MY WIFE IS A BEAUTIFUL CEO

Chapter 681 - Chapter 690

Chapter 681 - Not A Bad Ending

"Boss Lin is married?"

"Her husband is Director Yang?"

"How have I not heard of this yet?"

"Who knew? I never expected this..."

"No wonder she trusts Director Yang so much..."

The executives who were following behind Lin Ruoxi started whispering in excitement. This news was much more significant compared to having a new human resources director named Chris!

Wu Yue showed a look of sudden realization on her face. She finally understood why Yang Chen always came looking for Lin Ruoxi for no particular reason, and why Lin Ruoxi was also always willing to see him.

Wu Yue stared at her boss's back, slightly annoyed. She couldn't understand why Lin Ruoxi did not tell her that she was married despite being Lin Ruoxi's personal assistant. To think that I have been guarding against Yang Chen all this while. Turns out that the two are family! That practically makes me the clown in a circus for doing what I have been doing all along! thought Wu Yue.

Yang Chen exchanged glances with Mo Qianni and Liu Mingyu. Then, he walked forward expressionlessly and stopped right in front of Lin Ruoxi. He said calmly, "Follow me."

Lin Ruoxi gazed at him coldly for a while. Instead of replying, she just walked past Yang Chen silently and continued her way out of the corridor.

Yang Chen turned around and said, "I'll count to three. If you don't come with me on the count of three, don't regret what happens next."

Lin Ruoxi paused briefly in her steps, but she soon continued walking out. It seemed like she did not intend to respond.

"One."

Lin Ruoxi continued walking.

"Two..."

Everyone watched in worry and curiosity. They wondered about what had happened between this married couple.

Yang Chen did not count to three. Instead, he turned around and caught up to Lin Ruoxi quickly. Amidst the crowd's exclamations, he bent down and picked her up off her feet!!

Lin Ruoxi felt that her legs were suddenly dangling in the air as he lifted her off the floor using his strong arms!

If not for her self-control, Lin Ruoxi would have screamed out loud!

Did this guy just bridal carry me in front of everyone else?!

Lin Ruoxi could no longer understand what she was feeling. She would have done anything to let this just be a dream. Yet, before she could continue her train of thoughts, Yang Chen had already started making his way towards the elevator outside the corridor.

Mo Qianni exchanged a glance with Liu Mingyu. Both of them could see a look of worry and doubt in each other's eyes. But they were in no position to interfere with this married couple's relationship.

Lin Ruoxi suddenly recollected herself by the time they entered the elevator. Struggling, she wriggled her body in an attempt to free herself from Yang Chen's arms. Her eyes were glaring straight at Yang Chen in despair.

But it was almost impossible for her to free herself from Yang Chen's strong arms. He hooked onto her legs tightly, and her arms were tightly secured as well. No matter how hard she struggled, she couldn't escape from him.

The lift descended one floor after another, stopping at some of the floors on the way down. All those who stood outside waiting for the elevator revealed a look of shock the moment they saw the scene inside.

The beautiful CEO that was akin to an ice mountain that never melted even in ten thousand years was being bridal carried by Director Yang of the branch company in the elevator?!

Upon seeing this scene, none of the employees dared to enter the elevator lest they die from awkwardness.

Lin Ruoxi was so embarrassed she wanted to bite a chunk of flesh off Yang Chen's chest. She even wondered if he was mentally disorganized!

Yang Chen lowered his head and smiled mischievously. "Lin Ruoxi, you better stop moving around. If you provoke me, it wouldn't be as simple as just carrying you. When we reach the ground floor lobby, there will be more people. I might not be able to control myself. Who knows, I might just hug you out and French kiss with you in public."

Immediately, Lin Ruoxi felt as though she had been struck by lightning. She dared not move around carelessly at all. But the grievances in her heart transformed into tears that kept rolling in her eyes. She clenched her teeth in anger and said, "You devil..."

"Ha!" Even Yang Chen's brows carried a sense of happiness. He laughed heartily and said, "At last you're willing to open your mouth and talk to me. Dear, how did you know that 'devil' is among one of my nicknames? Tsk tsk, it feels good to hear your voice once again."

Lin Ruoxi shut her eyes close in defeat. She knew that there was no way she could escape Yang Chen's arms.

But Yang Chen wasn't so vicious. He did not actually stop at the ground floor lobby. Instead, he went straight to the carpark and placed Lin Ruoxi down on the seat of his car, and proceeded to drive out of the building.

Lin Ruoxi stopped sobbing. With pale lips and a gloomy expression, she looked out of the window, unwilling to look at Yang Chen.

Yang Chen chose not to talk as well. He drove the car at high speed. About half an hour later, they arrived at the side of the west district central plaza.

Yang Chen parked his car and alighted. Then, he opened the car door for Lin Ruoxi, saying, "Come down."

Lin Ruoxi just sat there without moving an inch. She seemed determined not to listen to Yang Chen.

Yang Chen squinted his eyes. "You're being so difficult. You are basically begging for me to carry you again."

Lin Ruoxi gave Yang Chen an angry stare, but she had no choice but to oblige. She tidied her slightly messy attire up and asked, "Where are we going?"

"Just follow me." Yang Chen smiled mysteriously before leading around and leading the way.

Lin Ruoxi could do nothing about it but follow behind Yang Chen obediently.

A scene that attracted people's attention appeared on the plaza—a lazy-looking man with ordinary features walked in front yawning, while a stunning woman in grey dress and blue cardigan was following behind him unwillingly. It looked just like one of those movie scenes where a couple that was having their argument walked in the lazy afternoon sun.

A few minutes later, the two arrived at a cafe next to a fountain.

A look of doubt emerged on Lin Ruoxi's face. She definitely recognized the place, as she was the one who had first brought Yang Chen here.

"You haven't forgotten, have you?" Yang Chen turned around and smiled, saying, "Back then this was where we signed our wedding agreement."

Lin Ruoxi dazed out briefly, as though some memories had come to her mind. She nodded blankly.

Yang Chen let out a soft laughter. Then, he led the way into the cafe.

It had been a year since they last visited. Thus, the decorations and waiters were mostly different now. After a new, young waiter brought the two upstairs, Yang Chen requested to sit at the exact same spot where they had sat a year ago.

It was the same location with the same characters, only things were very different now than they were a year ago.

"Sir, what would you like to drink?" the waiter asked politely.

Yang Chen replied, "A blue mountain with milk but no sugar for this lady here. And I'll have a Naples coffee with American flavor."

The waiter took their order and was about to leave when Yang Chen called him out again.

"Give me four pieces of paper and a pen. You have those here, don't you?" Yang Chen asked.

The waiter was caught by surprise, but he immediately nodded, "Yes we do. Please hold on."

Lin Ruoxi sat looking at Yang Chen with complicated feelings in her heart. She remembered that when they first met here back then, the coffee that she had ordered was precisely blue mountain coffee. On top of that, Yang Chen even remembered that she wanted it with milk but without sugar.

After the waiter brought them four pieces of paper and a pen, Yang Chen asked him to leave. Immediately, their surroundings turned silent.

Yang Chen grabbed the pen quietly, took a piece of paper, and started writing on it.

"Why exactly did you bring me here?" Lin Ruoxi didn't like situations like this where she had no control. She had grown increasingly confused by what Yang Chen meant by doing these.

Yang Chen scribbled a few large characters on the paper swiftly, and then he held the paper up in front of Lin Ruoxi's eyes.

Lin Ruoxi's gaze instantly transformed from confusion to a mixture of shock, surprise, and doubt. She even felt a little flustered.

It felt as though a block of ice had sunk into her heart. Lin Ruoxi could feel an icy chill running down her back.

On that piece of paper, the title was: Divorce Agreement!

He wants a divorce?! thought Ruoxi.

Lin Ruoxi had never expected that Yang Chen's sudden actions were all for such a decision!

Yang Chen sneered and said, "Babe Ruoxi, you seem to be a little slow. Why do you think I exposed our relationship in public so suddenly? Why do you think I hugged you so suddenly ignoring everybody's stares? Why do you think I ignored your anger and your hateful glare at me?

"That's right. I was already prepared to get a divorce with you. Because I had planned to get a divorce, I couldn't be bothered to leave myself any way out."

Lin Ruoxi grabbed tightly onto her dress, her fingers pale. She bit her lips tight and almost couldn't catch a breath.

"Now that things have advanced to this stage, I no longer want to bother about what had been right or what had been wrong. Perhaps it was all destined. Let's sign our divorce agreement right here where we signed our marriage agreement. It would make quite the ending, wouldn't it?" Yang Chen said with a faint smile.

Lin Ruoxi's watery eyes stared straight into Yang Chen's eyes. She was trying to read his facial expressions for hints of playfulness.

In the end, Lin Ruoxi couldn't see the faintest hint of joke in Yang Chen's eyes. It would seem like he was serious about this!

Her face was overcome by a deep misery, and then it turned into a look of relief, as though she had put down a heavy burden. She smiled faintly at the corner of her mouth and said, "Looks like you have truly made a perfect choice."

Yang Chen's smile faded away as he said with a serious tone, "On my way to the company, I had already called to enquire. To get a divorce, we will need our account book, our identification documents, our marriage certificate and documents of the like. But those are trifle matters. The most crucial thing is to have a reasonable divorce agreement.

For normal married couples, they might have to negotiate over matters like distribution of their assets and their children's custody. But we have no child. As for our assets, it doesn't matter either. You don't lack money and neither do I. So I'll just write it the way it is. You shouldn't have an issue with it, do you?"

"No I don't," Lin Ruoxi said coldly. She lowered her head and raised her coffee cup.

Her hands that were holding onto the coffee cup trembled a little, but Lin Ruoxi quickly kept her wrists under control and prevented the coffee from spilling out.

After taking a sip, Lin Ruoxi sighed softly with relief. "Just write. Like what you said, there is nothing for us to fight over."

Chapter 682 - Give Me The Pen

Yang Chen did not stand on ceremony. He started writing lines after lines of words on the piece of paper rapidly. Despite the fast speed, his handwriting was clear.

Lin Ruoxi sat there watching the man before her write down words that would separate the two. It felt as though he was building solid walls between them.

They were so near to each other; they were a couple who saw each other every day, yet all of that would no longer remain the same after this piece of paper becomes valid.

It took about ten minutes for Yang Chen to finish, but Lin Ruoxi felt like a century had passed.

When Yang Chen picked up the agreement that he had finished writing and placed it before Lin Ruoxi, she quickly wiped the tears off her face.

Even she had no idea when she had started tearing up. The day wasn't over yet, but the tears she had shed were more than she could count.

Yang Chen looked indifferent, like he hadn't seen it at all. He said solemnly, "You can take a close look at the terms written on it. I believe there shouldn't be an issue. I've already signed. All you have to do is sign on it and this document will then be valid."

Lin Ruoxi looked at the densely written terms on the piece of paper. She calmed herself down and perked up her spirits, and finally started reading it carefully.

This was a rather fairly written agreement. It involved no disputes of interests and it left nothing unmentioned. This was possibly the most peaceful divorce settlement in history.

She saw that Yang Chen had already signed his name on the signature column at the end. There was still an empty line waiting for her signature.

Lin Ruoxi lost her thoughts in a brief daze, and then she raised her head and said with a cold expression, "Give me the pen."

Yang Chen suddenly grinned and said, "Before I hand you the pen for you to sign, I have to clarify some matters. Only then will I feel at ease with this divorce."

Lin Ruoxi stopped for a split second. Then as she placed the agreement back to the middle of the table, she said, "Go on."

Yang Chen crossed his legs, drank his coffee, and said, "There are two main reasons why we ended up in our current circumstances. Firstly, you are not the only woman that I have. Some of them are even acquainted with you, and some are your close sister-like friends. Secondly, I misjudged you today. Or perhaps, I should say that I had my suspicions towards you. But I believe the second reason was more like the last straw. After all, I am no robot, nor a computer. I have feelings of my own too. Hot headedness is part of my character. So, I don't think that this was too big of an issue. But of course, I apologize for my stupidity and my rashness."

Lin Ruoxi gave him a cold smile. "That isn't needed. Since we're getting a divorce, there's no need to apologize."

Yang Chen shrugged and said smilingly, "Okay, then I'll get to the point. I believe that the greatest dissatisfaction that you bear towards me since my return from Beijing was hearing from Aunt Jiang Shan about my relationship with Ning'er and Yanyan. Though I'm not sure what she said to you, I think it would have sounded unpleasant to you no matter what.

"You must think that I like any beautiful woman that I meet, that I don't bother to think of you at all, and that's why I have affairs with your closest friends. But what I want to tell you is that even though I favor beautiful women, that doesn't make me a pig who falls in love with anyone I meet without caring about your feelings."

Lin Ruoxi snorted coldly and said, "Just say what you want to say, don't beat around the bush. All I know is that a certain man told me beforehand that he was going to Beijing to help a woman settle some troublesome matters. But not more than two days passed when I suddenly I received news that he had had an affair with two other women, and even their parents were aware of it. It left no room for change for anything at all. I fail to see any honesty, any sincerity, nor any so-called care that you mentioned in all of these.

"I endured it back then when you had Qianni, because what happened in Hong Kong was a result of my set-up. I felt guilty for landing both of you in danger. And you had already known Miss Rose even before we knew each other, so I had no right to ask you to erase your past.

"But whether it is Mingyu or An Xin, I don't believe that you couldn't reject them too. Even if they do have their pathetic stories, I accepted it since I hadn't done my part well as a wife. I have no choice but to accept the budding of those relationships.

"I believe that you probably still have other women, like Catherine whom we bumped into in Paris. But that is your past, and I can't change that.

"Yet, how do you expect me to understand that Yanyan who has been my friend since young is now involved as well? Even more so than that, Sister Cai Ning who is just like a sister to me. The closer their relationship is with me, the more painful it becomes. Because that is not snatching, that is betrayal!"

She had finished her words. Lin Ruoxi looked like she had expended a tremendous amount of energy. She panted for breath adorably, her gaze staring brightly at Yang Chen.

Yang Chen took a deep breath and said seriously, "Okay, then I'll tell you in detail why Ning'er and Yanyan 'betrayed' you."

Lin Ruoxi said nothing. She stared at Yang Chen coldly.

"Do you remember the first time you dragged me out of the west-district police station? It was from then that Yanyan started crossing paths with me. She thought that I was some bank robber.

"She was at loggerheads with me and always finding fault with me. There were even a few times where she made me angry and it was safe to say that I did not like her.

"Later on, I met Zhenxiu. Zhenxiu told me that Yanyan helped her before as the police chief. She helped Zhenxiu onto the right path so she could start a small business properly.

