1155 Knot 1

Her calm voice gradually floated away with the cool breeze amidst the mountains. It was silent for a long while, yet he did not answer.

Xi Xiaye looked at him with her bright eyes for a long while, but his gaze only remained on the burning flames. She thought about it, then slowly reached out to gently put her hand on his. The answer was abundantly clear.

After some time, he said softly, "Doris has already gotten a lawyer to write up the divorce papers. As expected, Gu Qiwu rejected it. Right now, she's probably gathering evidence to submit to the court."

"I heard that they loved each other. It's only now that I truly understand that no matter the pledge for eternal love, in the end...I heard that, when Gu Qiwu and Doris first got married, the entire City B was shaken by the news. The wedding was extremely grand…Everyone knew how much Gu Qiwu doted on Doris. Who would have expected them to end up like this?"

You could hear that hint of bleakness in Xi Xiaye's voice. Her clear gaze slowly looked up as she spoke and she looked into his eyes. "How does such deep love become a weak piece of paper when it comes to benefits?"

"Because of desire and greed," he answered very quickly as he lowered his gaze silently and watched her. "Everyone desires for different things: money, power, and even more for love. It's also related to how you were raised and your own nature. We can't just deny all kinds of loves' sincerity because of their example."

When Xi Xiaye heard that, she fell silent for a moment and finally nodded in agreement. "You once told me that a love that could change might not have been such a sincere one. Mr. Mu, there's a question I've been meaning to ask you."

Her eyes brightened up as she looked at him.

He shot her a side look and nodded. "What is it?"

Xi Xiaye hesitated for a moment, lowered her gaze, and then silently stared at their overlapping hands. "How...how much can you put up with me? What if…"

"You know that I don't like answering such hypothetical questions. Even if I gave you the courage to, you wouldn't dare do such things, my dear. I know too well what you want. So, sometimes, I'm grateful."

"You know what I want?" Xi Xiaye's brows were raised and a faint curve appeared at the corner of her lips.

"Isn't it me?" His deep and sensual voice came through while his handsome face beamed with delight. His smile contained doting and warmth like the winds that passed through a field of flowers, bringing a mesmerizing tenderness.

Xi Xiaye was stunned by his words. Moments after that, she realized what he said and looked at him while blushing as she then turned away. "Are you tooting your own horn?"

"Aren't I also tooting your horn while tooting my own? I packaged myself so well. That way, you'll look good when you bring me out, won't you, Missus?"

Mu Yuchen chuckled as he bent down and picked up a piece of ritual money to toss into the fire.

"You're always asking me to go for a facial or dress up and all that because of this?"

"Don't all you women like these things?"

Mu Yuchen straightened up as he watched the ritual money that had been burnt to ashes. He looked at Xi Jiyang's photo on the tombstone, then said, "Alright, we're done here. Let's go home sooner. Let's head to the old residence for dinner tonight. Mother just called me."

Upon hearing that, Xi Xiaye's little face fell silent and she quickly returned to her calmness earlier. She looked at Xi Jiyang and put her palms together to mutter something again…

After a while, Mu Yuchen held her hand and was about to leave.

However, just as they turned, they saw Xi Xinyi.

She wore a light white muslin dress that day. Her blonde hair was casually tied at the back, and she seemed much more mature, but compared to before, she seemed to look more spirited and there was less vicious energy around her. In the white dress, she looked much more comforting.

It had been quite a while since they last met, so when Xi Xiaye saw Xi Xinyi, she was surprised. She stayed quiet for a while before remembering that Xi Xinyi had probably come to pay respects to Xi Jiyang too…

She held a beautiful bouquet in her arms.

When she saw Mu Yuchen and Xi Xiaye, Xi Xinyi was obviously startled. She immediately stopped walking and silently looked up at the couple who was walking over while holding hands. A mix of emotions flashed in her beautiful eyes.

Xi Xiaye wanted to just walk past her, but for some reason, when she was about to pass Xi Xinyi, she suddenly stopped.

Mu Yuchen stopped with her too. He looked at Xi Xinyi who could not help but shudder, but she did not say anything. She just looked past Mu Yuchen before her gaze silently fell on Xi Xiaye.

After a pause, it was Xi Xinyi who softly spoke up first, "You're all...here…"

"I'll wait for you down there," Mu Yuchen said softly. Before Xi Xiaye could answer, a coat was draped around her shoulders. "The wind is cold here. Be careful."

Then, he walked past them.

Only the sisters, Xi Xinyi and Xi Xiaye, were left. They looked at each other for a long while. No one spoke, so only the sounds of the cool breeze brushing through the dense forest could be heard.

"I didn't think that we would bump into each other here," Xi Xianyi laughed, then said softly. Xi Xiaye could hear a hint of loneliness in her voice.

Xi Xiaye silently examined her, and then lowered her gaze. "I'm surprised too."

"I haven't visited Grandfather in a long while. I thought about how my days feel like a dream that I haven't been able to wake up from in a long while recently, but all of this is probably fate." Xi Xinyi's smile faded as she bent down to put the bouquet of flowers on Xi Jiyang's tombstone.

When she straightened up, she looked at Xi Xiaye and asked, "When will Father be back?"

Xi Xiaye fell silent for a while and stared at her.

Xi Xinyi smiled and said sadly, "I don't have any intentions. I was just asking. My mother hasn't been well recently, so I wanted Father to visit her. They used to be husband and wife after all, so they shouldn't need to cut off all contact. My mother's already in that state anyway. Will he still be worried that she'll do something? In fact, do you know who caused my mother to become like this?"

Then, her dim gaze met Xi Xiaye's.