Long Huojin returned from his visit with Mr. Liang in exchange to drop his threat against him.

Mr. Liang was afraid that Long Group would come after him, the same way they went after the w.a.n.g"s and other corporations small or large.

It would be a mistake not yielding to Long Huojin.

When he returned home, he found Xue Guangli in the kitchen speaking to Yin Shou, laughing about something while drinking hot chocolate.

Xue Guangli was wearing casual clothing, and her naturalness stirred something warm in his heart. She was getting used to staying at his home.

Xue Guangli turned and locked eyes with him. Her smile then broadened, and she approached him hastily, tip-toeing to give him a small peck on the lips.

Long Huojin smiled against her mouth, and when they parted from each other, Yin Shou had a sincere expression, almost as if he was happy for them.

It was still tricky for Long Huojin to get used to the fact that his best friend now had shorter hair. Part of him believes he did it to sharpen his appearance, to make an impression on a certain someone, though Yin Shou won"t admit to it.

Xue Guangli took Long Huojin"s hand and guided him to the kitchen. She had prepared meals for lunch. "You"re just in time. I didn"t want the fish to get cold," she said.

She had prepared some fish with some white rice and vegetables, and other side dishes like chow mein with mu shu pork.

"That"s a lot of food," he said.

Xue Guangli flushed.

Nonetheless, if Xue Guangli were the one who made it, then Long Huojin would surely eat all of it.

He sat on one of the chairs and Yin Shou remained seated. He gave his best friend a look, but he shot one back that said, "No way. This food looks amazing! I"m not leaving."

Long Huojin rolled his eyes, but Xue Guangli had set three sets on the table so that he would have stayed regardless.

They chowed down the food until Long Huojin felt full, but he didn"t mention it to Xue Guangli that he could barely move—or breathe.

Yin Shou had gone to meetings at work. While, in the living room, Long Huojin showed Xue Guangli the correspondence records of Xue Gao just shortly before the time of the incident.

He had not seen it, not without her.

They both sat on the floor in front of the coffee table.

She opened the seal of the large yellow envelope and took out papers of emails, phone calls, and text messages exchanged between Xue Gao and others.

Most of them were not out of the ordinary, but one of the numbers stood out. The phone number repeated as incoming calls. She decided to dial the phone number, and without looking at her screen, she put it towards her ear and let it ring.

"What are you doing?" Long Huojin whispered. Xue Guangli shushed him as her heart pounded beneath her chest from fear and anxiety. She would keep the call brief so no one would track her.

After a few rings, the call picked up.

"h.e.l.lo?" the deep voice said, a familiar voice.

Xue Guangli froze.

"H—h.e.l.lo?" asked the voice again.

She held out her phone to check the call the I.D where the letters spelled, "w.a.n.g Weimin" on the screen.

"Ah, Guangli. It was about time you called. What is it? Did Long Huojin dump you since he found out you"re a reacher?"

Xue Guangli narrowed her eyes, hanging up the call.

She looked out into s.p.a.ce with widened eyes. Next, to her, Long Huojin was fuming with silent rage; he ground his teeth, clenching his fists.

Xue Guangli"s chest rose and fell. What in the world happened?

"The w.a.n.g"s have something to do with this," She said aloud.

Long Huojin released a breath and nodded.

"I have to see w.a.n.g Weimin," she said.

Long Huojin sat up straight, his eyes bewildered. But he didn"t reject it, and Xue Guangli appreciated it. He wasn"t trying to control her, but she knew he didn"t like the idea.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I just have to. It"s the only way I can find out some things," she said.

Long Huojin said nothing, thinking silently to himself. After a few moments, he sighed and said, "I"ll come with you."

Xue Teegan and her sisters had the night off. But Xue Guangli was, of course, staying at Long Huojin"s house.

She decided to look for Xue Liena and found her in her room getting ready. She had her black hair curled, blushed cheeks, and she wore a beautiful dress. It sent a tang of pain to Xue Teegan as she looked so much like their mother. But Xue Teegan"s jaw dropped. "Where are you going?" she asked.

Xue Liena didn"t meet her eyes, but under her flush, her cheeks deepened red. "Long Bolin invited me to the Spring garden show. He says that a friend of his gave him tickets but...he didn"t know what to do with them..." she said shyly.

Xue Teegan"s eyes widened.

Xue Liena was someone who didn"t go on dates or practically never acknowledged men. She was also very innocent; it made Xue Teegan worry.

"All right. But make sure that boy keeps his hands to himself!" She responded.

Xue Liena flushed. "We...we are just friends."

Xue Teegan narrowed her gaze.

Afterwards, Xue Liena pa.s.sed her, descending the stairs, holding up her skirts. Not long after did Xue Teegan hear the doorbell ring. She hid behind a pillar and saw Long Bolin waiting in the front door standing tall, wearing a black suit. His black curls sleeked to one side, and his piercing blue eyes gazed at her sister with an appreciative glance.

Curse the Long"s! Xue Teegan thought.

She then messaged Yin Shou and gave him an address to meet her there.

Not long after, did Xue Liena take her car keys and left the house.

At the garden show, Yin Shou met her there in the parking lot.

"Why are we here?" he asked. He was curious as to why Xue Teegan summoned him. He also had to disrupt a meeting just because she invited him to go somewhere.

She took his hand and dragged him along. "We"re going to spy on my sister and Long Bolin!" she said.

Yin Shou paused. He then turned away abruptly and walked away from her.

"Shou!" she called out.

He ignored her.

Xue Teegan ran after him and stopped him right when he was about to enter his car by blocking the door.

"Shou, I"m sorry," she said.

"Are you?" Yin Shou questioned. "I had to stop work just to come to see you," he began. "Your sister is allowed to see whoever she likes, just as you and Guangli."

Xue Teegan"s eyes widened, glistening. She dropped her hands in shame, lowering her head. "I"m sorry," she repeated before walking away.

Yin Shou curled his fingers into fists. He then clicked his tongue before reaching out, to turn her around. When he saw her, all of her adamant walls were down. Tears slipped from her eyes, and her face was full of despair.

Without thinking or caring where they were, Yin Shou tucked her into his embrace. He caressed her head against his chest, "Why are you crying?" he asked.

Xue Teegan pursed her lips. She said quietly and distantly. "Everyone...is leaving me..." she admitted.

She then glanced up at him, "You"re right Shou. Everyone can do whatever they want...but I feel so...alone, and for that, I am selfish. And I push people who have potential because I am so afraid," she confessed.

Yin Shou"s heart clenched. Xue Teegan had been suffering. Her mother died, her father is in jail, and she felt like she was left behind. Anytime she lets someone in, they walk away, and to her, it broke the sh.e.l.ls around her heart.

Yin Shou helplessly rested his head over her shoulder. "You"re not selfish, Teegan," he began. "If anything, you"re doing everything you can to survive."

Xue Teegan"s eyes widened. She then pursed her lips again, trying to fight herself from crying. She rested her head on his chest, and her eyes began to well again. "I"m sorry...I"m sorry..." she kept repeating. Yin Shou held her, feeling as if she was not only apologizing to him, but to everyone in her life.

She behaved coldly; she did things only to benefit her agenda. But Yin Shou knew she wasn"t an evil person. Yes, she broke his heart once, and he knew that if he left himself love her again, it might be worth it, this time.

He took her face in his hands, looking into her deep brown eyes, "Let"s go," he said.

"Where?" she asked.

"To the garden show," he responded.

"But we"ll see my sister," Xue Teegan said.

Yin Shou smiled. "We"re going to the lavendar area. There won"t be people there," he said. And like that, Xue Teegan smiled, genuinely.