"It was then that I changed my opinion towards her, because she wasn't a bad person. But I did not fall in love with her.

"I'm not sure why Yanyan fell for me either. Perhaps because I had saved her once in a shooting incident, or maybe it was some other reason. In any case, I had never thought of getting involved with her before.

"Do you still remember the time when she came to our house and accidentally left her white bag behind on the sofa? She did that on purpose. She used it as an excuse to meet me.

"To be honest, that trick of hers was very conventional. But it suited her personality. It was so innocent that it was cute.

"It was then when I had lunch with her that she suddenly told me that she was fond of me, and that she had already found out from you that our marriage was on a contract...

"I was a little stunned then. Lin Ruoxi, why did you tell her even that? Hmph, if she wasn't aware of that, perhaps she wouldn't have confessed back then." Yang Chen shook his head with a bitter smile on his face.

Listening up to this point, Lin Ruoxi started to look a little awkward. Even she herself had forgotten about telling Cai Yan about their contract marriage. If he was speaking the truth, then she was indeed partially responsible for how things were now.

Yang Chen continued, "But despite feeling guilty and touched by Cai Yan's words, I rejected her on that day. I thought at that time that she was your close friend, so I shouldn't ignore your feelings. This is the truth.

"But I didn't anticipate Cai Yan to be so unyielding. She was actually silly enough to think that I didn't like her because she wasn't strong enough.

"Do you still remember the night when her sister Ning'er came running to our house, saying that I was cruel to Cai Yan, and that she wouldn't let me off if anything were to happen to Cai Yan?"

Lin Ruoxi nodded her head silently. She had always wondered what that night was about.

Yang Chen said, "In order to become stronger, Yanyan joined the selection trial of a special task force using her identity as a police. That was a special training where participants could possibly lose their lives if they're not careful during the training."

This time, Lin Ruoxi could no longer remain calm. She was so agitated she opened her mouth and asked, "Rea—really?"

Yang Chen smiled bitterly. "Why else do you think Yanyan suddenly quit her police job and disappeared without leaving a trace?"

Lin Ruoxi recalled that she was indeed unable to reach Cai Yan during that period. She could feel her cold sweat the moment she imagined Cai Yan going through such a training.

Yang Chen sighed heavily and said, "Did you know? When I saw Cai Yan again who had survived the training and stood amidst a bunch of men, her face was dark from being under the sun all the time. She stood under the sun, trying her best to maintain a serious look and pretending that she didn't know me. At that time, I couldn't lie to myself at all. How could I disregard all the effort that she had put in?!

"She had been relying on just her imagination which showed no real promise for the future. Yet she made a decision that would risk her own life just to make me fall for her. What had I ever done to deserve such actions?! What have I sacrificed for her?! If I were to continue disregarding her existence, was I still human?

"After all, we had crossed each other's path several times before in the past. With all those added up, I would be deceiving myself if I said that I had no feelings for her at all. That incident had merely made me admit all those."

Lin Ruoxi bit her lips. She had lost focus in her gaze as she asked, "Okay. Even if I can understand what happened between you and Yanyan. What about Sister Cai Ning?"

Yang Chen said with force, "About Ning'er, actually you played a part as well."

Lin Ruoxi furrowed her brows, "Why me again? Even though I know Sister Cai Ning, we aren't close at all."

"Zeng Xinlin. Weren't you the one who single-handedly planned the Zeng clan's incident?" Yang Chen gave her a bitter smile and said, "If it was not for your trick that crushed Zeng Xinlin's Changlin Media, it wouldn't have led to Zeng Xinlin and Xu Zhihong's joint revenge later on. If they weren't so hell bent on killing you, I wouldn't have had to kill Zeng Xinlin. If not because of Zeng Xinlin's death, the Zeng clan's master Zeng Mao wouldn't have come to Zhonghai to seek revenge for his grandchild.

"Zeng Mao wanted to destroy Yu Lei International regardless of what it took. He wanted to harm you and kill me. I wouldn't have had to bear the risk nonetheless and kill Zeng Mao."

Lin Ruoxi listened to the series of cause and results, and she said in puzzlement, "Even if... I have a big part to play in all these, all I did was just what a businessman had to do. I couldn't have predicted all these to happen. Even more so... what does this have to do with Sister Cai Ning?"

Yang Chen rolled his eyes at her, "Do you think that it was such an easy job to clean up after Zeng Mao's death? He was the head of the Zeng clan. You know what? I wasn't the one who killed him in the end. It was Ning'er who killed him and bore the responsibility of his murder. She did it so I would be safe from the Zeng clan's revenge. She did it so that I could live in peace with the people around me, including you."

"What...?" Lin Ruoxi widened her eyes in shock. She had obviously never expected it to be such a case.

Yang Chen sighed and said, "Actually, you should find a chance to thank Ning'er. If not for her bearing the risk of being prosecuted on the military court and saving me, maybe nothing would have happened to me. But you and Yu Lei probably would have had no peaceful days. Maybe... it would have been a problem to even continue living in China like we do now."

Lin Ruoxi shut her eyes closed. She held onto her forehead and tried to calm down before asking, "Then because of Sister Cai Ning, has everything been settled?"

Yang Chen nodded and said with mixed feelings, "Fortunately, I have established a good relationship with the Li clan in Beijing during this trip. You can say that it's settled now. If I hadn't made the trip this time, Cai Ning was actually planning to listen to her mother and marry a country pumpkin.

"A woman who has nothing to do with me at all was willing to be prosecuted on the military court and lose her name for my sake. Even more so, she almost got married to a man whom she had no feelings for at all. How silly. She didn't gain anything out of this but yet she put her whole life on the line for me.

"If I were so stupid to be ignorant of her feelings, if I were to let her marry a stupid fellow who wanted to take advantage of the situation to possess her, wouldn't that make me even worse than that stupid fellow?"

Lin Ruoxi didn't say a word. She listened blankly, her hands holding onto the coffee mug. She felt awful in her heart.

Willing to sacrifice everything including their lives yet asking for nothing in return?

In comparison, what Lin Ruoxi had done for Yang Chen seemed to be pathetically little.

Yang Chen laughed in self-mock and said, "Sometimes, I really feel like I'm favored by the heavens. I've managed to get myself into such wonderful situations. Of course, I don't mean to say that you're no good. I just wanted to make it clear to you that I will never let go of anyone who loves me deeply and vice versa. Because it is what they rightfully deserve."

Lin Ruoxi lifted her head and she met Yang Chen's gaze.

"Lin Ruoxi, I am very grateful to have work in your company for the past year. Although it did not end on a good note, these memories are really heartwarming for a man like me," Yang Chen said with a faint smile.

Lin Ruoxi's eyes reddened a little. Countless thoughts were flying through her mind. Their memories were appearing one by one in her mind just like a black and white film.

... ...

"Miss Lin, you wouldn't ask me to repay you for bailing me out, would you? I have no money to give you, only my pathetic life."

"Marry me."

"Miss Lin, please come again. Why do I feel like I am hearing things...?"

"You're not hearing things. I said I want you to marry me! Right now!"

... ...

"A marriage without love, does it always end up like them?"

"It won't. At least, we won't. Babe Ruoxi, if you want to go to nightclubs and bars, just ask me out together. I'm very open-minded. Let's all have fun together if you want to have fun."

"Scram!!!"

... ...

"I have three options for you, watch a movie, go shopping, or visit the aquarium. Where do you want to go?"

"Let's go to the aquarium. I like tropical fish. They're very pretty."

"The aquarium is going to close soon since it's so late at night. Choose a different one."

"Then shopping is fine too."

"Shopping? Wouldn't that tire me out?"

"Then where to?"

"Let's go to the movies."

"Then why did you make me choose?! Couldn't you have suggested to watch a movie right from the start?!"

"This is democracy. Democracy. Hehe..."

... ...

"Dear, how much time do we have until the contract expires?"

"One and a half years."

"How about shortening it? Make it six months. Let the two of us scorpions stay for six months more. At that time, even if we're one of the same kind, we should be tired from all this, since there's a gap between us after all."

"I accept."

... ...

"Are you mocking me? For whoever gave birth to me doesn't matter, and I'm a child that nobody wants?"

"You're wrong. In my eyes, none of these things concerns me. Whose daughter you were in the past didn't matter. What matters most is where you are now. You are now my wife."

... ...

Heart-breaking scenes appeared one after another, making Lin Ruoxi unable to suppress her tears from rolling. After she tried hard to calm herself down, Lin Ruoxi wiped the tears off her face.

Yang Chen was watching her. He was smiling leisurely.

"Give it to me." Lin Ruoxi extended her hand.

Yang Chen was stunned, "What?"

"The pen." Lin Ruoxi said emptily, "Don't I have to sign on it? The divorce agreement?"

Yang Chen was taken aback for a while. He asked softly, "Ruoxi, didn't you just cry for us? Why do you still want to sign?"

Lin Ruoxi said blankly, "What do you mean?"

"I've said so much. Aren't you touched at all?" Yang Chen asked with an awkward smile.

The gaze in Lin Ruoxi's eyes started to become clearer. She said, "Does that matter? Didn't you say that you want a divorce?"

Yang Chen swallowed his saliva and let out a few coughs. Then he said with a serious face, "Actually, it hasn't been easy for us to make it this far. Look at you, you're already touched to the point of tearing from our memories. If we were to give up on this, what a pity it would be."

By now, Lin Ruoxi had finally sort her thoughts out. A look of realization replaced the tears that were rolling in her eyes.

She let out a vague smile and said, "Is that so? I don't find it pitiful at all. Give me the pen." Lin Ruoxi reached her hand out again.

Yang Chen hurriedly hid the pen behind him and shook his head. "Think through it again carefully. This is not a joke!"

"Yang Chen, you were the one who suggested a divorce. You were the one who wrote the divorce agreement. Are you going back on your words now?!" Lin Ruoxi said, her eyes were wide open.

Yang Chen's expression was as bitter as it could be. He could only pull the pen out slowly and hand it to Ruoxi.

Lin Ruoxi snatched the pen from him in a second. She darted an icy glare at Yang Chen, and then she found the signature column and was about to sign on it.

But before she could land her pen on the paper, the piece of divorce agreement had already been snatched away by Yang Chen in the blink of an eye!

"Goodness gracious! Lin Ruoxi!! Is your heart made of stone?! I asked you to sign it and you really thought of signing it?! I asked for a divorce and you really want to do it?!

"Do you have a conscience at all? After hearing such a touching story, don't you feel that your man is very responsible and the women are very pitiful?! Don't you know how to say things like 'Dear hubby, I understand everything now. I support you'?! How do you expect Yanyan and Ning'er to live with this! Things are already at such a stage, can't you leave us a way out?! What divorce agreement are you intending to sign?!" Yang Chen yelled. He wanted to cry so badly yet he had no tears.

Lin Ruoxi just smiled coldly. She looked like she had long anticipated this. She played with her hair and said, "I don't have such thoughts. Since you want a divorce, of course I'll do as you wish. You have already acted so recklessly towards me in front of so many employees in the company. What is there for me to hesitate about? Come on, give me the agreement."

Yang Chen's eyes rolled. He could no longer care less and he tore the agreement into pieces right before Lin Ruoxi's eyes. Then, he tore it into pieces before crumpling them together and throwing it aside!

"Why—why did you tear it apart?!" Lin Ruoxi confronted him angrily.

Yang Chen gave her a blank look and asked ignorantly, "What has been torn apart? I didn't do anything. Aren't we here for coffee?"

Lin Ruoxi let out a sigh. She furrowed her brows, showing a speechless expression. "Oh my word. How did I meet a man as thick-skinned as you? Even a year later, why are you still such a lousy man? You're totally shameless!"

Yang Chen held his coffee and turned his head aside, looking at the fountain outside. He clicked his tongue and said pretentiously, "My good wife, the fountain looks so good today. The water seems to be clearer than usual."

Lin Ruoxi glared at the shameless Yang Chen, grinding her teeth. She felt like breaking out in laughter yet she felt like scolding him at the same time. In the end, she just stood up and said out loud, "Waiter! I want the bill please!!"

"Hey! What bill! I'm still drinking!" Yang Chen hurriedly turned over and yelled.

"Drink?! Just drink to your death!"

Lin Ruoxi couldn't be even bothered to wait for the waiter to come. She just pulled out a few hundred-yuan notes and left in anger.

Yang Chen could no longer sit still. He finished his coffee in a big gulp and wanted to leave with her. But he saw that Lin Ruoxi hadn't finished her cup of blue mountain yet. Thus, he finished her cup of coffee in a big gulp again before he finally ran after Lin Ruoxi in a childlike manner.

Yang Chen ran all the way out of the cafe before he managed to block Lin Ruoxi's path. He smiled and asked with a shy face, "Dear little Ruoxi, please don't be angry. I—I had no choice either. I'm following you wholeheartedly for the rest of my life!"

Lin Ruoxi's anger had already been mostly appeased by now. She no longer felt as upset about Cai Ning and Cai Yan. More than that was her anger at Yang Chen for playing tricks on her. She lifted her head up high and pouted as she said, "Forget about it. I don't dare to believe the words of a shameless guy like you who doesn't honor your words."

"Please don't. What's more, the company employees are all aware of our relationship now. Are we going to get a divorce immediately after we announced ourselves as husband and wife? How embarrassing would that be? It's not an issue for me to lose my pride, but for dear CEO you to lose your pride is a big matter!" Yang Chen said righteously.

"Yo—you still have the guts to bring that up?!" Lin Ruoxi was going nuts the moment she imagined how news of her relationship with Yang Chen was spreading like wildfire in the company right now.

"Don't be rash! Don't be rash! Since that's the case," Yang Chen put on a solemn expression again and abruptly caught hold of Lin Ruoxi's hand, saying, "My dear wife, accompany me to one more place. I have no more tricks this time, really."

Chapter 683 - A Romantic Place

About twenty minutes later, the couple were seated in a noodles restaurant on the outer rim of the west-district market.

Due to poor ventilation and the use of lard, the walls and old tables and chairs in the restaurant were coated in a layer of dirty oil. There wasn't a common theme or color to the newspapers and posters on the wall. In short, the whole restaurant looked like a chaotic mess.

The air in the restaurant was filled with the smell of gas from the road and the smell of oil from the kitchen. It made the air look slightly foggy.

As it was already pass lunchtime, there weren't many people in the restaurant. Yang Chen and Lin Ruoxi sat opposite each other at a square table placed at the entrance of this restaurant.

A huge empty bowl of noodles sat in front of Yang Chen. At the same time, he was already busy slurping his second bowl of noodles—green mustard shredded pork noodles—and he did not seem intent on stopping.

