The night was getting quiet while a vast sea of stars filled the sky.

Maple Residence was getting quiet as it was shrouded in a gentle light.

Wang Hui went back to the Mu Residence after dinner. Because Mu Yinan had caught a cold, she was worried and wanted to take a look at him.

The two maternity matrons went to sleep after a day of work as well, but Xi Xiaye was still thinking about work. She went to the study room to do some work from Fuhua after she put her sons to sleep. When she glanced at the clock, she noticed it was already almost 10 p.m.

He was not home yet.

Xi Xiaye frowned. He had been coming home late recently because he had a lot of events to attend at night even though he was sick.

"Mother, are you not going to sleep?" Mu Zirui rubbed his eyes as he stood by the door.

"Xiao Rui? Why are you still awake? Didn't Aunt Wang put you to sleep?" Xi Xiaye extended her arms to him and signaled for him to come over.

Mu Zirui walked over quickly. "I woke up to get a drink, then I saw that your room lights were still on. Is Brother asleep?"

"Yeap, he's asleep. Let me get you some water. Sit here." Xi Xiaye smiled and patted Mu Zirui's head before going to fetch him a glass of water.

"Thank you, Mother! Mother, is Father not home yet?" Mu Zirui drank half the glass, then he curled up on the sofa beside Xi Xiaye.

Xi Xiaye took a deep breath and picked up her phone on the table. "Your father's company has been very busy lately. Here, help me call your father and ask him when is he coming back. Also, ask him if he drank." She punched Mu Yuchen's number in and handed the phone to Mu Zirui.

"Oh! Okay!" Mu Zirui grabbed the phone and put it beside his ears. Mu Yuchen then picked up the call.

"Xiaye?" His voice sounded a little hoarse.

He got a childish sounding reply instead. "Father!"

"Xiao Rui?"

"Father, Mother is asking when will you be back, and if you drank tonight," Mu Zirui grabbed the pillow beside him as he asked.

"Where's Mother? Hand her the phone."

"Oh." Mu Zirui turned towards Xi Xiaye. "Mother, Father said..."

However, before Mu Zirui could finish his sentence, Xi Xiaye was already walking into the bedroom. "Tell him if he drank and isn't coming back anytime soon, he's sleeping on the sofa tonight!" Her slender figure then disappeared into the bedroom.

"Oh! Okay, Mother!" Mu Zirui replied to his mother before talking on the phone again, "Father, Mother said if you drank and you're not home within half an hour, you'll be sleeping on the sofa. She's taking a shower now!"

Mu Zirui had not been going to kindergarten in the past few days and stayed in Maple Residence for the past week, so he noticed his mother's habits. She would always take half an hour to shower. She would also be unhappy if she did not see his father by the time she was done showering.

Mu Yuchen frowned as he put on an awkward smile when the call was cut off. He shook his head helplessly.

He could not do anything even if he slept on the bed as well! Every night, he had to sleep in the study room after she fell asleep!

What a nightmare!

...

It was almost 11 p.m. when he arrived home. He noticed that the lights in the study room were still on, so he took a peek inside and saw her sleeping on the table.

Xi Xiaye suddenly smelled the person's unique scent and woke up from her sleep. She caught a glimpse of the man in the corner of her eye and smelled some alcohol on him.

"Why are you back so late? You reek of alcohol!" She squinted at him intently.

He pulled her up as he sat down on the chair and shifted her onto his lap. "Why don't you sleep in the bed? You don't have to push yourself so hard. Uncle Lan sent us some information. I looked through it and found that Fuhua's management system is great. The Vice Presidents fulfilled their roles exceptionally, so you don't have to do everything on your own. Later, you..."

Xi Xiaye wrapped her arms around his shoulder and sighed. She grabbed a document in front of her and mumbled, "I'm really worried as I'm about to take over such a huge company while I'm nearly a stranger to the property development industry. What should I do if I can't handle it? Maybe we should merge it with Glory World and let an experienced Vice President take over. I'll continue to be Director Xi..."

