Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The warm sun rose high, pushing the faint mist down and soon, the entire Maple Residence was engulfed in an intoxicating softness.
The cool breeze gently brushed past, slowly streaming in through the numerous gaps. The hanging curtains gently swayed whilst the air was filled with a faint fragrance of orchids.
The husband and wife were still sound asleep in bed.
Xiaye naturally would not have noticed that ever since she was fond of Mu Yuchen's hugs, her sleeping position was devoid of any reservedness, just like how it was right now. Her sleeping posture was no different from an octopus.
Every time he woke up first, he would have to spend a lot of effort to pull her away without waking her up.
"Mr. Mu, I want to have tomato omelet today, ooh, and hot and sour shredded potato!" She propped her head up on one hand and watched the man with misty eyes as he put his clothes on.
"Did I wake you up?" Mu Yuchen turned to look at her. His hair was still damp from the shower he just had, but overall, he looked quite spirited and very dashing.
"Mmm, it's fine. I feel like I've slept for too long. It's been a while since I've slept so comfortably. Geez, it's already past 10 a.m."
Xiaye reached up to scratch her messy head of hair as her beautiful eyes twinkled like the stars. They steeped with a misty yet moving splendor. Her beautiful face was even colored in a faint blush and her delicate shoulders and collarbones were faintly discernible underneath the warm blanket, appearing quite seductive.
"You can sleep for a while more. I'm going down to cook. In the afternoon, a photographer will come over to take our wedding pictures. The makeup artist will come earlier. The sunlight today is quite warm, so the pictures will come out lovely too."
As he spoke, he bent down and leaned over to plant a kiss on her forehead, then he moved towards the side of her lips.
"I haven't washed up..." She instantly wanted to cover her face, yet he caught her hand. A chilly kiss fell on her lips as the familiar fragrance that belonged to him closed in. She could not help but feel intoxicated, then her slender arms reached out and circled around his shoulders.
After a long, silky kiss, their breaths became a little unsteady. He had to use quite some effort before he managed to pull himself away from her lips. After holding her long hair back and fixing it, then he covered her up with the warm blanket again.
"Sleep a while more. I'll call you when the food's done. Hmm?"
"I'll get up and help you." She wanted to get up, yet he held her down by the shoulders. The scar on her left shoulder could still vaguely be seen. He took a brief but thoughtful look at it. The light in his eyes flickered with gloom in the depths of them.
When she saw him suddenly stop, she followed his gaze and turned to his line of sight. Her slightly obvious and ugly scar entered her sight, and she reflexively reached out to cover it. Then, she lowered her gaze and hesitated before looking up at him again.
"Does it still hurt?" he asked softly.
She shook her head gently. When she met his concerned gaze, she said plainly, "It hasn't hurt for a while now. I just feel a little sad that I can't wear strapless dresses anymore. More importantly, I can't wear a strapless wedding dress. Su Nan said that I'd definitely look really good in a strapless wedding dress."
"You're beautiful. You'd look amazing wearing anything. Of course, you look just as fantastic not wearing anything too," he consoled.
"Horrible!" She scooped a pillow up and tossed it at him. "You look fantastic not wearing anything!"
Then, she suddenly thought that did not sound right, so she glared at him and got up to hug the warm blanket. "I almost forgot. I want to see our wedding outfits."
"It's the same even if you see them later. You don't look too sleepy anyway, so it's fine if you want to wake up a little earlier. I've prepared the water for you. Go take a bath."
...
After she was done with her bath and washing up, Mu Yuchen had already finished cooking when she went downstairs.
Xi Xiaye called Shen Wenna who was still at the hospital, which was when she found out that Shen Yue was accompanying her, so she felt more assured.
"You two work on your own things. Take gorgeous wedding photos. As for the family photo, well, we can take a group picture on your wedding day. Everyone will definitely be there then. Doll yourself up. You must look like a proper bride!"
Shen Yue's joyful voice could be heard through the phone. He knew that Mu Yuchen and Xi Xiaye had decided to take wedding photos while the weather was pleasant today, so he was thrilled.
He did not have many wishes as a man in his old age. He just wished for the children to live happily and peacefully while he could have some idle days for himself. That would be enough for this lifetime.
"Okay, don't worry, Grandpa. Didn't you say that I'm a natural beauty? Besides, Mother and Grandma are both so outstanding, so I wouldn't be too bad, would I?"
"Shameless! Okay, go have your meal. I'll be here with your mother. Go snap some nice photographs. Don't worry about us."
Shen Yue then hung up.
As Xi Xiaye watched the phone screen gradually darken, a faint smile could not help but surface on her beautiful face. She stood at the door and watched the warm sun pouring in from outside, she felt a tenderness in her heart.