Lin Ruoxi stared straight at the man who was gorging on his food before her eyes. She bit on her lips with her brows locked together, her eyes filled with annoyance.

She, too, was holding a pair of chopsticks. But her hands hadn't moved an inch, and she didn't even take a single bite out of the green mustard noodles before her.

Yang Chen had eaten half of his noodles. He drank a mouthful of the oily noodle soup before he asked curiously, "Dear, why aren't you eating? This noodle restaurant's chef has quite the skill. I used to come here often when I was still selling mutton skewers. It's a pity they don't have any fresh pork liver left. Pork liver noodles taste even better than this."

Lin Ruoxi suppressed her annoyance forcefully and asked, clenching her teeth, "The place you mentioned that you wanted to bring me was a noodle parlor?!"

Yang Chen grinned cheekily, "Didn't you tell Wang Ma that you wanted to eat green mustard noodles? I still remember it, that's why I thought of this noodles restaurant. They serve big portions of noodles here. On top of that, their prices are reasonable at five yuan per bowl. If we were in those restaurants out there, this could easily cost us more than ten or twenty yuan."

Noticing that Lin Ruoxi's expression were shifting back and forth, Yang Chen stroked the back of his head with his oily hands and asked, "Why are you looking at me like that? Could it be that you've suddenly realized how thoughtful I am? It's no big deal. I haven't had breakfast nor lunch yet, my stomach was empty and so I thought of having lunch."

Lin Ruoxi thought to herself repeatedly, I can't take things serious with this man, or else I would die from self-irritation. I must stay calm.

I thought this fellow would bring me to some romantic place and say some words to console me, or even give me some surprise.

But! I can't believe he brought me to this small stall for noodles!

Lin Ruoxi looked around at the dirty walls in the restaurant, and at the serviettes and disposable chopsticks that have been thrown all over the place on the floor. She was this close to hurling her handbag at this man's face!

Yang Chen gave it some thought and a flash of realization struck his eyes. He smiled and said, "It slipped my mind. Our Boss Lin has had a luxurious life since young. Hmm... you're different from a wild child like me who would gladly eat raw meat to survive. Forget it, since you find it dirty here, give me your noodles. I still have the stomach for one more bowl."

As he spoke, he reached his hand out towards the big bowl before Lin Ruoxi and was about to pull it towards himself.

Lin Ruoxi quickly stopped Yang Chen with both her hands and said angrily, "Are you mocking me for being spoiled and unable to endure hardship now?"

"No. Everyone has his or her own way of living. It's nothing," Yang Chen said with a relaxed smile.

"Do you think that I can't tell? You're a man but you're always beating around the bush and being so petty." Lin Ruoxi glared at him. She held tightly onto her bowl and sent the noodles into her mouth using her chopstick. She spoke again after taking a bite, "What you can eat, I can eat too. Don't look down on me!"

Yang Chen lost control and broke into laughter. He said, "Look at you being all angry now. Your face is so puffed up it's turning into a steamed bun. I was just joking. I know you can endure hardship. After all, this 'hardship' that you're suffering in your taste buds now is nothing compared to the hardship that you have been through in your heart."

Lin Ruoxi soon stopped moving her chopsticks. She pursed her lips and asked softly, "Can you promise me something?"

"Mmm." Yang Chen raised his brows.

"Promise me, that in the future no matter the reason, you will never bring up those unhappy memories again." Lin Ruoxi looked at Yang Chen and said, "I think that it's very upsetting."

Yang Chen shook his head and smiled. "You mean things like eating dead human meat? I have already let go of that. It's just like a different me who's living in another world. You can think of it as my previous life. It's nothing to me."

Lin Ruoxi shook her head too and said gently, "No, I'm the one who will be upset. I don't want you to use your smile right now to mention those memories of the past."

Yang Chen was silent. He met Lin Ruoxi's gaze, and a faint feeling possessed his heart.

Finally, Yang Chen let out a casual smile and said, "Okay, I promise. Look at you, you're frowning so much. I won't mention it in the future."

"Mm..." Lin Ruoxi finally continued eating her noodles.

Yang Chen asked, "Dear, it's our wedding anniversary today. We received our marriage certificate last year at this exact date. Are you very disappointed that I didn't prepare any special present for you?"

Lin Ruoxi said without even looking at him, "Didn't you have a present? That agreement that you tore apart."'

Yang Chen grinned, "You're still mad at me..."

Lin Ruoxi sighed. "I'm not like you. These things don't matter to me. I'll be glad as long as you don't follow me to the airport next time."

Yang Chen looked awkward. He forced a smile and immediately snuck his head down to eat his noodles.

In the midst of eating, Lin Ruoxi suddenly asked again, "About Qianni... what are your plans for her?"

Yang Chen was startled. He asked awkwardly, "Why did you bring this up so suddenly?"

"Qianni often loses focus during her work. Although I have no reason to support anything between the two of you, I don't want my right-hand woman to let her personal affairs affect her work performance," Lin Ruoxi said, "I have no interest in your dealings with her. And I won't make any compromises. But I hope that you can resolve the matter as soon as possible."

Yang Chen said with a slightly bitter expression, "I don't know how to be at two places at once, so I can't take care of everything at the same time. But I will definitely resolve the matter. But Babe Ruoxi, can't you just... I don't know... ease up your policies a little?"

Lin Ruoxi glanced at him coldly. "We have already agreed on a year's time. There are only a few months left. I won't reject anything outright. Of course, I know that I have many flaws, that's why I've been putting in effort."

"Then what will happen when the one year's period is up?" Yang Chen probed.

Lin Ruoxi's expressions changed back and forth for quite a while. She answered, "Don't ask me. We'll talk about it when it's time."

Yang Chen was jumping with happiness in his heart. Perhaps Lin Ruoxi had been influenced after hearing about the Cai sisters' matters. Her attitude now was much softer than before.

We'll talk about it when it's time? That means nothing is set in stone. A human heart is made of flesh. No matter how much she hates it, Ruoxi will find it difficult to ignore what the other women have done for me, Yang Chen thought.

After they had finished their much-delayed lunch, Yang Chen drove Lin Ruoxi back to the company.

When they reached the car park of the company, Lin Ruoxi alighted with a worried look. She was a little afraid of entering the lift and going upstairs.

Yang Chen suddenly grabbed onto Lin Ruoxi's hand and said smilingly, "You look so worried. Aren't you just worried that everyone has found out about our relationship? If you don't dare to go in alone, I'll drag you up."

Lin Ruoxi quickly swung his hand off and said, "Forget it. It was... it was embarrassing enough to be taken away by you like that. You better return to work. I don't think anyone would openly laugh at me."

Yang Chen looked completely in agreement with what she had said, "That's true. With this stressful vibe that Boss Lin gives off, normal people wouldn't even dare to take a second look at you."

"If you are done mocking me, you may leave." Lin Ruoxi rolled her eyes at the man. She turned and entered the lift.

Before the doors of the lift closed, Yang Chen put his hands into his pockets and said with a mysterious smile, "I'll have a special present for you to celebrate our wedding anniversary. Make sure you're mentally prepared later."

Lin Ruoxi was startled. She realized immediately that something special might happen, but before she could ask, the lift had already started ascending.

Yang Chen turned around and pulled his phone out. He went through his contacts and found Hui Lin's mobile number, which he dialed.

Because Yang Chen had specially ordered for Hui Lin to always carry her own phone, she picked up the call immediately this time. She asked happily, "Brother Yang, why have you called so suddenly? Have you reached home?"

"Yup, I've reached some time ago." Yang Chen asked smilingly, "Are you busy with your work?"

"There is quite a lot of work. But these uncles and aunts that you have introduced are all very professional. They're really amazing. They're making rapid progress in all of their work. Even Deputy Director Zhuang Feng was shocked. By the way, Brother Yang, is something up?"

Yang Chen clicked his tongue and said, "Hui Lin, it's a rather special day today for your sister and me. I know that you're busy preparing for your concert, but I would like you to take a few hours off and help me do something."

"It's about Brother Yang and Elder Sister?" Hui Lin was slightly baffled, but she immediately said, "I'm definitely glad to do it. But my schedule is jam-packed. I wonder if my manager Uncle Downey would agree to it."

Yang Chen smiled and said, "Rest assured. None of them would dare to reject what I say."

At the same time, Lin Ruoxi who was going up in the lift hung a weird expression on her face.

As the lift stopped at a few floors on the way up, every employee and executive that saw her was stunned for a while before they greeted her.

Lin Ruoxi could sense that the entire company was talking about the relationship between Yang Chen and her. This made her unable to calm herself down despite her usual composed manner. But she was surprised to feel a sense of relief too.

Perhaps, I should have let all these matters known to the public since long ago, Lin Ruoxi muttered in her heart.

Chapter 684 - Blooming Flowers on the Shores

Meanwhile at the branch company of Yu Lei Entertainment in Beijing, Deputy Director Zhuang Feng rushed into the recording studio upon hearing the news from his assistant. A few music producers and Hui Lin's manager Downey were all in the studio.

Looking at Hui Lin sing in the recording studio, Zhuang Feng asked anxiously, "Mr Downey, why is Miss Lin Hui still singing here right now? According to her schedule, shouldn't she be at the concert venue to rehearse with her dance crew?! How is it that she is still here and that I caught wind of the rehearsal being cancelled?!"

Downey shrugged and said, "Deputy Director Zhuang, we are doing as Mr Yang requests. He needs Miss Lin Hui to help him with something, so Miss Lin Hui is preparing for it."

"Mr Yang?!" Zhuang Feng was surprised, "Is it Director Yang? Bu—but how can he mix personal matters with official ones? Does he realize the implications of his actions?!"

Downey said in a serious tone, "Sorry, Deputy Director Zhuang. Miss Lin Hui's future prospects and her job might be important to us alright, but our priority service target is Mr Yang. If Mr Yang requests something, we will satisfy it unconditionally. None of us here has the slightest bit of courage to go against his will."

Zhuang Feng was stunned. His worldview was toppled in an instant. Although he had already heard of Yang Chen's frightening background, seeing these international celebrities work at his service like his servants just made him sigh.

Not the slightest bit of courage? Could it be that Yang Chen would kill them all just because they fail to satisfy one small request of his?! Zhuang Feng thought. He had no idea that this was indeed what Downey and the rest thought.

In the city center of Zhonghai, as Yu Lei International was one of the leaders among international fashion businesses, they had a large piece of empty space on the east side of its building. It was especially eye-catching in the city center, where every single inch of land was as precious as gold.

Traffic was busy around the area, yet a huge garden style plaza occupied the center.

A magnificent man-made fountain that operated all year round stood in the center of the plaza. Lots of citizens exercised, strolled or rested in this plaza regardless of morning or dusk.

Around 3 o'clock in the afternoon, a team of construction workers arrived at the side of the plaza with various moving trucks.

Drivers and passengers who passed by, as well as employees in the office building were all baffled at what they saw before them. This team of construction workers was using the materials that they had brought with them to build some structure on the plaza.

Naturally, such an abrupt event attracted the attention of many. Yu Lei International was the most symbolic business in Zhonghai after all. Constructing such an illegal building right in front of Yu Lei International was an unacceptable action in the eyes of many of the company employees.

Yu Lei International's security team strode forward to ask the construction workers about it, and immediately restrained their originally fierce attitude when they heard what the workers had to say. This made many others all the more shocked and curious to know what the reason behind this was.

In the CEO's office, Lin Ruoxi had recollected herself from the awkwardness from earlier. She had many matters to attend to after all, so she didn't want to overthink. She was concentrated on reading some documents.

At this moment, someone knocked on the door from the outside.

Lin Ruoxi responded, and Wu Yue walked in with an odd expression on her face.

"What's the matter?" Lin Ruoxi asked flatly.

Wu Yue was still finding it difficult to accept the fact that Lin Ruoxi was married to Yang Chen. Upon seeing Lin Ruoxi, she dazed out a little before she said softly, "Boss Lin, a team of construction workers are building something in the plaza outside."

"What?!" Lin Ruoxi thought that she had heard wrongly. She stood up, walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and gazed downwards. Indeed, a group of people were working at full capacity, seemingly in the midst of building something.

Lin Ruoxi turned around with a hint of fury in her face and said, "Where's the security team?! I did not hire the lot of them to not do their jobs when it mattered!"

Wu Yue's expressions looked awkward as she said, "The security team had already confronted them, bu—but they dare not interfere..."

"Why?" Lin Ruoxi frowned. "Is it some activity arranged by the government?"

"It's not the government." Wu Yue said with much difficulty, "They said that they're here on Director Yang's orders..."

Lin Ruoxi widened her eyes in shock and paused for quite a while before she put her hand on her forehead. She looked a little awkward in front of Wu Yue and was muttering to herself softly, clenching her teeth, "What is he thinking?"

"Boss Lin, now the entire company knows that Director Yang is your husband. Because he is the one to do something like this, it's only natural that the security wouldn't dare to stop them," Wu Yue said softly.

Her words made Lin Ruoxi feel even more troubled.

Wu Yue saw that Lin Ruoxi was lost in her thoughts. She couldn't hold it in anymore and said, "Boss Lin, Why did you hide the fact that you and Director Yang are husband and wife from everyone? Even if you didn't tell anyone, you shouldn't have kept it from me. You made me mis-judge him. Turns out I was the one who was making a fool out of myself."

"He is a bad guy." Lin Ruoxi snorted angrily and said, "I understand the situation now. I'll contact him. Relay my words to everyone to do what they ought to do. Don't let me hear of any rumors. If anyone were to be distracted from gossip, ask them to leave before I fire them!"

Wu Yue sighed and nodded before she left the room.

The moment Wu Yue left, Lin Ruoxi picked up her phone immediately and dialed Yang Chen's number.

But the only response that she got was that Yang Chen had turned off his phone!

Obviously, Yang Chen had turned off his phone beforehand, knowing that Lin Ruoxi would definitely confront him about it.

Lin Ruoxi almost threw her phone at the floor in anger. She stomped on the carpet furiously and said with her teeth clenched, "Damn Yang Chen, stupid Yang Chen. You're always so reckless in everything you do. You'll be the death of me!"

But once she thought about the wedding anniversary present that Yang Chen had mentioned, Lin Ruoxi couldn't help but feel a tinge of anticipation.

What exactly is that fellow planning to do? Filled with anticipation and frustration, Lin Ruoxi slumped back against her chair helplessly.

Time passed by quickly. The plaza had always been a crowded area. More people caught eye of the odd scene that was going on and started discussing about it.

Soon it was evening. It was cloudy and the sunlight gradually turned dim.