"What is there to worry about? I'll keep an eye on it. Fuhua is the work of Grandpa and Grandma, and it will stay that way forever. It carries its own special meaning. I've promoted several capable personnel before the New Year, so you can delegate the work and we'll be able to relax a little. I'm planning to stop the market expansion in Europe and focus on maintaining our current market."

"I agree with that move. There are too many projects going on and our funds are widely dispersed. Since you've decided to step foot in the showbiz industry, you should invest more in it. As for property development, we have Fuhua backing us up, so it shouldn't be an issue. Regarding the tender for South River project No. 2, we really need to rely on Grandpa. Hopefully, he can acquire it and we can proceed on the two projects together. This will be beneficial for us and Qi Lei."

"Mmm, this shouldn't be much of an issue since Grandpa is handling it, but things might get difficult as Qi Kai is working with the Gu family. No matter what, we need to be prepared."

"I understand. We'll do our best, but it seems things will get difficult for Qi Lei if we don't get it. Why does Qi Qiming dislike him so much? He's still his son. That's really cruel." Xi Xiaye frowned as she felt it was unfair for Qi Lei. "Let's just wait and see what's going to happen."

Suddenly, there was an email notification chime from the laptop. Xi Xiaye took a glance at it and saw that it was from Mu Yuchen.

"Open it," Mu Yuchen instructed.

Xi Xiaye then nodded. She entered the password and opened the email.

"Ah Bao sent it? What is it?" Xi Xiaye opened the email.

Mu Yuchen's expression turned serious. He covered her little hand, controlling the mouse with his palm as his eyes darkened. His sudden movement shocked Xi Xiaye. When she turned over, she saw that he was staring at the laptop screen intently.

"What's wrong?" Xi Xiaye asked.

His grip on her hand tightened. He coughed slightly without saying anything.

Xi Xiaye looked at him for a while. She suddenly thought of something as she looked away slightly disappointedly. Reflexively, she moved her hand and mumbled, "Can't I look? I'll go and prepare your bath water then..."

As she was about to get up from his lap, he stopped her. "Xiaye, I don't have any secrets to keep from you. You can stay if you want to look."

She then sat back down and scrolled the window upwards. A large chunk of text appeared on screen with some photos attached.

Xi Xiaye was stunned as she read through them.

Gu Qiwu...

What was happening?

"How could this be? He..."

Xi Xiaye could not believe what she was reading. She shuddered as she pointed at one of the images. "This... Isn't this the photo Aunty had? This man is Gu Qiwu? Wait... This... A hat, sunglasses... This... This is the man that stopped me in the tunnel back then!"

"Are you sure he's the one instead of Qi Qiming?" Mu Yuchen looked at her and asked.

Xi Xiaye stared at the photo of the man in sunglasses for a long while, then she nodded confidently. "It should be him. Although I couldn't see his face back then, the shape of his face is pretty identical to the man in the photo, and I remember him having a tiny mole near his ear. Right here..."

Mu Yuchen's eyes darkened when he heard Xi Xiaye. He read the email again as his grip wrapped around her waist tightened. He was almost merging Xi Xiaye and him into one person.

"You... Are you searching for the person that stopped me back then? What conflict does Gu Qiwu have with you? Is it because of Gu Lingsha?"

Mu Yuchen remained quiet for a moment before replying, "The conflict between us is huge..."

His tone of voice sounded a little melancholic. Xi Xiaye felt oddly sad hearing that, so she grabbed his hand, "Did you find out something? It's not just about Gu Lingsha, is it? She's still fine right now. The ones who had it worse were Lingtian, Ah Shi, and you. You had to bear the fault even though it's not your mistake. Tell me what happened."

"Maybe it's exactly because Lingtian died that our conflict is sure to never end," he replied with a grim smile as his arm around her waist relaxed. His face was still expressionless although his voice sounded a little poignant. "I called him Mr. Wen the other day, but he didn't give me any reaction. He should at least be curious about who I was talking about in that situation, but he didn't even stop as if he had practiced this. At that moment, I could almost be sure he was the one that stopped you in the tunnel. Ah Bao also found out the accident in City B might be related to him."

