When he said this, she was startled and she peered up at him. Her eyes twinkled like the stars as they brimmed with a faint glimmer. A while after that, she muttered, "Didn't we decide on October first? We'll have more time then."

"I don't want to wait too long. It's not a bad thing to have our wedding. Just let Grandmother handle it, hmm?"

He held her hand, the faint gleam on her ring finger flickering gently. He gazed down, then held her tightly. "I want to marry you sooner. I want to let other people know that you're mine."

When Xi Xiaye heard this, her heart trembled. She slowly gazed down and let him hold her hands tightly till they hurt, but she did not say anything.

"If you don't say anything, I'm going to take it as a yes," he said, lifting his hands to hold her frail shoulders and pulling her gently into his embrace. He planted an emotional kiss on her forehead before he breathed in and said in a lowered voice, "That way, we can save the trouble. We have to do it sooner or later anyway, so it might as well be sooner."

"But..."

"No buts. You just have to be a bride when the time comes. You don't have to worry about anything else. Hmm?" His voice was sensitive and gentle. It even carried a fatal seductiveness. His wise eyes that could see through everything were filled with a distant vortex. As she watched them, she found it hard to pull away. Instead, she fell deeply into his gaze bit by bit, and was extremely attracted to him.

He locked onto the gleam in her eyes and said tenderly, "I'll give you a grand wedding. After the magnificent curtain call, our lives will return to this peace. Whatever anyone else has, you can have too."

When he said this, Xi Xiaye felt her heart soften. She felt touched in a way that could not be described. With a deep inhale, she stared at him in contemplation. A while after that, she asked softly, "Why are you so...?"

"Because you are Missus Mu, the only official genuine one, the only one Mr. Mu acknowledges."

She did not finish what she said when he answered. She could not deny that he could immediately see through her thoughts.

Even he did not know that they had such excellent chemistry between them.

Xi Xiaye almost laughed out loud at his words. She could not help but purse her lips and chuckle. All of a sudden, she threw herself onto him. "Only official genuine one? There must be a lot of pirated ones then. Say, did you womanize around on your trip this time? I heard that the women there are very enthusiastic. In fact, they're all very pretty!"

"Mmm!"

When she threw herself onto him, he groaned and quickly reached out to catch her. "No, I returned to the hotel when I was done with work, Missus. Mr. Mu is one with his wife. He's a good man that's loyal to his MIssus. Why would he go and provoke those commonplace women?"

"Do people really praise themselves like this?" Xi Xiaye rolled her eyes at him. She thought about it and said, "Would it be too rushed? If we have our wedding shoot in May, where should we take it?"

"Where do you want to go? Maldives or Bali? We can just go for a breather and relax. There'll still be one to two months till the wedding, which will be enough time for preparation."

He tilted his head casually to the side and lay down with his arm supporting his head as a pillow.

She lowered her body too as she looked at him and said, "Then, I'll tell Grandpa and Mother."

"Mmm," he responded, and his arm around her shoulder tightened.

...

The setting sun was dragging the faint twilight by the horizon as evening came around. Xi Xiaye was going to read a book, yet he dragged her off the sofa. He insisted on riding around the villa area.

Helpless, Xi Xiaye could only do as he wished. After one round, she was almost out of breath and her face dripped with sweat.

When the husband and wife returned to Maple Residence, the sky had darkened slightly. The world was a dull gray as the evening breeze blew gently and the streetlights had been switched on.

When they got home, the two of them swiftly took a shower and had a simple meal before they rushed out to Imperial Sky Entertainment Club.

The car sped all the way and rushed toward Imperial Sky Entertainment City with Xi Xiaye at the wheel.

Xi Xiaye who was focused on driving suddenly spoke up, "I talked to Ah Shi about her and Ah Mo. After that, I heard Ah Mo say that Ah Shi did call him. I think that she cares about him. When I spoke to her the other day, I saw that when I mentioned Ah Mo, she was moved. I think that they must have been a pretty loving couple back then."

"They were already thinking about getting engaged."

His mood seemed to turn gloomy. "She's a stubborn person too. Ah Mo didn't have the heart to force her. All these years, I've taken everything in."

"Mmm, but she's quite a strong girl. When I see her, I think of myself," Xi Xiaye sighed, "Such a good girl, yet she has to suffer all of this. I feel quite sad to witness this."

As she said this, Mu Yuchen's eyes darkened. When she unexpectedly turned to look at him, she caught his moody expression and her heart tightened. "Okay, let's not talk about this anymore. It'll all get better. No matter what, life goes on."

Mu Yuchen reached out to hold his forehead as he sighed, "Mmm, don't worry. I'm fine."

Xi Xiaye nodded. "As long as the two of them can get back together again, everything might get better. There are many times when we make things worse because we are miserable, and even more so when we just can't let go of some things ourselves. Take myself for example, I could've been more forgiving and not care too much. Then, I would've lived more peacefully and happily even though... Anyway, I still believe that there are many kind people who are still contented, such as us, Ah Mo, or Ah Shi..."

He could not help but admit that when it came to this woman, listening to her speak felt like a sort of delight. If he had not found the reasons he admired her or wanted her, then at this moment, he could clearly tell himself that her unyielding strength and optimistic must be a very important reason as to why he had been attracted to her.

She was clearly just a woman who had been pushed around in life, yet she wanted to use her little strength to influence and help others. Sometimes, he really did not know whether to call her silly or say that she was too ambitious! 

She had bizarre energy around her, the kind that could make one more forgiving and optimistic when they saw her. All of this seemed to be what he needed. It was hard to imagine that after going round and round, he would find all of this within a little woman like her.

Nevertheless, whether it was out of habit or whether his admiration for her, he hoped that they could peacefully spend the rest of their lives together, work together, live together, get married, have children, and quietly wait for time to pass as they grew old together.