The construction that was going on in the plaza had finally taken form. It was revealed to be a stage, several hundred meters long!

This was a wonder-filled day for all the employees of Yu Lei International. First, they had suddenly learnt that Boss Lin was secretly married to the director Yang Chen! Then, Yang Chen, the CEO's husband had started building a stage in the plaza below the building for no reason!

The employees in the Yu Lei International building were all preparing to knock off soon. Many were curious about the purpose of building that stage.

Yet at that moment, employees from every level of the building started letting out cries of surprise.

The employees enquired each other and realized that many of them had received an email from Yang Chen in their inbox!

The contents of the email was very clear. It was an invitation for all the employees of Yu Lei to watch the wedding anniversary special gift between Yang Chen and Lin Ruoxi after work.

Wedding anniversary?!

There was a clamor among the employees. This was yet another shocking information. After all, Lin Ruoxi had always been lofty and overly secretive as a CEO. Thus any news about her was of interest to everyone.

Yet they had not only found out today that she was already married, but that it was her wedding anniversary!

All of the employees no longer had any intention of knocking off from work. They were even making phone calls to invite their friends to the plaza to watch this 'wedding anniversary present' together!

In the CEO's office, Lin Ruoxi was on the brink of a breakdown. Looking at the email that she had also received in her inbox, her face was red with helplessness.

"This shameless guy, what exactly does he plan to do?" Lin Ruoxi walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and looked down at the stage that had already been set up in the plaza below in a daze.

As more employees learnt about the news, a huge crowd of Yu Lei employees had all run out of the building onto the plaza. They surrounded the stage and were all waiting for the 'present' to appear.

Moving closer to the stage, the employees realized that not only lighting had been set up on the stage, there was also a set of audio-visual equipment which included a large piece of cloth for projecting video. It seemed as though he had planned some sort of video for her.

As more onlookers joined the crowd, even passersby and cars stopped to see what was going to take place.

The white-collared workers in the nearby buildings were also curious about what the Yu Lei International employees were waiting to watch.

With that, the plaza that wasn't very big was now completely filled with people!

When the Yu Lei employees told the other onlookers that it was a special event prepared for their Boss Lin Ruoxi and her husband's wedding anniversary, the crowd became even more excited.

Many were shouting for the performance to start quickly, and some others were yelling for Lin Ruoxi to come down from the building!

Besides Wu Yue, Mo Qianni and Liu Mingyu were also gathered in Lin Ruoxi's office right now.

But not one of them spoke a word. They were all standing before the window scoping the crowd below them.

Finally, about half an hour after work, a figure made his way through the crowd easily and climbed on stage amidst everyone's anticipation!

This figure was naturally Yang Chen who had spent the entire afternoon preparing for this!

Yang Chen didn't seem to pay any attention to the onlooking crowd. After going through the various equipments on stage, he opened an audio box and took out a microphone. He adjusted the volume so that it could be heard by everyone in the crowd before he let out a cough and said proudly, "I believe that many of you have already explained on my behalf to the others about what is going on here. Actually, I'm quite the shy person. But since it's our first wedding anniversary, I was afraid that my wife would find me insincere and unromantic. That's why I had no choice but to do this. But if anyone intends to pay for the performance after watching, I wouldn't blame them for it."

The crowd laughed out in response, and Yu Lei employees were shrieking excitedly.

Even those women from the public relations department and Yang Chen's subordinates like Zhao Teng and Wang Jie were among the crowd, and they were all laughing uncontrollably.

Yang Chen raised his head and look at the top floor of Yu Lei building, saying, "But it seems like my wife is even more shy than I am. She refuses to come down from her office."

Immediately everyone roared in response to his words, yelling, "Come downstairs! Come downstairs! Come downstairs!"

Although they were a few dozen of floors apart, it was easy to know what was going on downstairs even from the faint voice that they heard through the opened window.

Lin Ruoxi's face was as red as a tomato. Her heart was beating crazily out of control. She didn't even have the energy to blame Yang Chen for being reckless right now. She lost all energy in her body and she even had difficulty breathing.

Mo Qianni who was standing beside her pulled at Lin Ruoxi's hands albeit being a little jealous. She said, "Go down. If you don't go down, it would break his heart. Of course, if you would like to give Mingyu and I an opportunity to take advantage of, we are glad to do it too."

Liu Mingyu rolled her eyes at Mo Qianni, "Why drag me into it? I've never thought of anything like that."

Lin Ruoxi glanced at them and pursed her lips, "I'm not over-sensitive like you think I am. I just don't want to make him lose his face."

As she finished her words, Lin Ruoxi walked out of the room, looking like she had finally mustered enough courage to do so.

Mo Qianni and Liu Mingyu exchanged glances with each other. They shook their heads at each other and smiled bitterly. They would be lying to say that they weren't jealous. But they knew that Yang Chen did this for Lin Ruoxi and Lin Ruoxi alone.

A few minutes later, Lin Ruoxi appeared at the entrance of the building.

Yu Lei employees made way to a huge empty space for her automatically and applauded loudly. When they saw that even Lin Ruoxi could blush out of embarrassment, many even whistled at it.

Although she wasn't very near to the stage yet, Lin Ruoxi could already get a good look at Yang Chen who was on the stage and hear his sound from the speaker clearly.

Lin Ruoxi tried to ignore the crowd around her and just looked at Yang Chen from afar. She was grumbling in her heart about how terrible he was and how she would deal with him after this, but still, she couldn't hide the anticipation that she held from within.

Yang Chen scanned around from the stage. Seeing that Lin Ruoxi had no intention of getting any nearer to the stage, he just let her be. He ran to the side and turned on the visual equipment on the stage.

In the crowd's puzzled gazes, a clear image appeared on the cloth on stage.

What surprised many of them was that the image was actually from a video call. And the person that had appeared in the video was the super rookie Lin Hui who had rapidly gained popularity throughout the country within the recent two days.

Lin Hui looked rather nervous in the video call too. She was all the way in Beijing but the video call in front of the crowd still made her nervous.

Many onlookers were all Lin Hui's fans. Seeing their idol appearing before their eyes, they exploded into deafening shrieks of excitement!

Yang Chen said to the crowd, "Now, I will sing a duet with Miss Lin Hui, whom I believe many of you are familiar with. Although this song was not written by me, I feel that it describes our time spent together for the past year perfectly. Now may everyone please be quiet as we start."

The audience were surprisingly cooperative. After all, it was Lin Ruoxi and Yang Chen's wedding anniversary, and what's more she was Yu Lei International's CEO. Of course they had to give her some face. They settled down immediately.

Lin Ruoxi was surprised enough to see Hui Lin. When she heard that Hui Lin was going to sing a duet with Yang Chen as a present for her, she was extremely touched. She knew that Hui Lin had definitely squeezed time out of her busy schedule for this.

On the other hand, Lin Ruoxi wasn't too surprised to see that Yang Chen had chosen to sing for her. Back then when they went to the karaoke with Yuan Ye and Tang Tang, she had already witnessed Yang Chen's superb singing skills. It was also then that she had given away the fact that she was tone deaf.

Standing behind Lin Ruoxi, Liu Mingyu asked Mo Qianni in puzzlement, "Qianni, why didn't he let Boss Lin sing a duet with him? Wouldn't that have made for a much better show?"

Mo Qianni gave her a curious smile and said softly right beside Liu Mingyu's ears, "Ruoxi has been famous for being tone deaf even since she was in school."

Luckily, Lin Ruoxi's attention was completely focused on the stage. Otherwise she would have run away immediately upon hearing the conversation between the two behind her.

Right then, the music accompaniment started playing and Yang Chen finally started singing with Hui Lin through the video call screen.

...

The road traversed, like magic,

Turned all the good and bad things into mine

The bitterness in my heart- even if I forgot about it

Dissolved in a glance- turning into a song

...

And you're like the sound of water flowing into a poem

Knocking at the door of my heart and entering, embracing all the hate within

Nourishing its dryness and believing that I could belong to you

...

It's as if I can still see that sorrowful face of yesterday

Joy could sometimes be as spicy as a slap to the face

But it was you who reminded me not to be afraid to imagine,

Thinking of the desire that I was used to hiding in my heart

...

It's as if I could see that corridor of tomorrow that will have two sets of footprints

By you, sorrow could at times be made to taste like candy

It's you who held me tight, striding forward and looking

At the blooming flowers on the shores of my heart...

[TL note: Lyrics translation taken from here.]

...

The light and cheerful melody echoed throughout the plaza.

As Yang Chen's high-pitched, clear voice combined with Hui Lin's ethereal, well-modulated voice, everyone was immersed in memories of their own relationships.

It wasn't a comical situation and it rang through in the crowd. No one laughed or shrieked.

It was as though every single person there could see the married couple's life together. There were sweetness and sadness, good days and bad days, but because of their support and encouragement for each other, they had made it so far.

Still standing in the same spot, Lin Ruoxi had covered half of her face with one hand. Her tears were streaming down uncontrollably.

Perhaps, the two of them would still have cold wars and arguments, not to mention countless problems awaiting them after tonight.

But, just like what's written in the song, no matter what happens, they would write each other into the lyrics of their hearts because of their love for each other.

Chapter 685 - I'm So Loyal

As the singing gradually faded away, the crowd in the plaza of Yu Lei started shrieking and shouting once again. They had just gotten a taste of their idol and were not satisfied just yet.

Hui Lin's voice had received public acknowledgement once again. At the same time, many were touched by the scene before their eyes and they wanted to continue being immersed in this atmosphere.

However, someone among the crowd started shouting for them to kiss, and immediately all the audience had a new slogan!

"Kiss! Kiss!"

Amidst the city center, there was an explosion of shouts that rattled the surrounding buildings nearby.

Yang Chen stood on the stage grinning. He was bursting with happiness. Who said that modern-day urbanites are cold and emotionless? These audiences here are all very loyal, finding a chance for me to get intimate with her.

Lin Ruoxi who was standing outside the entrance of Yu Lei International reacted differently. If it was not for the fear that she would lose her face, she would've fled the scene immediately!

Kiss? In front of this large crowd that totaled more than hundreds or even thousands?!

She was shy enough even when the two of them were together alone. How could she withstand such a crowd? What's more, there were a large number of Yu Lei employees on the plaza. If the two of them were to kiss right under their stares, how was she supposed to face them in the future?!

Lin Ruoxi's face was red with embarrassment. She was at a loss, not knowing what to do. Yet again, the situation was once shifted!

The piercing sound of police sirens interrupted the clamor!

The police cars approached from two different junctions. They raced straight to the side of the plaza, ignoring any traffic lights along the way and stopped right there!

Following which, dozens of sturdy-looking policemen in uniform alighted from the eight police cars. With police batons in their hands and guns attached to their waists, they charged into the scene aggressively.

"What's the situation?! Is this an illegal assembly?!"

"Disperse! Disperse!!"

"Who was the one who built this stage?! Who is the organizer?!"

The crowd lost their wits the moment they saw the police dashing towards them with fierce looks on their faces. The words 'illegal assembly' meant that they were breaking the law! They immediately scattered themselves into different directions!

All of a sudden, the plaza became a chaotic scene! Shouts of reprimand echoed everywhere, and no one was keen on staying any longer!

Wu Yue who stood behind Lin Ruoxi anxiously said, "Boss Lin, this is terrible! It must be because the scene that Director Yang created has been causing traffic congestions in the roads surrounding this area! And so many people have been shouting and screaming in the city center, it must be some unhappy citizen who reported it."

Lin Ruoxi no longer had any shy look on her face either. She had felt a tinge of blissful happiness by Yang Chen's 'wedding anniversary commemoration activity' originally, but who would have expected it to turn into an 'illegal assembly' so quickly! Even the police had to respond in light of civilian complaints!!

Indeed, that man would never stop being a worry to her...

"Ruoxi, if things go on like this, people will definitely find out that Yu Lei was the reason behind it. If we don't handle it well, it will largely discount our business image and upset the society. We need to subdue the situation and subdue it fast," Mo Qianni said worriedly.

Lin Ruoxi nodded her head. " When Yang Chen comes over, we'll let him explain it on his own. All we have to do is to communicate properly with the media. I believe the police won't make things too difficult for us."

"I think he won't be making any explanations," Liu Mingyu said with a bitter smile.

"Hmm?"

"He has already escaped." Liu Mingyu pointed at the stage.

Lin Ruoxi looked in the direction and almost fainted from her anger!

Indeed, Yang Chen who was still there a minute ago had now vanished from sight. All that was left was an empty stage in the center!

"Ho—how could he have just escaped on his own?!" Lin Ruoxi didn't even wonder about how Yang Chen made his escape. Given his abilities, it was a piece of cake to escape among the crowd. But wasn't he leaving behind an awful mess for her to take care of now?!

At that moment, Lin Ruoxi felt a vibration in her phone. She pulled it out and realized it was indeed a message from Yang Chen!

As she read the message, Lin Ruoxi felt like smashing her phone!

Mo Qianni and Liu Mingyu stepped forward to have a look, and they were both amused yet didn't dare to laugh out loud.

"Dear, I looked so dashing performing on stage today. If I were to be dragged down the stage by the police, it would be a huge blow to my pride. In order to ensure that the performance is perfect, I'll be taking my leave as you handle the situation. I believe you can do it! Happy one year wedding anniversary!" — Yang Chen.

"Yang... Chen..." Lin Ruoxi uttered with her teeth grinding. She placed her hand on her forehead, trying to soothe her headache. She was at a complete loss for words.

By now, the police had indeed traced that Yu Lei International was the cause of the ruckus.

A sergeant along with two police officers walked towards Lin Ruoxi. The sergeant who was in the lead said with a solemn expression, "May I know if you are Yu Lei's CEO?"

Lin Ruoxi could no longer avoid it. She had no choice but to nod her head in acknowledgement.

The sergeant was apparently rather uneasy when he faced Lin Ruoxi. But he still carried out his duty and said, "We received reports from many citizens complaining that there was an illegal assembly here causing a ruckus. As it also happened to coincide with the afterwork peak period, and this is the city center, the assembly has caused a serious disruption to the traffic and the other citizens' lives. Thus, we have been tasked to investigate this matter and apprehend the person behind it. It seems that one of the higher-ups in your Yu Lei International was the one who started it. Could Boss Lin please verify if this is true?"

Lin Ruoxi was scolding Yang Chen in her heart hundreds and thousands of times, but this was all she could only say to the sergeant. "This was indeed started by one of the higher-ups in our company, but it was just a personal activity with no malicious intentions. It wasn't an illegal assembly. Everyone who was at the scene can attest to this."