"He's really trying to hurt you. It doesn't make sense if it's just for the sake of Gu Lingsha, but you mentioned Lingtian. Could it be...?" Xi Xiaye suddenly thought of something, and her expression shadowed over. She then remembered her man rushing to City B several days after the New Year.

She knew that he was trying to find out about Lingtian and Ah Shi's biological father, but now he was linked to Gu Qiwu?

"Do you mean that that person... is him? Impossible!"

Xi Xiaye could not believe it. Her heart sank and she started to feel uncomfortable, unable to imagine what he was feeling.

"Ah Bao is trying to get some DNA samples from him. I've sent Lingshi's sample over already. We'll be able to conduct a DNA test afterward."

Mu Yuchen closed the email and then deleted it. "We'll find out the truth once we get the results. However, make sure no one else finds out about this before we're clear of the whole situation. Keep it a secret from the others, especially my grandparents and Lingshi. You cannot let them know at all costs. Understand?"

Xi Xiaye nodded. She realized that he was worried the elders could not take it while Mu Lingshi might lose control and go see Gu Qiwu too. There might be unthinkable consequences if this went out of hand.

"He wants to take revenge on you! Is it because he thought you caused Lingtian's death? Or is it because of something else?" Xi Xiaye turned around and grabbed his shoulders uneasily. "I could tell he has a grudge against you. He's the man that gave me a warning, but didn't we come to the conclusion that Mr. Wen is Qi Qiming?"

"He probably borrowed this name and misled us. Why do you think we haven't been able to find him after so many years? His relationship with Qi Qiming isn't ordinary as well. I feel that things took a huge turn and we've returned to square one."

Mu Yuchen's tone was quiet. He seemed much calmer as compared to Xi Xiaye.

"Don't worry. We might be able to solve this whole matter together with all the conflicts in the past." He comforted her.

Xi Xiaye could only nod gently as light flowed in her eyes. She looked at the laptop screen that had dimmed as she said calmly, "If it's really him, then Ah Shi..."

At this moment, Xi Xiaye suddenly remembered that when she found Sis Lan back then, and those things that Sis Lan said, the heaviness that had been weighing on her chest started to feel more oppressive. She thought about it, then said contemplatively, "Sis Lan must have known some things, but she chose not to say anything. I think she must have known the story between them. No matter what, if Qi Qiming was the original Mr. Wen, he would've at least known Aunty too. In that picture, there were two men. One is Gu Qiwu, so the other should be Qi Qiming."

"What do you think Gu Qiwu was thinking about when he tried so hard to hide the truth, and could even bear to see Aunty fall into depression while Lingtian and Lingshi grew up so lonely?"

Xi Xiaye could not figure it out. There were many of such people within families of the rich. After all, were Qi Feng and Qi Lei not like that too? They had the guts to do such things, yet had no courage to bear the consequences.

"Alright, let's just set this aside for now and wait for the results."

"Mmm, you go take a bath first. You reek of alcohol. I'll go prepare the water for you and get Sis Wang to cook you some porridge."

Xi Xiaye got up slowly, and then lowered her head to plant a kiss on the corner of his lips. Without waiting for him to reply, she walked out of the study room.

As he watched her slender figure vanish out of the doorway, Mu Yuchen's silent face flashed with a faint smile. He lifted a hand to touch where his lips had curved upwards, and he could faintly feel the warmth she had left behind. As a result, the gloominess in his eyes faded even more.

Xi Xiaye swiftly got Sis Wang to cook him some porridge while she prepared the bathwater for him. When Mu Yuchen walked out of the study room, he saw that she was putting away the windbreaker and coat that he had casually tossed onto the sofa.