It all gets better...
Mother's eyes will definitely be able to see the light again!
"What are you thinking about? Time to eat!" Suddenly the man's gentle voice came from behind. She subconsciously turned and saw him busy serving soup and rice at the table. While she watched him for quite a while, a barrage of images of him suddenly flashed through her mind.
He, who was all-powerful in business, high-spirited on the basketball court, calm and carefree when he was relaxed, was now being all domestic and warm.
"What are you looking at?"
When he looked up, he unexpectedly met her eyes that were clear as the moon's splendor, and then he smiled. There was an indescribable, faint doting in his eyes.
She thought about it, then suddenly called out softly, "Mu Yuchen?"
"Mmm? What is it?" He pulled open a chair, yet his gaze remained on her.
"Nothing, I just wanted to say your name."
She smiled, then walked over. Sitting down, she picked up the bowl to drink the soup. "I notice that your culinary skills have been improving. I still think that I'm more at ease eating your cooking at home."
It had been quite a few days since she ate his cooking. Now that she spooned it into her mouth, she felt like she missed it.
"Aren't you worried that you'll gain weight if you ate too much?" He chuckled.
"I've suddenly lost 5 kilograms recently. I can just eat as I like. I can even eat honey sauce steak tonight."
"When I'm not around, you don't seem to be living well, huh?"
His smile was like a warm light passing through the dusk. It came faintly, and she could not help but be increasingly fond of it. She even wanted to possess his smile. No, she wanted to possess even more.
Such as him...
Would they be like this forever?
She looked at him for quite a while, then lowered her gaze. "Without you around, I wasn't really used to it."
Xi Xiaye did not hide how her thoughts, so she admitted it.
Yes, getting used to something was a terrifying thing. If one were not careful, it could turn into a slow poison. When you realized it, it would already have seeped into your bones.
The makeup artist arrived after lunch. Mu Lingshi and Ah Mo went over as well. Mu Lingshi dragged her aside to try on the wedding dresses as Mu Yuchen and Ah Mo had tea in the living room while they talked business.
All the dresses were custom-made and there were over twenty of them in various colors such as sapphire, light purple, beige, and white.
There was even a long casual dress which she could wear when attending a banquet.
Xi Xiaye only had light makeup on when she sat before the dressing table. There was a whole bunch of accessories that Mu Yuchen had brought back for her in the wardrobe, but he was still worried they might not match well, so he got Jewelry City to send over several sets as well.
Her black hair was tied up into a bun with a violet flower hairpin, which gave her a classic vibe, especially when it accompanied the beige dress on her.
"Sister-in-law, you're so beautiful! I think that Brother must be very blessed."
Impressed, Mu Lingshi, she looked around and then said, "My brother really has an amazing taste. He must have been captivated by your beauty. No wonder you two got together so fast."
"Well, when we first met I thought he was really handsome too." Xi Xiaye smiled as she looked over at Mu Lingshi. Just as she wanted to say something about her and Ah Mo, she noticed Mu Lingshi staring at her collarbone area oddly. She quickly looked into the mirror and saw the incriminating evidence someone had left there last night.
She covered it awkwardly as Mu Lingshi chuckled. "Sister-in-law, I want to ask you something. My brother always seemed so upright and proper. How is he like when doing that, ahem..."
Xi Xiaye blushed a little, then she coughed and replied quietly, "You have to ask him about that."
"If I could ask him, I wouldn't have asked you." Mu Lingshi shrugged and put on a cool smile.
"If you really want to know, why don't you try it with Ah Mo? He always looks very upright too. He's probably just like your brother, not romantic at all."
"Romantic? They don't know anything about it! My brother is probably better. Look at Bro Su Chen. He's the epitome of an unromantic person!"
Downstairs, Mu Yuchen put on a white suit and looked dapper as he sat back down on the sofa. Ah Mo was drinking some tea while he looked at the photographer busy setting up.
"How are things with Lingshi?" Mu Yuchen looked at Ah Mo and asked.
Ah Mo turned his head over when he heard the abrupt question. Mu Yuchen was already sitting opposite him and he smiled shyly. "It's alright."
Mu Yuchen adjusted his sleeves a little. "I hope I can hear good news from both of you this time. It'd be great if you can get past this hurdle."
"We will get past it, Master." Ah Mo smiled and drank some more tea. "How's Teacher Shen's condition? Do we need to contact Ah Bo and ask him to look for doctors abroad?"
"She's not in a positive state, but we need more observation to know more, so we'll stay put for now."