"Boss Lin, you are a celebrity in the business industry of Zhonghai, so I hold you in high regards. But I hope that you can cooperate with us in our duties. We have to investigate this matter thoroughly to give the citizens an explanation. I hope that you can tell us clearly who the organizer is, what his position in the company is, and what the reason is. We will arrest that person and handle it accordingly after we question him or her," the sergeant said with a solemn face.

Mo Qianni and Liu Mingyu both had a look of anxiety on their faces upon hearing the word 'arrest'.

Lin Ruoxi bit her lower lip and was scolding secretly in her heart, Darned Yang Chen stupid Yang Chen, what a terrible mess you've left for me! You just vanished without a trace once you're done having fun! What should I do now? You're not only a suspect, but a suspect on the run now?!

Just when Lin Ruoxi was stuck in a dilemma, the sergeant received a phone call. He agreed to the caller repeatedly and suddenly said smilingly, "Boss Lin, our chief just called to inform us that the matter has been settled. Thank you for your cooperation. Goodbye!"

After he finished his words, the sergeant led his subordinates and left. They ran outside the plaza to direct the traffic and clear the crowd.

This sudden change in events stunned Lin Ruoxi and her company.

Lin Ruoxi's phone started vibrating once again. This phone call finally helped Lin Ruoxi understand what was going on.

She picked up the phone to hear Yang Jieyu's voice coming from the other end, saying smilingly, "Ruoxi, you must have been frightened. That lad Yang Chen suddenly told me that he had created some trouble. I've already contacted the police. As for the media, it shouldn't be a problem for you control them, so I won't interfere with that."

Ruoxi was surprised that Yang Chen would contact Yang Jieyu to resolve this problem. After all, Yang Chen had never initiated any contact with people from the Yang clan before this. Since the Yuan clan had a very widespread network in Zhonghai, it was a piece of cake for them to solve these problems. But Lin Ruoxi still thanked her gently, "Sorry to have troubled you."

Yang Jieyu sounded to be turning from smiles to grins. "Why are you standing on such ceremony? I'm your aunt-in-law after all. These things are trivial in my eyes. Oh, by the way, I didn't even know that it was you and Yang Chen's wedding anniversary today. I didn't manage to prepare any gift for you. Please forgive me."

"No—no—not at all." Lin Ruoxi was a little flustered. She somehow couldn't stop herself from getting nervous whenever she faced members of the Yang clan.

They chatted a little more before they hung up the phone.

Lin Ruoxi heaved a long sigh of relief, as though she had just been through a heart-racing journey.

Mo Qianni smiled and said, "Yang Chen did something again, didn't he? No more problems now?"

"Mm..."

"At least he still has conscience. I thought he was really taking his hands off it," Liu Mingyu chuckled.

Wu Yue asked curiously, "Boss Lin, has the matter been solved just like that?"

Lin Ruoxi nodded. After giving it some thought, she regained her calmness and said, "Wu Yue, contact all mainstream media and ask them to watch what they write. Tell them directly that if anyone dares to write any nonsense, or if anyone divulges anything without my permission, I am not afraid to acquire and take over their company. You know what to do."

"Okay," Wu Yue responded quickly and she ran back to the office to execute the orders.

Until this point, it could be said that the matter was properly settled. And there weren't any major troubles.

About an hour later, Lin Ruoxi finally got back home.

When she stepped into the living room, she realized that the tableful of sumptuous dinner had been left untouched. Guo Xuehua, Wang Ma, and Zhenxiu were all sitting on the sofa watching the latest Korean drama on the television, whereas Yang Chen was nowhere to be seen.

Seeing Lin Ruoxi enter the house, Guo Xuehua stood up happily and said, "Ruoxi, you're finally back. Yang Chen said you might be a little late, so we waited up for you."

Lin Ruoxi realized that the shameless man had indeed reached home long before she did. The anger that she had been suppressing rose up again and she asked, "Mom, where is he?"

Guo Xuehua noticed that Lin Ruoxi didn't seem too happy. She asked curiously, "This child, is anything wrong? You look very unhappy. Yang Chen said that it's your wedding anniversary today. But why do you seem upset about it?"

Lin Ruoxi forced a smile. "No... maybe I'm just a little tired."

I was kind of happy at first, but your precious son made things difficult for me again right after he made me happy, she thought.

Zhenxiu ran towards Lin Ruoxi and stopped behind her. She hugged Lin Ruoxi's slim waist and grinned as she said, "Sister Ruoxi, you're too petty. You didn't even tell us that it's your wedding anniversary. If it wasn't for Brother Yang Chen who rushed back for it from Beijing, we would have missed it."

"You're always full of opinions." Lin Ruoxi caressed Zhenxiu's head adoringly, pursing her lips and smiling. Wedding anniversary? Who would've thought that we were almost divorced just this afternoon? she thought.

At this moment, Yang Chen who seemed to have just taken a cold shower walked down the stairs leisurely. His hair was still wet. When he saw that Lin Ruoxi had reached home, he grinned and said, "Dear, I'm so loyal, ain't I? I even waited for you to come home to have dinner together!"

Loyal?!

Lin Ruoxi wanted to hurl her bag straight at him and smash his face! How can this guy be so thick-skinned?!

She rolled her eyes at him, which was an action meant to convey the message: you yourself should know it best. Then she suppressed her annoyance at him and sat down at the table with Guo Xuehua and the others.

As Yang Chen had specially given Wang Ma the order beforehand, this was an extremely sumptuous dinner. But while they ate, their topic was mainly on Yang Chen and Lin Ruoxi's wedding.

Guo Xuehua asked with a concerned tone, "You two have already been married for a year, but you haven't held a wedding ceremony yet. Now that you've disclosed your relationship to the public, why not choose a date to have the ceremony? It doesn't matter whether it's in Zhonghai or in Beijing. I think that either place is fine."

"That's right, Miss. You can't keep dragging it on like this," Wang Ma agreed.

Upon hearing the words 'wedding ceremony', Lin Ruoxi let out a shy look unconsciously. The truth was, although at the end of the day's event, Yang Chen had made her clench her teeth in anger once again, but deep inside her heart, she was still surprised and touched by this 'present'.

Furthermore, their relationship was now public. From the following day onwards, more and more people will learn of their relationship. Holding a wedding ceremony now didn't seem that bad an idea to her.

"It's still not time for that yet," Yang Chen suddenly spoke.

His words pulled Lin Ruoxi's thoughts back. She looked at the man beside her with a look of surprise.

Yang Chen chewed on his drumstick while saying with a smile, "Don't overthink. I want to hold a wedding ceremony, but some of the preparations leading up to that day are not yet complete. There are still quite a lot of matters to settle. It won't be too late to hold it when the time is more appropriate. It has already been a year after all. It doesn't make that much a difference to drag it out a little longer."

Lin Ruoxi was a little disappointed in her heart, though she didn't show it on her face. This made her feel a little angry at herself too. Hmph, do you think I want it so much? Let's just not have it then.

But Yang Chen seemed to be able to read what she was thinking. He asked smilingly with his eyebrows raised, "Babe Ruoxi, you seem very disappointed. Could it be that you can't wait anymore? Tsk tsk, if that's the case you should say it out loud. At most, I can change my plans. Let's have it immediately!"

"Wh—who's disappointed?!" Lin Ruoxi's ears were burning red. She stared at Yang Chen with wide-open eyes and said angrily, "Don't you spout nonsense! I can't be bothered whether you do it or not. My job schedule is fully packed for the next one to two years. You can do as you deem fit."

Watching the conversation between the two, Guo Xuehua and Wang Ma exchanged glances, and then both shook their heads, smiling bitterly.

Yang Chen didn't argue further with her. He finished munching the drumstick in his hand, took another one, and then paused for a while. Then he suddenly said to Guo Xuehua, "Mom, I'm thinking of going to Beijing again some time later."

Everyone at the table stopped what they were doing upon hearing his words. They looked at Yang Chen with puzzled faces.

Lin Ruoxi was a smart woman. She immediately thought of something and lowered her head without saying a word.

On the other hand, Guo Xuehua asked, "Son, do you have something you need to settle there again? Didn't you just come back two days ago?"

Yang Chen shook his head, "I'm not going right away. There's still a lot to be done here in Zhonghai. I plan to wait till I'm free, and then I'll bring Ruoxi back home to have a look."

Guo Xuehua's eyes brightened up at his words. Even her hands that were holding on to the chopsticks were shaking a little as she asked agitatedly, "Rea—Really? You're willing to go back to the Yang clan?!"

"Mmm..." Yang Chen nodded and said smilingly, "During my trip to Beijing, that old man conveyed a certain message to me. I now have a different outlook towards some of the matters that have been going on in my life. Although I haven't fully decided yet, I think... I should at least go back and have a look before I take my next step."

Guo Xuehua's eyes turned red as she agreed to it repeatedly. She let out a smile of relief.

Back then when she decided to part with Yang Pojun to come and stay with Yang Chen, it took her a great deal of determination. However, she still felt guilty towards the Yang clan, especially towards her father-in-law Yang Gongming.

If Yang Chen could really return to the Yang clan, then she wouldn't have to continue wandering in a different city to accompany Yang Chen. Not only would she be able to fulfill her duty as a mother, she could also take care of her father-in-law.

To Guo Xuehua, what she wanted to see the most was for the family to be reunited.

"I—I'm going too?" Lin Ruoxi's focus was on Yang Chen saying that he would bring her along. She was getting butterflies in her stomach from being overjoyed and touched at the same time, but feelings of respect and worry also lingered in her heart, making her feel at a loss.

Yang Chen said naturally, "Of course you have to go. We have an official stamp and a certificate, who else should go if not you? What's more, didn't the old man like you a lot when he met you the last time? He'll probably be happy to see you."

Lin Ruoxi pursed her lips and sneaked a glimpse at Guo Xuehua. Seeing that Guo Xuehua was looking at her with an encouraging look in her eyes, Lin Ruoxi could only nod her head to agree.

Chapter 686 - Is That Really What You Want?

After dinner, Guo Xuehua and Wang Ma continued to watch their korean drama, which left Yang Chen in a bind. Since their introduction to the world of the Korean wave by Lin Ruoxi, they fell into a pit of addiction with no intentions of getting out from it. Even their recent meal options had been accompanied by kimchi, leaving Yang Chen in further misery.

It was Zhenxiu however who was rather welcoming of this change. As someone with half Korean ancestry, despite the hostility with the relatives in Korea, she was still rather accepting of its cuisine.

Seeing how no one understood his frustration, Yang Chen could only drag his heavy feet up the stairs to prepare for an early night. As he arrived at his room door, he turned around only to see the strange sight of Lin Ruoxi tailing his footsteps.

Shocked from Yang Chen's sudden turn, Lin Ruoxi forced herself to an immediate halt. Her pupils were focused on everywhere else but Yang Chen, as she noticeably had something in her mind.

Yang Chen carefully observed his woman before he replied with a sinister smile, "Babe Ruoxi, are you tailing me because of what I said earlier? Have you finally decided that you would like to go to bed with me?"

"What? No!" Lin Ruoxi reactively denied.

"Then what exactly do you want, just tell me." Yang Chen smiled helplessly.

Lin Ruoxi took a deep breath before she cleared her throat. "Have you really decided on going back?"

Go back? Yang Chen thought for a while before saying, "Oh, you meant going back to the Yang clan? Yes I have. I thought I made it clear a while ago at dinner."

"No I didn't mean it literally." Lin Ruoxi sighed. "What I meant is if you decided to return to the family."

Yang Chen's smile slowly vanished, as he silently stared at Ruoxi, before he asked, "Why did you ask so?"

Lin Ruoxi diverted her focus away as she mumbled, "You used to hate involving yourself with anything related to the Yang clan. But what you did today, you took the initiative to contact that man, which means you're initiating a reconciliation, am I right? I can't think of any other reason why anyone would do that."

"You don't seem to be too fond of this possibility. Don't you want to be the co-heir of a dominant clan?"

"I have never given such a possibility any thought. I have no interest in gaining anything from the Yang clan," Lin Ruoxi solemnly emphasized.

"Relax, there ain't any solid conclusions yet. These are all just plans."

Lin Ruoxi was not buying it. "I know you, you're not the kind that would change your mind for anyone. I'm just worried that... that kid Yang Lie and General Yang would have a hostile response towards your return. Even if Master Yang supports you, it might just make for a messy feud.

"After all, these people are related to you by blood. What will happen to your mother when she is caught in the middle of it all? She'll end up deeply upset."

Yang Chen gave a gentle smile. "How would you know that I'm not open to change? I have always taken your thoughts into consideration."

Lin Ruoxi rolled her eyes and pouted. "How much of a blur do you think I am? Nobody can have a say about anything you set your mind towards. Just like the agreement we signed today. If you really wanted a divorce you could have just left right out the door. You're always up for small tactics to coax me, never actually thinking of what I really want."

Yang Chen rubbed his nose awkwardly and said, "So you do know me. Hehe..."

"It took me awhile to realize that you were just up to one of your tricks again," Lin Ruoxi grumbled.

"Don't make it sound so sinister, I did all that just so to make sure I can make things clear to you," Yang Chen replied as he casually walked towards Lin Ruoxi, his arms open wide as he embraced her into his warmth.

Her alluding fragrance encircled him, which prompted him to close his eyelids and let out a long, relaxed breath. Lin Ruoxi surprisingly did not break free of his embrace, which felt a little weird to him, but nonetheless he was not complaining.

As she laid her head on Yang Chen's chest, Lin Ruoxi felt Yang Chen's warm breath on her ear.

When Yang Chen sighed, she couldn't help but feel a little sorrowful too.

Back then when they hugged, Yang Chen would start placing his hands on inappropriate places. But right now, it was just a plain hug.

"I know what you are worried about, but this situation might be more complicated than expected," Yang Chen continued. "There are certain things that I have to face now, or it would come knocking on my door sooner or later. I promise I wouldn't make any rash decisions. After all, I'm not the man I used to be. Just like you, I like all of us being together as a family."

Lin Ruoxi hesitated for a moment before her arms reached out to Yang Chen's back as she held him tightly.

After a couple of moments, Yang Chen let go of his arms, as he let out a smile. "You shouldn't burden yourself with those matters. I will deal with that man to man. Why don't you think about our relationship more instead? Ruoxi, look at the how beautiful the night sky is tonight, why don't you just come sleep with me for the night?"

What started as a joke had noticeably become deep consideration for Lin Ruoxi, as she confusingly stared at Yang Chen, before she appeared to have made up a mind as she bit her lip and replied, "I—is that really what you want?"

What Yang Chen had desperately looked forward to suddenly appeared, making him panic. He stiffly asked, "Wha—what did you say?"