"Right, Grandmother's gone back to the Mu residence. Grandfather hasn't been feeling too well these past few days. You should visit him if you have the time. Father and Mother have been a little busy recently too. They leave early and return late, so it's just Grandfather alone at home. Actually, right now, it's enough for me and Aunt Lin to take care of the baby. Let Grandmother accompany Grandfather more. Once I start working again, she can help take care of the baby. Before this, she asked me if I'd want to move to the old residence for a bit."

It was slightly inconvenient not to be living with everyone.

"It's okay for us to stay here. I'll talk to her," He said as he took the clothes from her and walked to the bathroom.

Perhaps because there were too many unhappy memories from the past at the old residence, she knew that he did not seem to quite like staying at the old residence.

Yet, just as Mu Yuchen walked into the bedroom, the baby's crying began. Xi Xiaye quickly walked over and rushed to the bed.

"Baby's awake... Mother's here. Don't cry. Mother's right here..."

She swiftly picked up her son from the bed and checked him in a flurry. He did not dirty himself, then she realized that he was probably awoken. As she was pondering over where to prepare his milk formula, she realized that the man had already set his clothes on the stool aside while his tall figure stood before the coffee table. His secrecy was impressive.

After a while, he came back and handed the milk bottle to Xi Xiaye. She took it and fed her son before he finally stopped crying.

"Did you not eat tonight? Are you feeling that hungry?" Mu Yuchen sat down beside Xi Xiaye as he watched his son drink hungrily. He frowned. "Look at those eating manners..."

When Xi Xiaye heard his disgruntled comment, she could not help but roll her eyes. "This is his conditioned reflex. He wouldn't know anything? I... That's not enough. You know he doesn't like milk powder."

"He's just a little thing and already so delicate. I don't receive the same treatment." He meaningfully looked at her chest hidden underneath the loose pajamas as he smiled faintly.

"Go bathe! You're like a hooligan!" Xi Xiaye pushed him away, then he chuckled. He got up to take his clothes and walked to the bathroom.

...

The midnight starry sky remained dazzling and charming as the entire city gradually fell silent from the initial bustle.

The black Land Rover passed through the busy traffic coated in freezing winds as it drove into a slightly old alley and finally stopped before a junction. The road was too narrow, so they could not drive in.

"Just park right here. It's only a few steps away right in front of this little road. We'll need to take a huge round if we take the main street ahead," Ji Zitong unbuckled her safety belt as she said.

Su Chen's dark eyes looked at the pitch-black alley ahead, and his brows frowned into a knot, Without waiting for Ji Zitong to say anything, he quickly reversed his car.

Su Chen looked a little surprisedly at her. When he saw that she remained unfazed, he could not help but speak out, "You've got quite the guts. It looks like a city area that's about to be relocated soon. Someone even died a few days ago. Aren't you scared? You dare to walk through that place?"

"I've stayed a whole night at a mass grave before, Instructor Su. Don't you think that saying the word 'scared' right now would seem quite pretentious? Besides, I didn't kill that person, so they won't come looking for me?"Ji Zitong looked at Su Chen in disagreement.

With this reminder, Su Chen did remember that when they were training in the wild, and they did stay for a whole night at the mass graves in the rural areas.

"I almost forgot that even your Instructor Mu praised your boldness back then. We all agreed back then that you would have a great future in the army, but I didn't expect you to not persist on."

Su Chen's eyes were colored with a faint daze as if he was reminiscing a distant memory. He paused and continued again, "About that thing, it was my fault. I'd like to apologize to you, but I was just doing my duty as an instructor."

When Su Chen said that, Ji Zitong was stunned. Her eyes started to be dazed as she sighed and turned to look out the car window as she said softly, "There's no point in saying all of this now. I know, and I don't blame you either. Fate is as such. There's no use struggling against it."

"Do you believe in fate?"

When Su Chen heard her question, he looked amusedly at her. "I can't find that spirit of being unwilling to admit defeat in you anymore. What can exhaust someone's spirit in their bones completely? Cadet Ji Zitong, it looks like you haven't been doing so well all these years."

"I was still young then. I joined the army hot-blooded, but a few years down the road, I realize that that place is actually the best place to settle someone down."