It should be a critical period of time for Xi Mushan right now. He could just wait for the results from him since he had already done all he could from holding down the Yue family as well as easing Shen Yue's anger.
"Master, can we take action on Yueying now? Vice President Liu called and said things are almost done on his end. Are we going to give the new company the Imperial Sky brand? Or are we putting Glory World's name in directly?"
"I'll decide later. Don't spread the news just yet. I want to give your sister-in-law a special wedding gift. However, I'll need some help from you guys."
Mu Yuchen sipped some tea as a rarely seen warmth appeared on his face. His eyes seemed gentle as well.
The power of love was so great that Ah Mo hardly felt the usual distant and cold vibe from him anymore.
So, Master had changed a lot. Although he never noticed it before, he fully felt it now that he thought about it.
"Don't worry, Master! Besides the special wedding gift, you and Missus will surely enjoy an unforgettable wedding." Ah Mo smiled.
At the same time, there were sound of footsteps coming from the staircase. They both looked up at the same time and saw Xi Xiaye walk down carefully as she held her long dress. Mu Lingshi and the others were right behind her.
Only light makeup was applied on her beautiful face. With her hair tied up and wearing an elegant long beige dress, she was indeed a classic beauty.
She was much more captivating than he imagined.
Princess...
No, she should be a witch, his own personal witch. That was how it should be.
"Does it look weird? It doesn't feel very natural."
She noticed that he was a little out of himself when she went up to him. Peering down at her outfit without confidence, she seemed to be regretting it.
It was her first time wearing a wedding dress, so it was natural for her to feel a little odd and excited, but she was also worried that he might not be satisfied.
"It's tailor-made for you. Of course, you'd wear it the best." He smiled as he held her hand.
"Really?" Xi Xiaye's mood lightened up when he praised her and her confidence instantly shot up.
"Even the best actress at the Oscars isn't half as good as you."
She laughed when he said that. Then, she helped to adjust his tie and said quietly, "Mr. Mu, today you look much more handsome than usual too."
He had a sudden urge to see her on the wedding day, specifically the scene where she married him in a real wedding dress. He suddenly understood why so many couples longed for a unique wedding. Seeing each other's happy smile was such enjoymen;, it did not matter to anyone else but them.
"Brother, Sister-in-law, the photographer is ready. Go over quickly. We might have a tight schedule in the evening later." Mu Lingshi's eyes softened as they were filled with happy wishes for the couple. She smiled as she took out a pair of sunglasses from her pocket to cover her scar.
Ah Mo beamed as well, glancing at Mu Yuchen and Xi Xiaye before averting his gaze to Mu Lingshi.
The weather was great since the sun was not overbearingly hot. May was coming soon which meant that it was not cold like winter or extremely hot like in June or July.
The breeze brought along the fragrance of orchids with it from the orchid shrubs by the roadside.
Apart from working on Ah Mo and Mu Lingshi's matter, Wang Hui came over and instructed Sis Wang and the other servants to decorate the whole place after knowing they would be taking their wedding photos. Roses were entwined on the street lamps on both sides.
They had gone over and decorated it this morning without waking the couple up.
Xi Xiaye was reminded about when she had just gotten married to Mu Yuchen and entered Maple Residence as its landlady for the first time. Sis Wang had done something similar too.
She felt a warmth inside her as she thought about it.
She chuckled at her thoughts until she felt something block her front. She raised her head and saw the man standing before the light. His eyes were looking at her with a warm gaze.
They did not need to prepare for a pose because no matter how anyone looked at them, they were perfect for each other. They were absolutely beautiful and romantic.
Under the setting sun, he held her hand as they walked past the Grand Waves Villa area. The gentle sunset embraced them as the light evening breeze lifted her beautiful veil. He suddenly stopped going forward and turned toward her.
His eyes glittered when he saw her pretty little face. He left a kiss on her forehead, and then went for her pink lips...
Behind them were their long shadows.
The scenery came to a halt and the photographer did not miss a single beautiful moment, capturing everything.
Somewhere nearby, Mu Lingshi and Ah Mo were standing next to each other.
Watching them, Mu Lingshi took a deep breath. Her eyes behind the pair of huge sunglasses softened and she had a smile on her face too.
"At least, Brother finally found his soulmate. I used to worry that he might be lonely without anyone around him. This is great." Mu Lingshi was relieved.
"Missus is a nice person. Master really loves her," Ah Mo replied.
"Mmm, after knowing her for a while, she might not be the best woman Brother has met so far, but she suits him the most. She has this power that can give others strength. She encouraged me." Mu Lingshi was feeling grateful when she said these words.
Yes, she encouraged her.