Lin Ruoxi went bright red as she reassured, "If that's what you really want then we can try it tonight..."

After she finished, she seemed to have depleted her energy, causing her body to sink like melting ice. Due to her conservative mindset, she had already reached her limit for saying that.

It may be a result of all the time they had spent together, or from the rollercoaster of emotions they had experienced together, or from the suppressed emotions piled up from within. Regardless, it seemed that she no longer resented his company.

Yang Chen blankly stared at her, before he let out a grin. "I was just casually talking about it. You don't need to overthink it. Plus you don't look like you're ready. Like I said before, when the time is right, when we have our wedding ceremony, it wouldn't be too late for this, would it?"

After his words, a glimpse of heartfelt warmth was expressed on Lin Ruoxi's face, as she brought herself towards him and pecked him on the cheek, before immediately darting off to her own room in embarrassment!

Yang Chen was dumbfounded as he touched the part of his face that she kissed him on. It was still damp with lingering fragrance. "Yang Chen oh Yang Chen, you're a swine for acting like a gentleman..." he murmured and shook his head before subsequently returning to his room.

He initially wanted to check the news for a bit before he turned in, but that incident with Lin Ruoxi added complexity in his thoughts.

Yang Chen strolled towards the balcony, feeling the warm night breeze. The crescent moon looked as white as snow.

Yang Chen zoned out in thoughts for a moment, before noticing a shade of white at the edge of his sight.

As he glanced at a corner by the building right next door, by Rose's second floor balcony, a mesmerising silhouette presented itself. It was none other than Mo Qianni!

The lonely figure was dressed in a loose white-cotton nightdress. Her hair fluttered in the wind, with the side view of her gorgeous face staring at the night sky. She was enveloped with dejection and dullness.

It didn't take long until she realised there was someone staring at her. She turned to him and met his eyes. The two silently stared at one another. All that was heard was the sound of the night breeze slipping through the gaps of the sliding door.

It was Mo Qianni who eventually let out a smile, one presumably as a response to the awkward silence between them.

Yang Chen felt a sharp ache in his heart. The two of them were only a few meters apart, yet it felt like they were separated by a bottomless trench, destined to keep them apart.

Just weeks ago they were deep in love with each other. Yet at that moment, when Yang Chen attempted to strike a conversation, he was halted by Mo Qianni with a finger to the mouth.

Mo Qianni shook her head with a smile, unable to guess if it was to avoid Ma Guifang from knowing about their encounter, or that there really was no need for a conversation.

She subsequently pointed her finger towards the crescent moon, as she turned over and continued her stargazing.

Yang Chen solemnly stared at her for moments, before he smiled self-deprecatingly. Never would he expect a conversation between them both to be this hard. He eventually lifted his head up as they silently shared the view of the night sky as well, together with the woman.

Chapter 687 - Unbelievable

At the Yang's courtyard in Beijing, although it was only mid-May, the weather was surprisingly good.

After the morning mist had dispersed, the green plants looked as vital as they could be, making the courtyard look pleasing to one's eyes while adding a faint fragrance to the air.

Yang Gongming was in his usual outfit—a thin t-shirt with soft cotton pants. After watering a few wisterias he had retrieved, he walked to the side of the stone table in his cloth shoes.

He lifted up a cup of red ginseng tea and took a sip. Looking at the plants that were in the courtyard, the old man let out a smile of satisfaction.

Right at that moment, a tall, young man in short-sleeved military uniform stepped into the courtyard. A sense of pride hung between his brows.

The young man stopped behind Yang Gongming. Looking at the plants in the courtyard, a gleam of despise flashed across his eyes and disappeared as soon as it came. Then, he smiled and said, "Grandpa, did you summon me?"

The young man was naturally Yang Lie.

Yang Gongming turned around and said smilingly, "Oh, you're here. Come, sit down, sit down."

After getting Yang Lie to sit down, Yang Gongming shoved a plate of exquisite pastries before him and said, "Try this. You probably haven't had your breakfast yet. I can guarantee that it tastes decent."

Yang Lie nodded and took a piece of green bean pastry. He swallowed it in one mouth and didn't take a second piece. He asked directly, "Grandpa, is there a reason that you suddenly had me come back all this way today?"

"Actually, I should have told you about this a few days ago. But since you weren't in the military these days, I just left it till later. Your mom called a few days ago saying that she'll be coming back to Beijing soon," Yang Gongming said smilingly.

Yang Lie frowned. "Mom's coming back? Is she alone?"

Yang Gongming shook his head. "No, no. Your brother and sister-in-law will be coming too."

"What?" Yang Lie stood up abruptly and said aloud, "Grandpa, you must be joking. What right does he have to enter our house? If that's the case, I'd rather mom don't come back as well."

Yang Gongming frowned and signaled for Yang Lie to sit down. "What are you getting so worked up about? I asked you here today not to ask if you agree to this family, I'm the one who call the shots here. Whether you agree or not, they will come back."

"Grandpa, you..." Yang Lie was filled with fury but he couldn't say a word. Indeed, in this family, no one could rebuke Yang Gongming's decisions.

Yang Gongming sighed and said, "Lie'er, your personality is just like your name. Overly aggressive. It's good to have some temper as a young man, but if you continue like this, you'll become vulnerable as a result of your stubbornness."

"Hmph," Yang Lie snorted, unable to deny it. "Grandpa asked me here today just to tell me this boring news?"

Yang Gongming wasn't provoked by his words. He just said, "I just wanted to let you know, and also have a look at you while you're here. Your father who is in the Jiangnan military rarely comes back. Now that you are similarly serving in the military, I rarely see you as well. You're both very opinionated people. I'm just an old man, and I can't really force anything on you two. Eventually, your lives will depend on yourselves.

"However, I hope that while I'm still alive, all my grandchildren can have better lives..."

Yang Lie's expressions switched and changed a few times before he said, "Grandpa, without that fellow, my life would be perfect."

Yang Gongming raised his head and glanced at Yang Lie, before he shook his head with a smile. "Lie'er, whether you acknowledge it or not, Yang Chen will always be your elder brother by blood.

"You've grown up within the Yang clan since young. You even had Daoist Yu Jizi from Kunlun Sect as your master. Compared to Yang Chen, your life has really been a smooth and abundant one.

"Yang Chen is different from you. The fact that he could reappear before our eyes alive is already a blessing from the heavens. Although I don't believe in the supernatural, I believe that there is a thing called fate between people. It is all destiny."

"Grandpa, if all you're going to say is such nonsense, I shall take my leave," Yang Lie said in dissatisfaction.

Yang Gongming opened his mouth, but a look of helplessness flashed across his eyes. He sighed, "Nevermind, nevermind. You wouldn't listen to anything I say anyway. You have chosen your own route. If you want to go ahead, then just go."

Yang Lie bowed slightly and turned around before walking away. After taking a few steps, he stopped and said, "Grandpa, I know what you have in mind. I admit it, that fellow is more powerful than me. You're planning to use him to bring glory back to the Yang clan again. But let me make this clear now. I won't give away anything that rightfully belongs to me so easily. One day you'll realize that your decision is a terrible mistake. There is no certain who will be the true winner in the end. Even if Mom comes back, I will not return to see either of them."

Finishing his words, Yang Lie strode out of the courtyard.

Yang Gongming squinted his eyes. From the sparkle of his eyes, it was hard to tell what was going through his mind.

After a while, Yan Sanniang's hunching figure appeared behind Yang Gongming once again. She consoled, "Master, Master Lie's personality has always been so. I'm afraid it's difficult for him to change. There's no need to be overly worried. They're brothers by blood after all. There will be a way to resolve their feud eventually."

Yang Gongming smiled. "Sanniang, you've overthought. I'm not sad over all these matters. Regardless of how these little ones will turn out in the future, it's a result of their own choices. It depends not on the elders' restrictions for a family to be continued, but on one's own personality and attitude. Regardless of the outcome, the most I can do is provide some insight from the sidelines."

Yang Sanniang smiled and nodded her head. And then she spoke again, "Master, Master Lie's body is a bit different now."

"Hmm?" Yang Gongming asked, "Is it related to Yan Buwen?"

Yan Sanniang said, "I'm guessing that is the case. I'm not sure how he did it, but Master Lie's cultivation was just destroyed by Master Chen recently. Yet now his cultivation has advanced instead of deteriorated. It's now one level higher compared to before, almost stepping into the Xiantian realm. Plus, amazingly, Master Lie's body looks completely different now. If I am not wrong, his body strength rivals that of Master Chen's now. It really is unbelievable.

"Recently, Master Lie has been rather close to Yan Buwen. If there is anything different, it should be because of the Yan clan. I heard that apart from the underground experiment lab provided by the military, Yan Buwen still has other private experiment labs of his own. But even the Li clan couldn't find anything fruitful. I think that someone yielding incredible power is backing Yan Buwen up from the dark. Otherwise, Yan Buwen wouldn't risk turning against the world."

Yang Gongming smiled lightly. "I've said this since very early on, that fellow from the Yan clan is a figure that would either win it all or lose it all. It comes as no surprise."

"Actually the four dominant clans are all slightly aware of Yan Buwen's recent actions. But the Yan clan yields great power now. Yan Buwen himself is a respected figure in the scientific community. He's been doing so much in secret, yet he rarely leaves behind any evidence or traces. He hasn't really posed any real threat towards the country yet. Instead, he has been providing the military with advanced weapons. The officers in the military are all very supportive of him. That's why no one dares to make any contact with him recklessly yet, in case they give their suspicions away.

"But in my opinion, Yan Buwen is a mysterious man with hidden secrets. I wonder if things go on this way, will Master Lie become a pawn of his?" said Yan Sanniang.

Yang Gongming knocked his knuckles one after another against the stone table, before he said, "It's a blessing, not a mishap. If it's the latter, there's no escaping it either. Sanniang, all you have to do is keep an eye on these matters. There's no need to get involved. If that lad Yang Chen truly has the intention to claim the Yang clan from my hands, then he wouldn't make it if he can't even handle a mere Yan Buwen."

"But Master Lie..." Sanniang was a little worried.

"Whether it's a cat or a tiger does not depend on its outward appearances," Yang Gongming said smilingly. "Their fight will reveal that answer. As for the outcome, it's better to watch it while I'm still alive rather than have it happen after my death. This is already the younger generation's show. All we have to do is watch quietly."

Yan Sanniang nodded with a smile. "Master has a point there. Maybe I'm overly worried. For some reason, although Master Chen has already entered the stage where he can definitely keep the Yang clan safe, I can't help but worry about unforeseeable accidents."

Yang Gongming sighed. "Sanniang, rather than the two little ones, I'm more worried about you."

Yan Sanniang's wrinkle-covered face looked slightly touched. She lowered her head and said, "Master, it doesn't matter. Sooner or later, Hongmeng is bound to find me. I was a little afraid in the past, afraid that I wouldn't be able to repay you before I die. But now that Master Chen has already entered this stage, and is coming back to the Yang clan, it's finally time for me to retire."

"Sigh. You are still the same as back then." Yang Gongming looked up at the clear blue sky, as though recalling the distant past.

Chapter 688 - No Pride

Yang Chen was unaware that before his arrival in Beijing, someone was already anticipating his fight. But whomever he fought against was not of concern to Yang Chen right now.

About a week had passed since his return to Zhonghai. The most sensational news in Zhonghai within the week was the same news that had spread throughout the entirety of China. It was about Lin Hui who had gained popularity throughout the country and even in some international markets.

Almost every shopping mall or restaurant was playing Lin Hui's songs.

Three days after the release of her new album, the demand for the album far surpassed the supply! At a time where the music album market was at its low and online digital music took the front seat, it was a great shock to many music critics and senior artistes to witness the craze that had overtaken the entire nation. Almost everyone wanted to have a copy of Lin Hui's, a rookie singer's physical album.

Lin Hui's popularity soared through the roof like no one had seen before. Her shyly smiling face filled the headlines of nearly every newspaper.

But it was puzzling to many fans that barely any paparazzi tried to find out her background despite her unparalleled fame. Thus, Lin Hui's background and her private life became the topic of speculation for many.

As the director of the entertainment company, Yang Chen was busy as well. Since it was Hui Lin's matters, he had to pay more attention to it despite his lazy attitude towards work.

Lin Hui had achieved tremendous success in her first concert in Beijing with tickets being fully sold out. All of her fans in the nation were clamoring to get to listen to her live.

About a week later, Yu Lei Entertainment released the news that Lin Hui was starting her nationwide concert tour. The cities included in the tour were decided based on the requests of netizens. All in all there were about thirty cities in total on that list!

At the same time, in order to satisfy the fans, Lin Hui also recorded her own cover of a number of classic songs. It surprised many that these classic songs were mostly in Spanish, French, and other minority languages! Needless to say, the universal language—English—songs were also recorded in the album.

Any concerned person could definitely tell that Lin Hui was taking her first step into the global music arena.

Naturally, these plans were all laid out by the team that Yang Chen had invited. To these figures who had already spent a considerable amount of time in the entertainment industry, it was not a difficult task to make a singer set foot on the global arena.

Since Lin Hui had practiced internal energy, she would not feel burnt out despite the long hours and tireless tasks. She could work for days and nights yet remain refreshed and energized at all times. Besides, she had superb memory, which boosted her speed at learning any type of language. On top of that, since she had always loved singing, she did not consider it a chore to continuously sing day and night.

Her talents were beyond the employees' imagination, and it made them grow more passionate towards their jobs too.

It was soon morning in Zhonghai. Yang Chen stretched himself with a yawn in his seat in the office.

He had been coming in for work early in the morning for the past few days. A rare departure from his usual late turn-ups—all for the discussion with Zhao Teng, Wang Jie, and other managerial personnel regarding details of Hui Lin's concert and tour performances.

They had to plan for performances in more than thirty cities, as well as for some other events in between the tours. It was not something that could be arranged in a short amount of time.

Yang Chen was looking at the week's financial report that he had received from the accountants on the computer screen, causing him to smile proudly.

According to the statistics, based on the current development, the revenue generated by Hui Lin alone could hit one billion by the end of the year!

Yang Chen didn't care much for the one billion yuan worth of revenue. But knowing that this amount of revenue belonged to his company, he found the financial report particularly adorable and felt a huge sense of achievement!

Yang Chen even wondered, Ruoxi always enjoys working and reading all sorts of documents. Is it because she also feels this same sense of achievement from her work? Is this why she is addicted to her work?

At that moment, a beautiful figure wearing an aquamarine one-piece dress with a black silk ribbon tied at her waist came to Yang Chen's side. She placed a cup of green tea on Yang Chen's desk.

