got previously, in terms of comparison of height and looks, I'll leave the rest to you. Do as you see fits."

Then, he tossed the folder to Li Si before calmly turning to walk out from the gazebo.

Before he walked down the stairs, Mu Yuchen suddenly stopped and turned to look at the two of them. "Without my orders, do not reveal a single word to anyone else, including Ah Mo. Understand?"

Li Si and Ah Bao nodded before responding, "Master, don't worry, we understand!"

Mu Yuchen looked up at the night sky blanketed with stars. "Go home soon. Ah Bao, you can make your way to City B tomorrow."

Mu Yuchen's tall and lean figure quickly vanished underneath the dim lights upfront. The surging cold winds immediately blew his aura away with them too.

Li Si looked in the direction of the departing figure for a long time. After that, he slowly averted his gaze and looked down at the folder that was tossed back to him. His gaze could not help but become heavy again as he hesitated for a moment before handing it to Ah Bao, "Go back and prepare. I'll book your flight ticket later on."

"Okay, Assistant Li. Assistant Li, was Master... not too pleased earlier?"

When Li Si heard the question, he looked up at the direction that Mu Yuchen vanished in again and sighed. "Since Miss Mu Zi had a private residence over there, does this not make you think of anything?"

Upon hearing that, Ah Bao began to feel more puzzled, and he looked at Li Si in confusion.

Li Si sighed and lifted a hand to cover his forehead. "That place was most probably where Miss Mu Zi met up with her lover, and you know about the situation with that man too. How could Master be happy about it? If Elder Chairman and Elder Madam hear about this, you can imagine the outcome."

When he said this, Li Si could not help but get a headache and feel concerned.

Ah Bao then nodded, understanding what Li Si meant.

Li Si thought about it, then could not help but remind, "Get a few assistants to go with you. Our people are there too, so it shouldn't be too hard to investigate. It's going to be the year end soon. I remember from the rules of the past De Bao auctions, they would have a rather large-scale auction every third to the fifth day of the New Year, so you can plan for this."

"Don't worry, Assistant Li. I guarantee that I'll complete the mission," Ah Bao said, and then walked out of the gazebo in huge strides towards the entrance of the villa.

...

Close to the year-end, City Z seemed to be a little livelier. Even if this year's winter was a little colder than usual, the bustling atmosphere did not diminish.

Xi Xiaye was pregnant with the little thing, and in a blink of an eye, she was in her eighth month. She had been taken care of like a pig all this time, even staying at home more. Sometimes, she would just go to the hospital for check-ups, and at the same time, visit Ruan Heng who was still unconscious. Sometimes, she would make a trip back to the Shen residence too. Wang Hui took very good care of her, but Xi Xiaye felt like they were too anxious. They would not even let her lift a stool.

Mu Yuchen continued to leave the house early and return late. He was busy moving back and forth Maple residence and the company.

When they reached the year-end, work started to become busy. He would always wait until she fell asleep late at night before he woke up and continued working on unfinished business just like right now.

With the help of very dim lights, Xi Xiaye slowly pushed the door to the study room open.

What greeted her sight was him still sitting before the desk, focused on work. She walked over lightly.

The faint fragrance closed in. Looking down at the documents, he already noticed her slowly getting close to him. When he looked up, indeed, he saw her standing by the desk. His handsome face immediately colored with gentleness as his low voice spoke, "What's wrong? Can't sleep? Not feeling too good?"

Then, he reached out to pull her in.

Xi Xiaye shook her head. "I'm fine. I woke up and saw that you weren't around, so I knew that you're still busy. I slept quite a lot in the day, so I'm quite awake. Do you need help with anything?"

She felt sad to see him becoming thinner by the day.

"What you can do is to rest well, and peacefully give birth to our child," he pulled her to sit on his lap as he softly responded, and buried his face into her hair.

"It's soon now. It doesn't seem to be growing anymore. I've just become less mobile." Xi Xiaye reached out to caress her bump. Her twinkling eyes could not help but twinkle with a dim glow. "In another two more months, we'll be able to meet it... I'm so excited! I really want to see how it'll look like. Will it look like us? I hope that it will look more like you."

"If it's a little princess, it obviously has to look more like you." He was quite excited as well. If it was a smaller version of her, he would definitely love the little princess without hesitation.

Baby, it is because Father cares about your mother that I care about you too. When you are born, you must treat your mother like the sun.

She looked around, and her gaze fell onto the calendar on the side as she lamented, "I suddenly feel like time has passed so quickly. This time, last year, we had only just met, Mr. Mu."

Now that she mentioned it, he also remembered the very first time they met. With a smile, he asked her, "Mmm, do you remember how we met the first time?"

She gladly nodded as her twinkling eyes could not help but turn misty. "Back then, I thought that you were quite distant and cold. You felt distant in a way that pushed people thousand of miles away, but you seem like quite a gentle and cultivated person too."

"I'm very happy that I could leave such a good impression on you after our first meeting, Missus."

Xi Xiaye smiled gently. "Of course! Mr. Mu, you're so good-looking. I don't deny that I was attracted by your looks and charisma back then."

"Turns out you had already fallen for me then, hmm?" Mu Yuchen laughed out loud.

Xi Xiaye rolled her eyes as she reached out to pinch his handsome face. "Please, I've always admired Prince Charmings. Many men appear handsome and dashing but are unreliable."

"What theory is this? Your man doesn't rely on his looks, so how can he be unreliable now? It's best you stay away from people who say things like that. They're too one-sided and subjective."

"No, that's because..."

...

Compared to the harmony and warmth there, tension filled a certain ward in Los Angeles

Shen Wenna sat by the bedside. Her elegant face could not help but seem tense. She sat quietly while Little Apple lay down by her side as Xi Mushan gripped her other hand tightly.

A blonde-haired, blue-eyed doctor in his white coat stood before them with a beautiful nurse holding a tray.

At the moment, the doctor was carefully helping Shen Wenna take off the bandage that covered her eyes.

Xi Mushan was agitated too. He watched the doctor's movements in anticipation as he could feel the nervousness from Shen Wenna. He held her slightly cold hand tighter, softly advising, "Don't worry. You'll be able to see soon."

Yet, when Shen Wenna heard this, she could not help but be even more nervous. It had been close to a year since she fell into this dark world. Could she really see the light again?