When someone was stuck in a difficult place and found it hard to go on, simple words of encouragement could help a person to be strong amidst the hardship.
That day, on the way back to City Z from City B, Xi Xiaye had whispered something to her. She told her that she liked an encouraging poem from Pushkin.
If life deceives you, do not grieve or burn with anger, come what may; give in to the unhappy days and times of joy will come: believe!
She also said that she would rather be a silly woman than be calculative about every little thing. It was better that way.
Now that she thought about it, she was really similar to Mu Yuchen. Their inner thoughts were very close together, and that was how they accepted each other.
Suddenly, Mu Lingshi took a deep breath in. "Fate is sometimes a peculiar thing. I remember when I visited him in New York last year, I told him to find me a sister-in-law. He glared at me that time, and now..."
"The first time Master saw Missus was at the Bamboo Maple Forest Tavern. Grandmother and Grandfather arranged for them to meet. Afterward, Missus was scalded, so Master sent her to the hospital... I think Master thought of Missus as a special person ever since then. He never really cared about other women," Ah Mo said firmly.
Mu Lingshi nodded. "I'm sure Sister-in-law must have something that attracted him. Brother probably didn't realize it. After all, fate is really hard to grasp."
"Will we be like them too, Ah Shi?"
Ah Mo was envious of them. He suddenly turned over and looked at Mu Lingshi, his eyes filled with expectations and love. "While we are envious of them, we could do the same too, couldn't we?"
Mu Lingshi was slightly stunned. She had no idea what to say.
She seemed to be struggling and she clenched her fists too. Then, he took a deep breath and summoned some courage inside him, carefully holding her hand.
His movement was subtle and careful as if he was afraid of scaring her.
Mu Lingshi almost wanted to move away from the warm touch, but Ah Mo quickly grasped her hand.
She did not struggle much because she was being considerate of his bandaged arm. Instead, she let him hold her hand as her eyes behind her sunglasses started to tear up.
The warmth on her palm was so familiar to her as if it had been several centuries since she last experienced this. She realized she missed this feeling.
If she really did what Xi Xiaye told her to and not mind so much about the trivial matters, would she really be happier?
All these years that she had trapped herself in her lonely castle, she was not the only one who was in sorrow about it.
After giving it some thought, she took a deep breath and told him, "Give me some time, Ah Mo."
In surprise, he looked at her and saw the faint tears in the corner of her eyes, so he nodded. "Sure, no matter how long it takes, I'll wait for you forever."
"Mmm, I'll be back... Alright, pack up the stuff and let's not bother them."
The photographer went back satisfied. Xi Xiaye was exhausted after the shoot, especially since she was wearing high heels the whole time. She quickly took her heels off when everyone started leaving, then she looked at the man beside her with her pitiful eyes.
The man squinted his eyes at her and shook his head helplessly. he lowered down and said quietly, "You can wear sandals if you want. The dress is too long for anyone to notice anyway."
Xi Xiaye climbed onto his back and replied, "You're too tall. We won't look matching if I stand beside you without it."
She circled her arms tightly around his shoulders, and answered rather matter-of-factly, "The most matching couple in this world is us. Who dares to say otherwise?"
He brazenly retorted, "Can you be any more shameless? Have you ever seen someone pair a wedding dress with sandals?"
When they returned to Maple Residence, Ah Mo and Mu Lingshi were already done packing up. Mu Yuchen asked them to stay for dinner, but both of them did not stay. Obviously, they did not want to disturb the couple spending time with each other.
After dinner, Mu Yuchen went to answer a call. It was from Su Chen.
There was suddenly a strong gust of wind outside. It looked like it was about to rain, and there were lightning bolts from time to time in the night sky too. Xi Xiaye was worried, so she made a trip to the hospital. Shen Yue had already gone back while Xi Mushan had gone over earlier.
After Xi Xiaye helped Shen Wenna with her shower, she helped Shen Wenna lie down again.
When Shen Wenna lay down, she suddenly said to Xi Xiaye, "Go home. It's fine with Sis Fu watching me here. I just can't see. It's not like I have some illness and can't move."
"When did Father come over?" Xi Xiaye helped fix Shen Wenna's blanket as she asked.
"He came over in the afternoon. Your grandpa even..." Shen Wenna sighed, not wanting to continue. "Okay, go home. You've been tired the entire day. It's fine if you don't come. I'll be fine on my own."
"It's fine. I don't have the habit of sleeping early either. There might be a thunderstorm tonight, so I came over to take a look, and at the same time, talk to the doctor. Otherwise, I'd be worried. Go to sleep earlier then. You can be discharged when your condition stabilizes in another two days."