Yang Chen raised his head and smiled at An Xin. "It must've been tough on you for the past few days. I've been busy working and didn't have much time to tend to you."

An Xin covered her smile with her hand while she shook her head saying, "Well, it's a rare chance for me to see my beloved man serious at work. I find it rather novel."

Yang Chen glanced at her from the corner of his eyes. Then, he grinned and pulled her onto his laps in a swift hug. He landed a smack on her sexy hips and pretended to be angry while saying, "Babe An Xin, you always reprimand me for slacking off and not working, don't you? Hmph, you find it funny that I'm sitting here?"

An Xin let out a sweet smile and buried her head into Yang Chen's neck, rubbing her fair and tender face against him as she said, "No I'm not. I know that although you don't usually pay much attention to your work, you're always aware of what's going on, aren't you? But... I just find it unusual to see my dear sitting here looking at the reports."

Yang Chen had a resigned look on his face. He had one hand caressing the curves on An Xin's back slowly as he said with an evil smile, "I haven't spent much time with you lately. How about... we have a round before lunch?"

An Xin was slightly taken aback. She asked gently, "Aren't you going to meet Vice President Mo today?"

The smile on Yang Chen's face faded away instantly. He was stunned and he couldn't utter a word in response.

There was a reason to An Xin's question. For the past week, Yang Chen had been visiting Mo Qianni's office to meet her almost every day during noontime and after work.

For some reason, Yang Chen felt that Mo Qianni was avoiding him on purpose.

After gazing at the moon for quite a while the other night, Yang Chen had dialed Mo Qianni's number the next day wanting to discuss about how to persuade Ma Guifang. However, Mo Qianni had asked to talk about the matter at a later time, saying that she was busy with work.

Out of worry, Yang Chen visited Mo Qianni's office to ask her out for lunch and talk about it. Yet, when he entered her office, Mo Qianni claimed that she was about to leave for a meeting.

Yang Chen had no choice but to visit her again on the following day instead.

In the end, despite his continuous visits for the past few days, Mo Qianni was always busy with work, or not in her office, or just about to leave for a business discussion. Not once could he find the time to sit her down and talk to her properly. And even if he opened his mouth to say something, she would immediately change the topic to something else and then leave the room.

Yang Chen was puzzled by Mo Qianni's sudden change in attitude. He could of course tell that she was deliberately avoiding him. It was evident in her reluctance to speak more than just a few words to him on the phone.

At the same time, Yang Chen also thought that it could be because he had hurt her feelings for not being able to resolve the matter all this while. Or perhaps she might have just been feeling slightly down coincidentally. Therefore, he persisted for more than a week and kept visiting Mo Qianni. Yet he could not see the end to his problems.

"Hubby, you'd better go." An Xin pouted and said, "I'm fine. We're together in the company every day anyway. I feel that Vice President Mo must be feeling awful in her heart and that's why she is always avoiding you. If you let her see your persistence, I believe she will be touched."

Yang Chen sighed, "I feel like she is hiding something from me. But I don't have the heart to force her to tell me anything. She's unwilling to face me all this while. It makes me frustrated, anxious and yet helpless at the same time."

An Xin gave him a smooch on his face and said, "Hmph, if you can't even resolve such a small matter, I think you should just go back to living your life with your Boss Lin obediently. This is to teach you a lesson about seeing other women. There'll be plenty of such matters in the future. Or do you think that us women are all unicellular organisms that abide to your every command and would never have any dissatisfaction towards you?"

Yang Chen let out a bitter smile. "I got it. You don't have to make it sound so bad right? Listening to you makes me feel a little scared."

Yang Chen stood up and hugged An Xin. He took a deep breath, lifted the cup of green tea and finished it in one mouth before he said, "I'll be going then. Call me if there's anything urgent. I must find Qianni and clarify things today. If I do get the chance to, it'll probably take some time."

An Xin said in a slightly worried tone, "Don't be too agitated. I think Vice President Mo will be very sad if you force her into doing anything. She's probably very vulnerable right now."

"You're always the devil," Yang Chen said while pinching An Xin's nose before he smiled and left the office.

The smile on An Xin's face gradually faded away after Yang Chen had left. She slumped into the chair tiredly, feeling the remaining warmth from Yang Chen. The corners of her mouth curved into a slightly bitter smile.

An Xin furrowed her brows. Her phone started ringing. As she pulled it out, she seemed like she had already anticipated who the caller was. She picked up the call rather unwillingly.

"Dad, I've already told you. I won't do that. That is your own problem. I beg you, don't make things difficult for me alright? No matter how you spin it, it's impossible! You should settle your own problems. Don't think about dragging Yang Chen into it! Hmph... Son-in-law? Would you really make such a request if you really saw him as your son-in-law?! I'm hanging up!"

An Xin hung up the phone. A look of misery appeared on her gorgeous face. Her eyes were watery and slightly reddish, but her gaze was determined and unfazed.

Meanwhile, Yang Chen who had gone to the Yu Lei International building was having rather heavy feelings as well.

Despite trying his best not to let it show before An Xin, Yang Chen felt extremely troubled the moment he thought about Mo Qianni's reluctance to meet him.

However, since it was a woman he loved dearly, Yang Chen could only bear with the pain and brave through it.

As his relationship with Lin Ruoxi was now public, the employees that he met on his way up the building were all sneaking glances at him. Everyone in the company was discussing about Yang Chen's frequent visits to Mo Qianni's office for the past few days. However, most people couldn't imagine that a man who was married to their Boss Lin would still dare to go near other women. Moreover, he had put up such a touching performance just a few days ago. Thus, the rumors were dispelled as soon as they were brought up.

Yang Chen didn't care about others' opinions either. The more openly he behaved, the less guilty he appeared to be.

He had arrived at the entrance of Mo Qianni's office. Yang Chen knocked on the door slowly.

"Come in please," Mo Qianni said formally.

Yang Chen was glad that at least she was there. He opened the door and stepped in, but immediately his smile faded away.

Four to five executives of the company were already seated in Mo Qianni's office. They seemed to be in the middle of discussing some matter.

"It's Director Yang. Please take a seat." A man in suit hurriedly invited Yang Chen to sit.

The others also knew who Yang Chen was. Although they were curious about why Yang Chen from the branch company would come over to this office, they still greeted him with smiles.

Yang Chen's gaze was fixated on Mo Qianni. But Mo Qianni just kept her head lowered, looking at the documents on her desk, as though she hadn't sensed a thing.

"Is this deliberate? Having a discussion during lunchbreak?" Yang Chen asked.

Mo Qianni said calmly, "Is there a matter that Director Yang has come for?"

A fire of fury was burning in Yang Chen's heart. He didn't expect Mo Qianni to arrange a meeting at lunch break just to avoid having to face him alone. Clenching his teeth, he smiled and said, "Of course I have something that I would like to talk to President Mo about."

Then, Yang Chen said to everyone else in the room, "Everyone, please give us some time alone. I have some personal matters that need discussion with President Mo."

As they saw the icy cold gaze in Yang Chen's eyes, everyone could feel a chill rising in their backs. They quickly nodded and left quietly.

They didn't dare to offend Lin Ruoxi's husband. What's more, it was only logical to deduce that a man who could marry Lin Ruoxi definitely had an extraordinary background.

Mo Qianni raised her head with dissatisfaction in her eyes. "What gives you the right to cut our meeting short?!"

"On the right that I'm terribly mad right now!"

Yang Chen locked the office door from the inside, leaving only the two of them in confrontation in the office.

Mo Qianni averted her gaze, unwilling to look into Yang Chen's eyes. She said coldly, "Just say what you have to say. I still have work in the afternoon. I don't have much time."

Seeing such a cold and indifferent attitude from Mo Qianni was heart-wrenching for Yang Chen.

Yang Chen walked towards Mo Qianni and stopped before her, and then he lowered his head and asked, "Why? Why are you avoiding me?"

Mo Qianni smiled faintly. "You're really annoying. When a woman doesn't want to meet a man, what other reason could there be except that she no longer feels anything for him?"

"No feelings?" Yang Chen was so enraged that he started laughing. "You mean that you no longer love me? Or, have you found someone else?"

"Whatever you think is the case." Mo Qianni clenched her teeth and said, "Anyway, let's end things here. I don't want to have anything to do with you anymore."

Yang Chen clenched his fists tight and said in a deep voice, "I don't believe that a woman who gets up before dawn to apply makeup so that her man can see her prettiest looks; a woman who is willing to use her own body to shield a man from bullets without any hesitation, would just lose her feelings towards the man so easily. Mo Qianni, I may be carefree but I am not an idiot. And don't underestimate my determination towards you. I'm a very sloppy person in every aspect except towards my loved ones. I never compromise when it comes to my loved ones."

Mo Qianni's eyes were turning red. Her petite body was trembling as she said effortfully, "Just leave. It's over between us. Nothing you say will change anything."

"It's over just because you say that it's over. Doesn't that render me a man with no pride?" Yang Chen's expression was solemn. Suddenly, he tilted forward, placing his hands next to Mo Qianni, pressing her body under his!

Chapter 689 - Mole Rats

Face to face, they were so close that they could feel each other's breaths.

Yang Chen stoically demanded, "Mo Qianni, look at me. If you really feel nothing towards me anymore, there's no need for you to avoid my gaze."

Mo Qianni bit her lip as she tried her best to turn around, only to no avail.

She ultimately shook her head as she mumbled, "Yang Chen... I'm begging you. Let it go. I don't deserve you doing this for me. I'm just a nobody from the outskirts. I have no position nor do I have any notable background. All that matters to me now is to repay the old CEO for his kind deeds towards me.

"All that had happened between us, let's just assume it's a one-time mistake of mine. We shouldn't even have interacted at all in the first place. The more time I spend with you, the worse I feel. I feel like I'm betraying the hands that brought me out of the trenches. I can't even meet Ruoxi face to face anymore. The gap between us is just too big. You're the high and mighty Yang Chen, while I'm nothing more than an ordinary woman. Can't you see that we are not meant for each other?"

Yang Chen sneered, "Mo Qianni, I didn't know you valued true love this little. Ordinary? You fell in love with the staff that started out as a mutton skewer boy. Does that even count as a man with unfathomable background? You're just making up excuses as you go."

Mo Qianni instantly turned back, broke free from Yang Chen's grasps, stood up straight and lifted her head. As her eyes started getting teary, she glared at Yang Chen. "Love? Do you even know what it is?

"Yeah, to some people love is truly important. To them, nothing else matters. And then there are others that had to sacrifice family, their worklife, and even their dignity in the name of love. Even when they knew it wasn't right, they stubbornly pushed through anyway. Do you think that it's the right thing to do?

"Everything in life is so simple for you isn't it? If you thought a heartless love amateur is more attractive than a woman with real emotions, I would certainly reject you."

The air suddenly became bone-chillingly cold, particularly for Yang Chen.

Her words stabbed him deep into his heart.

Yang Chen painfully stared at that pale, fatigue ridden face of hers. Her pupils were strands of blood. He understood that she never had proper rest since that incident.

Yang Chen forced a smile. "I never once thought of sacrificing everything to keep you by my side. But why aren't you even giving me the chance to solve our issue?"

"A chance?" Mo Qianni disdainfully laughed. "How am I supposed to give you a chance? You know that day when we stargazed together on the balcony, when I went back in my mom was there holding a bottle of sleep pills. She threatened to kill herself infront of me if I refused to end the relationship..."

Yang Chen expressions turned sour, unable to believe that a seemingly harmless incident that night would bring about such dire consequences towards her.

"I was single-handedly brought up by my mother. And because of me, she has spent most of her life in a tiny little village, alone to brave the odds. She was even picked on by that man Zhang Fugui. She's my only kin in the world. How can I abandon my mom for what you call 'love'?" Mo Qianni was bawling in tears.

Yang Chen was glued to his position, unable to yelp a word. It took a while for him to muster his courage as he responded, "You can call me cold-blooded, heartless, or whatever you like. But I will convince your mother. I just want you to promise me, that you wouldn't give up on us.

"There are only two types of women in my life. Ones that are there to casually play with, and the others that deserve true emotions.

"If you did all that just to experiment if I'll have a change of heart when things occur, then you should give up now. I have experienced so much, and yet I'm still here. What more can I prove for you?"

Mo Qianni continued sobbing. Her teary eyes stared at Yang Chen, looking completely hopeless.

Yang Chen held on to her shoulders tight as he proclaimed, "I can accept that you're making a fuss about this, or that you wanted to push me away. But if you're someone that's not willing to even take the option of redeeming this love, then what's the point of me coming over for you every day?

"So please, don't give up on us. Trust me, will you?"

In the quiet office room, all that was heard was the sounds of exhaled breaths.

His fiery gaze left her helpless.

After what felt like ages, Mo Qianni turned her head away and smiled. "You didn't change one bit. Whether if it was the first time you barged into my office for a debate, or now. You've never ever given me a chance to make my move, even when I just want to retreat."

Glimpses of happiness flashed through Yang Chen's pupils. "I would never stop you from making your move, but if you were to retreat, I'll make sure it would lead right back into my arms."

Mo Qianni cracked a smile. "All you ever do is crack jokes. Why don't you take interest in making my mom agree to this instead? Otherwise don't even think about it."

Yang Chen reached out as he wiped the tears of her cheeks, before he replied, "Alright let's put that aside for now. It's almost noon now. Let's go out for lunch. Look at how thin you have become. It doesn't feel as satisfying when I touch you now."

Mo Qianni pouted as she pinched Yang Chen by the belly. "Always goofing around, how would you ever get my mom to agree with anything you say?"

Yang Chen burst into laughter as they exited the building hand in hand.

A temporary cure for Mo Qianni's woes was a huge relief for Yang Chen. As for convincing Ma Guifang, Yang Chen as usual could only hope to improvise when the time comes.

They took the elevator to the parking basement, before he drove Mo Qianni's car straight towards the central business district.

To cater towards her liking, Yang Chen took time to carefully choose an eatery specialising in Szechuan cuisine. After all, she wasn't usually allowed many options for spicy food when eating at the canteen.

He chose a large table, and ordered an array of Szechuan specialties that Mo Qianni favored.

Mo Qianni observed as their table was gradually occupied more and more by the foods they had ordered. She awkwardly mentioned, "I'm not a pig, so how can I even finish all of these? I understand your intention, but this is a waste of food."

Yang Chen let out a grin. "Well I'm here too aren't I? Just pick what you want to eat. I'll clean up the rest and make sure none of it goes to waste."

Mo Qianni picked up a clump of fish meat floss, and brought it right before Yang Chen's mouth. "Ahh... open up!"

