At the old Minister's house.

Lu Tingxiao sat on the bedside as he held Ning Xi's hand. A group of doctors was busily extracting blood from Ning Xi to check her body thoroughly just in case she had any other sickness, wounds, or had been injected with any drugs.

The frown on Lu Tingxiao's forehead remained the entire time.

"Mr. Lu, please wait, we will only know the results in two hours, at most."

"She's having a very high fever."

"It's because her wound is infected. It's a good thing Madam had done some cleaning up herself, or else she would have lost her leg if the bullet had been left for too long inside her body."

Lu Tingxiao's heart ached. The treasure he had so carefully protected within his palm had only left for a short while, and within that timeframe, she had become like this. How could his heart not ache?!

Two hours later, the report finally came out.

"Mr. Lu, the results are out. Madam Lu's body is all normal. Except for the gunshot wound on her leg, there aren't any other problems."

When he heard this, both Lu Tingxiao and the old Minister breathed a sigh of relief. The latter immediately ordered everyone to watch the girl carefully and he arranged the best room in the house for them.

Because he thought Lu Tingxiao and Ning Xi were husband and wife, he naturally arranged for one room only.

...

Because Ning Xi was quite injured this time, she had slept for one entire day and night. Her fever soon subsided.

To please Lu Tingxiao, the old Minister had organized a dinner at the lobby with many high-ranking officials and business moguls invited as guests.

At the dinner, they all had a multitude of words of admiration and concern for Lu Tingxiao.

"It's a good thing Madam Lu is safe this time, or else it would be hard for us to escape the blame!"

"Exactly! God blessed the good ones like Madam Lu!"

...

Lu Tingxiao did not correct anyone who called Ning Xi his wife.

In that case, the distinction between a wife and a lover was very different. To have America mobilize their military resources for any woman would obviously be a little hard to explain, so he had just called Ning Xi his wife right from the beginning. It was impossible that these people would investigate if he really was married either.

Even though Lu Tingxiao was already used to such occasions, he was obviously distracted this time around. His heart was still hung up on the person who had not woken up yet.

He constantly wondered if she would feel afraid or suddenly fall ill again after she woke up and found herself in a foreign place.

The dinner table was still filled with drinks and lively conversations. Lu Tingxiao leaned his head on one hand while his other hand held the stem of a wine glass. His fingers were rhythmically knocking on the glass.

He was obviously getting impatient. He looked at the time and was prepared to excuse himself.

Just as he was prepared to stand up, someone suddenly appeared in the banquet hall...

Well, strictly speaking, someone hopped in.

Ning Xi stood there on one leg, wearing a loose and warm cream silk sleeping gown. Her long hair tumbled messily on her shoulders, while her forehead was covered in a light sheen of perspiration. She looked terrified as if she had experienced something incredibly traumatic...

It was not until she looked across the long dinner table and saw the man who held a glass in his hand on the other end that she finally calmed down.

She had a dream, a horrible one. A nightmare that Lu Tingxiao had died under cannon fire to save her...

"Bo-"

When she saw Lu Tingxiao sitting there looking well, Ning Xi felt reassured. At the same time, the other people entered her line of vision.

The table was full of well-dressed people...obviously, they were some kind of honorary guests...

From Ning Xi's daze, a clarity suddenly emerged a clarity. Just as she had almost blurted out to call "Boss", she instantly changed it to "My dear..."