"Mmm, don't come over in the next two days. It's going to be the first of May soon. You have to be busy delegating work. Ah Chen's busy too. Don't keep dragging him over. I'm fine."
Shen Wenna obviously did not want to be a burden to them. They had a lot of things to worry about, and she heard that Shen Yue was even planning to get Xiaye to familiarize herself with Fuhua's business. When that happened, she would have even less time and she would need to adapt eventually.
As Shen Yue's daughter, truthfully, she had not done much for Shen Yue. Instead, she made him worry for her his entire life.
And now...
"Mother, don't think too much. You are the mother that I respect. Taking care of you is what I should do, just as how you raised me."
Xi Xiaye suddenly stopped what she was doing and silently looked at Shen Wenna whose eyes were hollow. She struggled for a while, before she said softly, "Mother, do you... still love Father?"
When she heard this, Shen Wenna was startled. After a long while, she muttered, "Didn't I answer this before?"
"I wanted to ask if you still love Father now. Not if you once loved him."
Xi Xiaye's eyes lit up with hope. She fixed her gaze onto Shen Wenna, not wanting to miss any changes in her expression. "Father has always loved you deeply. I have always hoped that the two of you could get back together again and that Father could return to our side."
"I know that you've been hurt by what Father did, but... but..."
Xi Xiaye did not continue in the end because she realized that every time she spoke about this, tears would form at the corner of Shen Wenna's gently shut eyes. Her hands had also clutched onto the blanket tightly.
She could only sigh and finally got up to quietly leave.
When she left the ward, Xi Xiaye's eyes were moist. She leaned against the cold wall and took a few deep breaths before she forced the numbing pain in her chest away. She was about to wipe the tears at the corner of her eyes away when a white handkerchief was handed to her.
Still in a stupor, she reflexively took it and wiped the corner of her eyes as she looked up to see who it was. Then, she realized that the person before her was unexpectedly Qi Lei!
"Why is it you again?"
Xi Xiaye was about to cry out, but Qi Lei lifted a hand to shush and stop her. She then realized that it was late at night and that she was at the hospital.
"Why are you here?" asked, Xi Xiaye frowning as her movements stopped too.
"My friend was hospitalized. I know that Aunty Shen is here, so I wanted to come over to take a look. What? Why are you looking at me like that? I'm telling the truth. Even though I do have that bit of grudge with Mu Yuchen, I've always had protective feelings over the fairer sex. I wouldn't attack you. Don't worry!"
Qi Lei was not like before this. He was always the oddball, but now he seemed much more normal instead.
"Qi Lei, I'm warning you. Don't think about going for my mother!" Xi Xiaye scowled and glared at him.
"What are you saying? I don't like older women. Of course, I wouldn't think of going for Teacher Shen, but there is an extremely high possibility of me going for you. I might now be getting in touch with my future mother-in-law right now. Everyone could get to know each other better first. What's so bad about that?"
The bedazzling smile on Qi Lei's face blossomed like a flower as he admired Xi Xiaye's face that darkened.
She looked so cute even when she was angry!
"I'm very sorry. I'm taken now. You'd better stay far away from me. You are the most shameless man I've ever met!"
"You can't get women if you aren't shameless! Would Mu Yuchen have been able to get you if he wasn't shameless?" Qi Lei laughed.
Xi Xiaye was speechless. She really wanted to hit him in the head. Instead, she glared at him, then turned around to leave as she cursed, "Lunatic!"
"I'm not crazy! Xiaye! Also, hey, you dropped something, do you still want it?"
Xi Xiaye only stopped walking when he pointed this out. She turned to look and noticed him swaying a pen at her.
A very familiar pen!
It looked like hers!
Xi Xiaye's brows perked up. She then remembered the book she had lost and this pen. It seemed like she had forgotten to bring it back after accompanying Shen Wenna on that walk.
She did not say anything, just picking up her pace and continuing to walk ahead.
When she walked out of the hospital, it was already raining cats and dogs outside. By the time Xi Xiaye quickly ran to the car and got in, she was half-drenched.
The sky continued to flicker with lightning as Xi Xiaye quickly drove away from the car park. As she was about to step on the accelerator and speed ahead, she saw that Qi Lei had caught up with her. He knocked on her car window.
"Give me a ride too. I stay in the Grand Lake Villa area. It's on the way anyway and my car can't seem to start," spoke Qi Lei with a deep frown through the half-opened car window. She could see that his clothes were practically soaked while his car tires seemed to have been punctured.
As Xi Xiaye watched him in his sorry state, she suddenly laughed, rejoicing in his misfortune. She shrugged helplessly and stepped on the accelerator. The car sped ahead and left him stranded.