Yang Chen aggressively chumped down on the food while biting onto the chopsticks in the process!

Mo Qianni was terrified at what he had done. "Why are you biting on the chopsticks? Loosen up!"

Yang Chen mumbled his reply while chewing, "Little Qianqian's chopsticks taste good too."

"Pfft..." Mo Qianni couldn't help but laugh so hard that she started to tear up. She knew he was trying his best to make her feel better.

After their romantic lunch date, Yang Chen paid the bill and they walked out of the eatery hand in hand. As they both had nothing much in hand for the rest of the day, they decided to go for a stroll nearby.

After she was finally allowed to spill out the words stuck in her heart all this while, she was visibly more lively. She held onto Yang Chen's hand as they walked hand in hand on the street, a rare occasion between just the two of them.

As they walked past an arcade store, Yang Chen abruptly stopped his footsteps, before he headed inside for a quick glance.

Mo Qianni was curious as she peeked into the arcade. It was loaded with all sorts of games: first person shooters, bikes, and plane simulations, but they were nothing uncommon. She never understood what had drawn him into this particular arcade.

Yang Chen turned towards her and said, "Little Qianqian, let's go here. I saw something really fun."

Mo Qianni was visibly uninterested, but nonetheless nodded in agreement. After all, a relationship was about compromise.

Yang Chen went ahead to exchange some tokens, but surprisingly skipped over the popular arcade machines, and went straight towards a 'whack the mole rat' arcade game!

This old fashioned game required hardly any skills as it has only just one step: hit the exposed mole rat. Most people play it just for venting stress piled up from within.

"Hubby... you want to play this?" Mo Qianni was confused.

"Not me." Yang Chen took the inflated hammer and stuffed it into Mo Qianni's hand. "You."

"Me?" Mo Qianni took a good look at the hammer, and then at the exposed mole rat, as she embarrassedly questioned, "Why would you want me to hit that?"

Yang Chen assumed she was unfamiliar with the game, so he went behind and held her by the hand, before he started hitting the emerged 'mole rats', while explaining, "See that's how you do it. It's super easy."

"Hubby, I'm asking you again. Why are we hitting mole rats out of the blue? We're not children anymore."

Yang Chen hesitated for a moment before he replied with a bitter smile, "I understand that you've gone through a lot of pain the past days because of me. I also realized that I'm not always here for you. So I thought it was a good idea for you to vent your stress out. If I can I would rather you slap me as hard and as much as you want, but I know you'd definitely turn down the offer. So I took you here instead. Just take those mole rats as me, and hit them as hard as you can until you are done."

Mo Qianni stared at the man in front of her, as words got stuck in her throat, despite how much she wanted to say them.

Yang Chen witnessed the inaction from Mo Qianni, gave his head a light scratch, before he grabbed the inflated hammer from her hands as he taunted, "Alright, if you can't do it then I'll beat the crap out of this rascal!"

Yang Chen upon ending his sentence instantaneously smashed down towards the mole rats. It was a relatively easy game for Yang Chen as he consistently scored bullseye with every hit. All he needed to do was to be wary of not breaking the machine in the process.

Mo Qianni stood by a corner as she observed Yang Chen diligently wrecking mole rats, giving out a long sigh.

In that instant Yang Chen who was all this while completely focused on hitting artificial mole rats felt a pair of arms hugging his waist tight. It was a sudden embrace by Mo Qianni.

"Are you alright?" Yang Chen turned behind, only to witness Mo Qianni staring at it with puppy eyes. "I don't think this game is made for me, you want to switch?"

Mo Qianni shook her head as she pleaded, "Stop hitting it alright? I forgive that evil brat, I truly do. I feel a lot better now. I hurts me to see you continuously beating up the man I love more than myself."

Yang Chen cracked a sinister smile. "Really? Then give me a kiss," he said as he pointed at his mouth.

"Here?" Mo Qianni suspiciously looked around. The arcade was expectedly filled with quite a number of people.

"It seems like you still hate me," Yang Chen mentioned in a disappointing tone.

Mo Qianni rolled her eyes, before she gave a coy smile, tiptoed as she went straight for a kiss.

The white noise from the back had instantaneously relegated to the backdrop as the couple engaged in an affectionate kiss.

Chapter 690 - Hackers

Yang Chen accompanied Mo Qianni for the entire afternoon, in an attempt to lift her spirits. It took some convincing but she eventually felt less worried about their future prospects.

When he reached home after work, Lin Ruoxi was watching a TV drama with Guo Xuehua and Wang Ma.

When she saw that Yang Chen had reached home, there was an indescribable look in Lin Ruoxi's eyes. One thing Yang Chen could be sure of was that Lin Ruoxi was a little upset.

"Mom, I'll serve the dishes." Lin Ruoxi stood up and walked straight to the kitchen without even glancing at Yang Chen's way.

Yang Chen was a little baffled. Didn't we just make up yesterday? I was already thinking about our next step from now on. Why is she angry at me again?

Thus, Yang Chen followed her into the kitchen. He took two dishes and followed behind Lin Ruoxi, smiling as he said, "Dear, why didn't you even greet your husband who has just come home? This is so unharmonious."

Lin Ruoxi placed the dishes on the table and turned around. She let out a disdainful smile and said, "What were you doing this afternoon?"

Yang Chen was too stunned for words. Judging by Lin Ruoxi's behavior, she had probably found out that he spent the entire afternoon accompanying Mo Qianni.

"Can't explain yourself? Let me say it out for you. The entire company was discussing about why Director Yang disappeared for the entire afternoon after leaving with Vice President Mo. Wu Yue even ran into my office asking if I knew what was going on," Lin Ruoxi glared at Yang Chen in anger, saying, "How was I supposed to answer any of their questions? Tell her I don't know? What a joke that would be. I don't even know that my husband went out on a date with my vice president right under my nose. Tell her that I know? Then what kind of situation would that be?"

Yang Chen shrugged resignedly. "I... didn't think things through. Actually we didn't really do anything. You of all people know the mood Qianni has been in. I brought her out for lunch, and we went shopping after."

"You don't have to report to me. I can't control you anyway. I don't want to become one of those jealous wives. You do whatever you like to do. I just hope that you would consider how your actions implicate me next time," Lin Ruoxi said.

Yang Chen tried to please her and said smilingly, "How about this? I'll spend the whole day with you tomorrow on a date. I happen to be free since I'm done with the busy office affairs."

Lin Ruoxi darted a cold glance at him. "Hmph, how thoughtful of you. Sorry, you're free but I'm not."

As she finished her words, Lin Ruoxi couldn't be bothered with Yang Chen anymore. She just continued walking into the kitchen to bring out the dishes.

Yang Chen scratched his head. He was at a loss of how to appease Lin Ruoxi's anger. He had offended her while trying to please Mo Qianni. Even when he himself pictured the scenario where Wu Yue asked Lin Ruoxi about the matter, he felt extremely awkward and he wouldn't know how to answer too.

Yang Chen couldn't even taste what he was eating for the whole dinner because Lin Ruoxi didn't speak a word. She just went back into her room upstairs to work after eating.

After cleaning up the dishes, Guo Xuehua removed her apron and suddenly called out to Yang Chen who was about to go upstairs. She said, "Son, follow me to my room."

Yang Chen wondered what his mother was up to again. But he nodded his head nonetheless and followed her.

Entering Guo Xuehua's room, Yang Chen was asked to sit on the edge of the bed beside her. She took a close look at Yang Chen's face before she said with a warm smile, "I overheard part of the conversation between you and Ruoxi just now. Now, this is all your fault. How could you place her in such an awkward position? It's fine if it's just our own family members who know about it. If others learn about it, it would be extremely detrimental to both Ruoxi and Qianni."

Yang Chen nodded silently. "I've thought about it too. I was indeed a little too rash. But I only did it because I haven't been able to reach Qianni lately. I was starting to get anxious about how to deal with the situation. That's why I couldn't care less."

Guo Xuehua sighed slowly, "Do you really like that girl so much? Even though her mother is so opposed to it, are you still unwilling to let her go?"

Yang Chen shook his head and let out a faint smile. There were mixed feelings in his eyes. "If I were to let go right now, then I wouldn't have accepted her in the first place. People can say that I'm selfish or hypocritical, but all I know is that I don't want to experience the feeling of losing a woman that I love anymore."

Guo Xuehua was a little taken aback. She could tell that he was talking about some incident from his past, but she knew that it was definitely not a good memory. Thus, she evaded the topic and said, "Don't be too impulsive. You can't rush this."

Yang Chen smiled in relief. "Mom, rest assured. I know that Aunt Ma is the most important person to Qianni. No matter what, I will always take her feelings into consideration. I won't be reckless. I plan to meet Aunt Ma after I properly formulate an apology. Even if she chases me away, I will endure it. Even though this way of dealing with things makes me feel bottled up inside, this is the only way right now."

Guo Xuehua held onto one of Yang Chen's hand with both her hands. She patted on his hand and said in relief, "Mom was precisely worried that you would go overboard in this matter. Now that you have made things clear, I feel relieved.

"Did you know this, Yang Chen? Back then when I first saw you, before we acknowledged each other, your actions bore similar resemblance to a ticking time bomb. It made me very worried. Perhaps you were too used to living your life alone overseas. Or perhaps the environment that you grew up in shaped you that way, making you overbearing, oppressive, and sometimes even unreasonably bossy.

"Although I could tell all along that you are actually a kind-hearted child, you were always doing things according to your whims. This will make the people around you love and hate you at the same time.

"Now it seems like you've grown to pay more consideration to the people around you, and you're more attentive to details. Although it might be just like what you've said, that you feel restrained in doing things; many matters that used to be extremely simple are now dragged on almost like there's no end to them. But, to have all sorts of relationships that confine us during our time in this world, isn't that what makes life truly worth living?"

Yang Chen smiled brightly. "Mom, are you giving me a lecture now? Rest assured, I'll pay more attention in the future. I'll take into consideration everyone around me. I used to care only for myself, disregarding the deaths of everyone else around me. But now that I have family members around me, I know what to do and what not to do."

Guo Xuehua pressed her finger against her son's forehead once before she stood up and said, "It's good that you know that. Now, go back to your room and rest. Mom will cut you some fruits and send them to your room."

The next morning, Yang Chen who had turned up for work as usual had a simple meeting with Zhao Teng and Wang Jie. Around 9 o'clock after the meeting, he finally saw An Xin walking into the office with slightly unstable steps.

Yang Chen frowned. He picked up the smell of overnight alcohol. "Babe An Xin, did you drink last night?"

An Xin's face was a little gloomy. She forced a smile. "Mmm. My friend had a birthday so I drank quite a bit. Don't worry I'm fine. But I'm late, I hope you don't deduct my pay."

Yang Chen sighed and walked to her side. He held her hand in his and slowly channeled True Yuan into her meridians.

Ever since he broke through the Xiantian stage, his Xiantian True Qi had also transformed into a kind of energy closer to its origin called True Yuan. But it also carried with it the formidable recovery power from the Endless Resolve Restoration Scripture, thus making it easy and natural to repair any damaged tissues.

An Xin felt a surge of warmth throughout her body that was so comfortable she felt like sleeping. In the blink of an eye, her fatigue and dispiritedness were all gone.

It wasn't her first time witnessing Yang Chen's miraculous powers. She said with an endearing smile, "Hubby, you're just like a Doraemon. You're omnipotent."

"Stop comparing me to something that's not even human," Yang Chen joked. Then, he said, "Even if you have a gathering with friends, don't drink too much. If I catch you doing it again, I'll be sure to smack you. And I won't help you recover so soon. I'll just leave you to experience the miserable feeling."

An Xin pouted and said wrongfully, "Okay."

Since matters had been put in order, Yang Chen planned to leave the company to meet Ma Guifang to have a good talk about Mo Qianni. However, his subordinate Wang Jie who had just left the office came running back in a hurry.

With a flustered and anxious look on his face, Wang Jie said, "This is bad, Director Yang. Something has happened to the parent company."

Both Yang Chen and An Xin were stunned. Yang Chen frowned and asked, "Parent company? What's wrong with Yu Lei?"

Wang Jie wanted to explain, but he seemed like he didn't know how to put it into words. In the end, he let out a sigh, and then ran to Yang Chen's desk. Turning on the computer, he said, "Director Yang, come and have a look. Now the entire company is in a mess."

Yang Chen and An Xin walked towards the computer in puzzlement. They looked at the contents shown on the screen and Yang Chen was baffled, whereas An Xin's expression had changed instantly. She was staring at the screen with complete disbelief.

The contents on the screen were none other than various document files that had been placed in an online server for public access and download.

"How could this be? It's impossible..." An Xin murmured.

Wang Jie had a devastated look on his face, "Miss An Xin, the whole company is going nuts over this. Ho—how could this have possibly happened?"

Yang Chen was completely clueless. He quickly asked, "An Xin, what are these documents? What purchase and what tender..."

An Xin let out a heavy sigh and said, "These documents are Yu Lei International's purchasing plans, tender plans, negotiation plans, and partial acquisition plans for the next six months. And there's also details of our major customers, product designs, and the internal financial budget of Yu Lei in addition to allocation plans."

"I know what they mean. But what's wrong with these documents?" Yang Chen asked, puzzled.

An Xin said bitterly, "Put it simply, these documents are all highly confidential documents of Yu Lei International. If any of these documents landed in the hands of our competitors, it would be a huge blow to our company. Yet so many of these documents have now all been made available on a public online platform. This means that Yu Lei International's plans for the next six months is basically up for grabs right now. Think about it, we haven't even started the negotiations, yet our competitors already know how much we're going to bid. We haven't purchased our materials, yet others are already one step before us, purchasing all the materials that we want. In this case, even if Yu Lei doesn't go bankrupt, we'll be set back a few years or even many years depending on the situation."

"How did such important documents end up online?" Yang Chen finally understood the situation, "Could it be hackers?"

"Impossible," Wang Jie shook his head and explained, "Director Yang, you might not know it well. But these important documents are usually kept in paper form. After all, if it were online, it's impossible to guard against the skills of hackers nowadays. Big corporations like ours are their targets. That's why these documents are always kept in offices of the company's executives that hold the positions of general manager or even higher. They are stored securely in safes guarded by anti theft alarm systems."

Yang Chen squinted his eyes and seemed to suddenly remember something. He asked, "Do we know the source where these documents were leaked out from yet?"

Wang Jie looked a little awkward as he pulled a long face and exclaimed, "The contents of these documents are mostly about negotiations and tenders, and some of them involve market planning. According to the rules, they're all stored in the the public relations department. In other words, in Department Head Liu Mingyu's office."